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It’s the final Saturday of the men’s college basketball regular season and they saved the best slate for last.
Alongside ongoing small conference tournaments is a three-game showcase of hoops behemoths, featuring No. 14 Kansas at No. 1 Houston and No. 15 Kentucky at No. 4 Tennessee in the afternoon window before the most storied rivalry in the sport takes place with No. 7 North Carolina visiting No. 9 Duke.
As teams battle for higher seeds or try to work their way off the NCAA tournament bubble, the last few games could be critical. Follow along live as Yahoo Sports tracks all the action on a loaded college basketball Saturday.
The top-ranked Cougars are undefeated on their home court (16-0) and the Jayhawks are stumbling down the stretch. Kansas has lost two of its last three games, but did get off the schneid with a win over Kansas State on Tuesday. Led by the strong guard trio of Jamal Shead, L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp, Houston is likely playing for the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks are in the 3-4 seed range at this point but did deal the Cougars one of their three losses this season on Feb. 3 at The Phog.
With Wooden Award finalist Dalton Knecht averaging 20.7 points per game, the Vols have been one of the biggest surprises this season and have a chance to play their way onto the top seed line when the bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday. Rick Barnes’ group has won seven straight and has clinched the SEC regular season title. The Wildcats are in the midst of their own four-game winning streak after some late-season stumbles at home. The talent is definitely there for this Kentucky team to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils have identical 24-6 records ahead of their rivalry matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UNC came out on top in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 4 as Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram combined for 46 points and 23 rebounds in a 93-84 win. Duke has won eight of its last nine and would claim a share of the ACC regular season title with North Carolina if the Blue Devils win at home on Saturday. With five players averaging double figures, Duke is a well-balanced team that’s likely looking at a No. 2 seed.
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