On Monday, the men’s college basketball season begins with 20 of the teams in the Associated Press’s preseason top 25 in action. The schedule is highlighted by the Hall of Fame Series doubleheader at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No. 3 Florida, the reigning national champion, plays No. 13 Arizona in the opener at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by No. 8 BYU against Villanova in the nightcap. Both games are on TNT and TruTV.
While most casual sports fans do not start paying close attention to college basketball until February or March, the early season games are important to programs that are looking to pad their resumes for the NCAA tournament and earn a high seed. As such, many top coaches in the past couple of years have begun scheduling more difficult non-conference games as a way to test their teams and help themselves come March. Event organizers have also put together matchups that catch the attention of fans and television executives.
Below, we look at five marquee non-conference games in November and December:
### No. 1 Purdue at No. 15 Alabama – Nov. 13
Purdue is first in the Associated Press preseason poll for the first time in program history, and for good reason. The Boilermakers return first-team All-American point guard Braden Smith and three other starters from last season’s team that advanced to the Sweet 16, where they lost by two points to Houston, the eventual national runner-up.
Trey Kaufman-Renn, who averaged a team-high 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, is also back, as is guard Fletcher Loyer, who averaged 13.8 points per game and has started 110 games in his first three seasons. Purdue added a top transfer in 6-foot-11 center Oscar Cluff, who averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds last season at South Dakota State, and an NBA prospect in Omer Mayer, a 6-foot-4 guard from Israel who turned 19 earlier this month but played the past two seasons for the Maccabi Tel Aviv professional team.
Alabama, meanwhile, has excelled under coach Nate Oats, winning at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons. The Crimson Tide return two top guards—sophomore Labaron Philon and junior Aden Holloway—from last season’s team that lost to Duke in the Elite Eight. Philon, who averaged 10.6 points per game as a freshman, could have been a first-round pick in June’s NBA draft but decided to return for another year in college. Holloway averaged 11.4 points per game last season and made 41.2% of his 3’s.
The Crimson Tide added a few transfers as well, including Taylor Bol Bowen (Florida State) and Jalil Bethea (Miami), although Bethea isn’t expected to play against Purdue as he recovers from a foot injury.
Alabama and Purdue each have other difficult non-conference games on their schedule. The Crimson Tide play at No. 5 St. John’s on Nov. 8, face No. 17 Illinois in Chicago, and meet No. 13 Arizona in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 13. Alabama is also competing in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas later this month, where they will open with No. 21 Gonzaga and could face ranked teams depending on how the event unfolds.
Meanwhile, Purdue plays No. 16 Iowa State on Dec. 6 at home and No. 20 Auburn on Dec. 20 in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers are participating in the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas later this month, where they could face No. 10 Texas Tech in the final.
### No. 4 UConn vs. No. 8 BYU – Nov. 15
This game, which takes place at TD Garden in Boston, features one of the nation’s most accomplished programs in UConn and one of the most hyped prospects in recent years in BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, who grew up outside of Boston.
The Huskies won the 2023 and 2024 NCAA tournaments, becoming the first program since Florida in 2006 and 2007 to win consecutive national titles. However, they are coming off an inconsistent season when they finished third in the Big East and lost in the second round of the NCAAs to Florida, the eventual national champion.
UConn has reloaded and assembled a roster capable of winning another title. Key returning players include Solo Ball, who averaged 14.4 points per game and made 41.4% of his 3’s last season; forward Alex Karaban, who posted 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game; and center Tarris Reed Jr., who averaged 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in just 19.3 minutes per game. All three were preseason first-team All-Big East selections.
The Huskies also added transfers guarding Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia) and Malachi Smith (Dayton), plus a top freshman guard Braylon Mullins, who was named the preseason freshman of the year by Big East coaches. Mullins will not play against BYU due to an ankle injury sustained in late October, expected to sideline him for about six weeks.
BYU boasts its highest preseason ranking in program history, fueled largely by Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward projected as the top pick in next year’s NBA draft. Dybantsa was named to the AP preseason All-American team and was the MVP of the FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup this past summer, leading Team USA to the title.
However, the Cougars are not a one-man team. They also feature top shooter forward Richie Saunders, who averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game and shot 43.2% on 3-pointers last season, and one of the nation’s best point guards in Robert Wright III, a transfer who averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 assists as a freshman at Baylor.
UConn’s non-conference slate is loaded, including home games against No. 13 Arizona on Nov. 19, No. 17 Illinois at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28, No. 19 Kansas on Dec. 2 on the road, and No. 3 Florida in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9 at MSG.
BYU’s non-conference schedule is less challenging but includes the opener against Villanova and a home game against No. 24 Wisconsin on Nov. 21. The Cougars also compete in the Jimmy V Classic against Clemson, offering a big stage for Dybantsa and his teammates.
