BIG EAST Non-Conference Viewing Guide
Better late than never—hell, we only missed 1 big game—your 2025-26 Big East Non-Conference Viewing Guide
One of the things I love about the Big East is the certain level of camaraderie we have as fans during the non-conference portion of the schedule, as well as March & April. I believe the genesis of this has been well discussed, and perhaps I’ll do a piece on it some other time. For now, if you’re like me, you want to know all the biggest games that will help determine the perception and metrics that will factor into committee selections come March. So without further ado, here’s your most important OOC games:
Monday, November 3, 2025
Villanova 66 v. BYU 71 (N) - Villanova looked better than expected, hung tough, and covered the spread against a top-10 team. While you would love to see a win, and moral victories are meaningless, you have to be somewhat encouraged if you’re a ‘nova fan.
Friday, November 7, 2025
Georgetown 70 @ Maryland 60 - Are the Hoyas back?! That’s the question on everyone’s minds after they easily defeat Maryland. Certainly a win over a bubblicious B1G squad with a new coach isn’t the most impressive victory, but it’s a road victory that will almost certainly maintain Q1 status throughout the season. It’s also the type of game Georgetown has had no shot of winning for years now. KenPom is buying, with the hoyas jumping from 90th to 72nd in the esteemed rankings despite the rankings still strongly factoring in a fairly pessimistic pre-season efficiency rating for the Hoyas due to structural reasons within KP’s projections that had little to do with this season’s roster. Malik Mack was very good in this one, if a little inefficient. He posted 19 and snagged 8 boards, adding a block and 2 steals defensively. Only 1 assist is something to watch. KJ Lewis was also excellent, posting 16 points on 5-12, with 9 boards and 3 assists. We’ll get an even better idea of where Georgetown stands this coming Saturday when they host KP 24 Clemson in DC, in a game where I will very likely HAMMER the Georgetown moneyline.
Saturday, November 8, 2025
St. John’s 96 v. Alabama 103 - The first test for the Johnnies gets an F, at least defensively. ‘Bama’s elite guards absolutely cooked our backcourt. Nate Oats’ halftime adjustments help take the Johnnies frontcourt out of the game, and ‘Bama pulled away late to win by 7. Plus side for the Johnnies, the offense looks light years better than last season. The bad news, they got work to do defensively.
Providence 101 v. Va. Tech (N-technically) 107 - Neo Avdalas of Va. Tech led all scorers with 33 points on 8-15 shooting, and added in 6 assists, 5 boards, a block and a steal as Va. Tech wins a thriller at Mohegan Sun. Questionable TO from Kim late in regulation to draw up a final play, despite the Friars seemingly having the advantage in transition after Va. Tech tied it up at the other end. Vaaks missed the last shot on the drawn-up play, and Va. Tech handled business in overtime. The positives for the Friars: the offense is light years better than either of Kim’s first 2 years at Providence. Sellers and Edwards combined for 54, and Vaaks added 17 off-the-bench. Oswin had a double with 11 each points and boards, and added 4 blocks. He’s going to continue to be a problem for opposing teams as he grows into this larger role.
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Marquette 77 v. Indiana 100 (N) - Marquette gets thumped in Chicago by the duo of Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker Devries, who combined for 50 points. Wilkerson added 8 assists, as did Tayton Conerway. Erstwhile ‘mon Conor Enright had 5 assists of his own. I was not that high on Indiana coming into this game, but I do think they’re a tournament team now. Only 10 assists on 22 made buckets for Marquette. Shaka’s best offensive teams have moved the ball really well, and that was an area where last year’s team struggled. Bright spot, Nigel James scored 16 off the bench in just 18 minutes, going 4-9 from the field and 8-9 from the stripe. FTs were another plus for the Golden Eagles, getting to the line 33 times and hitting 29 (87.9%).
Monday, November 10, 2025
Xavier v. Santa Clara - 8:30pm, FS1 - Xavier has looked abysmal in narrowly avoiding 2 upsets. I still believe this is the type of team that will get better as the year goes on, but I’d be lying if I said my confidence in that prediction hasn’t been shaken. Santa Clara comes in with NCAAT aspirations out of the WCC. They play their first D1 opponent tonight (11/7), with a equal opponent in McNeese St. Despite starting with a D2 opponent, Santa Clara has certainly scheduled like a team trying to make the NCAAT, with 8 non-conference games scheduled vs. current KP top-140 teams, 7 of those against the top-101. They’ll also have 6-WCC games vs. top-100 KP opponents (Gonzaga, San Fran & SMC). A W tonight v. McNeese could give Santa Clara a big boost of confidence heading into Monday’s clash in Cintas. The Musketeers will look to learn from their shaky performances and win as a 5-point home favorite, per KenPom.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Creighton @ Gonzaga - 10pm, ESPN - Kudos to Greg McDermott for scheduling an absolutely brutal road game to give his team their first real test of the season. The Jays had a slightly to-close for comfort win v. South Dakota to open the season, while the Zags mollywhopped Texas Southern by 55. The Jays were buoyed in their opener by an outstanding performance from Iowa transfer center Owen Freeman, who posted an efficient 19 points, in 19 minutes, on 9-11 shooting off-the-bench. Freeman is coming back from an injury, and the hope is he can play closer to a full shift in this one. Creighton will need his offense, with Gonzaga sporting a top-20 defense. This game is a no-lose for Creighton. Win and you have a huge notch on your belt come March, lose and no one would blame you, Gonzaga is elite and the Kennel is a brutal place to play.
Friday November 14, 2025
Next weekend is when the fun really starts, with 7 quality games between Friday and Saturday.
