Another weekend of conference play in college basketball begins on Saturday with a marquee matchup between two of the top programs from the Mountain West. New Mexico will put its perfect 5-0 record against conference opponents on the line when it hosts San Diego State on CBS.
Eighteen of the top 25 programs will be in action this weekend, and the theme will be ranked teams hitting the road. Seven of the top 10 teams will be playing away from their home gym, with the top matchup being No. 5 Alabama facing No. 10 Texas A&M in College Station.
Another ranked-on-ranked matchup on the weekend slate will see No. 14 Mississippi State host No. 6 Kentucky. The Wildcats opened SEC play with a thrilling win over Florida at home before falling to Georgia in a midweek clash. Meanwhile, Mississippi State has started conference play with wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Arkansas is off to an 0-2 start under first-year coach John Calipari in conference play. The Razorbacks face No. 8 Florida at home. No. 1 Tennessee, fresh off its first loss to that same Florida team, will travel to Austin to face Texas.
Odds via SportsLine consensus | All times Eastern
San Diego State at New Mexico
1 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App and Paramount+ with Showtime (try it free) -- The Pit is one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. San Diego State won a game in a hostile road environment at Boise State last weekend, but this will be a different challenge. New Mexico star Donovan Dent averages 19.3 points and is one of the best guards in the country. This game will go down to the wire, but I'll give the edge to New Mexico because of its home-court advantage. Pick: New Mexico -3
No. 9 UConn at Georgetown
2 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV (Try for free) -- UConn is due for a bounceback after losing a heartbreaker to Villanova earlier this week. UConn star forward Alex Karaban missed both free throws with his team down one, which led to a 68-66 loss. Georgetown has been one of the more surprising teams in college basketball and sits at 3-1 in Big East play. UConn covers and wins on the road. Prediction: UConn -3.5
No. 8 Florida at Arkansas
4 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Arkansas opened conference play with two tough draws. The Razorbacks faced No. 1 Tennessee on the road and No. 23 Ole Miss at home. Calipari hasn't dropped three straight SEC games since the 2020-21 season when he was the head man at Kentucky. Florida is coming off an emotional win over No. 1 Tennessee earlier this week. This seems like the perfect storm for Arkansas to pull off the home upset. Prediction: Arkansas ML
No. 1 Tennessee at Texas
6 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The last undefeated team in college basketball suffered its first loss earlier this week when Tennessee lost to Florida. The Volunteers opened SEC play with a blowout win over Arkansas before falling to 14-1 overall with the loss to the Gators. Meanwhile, Texas is 0-2 in SEC play, with losses to Texas A&M and Auburn. Even at home, this is a tough draw for the Longhorns against a team hungry to avenge their first loss. Prediction: Tennessee -5.5
No. 5 Alabama at No. 10 Texas A&M
8 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Alabama isn't being talked about enough despite being 13-2 and 2-0 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide have won their last seven games since losing to Oregon in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week. Texas A&M star guard Wade Taylor lV missed the last game against Oklahoma due to an undiclosed injury and won't be available vs. the Tide either. Without Taylor Alabama will cover and win outright. Prediction: Alabama -1.5
No. 6 Kentucky at No. 14 Mississippi State
8:30 p.m. | SEC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- This has the potential to be the best game of the day. Mississippi State (despite being ranked No. 14) is underrated, in my opinion. The only problem for Mississippi State is how elite Kentucky's offense is under first-year coach Mark Pope. Give me Kentucky to win and cover on the road. Prediction: Kentucky +5
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