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Greg Mengelt previews & predicts Saturday's six Big 12 battles, including a Top 25 affair between Texas A&M and Florida. All six of the Big 12 teams in action have NCAA Tournament aspirations, and the results will have major implications comes March.

 

 

The game that many college basketball fans have been anticipating for quite some time is finally here, as #5 North Carolina (6-1) visits #1 Kentucky (7-0) in Lexington. While both teams are coming off of wins in their last games, the way in which the results were achieved differ greatly. North Carolina had to deal with the challenge of play Wisconsin, given the Badgers' preference for a slow tempo, while Kentucky blew out a St. John's team that was severely overmatched from a depth standpoint.

Baylor

Kansas

Missouri

Oklahoma St

Texas

Texas A&M

Other (Iowa St, Kansas St, Oklahoma, Texas Tech)

After wins over Belmont and Presbyterian moved Mike Krzyzewski into a tie with Bob Knight for the most wins in college basketball history, many at Madison Square Garden were hoping that the Duke head coach would become the record-holder with a win over Michigan State on Tuesday night. But while some went as far as to almost assume the game to be a coronation of sorts, Tom Izzo's Spartans refused to back down.

While there's the opportunity to watch history at Madison Square Garden as Mike Krzyzewski could win his 903rd game as a head coach, there's also a matchup of Top 10 teams that should have the attention of many. Florida visits Ohio State in a matchup of teams who met in the 24 Hour Tip-Off Marathon last season, with Buckeye big man Jared Sullinger proving to be a man among boys in the paint. The rematch will be played in Columbus, with the Gators looking to return the favor. Sullinger's in better shape than last season, which will allow him to do more all over the court.

Here's how the Big 12 teams stack up over the last five years according to conference wins. There are substantial gaps (at least 6 wins) between tiers. With the change in conference membership, and certain programs in flux, the next 5 years of Big 12 basketball could be much more fluid.

The final region is the West, which is where Connecticut began their run to the national title. While some of the departures in this region will steal the majority of the ink there are a number of teams who should feel good about their prospects in 2011-12. Below is a quick breakdown of each of the 16 teams.

(1) Duke: lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16

East Region
Charlotte
12:15 PM (7) Washington vs. (2) North Carolina (CBS)

The day before Selection Sunday is finally here, which means that a number of conferences will determine their winners throughout the course of the day. Thirteen automatic bids are up for grabs and a 14th, the battle between South Dakota and North Dakota in the Great West, will be for an automatic bid in the College Insider Tournament. The Big 12 and Big East title games may receive a great deal of attention (and rightfully so), but the first meeting between teams with 30 victories will take place in the Mountain West final.