With just over one month until Selection Sunday and conference races heating up across the college basketball landscape, Saturday is set to provide a platform for spectacular theater as the sport kicks into high gear near the homestretch of the regular season. There are pivotal games that could well decide conference races in the Big 12, ACC, SEC, Big Ten, WCC and plenty more.

In total there are 21 ranked teams set for Saturday tilts, which includes four ranked vs. ranked matchups and a top-10 showdown in Ames, Iowa between Kansas and Iowa State to boot.

CBS will also be the home of a major showdown in the Big Ten as No. 2 Michigan welcomes UCLA to Ann Arbor for a 12:45 p.m. tip from the Crisler Center. A win for the Wolverines would almost certainly put them at No. 1 in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll for the first time in more than a decade after No. 1 Arizona stumbled Monday at Kansas.

With so much at stake and so many tremendous games on tap, our team has picks below for some of the best we’ll be watching closely. Those picks are below.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook | All times ET

No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke

12 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try for free): This feels like a big number to lay — and yet I think I would lay it for this Duke team. They’ve won their last three home games by an average margin of 23.3 points, and they get a Clemson team that’s a terrific matchup on paper and coming off an ugly loss to Virginia Tech. Pick: Duke -12.5 (Boone)

UCLA at No. 2 Michigan

12:45 p.m. on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ Premium:  It’s almost difficult to compute lines with this Michigan team because it leads college basketball in scoring margin and has been completely dominant. So even a line as big as 15.5 points won’t scare me off from laying it with this Wolverines bunch. They are 7-5 ATS as home favorites on the season and they draw a UCLA matchup that, like most Michigan opponents, doesn’t have the size or physicality to match up well with on paper. Pick: UM -15.5 (Boone)

No. 9 Kansas at No. 5 Iowa State

1 p.m. on ABC, fuboTV (try for free): This feels like a classic spot on the schedule for Iowa State to flex its muscles and get back on track in front of its home crowd. But I am going against my gut here and taking KU to win straight up as road dogs. This Jayhawks team has won eight-straight and is coming off an impressive win over the No. 1 team in the country earlier in the week. And they are 5-3 ATS as underdogs on the season. The line feels like it should be closer to a pick. Pick: Kansas +5.5 (Boone)

No. 25 Kentucky at No. 14 Florida

3 p.m. on ABC, fuboTV (try for free): Kentucky has won eight of nine and done so shorthanded with Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance shelved. But on the road against a team I think is the best in the SEC is a tough spot to keep that hot streak rolling. I think the Wildcats could keep this respectably close — Florida is just 5-6 this season ATS as home favorites — but the Gators pull away for a cushy win down the stretch. Pick: Kentucky +11.5 (Boone)

No. 16 Texas Tech at No. 1 Arizona

6:30 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try for free): Perhaps the 82-78 loss at Kansas on Monday was a sign that Arizona could be ducking off a bit as conference competition tightens. That’s just not what I, personally, believe will happen. This Wildcats team is clearly on a different level right now even after its first of the season. I think they get back on track at home and do it in style. Pick: Arizona -9.5 (Boone)

Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years.