Xavier @ Iowa - 8pm, FS1 - The B1G may have bitched out on the Gavitt Games, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still play them. This will mark the third (and below the fourth) Big East vs. B1G games of the young season. This will be the first high major game for Richard Pitino’s Musketeers, and boy they better hope they “got right” vs. Santa Clara or it’ll be a long night in Carver-Hawkeye arena against KenPom 40 Iowa. Frankly, I LOVE Ben McCollum. The dude is a basketball genius. Been following him since year 3 of the MA era, when I was starting to scout next coaches for SJU. Of course his star PG Bennett Stirtz leads the way. Stirtz’ story is inspiring, and a testament to the old school way of sticking with a coach and developing within a system. Stirtz joined McCollum at D2 Northwest Missouri State, moved with him up to Drake last season, and again to Iowa this season. Stirtz is a full-on extension of his coach, with a high basketball IQ and the athleticism to turn that IQ lethal. This game will be an interesting clash of styles. Iowa figures to be one of the slowest teams in America this year, as Drake was dead last in pace last year. Drake wants to drain every second of the clock, and they’d much rather give you a shot clock violation dead ball TO than take a bad shot and let you get out on the break. Richard Pitino likes to play fast. I think there’s an open question as to whether he has the horses for it this year. Through 2 games against cupcakes Xavier ranks just 88th in adjusted tempo per KenPom. Richard’s UNM teams never ranked lower than 22 his first year. A real litmus test of whether X can play the way Richard wants, and impose that will on another team. It’s certainly difficult to speed a team up, but can they break down McCollum’s defense quickly enough to make the pace a bit uncomfortable for Iowa? If you love ball, this should be a fascinating matchup…unless X is as bad as they’ve looked through 2 games, in which case Iowa will dictate the pace and everything else about this game.
DePaul v. Northwestern - 8:30pm, truTV - The ‘mons host crosstown rival Northwestern in another B1G v. Big East matchup. DePaul is looking to prove they’re taking the next step under Chris Holtmann after finally looking like a competent Big East program last year for the first time since Max Strus and Paul Reed were in the starting lineup. The problem for the ‘mons? There simply isn’t any room for error in this non-conference schedule. The ‘mons already boatraced KenPom 361 Chicago St. by 30, and will play 6 other schools with sub-300 KenPom rankings at the time of publishing. Their only other guaranteed non-conference game versus high major competition is lowly Georgia Tech in the Emerald Coast Classic. There’s a chance they could face LSU in the 2nd game of that tournament, the other option is Drake. The fact that Drake might be the best of the other 3 teams in that tournament tells you all you need to know. So while I hate to deem a game on November 14 a “must win,” this is pretty damn close if DePaul wants to get back to the tournament. Hell, a perfect non-conference schedule is probably needed for the ‘mons. Clearing their toughest non-conference hurdle in game 4 of the season will be a great sign in Chicago.
Providence @ Colorado - 9pm, ESPN+ - Road games are always tough. Road games at elevation, even tougher. That’ll be the challenge facing the Friars in this game. This Colorado team is not much to look at, currently clocking 94 in KenPom, but they’re ranked 12th in KenPom’s home court advantage rankings (based on last 60 home and road conference games, so roughly 3 seasons). KenPom has this as a 1-point Colorado victory. That’s bullshit. FrankPom has this a game that Providence really should win if they’re going to be a tournament team once again.
Saturday, November 15, 2024
Georgetown v. Clemson - 12noon, Peacock - Clemson is not nearly as good as years past under Brad Brownell, but they’re certainly still dangerous. This will be Clemson’s first test of the season, after three straight sub-290 cupcakes to start the year. They will come in with something to prove. It’ll be Georgetown’s second opportunity to make a big impression. And while I don’t expect Clemson to be as good this year, KenPom begs to differ, currently ranking them 27. Could potentially be a big statement. KenPom has the Hoyas a 6 point loser, but I think that is massively undervaluing the Hoyas. KenPom currently has them 90, and I wouldn’t expect them to finish anywhere near that low. This game really underscores the problem with KenPom’s early season metrics: a chunk of what is used for projections is prior 3 or 5 seasons (I can’t remember exactly) performance. Clemson has been very good in recent history, and before last year, Georgetown had been hot steaming ass in recent history. This creates a perfect storm where one team is overvalued and one team is undervalued. We’re seeing this with Georgetown’s first big game vs. Maryland to a lesser extent, and the betting markets quickly bet the spread down from 9.5 to 4.5. This could be another one to watch and pounce on a wonky open line based on flawed efficiency metrics.
Marquette v. Maryland - 2pm, Peacock - Following the Hoyas Marquette gets their shot at Maryland and their former head coach Buzz Williams. This begins a real gauntlet for the Golden Eagles, where they’ll be facing Maryland, Dayton, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Purdue to close out non-conference, with cupcakes Central Michigan and Valpo interspersed. The beauty of this setup is there is plenty of room for error. Marquette could drop a couple of these games without doing much damage to their at-large resume. Of course, the home against potentially the worst high-major team on their non-conference schedule isn’t really the one you want to drop, but the point remains.
Butler at SMU - 2pm, CW (lolACC) - I’m not high on Butler. Others are higher. YMMV. They hit the road for their first test of the season versus one of the more fascinating teams in the ACC this season, SMU. This will be the first high major game for SMU as well, but they will have a high quality mid-major come to town before Butler, with Murray St. rolling into Dallas 4 days earlier. I say SMU is fascinating not because of anything that they will or won’t do on the floor, but more so because they were 23-10 last year on selection Sunday and missed the NCAAT. They finished 50 in KenPom. Perfectly mediocre. They were almost certainly left out because they did not beat a single top-60 team in KenPom, their best win was 64 Pittsburgh and after that it’s 81 Stanford, both at home. SMU will also be out for revenge, as Butler beat them by 11 last season in Hinkle, a loss that, in hindsight, may have cost SMU a bid. At 24-9, with a Q1 road win, it would’ve been much harder to deny the Mustangs. The other fascinating aspect is that SMU is a well-heeled program, so while it’s only year 2, Andy Enfield will be expected to produce at some point. This season figures to be another one where they’re walking the tightrope on the bubble all year. For Butler, this could be the best non-conference game on their schedule (NWern and UVa are similarly ranked). So if they are to get back to the NCAAT a win here would go a long way.
