#8 Baylor/#10 Kansas Headline Loaded Saturday Triple-Header

• #8 Baylor vs #10 Kansas- ESPN, 4pm EST/3pm CST
• #9 Duke vs North Carolina- ESPN, 6 pm EST/5 pm CST
• #5 Kentucky vs Alabama- ESPN, 8pm EST/7pm CST

Baylor vs Kansas: King of the Hill

Baylor and Kansas will have a showdown tomorrow in the Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The Bears are coming into this highly anticipated matchup in first place in the conference at 7-2. Kansas sits right behind them with a record of 7-1 in the Big 12. Scott Drew will come out firing on offense with his athletic roster. With that athleticism, the Bears hope to stop potential first-team All-American, Ochai Agabji. Baylor will have options defensively on how to slow him down.

Kansas, on the other hand, is looking to frustrate this elite Baylor defense by running in transition. Kansas plays at one of the most rapid paces in the country. Ochai Agabji is the number one option offensively for Bill Self. Who will have to step up? His name is David McCormack, the Jayhawks big man. McCormack is coming off of a 14 point, 14 rebound double-double in their win against Iowa State earlier this week. He has to be big down low for Kansas.

It’s a massive game to start an elite triple-header.

Duke vs North Carolina- The Best Rivalry in the Game

In the first meeting between these two schools on January 24th, 1920, North Carolina won 36-25. Fast-forward 102 years later, they will face each other for the 255th time on Saturday evening. The Tar Heels lead the overall series 141-114, sweeping the Blue Devils a season ago. Duke has freshman sensation Paolo Banchero who will probably get the matchup against Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek.

North Carolina will have to use their guard play to get Duke uncomfortable. Duke has the better interior, so the Tar Heels will have to beat Duke from the outside. That means Caleb Love and RJ Davis will have to take care of the ball. Armando Bacot will be a factor during this game. Just how well will Duke defend him?

Kentucky vs Alabama- A Chance for Alabama to Bounce Back

Alabama has been on the struggle bus as of late. Over the last month, the Crimson Tide has lost to Missouri and Georgia. They have also beaten LSU and Baylor. The consistency is not there for Nate Oats’ squad but Saturday is a chance for Alabama to prove to the country they can compete. Kentucky is playing at a national championship type of level, led by the play of WVU transfer Oscar Tsheibwe. The big man is averaging 16.1 PPG and 15.2 RPG.

Alabama has to get more production from guys outside of Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford. These two in the backcourt have given Alabama their best all season long for the most part. Kentucky will force other guys to beat them on Saturday, which will get guys to step up for Alabama.

The back-end of this triple-header will be a good one.

The blockbuster triple-header will start at 4 pm EST on Saturday on ESPN. These are three games that you do not want to miss if you are a die-hard basketball fan. Even if you aren’t, take some time to watch these matchups. If you aren’t tired of these three, Gonzaga/BYU will conclude the night on ESPN at 10 pm EST. A great seven hours of basketball just on ESPN.

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