College basketball fans don’t need to wait until March to see some high-profile matchups.
They don’t even need to hold out for the start of conference play. This year’s men’s college basketball schedule features plenty of huge games long before Christmas.
The most notable early-season games include a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament final as well as a matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the preseason Top 25. Many of the top five teams will
be facing one another over the next six weeks, and some couldn't wait: The exhibition season included the likes of Houston vs. Michigan, UConn at Michigan State and Duke at Kansas.
Here’s a look at some of the best nonconference matchups taking place in November and December:
The season tips off Nov. 1 when Villanova and Notre Dame have a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader in Rome, but the first matchup of Top 25 teams comes the next day when Florida faces Miami in Tampa (No. 5 Arizona faces No. 22 UCLA in Las Vegas later that night). Florida returns preseason Associated Press All-America forward Thomas Haugh and is ranked No. 1 to start a season for the second time in school history. The other time was in 2007-07, when Florida went on to win a national title. Miami features preseason first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference forward Shelton Henderson and Villanova trnsfer Acaden Lewis.
This is a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament championship game that Michigan won 69-63. Michigan has undergone a complete overhaul since, with coach Dusty May leaving for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and Morez Johnson, Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara getting taken among the top 12 picks in the draft. Mike Boynton, a former assistant on May’s staff, takes over a Michigan team that returns Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney from its national championship team. Big East preseason player of the year Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins give UConn a quality backcourt.
The opening game of the State Farm Champions Classic has preseason AP All-America guard Jeremy Fears from Michigan State facing a Duke team that includes the nation’s top-ranked freshman class. The closing game provides an early showcase for the new-look rosters from Kansas and Kentucky.
No. 3 Illinois adds Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks to a roster that includes five guys who earned regular playing time during the Illini’s Final Four run last season. That group includes preseason AP All-America forward David Mirkovic. The Illini are very familiar with Duke’s John Blackwell, a Wisconsin transfer who scored 24 points against Illinois in the regular season and 31 in the Big Ten Tournament while helping the Badgers earn overtime victories both times.
This matchup will highlight the SEC-ACC Challenge for a second straight year. Duke edged Florida 67-66 last season at Cameron Indoor Stadium on a 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds left from Isaiah Evans, who’s now with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Haugh scored 24 points for the Gators.
These two teams met in last season’s Final Four, with UConn winning 71-62. This game is part of a stretch lasting just over a month in which the Huskies also face No. 5 Arizona, No. 2 Duke, No. 17 Kansas and No. 9 Virginia.
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