UConn v. BYU (N) - 7pm, Fox - Primetime versus the soakers from the famous Boston Garden. A “neutral” site game that will almost certainly be 90% UConn fans. The Huskies look to avenge Villanova’s loss, in what is likely to be a top-10 AP poll matchup. This will be the first real test for the Huskies after opening with 3 straight cupcakes. They’ll have to continue to do it without star freshman Braylon Mullins, who likely won’t be back until early December. Tarris Reed should be back from a hamstring issue by this point, and honestly, if UConn is smart they would hold him out of their 2nd cupcake game, and give him 20 minutes or so in the 3rd game just to get his wits about him (but I’m sure Dan will make the right choice, he kinda knows what he’s doing). This game starts a gauntlet for UConn, and is honestly probably the 2nd most-winnable game of the gauntlet that will seem the close out non-conference play with BYU, Arizona, Illinois (N), at Kansas, Florida (N), and Texas, with 2 cupcakes interspersed.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
UConn v. Arizona - 7pm, FS1 - Continuing with that UConn gauntlet of a schedule, the Huskies host Arizona at Gampel. Arizona boasts one of the best front courts in the country with Koa Peat, Montiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka. The Huskies will need Tarris Reed to be at full strength for this one. In the backcourt, the Jaden Bradley-Silas DeMary matchup is really fascinating. Two ball hawks on defense, and 2 guys capable of both distributing and scoring in bunches. That alone is a reason to tune into this one. But watching Karaban try to guard Koa Peat will be a close second…
Marquette v. Dayton - 7pm, CBSSN - Marquette got got by Dayton in Dayton last season, 71-63. Marquette looks to avenge that L at FiServe. This Dayton looks significantly less talented than year’s past, but they still have Anthony Grant, one of the more underappreciated coaches in the country. Oddly enough, Dayton has alternated between up and down years, and last year was a “down” year, 77 in KenPom. So despite my subjective evaluation of the roster, maybe they’re destined for an at-large once again? KenPom has them on the cusp, sporting a KenPom rank of 47 at the moment.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Butler v. S. Carolina (N) - Butler kicks off the Greenbrier classic against S. Carolina. It’s the 4th year for Lamont Paris in Columbia, with a single 6-seed 2 seasons ago. They went into the transfer portal and brought back Meechie Johnson from Ohio St. For those keeping track at home, Meechie played 2 seasons at OSU beginning in 2020-21, came to SC in 2022-23, went back to Ohio St. in 2024-25, and somehow still has eligibility left for a 6th season (I think maybe he took a medical redshirt last year?). Meechie was all SEC for Paris in 2023-24, scoring 14.1 ppg. There’s not much to speak of on the rest of the roster—e.g. erstwhile PC big man Christ Essandoko is a guy that is on this roster—and this is a game Butler should win in my book.
Xavier v. Georgia (N) - 9pm, ESPN2 - Xavier kicks off the Charleston Classic with Georgia. Georgia is practically an “all-name” team all by itself with Smurf Millender, Blue Cain, and Kareem Stagg. The headline for the Dawgs is returners Blue Cain and Somto Cyril. Cyril is a big physical center who could give the Xavier front line big problems. Blue Cain is sniper already averaging 38.5% on 6.5 3-pt attempts per game through 2 games. This one could be a very tall ask for the Musketeers. On the plus side, Charleston rocks. I loved that trip 2 seasons ago with the Johnnies.
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Butler v. Virginia - 2pm, CBSSN - Virginia has a new coach and a star Euro in freshman Thijs de Ridder. Dallin Hall and Ugonna Onyenso are a couple of guys who are apparently still playing ball, and are on UVa this season.
Xavier v. TBD (N) - TBD, TBD - Xavier will face either Clemson or WVU in the second Charleston Classic game.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Two Big East teams kick off their Player’s Era Championships today:
Creighton v. Baylor (N) - 2:00pm, truTV - Baylor is coming off a nice win over Washington at home, 78-69. Creighton has to go play at the Kennel in Spokane before a couple of cupcakes take them into the Player’s Era. If Creighton loses to Gonzaga, they’ll be hungry for their first quality win of the season. Baylor sported a balanced attack versus Washington, with 6 players scoring between 11 and 16 points. Transfer guard Obi Agbim has been the playmaker for the Bears, with 7 assists in the Washington win. Like many of the top-teams this year, Baylor also has an outstanding freshman of its own, Tounde Yessoufou who posted 13 pts, 5 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block in the Washington win.
St. John’s v. Iowa St. (N) - 4:30pm, truTV - The Johnnies look to bounce back from the ‘bama loss with their first quality win of the season. Johnnies have 2 get right game to fix the gaps in their defense. In that regard Iowa St. presents a very good test, as they sport some high-end guard play, much like ‘Bama, led by senior Tamin Lipsey. Lipsey’s played all 4 years at Iowa State, a rarity these days. He’s steadily improved each year, and with the graduation of Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St. will lean on Lipsey to be the primary facilitator. The other guy to watch is Milan Momcilovic. Momcilovic missed some time last year with an injury, but he will be a major focal point on offense from the wing. He’s an absolute sniper, off to a blistering 52.6% pace from deep to start the season on a whopping 9.5 3-point attempts per game. Yes, it was 2 cupcakes (Grambling and FDU), but that’s impressive nonetheless.
Seton Hall v. NC State (N) - 7:30pm, ESPN2 - The Pirates sail to Maui for the eponymous invitational, where they’ll take on NC State in the opening game. NC State parted ways with Final Four head coach Kevin Keatts, and brought in the highly-regarded Frank Williams Wade as their head coach. Wade was phenomenal in his 2-year stint at McNeese after an unceremonious firing from LSU amid allegations of NCAA impropriety. He elevated McNeese from 335 in KenPom in 2022-23 to 67(!) in 2023-24, and backed that up with a 60th finish in 2024-25. McNeese was a borderline at-large team both seasons, but ultimately won the Southland tournament both times. Prior to that stint, McNese’s highest-ever KP finish and only tournament berth was 100 in 2001-02 under someone named “Tic Price.” I use quotes only because that sounds like a made up name, but he apparently also coached 2 seasons at Memphis from 1997-99, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Wade has made the NCAAT in every season the tournament was held since 2016, except 2018, his first year at LSU, and 2023 when he was not coaching. NC State’s roster is certainly interesting. You could theoretically describe it as Darrion Williams and a bunch of guys. That’s not a knock, but the roster just lacks star power, with many of these guys coming from role-player level production, albeit with high major programs at least. Alyn Breed (still in college somehow) and Quadir Copeland join Wade from McNeese to provide some experience in the system. Gotta give Wade the benefit of the doubt given the track record, particular his track record of reclaiming high major portal players who underachieved.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Creighton v. Iowa St. (N) - 2:00pm, truTV - See yesterday’s Iowa St. breakdown. Creighton and SJU flip-flop opponents in the Player’s Era today.
