25 non-conference men's college hoops games you need to watch this season

The two winningest programs in college basketball face off in Chicago for the 2023 version of the Champions Classic. Two Hall of Fame coaches (Bill Self, John Calipari) with stacked rosters. Calipari is 6-4 against Self, but Self has had more recent success (two national titles since Caiipari's 2012 championship ... which was over Self's Jayhawks).

On the court, we will be treated to two talented teams. Kansas, the AP preseason #1 team, landed the top available transfer, Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, to anchor returning starters Kevin McCullar, Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams. Kentucky is going back to Cal's formula of bringing in the nation's top recruiting class and developing them into a power come March. While freshmen D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham, Aaron Bradshaw, Justin Edwards and Jordan Burks will be the frosh infusion for the Wildcats, Kentucky also did well in the transfer portal, scooping up West Virginia's Tre Mitchell. 

The Champions Classic is one of the best early-season events in college hoops and this year is no different. Both Duke and Michigan State are in the top four of the preseason Associated Press rankings. Both bring in top recruiting classes. And both are returning several high-level veterans.

The Spartans will have one of the most talented and deep backcourts in the country. Joining holdovers A.J. Hoggard, Jaden Akins and Tyson Walker is McDonald's All-American Jeremy Fears Jr. to form a backcourt that can really pressure defenses. Tom Izzo also welcomes in another McD's All-American in big man Xavier Booker. The combination of youth and experience isn't limited to Michigan State in this one, as Duke's core of Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor will mentor a great freshman class, led by TJ Power and Caleb Foster.

While the Champions Classic is filled with future NBA talent and great programs, it is the beginning of the season and there can be a learning curve. Still, the United Center will be buzzing for this one.

If you didn't know, it was Marquette and not UConn that won the Big East regular season (and tournament) championship ... and they beat the Huskies in both. The Golden Eagles have pretty much everyone back to defend their titles while also wanting to get the bad taste of their second-round NCAA loss to Michigan State out of their mouth. Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek leads the way for Marquette, who brings back almost all of its offensive production from a year ago. They travel down to Champaign to face an Illinois team that could be very dangerous by the time the tournament comes around.

After last season's rather unfulfilling season, head coach Brad Underwood decided to pivot and rebuild his roster. A couple of high-profile recruits left the program and Underwood decided to go for experienced players to fill the gaps. They nabbed Quincy Guerrier (Oregon), Justin Harmon (Utah Vally) and Marcus Domash (Southern Illinois) to run alongside two of last season's brightest spots, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins.

How is this for a first-round game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Honolulu? Yes ... first round. The roles are kind of reversed for this one as Gonzaga isn't one of the top-ranked preseason teams (though preseason AP #11 isn't too shabby) while Purdue's sole mission is to exorcise their poor postseason demons and finally get to a Final Four. 

Purdue returns their entire starting lineup from a team that went 29-6 and ruled the Big Ten last season before becoming just the second #1 seed to lose to a #16 in the NCAA tournament. National player of the year Zach Edey is back and wants to end his Boilermaker career fulfilling their promise. Remember that in 2022 Purdue lost to 15-seed St. Peter's in the Sweet 16. There is a lot of promise and pressure on this season.

Gonzaga knows that well. They finally got to a Final Four in 2017 (then again in 2021) but fell short of winning their first national title in the championship game. This year the Zags are changing as, unlike Edey, Drew Timme opted not to come back to college which forces the Bulldogs to turn the page to the next era of Gonzaga hoops. Nolan Hickman is the lone starter returning and Mark Few will have to develop a team from a talented haul of freshmen and transfers (led by Creighton's Ryan Nembhard). Wyoming transfer Graham Ike will attempt to take on Timme's production and, in this game, get the Edey assignment.

Normally I don't include an entire holiday tournament on a list of non-conference games to watch, but the Maui Jim Maui Invitational is really stacked.

