But this is arguably the best team in the Atlantic-10 getting a precious opportunity against one of the best teams in the SEC. These aren't two massive college basketball brands. 27: Saint Louis at Auburn, Neville Arena In terms of freshman flavor in this early-season game, keep an eye out for Villanova's Cam Whitmore, a five-star recruit who should be the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year. Hoggard or Malik Hall to fill that role, while the Wildcats are counting on Caleb Daniels or Brandon Slater to pick things up with Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels gone.
For both of these teams, the question is quite simple: Do they possess an alpha who can score late in games and finish for their team? Meanwhile, Kyle Neptune will face his first major challenge as head coach at Villanova, as a new-look Wildcats team will take on a stern road test at the Breslin Center. Tom Izzo's Michigan State team will be happy to be back home for this marquee matchup after facing Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier in San Diego and Kentucky in Indianapolis in the previous two games. This is one of two Gavitt Games headliners (the other being Xavier hosting Indiana) in the annual Big East-Big Ten conference challenge. This will be a great early-season measuring stick for two programs that once again expect to be in the national championship picture come March.įOX Sports' Mark Titus and Tate Frazier react to Kansas pulling Bill Self and Kurtis Townsend from recruiting events amid the NCAA probe. It will also be interesting to see how a pair of new-look frontcourts square off, as the Blue Devils usher in Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Liveley, while Kansas has Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar and freshman Ernest Udeh. The matchup in the backcourt between Duke's Jeremy Roach and Kansas' Dajuan Harris should be fantastic. This matchup is why the Champions Classic continues to be such a resounding success: It pits the biggest brands in the sport in an early-season showcase. The reigning national champion Jayhawks squaring off against first-year head coach John Scheyer and the Blue Devils in the second week of the season? That sounds beautiful. The following games are in the order they'll appear on the calendar.
This was a challenge to select because there were several strong candidates! There are two important rules in this column to up the ante: I could not use a team twice (which was difficult), and I did not choose any Thanksgiving week matchups because those could be in their own category. While some nonconference schedules are still being finalized, let's have some fun and look ahead to 10 of my favorite nonconference matchups in the upcoming season. With major star talent returning for the 2022-23 season, including Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, North Carolina's Armando Bacot, Gonzaga's Drew Timme, Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and others, the sport is in a healthy place. Look for Strawther to become a more pivotal option for the Zags to run their offense through in 2022-23.There has been no shortage of storylines in the college basketball offseason.
However, next season Strawther will get the chance to showcase his prowess as an all-around offensive weapon and if a shot’s not immediately there, he may be tasked by Few to facilitate an offensive scheme and control ball distribution himself. A lot of his tasks will remain the same next season, pick up the lengthy off-ball scoring threat on defense and similarly work hard off the ball on offense to create for himself. While he was listed as a guard last season, his role surely fit that more of a true small forward. What’s old is new again when it comes to Strawther’s position on the court next season. It will go a long way in helping him increase his own offensive output however, as the more he can get his teammates involved on offense, the more ripe 3-point opportunities that will come up for him too. Unlike last year when Nembhard ran the show while Bolton set up off-ball a lot to pick his shots, with Smith in the backcourt who relies on a lot of twin-action with fellow guards to set up scoring lanes, Bolton will have to rise to a lot more challenges on both ends of the court. Bolton can be expected to return to a starting backcourt spot next season, with a wealth of added responsibility.