St. John’s v. Baylor (N) - 4:30pm, truTV - Ditto.
Seton Hall v. TBD (N) - 2:30pm/5:00pm, ESPN2/ESPN - Second game of the Maui against Boise St. or USC. Boise State has already had Hawaiian issues this year, losing to D2 Hawaii Pacific (no word on how Hawaii Atlantic looks this year), so that could be a favorable matchup for the Pirates.
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Creighton v. TBD (N) - TBD -
St. John’s v. TBD (N) - TBD - The final games of the Player’s Era will occur either 11/26 or 11/27. We’ll leave this here as a placeholder. Apparently point differential is the determining factor as to who makes it into the championship and 3rd place games, which is wild, since Creighton and SJU have to play Iowa St. and Baylor, while Kansas gets to play Syracuse and Notre Dame, and Tennessee gets to face Rutgers, and Maryland and Alabama get to face UNLV, who lost a buy game to—and I kid you not—the 10th best D1 basketball program in the state of Tennessee (UT-Martin).
Seton Hall v. TBD - 9:30pm/11:59pm, ESPN2 - Final game of the Maui for Hall. Lose the first 2 and they’ll almost certainly draw Chaminade. Win one of the first 2 and they’ll draw Wazzou, ASU or Texas. Also a quick word. What a BRUTAL Maui field this year. The Player’s Era effect is very real, but despite the Player’s Era expanding in 2026, the field next year figures to be much stronger. This year’s Maui field currently (as of 11/10) sports KenPoms of 22 (USC), 25 (NCST), 37 (Texas, probably overrated), 44 (BSU, but as mentioned lost to a D2 squad), 76 (ASU), 96 (Hall), 175 (WSU) & of course D2 Chaminade. Next year should be improved with Arizona, BYU, Clemson, Colorado St., Ole Miss, Providence, VCU and Washington, but still a far cry from the blue-blood heavy fields of years past. Maui needs to get with the times, and at least cover the cost for schools to attend, but realistically offer enticing NIL packages for the teams’ players, as that seems to be the way things are going assuming the Player’s Era actually has a functioning business model (which is definitely not guaranteed by any stretch).
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Providence v. Wisconsin (N) - 5:30pm, FS1 - The Rady Children’s Invitational opener for the Friars from the home court of one Steve Lavin and the San Diego Torreros. The Friars lost a heartbreaker in their first real test, but had to be encouraged by what they saw. They’ll have to take care of business in a road game against Colorado, who is not good and a “neutral site” game versus Penn State back at Mohegan before getting to San Diego. Once there they’ll meet a team ranked 18 in KenPom (as of 11/10). Nick Boyd is the headliner for the Badgers. Another member of the “he’s-still-in-school?!” all-stars Boyd is off to a hot start against 2 cupcakes after playing a big role for SDSU a season ago. He was also a start on the FAU squad that went to the Final Four in 2022-23, logging 23.7 mpg, and was their per game assists leader and 4th leading scorer. Joining Boyd in the backcourt is shooting guard John Blackwell, who posted 15.8 ppg for the Badgers a year ago. The Badgers also start 6’10’ and 6’11” forwards, so Oswin and Duncan “the Shagman” Powell will have their hands full.
Georgetown v. Dayton (N) - 7:30pm, ESPN2 - Hoyas fans, get ready to learn “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAYTON FLYERS!” It sounds dumb, but I promise by the 88th time you hear it, it’s all you’ll ever think of when you hear the word “Dayton” or “Flyer” for the rest of eternity. The Hoyas kickoff the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events invitational with Dayton, traditionally the cream of the A10 crop in recent years. This year could be different, as there’s a tightly bunched group of quality teams atop the A10 (Dayton, VCU, SLU & GWU), and the conventional wisdom is this roster isn’t as good as years past. KenPom has them 60 right now, which feels about average for the Anthony Grant era, but down from his best teams, 32nd in 2023-24 and 4th in 2019-20, a 29-2 team that was destined for a 1-seed before COVID canceled the NCAAT. For starters Dayton lost starting PG Malachi Smith to UConn in the transfer portal. They also graduated their 2 leading scorers, Nate Santos and Enoch Cheeks, along with key rotation pieces Zed Key and Posh Alexander. They do return Javon Bennett, who started 33 games, and posted 11.6 ppg for the Flyers a year ago. 7’1” center Amael Letang returns. He is a stretch 5, so with his size he can create some really big mismatches for almost any team. That said, the Hoyas are about as well-equipped as any team to handle Letang, with a 7’ stretch center of their own in Julius Halaifonua., and 7’1” back-up Vince Iwuchukwu, who is a more than capable perimeter defender with his length and athleticism.
