Ranking the best men’s nonconference games of 2025-26, from Florida-Duke to Alabama-Illinois

The college basketball season is almost here, and with it comes a multitude of marquee matchups during the nonconference portion of the schedule. These headliners should be catnip for college hoops sickos, but they are also tremendous tools for hooking casual fans, even with football season in full swing.

Madison Square Garden and several Las Vegas venues will host many of these gargantuan games, but many more notable showdowns are taking place on campus. There is no replacing the maniacal rowdiness of a student section on its home turf, but neutral-site showcases provide plenty of quality hoops, as well.

In the list below, you will notice a heavy dose of specific teams: UConn, Duke, Florida, Kentucky and a few others. Yes, these are some of the best teams and programs in the sport, but we must also credit these coaching staffs for actively seeking out challenging opponents in the season’s opening weeks. They help build up the sport and give fans something to circle on the calendar.

One final caveat: This list only includes actual guaranteed matchups. We opted not to do any projection of teams that might meet in later rounds of early-season tournaments (multi-team events, or MTEs), as that kind of speculation can go awry quickly. And this list is still fully loaded with entertaining games that are worth your time! Bookmark this story so you can revisit it as nonconference play wears on.

1. Florida at Duke – Dec. 2, (87.8 FanMatch score, per KenPom)

The best nonconference game in 2025-26 features half of last year’s Final Four, with the reigning national champion heading to one of college basketball’s most iconic venues to take on another title contender. Bonus points awarded for the matchup of arguably the best freshman in the country (Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer) squaring off against Florida’s army of big men. This should be a tremendous on-campus showdown of teams that could both return to the Final Four.

2. Kentucky at Louisville – Nov. 11 (88.1)

Another on-campus game, this early-season meeting of Bluegrass State archrivals is a matchup of potential national championship threats. Louisville’s dazzling offense against Kentucky’s deep stable of athletes promises to be an incredible show, and both teams love to get up and down the floor. What a treat on the season’s first Tuesday — no NFL action to distract from this one!

3. Florida vs. UConn – Dec. 9, New York City (88.2)

We love a rematch of the teams that have captured the last three national titles, especially after their most recent meeting inspired a Dan Hurley outburst after a March thriller. The eventual national champions barely survived the reigning back-to-back champs, with the Gators handing Hurley and the Huskies their first NCAA Tournament loss since 2022. The offensive execution in that game was sublime, and it will surely be again with these two stellar coaching staffs.

4. UConn at Kansas – Dec. 2 (84.0)

UConn last traveled to Lawrence on Dec. 1, 2023, the Huskies’ first loss as reigning national champions. Surely, Dan Hurley has a little revenge on his mind — he does not strike me as a guy who forgets a loss. Add in the allure of KU freshman star Darryn Peterson and the aura of Allen Fieldhouse, and this is a must-watch game. Clear your schedule.

5. UCLA vs. Arizona – Nov. 14, Inglewood, Calif. (82.5)

A former Pac-12 rivalry is reignited in Southern California. These two have played some terrific games against each other, and although in a perfect world this one would be played in Tucson or at Pauley Pavilion, there will still be a strong crowd at the Intuit Dome. Some slight bonus points for it being early in the season, the first true test for how All-America candidate Donovan Dent looks while playing for Mick Cronin after transferring to UCLA from New Mexico this offseason.

Donovan Dent is the Bruins’ key offseason addition from New Mexico. (Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)

6. St. John’s vs. Kentucky – Dec. 20, Atlanta (82.4)

If only this were in Lexington! Still, a Rick Pitino game against his old school is a national event in the sport. Add in the wrinkle of taking on his former player Mark Pope, who won a national title playing for Pitino in 1996, and you have storylines galore here. Oh, and both teams are likely to be awesome. St. John’s was a fantastic replacement for UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic lineup.

7. Florida vs. Arizona – Nov. 3, Las Vegas (83.4)

The Gators and Wildcats highlight the season-opening slate, ushering in a new year of college hoops with a massive heavyweight battle in the paint. Fresh off a national title, Florida’s frontcourt of Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten and Rueben Chinyelu will square up with Arizona’s bullying group of bigs, including Motiejus Krivas, Tobe Awaka and Koa Peat.

