Duke-Michigan headline college basketball games to watch this weekend

A blockbuster Saturday in men’s college basketball features not one but two top-five showdowns on a loaded schedule. One is a key clash for first place in the ultra-competitive Big 12. The other is a made-for-TV neutral site affair, a rarity for this late juncture of the season.

The fifth- and sixth-ranked teams in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll also face road tests in the;ir respective conferences. But before we get to those, we’ll begin with an in-state showdown in the SEC.

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Here’s this week’s Starting Five, your viewers’ guide to help you plan your day as March draws ever closer.

Tennessee at No. 18 Vanderbilt

Time/TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

Both teams are comfortably in the upper quadrant of the SEC and the NCAA field, and the winner here will gain a leg up in top-16 seed consideration. The Volunteers have won their last seven games against opponents not named Kentucky, but the Commodores could use a good result on their home court to offset a couple recent losses. Nate Ament has been on a scoring tear of late for Tennessee, while Vandy’s Tyler Tanner has had to take on even more of the load with Duke Miles still working his way back from a knee injury.

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No. 4 Arizona at No. 2 Houston

Time/TV: 3 p.m. ET, ABC.

The Wildcats got back in the win column following a rare two-game skid, but life in the Big 12 gets no easier with this road challenge. The Cougars, upended themselves at Iowa State earlier in the week, are happy to be back at home. Houston will try to get clean looks early on for long-range marksmen Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp, not an easy task against Arizona’s deep perimeter lineup. The Wildcats will still be without Koa Peat, sidelined with a leg muscle strain, but Ivan Kharchenkov’s increased production near the rim has helped the team compensate.

No. 5 Connecticut at Villanova

Time/TV: 5:30 p.m. ET, TNT

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Publish date : 2026-02-20 10:30:00

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