Best College Basketball Games of Week 9

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Photo via: Associated Press

While there were some surprising upsets in Week 8 — looking at you, Kentucky, and Arkansas — there are bound to be some more good college basketball games in Week 9 now that teams will be returning to campus and starting conference play. If you want to see the matchups we thought would be good from Week 8, you can click here.

Week 9 College Basketball Games

  • Mississippi State vs Tennessee: Jan. 3, 7:00 ET
  • Kansas vs Texas Tech: Jan. 3, 9:00 ET
  • UConn vs Providence: Jan. 4, 8:30 ET
  • TCU vs Baylor: Jan. 4, 9:00 ET
  • Kansas vs West Virginia: Jan. 7, 6:00 ET
  • Arkansas vs Auburn: Jan. 7, 8:30 ET

How To Watch These College Basketball Games

Mississippi State vs Tennessee

  • When: Tuesday, January 3, 2023
  • Start Time: 7:00 PM ET
  • Location: Thompson-Boling Arena – Knoxville, Tennessee
  • How to watch: ESPN2

Mississippi State vs Tennessee Preview

MSU was undefeated until an inexplicable loss to Drake followed by a single-digit loss to Alabama. Those were the first two losses of the season by the Bulldogs and they are looking to avoid a third loss overall and a second consecutive conference loss. Tolu Smith will need to come up big and the offense will need to get humming or it could be a long game.

Tennessee’s only recent loss was to an excellent Arizona team. Since then, the Volunteers have beaten Austin Peay State and Ole Miss. They look to have their groove back and should get us into another rock fight. Both of these teams give up less than 55 points per game so whoever can reach that mark first is likely to win.

Kansas vs Texas Tech

  • When: Tuesday, January 3, 2023
  • Start Time: 9:00 PM ET
  • Location: United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, Texas
  • How to watch: ESPN2

Kansas vs Texas Tech Preview

The Jayhawks have gotten off to a great start this season with its lone loss coming against Tennessee. Otherwise, the Jayhawks have beaten the likes of Wisconsin, Indiana, and Duke. This will be their second Big 12 game of the season and the first away game in conference play. This game should give us an idea of how good they’ll be in the conference and if they can win it for the 17th time under coach Bill Self.

Texas Tech has had a pretty soft schedule coming into this game and has been beaten by the only decent high-major teams they’ve played (Creighton and Ohio State). The Red Raiders will be coming off a game against a tough TCU team heading into this one so playing at home should help them play well against the defending national champions.

UConn vs Providence

  • When: Wednesday, January 4, 2023
  • Start Time: 8:30 PM ET
  • Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion – Providence, Rhode Island
  • How to watch: FS1

UConn vs Providence Preview

The Huskies are still undefeated (as of this writing before their game against Xavier) and have been on an absolute tear. They’ve beaten Power 5 teams like Florida, Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State. The Huskies will continue to take everyone’s best shot, especially as they navigate Big East play.

Providence has already played quite a few close games and should show composure if the game comes down to the last couple of minutes. The Friars beat Marquette in double overtime, lost a close one to St. Louis, and squeezed out a victory against Seton Hall. Expect some magic from Providence and perhaps a scare for UConn.

TCU vs Baylor

  • When: Wednesday, January 4, 2023
  • Start Time: 9:00 PM ET
  • Location: Ferrell Center – Waco, Texas
  • How to watch: ESPN2

TCU vs Baylor Preview

The Horned Frogs only have one inexplicable loss to Northwestern State but have otherwise beaten Iowa and Utah among the Power 5 schools. The Horned Frogs start out Big 12 play with Texas Tech and then have to face Baylor. If they can survive that first test, they should be riding into this game feeling pretty confident.

Baylor has already beaten UCLA and Gonzaga this year. Now the Bears look to get Big 12 play started off on the right foot. These two teams are almost identical in how many points they score and how many assists they dish out. This game should come down to who rebounds the ball better and who can defend at the rim better.

Kansas vs West Virginia

  • When: Saturday, January 7, 2023
  • Start Time: 6:00 PM ET
  • Location: WVU Coliseum – Morgantown, West Virginia
  • How to watch: ESPN/Big 12 Network

Kansas vs West Virginia Preview

The Jayhawks will have to survive the gauntlet of Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to start its Big 12 slate. But West Virginia isn’t a slouch either. This is one of the higher-scoring teams Bob Huggins has had in Morgantown as they rack up about 81 points a game. They also shoot just over 49% from the floor and 38.3% from beyond the arc.

Kansas scores almost 80 points a game as well and has different scoring threats all over the floor. They have a lethal shooter in Gradey Dick as well as great backcourt options in Dejuan Harris, Bobby Pettiford, and Joseph Yesufu. Jalen Wilson is the potential Big 12 Player of the Year and it never hurts having that guy on your team heading into a hostile environment.

Arkansas vs Auburn

  • When: Saturday, January 7, 2023
  • Start Time: 8:30 PM ET
  • Location: Neville Arena – Auburn, Alabama
  • How to watch: SEC Network

Arkansas vs Auburn Preview

The Razorbacks head into this game with a loss to LSU in its SEC opener. Auburn has already eked by Florida at home and will hope to do a little more than that against the Razorbacks. The Tigers have beaten Washington as well but struggled against USC and Memphis in losses.

Arkansas has a dynamic backcourt in Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr. If those two can be limited at all, Auburn stands a good chance of stealing a win. However, Arkansas still has a couple of other weapons in Jordan Walsh, Ricky Council IV, Davonte Davis, and Makhi Mitchell. Auburn’s guard play will have to be solid in this game to win.

Which college basketball games are you looking forward to most this week?

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