8. Texas Tech vs. Arkansas – Dec. 13, Dallas (79.3)

This may feel a bit high of a slot, but recall the epic overtime game these two played in the Sweet Sixteen last year, and it makes more sense. Texas Tech’s dynamic duo of Christian Anderson and JT Toppin combined for 42 points and 14 rebounds in that narrow Red Raiders win, while returning Hogs Karter Knox, DJ Wagner and Trevon Brazile had 44 points of their own. This is also a stellar coaching matchup between rising star Grant McCasland and longtime legend John Calipari.

9. Duke vs. Michigan – Feb. 21, Washington, D.C. (85.4)

A nonconference game this late in the year? Well, hopefully it is closer than last year’s Duke game against a Big Ten team in February, when the Blue Devils unceremoniously blasted Illinois 110-67. Michigan’s monstrous big man trio — Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson — will face off against Cam Boozer, Patrick Ngongba and Maliq Brown. Plus, with it being so late in the season, both teams should be closer to their final forms – a great out-of-conference appetizer before March Madness.

10. UConn vs. BYU – Dec. 15, Boston (76.9)

Another massive showdown for UConn, this time against ballyhooed recruit and pro prospect AJ Dybantsa and BYU. The Cougars are coming all the way east in a homecoming for Massachusetts native Dybantsa, but they have plenty of other weapons (Richie Saunders, Keba Keita, Rob Wright III) that should allow them to go toe-to-toe with the Huskies.

11. Houston vs. Tennessee – Nov. 25, Las Vegas (80.6)

Gritty, not pretty. That’s what you can expect from this meat grinder of a game between perhaps the two best defensive coaches in the country. The Cougars return three starters from the team that was one possession away from a national title, while Tennessee — with star transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie and NBA Draft prospect freshman Nate Ament — possesses plenty of talent. They are not all going to be masterpieces, but both of these teams could play deep into March.

12. Duke vs. Kansas – Nov. 18, New York City (80.3)

The headliner of the Champions Classic pits two of the country’s top freshmen, Duke’s Cam Boozer and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, against one another. They play different positions, of course, but for any fan hoping to scout two elite players and NBA Draft prospects, this nightcap in New York is can’t-miss basketball. Notably, the Jayhawks narrowly topped the Blue Devils in Vegas last season.

13. Illinois vs. Tennessee – Dec. 6, Nashville (85.7)

Two weeks after a slugfest with Houston, Tennessee gets a semi-home game against a loaded Illinois offense. The Illini have a wealth of skill and shooting in their frontcourt, which will test the mobility of the Vols’ shot-swatting big man Felix Okpara. This one is a fascinating game of strength on strength.

14. Missouri vs. Kansas – Dec. 7, Kansas City (80.2)

This massive rivalry (unofficially known as the Border War) provided an excellent, down-to-the-wire battle in Columbia last year. Kansas won the previous two matchups, and Darryn Peterson will take on a veteran Missouri roster on a neutral floor this year. Still, expect a raucous environment in an extremely drivable location for both fan bases.

15. Gonzaga vs. UCLA – Dec 13, Seattle (84.6)

These two squads have now met for five straight seasons, with two of those meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament. Who could forget Jalen Suggs’ walk-off banker at the 2021 Final Four, or Julian Strawther’s buzzer beater in the 2023 Sweet Sixteen? UCLA finally got some measure of revenge last season, but Mick Cronin surely feels like he owes Mark Few another loss or three. Stay up late for this clash of two tremendous offenses if you must; it tips at 11:30 p.m. E.T.

16. Wisconsin vs. BYU – Nov. 21, Salt Lake City (79.8)

Our third 2025 NCAA Tournament rematch, Wisconsin and BYU played one of the few classics of the first two rounds. Both teams sought major portal help this offseason, but the headliners are a couple of returners (BYU’s Richie Saunders, Wisconsin’s John Blackwell) and freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa. If this one is anywhere near the shootout in Denver in March, it will be worth everyone’s time to tune in.

17. Purdue at Alabama – Nov. 13 (85.9)

The Boilermakers do not have any top-10 matchups in the nonconference (per KenPom or the AP poll), but this trip south to Tuscaloosa should be a doozy. It is the return meeting from last year, when the Boilers won an excellent 87-78 contest in West Lafayette featuring Trey Kaufman-Renn’s coming-out party to a national audience (26 points, eight rebounds, four assists). After two buy games, this will be No. 1 Purdue’s first true test in 2025-26.

