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

Earlier in the college basketball season I broke down how the ACC and the Big East stacked up against each other to be America’s best basketball conference. Notably pointing out how deep the Big East has become, and that soon they would be considered the best conference in the nation if they were not already. As the first quarter of the college basketball season has begun, the Big East has really proved the dominance among the college basketball ranks around the land. The Big East broke an NCAA record in early December when they put an amazing 8 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 Polls. Those schools proved that those rankings were not a one week wonder as well considering they have continued to have seven teams in the Top 25 through the start of 2009. Again this week when the Associated Press releases the Top 25 and the Big East has a chance to improve their own record.

The Big East entered last week with 7 teams ranked among the Top 25. Those teams were from the likes of #2 Connecticut, #3 Pittsburgh, #7 Notre Dame, #11 Georgetown, #13 Syracuse, #15 Villanova, and #18 Louisville. However, Marquette and West Virginia are the two next teams receiving the most votes to enter the top 25. Considering the past week it is very likely that 9 Big East schools will be ranked when the polls are released. #24 Ohio State dropped a loss to Minnesota this week that should knock them out the top 25. West Virginia trampled the Buckeyes a week ago by 28 points. The Mountaineers definitely deserve a top 25 ranking and they will get it. Marquette had a big win over Villanova to ring in the New Year and also a solid win over Cincinnati earlier today. #23 Michigan was defeated by unranked Wisconsin and could slide out of the top 25 as well placing Marquette into the mix. #21 Minnesota also dropped a game this week, but bounced back beating Ohio State. The Golden Gophers have only one loss on the season and I would expect them to stay among the best 25 in the nation.

Considering the rest of the 7 teams from the Big East that are ranked can stay, the Big East will most likely put 9 teams in the AP Top 25. Both #15 Villanova and #18 Louisville suffered losses this week. Louisville fell to UNLV and they will have to beat Kentucky today to try and stay in the mix. The Cardinals could be in jeopardy of dropping out of the top 25, but it may not be probable that they drop out from the #18 spot from a week ago. If everything works out the Big East will again show why they are the best conference from top to bottom with the opportunity to place 9 schools into the rankings.

Even if the Big East does not reach 9 teams, they still have another chance at making history by seasons end. The Big East has the chance to place 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament in March becoming the first ever conference to do so. The Big East already holds the record for sending the most teams to the NCAA Tournament sending eight teams. The Big East sent eight teams to the big dance in 2006 and again last season. This year the Big East will attempt to be the first conference to ever put a double digit amount of teams into the Tourney. Providence (10-4), St. Johns (10-4), and Cincinnati (10-3) all have a chance to join the other 9 teams that are among the nations top 25. If anyone of those 3 schools can survive conference play with a fairly good record, then they will the Big East a great opportunity to place 10 teams into the March Madness.

Despite the number of quality teams in the Big East, the conference would love claim a National Champion this year adding to their dominate performance. North Carolina has remained the top team in the nation this season in college basketball. However, the Big East has had two teams behind the Tarheels just waiting for to take the nations top rank. Connecticut suffered a tough defeat from Georgetown earlier and the week and Pittsburgh will jump to the #2 position in this weeks rankings. Pittsburgh has the early looks to be the only team in the nation that could challenge North Carolina. The Panthers are a prefect 14-0 and coming off a blowout over #8 Georgetown. Pittsburgh appears to be the class of the elite Big East and perhaps their tough schedule will prepare them for something special come Tournament time.

The Big East top teams will all have a chance to make deep season runs at the end of the year during the NCAA Tournament. The Big East has had 5 teams this season at one point or another receive a top 10 ranking. Those schools will go to war with each other all season. The premier competition will likely have them the best prepared conference in March if they are not worn out from the brutal conference play. Despite if they can pull off a National Championship, you must marvel and the depth and the quality of teams the conference produces. The Big East is incomparable among the best conferences in college basketball in terms of depth. There success this season is unparallel to start the year and we will have to see if it pays off at the end of the season.

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.