Indiana basketball vs. Kansas open up a crazy slate of college hoops

No. 14 Indiana basketball vs. No. 8 Kansas is just the tip of the iceberg for a crazy slate of college basketball games on Saturday, including four other Top 25 matchups.

We are finally back to the days when Indiana basketball is part of a crazy slate of games on a weekend. Who else missed this? Let’s start Saturday with a bang and take down No. 8 Kansas on the big stage!

Here are my predictions for the crazy college hoops slate on Saturday

No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers @ No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks

The Hoosiers begin the madness on Saturday with a 12:00 PM E.S.T. tip-off at Allen Fieldhouse. Indiana hopes to rebound from the loss against No. 10 Arizona last Saturday, while the Jayhawks are hoping to earn their first win against Indiana basketball in just over 27 years (December 16, 1995).

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 15 Gonzaga Bulldogs

Last season, No. 16 Alabama took down No. 3 Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle, which was the first matchup between the two schools since at least 1949-50. The Crimson Tide came out on top in that neutral-site game, 91-82, thanks to 28 points from Jaden Shackelford. Who will come out on top in the 2022 showdown?

No. 5 Houston Cougars @ No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers

The Cougars and Cavaliers have matched up seven times since 1980 and No. 15 Houston beat down unranked Virginia, 67-47, in Houston, Texas. Now, Virginia is the higher-ranked team just a year later and they hold the home-court advantage. Is a different outcome coming?

No. 16 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats

UCLA and Kentucky are battling for the first time since December 17, 2017, when unranked UCLA took down No. 7 Kentucky at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Now, exactly five years later, No. 16 UCLA battles against No. 13 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in New York on CBS. I’ve got the Cats pulling out a big neutral-site win in overtime.

No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers @ No. 9 Arizona Wildcats

Just one week after taking down No. 14 Indiana in Las Vegas, now-ranked No. 9 Arizona plays host to No. 6 Tennessee and are hoping to grab their fourth top-25 win of the season already. The Wildcats have not beaten the Volunteers since November 13, 1998, and No. 19 Tennessee toppled No. 6 Arizona last season at home, 77-73.

Davidson Wildcats @ No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers

This one might seem like it’s out of place with the other games above, but Davidson is led by Foster Loyer, who has already logged three 30-point games this season, including a career-high 38-point night against Wright State on the road. The Boilermakers are anchored by Zach Edey, but he won’t win this game alone for No. 1 Purdue. Expect a hard-fought game, but Purdue will hold its top spot and pull away at the end.

No. 3 UConn Huskies @ Butler Bulldogs

This is my craziest pick of the day. UConn is playing like one of the best teams in the country and probably should have been ranked No. 1 in Week 6 over Purdue and Virginia, but that didn’t happen. Since 2015-16, Butler is 2-2 (.500) at home against top-five ranked teams, including two home wins over No. 1 Villanova in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. The Huskies are 5-0 all-time against Butler and have not allowed the Bulldogs to score more than 60 points in any of those games.

Texas A&M Aggies @ Memphis Tigers

The only matchup without any ranked teams that will be worth tuning in on Saturday, especially because Memphis is coming off a very hard-fought loss on the road against No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday, falling 91-88. The Tigers should be ranked and Texas A&M is starting to look like last year’s team at the end of the season, which will make up to be a great game.