Friday, November 28, 2025
UConn v. Illinois (N) - 12:30pm, FOX - The Huskies make the long trek from the boonies to the big city, where they’ll face Illinois. I can’t wait to watch this game, as I think it presents a fascinating matchup. Illinois’ offensive has looked fantastic, albeit against cupcakes, posting 113 points in each of its first 2 games. UConn is also more than capable of pouring the points in against cupcakes, dropping 110 on UMass-Lowell after scoring just 79 in the opener versues new-to-D1 New Haven. The Fightin’ Illini have dove headlong into Euro recruiting the last few years. They have three bigs sporting last names ending in -ic, each of whom has started at least 1 game: 7’2” and 7’1”, Croatian twin brothers Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic and 6’9” forward David Mirkovic. It’s unclear if Tomislav will be healthy. He’s currently out with an unspecified lower body injury with Brad Underwood saying yesterday (11/9) that the MRIs and scans were negative, but he will “miss a little bit.” When fully healthy, Illinois will likely always have at least 2 of them on the floor at once, and has even experimented with all 3 on the floor for 2 minutes. How will Tarris Reed, Eric Reibe, and Alex Karaban matchup? Can heretofore low-major transfer Dwayne Koroma contribute defensively in this game? I think this is a problem for the Huskies. Despite the Euro-heavy roster, its 2 Americans, Kylan Boswell and Keaton Wagler—a 2-headed backcourt monster—currently leading the way for the Illini. The duo are averaging a combined 40.5 ppg, 7.5 apg, 14 rpg, and 2 spg, shooting a gaudy 53% combined from deep. These numbers will surely come back to earth some, but this backcourt will give teams fits, and it will be interesting to see how UConn’s trio of Silas DeMary, Solo Ball and Malachi Smith handle the task. This game will almost certainly be a track meet. I’d take over 180, and possibly over 190. Which team can do enough defensively to get the W?
Oklahoma v. Marquette (N) - 2:00pm, NBC - Marquette welcomes the fighting’ Porter Mosers to Chicago for a neutral site game. Marquette is already 0-1 in Chicago, coming off the loss to Indiana. Oklahoma has a solid backcourt of Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, 2 experienced players. Brown a junior from the other SJU, and Pack a senior from Miami. Former Pirate Tae Davis, coming off 2 seasons in Notre Dame will be a big frontcourt contributor for the Sooners, currently average 11 & 8.
DePaul v. Ga. Tech. (N) - 6:00pm, CBSSN - I hesitated to even put this game on the guide because Tech is hot steaming ass. Fun story, I criticized the Stoudamire hire when it happened, but I was assured by certain experts that he’s a great coach. YEAH, OKAY! But w/e. I got nothing else to say about this. Starts a sorry-ass 2-game MTE—The Emerald Coast Classic—for DePaul.
Georgetown v. TBD (N) - 7:00pm/9:30pm, ESPN/ESPN2 - Georgetown gets either BYU or Miami for the 2nd game of the Terry’s Chocolates MTE.
Saturday, November 29, 2025
DePaul v. TBD (N) - 3:00pm/6:00pm, TBD - Second game of the craptastic Emerald Coast Classic. DePaul draws either LSU—who, along with Ga. Tech, figures to be in the bottom-10 high major teams this year—or mid-major Drake. Drake simply doesn’t miss on coaching hires, so that’s fun. They hired Niko Medved in 2017, and he left in 2018 for Colorado State, where he had a run good enough to land the Minnesota job. They followed that hire up with Darian DeVries, who made the NCAAT 3 times in 6 years before getting the WVU job last year, and upgrading to the Indiana job this season, and they replaced DeVries with Ben McCollum, who guided drake to a 31-4 season, a 52 KenPom rating (the highest in Drake’s history), a double Valley championship and an NCAAT upset win over Missouri as an 11-seed. New coach Eric Henderson looks to continue that trend. He joins the Bulldogs from South Dakota St., where he made 2 tournaments in 6 years.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
UConn @ Kansas - 9:00pm, ESPN - The Huskies visit legendary Allen Fieldhouse. As of press (11/10), Kansas sits 1-1 having abused poor lil’ Dougie Gottlieb’s Green Bay Phoenix to the tune of 94-51, before falling in the Dean Dome to UNC 87-74. It’s wild to think that Bill Self just won a title in 2022. The years since have not been kind to to the Jayhawks faithful. 2 second round exits and a first round exit in the NCAAT. Falling all the way to a 7-seed last season. People questioning whether Self still has it. Whether he can build a quality roster in the portal era. Factor in the health issues he’s had over the years, and it’s easy to see why retirement talk is following Self wherever he goes these days. On the court the Jayhawks are mostly 2-man team. Freshman sensation Darryn Peterson and sophomore forward Flory Bidunga. Peterson was excellent against UNC, going for 22 points on 8/14 (3/5 from 3), 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was a bit sloppy with the ball, giving up 3 TOs. He’s the playmaker and the star that drives this offense and realistically, his ability and how well he continues to improve and develop will be the biggest factor in Kansas’ outcome this season. Flory Bidunga returns for year 2 in Lawrence, and he’s got a much bigger role. He struggled against UNC, so it will be interesting to see how he handles better opponents, including UConn. Melvin Council continues his rise up the D1 ranks from Wagner, to Bonnies, to Kansas. His scoring at this level leaves much to be desired, but he absolutely can be a shot creator for his teammates, posting 7 assists versus UNC. Big man Bryson Tiller can be a factor for Kansas, and showed proof-of-concept versus UNC, going for 12 points in 15 minutes before fouling out. Defensively he struggled, hence the fouling, and he only pulled down 2 boards. He needs to grow and improve on the defensive end to be a consistent factor for Kansas.
Friday, December 5, 2025
Xavier v. Cincinnati - 7:30pm, TNT - Kicking off unofficial Big East rivalry weekend, with URI at PC and Marquette at Wisconsin on Saturday and Creighton at Nebraska on Sunday. For the Musketeers, they renew the Crosstown Shootout with the Bearcats. Rivalries this good are few and far between. Xavier has looked abysmal to start the year. Can Pitino the Younger right the ship? Meanwhile, the heat under Wes Miller’s seat has reached an inferno. Almost certainly a do-or-die season for Miller in Cincinnati. Season got off to a hot start in August when Miller announced that Jizzle James, son of Indianapolis Colts legend Edgerrin James, was no longer part of the program. James was destined to be a large part of the offense this year after posting 12.7/3.0/3.5 last season. Instead its seniors Day Day Thomas and Senior Kerr Kriisa leading the offense for the Bearcats. The front court is the real strength of this team though. Senior Baba Miller joins after 2 seasons at FSU and last season at FAU, and Moustapha Thiam who joins from Big12-mate UCF. Will be a tall ask for Xavier’s front court to contain the two bigs for the Bearcats. But in a rivalry game, anything is possible.
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Marquette @ Wisconsin - 2:00pm, FS1 - We discussed Wisconsin above. While I think Marquette can contain Boyd, I do worry about their front court against the trees of Wisconsin. Marquette has not won in Madison since 2017.
