List of top men’s college basketball games includes a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament final

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.

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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:

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 14 Miami at Tampa, Florida, Nov. 2

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.

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No. 4 UConn vs. No. 16 Michigan at Boston, Nov. 6

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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/list-top-mens-college-basketball-183809008.html

Author : STEVE MEGARGEE

Publish date : 2026-10-26 18:38:00

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