After the two Big East rivals split games in conference play, Marquette delivered the last loss the defending champions would suffer the rest of the season in the Big East Tournament semifinal. UConn and Marquette played three times last season and the 2-1 series advantage went to the Golden Eagles. These two played twice last season and the first matchup was headlined by a Zach Edey go-ahead bucket with three seconds left that gave Purdue a 64-63 win. When Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington join the Big Ten next season it will become even less likely to get home-and-home matchups like we've seen in the past. The bad news for college basketball fans is this matchup between preseason top-five teams from the Big Ten will only be played once this season. When: March 2 | Where: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Indiana) the Tar Heels, but UNC leads the all-time series between the blue blood 143-115. Last season, the Blue Devils won both games vs. Instead of Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski roaming the sidelines, it's now UNC's Hubert Davis and Scheyer leading their respective programs. 1 rivalry has gone through some changes the last two seasons. When: March 9 | Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina) 3 | Where: Dean Smith Center (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) UConn star big man Donovan Clingan suffered a foot injury late last month and his status for the start of the season is up in the air, but the good news is he should be recovered in time for this game and the matchup between him and Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson should be a must-see showdown. The reigning NCAA Tournament champs have three ranked games in a two week stretch and the gauntlet starts in Lawrence. It's being played at Allen Fieldhouse where Kansas enjoys one of the best home-court advantages in the country. Most of the games on this list are being played at neutral sites. 1 | Where: Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kansas)
5 recruiting class this cycle and if five-star center Xavier Booker grows in Tom Izzo's system, he could provide a strong defensive presence for a national championship contender. Michigan State brings back similar experience and high-level guard play in A.J. 2 recruiting class to campus headlined by five-star shooting guard Jared McCain. Duke heads into the season with major expectations in Year 2 of the Jon Scheyer era because it returns starters Tyrese Proctor, Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski and welcome 2023's No. It's hard to find a better way to tip off the college basketball season in earnest than this matchup.
14 (Champions Classic) | Where: United Center (Chicago) The rankings will of course change from week to week, but using the preseason AP Top 25 poll as a guide, here are the Top 25 And 1 matchups of ranked teams to keep an eye on this season followed by a team-by-team look at each ranked team's games against other teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. The Big East has the most ranked teams in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 with three. When conference play hits, there are dozens of matchups between familiar programs to keep an eye on such as No. 3 Purdue at the Maui Invitational if the bracket goes chalk. The best game on the Jayhawks schedule is a date with reigning national champion No. 1 ranked team for the fourth time in program history and they have a healthy dose of intriguing matchups during the first few weeks of the season before the Big 12 gauntlet begins. 1 Kansas will take the floor in the same arena to face No. The two historic college basketball programs will meet at the United Center in the Champions Classic on Nov. 4 Michigan State in just the second week of the season. Headlining the list of the best matchups of ranked teams is a clash between No. 6 it won't be long before we start getting game after game pitting ranked teams against each other. The AP Top 25 Poll was released Monday, signaling that the college basketball season is right around the corner.