College Basketball

College Basketball: Top 12 nonconference matchups this season

Updated Nov. 9, 2021 11:57 a.m. ET

By Andy Katz
FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst

A summer of near normalcy followed by a quick, smooth-sailing preseason should lead to a higher quality of play this college basketball campaign, which kicks off Tuesday with a pair of must-see matchups from Madison Square Garden.

We have super-seniors looking to leave their marks. We have transfers looking to find success at new schools. And we have a hunger to play at a higher level not seen for two years.

This should be the perfect storm for early-season, nonconference games to be the best we’ve seen — maybe even since well before the pandemic.

Here are my top 12 nonconference games on the schedule, in order by date:

1. Kentucky vs. Duke, Tuesday at Madison Square Garden

Coach K’s last game at Madison Square Garden and the first game of his final season at Duke comes against his rival, John Calipari and Kentucky. This wasn’t planned. It was simply Duke's and Kentucky's turn to play in the Champions Classic. Both teams missed the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but both should be in the mix for a Final Four berth this season. There are a host of newcomers on both sides who will be on national display. Candidacies for national player of the year, not to mention impressions for the 2022 NBA Draft, could be formed on this night in New York.

2. Villanova at UCLA, Friday

Credit Villanova coach Jay Wright for taking his team to the West Coast in Week 1 of the season. The Wildcats will get their toughest test of the season on the road. The Bruins come in with loads of hype as a top-two team in the country. Potential player of the year candidates Johnny Juzang and Collin Gillespie will be on display. I love that this is a true home-site game. Pauley Pavilion should be rocking.

3. Texas at Gonzaga, Saturday

Chris Beard never shied away from a challenge. He will take Texas into the Kennel to take on the No. 1 team in the country. This will be a barometer moment for a Longhorns team littered with transfers who will have a major impact on Texas and the Big 12. The Zags will show off the No. 1-ranked freshman in the nation, Chet Holmgren. How he handles the defense of Beard’s crew and their physicality will be a strong indicator for the season at hand. This will also be Mark Few’s debut with the Zags this season after he served a three-game DUI suspension. The Kennel Club will have Gonzaga fired up.

4. North Carolina vs. Purdue, Nov. 20 at Mohegan Sun

The Boilermakers are my choice to win the Big Ten, and this weekend's tournament at Mohegan Sun will provide an early measure of their progress. North Carolina’s Armando Bacot will need to deal with Trevion Williams and Zach Edey. Caleb Love might not guard Jaden Ivey but will have to help him. The other side of the bracket is Tennessee against Villanova, so the Boilermakers will have an extremely tough game in the second round either way. The winner of this four-team crew will have strong momentum heading into December.

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5. Gonzaga vs. UCLA, Nov. 23 in Las Vegas

The Zags and Bruins are in a rematch of last year's epic national semifinal. UCLA is better prepared for this game, thanks to the experience on its roster. Having Myles Johnson to help Cody Riley inside means Holmgren and Drew Timme will have to be ready for physical play in the post. How will the Zags deal with Juzang and Jaime Jaquez on the wing and off the dribble? Both the Zags and the Bruins will have played a top-10 team prior to this matchup (Texas and Villanova, respectively).

6. Duke vs. Gonzaga, Nov. 25 in Las Vegas

Mark Few and Mike Krzyzewski have had a good relationship and didn’t hesitate to create this game in Las Vegas. The Holmgren-Paolo Banchero matchup will be analyzed by NBA personnel at length. The Zags will have two days to reset for this game after facing UCLA. The pressure will be more on Gonzaga to win, with one more opportunity against a top-25 team upcoming (see below).

7. Duke at Ohio State, Nov. 30, ACC-Big Ten Challenge

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge never disappoints in putting Duke in quality road situations every other year. The Buckeyes need a game such as this outside the Big Ten. Ohio State is the more experienced team and will have already played at Xavier in the Gavitt Games, but are the Buckeyes more talented? We will know postgame.

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8. Michigan at North Carolina, Dec. 1, ACC-Big Ten Challenge

A rematch of the 1993 national title is in Chapel Hill and will pit Hunter Dickinson against Bacot. Seeing how Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia and Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek are going to be used will certainly be intriguing. The same is true of Michigan’s Caleb Houstan, a five-star freshman, and DeVante' Jones, a transfer from Coastal Carolina. This has the feel of a late-possession game.

9. Gonzaga vs. Alabama, Dec. 4 in Seattle

The Zags bring their traveling road show back to Seattle for a national showdown against the Crimson Tide. How Gonzaga fares in the games against Texas, UCLA and Duke will determine a lot about how critical this matchup against the Tide will be. On the flip side, a road win against Gonzaga would do wonders for the Tide's profile. Jaden Shackelford is undervalued nationally, and this could be quite an opening for him.

10. Villanova at Baylor, Dec. 12, Big East-Big 12 Battle

The Wildcats gave Baylor arguably its toughest game in the run-up to the national title. This is part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle, but give credit to the two conferences for pitting these programs against each other. James Akinjo should be familiar to Villanova after playing as a freshman at Georgetown. The Wildcats have always been a steadying force on the road. They don’t get rattled. This will be a monster test for both teams.

11. Alabama at Memphis, Dec. 14

The Tide come back from Seattle and 10 days later have to go to Memphis for a showdown against Penny Hardaway’s heralded freshmen, Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. Memphis doesn’t have as many high-profile games (hopefully a matchup against Xavier in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center will happen for the Tigers). This would be a statement win for the Tigers, regionally and nationally.

12. Kentucky at Kansas, Jan. 29, SEC-Big 12 Challenge

I love that this challenge happens in late January to take both conferences out of their comfort zones for one game. The John Calipari-Bill Self rivalry goes back to 2008 when Kansas knocked off Memphis in overtime for the national title. Then Cal got the best of Self in the 2012 title game. They compete in recruiting as well. This game will show where both 2022 title contenders are as we head into the final month of the regular season.

Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on FOX Sports and Big Ten Network platforms, as well as March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast "March Madness 365." Katz worked at ESPN for nearly two decades and, prior to that, in newspapers for nine years.