Retour
Week 1 of the college basketball season had some drama but not nearly enough to lead to a drastic shakeup of the AP Top 25. The new poll dropped this afternoon and saw the top four remain unchanged, with the big mover being UCLA's surge into the Top 10 on the strength of a win over Arizona on Opening Night.
We are still a bit early to get to the major MTEs like the Player's Era Festival, but Tuesday's Champions Classic does offer a showcase of four big brands in college basketball. Read on for a look at how each game involving a ranked team will turn out this week as well as detailed analysis of the most important matchups of the next seven days. Projected winners will be listed in bold.
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
Wagner |
No. 4 UConn |
7:00 p.m. |
truTV |
Grambling |
No. 7 Texas |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network |
Radford |
No. 11 Tennessee |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
North Florida |
No. 17 Miami (FL) |
7:00 p.m. |
ACC Network |
Oakland |
No. 18 Alabama |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
No. 1 Florida |
Florida State |
6:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
No. 5 Michigan State |
No. 2 Duke* |
7:00 p.m. |
ESPN |
Memphis |
No. 22 Vanderbilt |
7:15 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
No. 3 Illinois |
No. 16 Texas Tech |
8:00 p.m. |
Peacock |
Bucknell |
No. 6 Virginia |
9:00 p.m. |
ACC Network |
Northern Arizona |
No. 12 Arizona |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
Queens University |
No. 23 BYU |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
No. 15 Kansas |
No. 24 Kentucky* |
9:30 p.m. |
ESPN |
*Champions Classic in Chicago, IL
Champions Classic: The annual showcase event featuring Duke, Michigan State, Kansas and Kentucky is set to deliver again at the United Center. The Blue Devils and Spartans are set to square off in the early game, which sees both sides ranked in the Top 5, where Jeremy Fears Jr. and the Spartans will look to counter the tremendous front line that Duke has in this contest.
The late game between Kansas and Kentucky also is intriguing because of the proven star transfers on each side, including the Jayhawks' Trey Kaufman-Renn and the Wildcats' Milan Momcilovic. The difference maker could well be Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes, who hasn't to do much yet (11.5 points per game) in two easy home wins for the Jayhawks.
No. 3 Illinois at No. 16 Texas Tech: Tuesday is an incredible night of college basketball and this showdown in Lubbock could fly under the radar thanks to the Champions Classic. Illinois is the team of now as a Final Four entrant that brought back a large chunk of its roster, but this is their first true road test against a very dangerous Texas Tech team.
The Red Raiders aren't whole yet as they await the return of star forward J.T. Toppin from a torn ACL suffered late last season. Oddsmakers installed the Fighting Illini as just 1.5-point favorites in this contest, showing the rest of Texas Tech's roster a ton of respect.
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
Colgate |
No. 13 St. John's |
7:00 p.m. |
Peacock |
Marquette |
No. 20 Michigan |
7:00 p.m. |
FS1 |
Jacksonville State |
No. 8 Houston |
8:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
Robert Morris |
No. 19 Arkansas |
8:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
No. 9 UCLA |
9:00 p.m. |
Peacock |
Lindenwood |
No. 25 Nebraska |
9:00 p.m. |
FS1 |
No. 21 USC |
California |
11:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
This will be the second straight Big East opponent for the reigning national champions, who put up a good fight in a neutral site loss to No. 4 UConn that was more like a Huskies' home game. The game means a lot for the Big East as Marquette, one of the league's hopes to get a tournament team outside its Top 3, tests itself against a Big Ten behemoth.
Golden Eagles' head coach Shaka Smart finally embraced the transfer portal this year, adding key rotation pieces to bolster a roster that had fallen behind the rest of the conference. Dominating two home games was a good start for Marquette but they can really put themselves on the map as a tournament threat by stealing a game from the Wolverines at Crisler Arena.
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
Montana State |
No. 23 BYU |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
North Alabama |
No. 17 Miami (FL) |
5:00 p.m. |
ACC Network |
Merrimack |
No. 1 Florida |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network |
Sam Houston |
No. 3 Illinois |
7:00 p.m. |
Big Ten Network+ |
Northern Iowa |
No. 5 Michigan State |
7:00 p.m. |
FS1 |
Tennessee State |
No. 11 Tennessee |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
Prairie View A&M |
No. 22 Vanderbilt |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
Northern Arizona |
No. 24 Kentucky |
7:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
Ohio State |
No. 4 UConn |
7:30 p.m. |
TNT |
SIU Edwardsville |
No. 2 Duke |
8:00 p.m. |
The CW |
No. 6 Virginia |
Maryland |
8:00 p.m. |
Peacock |
Central Arkansas |
No. 19 Arkansas |
8:00 p.m. |
SEC Network+ |
No. 12 Arizona |
Auburn |
9:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
Seton Hall |
No. 18 Alabama |
9:00 p.m. |
SEC Network |
Any time you get a top program playing a true road game in November you have upset potential. No. 12 Arizona already has a loss under its belt after falling to UCLA last week and now has a dangerous road game at Auburn, which is looking to take a big leap forward after following last year's NCAA Tournament miss with an NIT crown.
There is also some serious star power in the contest between Arizona's Ivar Kharchenkov, a potential lottery pick, and do-it-all Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford. The Tigers saw Pettiford put up 18 points and four assists in a win over Southeast Louisiana last week and his ability to get to the basket could cause problems for Arizona.
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
Stonehill |
No. 19 Texas Tech |
1:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
LSU |
No. 15 Gonzaga* |
3:30 p.m. |
USA Network |
*Bad Boy Mowers Series in Spokane, WA
Even with a move to the new-look Pac-12, Mark Few has loaded Gonzaga's non-conference schedule with marquee contests. The Bulldogs already scooped up a win over Purdue on the first night of the season and will now get to be the first true litmus test of what Will Wade has assembled in his return to LSU.
The Tigers' roster is heavy on transfers, international players and fifth-year players who got an injunction from the court systems to keep playing, making the chemistry building process challenging as LSU has had to sort out numerous eligibility concerns. Wade does have a bona fide star leading his squad in former New Mexico and UCLA transfer Donovan Dent, who is averaging 14.5 points per game over the Tigers' first week of the season.
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
Game Time (ET) |
How To Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
No. 10 Louisville |
Memphis |
1:00 p.m. |
ESPN |
Boise State |
No. 25 Nebraska |
1:00 p.m. |
Big Ten Network |
William & Mary |
No. 20 Michigan |
2:00 p.m. |
Big Ten Network+ |
Baylor |
No. 7 Texas* |
3:00 p.m. |
ESPN |
Syracuse |
No. 13 St. John's |
7:00 p.m. |
Peacock |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
No. 21 USC |
7:00 p.m. |
Big Ten Network+ |
*San Antonio Hoops Showdown in San Antonio, TX
The offseason's biggest portal spending spree has paid off so far for No. 10 Louisville, which has raced out to a 2-0 start in the first week of the season. There are signs of worry, however, including the fact that they let Chattanooga hang around in their first game, which could be exposed as they hit the road for the first time against a scary Memphis team.
Penny Hardaway's Tigers just missed out on a Top 25 spot themselves after a 2-0 opening week that saw them score two quality wins over a ranked Iowa State outfit and A-10 front-runner VCU. Jayden Reid has been a scoring machine for Memphis, averaging 29 points a game to date, and the fact that he and his teammates have been so battle-tested already could make them the perfect team to take down a talented Cardinals' side still trying to build chemistry.