College basketball weekend viewers’ guide

This is a big weekend in college basketball, filled with especially big games in the Big 12 and SEC. Here’s a look at 12 college basketball games to keep an eye on this weekend.

Saturday

West Virginia (13-4) at Texas Tech (14-4), noon, ESPN2: The cannibalistic nature of the Big 12 has been on full view, as only three of the league’s 10 teams are above .500 in league play; Texas Tech is one of the three, joining Kansas and Baylor. WVU has lost two in a row, being blown out at Kansas and losing by nine at home to Baylor. Texas Tech has won 14 in a row at home. The Red Raiders have allowed more than 62 points just once in their past eight games.

Kentucky (15-3) at Auburn (17-1), 1 p.m., CBS: The game of the day, and you can expect a beyond-raucous crowd at Auburn Arena. Auburn already can stake a legit claim to being the best team in the nation right now, and a victory over UK might be enough to ascend to the top spot in the polls. This is the only meeting of the regular season between the teams.

Florida State (12-5) at Miami (14-4), 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2: Just what everybody expected — FSU and Miami playing for the ACC lead in late January. UM currently has a one-game lead on the Seminoles and at least a 1.5-game lead on everyone else in the league. Also unexpected is that the leader in the ACC in late January is in the 60s in the NET rankings. Yikes.

Missouri State (14-6) at Loyola (14-2), 3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network: Loyola has won 10 in a row overall and is 5-0 in the Missouri Valley; the Ramblers already own a two-game lead in the league race, and Missouri State is one of the two teams tied for second. These are the only two teams in the MVC whose NET ranking is in the top 100. Loyola has won 30 in a row at home.

TCU (12-3) at Iowa State (14-4), 4 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU: We mentioned the “cannibalistic nature” of the Big 12 before, and after an incredibly hot (and surprising) start, Iowa State is 2-4 in league play and has lost three of its past four. TCU has a nice record but is just 1-2 vs. Quad 1 opponents. The Horned Frogs’ past three games have been decided by a combined five points (they’re 2-1 in that stretch). This is the start of a key three-game run for TCU, which has Texas and LSU next.

UAB (13-4) at Louisiana Tech (12-3), 4 p.m., Stadium: Louisiana Tech is the only unbeaten team in Conference USA play, but UAB is in the 40s in the NET rankings, about 40 spots higher than the Bulldogs. These are the two highest-scoring teams in the league. Plus, it’s a chance to watch Louisiana Tech big man Kenneth Lofton Jr., a 6-foot-7, 275-pounder who averages a double-double (16.9 points, 10.5 rebounds).

LSU (15-3) at Tennessee (12-5), 6 p.m., ESPN: Both are 3-3 in SEC play, and the loser of this one is in danger of falling out of contact with the league leaders. Despite losing two in a row, LSU remains in the top 10 in the NET rankings; the Vols are in the top 15, so this is a marquee victory regardless of who wins. The Tigers beat the Vols 79-67 in Baton Rouge on January 8.

North Carolina (12-5) at Wake Forest (15-4), 8 p.m., ACC Network: Second-year coach Steve Forbes has Wake Forest exceeding expectations. Oklahoma transfer Alondes Williams has been a revelation, averaging 20.3 points per game after averaging 6.7 with the Sooners last season. The Heels have zero top-50 wins and are coming off an embarrassing 28-point loss at Miami on Tuesday.

Texas A&M (15-3) at Arkansas (13-5), 8:30 p.m., SEC Network: The Aggies have been surprisingly good, while the Hogs have scuffled a bit. A&M gets after you defensively; coincidentally, the most points the Aggies have allowed is 81 in an 86-81 victory over the Hogs on January 8. While each has a good record and technically is in the hunt for the SEC regular-season title, they have one combined Quad 1 win between them (Arkansas’ victory over LSU last Saturday).

UCLA (12-2) at Colorado (12-5), 9 p.m., Pac-12 Network: The Buffs lost by three to USC on Thursday and now entertain the Bruins. Any hope of legitimately contending for the Pac-12 regular-season title requires the Buffs to start winning these types of games. The Bruins beat the Buffs by 12 on December 1. Colorado has zero Quad 1 wins.

Boise State (13-4) at San Diego State (10-3), 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network: The Mountain West is deep this season, and these are two of the three teams unbeaten in league play (Wyoming is the other). But Boise has zero Quad 1 wins, and this road game will be a good test as to whether the Broncos should be taken seriously as a league title contender.

Sunday

Xavier (14-3) at Marquette (13-6), 2 p.m., FS1: Marquette has been a pleasant surprise under new coach Shaka Smart, and the Golden Eagles have used a five-game winning streak to zoom into the top 35 of the NET rankings. The latest win was an impressive three-point victory at Villanova on Wednesday. The first win in the stretch was a 32-point evisceration of Providence, which is 14-2. Xavier, who beat Marquette by nine in Cincinnati on December 18, struggled past DePaul on Wednesday. Xavier big man Jack Nunge, an Iowa transfer, had his way on the boards against Marquette in the first matchup.