College Basketball action heats up this weekend with one of the most exciting schedule of games to take the floor all season. There are a ton of quality games that will be taking center stage including 5 different games hosting battles between top 25 opponents. Not only is the majority of these games huge conference match-ups, but there are a few big out of conference games to determine national supremacy. Take a look at all the exciting games that will take place this weekend along with the big implications these games will make upon the country.

No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (16-0) at No. 20 Louisville Cardinals (12-3)

The Panthers have yet to be challenged this season and own some quality wins with a dominating performance over Georgetown. Pittsburgh host one of the most talented young phenoms in America with sophomore DeJuan Blair. Blair ranks 2nd in the nation in rebounding with an impressive 13 boards per game while supporting 15 points per contest as well. Louisville on the other hand had a rocky start in some upset losses to UNLV and Western Kentucky. However, the Cardinals showed their strength with back to back wins over top 20 teams Villanova and Notre Dame. Louisville may be just now starting to play at the level they were expected to considering they were preseason ranked #3 in the land. The battle of the Big East is underway and both teams are among only 3 undefeated teams in conference play. Something will have to give as both are currently playing their best basketball of the season.

No. 3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (15-0) at No. 9 Clemson Tigers (16-0)

Talk about a huge game. They do not get much bigger half-way through the season when you get two undefeated ACC teams taking battle to remain unbeaten. Wake Forest proved to everyone that they were national contenders taking down North Carolina 92-89. Wake Forest is the only team in the country that ranks in the top 5 in efficiency in both offense and defense. Clemson is the surprise team in the conference with an undefeated campaign of 16-0. The Tigers have narrowly escaped some close games and this will be their biggest game to date. Despite being undefeated, they are still a bunch of the media that is not giving the Tigers any credit and they will get a chance to prove to everyone that they are an elite team. Clemson will have to find away to stop one of the best guards in America in sophomore Jeff Teague. Teague is averaging a stout 21 points per game and 31 points in his last 3 outings. The Tigers must be able to contain Teague to pull of the upsets because he is one of the best pure shooters in the country.

No. 12 Georgetown Hoyas (12-3) at No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (15-1)

Cameron Indoor Stadium host a clash of college basketball powerhouses in the best out of conference game for the weekend. Georgetown represents the strength of the Big East while Duke looks to prove the ACC is still the superior conference. The Blue Devils have been playing excellent on both ends of the floor averaging a 9th best 81 points per game and a equally strong defensive scheme that has held opponents to a mere 60 points per contest. Junior Gerald Henderson is developing into the break out star the Blue Devils have been looking for. Kyle Singler leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game and both will need to play strong on Saturday. Georgetown is 2-1 this season against the top ten with convincing wins over no. 8 Syracuse and no. 2 Connecticut by double figures in both games. The Hoyas have 4 starters averaging at least 13 points and a very talented young freshman Greg Monroe. The Hoyas will attempt to take advantage of a Duke Basketball team that has stumbled in similar out of conference situations in previous years.

No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils (14-3) at No. 7 UCLA Bruins (14-2)

Outside from California, this game most likely decides who will be the front runner in the Pac-10 this year. The Sun Devils have already stumbled twice in conference play, but have a great opportunity to gain some ground with a win over UCLA. The Bruins are shooting lights out from the floor averaging 50% for the year ranking as the 9th best shooting team in the country. Senior Darren Collison leads the team with 15.7 points per game while shooting 57% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc. Arizona State got trampled by So. Cal on Thursday 61-49 and will look to bounce back in a big way. The Sun Devils are actually the 2nd best shooting team in America averaging 51.2% from the floor lead by guar James Harden who is posting a strong 23 points per game. However, the problem comes through the rebounding category. The Sun Devils are among one of the worse rebounding teams in America averaging 31 boards per game. Fortunately for Arizona State, UCLA has not faired well against the glass either this season. The game will likely be a hard fought game between both teams considering both are battling for Pac-10 bragging rights.

No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-4) at No. 8 Syracuse Orange (16-2)

Another big game in the Big East? Well that is easy to do when you have so many quality teams. However I think both of these teams may be a bit over ranked, but still promises to be a great game. Notre Dame got blown away by Louisville last time out 87-63 dropping the 2nd loss in 10 days. Syracuse also got handled rather easily as the Georgetown Hoyas routed to an 88-74 victory. Syracuse sports 4 junior starters in a balanced line-up. All five starters are averaging at least 10 points or more with sophomore guard Jonny Flynn leading the team with 16 points per game. Notre Dame already has a few impressive victories on their resume this season with wins over Texas and Georgetown. The Fighting Irish sport one of the best scoring offenses in the nation lead by possibly the best player in the nation junior forward Luke Harangody. Harangody is the only player in America that ranks in the top 5 individually in both points and rebounds. The talented junior has posted 24.8 points along with 12.7 boards per game and his play will be a determining match-up in this battle among talented Big East opponents.

