College basketball Saturday features possible Final Four preview

The college basketball regular season is nearing its end. Which means the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. Arguably the greatest process to crown a champion will start with 68 teams and eventually that number will get reduced down to one.

Every level of the Tournament offers different levels and pending excitement. Lopsided upsets in rounds one and two. The Sweet Sixteen followed by the Elite Eight. One of the bigger stages before we arrive at a National Championship game is the Final Four.

From now until Selection Sunday, there will be shows and debates trying to project what teams will win their region and lock up a spot in the Final Four. While this doesn’t happen often, fans don’t have to wait until April 4.

This Saturday, February 21, will produce a premature but literal Final Four for fans to view before the Tournament field is announced. Most seasons offer the ability to watch the top four teams, but rarely are they all playing each other this close to the tournament.

The Arizona Wildcats who held the No. 1 spot for much of the season will face off against Houston. Creating a No. 2 vs No. 4 matchup. The winner of which should have an advantage heading into the Big 12 conference tournament that starts on March 10.

In the second game of the top four ranked teams is Michigan vs Duke. Both of these teams control their conference destiny. No. 1 Michigan taking on No. 3 Duke could prove significantly important for seeding purposes. Michigan has an easier final stretch as Duke still has Virginia left on their schedule. Virginia is a mere 1.5 games behind Duke in the ACC standings with five games left.

Michigan simply needs to win out to maximize the conference and NCAA tournament seeding advantage. Houston needs to find a way to beat No. 4 Arizona and No. 8 Kansas before an easier final three games against unranked Colorado, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Duke is in a good position, but a win over No. 1 Michigan would be huge. Setting up two very important games. The No. 14 Virginia Cavaliers and the final game of the season against rival No. 16 North Carolina.

No. 4 Arizona most likely has the most to prove. Two recent losses have taken them out of first place. Arizona has a fight ahead of them if they hope to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

No. 4 Arizona at No. 2 Houston tips off at 3:00pm ET and will broadcast on ABC.

No. 1 Michigan at No. 3 Duke tips off at 6:30pm ET and will broadcast on ESPN.  

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