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Preseason No. 1 vs. national champion, blue blood crashes and
Oct 19, 2023, 10:30 AM ET The nonconference portion of the guys’s college basketball season is a determining stick of sorts. It’s a test of brand-new coaches at brand-new programs. Of a team’s cohesiveness after including freshmen and transfers over the summer. Nonconference games use us a data-backed take a look at a group’s ceiling, and what it requires to improve before the year turns and conference play begins. They’re looked at closely by the choice committee in March, to identify bubble teams’ fates.Beyond the NCAA tournament ramifications, nonconference games can just be enjoyable. They’re a chance for in-state competitors to take on once again. New competitions can form. Early-season tournaments pit star players against each other. Blue bloods handle other blue bloods. New eras begin (see: Syracuse). ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway
, Joe Lunardi and Myron Medcalf pick out 16 games in the first 2 months of the 2023-24 season you won’t wish to miss out on, for any of the above reasons. 7 p.m. ET|Nov. 6|Syracuse, New York City |. ACCN When Adrian Autry sends the Orange on the floor on opening night of the 2023-24
season, it will mark the very first time that’s been done by a full-time Syracuse head coach not named Jim Boeheim given that March 13, 1976.– John Gasaway 6:30 p.m. ET|Nov. 7|Philadelphia|ESPN+E ditor’s Picks 2 Associated Well listed below
the radar, the famous Philadelphia Big 5 made considerable modifications in the offseason.
First, the longstanding round-robin games format has actually been changed by a pod system culminating in a champion triple-header in December. Second, Drexel– which opens the Big 5 series– has finally and officially been added to the group, producing a”City 6″ and possibly bringing brand-new life to an organization dominated over the last few years by Villanova (36-2 in their past 38 Huge 5 games).– Joe Lunardi 10 p.m. ET|Nov. 9|Moraga, California|ESPN+T his is excellent early-season scheduling by both schools. Both have legitimate NCAA competition goals, and both need out-of-conference tests they can count on being” counted”in March by the committee. These are precisely the type of games we Bracketologists focus on, particularly early in the season in true home-court environments. For the Lobos, an uncommon visitors win in Moraga would likely fall under the Quad 1 column down the roadway.– Lunardi 6 p.m. ET|Nov. 10|Annapolis|CBS Sports Network This is another instance of clever scheduling in the mid-major domain. The Dukes have their best team in decades, and we saw in 2015 the magic Pat
Kelsey has actually given Charleston. This neutral-court encounter in Annapolis will wind up in the”quality win” column for someone( provided Navy finds a method to keep the court dry, that is).– Lunardi 7 p.m. ET|Nov. 10|Durham, North Carolina|ESPN2 Blue bloods colliding in the nonconference season on one team’s home flooring? Yes, please, let’s do this regularly. The hosts project to be both gifted and, even with returning stars like Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor, fairly young by mid-2020s requirements. For its part, the Wildcats will ride with at least 3 grizzled veterans, one of whom– North Carolina transfer Caleb Love– needs no introduction in Durham.– Gasaway 6:30 p.m. ET|Nov. 13|Madison Square
Garden|FS1 Kansas +1000
Michigan State
Arizona
UConn +2000 Chances courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.For complete odds, click here We could see both of these groups in Dayton
for the”First 4 “come March. That’s how close they predict to the NCAA bubble at this moment. And the stories extend far beyond Bracketology. Rick Pitino returns to Madison Square Garden as coach of the ascendent Red Storm. Juwan Howard wishes to return from major heart surgery sometime in November to lead the Wolverines. If not, Phil Martelli helms Michigan in a go back to the big phase. Extremely delicious, undoubtedly.– Lunardi 7 p.m. ET|Nov. 14|Chicago |
. ESPN The first game of the Champions Classic doubleheader will pit two of the top 4 groups in many preseason rankings. It’s the fight on the border that many intrigues me, with heaven Devils and Spartans having two of the elite backcourts in the country. Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor and Jared McCain on one side, Tyson Walker, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins on the other. Does Michigan State have an answer for Kyle Filipowski in advance?– Jeff Borzello 8 p.m. ET|Nov. 14|Champaign, Illinois|FS1 The last time we saw Tyler Kolek, he ‘d played through pain in a loss to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA competition. But his thumb injury is recovered now and a Marquette team with 4 returning beginners is eyeing a national championship run under Shaka Smart. A matchup versus Terrence Shannon Jr. (17.2 PPG) and the Combating Illini is the start of a hard nonconference slate for Marquette that will likewise consist of matches against Wisconsin, Texas, UCLA and a prospective clash with Kansas in the Maui Invitational. — Myron Medcalf