Seton Hall @ Kansas St. - 4:00pm, ESPNU - What can we say about K-State at this point. They’ve basically become a punchline. A program with more money than sense. Jerome Tang bringing in PJ Haggerty was the most predictable signing of the entire off-season. Haggerty is very good. But he’s a bit of a one-man show. Not the type of player who makes his teammates better or does the things you need to win, like defense...Memphis was over 4 points better with him on the bench last season. Abdi Bashir is nice on the wing, I guess, but we’ll see how he does against real competition. Same for Akron transfer Nate Johnson. Both Bashir and Johnson have looked good through 2 games, but the opponents were KenPom 262 UNCG and KP 319 Bellarmine. But fret not, as is Big12 tradition, K-State abused the cupcakes and improved its KP ranking 4 spots! That’s mostly a joke, K-State actually scheduled half-decent this year, with Cal, Miss. St. and Indiana before Hall, and Creighton 2 games after Hall. They’re just gonna such this year.
St. John’s v. Ole Miss - 8:00pm, Peacock - First big opponent back in MSG for the Johnnies after the disappointing L to Alabama. Ole Miss is well-coached. They play elite defense. Through 2 cupcake games, erstwhile Johnnie AJ Storr returns. Storr was of course a freshman under Mike Anderson during the 2022-23 season. Things didn’t work out when Rick Pitino took over, and Storr shipped out to Madison, Wisconsin. Storr torched the nets for a Badgers team otherwise devoid of scorers, and parlayed that into a pay day with a well-heeled team from the great state of Kansas…no, not K-State…KU…the Jayhawks. In one of the mounting bits of evidence that Self might be washed, he appeared to have no clue what he was getting in Storr, and he languished, playing just 15.7 mpg, never finding the coach’s good graces, and never finding his rhythm. So Storr packed up again, making it 4 schools in 4 years, playing in the 4 best conferences in America—the Big East, The B1G, the Big12 and the SEC. A Frenchie Freshman runs the point for the Rebels, Ilias Kamardine. He’s a big guard, and the strong defender you want a guard his size to be. He will surely test the Johnnies backcourt. He’s also a good shot, hitting on 44.4% of his 3’s against 2 opening cupcakes. The front court is a bit thin for the Rebels. They return Malik Dia, who posted 10.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg, with 0.9 bpg last season. Dia thrived on the defensive end for Beard last year, and will do so again this season. The rest of the front court is a little rough for the Rebs, and seems to be a “let’s try to get a few dudes in and hope someone sticks.” There’s former Butler forward Augusto Cassia. As a sophomore last season on a team that was playing Andre Screen and Boden Kapke in the front, Cassia could only get 15 mpg, posting a line of 5.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg. The best of the bunch is likely James Scott transferring in from Louisville where he posted 7.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg in 23.5 mpg. He’s gotten the most minutes in the front court thus far, even more than Dia as Scott is the only real 5 on the roster, but he’s averaging just 5 ppg against 2 cupcakes. Finally there’s 6’8” Corey Chest, who transferred in from conference-rival LSU. LSU stunk, and Chest was decent last year. Posting 6.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg in 20.1 mpg. If the Rebels want to hang with the Johnnies they’ll need to get some better contributions from this trio.
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Creighton @ Nebraska - 5:00pm, FS1 - Closing out unofficial non-conference Big East rivalry weekend is Creighton at the Cornhuskers. Shocking fact: as of press (11/10), the Huskers sport the nation’s longest winning streak: 6 games! Your inaugural Crown champions still haven’t lost! And the only potential stumbling block standing between them and coming into the Creighton game on an 11 game win streak is a neutral date with Oklahoma in the famed Sanford Pentagon. They’ll also travel to KC for a much easier neutral site game versus New Mexico. The headline for Nebraska: experience & continuity. The starters: coaches son, senior, and 5-year Cornhusker Sam Hoiberg, forward Rienk Mast in his 3rd year in Lincoln, 7th year in college (took a redshirt as a freshman, a medical redshirt last season and still has his COVID 5th year), Senior Jamarques Lawrence, who returns to the place he played his first 2 seasons, after playing for Rhode Island last year, junior Berke Buyuktuncel in his 2nd year in Lincoln, and the lone true newcomer, Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort. Given the similar scenery in Iowa and Nebraska, I’m sure he feels right at home. Of the 3 bench players getting more than 11 mpg, one is a true freshman, the other is senior Connor Essegian in his 2nd year at Nebraska and junior Cale Jacobsen, who has spent all 3 years at Nebraska. That level of continuity has certainly boosted expectations around the Cornhuskers, and they currently sit 42 in KenPom, which puts them squarely in the tournament conversation, albeit flirting with the bubble (for now). The Huskers are looking to get back to the dance after breaking through as an 8-seed in 2024. Maybe this time they can finally breakthrough and snag the program’s first ever NCAAT win. Last fun fact: the last 2 seasons were 2 of the best 4 KenPom finishes in program history.
