Previewing Three of Saturday's Best College Basketball Matchups

Tomorrow's slate of games features numerous NBA prospects. Let's dive into three games to watch tomorrow and which prospects to monitor.

Jan 25, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) shoots the ball as Michigan State Spartans forward Coen Carr (55) defends during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It's an action-packed Saturday of college basketball tomorrow, filled with numerous top-25 teams and potential NBA prospects playing. Let's dive into three games to watch tomorrow and which prospects to monitor in those games.

Arizona @ Arizona State

Jan 27, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard KJ Lewis (5) celebrates a three pointer that was made during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

The Arizona Wildcats face their in-state rivals, the Arizona State Sun Devils, tomorrow.

Arizona has two main prospects to watch: KJ Lewis and Carter Bryant. Lewis is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 66.7% at the rim (72 attempts) and 40.5% on non-rim twos (37 attempts). He's also converting 84.9% of his free throw attempts (73 attempts) despite only shooting 17.1% from three (35 attempts). Additionally, Lewis is recording a 20.3 assist percentage, 3.2 steal percentage, and 2.9 block percentage.

Carter Bryant is a 6-foot-8, 225 pound freshman wing who's averaging 6.2 points, one assist, three rebounds, one steal, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 91.3% at the rim (23 attempts) and 41.7% on non-rim twos (12 attempts). He has also converted 38.8% of his three point attempts (49 attempts) despite shooting only 53.8% at the line (26 attempts). Additionally, Bryant is recording an impressive 3.5 steal percentage and 5.7 block percentage.

Arizona State also has two main prospects to watch: Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon.

Jayden Quaintance is a 6-foot-9, 225-pound freshman who's averaging 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and three blocks per game while shooting 73% at the rim (89 attempts) and 31.6% on non-rim twos (38 attempts). His beyond-the-arc shooting indicators haven't been great, however, as he's converting 50% of his free throws (58 attempts) and 17.4% of his threes (23 attempts) this season. However, he's been impactful as a rebounder and as a rim protector, according to advanced metrics, recording an 11.8 offensive rebound percentage, 18.4 defensive rebound percentage, two steal percentage, and 10.4 block percentage this season. It should be noted that Quaintance does not turn 18 years old until after the 2025 NBA Draft and is therefore ineligible to be selected. He figures to be a lottery pick in the 2026 Draft.

Sanon is a 6-foot-5 freshman guard who's averaging 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game this season. His shooting profile is interesting, as he's shooting 52.1% on non-rim twos (48 attempts) and 44.9% from beyond the arc (69 attempts) but has zero dunks, has only converted 34.8% of his attempts at the rim (23 attempts), and made 69.2% of his free throws (26 attempts).

Michigan @ Rutgers

Michigan center Danny Wolf (1) grabs a rebound against Penn State during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are two main prospects to watch in this one: Danny Wolf and Ace Bailey.

Wolf is a 7-foot, 255-pound big that transferred to Michigan after two seasons at Yale. A player I've gotten to see a handful of times in person either in the Ivy Tournament or at Cornell, Wolf's talents as a shooter, his ability to run offense through the post, his productivity as a roll man, and his intriguing flashes of ball-handling for his size were all there -- but his passing and slightly increased mobility on the defensive end have really popped this season.

He's averaging 12 points, 3.8 assists, 9.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 67.4% at the rim (92 attempts), 34.8% on non-rim twos (23 attempts), and 36.2% of his threes (58 attempts). His free throw percentage could improve, however, as he's only converted 57.8% of his attempts at the liine so far this season (64 attempts). He made 71.7% of his free throws last season (99 attempts), however, so some positive regression is expected.

Additionally, Wolf is recording a 9.8 offensive rebound percentage, 28.1 defensive rebound percentage, 23.6 assist percentage (up from 15.2 assist percentage his freshman and sophomore seasons at Yale), a 1.8 steal percentage, and a 5.3 block percentage. It should be noted that Wolf is recording a 26.7 turnover percentage and 3.7 turnovers per game, but is being tasked with far more passing, offensive creation, and ball-handling than he was doing at Yale. Wolf has been unassisted on an impressive 71.4% of his made field goals inside the three point line this season as well.

Ace Bailey is a 6-foot-10, 200-pound wing who's averaging 20.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 59.5% at the rim (79 attempts), 46.3% on non-rim twos (136 attempts), 41.2% from three (97 attempts), and 67.5% from the free throw line (80 attempts).

The freshman is an elite shotmaker whose overall game is still being figured out. He hunts out his right-side midrange jumper at times, passes up on catch-and-shoot jumpers for difficult shots, needs to improve as a playmaker/passer, and can improve his handle as well. He's shown some impressive defensive flashes, however, but his focus can improve on that end of the floor as well. His talent is undeniable and he could thrive in more handoff/off screen sets rather than being forced to create his own shot most of the time. Bailey is a projected top-three pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but he may need time to adjust to the NBA once he arrives.

Vanderbilt @ Oklahoma

Jan 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Chris Manon (30) and Commodores forward Kijani Wright (33) block the shot of Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt has two intriguing prospects to watch in this game. The first is Chris Manon (seen above blocking the shot), a graduate senior who transferred from Cornell. A prospect I've gotten to see many times in person, Manon has real explosiveness and verticality that becomes evident in transition.

The high-motor player is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard who's averaging 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 16.6 minutes per game while converting 61.7% of his attempts at the rim (47 attempts) and 77.4% of his free throws (31 attempts). While his three-point percentage could improve (shooting 19% from three on 21 attempts), his point-of-attack defense, passing, rebounding, and overall ability to make winning plays cannot be understated. He's recording a nine offensive rebound percentage, a 13.2 assist percentage, a 5.3 steal percentage, and a 7.2 block percentage -- extremely impressive numbers, especially for a guard. Manon has the 44th-highest Box Plus-Minus in all of college basketball at the moment.

Tyler Tanner is another prospect to monitor for Vanderbilt, as the 6-foot guard is one of only a handful of players on track to meet my Productive Young Athlete query -- 76% of players who meet the criteria play five-plus years in the NBA (84-prospect sample size).

Tanner is averaging 6.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.4 stocks in only 20.1 minutes per game. He has five dunks while being listed at 6-foot, an impressive feat in itself. Additionally, he's converting 74.4% of his attempts at the rim (43 attempts), 37.5% of his non-rim twos (16 attempts), but only 29.5% from three (44 attempts) and 68.4% from the line (19 attempts). Despite subpar shooting, his 17.1 assist percentage, 1.8 turnover percentage, 6.2 steal percentage, and 0.8 block percentages are impressive.

Oklahoma features a projected lottery pick in freshman Jeremiah Fears. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 stocks per game while shooting 60.4% at the rim (96 attempts) and 43.6% on non-rim twos (55 attempts). Despite only shooting 27.1% from beyond the arc (70 attempts), Fears is converting 82.9% of his free throws (117 attempts). Fears is also recording a 3.6 steal percentage and 0.4 block percentage.

Fears has had the responsibility of being the main engine for Oklahoma's offense, as he's been unassisted on 72.3% of his made field goals this season while assisting an estimated 29.9% of his teammates' made field goals when on the floor.

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