We just discussed the No. 3 Purdue vs No. 11 Gonzaga matchup, but the entire bracket is loaded with great showdowns. The tournament opens with No. 9 Tennessee taking on Syracuse. The winner of that takes on the Purdue-Gonzaga winner (and the losers of those game will also play each other). On the other side of the bracket is No. 1 Kansas taking on host Chaminade while No. 5 Marquette faces UCLA. So if the rankings take hold, we could have a semifinals featuring Purdue vs Tennessee and Kansas vs Marquette. The championship game could likely feature two top-five teams.

The Maui Jim Maui Invitational moves to Honolulu this season (the third time in four years it has moved away from its home) due to the devastating wildfires on Maui. 

An interesting game at an interesting site -- Palm Springs. The inaugural Acrisure Classic will feature Michigan State and Arizona on Thanksgiving Day ... to be played on FOX right after the Packers-Lions NFL game. It will be interesting to see how well this goes as Thanksgiving Day is typically dominated by football (even college football has shifted away to avoid the NFL's dominance of that date). Still, a new even at the sparkling new Acrisure Arena could create an opportunity for college hoops -- especially if they can lure in major programs like this.   

The UConn Huskies will face UCLA in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic. While there are several great teams in this event -- all eight teams will play two games over two days -- the matchup of the preseason No. 2 (Huskies) and No. 4 teams (Bruins) is the marquee event.

UConn's streak of 14 straight Final Fours ended last season, but the Huskies plan to have Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd back for full, healthy seasons and joining Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl to start a new streak. UCLA gets Charisma Osborne back for another season.

UConn and UCLA will play Kansas and Niagara, respectively, the following day.

The new ACC-SEC Challenge looks to bring us some really cool matchups and force programs into true road games that we don't normally see them play. That's true here as blue-blood Kentucky travels down to south Florida to take on Jim Larranaga's Miami Hurricanes. While Kentucky may be the iconic brand, it is Miami who has been to power on the court of late. The Canes followed their Elite 8 run in 2022 with their first Final Four appearance last season. Isaiah Wong may be gone but guys like Nijel Pack, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar set the foundation for another strong Miami team and possibly another deep run in March. Pulling junior Matthew Cleveland from Florida State was a coup, as the do-everything wing will do a fantastic job filling in Wong's production. Kentucky's rebuilt roster full of elite freshman will be tested at one of the ACC's sneaky tough places to play. 

The new ACC/SEC Challenge will give us some really interesting matchups going forward. One is seeing Duke, who typically doesn't play many true road games, traveling to Arkansas. While these two schools have only faced off four times, they do have quite a history against each other. Three of those meetings were in the NCAA tournament, with the biggest being the Razorbacks' victory over the Blue Devils in the 1994 NCAA championship game in Charlotte. They also met in the 1990 Final Four, and their last meeting was in the 2022 Elite 8 where Duke won, 78-69. We've discussed what Duke will look like, but Arkansas ... while losing Anthony Black and Nick Smith ... will be a handful with a healthy Trevon Brazile, transfers El Ellis and Khalif Battle, and returning starters Davonte Davis and Makhi Mitchell. If Ellis and Battle can elevate the Hogs deep shooting like they hope, this is a Final Four team.

The ACC/SEC Challenge will also feature some great matchups on the women's side as well. The biggest showdown is between Virginia Tech and LSU, who met in the Final Four this past March. Defending national champion LSU are the preseason No. 1 squad while Virginia Tech checks in at No. 8. The Tigers got even better this offseason, adding transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow to superstar forward Angel Reese. The Hokies are led by senior Elizabeth Kitley, who scored 18 points and played all 40 minutes in that national semifinal loss to LSU.

Other great games in the women's ACC/SEC Challenge are No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 11 Tennessee, No. 17 Louisville at No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 1 South Carolina at No. 16 North Carolina. 

Like I said a bit ago, the new conference showdown battles gives us an opportunity to see on-campus games we typically don't get to see. A battle between the last two national champions in the inaugural Big East/Big 12 Battle ... with The Phog as the backdrop. UConn will be retooling its rotation with many players cashing in on the 2023 championship for greener pastures. Tristen Newton is back and Dan Hurley has assembled another tough group that could once again gel into a title contender. How freshman Stephon Castle adapts could be the catalyst for another run.