Georgetown @ UNC - 5:00pm, ESPN - Two Jordan-branded schools facing off in the Dean Dome. UNC looks better than anticipated it what is a critical year for both head coaches. The Hoyas have looked good early as Ed Cooley looks to guide them back to an NCAAT at-large bid in year 3 for the first time since JT3 did it in 2015. Like many of the top programs this season, UNC sports a super freshman of its own. A DIAPER DANDY in forward Caleb Wilson. Wilson, like many of the freshman not named Dybantsa, Peterson or Boozer, has been overlooked with the focus on the big 3 at the top of the 2025 class. But you could make the argument he’s been the best player in the class so far, posting 19.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3 apg, and 2 spg in just 25.7 mpg. He’s used his length to be a defensive monster, constantly filling lanes, getting steals, deflecting passes, and just generally wreaking havoc. UNC also has 7’10” center Henri Veesaar. Veesaar is a versatile big. Currently scoring 17.3 ppg while pulling in 7 boards, and adding a block in 30.3 mpg. They’re going to give Georgetown’s frontcourt of Halaifonua and Caleb Williams (not hat Caleb Williams) all they can handle. Georgetown’s ability to limit their impact will certainly be key to victory.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Villanova @ Michigan - 6:30pm, FS1 - Michigan looked shaky against Wake Forest. However, they feel particularly well-positioned to give Michigan fits. The front court is certainly Villanova’s weakness, with a platoon of Duke Brennan, Matthew Hodge and Tafara Gapare logging the lion’s share of the minutes. Gapare is battling injury and missed the last game, leading Kevin Willard to not-so-subtly call him a little bitch in a post-game presser…albeit not in so many words. Brennan has done an admirable job on the glass, grabbing 15 against BYU, 20 against Queens (NC) and 11 against Sacred Heart. BYU, as good as they are, isn’t the best rebounding team, so it’ll be interesting to see how Brennan’s rebounding holds up. Meanwhile Michigan’s front court is widely regarded as one of the best in the country. They feature 2 7-footers in Aday Mara and Morez Johnson. Mara struck me as a little stiff an overrated when SJU played Michigan in an exhibition game. Morez Johnson is a bit more athletic. But both will give Duke Brennan trouble. At the 3/4 they have Johnnies Legend Yaxel Lendeborg, a do-it-all forward and national player of the year candidate. The front court matchup will really test Willard’s defense. In the backcourt, the matchup is a bit more even, with Bryce Lindsay popping 24.7 ppg for the Wildcats thus far. As good as that is, he’s shooting 53.6% from deep, a figure indicative of 2/3rds of the games coming against cupcakes, and simply an unsustainable pace. Any concerns about his translating up were likely alleviated on opening night when he went for 22/5/2 against BYU shooting 5/9 from deep. Freshman Acaden Lewis is putting up 10 ppg, but adding 5 assists and overall doing a decent job of facilitating the offense.
UConn v. Florida (N) - 9:00pm, ESPN - A rematch of last year’s 2nd round game, and a meeting between the holders of the last 3 national champions, from the neutral site of the World’s Most Famous Arena. UConn will certainly have the neutral floor advantage based on relative proximity to MSG. As of writing (11/13) Florida lost to Arizona in Vegas, whooped up on lowly North Florida, and struggled with Florida State, under first year head coach Luke Loucks. Florida raised eyebrows in the off-season with roster moves that made it clear they intended to rely heavily on a 3-big rotation, with Thomas Haugh at the 3, Alex Condon at the 3 and centers Reuben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten platooning at the 5. Much of the success of this team is dependent upon Haugh’s ability to make 3’s and maintain the spacing on the floor. Last year he shot 34% on 2.6 3-pt attempts per game. This year through 3 games, he’s shooting 31.3% on 5.3 attempts per game from deep, victim of the rule that efficiency drops as usage increases. Fellow forward Condon has yet to make a 3 after shooting 32.8% last year from deep, albeit on just 1/6 3PA per game. In 70 minutes of play with 3 bigs on the floor, Florida has a net efficiency rating of -4.5, versus +15.2 across all lineups. The shooting to date (11/13) only gets worse when you go to the perimeter. Big time guard additions Boogie Fland and Xavian Lee are shooting a combined 8-41 from deep, 19.5%, with Fland accounting for just 2-12 of those 3’s after shooting 34% on 5 3PA per game for Arkansas last season. Fland’s assist rate has also dropped precipitously from 5.1 to 2.3 apg. At the other guard slot, Xavian Lee is struggling to put the ball in the hoop at all levels, shooting just 4/21 (19%) from deep, and and 3/9 (33.3%) on 2-pointers. He’s been a decent rebounder and contributor, snagging 6.5 boards and posting 5.5 assists in the 2 high major games. UConn will come in at a matchup disadvantage with 6’8” Alex Karaban or Dwayne Koroma being forced to guard 6’11” Alex Condon and 6’7” Jaylin Stewart or Jayden Ross being pushed onto 6’9” Thomas Haugh. The alternative option would be sliding Karaban to the 3 to guard Haugh, which is less of a mismatch, and putting Koroma at the 4 on Haugh. However, that leaves you with 2 non-shooters, and frankly Koroma isn’t capable of providing much of anything offensively at this level. You may be able to get away with it given how good Karaban and Solo Ball are at shooting 3’s, especially if Silas DeMary’s shooting comes around (which I’m sure it will). Just another fascinating game from a style and tactics standpoint.
Friday, December 12, 2025
UConn v. Texas - 8:00pm, Fox - Three days after facing Florida at the Garden UConn welcomes Sean Miller back to Hartford, this time as head coach of Texas, UConn’s 2nd SEC program of the week. This is the return game after UConn got a much-needed win in Austin last season. This year’s Texas team has the chance to do something absolutely hilarious: miss the NCAAT after firing Rodney Terry, who made 3 straight. Texas lost to Duke by 15 on night 2 of the season, and played 2 of the tastiest cupcakes imaginable since then. They won’t be “tested” until the hit the shores of Maui to face a watered-down Maui Invitational field. Texas is anchored in the middle by FAU transfer 7-footer Matas Vokietaitis, who has posted 16 ppg and 8.3 rpg through 3 games, including a 15 & 8 near double-double v. Duke. On the perimeter Tramon Mark returns to Texas for his 6th season of college basketball, having take a medical red shirt his sophomore year in Houston. Joining him in the backcourt is fellow returnee and former Beaver before that, Jordan Pope. Familiar face Dailyn Swain followed Miller from Xavier. Former Johnnie Simeon Wilcher is the 6th man. If Texas is to succeed, it’ll be a balanced attack from the backcourt with Swain-Mark-Pope trading nights and averaging about the same. Wilcher is certainly capable of providing some scoring pop off the bench as well.