9:30 p.m. ET|Nov. 14|Chicago|ESPN Kentucky will start the season ranked 16th in the AP preseason survey– the team’s most affordable preseason ranking under John Calipari. But the Wildcats won’t need to wait long to show they were deserving of a higher spot. Beating the preseason No. 1 Jayhawks will not be simple, though. The fight between Hunter Dickinson and Kentucky’s fleet of big men, consisting of Croatian freshman Zvonimir Ivisic, might choose the outcome. — Medcalf
9:30 p.m. ET|Nov. 17|Las Vegas|ESPN+F or just the 2nd time in 22 years, Gonzaga was not selected to win the WCC in the league’s preseason survey. Aidan Mahoney and the Gaels instead secured that honor after in 2015’s 27-win season. The Aztecs, which lost to UConn in the championship game in April, will turn to Lamont Butler, who scored 13 points because loss, as it seeks to make another Final 4 run. This is one of the very best non-Power 5 matches of the nonconference slate. — Medcalf
5 p.m. ET|Nov. 20|Honolulu, Hawaii|ESPN2 Both groups feel they have something to prove. Zach Edey went back to West Lafayette for another season after the Boilermakers suffered the 2nd 16-over-1 loss in NCAA competition history. Mark Couple of, on the other hand, progresses with a team that’s less familiar than past Gonzaga teams. He’ll turn to Ryan Nembhard, who transferred from Creighton, and other brand-new pieces after losing more than 60 PPG from the roster. We need to find out a lot about both teams and their Last 4 dreams after this one. — Medcalf
12 p.m. ET|Nov. 25
| Paradise Island, Bahamas|ESPN This is a possible match in the semifinals of the Fight 4 Atlantis– UNC would have to beat Northern Iowa, and Villanova would need to get past Texas Tech. If this happens, it will combine perhaps the 2 most disappointing groups of last season. So it must be a litmus test to see whether both programs are poised to bounce back. Carolina returns Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis and includes passing wizard Elliott Cadeau. Villanova has a healthy Justin Moore and three instant-impact transfers. — Borzello
9 p.m. ET|Dec. 1|Lawrence,
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It’s the preseason No. 1 hosting the ruling nationwide champ. We’ll already have a feel for both groups by the time they fulfill– the Jayhawks play in the Maui Invitational, while the Huskies face Indiana and perhaps Texas in the Empire Classic. But there are two reasons that this game separates itself as a must-watch tilt: it’s used school, unlike numerous of the marquee nonconference games; and the head-to-head battle between Donovan Clingan and Hunter Dickinson. — Borzello
1:30 p.m. ET|Dec. 9|Toronto|Fox Zach Edey returns to his home town north of the border for what might be a top-10 clash with the Tide. Nate Oats is depending on skilled types like Mark Sears and Hofstra Pride transfer Aaron Estrada to lead Alabama boldly into its post-Brandon Miller era. As for Edey and the Boilermakers, they’re looking for to reproduce precisely what previous 1-seed Virginia did after losing to a 16-seed in March 16, 2018: win a championship game the following year. — Gasaway
10 p.m. ET|Dec. 15|Seattle|ESPN2 Dan Hurley can’t be accused of scheduling cupcakes, give him that. Two weeks after playing the AP preseason No. 1 Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse, the reigning nationwide champs will cross the continent to face the Zags at Environment Promise Arena. Donovan Clingan will be tested by Wyoming transfer (and 2022-23 Mountain West preseason POY) Graham Ike, who remained last season due to injury. — Gasaway
3 p.m. ET|Dec. 23|Las Vegas|FOX
FAU’s lofty preseason ranking has been the topic of debate in the offseason– and while the Owls will have difficult tests before this game, a pseudo-road game versus Arizona might be the first time they’re thought about underdogs in 2023-24. Arizona developed itself differently this offseason, leaning more into dynamism and durability– we’ll need to see how that translates into Tommy Lloyd’s offensive system. Is FAU a genuine top-10 team? Is Arizona the Pac-12 favorite? Concerns will be addressed in Vegas. — Borzello