If your NFL picks didn’t turn out all that great during the playoffs don’t worry about it! Now is a great time to start watching some college basketball! We understand that most of you will be zoned into Week 2 of NFL playoffs but you should definitely keep some of these college basketball games on your radar. The outcomes of these college games could have serious consequences on the season in some cases, so it’s important to pay attention.

Early in the day, we got a few great conference matchups, with Miami being on a serious road test at Duke. TCU will do their best to get an upset on the road vs Kansas, while Ohio State will face Iowa in a Big 10 showdown. And there’s even a mega Pac 12 matchup that you won’t want to miss!

Football is great and all but you have to admit that sometimes those commercial breaks get a bit lengthy.. One game in particular stood out to me that’s on later in the day and is definitely worth checking out, even if Mahomes is on the other channel. Here are the Top College Matchups to Watch Saturday!

17 Miami at Duke

January 21, 2023

9 AM Pacific Time

Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina

ESPN

The Hurricanes are heading to North Carolina to take on Duke who might not be ready for a storm! While the season is a little bit young, you would expect a big organization like Duke to have a rank with or without Coach K. Nonetheless, they’re still 13-5 so far this season and will have to defend their home turf against a tough Miami team, who’s gone 11-2 straight up in their past 13 games. 

Duke has been struggling against the spread lately, only going 1-6 in their past 7 games, recently losing to teams like Clemson, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest. They were also favored to win those matchups which makes Duke fans want to hit the panic button! Miami has had a few good wins this season but their competition hasn’t been too tough either. Will Duke make a solid stand at home and get back on track to getting ranked? Or does Miami survive the road test?

14 TCU at 2 Kansas

January 21, 2023

10 AM Pacific Time

Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas

CBS

Both teams here are finding themselves with a rank at this point in the season. While it might be a surprise for TCU, Kansas is used to being on top of the standings. TCU has struggled a bit on the road this season but they have a chance to prove that they’re the real deal when they take on Kansas. Historically, the Jayhawks have dominated the Horned Frogs by winning the last 9 out of 10 times when the two teams have matched up. However,TCU has managed to keep it close enough to the point where they covered 5 out of those 10 games. 

Will this be the year that Kansas has some serious competition in their division? It’s hard to know for sure but their undefeated streak came to an end when Kansas State recently pulled off the upset, proving the Jayhawks to not be invincible. They also haven’t covered the spread in their last 3 games. Maybe TCU can learn a few things from the KState game and pull off an upset of their own. We’ll see what happens on Saturday!

Iowa at Ohio State University

January 21, 2023

11 AM Pacific Time

Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

FOX

While these two programs are not ranked at the moment, we can still expect to possibly see them in the tournament when March rolls around. Ohio State fans certainly hoped for more than a 10-8 start and they will have a chance to prove themselves vs Iowa who’s certainly taken care of business this season. Iowa has a chance to get ranked if they can pull off a road victory this weekend, with a 12-6 record so far going 9-2 at home. 

After playing through a decent amount of home games already, this is going to be another great test for Iowa who’s only played 4 road games this season. Iowa has also covered their last 4 games in a row, beating strong opponents like Michigan and Maryland in convincing fashions. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have lost 5 in a row, including a straight up loss as a 14-point favorite to Minnesota. Ohio State fans are scratching their heads and are definitely not used to this. You also start to get the feeling that this could be a make or break game for Ohio State.

5 UCLA at 11 Arizona

January 21, 2023

11 AM Pacific Time

McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, Arizona

ABC

Here’s another great matchup that will be nationally televised on basic cable for the whole country to see! Being the top 2 Pac 12 teams, UCLA vs Arizona will display the best of what this conference has to offer, and could possibly be a matchup during the big tournament. UCLA has a record of 17-2 so far while Arizona has lost one more, going 16-3 this season. With a slight home advantage, this game is about as close as it gets on paper!

In any case, the Bruins have minimized that advantage this season, going 4-1 ATS on the road so far and only lost to respectable non-conference teams; Baylor and Illinois. Arizona has been mediocre when playing at home, going 4-6-1 against the spread this season. If UCLA can pull off the victory, you might get the feeling that they’re more than poised to take the conference championship. Expect Arizona to put up a good fight to help prevent that from happening. 

7 Texas at West Virginia

January 21, 2023

3 PM Pacific Time 

WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia

ESPN

During those extended NFL advertisements or halftime shows, consider flipping the channel over to Texas vs West Virginia on ESPN. A ranked Longhorns team will be making a long journey from home to try to beat a hungry Mountaineers team. These fierce Big 12 rivals will give everything they got when they clash in Morgantown. It’s a little bit mind-boggling to think that Texas is 15-3 this season, but has only managed to cover the spread 6 times all season! That’s a cover percentage of only 33.3%, yet they’re ranked number 7 in the country!

On the other hand, West Virginia is only 10-8 this season, yet they’ve covered half their games. They’re a strong home team with a loyal fan base but can they survive a rodeo with the Longhorns? The competition the Mountaineers have faced so far this season has been brutal as well, losing to teams like Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State to name a few. They suffered a 5 game losing streak earlier this season but have gotten back on track a bit by winning against the spread the last 2 games. I’m expecting to see a quality, close matchup here with West Virginia playing to save their season.