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Marquette @ Purdue - 2:00pm, Peacock - Purdue is a TALL ask for any team. This matchup presents a clash of stiles, with Purdue playing at one of the slowest paces in the country, and Marquette playing faster this year under Shaka than any year since his first season in Milwaukee. This makes sense. When you have the more talented roster, you want to keep it slow and limit possessions. If you don’t trust your talent as much, you speed things up, try to get extra possessions, and just make the game chaotic (yes, intentional chaos reference). Marquette got a bit unlucky in its first and only test at the time of writing (11/15), with IU shooting 50% from deep. The Golden Eagles shot 25% that game, so I don’t think the game was quite as lopsided as the score makes it appear. Purdue has national player of the year candidate Braden Smith. He’s played the part to date, posting 18.3 ppg (95th percentile), 8 apg (100th percentile) and 5.3 rpg (83rd percentile). Marquette loves to force turnovers and deflections, but that will be difficult against the Boilermakers, who sport a mere 9.2% TO percentage (96th percentile). They also come in with an elite assist percentage, 65.9% (93rd percentile), an area where Marquette has struggled, allowing opponents an assist percentage of 64.3% (11th percentile). Marquette will need to bee the best version of Shaka’s defense to disrupt Purdue’s offensive rhythm.
Creighton v. K-State - 3:00pm, Fox - K-State has shot the lights out to start the year, with an effective FG% of 69% (NICE!)(100th percentile). Granted, this came against UNCG, Bellarmine and Cal. The Cal game was much closer than it should have been, and despite this soft schedule to start the year the raw defensive efficiency rating is just 102.8 per CBB Analytics (66th percentile), and an AdjDE of 102 (ranking 97th) in KenPom. That’s not great. Of course, Creighton’s defensive issues were chronicled in my preview. This is another game of mismatched tempos, with K-State trying to speed things up. While Creighton would prefer to play slow, they certainly have enough offensive firepower to keep up with a faster team if need be. Pushing the tempo and leading the scoring for K-State is erstwhile Memphis Tiger PJ Haggerty. So this game will be about whether Creighton can find a way to contain Haggerty, dictate their pace or keep up with K-State’s fast-pace.
Villanova v. Pitt - 4:30pm, truTV - Pitt is projected to be the bottom-half of an improved, but still not great ACC. At the time of writing (11/15), they are coming off getting their shit pushed in during the Backyard Brawl, losing 71-49 in Morgantown. This is likely to be a slow-moving, low-scoring, defense-centric affair. That said, I like Villanova’s offense here. For starters, Villanova might actually have a front court advantage here, with Pitt preferring to play small. Pitt plays with 2 bigs only approximately one-third of the time, relying on undersized Roman Siulepa to play the 4 in many lineups, including the starting lineup. However, 6’10” C/F Cameron Corhen is the engine for the Panthers, posting 14.8 ppg on 69% from 2 (NICE!) and 66.7% from deep. He’s not much of a shooter, that rate from deep will almost certainly come back to earth, and he’s attempting less than 1 three per game, he’s not a guy you can completely ignore from deep, and it’ll test Brennan’s defensive IQ, and ability to protect the paint without leaving Corhen open should he step out to the perimeter or into a PnR. In the pain, Corhen is not likely to cool off. He’s got great post moves, currently shooting 73.9% at the rim, which is actually a dip from his 76% at-the-rim percentage last season.
Seton Hall v. Rutgers - 8:00pm, FS1 - J, dawg, I ain’t previewing this game, I’m not. Now put the Pesto in the bag.
Friday, December 19, 2025
Villanova @ Wisconsin - 8:00pm, Fox - We covered Wisconsin above. Bryce Lindsay, Acaden Lewis, Devin Askew and Tyler Perkins will have their hands full trying to contain Nick Boyd, while the front court deals with Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp, both of whom are averaging over 10ppg as of writing (11/15). To date, Wisconsin has been excellent on the defensive glass, snagging 77.4% of opponents’ misses, while ‘nova has thrived on offensive rebounds, grabbing 44.3% their own misses (96th percentile), and scoring 21 2nd chance points per game (99th percentile). Strength vs. Strength matchup.
Saturday, December 20, 2025
St. John’s v. Kentucky (N) - 12:30pm, CBS - The Johnnies head to Catlanta to close out their OOC slate against Kentucky. As of writing (11/15), Kentucky is coming off getting their shit pushed in by in-state rival Louisville. They have yet to see big man Jayden Quaintance on the floor. Unclear if he’ll be back in time for this game, but if he is, it’ll create a really fun match-up in the paint with Quaintance and Zuby squaring off. Absent Quaintance, the story for UK is really in the backcourt, where Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Denzel Aberdeen and Jaland Lowe provide depth and talent. Oweh is the headliner here. Oweh averaged 16.2/4.7/1.7 for the Wildcats last season, shooting 49.2/35.5/77.6. He’s definitely not a sniper, taking just 2.1 3papg, but he’s more than capable. Johnnies struggled to defend ‘bama’s guards, but I don’t think those issues carry over here. For one thing, Oweh, Lowe, Aberdeen and Chandler are not nearly as quick or aggressive at getting to the rim. Oweh loves to settle for mid-range jumpers and floaters or pull-ups in the paint. Lowe also loves to pull-ups and floaters in the paint, but is less gun shy when it comes to launching 3’s. Chandler is purley a perimeter player, taking 92% of his shots from deep. Aberdeen had a rim + 3 attempt rate of just 65.6% (30th percentile) last year for national champion Florida. The rim accounted for just 21.5% of those shots. Therefore, this should be a much easier defensive assignment for the Johnnies guards. Indeed, the Johnnies guards did a pretty good job defending the 3-point line, holding ‘bama to just 11/35 from deep (31.4%), compared to Purdue who was content to let ‘bama shoot away while taking away the paint, giving up 16/43 (37.2%).
Butler v. Northwestern - 4:00pm, Peacock - Butler will attempt to avenge DePaul’s rivalry loss to Northwestern. Northwestern is a BIG squad, and this gave the undersized ‘mons fits. Northwestern took 38% of its shots at the rim, shooting 16/19 (84.2%) on those shots. Of the 38 points in the paint the Wildcats scored, forwards Arrinten Page, Nick Martinelli and Tre Singleton accounted for 32. Ajayi should help the Bulldogs matchup better with Martinelli than DePaul, but Yohan Traore, Drayton Jones and Jack McCaffery versus Page and Singleton present slightly more problematic matchups.
*all times eastern