The NBA season has mercifully started and today kicks off the first set of games for the college basketball season. Fortunately, you now know which games to watch, tournaments to watch (including The Empire Classic, the NIT Tipoff, the Legends Classic, and the Maui Jim Maui Invitational), and there’s even more games to watch because the non-conference season is the best time of the year. If you’re looking for a game that’s not on this list you may want to look here, here, and here to make sure they weren’t covered already.
College Basketball Games to Watch
Duke vs. Arkansas
Date: Wednesday, November 29th, 2023
Time: 9:15 PM ET
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
This will be a marquee matchup in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. An Elite 8 matchup between Duke and Arkansas. The Blue Devils came out ahead in that one and it happened to be Coach K’s penultimate game as their head coach. Now the two teams are looking poised to be the powerhouses of old as Duke brings in a top-2 freshman recruiting class and Arkansas brings back talent from last season to go along with a strong transfer class.
Duke is bringing back the likes of Jeremy Roach, Kyle Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor, and Mark Mitchel. This will go along with its stellar freshman class that consists of several five and four-star talent like TJ Power, Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, and Sean Stewart. This team should not be lacking for scoring or defense with how switchable some of these players should be this season. Another year under coach Jon Scheyer should help acclimate this team to his system and the Blue Devils are likely to have five or six draftable players this season, which means expectations loom large.
Arkansas will see the return of Trevon Brazile from injury while bringing in the likes of El Ellis, Khalif Battle, Denijay Harris, Chandler Lawson, and Tramon Mark from the transfer portal. Coach Eric Musselman will have this team rolling by SEC play as is usually the case. However, this will be a good early season test for his team, especially at home. The Razorbacks were 4-5 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge with all four of those wins coming at Bud Walton Arena. Can they make it five in a row at home against a new conference?
UNC vs UConn
Date: Tuesday, December 5th, 2023
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
The narrative of UNC needing to play well this year has been beaten into the ground. If the Tar Heels can pull off an upset against the reigning national champs in the Jimmy V Classic, then they’ll be well on their way to silencing the “need to win now” crowd for sure. Not only is the game between two blue-blood schools, but it is also in the Mecca of basketball arenas at Madison Square Garden. Either team securing a win there will be huge once seeding is decided in March.
UConn brought in a top-10 recruiting class that included five-star guard and likely-and-done player Stephon Castle. This includes some four-star guys in Jaylin Stewart, Solomon Ball, and Jayden Ross as well as three-star big man Youssouf Singare. With the return of Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton, Hassan Diarra, and Alex Karaban, UConn should have the makings for a strong core that could wreak havoc on the Big East and in the NCAA Tournament. Expect this game to be a huge battle between big Clingan and Armando Bacot. These two should see a ton of paint touches this game.
For UNC, many people believe that the loss of guard Caleb Love could be addition by subtraction. This game might be the biggest clue as to whether that’s true or not. UNC brought in only two freshmen. Guard Elliot Cadeau and forward Zayden High; but also managed to bring in five transfers. Four of those are Power 5 transfers in James Okonkwo, Jaelyn Withers, Cormac Ryan, and Harrison Ingram. If that team can hit the floor running with so many new faces, it stands a chance of challenging Duke and the rest of the ACC this year. Of course, the Tar Heels also return RJ Davis, Seth Trimble, and Bacot to round out the roster.
Texas vs Marquette
Date: Wednesday, December 6th, 2023
Time: 8 PM ET
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
This game is part of the Big East/Big 12 Challenge. It will surely come to be known as the Shaka Smart Game considering he’s now coached at both schools. This year’s Marquette is expected to win the Big East again or at least seriously contend in it. Texas will be coached by Rodney Terry who took over last season after Chris Beard was unceremoniously fired. This game should tell Texas fans how good of a coach he can be and a win would obviously go a long way in helping him to stay in Austin.
Both of these teams will rely heavily on the players they have returning. Neither school brought in a top-30 recruiting class. Marquette will have senior guard and Big East Player of the Year contender, Tyler Kolek running the offense. Big man Oso Ighodaro will be joined by Stevie Mitchell and Kam Jones as the starters to watch. The Golden Eagles will have five freshmen they may need to work into the rotation. Hopefully, by this game, they will have it figured out.
Texas brought in a lot of weapons to the team. Offensive wizard Max Abmas from Oral Roberts, guard Ithiel Horton from UCF, and big man Kadin Shedrick from Virginia. Freshman Chris Johnson may see some playing time early. Otherwise, this team should rely heavily on Dillon Mitchell, Brock Cunningham, and Tyrese Hunter to go along with Abmas and Shedrick.
Stay up to date for more college basketball games right here at Project Spurs.
