Thanksgiving is a great time to be a college basketball fan with all the holiday tournaments and marquee matchups.
The feast of high-level hoops doesn’t end there.
This week will feature another trove of must-see games, including 10 between AP Top 25 opponents. No. 4 Duke, No. 6 Louisville and No. 18 Kentucky double up on tough games, each playing two ranked opponents within days of each other.
The Blue Devils (8-0) tip it off Tuesday against reigning national champion and No. 15 Florida, then head to East Lansing to face No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday.
Duke and star freshman Cam Boozer have passed three big tests already, beating Texas, No. 21 Kansas at Madison Square Garden and No. 25 Arkansas in Chicago.
Florida (5-2) has in-state wins over Miami and Florida State, but slipped up against TCU last week.
Michigan State (7-0) has rolled through a difficult schedule, beating Arkansas, Kentucky and No. 16 North Carolina with the usual hard-nosed brand of basketball coach Tom Izzo loves. On Tuesday, the Spartans first have to play Iowa, a team that’s undefeated (7-0) and on the cusp of being ranked.
Louisville (7-0) has backed up its first NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons with a stellar start in its second season under coach Pat Kelsey. Led by Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell and stellar freshman Mikel Brown Jr., the Cardinals score in a hurry, eclipsing 100 points in four games already — most since 1989-90.
Louisville beat rival Kentucky last month and faces two stiff tests at No. 25 Arkansas on Wednesday and against No. 22 Indiana in Indianapolis on Saturday.
John Calipari’s Razorbacks took Michigan State down to the wire in early December and are coming off an 80-71 loss to Duke in Chicago.
The Hoosiers aren’t yet ranked, but are off to a 7-0 start in their first season under former West Virginia coach Darian DeVries and his sharpshooting son, Tucker.
Kentucky (5-2) has yet to find a groove as injuries and turnovers have piled up. The Wildcats have won their games against smaller-conference schools by an average of 41.4 points per game, but were no match for Michigan State and lost to Louisville.
Kentucky opens its tough week Tuesday at home against No. 16 North Carolina and fantastic freshman Caleb Wilson, who’s often been the best player on the floor in every game.
The Wildcats don’t have much time to prepare for another difficult matchup on Friday, facing No. 11 Gonzaga in Nashville. The Zags blew through their first seven games before having the tables turned in a 101-61 loss to No. 3 Michigan.
