fernandejackson: The best upcoming college hoops games

Updated:?January 11, 2013,?5:04 pm?ET

by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

With the college football season out of the way, college basketball is now in the main spotlight. This weekend?s matchups feature several premier conference clashes, including Duke against preseason ACC favorite North Carolina State and a road test for Michigan against Ohio State.

The No. 1 Blue Devils and No.2 Wolverines are the country?s only undefeated teams remaining. Will they go down this weekend? Here?s a look at the slate of upcoming games:

No. 22 Georgetown at St. John?s | Saturday, 11 a.m., ESPN2

About the Hoyas (10-3): Georgetown hasn?t gotten off to a dazzling start in Big East Conference action after finishing its non-conference season with one loss ? to Indiana in overtime. The Hoyas lost by one point to Marquette in its league opener and then got clobbered by Pittsburgh 73-45 on its home court earlier this week. Otto Porter (12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds per game) has been the team?s go-to playmaker, while Greg Whittington (12.1 points, 7 rebounds) and Markel Starks (11.2 points) are steady producers. The team?s size is tough to match up against with 6-8 Nate Lubick and Mikael Hopkins.

About the Red Storm (9-6): St. John?s started Big East play with an overtime loss to Villanova but responded with an upset win against Cincinnati, only to lose by two to Rutgers this week. Overall, St. John?s has been hot and cold. Losses to San Francisco and UNC-Asheville have been head scratchers while the Cincinnati win showed the team?s capability. Sophomore guard D?Angelo Harrison (21.5 points a game) is an under-the-radar player everyone should know. He scored 36 points against Villanova. Freshman big man Jakarr Sampson (13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds) has been a pleasant surprise.

The matchup: Both teams are coming off losses looking for bounce-back wins. And both teams rely heavily on underclassmen, but Georgetown wins the experience battle, which often proves to be the difference down the stretch in Big East games. If St John?s can handle Georgetown?s size and win the boards as it did to beat Cincinnati, this could be a close game.

Our pick: Georgetown

No. 1 Duke at No. 21 N.C. ? [For more on Top 5: The best upcoming college hoops games, click here.]