College Basketball

Tom Izzo wants revenge on the Dan Hurley-led Huskies, who eliminated the Spartans in the Sweet Sixteen last March. He gets his first look at them Tuesday night, when No. 4 UConn visits No. 6 Michigan State at the Breslin Center. The exhibition completes a two-year series, as Michigan State lost at UConn in an exhibition game last year. What …

SMU basketball is back in the national postseason conversation, but the Mustangs aren’t getting much preseason respect from Associated Press voters. Despite reaching the NCAA Tournament last season and strengthening their roster through the transfer portal, SMU was left outside Monday’s preseason AP Top 25. Advertisement MORE: SMU Volleyball Lands No. 6 NCAA Seed In Early Tournament Rankings For third-year …

There’s no denying that NIL and player-friendly transfer rules have changed the fabric of college basketball as we know it. Today’s landscape lets players bounce freely between schools thousands of miles apart, which in many ways robs athletes of the lifelong memories built over multiple seasons at one program. Advertisement Travis Ford’s story is different. Though he began his career …

Arizona finally ended its Final Four drought, Bill Self returns (with the nation’s top-ranked recruit), while Kelvin Sampson has almost an entire reset in Houston. The Big 12 features some of college basketball’s best teams and top players. We polled writers within the USA TODAY Network who cover Big 12 schools for their preseason predictions, all-conference teams and preseason awards …

The North Carolina Tar Heels improved to 4-2 after stringing together impressive victories over then-ranked No. 25 Pittsburgh and Duke. Not only did UNC win both of those games, but both were on the road, making the accomplishment for Bill Belichick and Co. even more impressive. Advertisement After dropping a heartbreaking game in overtime last season to No. 16 Virginia, …

The 2026 college football season is now in full swing. But believe it or not, the start of college basketball season is less than two weeks away! On Monday, the preseason AP Poll was released for the 2026-2027 men’s college basketball season. USC made the rankings, coming in at No. 21. Advertisement The Trojans are one of five Big Ten …

No. 23 Kentucky Basketball returns to Rupp Arena on Friday night for its second exhibition game of the season, welcoming the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders to Lexington. The Wildcats opened exhibition play last Friday with a 69-49 victory over Little Rock, coached by former Kentucky player Travis Ford. While Kentucky came away with a 20-point win, the performance …

Illinois basketball is almost back. The home schedule is loaded. Football is 3-3 and frustrating me every Saturday. I’m ready to be back in State Farm Center. This isn’t a ranking of the six most important home games. It’s the six I’m most excited to attend. Advertisement Maybe it’s a big opponent. Maybe there’s an NBA prospect I want to …

DURHAM, NC − Tennessee basketball will look to get on back on track in their second exhibition game of the preseason at Duke. The No. 9 Vols play the No. 2 Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Oct. 20 (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network). Advertisement Tennessee dropped their first exhibition game, 86-70, against Xavier at Food City Center on …

Over the weekend, both UNC and NC State had exhibition games with very different results: the Tar Heels lost to Indiana, 76-58, while NC State beat Mississippi State, 77-73. UNC was outrebounded by 22, which had to hurt Michael Malone’s pride. Freshman Sayon Keita finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Matt Able chipped in 11. Advertisement On the …

No. 9 Tennessee will play its second and final exhibition basketball game on Tuesday. The Vols will face No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina (ACC Network). Rankings reflect the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Advertisement Tipoff between Tennessee and Duke is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT. ACC Network will televise the exhibition with Doug …

EAST LANSING – Of all the recent rules changes in college sports Tom Izzo has disliked, there is one he truly has embraced. Playing anyone, anywhere at any time – and not having it count against his record with Michigan State basketball. Advertisement For the second straight season, Izzo and the No. 6 Spartans will face Dan Hurley and No. …

The Arizona Wildcats get the college basketball season underway in about two weeks, while the 2027 NBA draft is roughly eight months out. That isn’t stopping scouts and analysts from projecting who could be at the top of this class when June rolls around – and once again, the Wildcats are thought to have three potential lottery picks on the …

Eight points. Three made field goals. Another night of offensive inefficiency. On paper, Jaeden Mustaf’s performance in Indiana’s exhibition win over North Carolina on Sunday night wasn’t particularly impressive. But the box score tells only a fraction of Mustaf’s story. And for Indiana coach Darian DeVries, the most important parts of that story have little to do with how often …

The moments Illinois basketball created from the 2025-26 season will last in my memory forever. This was one of the best teams in program history, as the Illini managed to reach the Final Four for the first time in over two decades. With returning players and great additions, Brad Underwood has Illinois laced with expectations for the 2026-27 campaign. Advertisement …

ASHWAUBENON – In his previous five seasons as head coach of the Marquette men’s basketball team, Shaka Smart has liked to utilize closed-door scrimmages to prepare his team for regular-season battles. But with the NCAA loosening its rules about public exhibitions against Division 1 foes, Smart is getting full dress rehearsals for his team. Advertisement MU had its first preseason …

College basketball season is almost here. The season tips off in early November, but teams have already started playing exhibition games to prepare for the 2026-27 campaign. Two teams who have high expectations for the upcoming season, Kansas and Illinois, are among the teams who have already played against other teams. The Jayhawks and Fighting Illini are also expected to …

Where to watch Duke vs. Tennessee basketball: Channel, live stream, time, TV schedule for men’s exhibition game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. A blockbuster exhibition matchup will take place in Durham this week as No. 2 Duke hosts No. 8 Tennessee. Advertisement Though it’s early days, Duke is …

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes believes the Volunteers have plenty of room for improvement, and he is counting on exhibition games to help his team develop chemistry before the regular season begins. Tennessee basketball is preparing for another challenging season under Rick Barnes, but the veteran head coach understands that building a successful team takes time. Advertisement Following Tennessee’s 86-70 …

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt basketball won its only home exhibition game Monday night, beating UAB by a score of 97-65. The Commodores did what was expected of them as they pulled away from the Blazers in the later stages of the first half and did not let UAB back into the game at any point. Vanderbilt played aggressive defense and found …

The Iowa State Cyclones opened up their 2026-27 college basketball season with an exhibition against the Creighton Bluejays at home. Going into the game, Iowa State was expected to win comfortably, but without star guard Tamin Lipsey, it seemed like they might have a bit of trouble. Advertisement And they certainly did. Creighton took an early lead and held onto …

There’s so much talent on the 2026-27 Duke basketball roster that an outsider might assume some chemistry issues could arise in the locker room. But judging by the recent chat between three Blue Devil sophomores on the latest episode of The Brotherhood Podcast, vibes of togetherness are notably high in Durham right now as the squad, No. 2 in the …

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech forward Kuol Atak and center Miles Heide had the same response to what constitutes a successful season: Make the NCAA Tournament, which has expanded to a 76-team field for the 2026-27 season. An appearance in March Madness would break a four-year drought, one that hasn’t been broken since the 2021-22 campaign. That and more was evident …

Maryland women’s basketball saw significant turnover during the 2026 offseason, but guard Oluchi Okananwa still led the way in the Terps’ first action of the new season. The Terps tipped off their exhibition slate in College Park Monday against Virginia Tech. Maryland finished on top, 93-82, with Okananwa steering the ship with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Advertisement Head coach …

How a team performs in the preseason is much less importantthan how it finishes. UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley undoubtedlywould agree with that statement. So there couldn’t have been any fretting in theUConn practice gym on Monday afternoon when the Huskies learned they held theNo. 4 position in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. Advertisement Some preseason …