Your College Basketball Saturday Viewing Guide: January 3, 2026

BASKETBALL SATURDAY IS IN FULL EFFECT HERE IN THE NEW YEAR!

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - MARCH 22: The Arkansas Razorbacks mascot on the floor during a second round game against the St. John's Red Storm in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 22, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Arkansas is the home team for the best national TV game of the day. | Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

HELLO AND WELCOME TO 2026!

It’s the first Saturday of the year, and since we’re past the majority of the college football playoffs/bowl games, there is A TON of college basketball on national television today! I’m counting 37 games in total, split 36 for the men and one for the women. The one women’s game on national TV? You better believe it’s UConn, as the top ranked Huskies are hosting Seton Hall.

13 of the men’s games have at least one ranked team involved. There’s just one game between two ranked opponents, and that’s #19 Tennessee visiting #18 Arkansas. I suppose that automatically makes that one your game of the day.

Still, there are nine other ranked teams on the road against an unranked foe here, so the chances for BLOOD SATURDAY~! are kind of high. The first game of the day might be the best chance for an upset, as #21 Virginia visits NC State. I also like Wisconsin’s chances at home against #5 Purdue, but that’s more “the Kohl Center is a bear to deal with” more than “actually, the Badgers are good.”

There are, of course, a bunch of games that are streaming only, so they’re not on the calendar below. #4 UCLA hosts #17 USC on Peacock is the top streaming women’s game of the day, while #17 Kansas visiting 11-1 UCF for the Big 12 opener for both teams is best streaming-only men’s game today.

Here’s your full schedule for the day, with all times Central as always. If you latch on to something great, sound off in the comments so everyone can tune in!

Time (CT)GameTelevision
10:00 AM#21 Virginia at NC StateESPN2
11:00 AMSeton Hall at #1 UConnFS1
Kentucky at #14 AlabamaESPN
VCU at DuquesneUSA Network
UTSA at TempleESPNU
Villanova at ButlerTNT
Providence at St. John’sFox
Virginia Tech at Wake ForestACC Network
Clemson at PittThe CW
Northeastern at CampbellCBS Sports Network
12:00 PMOklahoma State at #15 Texas TechESPN2
Auburn at #23 GeorgiaSEC Network
12:30 PM#10 BYU at Kansas StateCBS
1:00 PM#8 Houston at CincinnatiFox
#11 Vanderbilt at South CarolinaESPNU
La Salle at George WashingtonUSA Network
Dayton at Loyola ChicagoCBS Sports Network
Baylor at TCUTNT
Xavier at DePaulFS1
Boston College at Georgia TechACC Network
1:15 PM#12 North Carolina at SMUThe CW
2:00 PM#19 Tennessee at #18 ArkansasESPN2
2:30 PMOle Miss at OklahomaSEC Network
2:45 PM#6 Duke at Florida StateCBS
3:00 PMRhode Island at George MasonUSA Network
Oral Roberts at North Dakota StateCBS Sports Network
LSU at Texas A&MESPNU
4:00 PMColorado at Arizona StateESPN2
Minnesota at NorthwesternBig Ten Network
5:00 PMDavidson at Saint Joseph’sCBS Sports Network
Wichita State at CharlotteESPNU
Mississippi State at TexasSEC Network
6:00 PM#20 Illinois at Penn StateBig Ten Network
7:00 PM#5 Purdue at WisconsinFox
Wyoming at New MexicoCBS Sports Network
7:30 PM#22 Florida at MissouriSEC Network
9:00 PMBoise State at San Diego StateCBS Sports Network

Category: General Sports