Braden Smith is the Boilermakers’ returning All-American and Bob Cousy Award winner. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

18. UConn vs. Illinois – Nov. 28, New York City (85.0)

Yes, UConn is on here quite a bit – but that’s only because the Huskies have signed up for a bevy of entertaining and competitive games with other awesome teams. Illinois, who like UConn, is a top-10 team via KenPom, EvanMiya and Bart Torvik, returns to Madison Square Garden after February’s demolition at the hands of Duke. Expect an extremely pro-Husky crowd in the World’s Most Famous Arena in a rematch of the two squads’ 2024 NCAA Tournament clash which featured an infamous 30-0 UConn run.

19. Duke vs. Texas Tech – Dec. 20, Madison Square Garden (84.5)

Last year, we got to see Cooper Flagg (the nation’s best freshman) against Johni Broome (arguably the country’s best player until Flagg went supernova) in December. That matchup did not disappoint. So yes, sign me up for Cam Boozer (the nation’s best freshman) against JT Toppin (arguably the country’s best player). This is a perfect pre-Christmas treat for college basketball fans that also features two rising coaching stars in Jon Scheyer and Grant McCasland.

20. Gonzaga vs. Kentucky – Dec. 5, Nashville (82.4)

This budding rivalry continues as part of a six-year series announced in 2022. The Zags won the first two meetings in Spokane and Lexington before falling in a dramatic 90-89 overtime game in Seattle last December. This meeting, the second between Mark Pope and Mark Few, should provide similar fireworks.

21. Arizona at UConn – Nov. 19 (71.8)

UConn’s fifth appearance on the list is also its first true home game of the bunch. Tommy Lloyd and Arizona come across the country before Feast Week for a huge battle in Storrs. Can the Huskies’ foul-prone defense withstand the relentless rim assault of the Wildcats? Can Arizona’s young roster handle the pristine offensive flow of Dan Hurley’s Huskies?

22. Louisville at Arkansas – Dec. 3 (82.5)

If Cam Boozer vs. Darryn Peterson on November 18 is this season’s headliner for freshman battles, then Mikel Brown Jr. vs. Darius Acuff is a phenomenal undercard. The two point guard prospects inevitably get compared to each other, and both should lead high-powered offenses with a chance to go on deep postseason runs. The Hogs may have an edge in the paint here, unless German big man Sananda Fru is the real deal for the Cardinals.

23. Duke at Michigan State – Dec. 6 (82.9)

Duke rarely played true road games in the nonconference during the latter stages of Mike Krzyzewski’s career. Under Jon Scheyer, though, the Blue Devils ventured to Arizona last fall, and this year they will head north to East Lansing. The Spartans may not have a first-round NBA talent like Jase Richardson, but their physical identity will push Duke before ACC play brings many more road tests.

24. Alabama vs. Arizona – Dec. 13, Birmingham (84.8)

This one makes the list because it could pretty easily exceed 80 possessions. That kind of pace — with professional talents like Labaron Philon, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat on the floor — should make for an outstanding viewing experience. It is not a true home game for the Crimson Tide, but with college football in a lull at this time of the calendar, expect a rowdy Bama contingent in Birmingham.

25. Iowa State at Purdue – Dec. 6 (72.2)

One of the Big 12’s best teams traveling to the No. 1 team in the country is already a major matchup. But add in the duel of senior point guards here, and it becomes extra enticing. Purdue’s Braden Smith is as good as it gets in ball screens, but Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey, who should be fully healthy by then, is an on-ball demon. Mackey Arena and the Paint Crew will be rocking for this one.

26. St. John’s vs. Iowa State – Nov. 24, Las Vegas (83.3)

The legend that is Rick Pitino debuts in the Players Era Festival against TJ Otzelberger, a spiritual successor to Pitino’s pressure-heavy defenses.

27. Michigan vs. San Diego State – Nov. 24, Las Vegas (78.1)

Dusty May’s rematch with San Diego State is a sneaky storyline here; Brian Dutcher’s Aztecs eliminated May’s FAU Owls at the buzzer at the 2023 Final Four.

28. St. John’s vs. Baylor – Nov. 25, Las Vegas (80.6)

Baylor beat St. John’s at the buzzer in a double-overtime thriller in the Bahamas last year, so we can only hope for something that dramatic as an encore.

29. Arkansas vs. Duke – Nov. 27, Chicago (77.8)

John Calipari taking on Jon Scheyer and Duke on Thanksgiving? At the very least, have it on during NFL commercials!

30. UNC vs. Michigan State – Nov. 27, Fort Myers, Fla. (78.9)

More Turkey Day delight! Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels tenure is tenuous, so a win over Tom Izzo’s tough-as-nails Spartans would be something to be thankful for.