The second week of the men’s college basketball season comes to a close with some fireworks this weekend. There are several high-profile matchups, including a Friday night clash between favorites in two of the best leagues in America and a father-son coaching battle on Sunday. It will take a lot to top Tuesday’s Champions Classic showdown between Kentucky and Duke, but it’s hard to beat these high-profile games early in the season.
Here’s what to watch this weekend.
Two Final Four teams from a season ago meet in one of college basketball’s best atmospheres. What could be better? The Tide, No. 1 in Sports Illustrated’s preseason national rankings, are off to a 3–0 start, but struggled to put away the Arkansas State Red Wolves and McNeese State Cowboys in their last two games. Meanwhile, Purdue should get its stiffest test yet as it learns how to play without two-time national player of the year Zach Edey.
In many ways, this matchup is the perfect litmus test for both sides. Alabama did everything it could this offseason to improve its defense, adding elite shot blocker Clifford Omoruyi and getting bigger and more athletic across the board. How it deals with a Purdue team that is averaging over 1.2 points per possession so far this season is a great measuring stick for just how improved the Tide are on that end of the floor. And for Purdue, star point guard Braden Smith is a known quantity and one of the best floor generals in the nation. But do the Boilermakers have enough difference makers other than him to remain in the national contender mix? Matt Painter’s young group took an early setback when freshman big Daniel Jacobsen broke his tibia in Game 2 against Northern Kentucky, leaving an unproven frontcourt with yet another question mark.
There couldn’t be a much bigger clash in styles than this matchup. Maryland is three games into its experiment with playing two traditional bigs in freshman Derik Queen and senior Julian Reese, and results so far have been mixed: Queen had 22 points and 20 rebounds in the opener against Manhattan but has been quiet since, while Reese was quiet in his first two games before 21 points and nine rebounds against Florida A&M last time out. In theory, the size the Terrapins have should allow them to bully a much smaller Marquette team on the inside, though Marquette should have some opportunities on the offensive end to attack Queen or Reese on the perimeter. The bigger question for the Terps is whether they have the guard play to handle the constant ball pressure that has become a staple for Marquette under Shaka Smart. Maryland has done a great job so far avoiding turnovers, but that’s a tall task against a team that currently ranks in the top 10 nationally in forcing giveaways, per KenPom.
Arizona has two wins to start the season by a combined 97 points. That said, the challenge of a road test in Madison is far bigger than catching Canisius and Old Dominion at home. Are the Wildcats up for the task?
The size and physicality Arizona can put on the floor make the Wildcats a bit more upset-proof than your average top-tier team. Oakland transfer Trey Townsend has been as advertised so far, and the two-headed monster at center of Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas could be dominant. This group should be elite on the backboards, defensively and in transition. The question is whether they can score enough in a grind-it-out halfcourt affair like Wisconsin wants to play. The 3–0 Badgers are not Greg Gard’s most talented team to date in Madison, but transfer wing John Tonje has been a pleasant surprise and this group has plenty of perimeter shooting to keep the floor spaced.
This game is being played in honor of the late, great Skip Prosser, who coached at both schools during his outstanding career on the sideline. It represents an early opportunity for two teams that entered the season with a ton of hype to start building an NCAA tournament resume. Wake has already beaten Michigan thanks to a second-half rally, but overall the Demon Deacons have been a bit shaky, struggling to sneak past USC Upstate earlier this week and having more trouble than they should against Coppin State and NC A&T. Steve Forbes’s team’s offense hasn’t looked as sharp as it did a year ago with Hunter Sallis getting more on-ball reps, though the Deacs are bigger and more stout defensively this season. On the other side, Xavier has plenty of offensive firepower but could struggle defensively on the interior with Zach Freemantle and John Hugley IV playing center. For two teams that could end up near the bubble on Selection Sunday, this game could end up playing a huge role in who dances and who doesn’t in a few months.
It’s Pitino vs. Pitino at Madison Square Garden! Richard Pitino brings his Lobos to MSG for the first big test of his father, Rick’s St. John’s team this season. There’s plenty of optimism in Queens that the Red Storm could contend in the Big East, and while star transfer Kadary Richmond has been a bit quiet so far, returners RJ Luis Jr. and Simeon Wilcher have picked up the slack so far. Rick Pitino’s team also has the potential to be elite defensively, and is fresh off holding Wagner to just 45 points. New Mexico should challenge the Red Storm though; they handled UCLA with relative ease on a neutral court in Las Vegas last week and point guard Donovan Dent is one of the most exciting players in the nation. Plus, Lobos center Nelly Junior Joseph gets a chance at revenge against his former coach. That’s right, Joseph started his career playing for Rick Pitino at Iona before transferring to play for Richard Pitino once Rick took the SJU job.
