PHOTO USA Today Sports Image Still almost 50 days out, college basketball doesn’t make a splash until the first week of November.
About the time the 12-team field for the College Football Playoff begins to narrow, the season of hoops will slowly make its way to the beef menu of marquee matchups.
Early season tournaments and the Champions Classic without John Calipari are games marked on the calendar.
Here is our game The staff was jotting down in Sharpie.
North Carolina at Kansas, November 8
A Friday night at Phog Allen Fieldhouse gave a huge hello to the hoops in a pair of bluebloods sure to generate an audience and endless closeups of Roy Williams in the stands.
Tennessee at Louisville, November 9
SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht was cut from the Vols’ roster and landed with the Lakers as a first-round draft pick. Now it’s up to Rick Barnes to keep Tennessee atop the SEC in the first highlight game for new Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey.
Kentucky vs. Duke, November 12 (Atlanta)
source: Getty Images The Champions Classic also features Kansas-Michigan State, but we’ll get into Cooper Flagg’s primetime matchup with the Wildcats. Mark Pope came in as Calipari’s successor with a potpourri of rosters capable of making their mark with common defensive DNA and star power. Among UK’s newcomers are 3-point specialist Koby Brea (Dayton), 6-11 forward Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) and 6-10 center Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State). Duke drew Kansas in Las Vegas 14 days later.
Duke in Arizona, November 22
Old friend Caleb Love, who helped retire Mike Krzyzewski in the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans with North Carolina, and the Wildcats are a top 10 team on Duke’s schedule in November. Among the new helping hands in Arizona transfer Campbell Anthony Dell’Orso, who averaged 19.5 points per game last season. Sophomore center Montiejus Krivas is another player to watch for the Wildcats.
Duke vs. Kansas, November 26 (Las Vegas)
source: Getty Images Kansas’ preseason No. 1 potential and presumed 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg should be enticing enough. Hunter Dickinson is back for redemption and the Jayhawks are heavy on experience. Duke’s recruiting class is the stuff of heavyweights and bordering on ridiculous behind Flagg with 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach and 6-6 wings Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel.
Baylor at UConn, Dec. 4
A potential matchup in the Maui Classic with Michigan State (Nov. 26) in the second round in Lahaina will make this list, but that one is not set in stone. The two-time defending national champions may not be undefeated again this season despite losing to Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan and Cam Spencer in the NBA. That’s because coach Dan Hurley scored a winning transfer portal and landed Aiden Mahaney through Saint Mary’s and took the recruiting class heralded by Liam McNeeley.
Alabama at North Carolina, December 4
Can the Tide roll all the way to San Antonio? Alabama can play as the No. 1 team in the country when this one plays as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. This is a rematch of the 2024 Sweet Sixteen matchup. North Carolina has experience and maintains depth. But the Tar Heels have big questions to answer without Armondo Bacot for the first time since the 2018 season.
Gonzaga vs. UConn, Dec. 14 (Madison Square Park)
This is how Mark Few does non-conference. Matchups with Baylor, Kentucky and a potential meeting with Arizona in the Battle 4 Atlantis headline the Bulldogs’ buildup for the WCC schedule.
Duke vs. Illinois, February 22 (Madison Square Park)
If all goes according to plan for this team, this is a rare late February matchup that could determine NCAA Tournament seeding. Illinois has a new roster that does not include Terrence Shannon Jr. or Coleman Hawkins, and it might not be bad news for Brad Underwood. The recruiting class is headlined by Will Riley and Morez Johnson Jr. and Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell brings the needed size in the backcourt.
