The AP Top 25 Poll was released Monday, signaling that the college basketball season is right around the corner. And once the season starts on Nov. 6 it won’t be long before we start getting game after game pitting ranked teams against each other.
Headlining the list of the best matchups of ranked teams is a clash between No. 2 Duke and No. 4 Michigan State in just the second week of the season. The two historic college basketball programs will meet at the United Center in the Champions Classic on Nov. 14 and following that matchup, No. 1 Kansas will take the floor in the same arena to face No. 16 Kentucky.
The Jayhawks open the season as the No. 1 ranked team for the fourth time in program history and they have a healthy dose of intriguing matchups during the first few weeks of the season before the Big 12 gauntlet begins. The best game on the Jayhawks schedule is a date with reigning national champion No. 6 UConn at home on Dec. 1. Kansas could potentially face No. 5 Marquette and No. 3 Purdue at the Maui Invitational if the bracket goes chalk.
When conference play hits, there are dozens of matchups between familiar programs to keep an eye on such as No. 2 Duke vs. No. 19 North Carolina, No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 4 Michigan State, No. 6 UConn vs. No. 5 Marquette, No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 7 Houston and more. The Big East has the most ranked teams in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 with three.
The rankings will of course change from week to week, but using the preseason AP Top 25 poll as a guide, here are the Top 25 And 1 matchups of ranked teams to keep an eye on this season followed by a team-by-team look at each ranked team’s games against other teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.
1. No. 2 Duke vs. No. 4 Michigan State
When: Nov. 14 (Champions Classic) | Where: United Center (Chicago)
It’s hard to find a better way to tip off the college basketball season in earnest than this matchup. Duke…
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