These are the top 10 non-conference games to watch this men’s basketball season, ranked by Andy Katz.
1. Florida at Duke, Dec. 2, ACC/SEC Challenge: Tons of talent will be on the floor between two teams that have title aspirations. Getting the reigning champs at Cameron should provide a special night.
2. St. John’s vs. Kentucky, Dec. 20, Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic: The Red Storm stepped up as a replacement for UCLA in this event. The organizers at CBS couldn’t have scripted a better opponent — Rick Pitino, the former Kentucky coach, going against his former team and player Mark Pope in Catlanta.
3. UConn vs. Florida, Dec. 9, Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic: The Huskies and Gators have loaded slates, and this one shouldn’t disappoint at the Garden. MSG is UConn South, and the atmosphere should be off the charts for this matchup.
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4. Kentucky at Louisville, Nov. 11: One of the top two men’s college basketball rivalries is back to being a game between two teams with Final Four expectations. Playing the game this early in the season may dampen the importance a tad, but the atmosphere should still rock.
5. Duke vs. Michigan, Feb. 21, Washington, D.C.: I love the scheduling of this game in February between two schools that could by tying for No. 1 seeds.
6. UConn vs. BYU, Nov. 15, Boston: AJ Dybantsa gets a homecoming game at the Garden. The Huskies own Boston, too, and this should be a high-flying highlight affair.
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7. Kansas vs. Duke, Nov. 18, MSG in the Champions Classic: Love, love, love when the Champions Classic is at MSG. Having two blue bloods with two of the top players in the country — Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer — makes it even more special.
8. Arkansas vs. Duke, Nov. 27, Chicago: The Hogs and Blue Devils serve up a special Thanksgiving Day game at the United Center. Both teams will be works in progress early, but this game should have shelf life all season.
9. UConn at Kansas, Dec. 2: Dan Hurley continues to challenge the Huskies, and there is no better barometer than playing Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
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10. Houston vs. Tennessee, Nov. 25, Las Vegas in the Players Era: This should be the best game of the scheduled matchups in Las Vegas — the third game will be set after two days of results. The Cougars are a top-five team, and the Volunteers should be a top-10 squad — if not early, then likely by midseason.
