Twelve college hoops game to watch before March Madness

Well, the best Super Bowl ever is over and we're on the heels of the biggest rivalry in college basketball, North Carolina vs. Duke, on tap Thursday night in Durham. Seems like a great time to reset and look at the twelve games you must see before we get to the conference tournaments and Selection Sunday.

February 9 - Oregon at UCLA
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, ESPN

North Carolina vs. Duke isn't the only game happening that night. The Ducks and Bruins face off in what could be the biggest game in the Pac-12. Oregon is tied with Arizona for the conference lead and just destroyed the rival Wildcats last weekend. After this UCLA game, the Ducks won't have to face the other two Pac-12 powers again during the regular season and would have a leg up in the conference with a win. UCLA needs a win to stay in the race.

February 11 - Gonzaga at St. Mary's
8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT, ESPN

Most feel if Gonzaga's perfect regular season doesn't come to fruition, it will be because of this game. St. Mary's is really good and even though the Zags demolished the Gaels in their first meeting, this one is in cozy McKeon Pavilion and the crowd should be rocking.

February 12 - Cincinnati at SMU
4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, ESPN

This one doesn't look like it belongs on this list, but Cincinnati is having an amazing season. They are currently undefeated in American Athletic play and are surging in the rankings. SMU is sitting just behind them – their lone loss was to the Bearcats in Cincy. That game, a 66-64 nail-biter, saw SMU make a furious comeback that just fell short. This rematch will be in Dallas with the winner having the inside track to a AAC crown. A Cincinnati win would most likely vault them into the top ten, the top seed in the AAC tournament and could net a solid seed in the NCAA Tournament.

February 13 - West Virginia at Kansas
9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, ESPN

Kansas has lost once since their opener against Indiana – a blowout loss in Morgantown against the Mountaineers. The Jayhawks would love to enact revenge at Allen Fieldhouse. They'll be coming off a quick turnaround after visiting Texas Tech with a game at Baylor looming on the horizon.

February 18 - Kansas at Baylor
1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, CBS

Last week, Kansas won the spirited first meeting between the two at home. This time, the game is in Waco and on broadcast television. If Baylor wants to end Kansas' twelve year run of Big 12 regular season titles, this game is a must-watch. Baylor is 0-2 against the other two conference heavyweights thus far. For the Jayhawks, this is a tough test. This is their third road game in four games and coming off their West Virginia tilt.

February 19 - Maryland at Wisconsin
1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, CBS

Don't look now, but the Terps and the Badgers are fighting for the top of the Big Ten standings. Wisconsin expected to be there after their tourney run last season but Maryland is a bit of a surprise. The Terps will be in the middle of a tough back-to-back road trip to Northwestern and Wisconsin so there may be some fatigue involved. Still, if the Terps want to win their Big Ten title, they'll have to go through Madison to do it.