Men's College Basketball: Games to watch this week

The College Basketball season is heating up, there’s only a month left until the tournament, and conference play is in full swing as teams look to clinch automatic bids for the postseason.

Some of the top teams in the nation are taking the court next week, so let’s take a look at the five best college basketball games happening this week starting on Monday.

#8 Kansas vs. Kansas State

Where	Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
When	9:00 PM ET, Monday, February 5
How to watch	ESPN

The week starts with an in-state rivalry game between the Kansas Jayhawks against the Kansas State Wildcats. The game will be played in Manhattan, giving the Wildcats the home-court advantage.

That could be a crucial factor for Kansas State since the Jayhawks have taken a couple surprising losses lately. Prior to their game against Houston, Kansas had lost two of their last four games and their once-superior defense collapsed, particularly when it allowed unranked West Virginia to score 91 points.

Although Kansas has been slipping, Kansas State has been even worse, but their poor results have come against quality teams. The Wildcats had lost three in a row to Oklahoma, Houston and Iowa State, all ranked opponents, before three-point loss to unranked Oklahoma State.

This game will be huge for both teams, and since it's a rivalry game, you can expect an exciting matchup.

#22 BYU vs. #23 Oklahoma

Where	Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
When	8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 8
How to watch	ESPN+

Oklahoma has snuck into the top 25 and BYU is close to slipping out of the top 25. 

After a hot start to the season for the Cougars, they just can’t seem to beat a ranked team. 

In their last four matchups against ranked opponents, the Cougars lost to Houston, Texas Tech, and Baylor while beating Iowa State. 

If BYU wants to be taken seriously, it needs to make a statement against a ranked team like Oklahoma.

The Sooners have been very inconsistent, but perhaps the most concerning part is the fact that they are 1-4 against ranked opponents. They have been beating up on the bad teams, but the Sooners offense doesn’t seem to translate against quality opposition.

#15 Texas Tech vs. #18 Baylor

Where	Foster Pavilion, Waco, TX
When	9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 6
How to watch	ESPN

Tuesday night in college basketball wraps up with another in-state Big-12 rivalry as Texas Tech travels to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor. 

The Bears have been nearly perfect at home this season with an 11-1 record prior to their game against Iowa State on Friday. 

The only loss Baylor has suffered at home was an overtime defeat to #25 TCU. 

Regardless, Baylor has been fantastic, and this matchup is its second of four games in a row against ranked opponents. The Red Raiders are in the midst of their hardest stretch in their schedule.

In the last month, Texas Tech has played Houston, BYU, Oklahoma and TCU - all ranked teams. The Red Raiders are 2-2 in those games and have been competitive in almost all four of those games.

Although they don’t have the fastest offense, they have an excellent defense and that should keep them in the game against Baylor.

#25 TCU vs. #12 Iowa State

Where	James H. Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA
When	2:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 10
How to watch	ESPN

Saturday brings a huge slate in college basketball, with plenty of top 25 teams in action including #25 TCU against #12 Iowa State. 

TCU is playing its best basketball of the season right now as it had won three in a row before their loss to Texas on Saturday. 

Those three wins were important because they came against Texas Tech, Baylor, and Oklahoma State and the Horned Frogs are on a roll.

Similarly, Iowa State has been on fire. In January, the Cyclones beat Houston, TCU, and Kansas. Those are three big wins against ranked opponents, and a lot of their success can be pinpointed to their high-powered offense.

If the Cyclones can continue their hot shooting, they are going to be a hard team to beat.

Indiana vs. #2 Purdue

Where	Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
When	8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 10
How to watch	FOX

One of the best teams in all of college basketball takes the court on Saturday night with Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers are at home taking on Indiana.

Purdue’s dynamic offense has been a large reason for its success this season, and that helped them win 13 of their 14 games between the end of December and the beginning of February. 

The Purdue offense scored at least 87 points in four games in January, and that is a score not many teams can beat, especially with 7-foot-4 Edey roaming the paint on defense for the Boilermakers.

Indiana has been up and down this season. The Hoosiers have had some great wins and some close calls against some quality teams, like Kansas and Illinois, but their below-average offense has made it difficult to be elite.

Indiana has a fantastic defense, though, and if they can score 75 or more points - something it has only done a handful of times this season - it has a chance to knock off one of the best teams in college basketball.