The 5 best games of men’s college basketball’s opening night

The greatest sport in the world is officially back on Monday, and with the return comes a pretty loaded opening slate.

Here’s a quick look at the five best games of college basketball’s opening day.

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5. No. 18 Iowa State vs. Memphis (Sanford Pentagon: Sioux Falls, SD) (7 p.m. ET/FS1)

T.J. Otzelberger and company will look to make an early statement that the show will go on without Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic when they take on Memphis at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota.

The Cyclones may have lost their two leading scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 squad, but they return the next three in Killyan Toure, Blake Buchanan and Jamarion Bateman. Not many other squads ranked in the preseason top 25 can lay claim to that level of roster retention.

On the other side, Memphis feels like a program at a crossroads. Despite the early excitement, the Penny Hardaway experience has been more bust than boom, and now Hardaway has spent $2.6 million of his own money to fund a roster that seems … just ok. The Tigers can make a big statement to the contrary if they can hang with ISU on opening night.

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4. No. 25 BYU vs. Ohio State (Bad Boy Mowers Series, Salt Lake City) (9 p.m. ET/FS1)

What was widely referred to as “the most anticipated season in BYU basketball history” wound up being something of a disappointment, as A.J. Dybantsa (despite being as good as advertised) and company lost 12 times and failed to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. Kevin Young will try to accomplish more without the likely No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, and has the chance to it thanks to the return of point guard Rob Wright and the additions of a deep portal class as well as five-star freshman Bruce Branch III.

The Cougars should be pushed in an entertaining opener against an Ohio State team that features one of the nation’s most underrated players in John Mobley Jr. If Justin Pippen and Amare Bynum take steps forward, there’s no reason for Jake Diebler not to have an NCAA…

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Publish date : 2026-11-02 15:40:00

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