Going into The Phog is a difficult task for anyone, and the reigning national champ will take on the preseason No. 1 team. The Jayhawks are loaded and top transfer Hunter Dickinson could eat very well this season. This will be an electric atmosphere in one of sports hallowed halls. 

The Zags and Trojans go at it in Las Vegas. We've discussed Gonzaga's rebuild after the Drew Timme era, but USC is attempting to continue one of the best stretches in program history. They've been to three straight NCAA tournaments, have been luring NBA-caliber talent to Troy and have consistently been one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Boogie Ellis is becoming a star, Kobe Johnson is a defensive stud and Joshua Morgan is one of the Pac-12's top shot blockers. Two players have Hall of Fame dads -- DJ Rodman and Bronny James -- who could become wildcards for this season. Rodman is a coach's dream as a guy whose motor never stops while James could be a key addition if he is able to recover and be cleared after a scary cardiac arrest this summer. 

Last year, North Carolina entered the season No. 1 but it was UConn who ended up cutting the nets in Houston. The Tar Heels are looking to rebound from their massively disappointing season by facing the defending champs in one of head coach Hubert Davis' favorite places -- Madison Square Garden. The Garden should be electric as plenty of local Huskies fans will be seated alongside the Carolina faithful.

Shaka Smart welcomes his old program (Texas) for the one he left them for (Marquette). This game was set up by the Big East-Big 12 Battle, but with Texas' move to the SEC next season we won't see a rematch in Austin next year ... which would have been interesting. 

Last year, a Purdue-Alabama game would have been must-see television. These were two of the best teams in the country with two of the most memorizing players. While Purdue welcomes back Zach Edey and the rest of last year's starters, Alabama must retool with Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney, Jahvon Quinerly and others leaving. Mark Sears is the lone starter back for the preseason No. 24 team. With a bevy of transfers and a freshman class that includes Jarin Stevenson it will take time to get this team on the same page. Facing such a cohesive team like the Boilermakers on December 9th will be a major measuring stick.

This game is part of the Naismith Hall of Fame doubleheader in Toronto. TCU-Clemson is the other matchup. 

Technically a neutral site game, but the Huskies will be traveling across the country to Seattle to take on the Zags. We've touched on both teams already, but this is an interesting game for two teams who are having to go through some changes this season. The Zags will be in the middle of a strong non-conference schedule that will have saw them face Purdue (and others in a brutally tough Maui Invitational), USC and Washington and before they host San Diego State. UConn will be ending a four-game stretch where they play at Kansas and face North Carolina at Madison Square Garden (Arkansas Pine Bluff is thrown in there). 

It's always fun with Kentucky and North Carolina ... two of the bluest of blue bloods ... face off. The two heavyweights will meet for the 21st time in the last 24 years, with Carolina leading the series, 25-17, but Kentucky dominated their last meeting (a 98-69 Wildcats blowout in Las Vegas). This year's meeting is in Atlanta, which is smack dab in both school's footprint so the fan experience should be fantastic. Both teams have rebuilt their teams via the transfer portal and in recruiting -- Kentucky has a top recruiting class while the Tar Heels have added Elliott Cadeau, an intriguing freshman point guard to stabilize the offense. This is part of the CBS Classic which will also feature UCLA vs. Ohio State.

Both Purdue and Arizona are trying to erase bad memories of their 2023 NCAA tournament trips. Arizona, a 2-seed, was stunned by No. 15 Princeton in the first round of the tournament while Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed when FDU shocked the country by downing the Boilermakers. Though both teams are looking to bounce back from those disappointments, each team enters the season and this game (which will be held in Indianapolis) built a bit differently.

Purdue returns their entire starting lineup from a team that went 29-6 and dominated the Big Ten last season behind player of the year Zach Edey. Arizona, on the other hand, returns only big man Oumar Ballo but rebuilt the roster with two transfers who have played on big stages (North Carolina's Caleb Love and San Diego State's Keshad Johnson) as well as former Alabama guard Jaden Bradley. Their freshman class should also be contributors as three of the newcomers have international experience. This should be a fun game to watch.