Despite the high attention these previous games will get there are a bunch more exciting match-ups this Saturday. Keep an eye on these games as well.

No. 14 Marquette at Providence, Illinois at No. 12 Michigan State, and Oklahoma State at No. 21 Baylor

The ACC has been the elite conference in college basketball for numerous years. The ACC holds two teams ranked in the top 5 in all-time NCAA wins. The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tarheels are amongst the most winning programs in NCAA history and they still hold strong a top the ACC today. These two programs along with the supporting cast of teams like Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and others have made this the greatest conference in college basketball for many years. Today the ACC Empire still stands, but there is a new empire being built on the horizon.

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The Big East has become perhaps the most difficult conference in all of college basketball. In today’s rankings, the Big East is proud to represent 7 teams in the Top 25 rankings according to the Associated Press Polls. They can easily make their case for having the best conference top to bottom in the nation. Also, the Big East has 4 teams ranked in the top 11 teams in America. #2 Connecticut, #3 Pittsburgh, #7 Notre Dame, and # 11 Louisville make up the front runners for the Big East and believe me nobody wants to have these teams on their schedule. The talent and success level in the Big East has been steadily rising every year and now is at a point to be considered America’s best college basketball conference. However, the ACC is not ready to hand over the crown.

#1 North Carolina leads the ACC and their dominance has caught attention early in the season. The Tarheels are clearly the early favorite for winning the National Championship. North Carolina handled one of the better Big East teams in Notre Dame defeating the Fighting Irish by 15 points in a one sided affair. The ACC sports 4 teams in the Top 25 lead by #1 North Carolina and #4 Duke. Meaning the Big East and ACC represent the top 4 teams in college basketball today. The ACC has the history of National Titles and legendary success on their side, but do they hold the advantage for the future?

The best conference debate is clearly a two horse race between the ACC and the Big East. Together the two conferences nearly account for half of the Top 25 teams in America. While some may be hesitant to claim the Big East has overtaken the ACC, the Big East has the slight lead going 4-3 heads up with the ACC so far early in the season. Last season, North Carolina went further in the NCAA Tournament than any other school from the two conferences. However, the Big East had three teams to make the sweet sixteen compared to just one for the ACC. The year before in 2007 again only one ACC team made the sweet sixteen (North Carolina) while two Big East teams made the sweet sixteen with Georgetown going to the final four. Last year, the Big East put twice as many schools in the NCAA Tournament compared to the ACC with 8 teams making the dance.

History shows that the ACC has 10 National Championships to their resume. While many do not consider the Big East with the legacy equal to that of the ACC, the Big East also holds 10 National Championships to their resume. Surprising? That’s right both conferences have the exact same numbers of National Titles. However, since 1990 the ACC has won 6 Championships compared to only two from the Big East. Perhaps this may answer why so many people are quick to rank the ACC ahead of the Big East. The Dukes and North Carolinas over the years have been the most consistent powerhouses in college basketball and that is why the ACC could still hold the slight edge.

The Big East is emerging more and more every season. The conference has nearly reached the point of no return. They are so close to winning a couple National Championships and declaring their status as the best in college basketball. Only time will tell if they will be able to elevate their conference status and one of their elite teams score a Championship. For now, the season goes on with both conferences raising the bar for talent level and success.

The ACC remains a top the polls with the very talented North Carolina Tarheels while their #4 Duke Blue Devils suffered their first loss and will drop in the rankings. The Big East eagerly awaits the Tarheels to slip up, and allow their two teams to become #1 and #2 in the NCAA. The season has just begun, but the excitement is building for March madness already. Will a school from the ACC or the Big East be able to make a deep run in the postseason? Will the ACC be able to achieve more success in the NCAA Tournament this season or will the Big East keep striving? No matter how you rate either conference’s history or status, you must pay attention to the war between the ACC and the Big East to be considered the best in college basketball.

The 10^th annual college basketball ACC/Big 10 challenge is now underway. The ACC has dominated this affair winning the last 9 challenges in the series. The last two years in the challenge the ACC has won 8 of the 11 events. The ACC will be favored again to win the challenge this year, but there will be a number of interesting match-ups to watch. Also find out which games our experts like the Big 10 to be a factor in.

