College basketball schedule: 10 games to circle in 2022-23

We’re just days away from the start of the 2022–23 college basketball season, bringing five straight months of compelling games. The sheer number of matchups on the schedule can be overwhelming—there are 363 teams, after all—so we’re here to help. Here are 10 men’s regular-season games we’re circling, ranging from November’s Champions Classic all the way to an SEC showdown in the first week of March.

*Predicted winner margin in parentheses, via T-Rank

10. No. 16 Villanova (-0.7) at Connecticut (Dec. 28, 2022)

Villanova has dominated this old-school Big East rivalry since UConn originally left the conference, with the Huskies picking up their first win since 2014 in a 71–69 thriller at the XL Center last season. However, Dan Hurley has steered UConn out of its mid-decade slump back toward the top of the Big East and will hope to capitalize on a potential power vacuum in the league—Villanova has won seven of the last nine conference championships but faces an uncertain future with legendary coach Jay Wright’s retirement.

The Huskies suffered significant losses to the pro game this summer, including diminutive, do-it-all point guard R.J. Cole and sharpshooting wing Tyrese Martin. But with Adama Sanogo continuing the lineage of dominant centers in Storrs, the addition of Virginia Tech standout Nahiem Alleyne and the nation’s 10th-best home-court advantage over the last 60 games, per KenPom, this should be one of the Big East’s most entertaining and impactful matchups this season.

9. No. 13 Indiana at No. 23 Illinois (-3.1) (Jan. 19, 2023)

Die-hard Hoosiers likely still wince remembering when Tyler Griffey miraculously slipped away from the Indiana defense for a last-second layup to best No. 1 IU and put an embarrassing dent in its storybook 2012–13 season. And with Indiana poised for its most successful campaign since then, Illinois and its ravenous Orange Krush at the State Farm Center will relish the opportunity to play spoiler once again.

Indiana’s biggest move this offseason was managing to keep second-team All-Big Ten star Trayce Jackson-Davis in Bloomington. He’ll pair with five-star Florida flip Malik Reneau and veteran Race Thompson to create a formidable frontcourt in candy stripes. Conversely, Illinois made waves plundering the transfer portal, securing two of the summer’s most sought-after prospects in Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer. In what projects to be a rare down year for the Big Ten, this elite matchup should provide the best spectacle of the season and offer one of the two conference favorites early-season separation.

8. No. 8 UCLA at No. 17 Arizona (-2.9) (Jan. 21, 2023)

The Bruins have fared better than most on their most recent treks to the notoriously hostile Tucson desert, posting a 4–1 record over the last five matchups. Mick Cronin has the UCLA program tracking back toward its blue-blooded best, surging to the Final Four in 2021 and hoping to reach three consecutive Sweet 16’s for the first time since ’08. Arizona, likewise, didn’t skip a beat following the scandal-ridden departure of Sean Miller, as former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd led the Wildcats to a 33–5 record along with Pac-12 regular-season and tournament crowns.

Fans tuning in should enjoy a healthy dose of offense (and Bill Walton anecdotes), as the winner of all three matchups last year eclipsed 75 points and both teams have finished inside the top 15 for offensive efficiency each of the last two seasons. Sharpshooting transfers Courtney Ramey (Texas) and Cedric Henderson Jr. (Campbell) will help reinforce a Arizona roster that suffered significant losses to the NBA draft. On the other side, expect more of the same from UCLA’s familiar faces Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell.

7. No. 4 Kentucky at No. 2 Gonzaga (-9.7) (Nov. 20, 2022)

Wildcats coach John Calipari watched future conference mate Texas take a pummeling in “The Kennel” last season and decided he wanted nothing to do with Gonzaga’s intimate venue. The two teams have opted to play about a mile up the road at the 12,000-seat Spokane Arena, where Gonzaga and Kentucky will meet for just the second time ever. Bart Torvik’s T-Rank projects that the change in venue won’t do the Wildcats much good, listing Kentucky as nearly 10-point underdogs. However, this matchup serves as one of the greatest concentrations of talent you’re likely to see on a college basketball court this season—they have a combined 19 former four-and-five star recruits—and provides an elite individual battle between early Wooden Award favorites Drew Timme and Oscar Tshiebwe.

Wilson is one of the few key returners from the Jayhawks’ title run.

Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

6. No. 5 Baylor at No. 5 Kansas (Kansas -1.3) (Feb. 18, 2023)

Over the last couple of years, the Big 12 regular-season crown has been a telling prerequisite for a Final Four bid. Since 2017, every Big 12 winner has survived to college basketball’s final weekend, with Baylor and Kansas hoisting national championship trophies each of the last two seasons. So this late-season matchup at Allen Fieldhouse between the conferences’ two front-runners should be pivotal in crowning its all-important champion.

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