College basketball went quiet over Christmas break as many players and coaches enjoyed a sliver of solitude in the season to recharge and regroup for the second semester. But the action is back in a big way this weekend starting with a loaded Saturday slate to whet the appetite. Of the 25 ranked teams, 17 play Saturday and two play Sunday. It’s a perfect spot to jump right back into the season headfirst.
The games themselves should be even better than they were before the 2025 calendar year ended, too, because for most conferences, Saturday marks the first official weekend when major conferences are facing conference foes. That means we get, among other matchups: Kentucky at Alabama, Purdue at Wisconsin, Duke at Florida State and Tennessee at Arkansas.
And that’s just a sample of the goodies on the menu.
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Kyle Boone
With so many great games, our staff has picks straight up and against the spread to help break them all down. Those picks are below.
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Kentucky at No. 14 Alabama
12 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try for free): Kentucky quietly closed out the 2025 calendar year with four-straight wins — including over St. John’s and Indiana — after a ghastly 5-4 start to its season. Things are looking up. But this is a tough test vs. an Alabama team that can match well with UK’s backcourt personnel and has the pace to set UK in a blaze. Close game. Bama wins, UK covers the number. Pick: Kentucky +5.5 — Kyle Boone
1:30 p.m. on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium: BYU has had 12 days off to enjoy Christmas break and sink its teeth into this matchup. If it wins, time off will be dubbed a good thing for rest and relaxation. If it loses, I’m sure the long layoff will be blamed by a few. Ultimately, this game will be decided by transition defense. Kansas State loves to push the pace in transition for quick buckets. BYU hasn’t been one to run away from a track meet, so it better build a wall against Haggerty and recover to the shooters.
But the worst unit in this game is easily Kansas State’s defense. Dybantsa has too many guys he can pick at to find mismatches. BYU’s offense is so good at finding the hot spots with Richie Saunders or Rob Wright, too. Even on the road, I think BYU has four of the best five players on the floor at all times. Kansas State can hang around because of the quick-strike transition scoring and Haggerty’s individual brilliance, but BYU has too many edges schematically, coaching-wise and talent-wise to ignore. Pick: Kansas State +7.5 — Trotter
No. 19 Tennessee at No. 18 Arkansas
3 p.m. on ESPN2, fuboTV (try for free): Arkansas has been perfect at home this season and welcomes Tennessee into Bud Walton in the SEC opener. I’m laying the points and taking the Razorbacks to remain perfect at home. Against Louisville in December this team took it up a notch defensively and smashed on the offensive glass. If they can do that against the Vols with Trevon Brazile and Malique Ewin stepping up, this is one Arkansas can take home. Pick: Arkansas -2.5 — Boone
No. 6 Duke at Florida State
3:45 p.m. on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium: Making a billion 3-pointers (in reality, like 22 treys) feels like Florida State’s only hope to spring this upset. Everything else screams Duke in this one. FSU is a poor defensive-rebounding team. Georgia, Florida and UNC all corralled 15+ offensive rebounds. Ngongba, Cameron Boozer and Maliq Brown should be licking their chops to go to war on the glass. Plus, the pivot to playing Cayden Boozer with Caleb Foster in a two-point guard look should pay dividends in this one. Florida State will pressure the basketball relentlessly. Having two point guards who can break that first wave of pressure should unlock a ton of advantages in this one.
I also do not think FSU has enough capable ball-handlers outside of McCray to consistently break down this Duke defense. Duke has been so good at grinding teams to a halt with its switches. If that happens, Florida State has to hope McCray goes nuclear because there’s not a ton of other true switch-beaters on this FSU roster. If it attacks the paint, does its thing on the glass, blankets the 3-point stripe, controls the tempo and moves the ball without panicking, Duke can run away with this one. Pick: Duke -15.5 — Isaac Trotter
No. 5 Purdue at Wisconsin
8 p.m. on Fox, fuboTV (try for free): Purdue is the better team and Purdue is my pick to win this one. But this is a lot of points to lay for a team on the road vs. a Wisconsin club that has been frisky and has the personnel to play up to its competition. I like the Badgers to cover this number. If Nolan Winter can keep Trey Kaufman-Renn in check this’ll be a close one. Pick: Wisconsin +6.5 — Boone