Last night in the first game for the ACC/Big 10 challenge, the #22 Wisconsin Badgers edged out the Virginia Tech Hokies 74-72. The Badgers win gets the Big 10 rolling in the right direction to try and finally win the challenge. Junior guard Trevon Hughes hit a game winning shot with just under 2 seconds in the game to seal the deal for the Wisconsin victory. The win marks the first of many exciting games to come.

The Challenge will hit full swing tonight as a slate of teams will take the floor. Highlighting the night will be the #5 Duke Blue Devils and #10 Purdue Boilermakers. (9EST) The Boilermakers have perhaps the best team in the Big 10 right now and they will try to pull off what would be a big win. Duke has been rolling fairly well this season winning 6 of their 7 games by 15 points or more. Purdue has already suffered one loss to #13 Oklahoma this season and definitely does not want to lose two games this early in the season.

Tuesday, 12/02 Games:

Clemson at Illinois 7:30PM ET – A pair of undefeated teams plays tonight in Clemson Tigers and Illinois Fighting Illini. Both teams considered middle of the road will square off with one team getting their first loss of the season. Clemson is the favorite for the game and considered the better all around team. Illinois has struggled with field goal % and 3 point shooting in some under rated games. Look for the ACC to roll in this one unless the Illini can pull of the upset.

Ohio State at Miami 7:00PM ET – This game will be a classic for size against speed in college basketball. Miami has some lethal guards led by Jack McClinton scoring 15 points per game. Ohio State has a really big team and will look to control the inside. Once again the ACC team in considered the favorite while the Big 10 will be looking to surprise.

Iowa at Boston College 7:00PM ET – The Boston College Eagles have won their last 3 games in the ACC/Big 10 challenge and look to make it four in a row. Their contest with the Iowa Hawkeyes showcases two very similar teams. These two teams may not have the ability to make a run at conference championships, but both teams do have the ability to pull of some big wins this season. Both teams shoot the ball well, but who will be able to pull out the win?

Virginia at Minnesota 8:30PM ET – The Cavaliers are one of bottom dwellers in the ACC while Minnesota is standing at a season record of 6-0. Minnesota is considered the favorite to win the game and improve the undefeated mark. Golden Gophers guard Lawrence Westbrook is an extremely gifted player that leads a strong offensive front for Minnesota. Watch and see if Minnesota can score a much needed win for the Big 10.

Wednesday, 12/03 Games:

Indiana at Wake Forest 7:00PM ET – Wake Forest should have a big advantage in this game giving their extremely talented team. Wake is one of the best teams in the ACC this season while Indiana is expected to struggle in the Big 10. Indiana is 3-2 this season with two of those wins coming against Division II opponents. The Demon Deacons on the other hand are a perfect 5-0 led by sophomore guard Jeff Teague averaging 22 points per game. Hopefully the Hoosiers can keep this game close.

Michigan at Maryland 7:30PM ET – Both teams have one loss this season and this contest looks to be an exciting one. Michigan upset #4 UCLA early this season while Maryland had an upset of their own knocking off #6 Michigan State rather convincingly. Michigan may have the slight advantage with their excellent back court in guard Manny Harris (23ppg). Watch for this game to go right down to the wire.

Florida State at Northwestern 9:30PM ET – The Noles are undefeated at 7-0 mark while Northwestern is 3-1. Florida State will be the favorite for the ACC to win yet another game, but I believe Northwestern could be primed for the upset. The Wildcats are on of the top field goal percentage teams in the country and I believe their slow pace style they sometimes find themselves playing present some problems for FSU. Interesting contest between two teams considered not so good in their conferences.

Penn State at Georgia Tech 7:30PM ET – Georgia Tech has been struggling against some pretty week teams despite their 4-0 record. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 on the season and love to shoot the ball from the 3-point range. Georgia Tech should be able to over power the Penn State defense scoring down low while controlling the boards. Advantage Georgia Tech

#1 North Carolina at #12 Michigan State 9:00PM ET – The #1 ranked Tarheels will take the court against #12 Michigan State in perhaps the most anticipated game in the tournament. North Carolina averages a 2^nd best 96 points per game and are in the top 20 in nearly every offensive category led by 2008 Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Michigan State forward Raymar Morgan is a force to be reckoned with averaging 17 points per game and 5 rebounds. The Spartans lone loss of the year came from another ACC opponent the Maryland Terrapins. Michigan State will look to even the score against the ACC in the last game of the Challenge.