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Top college basketball games this week: Start time, TV schedule & live stream | Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2024

The week ending January and opening of February is heavy on big-time college basketball matchups, including Duke/UNC, Tennessee/Kentucky and Houston/Kansas. While the week will climax on Saturday, with the games listed above, the rest of the week will not lack drama or compelling games.

Here's a handful of the most exciting games, along with where you can find them.

Top College Basketball games this week

No. 12 Duke vs. Virginia Tech (1/29, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sling/Fubo)

The Blue Devils (15-4, 6-2), having escaped a home upset to Clemson on a questionable late call, now travel to Tech (13-7, 5-4) as a mere 3.5-point favorite. Tech is on a three-game winning streak and this could get wild.

South Carolina at No. 5 Tennessee (1/30, 6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network, Sling/Fubo)

South Carolina coach Lamont Paris will seek an upset win in Knoxville on Tuesday.
South Carolina coach Lamont Paris will seek an upset win in Knoxville on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, South Carolina (17-3, 5-2) is only a half-game behind Tennessee (15-4, 5-1) in the Southeastern Conference race. Both teams are tough defensively, and if Carolina can find some offense, this could go to the wire.

Northwestern at No. 2 Purdue (1/31, 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network, Sling/Fubo/CBS Sports)

The red-hot Northwestern Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) are coming off a thumping of Ohio State and a win over Illinois. The next test is a near-dominant Purdue squad (19-2, 8-2). Northwestern guard Boo Buie will need a big game to pull the upset.

No. 13 Wisconsin at Nebraska (2/1, 8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network, Sling/Fubo/CBS Sports)

Wisconsin (16-4, 8-1) holds a narrow lead in the Big Ten race but figures to be tested at Nebraska (15-6, 5-5). The Huskers are tough at home, where they took down Purdue in December.

No. 4 Houston at No. 7 Kansas (2/3, 4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sling/Fubo)

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson will take the nation's best-scoring defense to Kansas on Saturday.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson will take the nation's best-scoring defense to Kansas on Saturday.

Two top teams collide. The Houston Cougars (18-2, 5-2) have been hotter, but Kansas (16-4, 4-3) is always tough at what is certain to be a rocking Allen Fieldhouse. On the other hand, Houston leads the nation in scoring defense, holding foes to 51.9 points per game.

No. 12 Duke at No. 3 North Carolina (2/3, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sling/Fubo)

ESPN's next game on Saturday is no slouch, either. With two programs famous for not liking each other, it figures to be a wild game for Duke (15-4, 6-2) and UNC (17-3, 9-0). Duke has won the last two games in the series, but UNC will be tough to beat for the third consecutive time, particularly when a UNC win would almost guarantee a regular season ACC title.

No. 5 Tennessee at No. 6 Kentucky (2/3, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sling/Fubo)

And our third big game of Saturday will be ESPN's finale for the evening. Tennessee (15-4, 5-1) is a half-game behind surprising SEC leader Alabama, while Kentucky (15-4, 5-2) has been slightly more inconsistent. Kentucky has won the last two in the series and the last two in Lexington, but Dalton Knecht should make this very interesting.

No. 2 Purdue at No. 13 Wisconsin (2/4, 1:00 p.m ET, CBS, CBS Sports)

The two teams perched atop the Big Ten will face off Sunday in a game that will make one a clear favorite in the league. Purdue (19-2, 8-2) starts the week a half-game behind the Wisconsin Badgers (16-4, 8-1), but the Boilermakers hold an 84-42 all-time edge in the series. A year ago, Purdue won by two points in Wisconsin. This one could be just as close.

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