One of the coolest things about college basketball is when one great program goes on the road and plays in one of the sport's great arenas. We will get that when Kansas head to Bloomington and faces Indiana at Assembly Hall, pitting two blue bloods against each other. Of course, Kansas has been the more relevant blue blood, winning the 2022 national championship, while Indiana has been a roller coaster with a revolving door of head coaches and scandals. Former Hoosier Mike Woodson seems to be a calming influence on this program with his ties to the golden days of Indiana basketball and his NBA connections enticing for recruits.

While Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse is known as one of the most difficult places for an opponent to walk into, Indiana's Assembly Hall is right there behind it. The preseason top-ranked Jayhawks will get a great taste of playing in front of a raucous crowd on top of them. We've discussed Kansas a bit, but Indiana welcomes one of the top recruits in the country in forward Mackenzie Mgbako. The Hoosiers are a true wildcard this year: they have the talent, albeit a bit green with the losses of Trayce Jackson-Davis  and Jalen Hood-Schfino. If Xavier Johnson can stay healthy, this could be a team to watch come March. 

Baylor travels up to Detroit to face Michigan State, in a big test for Scott Drew's rebuilt roster. The Bears are replacing a ton of production with a mix of a nice recruiting class and a couple of impact transfers -- something that Drew has been fantastic at finding. Ja'Kobe Walter is a one-and-done type recruit who will get an opportunity to shine in a revamped backcourt. Also in that backcourt will be Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis (MAC Player of the Year) and VCU transfer Jayden Nunn. Drew relies on his guards to be physical and active on both ends of the court. That's always been Michigan State's goal as well, and the Spartans will have one of the most experienced and deep backcourts in the nation.

Baylor will be having quite a week of non-conference showdowns. A few days after facing off against Michigan State in Detroit, the Bears will travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the Duke Blue Devils. The Bears have a rebuilt roster (doesn't everyone, though?) but will need a huge game from senior forward Jalen Bridges in this one. Duke has a great frontcourt that is both sound and athletic and will be a tall task for Scott Drew's bunch. Two preseason top-five teams in the span of a week  These two programs have met just once before -- the 2010 Elite Eight. Duke won that game en route to a national championship. 

I'm so glad to see this game on the schedule. While Florida Atlantic may have been a "seeding Cinderella" during last year's Final Four run, they were no fluke. Much of the main rotation of that squad is back, led by the dazzling backcourt of Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin. While the Owls won't sneak up on anybody, they really never needed to. FAU (who moves to the AAC this season) is hoping that they are building a sustainable program that could be the next power program outside the Power 6.

That's what makes this showdown with Arizona in Las Vegas so tantalizing. FAU gets to show up for a must-see game against a top-tier program like the Wildcats in sparkling Sin City for an opportunity to show the world that they aren't going away. Make no mistake, these are two good teams who will put on a show right before Christmas.

Two west powers go against each other in Spokane as the national runner-up travels up the coast to face the Zags. Personally, I love it when two "mid-major" power programs play one another and it is even more tantalizing when they are programs built on solid foundations. You know about Gonzaga and what they've done for over two decades already, but San Diego State has been a very steady program for quite a while that has become a legit threat to make a deep tournament run like they did back in March. Much of that team is returning, as reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (and guy who hit the biggest shot in Aztecs history). Lamont Butler and South Region MVP Darrion Trammell are back with Jaedon LeDee looking to step into a starting role. 

UConn's 14-year Final Four streak ended last March, but the Huskies are ready to get back to the big stage in Dallas. UConn hopes to have Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd for a full season, giving the Huskies one of the deepest rosters in the country. South Carolina has reached the last three Final Fours but no longer have Aliyah Boston dominating the paint. These two have been the two best programs of late and their match-up in Columbia may be the most anticipated game of the season. South Carolina won last year's meeting in Storrs, 81-77.