HBCU Legacy Classic highlights weekend of epic college hoops

The GIST: February’s officially hoops hygge season, and this weekend is bringing it. Our favorite SNL monologuer Michael B. Jordan’s HBCU Legacy Classic is on tap, along with epic women’s showdowns and six Top 25 men’s matchups on Saturday alone. Couch potato mode: activated.

The women: The game of the weekend — in any sport, anywhere — goes down when No. 1 South Carolina heads to Hartford, CT, to take on No. 5 UConn. This rematch of last year’s natty has been on hoops fans’ calendars since preseason. Catch Aliyah vs. Aaliyah Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.

• Four hours later, No. 8 Maryland plays host to No. 10 Ohio State. Both teams have stumbled recently (see the Terps’ beatdown at the hands of No. 6 Iowa last night), but there’s still a lot of fight in these squads.

The men: Top-ranked Purdue’s been crushing the Big Ten, but tomorrow’s 4 p.m. ET game against the No. 21 Indiana Hoosiers has the Boilermakers a little hot under the collar. These bitter intrastate rivals always put on a show, and the Hoosiers would love to unseat Purdue on IU’s home court.

• Elsewhere, No. 2 Tennessee is desperate for a rebound after being blown out 67–54 by unranked Florida on Wednesday. If they show up angry to tomorrow’s 2 p.m. ET matchup with No. 25 Auburn, we can expect some excellent basketball.