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Arizona hosts Alabama this weekend, and what would ordinarily (and what, indeed, still could) be an unusually good December game will additionally carry with it an undertone of uncertainty. What's happening in December, in other words, is still playing out in shadows cast by September. That was when the Department of Justice announced that it was charging Wildcats assistant coach Emanuel Richardson, along with three other assistants at different Division I programs, with fraud and corruption. The following day, Crimson Tide associate athletic director Kobie Baker resigned after admitting to university officials in Tuscaloosa that he was "Staff Member 1" referenced in the FBI complaint.  As part of Alabama's internal investigation, freshman Collin Sexton was held out for the Tide's first game of the season, against Memphis. But Sexton, the highest-rated recruit in the SEC this season besides Missouri's Michael Porter Jr., was subsequently reinstated, and has played in every game since.
Sexton has been superb, and Alabama fans are right to be dreaming of the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 2012. Still, Avery Johnson's team remains a bit enigmatic. The Tide (7-2) have now played four consecutive close games, with victories against Louisiana Tech and Rhode Island (both at home) and losses to Minnesota and UCF (the former on a neutral floor, the latter in Tuscaloosa). Saturday's game against Deandre Ayton, Allonzo Trier and the Wildcats should shine a light, flattering or otherwise, on Alabama's potential. Meanwhile, Arizona is also saying, in effect, everything's fine, nothing to see here, FBI-wise. Coach Sean Miller has had his full complement of players eligible for the entire season -- and promptly dropped entirely out of the AP top 25 just the same. Part of that is doubtless due to Rawle Alkins sitting out the entire season thus far with an injury, but the sophomore guard now appears to be close to returning to action, possibly even as soon as the Alabama game. Granted, even without Alkins, the Wildcats (6-3) have looked much better of late and could well be reappearing in the polls next week. That is, they almost certainly will do so if Miller's team can hold serve on its home court against Bama (10 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN/WatchESPN). No. 1 Duke at Boston College, Saturday, noon ET, ESPN/WatchESPN
What's this? An ACC game in early December? If the Big Ten can bend the calendar to suit its scheduling whims, then 13 percent of John Swofford's league can darn well follow suit. Actually, getting one ACC game into the books will facilitate the Blue Devils keeping their semi-traditional nonconference date with St. John's at Madison Square Garden on the first weekend in February. (Mike Krzyzewski's team hasn't played the Red Storm since 2014-15 -- good omen?) You might remember that when last we saw Duke, Marvin Bagley & Co. were hanging a rather gaudy 124 points on St. Francis. Then again, the Eagles are made of somewhat sterner stuff, and, far more important, will be playing in Chestnut Hill. Jim Christian's team is 6-3 and much improved since last season (and Ky Bowman is a dynamic and efficient point guard), but the Blue Devils might be a tall order for a group that was taken to the 40th minute on its home floor by Colgate. No. 5 Florida vs. No. 17 Cincinnati, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN
Mike White, you're welcome. Not to put too fine a point on it, but your team is in free fall, having lost by three on a neutral floor to Duke (no shame there), by 17 at home to in-state rival Florida State (um) and by six at home to Loyola-Chicago (whoa). Now, the good news. You get a crack at a top-25 team in the form of the Bearcats, and the game is not being played at the apparently accursed Exactech Arena in Gainesville. Nor is it going to occur on Cincinnati's home floor (which, as chance would have it, is unavailable this season in any event). Nope, this game is happening at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Gators, you've played some of your best ball this season in neutral venues. Do the same against a tough UC team and this slump is over. Oh, and if by chance that does occur, lots of luck to the AP pollsters trying to rank this UF team.  No. 16 Arizona State at No. 2 Kansas, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN
Having just lost what can properly be called a stunner to Washington in Kansas City, Missouri, the Jayhawks (7-1) should be properly angry. Plus, you might have heard that, in his career at KU, Bill Self is 206-9 at Allen Fieldhouse. So, yeah, Arizona State has its work cut out for it. Then again, Bobby Hurley has his team scoring points in mass quantities, and what do the Sun Devils have to lose? Among 351 D-I teams, only Virginia Tech's been more accurate from the field so far this season than ASU (7-0). Hurley has no fewer than four rotation players (Romello White, Kodi Justice, Remy Martin and De'Quon Lake) connecting on better than 60 percent of their 2-pointers, and Tra Holder and Shannon Evans (along with Justice) are additionally nailing their 3s. It might be too much to expect this group to hand Self his 10th loss ever at the Phog, but it's not too much to expect a close, high-scoring game between two outstanding offenses.
No. 12 Gonzaga at Washington, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET
This contest has become a lot more interesting over the past few days, has it not? The 7-2 Bulldogs are licking their wounds after being pounded into the Madison Square Garden hardwood by a smaller Villanova team Tuesday. Then, the following evening, Washington took down Kansas in Kansas City, 74-65. Former Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins extended the Huskies' zone way, way out on the perimeter to take away the 3s that Devonte' Graham has been so fond of (and superb at) shooting this season. That left Lagerald Vick all alone at the free throw line in the gaps of the 2-3 zone (where the junior proceeded to score a career-high 28 points), but UW (7-2) held the Jayhawks to just five made 3s. Now, the newly euphoric Huskies get the Zags at what should be a boisterous Hec Edmundson Pavilion. On paper, Gonzaga bigs like 6-foot-10 Killian Tillie and 6-foot-11 Jacob Larsen should still be able to pass over the top of the Washington zone, but Hopkins currently has his guys crumpling up that very paper.
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