### No. 3 Florida at No. 6 Duke – Dec. 2
Two of last season’s Final Four participants meet in this ACC-SEC Challenge game. Florida, the reigning national champion, looks poised to contend again. The Gators return forwards Alex Condon, a preseason All-American who averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last season, and Thomas Haugh, who added 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. They also have transfer guards Boogie Fland, who averaged 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists as a junior at Princeton.
Duke was dominant last season, winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles and stringing together 15 consecutive wins before losing to Houston in the Final Four. All five starters from that squad were selected in June’s NBA draft, including three freshmen taken in the top 10.
The Blue Devils return forward Maliq Brown and guards Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans. Their fresh recruiting class is highlighted by twins Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer, sons of Carlos Boozer, a former Duke player and NBA veteran. Cameron Boozer, a 6-foot-8 forward, could be Duke’s best player and is projected as a top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft. Other talented freshmen include wings Nikolas Khamenia and Dame Sarr.
Florida’s non-conference schedule also includes games against No. 13 Arizona and No. 3 UConn in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9. Duke faces No. 19 Kansas on Nov. 18 in the Champions Classic at MSG, No. 14 Arkansas on Nov. 27 in Chicago, No. 22 Michigan State on Dec. 6 on the road, and No. 10 Texas Tech on Dec. 20 at MSG.
### No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 9 Kentucky – Dec. 20
For St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, this game is a homecoming of sorts, as he coached Kentucky for eight seasons before leaving in 1997 to coach the Boston Celtics. Pitino led Kentucky to the 1996 national title but was unpopular with fans for years, partly due to later coaching Louisville for 16 seasons. However, feelings have softened, and Mark Pope, a captain on Pitino’s 1996 Kentucky team, is now UK’s coach.
The game takes place in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic, also featuring No. 25 North Carolina against Ohio State. St. John’s and Kentucky last met in December 2011 when the Wildcats won 81-59 on their way to the NCAA championship.
Both programs now have legitimate national title aspirations, making this a significant test.
St. John’s returns only one starter, forward Zuby Ejiofor, the preseason Big East player of the year, who averaged 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds last season. The Red Storm have bolstered their roster with one of the nation’s top transfer classes, adding guards Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Joson Sanon (Arizona State), Dylan Darling (Idaho State), and Oziyah Sellers (Stanford), plus forwards Bryce Hopkins (Providence) and Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati).
Kentucky also was active in the transfer portal, adding point guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), power forward Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), center Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), guard Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), and guard Kam Williams (Tulane). Their best player is expected to be guard Otega Oweh, the SEC preseason player of the year who led the team last season with 16.2 points per game.
St. John’s non-conference schedule includes a home game against No. 15 Alabama on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden. They are also participating in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, facing No. 16 Iowa State on Nov. 24 and possibly other ranked teams if they advance.
Kentucky’s schedule features a road game against No. 11 Louisville on Nov. 11, the Champions Classic against No. 22 Michigan State on Nov. 18 at MSG, hosting No. 25 North Carolina on Dec. 2 in the ACC-SEC Challenge, and a Dec. 5 game against No. 21 Gonzaga in Nashville, Tennessee.
### No. 2 Houston vs. No. 14 Arkansas – Dec. 20
While Houston is No. 2 in the preseason AP poll, analytics experts Ken Pomeroy, Bart Torvik, and Evan Miyakawa rank the Cougars first in their projections, signaling strong national title contender status.
Houston went 35-5 last season, winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles before losing a 12-point second-half lead in the NCAA championship game to Florida.
The Cougars boast arguably the nation’s best backcourt, returning guards Emanuel Sharp, who averaged 12.6 points per game last season, and Milos Uzan, who posted 11.4 points per game. Houston also has elite defender Joseph Tugler, a versatile 6-foot-8 forward, plus two highly ranked freshmen: center Chris Cenac Jr. and guard Isiah Hartwell, rated No. 6 and No. 13 in the high school class of 2025 (247Sports Composite).
Arkansas had an up-and-down first year under coach John Calipari, starting with five straight SEC losses but rallying to make the NCAA tournament and upset St. John’s in the second round. The Razorbacks return three starters—D.J. Wagner, Trevon Brazile, and Karter Knox—and add transfers Malique Ewin (Florida State) and Nick Pringle (Alabama). They also welcomed freshmen guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas.
In the SEC preseason poll, Arkansas was picked to finish fifth behind Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama—all ranked in the AP top 15.
Arkansas’s non-conference schedule includes a Nov. 8 road game against No. 22 Michigan State, a Nov. 27 game against No. 6 Duke in Chicago, a Dec. 3 home game versus No. 11 Louisville in the ACC-SEC Challenge, and a Dec. 13 matchup with No. 10 Texas Tech in Dallas.
Houston faces No. 20 Auburn on Nov. 16 in Birmingham, Alabama, and competes in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, where they will face No. 18 Tennessee and could meet additional ranked teams depending on the event’s outcomes.
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These early-season marquee games offer exciting matchups that will provide insights into the strengths of top programs as the race for the NCAA tournament approaches. Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely as teams test themselves against elite competition ahead of March Madness.
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