With just a week remaining in the Big East regular season, New England rivals conclude their traditional home-and-home series as Providence welcomes UConn to Rhode Island’s capital city for a Saturday showdown. The Huskies (19-9, 11-6 Big East) enter the 82nd all-time meeting between these programs on a five-game winning streak in the series. They are coming off a 93-79 victory over Georgetown on Wednesday, which saw standout performances from Tarris Reed Jr. and Solo Ball, who each scored 20 points. UConn head coach Dan Hurley believes Reed’s performance could be a turning point for the big man. The Huskies’ offense has been efficient, shooting 55.9% from the field in their last outing. One of their only better performances this

No. 22 Arizona is preparing for a hostile environment when it faces No. 9 Iowa State in a crucial Big 12 Conference clash Saturday night in Ames, Iowa. Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd acknowledges the challenge ahead, embracing the adversity his team will face on the road. Arizona (19-9, 13-4 Big 12) is coming off an 83-66 victory over Utah and is looking to hold onto second place in the conference standings. With a tough stretch ahead, Lloyd believes these battles will prepare his squad for postseason play. The Wildcats are led by Caleb Love, who averages 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Jaden Bradley (11.4 ppg) and KJ Lewis (10.4 ppg) provide additional scoring support. Iowa State

At 8:00 ET, the Sacramento Kings will travel to Houston to take on the Rockets. The Rockets are favored by 4.5 points and have a record of 37-22, which is good for 5th in the Western Conference. The Kings, who are 10th in the West, have won two straight and are 30-28 on the season. This game will be played at the Toyota Center and can be seen on NBCS. The over/under line for this Western Conference matchup is 228.5. The Kings improved to 30-28 on the season with a 118-101 road win over the Jazz on Wednesday. Sacramento, favored by 9.5 points, covered the spread, while the game’s total of 219 points fell short of the 236.5 O/U line.

No. 4 Houston is surging toward March Madness, having won 20 of its last 21 games to re-establish itself as a national title contender. With a victory over Cincinnati on Saturday, the Cougars (24-4, 16-1 Big 12) can clinch their second straight outright conference regular-season title and further solidify their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their latest statement win came on Monday night, when they avenged their only Big 12 loss by defeating No. 10 Texas Tech 69-61 on the road. Milos Uzan led the way with a career-high 22 points, while Houston’s elite defense stifled Texas Tech, holding them to 29.8 percent shooting and just 6-of-30 from three-point range (20 percent). Houston head coach