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The end of finals week for many schools means a step up in competition on Saturday, and one contest that will garner attention is the second game of the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida. #22 Texas A&M (8-1), which has a strength of schedule that ranks 341st in the country, takes on #13 Florida (7-2) in what should be an interesting matchup. Do the Aggies have the horses on the perimeter to hang with the Gator guards?

Finals week for many schools is approaching its end, meaning that the matchups will get a little better with the best coming on Saturday. Thursday's game of import is Oral Roberts (7-3) visiting Gonzaga (5-2) in hopes of winning in front of one of the best student sections in the country. Thursday marks the 100th game that Gonzaga has played in the McCarthey Athletic Center and they've gone 92-7 in the 99 games prior, so winning will be a tough task for Dominique Morrison (16.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and company.

Thanks to the events of Saturday afternoon and their aftermath a dangerous road trip is now even tougher for Cincinnati (5-3), who will be shorthanded on their trip to Wright State (4-6). Yancy Gates, Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis are all suspended six games for their roles in Saturday's brawl at Xavier while Ge'Lawn Guyn sits one game, meaning that even with the Raiders having lost five of their last seven they've got every chance to defend their home floor successfully. So who steps up for the Bearcats?

It's finals week for many of the nation's colleges, which means a lighter schedule with regards to both quantity and quality. But there is a good matchup to keep an eye on Tuesday night as Belmont (6-2), winners of six straight, visits Middle Tennessee (9-2) in their second meeting of the season. Rick Byrd's Bruins haven't lost since opening the season with games at Duke and Memphis, and with a rotation that goes ten deep they're a tough team to defend.

The lone matchup between ranked teams on Saturday has a rather prominent question that needs to be answered: will Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger (back spasms) be able to play? The sophomore sat out the Buckeyes' win over Texas-Pan American due to the issue, which flared up in #2 Ohio State's (8-0) win over Duke, and it hasn't been decided whether or not he'll go at #13 Kansas (6-2) on Saturday afternoon. If he can't go Boston College transfer Evan Ravenel (5.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) moves into the starting lineup, and he accounted for 11 points and seven rebounds against UTPA.

The schedule for Thursday is light in terms of the number of games, but there's an excellent matchup between ranked teams in Storrs to keep an eye on. #9 Connecticut (7-1) hosts #24 Harvard (8-0) with Tommy Amaker's team looking to remain undefeated and retain the program's first Top 25 ranking in school history for another week. An interesting fact regarding this contest is that they could have played in the Battle 4 Atlantis over the Thanksgiving holiday, but UConn's loss to UCF prevented that and Harvard went on to win the tournament.

Another day brings about another opportunity for a Pac-12 team to strike a blow for the conference, with Arizona (6-2) traveling across the country to take on #12 Florida (5-2). Sean Miller's team left an important piece of "cargo" back in Tucson as well, as freshman guard Josiah Turner was suspended for reportedly missing practice.

Tuesday night features one of the most important events in college basketball: the Jimmy V Classic from Madison Square Garden. While the doubleheader constantly provided high-quality non-conference match ups, the night held in honor of the late Jim Valvano is also big in regards to fundraising for cancer research. The second game of this year's slate matches two teams with recent NCAA Tournament (2010) history in Washington (4-2) and #11 Marquette (7-0), with the Huskies winning that contest in the final seconds.

Frank Martin's Kansas State (4-0) may be undefeated on the young season, but it can definitely be argued that this group hasn't been tested. That all changes this evening as the Wildcats play their first true road game of the season, visiting Virginia Tech (5-2) in a game that could have long-term effects on both teams when looking ahead to Selection Sunday.

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.