This nascent college basketball season requires some extra adjustment time for its viewership. We can chalk that up to the enormity of the transfer portal and a few high-profile coaching changes have made for strange sights — Mark Pope has Kentucky buzzing, John Calipari is at Arkansas, Eric Musselman is in Southern California and Tony Bennett is hopefully enjoying a few well-earned beach cocktails with those decorative umbrellas.
This weekend’s slate features an absolute banger in Duke-Arizona, plus some compelling early-season tournament action in West Virginia and the Bahamas. Here’s your guide to the next few days in college hoops.
You can stream college basketball on Fubo (try for free).
No. 12 Duke at No. 17 Arizona
Time: Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
The preeminent matchup of this weekend’s slate yields two top teams recovering from high-profile losses. Duke (3-1) dropped a thriller to Kentucky, with freshman phenom Cooper Flagg turning the ball over in consecutive clutch possessions. Arizona (3-1) fell to Wisconsin, marking the Wildcats’ first November loss under coach Tommy Lloyd, who has held the position since 2021.
Last weekend, the Wildcats were burned by the Badgers via the 3-ball. Arizona shot below 20 percent behind the arc, while Wisconsin exceeded 40 percent.
Fifth-year guard Caleb Love needs to be much better. He enters Friday’s contest with a ghastly 43.5 true shooting percentage on a high usage rate. Junior Jaden Bradley has been significantly better. Bradley is shooting 50 percent from the field and has more than doubled last season’s scoring output to 14.7 points per game.
Arizona isn’t fully playing to its offensive potential, and the 3-point defense may be cause for concern down the stretch, but this looks to be a dominant team off the glass, sitting second in the country in total rebounding. The fulcrum is 6-foot-8 Tobe Awaka. After two years of limited playing time at Tennessee, he looks comfortable in Tucson. He comes in averaging a double-double and leads the Big 12 in offensive boards. Arizona also plays fast — leading all major conference teams in adjusted possessions per 40 minutes.
Duke’s duo of Flagg and Kon Knueppel commands attention, but this is a well-rounded squad under coach Jon Scheyer. Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2 freshman from South Sudan, gives the team a rim-runner and shot-blocker. In the Kentucky loss, Maluach was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, and he blocked three shots in just 23 minutes of playing time. Australian junior Tyrese Proctor is the only returning three-year starter, and his presence can steady a group led by two freshmen.
Even as they adjust to a faster and more physical college game, Flagg and Knueppel are already generating sizable highlight reels. The latter is letting it fly, with more than half of his shot attempts coming on the long ball. He is on pace to attempt the most 3-pointers in a Duke season since Cam Reddish in 2018-19. Flagg, of course, is the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His game still has a few blemishes, especially around the perimeter — he’s 17 years old — but he’s already slicing into the paint and dunking with authority.
Both teams are in the top 15 in adjusted offensive rating. This game should make for a solid watch with a high ceiling for pure entertainment.
Memorable Matchup: Arizona 72, Duke 82, 2001 NCAA championship game — Mike Krzyzewski notched his third national title with the win. Four Blue Devils scored in double-digits. Mike Dunleavy Jr. had 21 points and shot 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Carlos Boozer added 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Wildcats were led by Loren Woods, who had 22 points, 11 boards and four blocks. This game ultimately yielded two NBA All-Stars (Boozer and Gilbert Arenas) and four additional lottery draft picks (Dunleavy Jr., Jay Williams, Shane Battier and Richard Jefferson).
Games to watch in the Bahamas
Nothing says November college basketball like a cool but totally random off-site tournament. This year’s Baha Mar Championship in Nassau features three ranked teams and a fourth premier program in Virginia. Thursday’s two winners will play each other on Friday in the championship (and Thursday’s two losers will also play each other on Friday). Let’s see what’s on tap.
No. 13 Baylor vs. No. 22 St. John’s
Time: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
Baylor (3-1) and St. John’s (4-0) should both be fixtures in the national conversation this season. After an opening night thumping from Gonzaga, this Baylor outfit is building some momentum, besting Arkansas by five points and then dominating two lesser opponents. Freshman guard V.J. Edgecombe is a top prospect for next spring’s NBA Draft and a Bahamian national. He’s still seeking consistency on his jumper, coming into this weekend shooting 36.6 percent from the field and a paltry 17.6 percent on 3-pointers.
Coach Scott Drew’s group is fifth in the nation in adjusted offensive rating. Imagine how scary this team will look with Edgecombe settled in.
Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe is one of the top prospects in next year’s NBA Draft. (Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Nicaraguan forward Norchad Omier is a rebounding machine, with double-digit rebounding averages in all five seasons across three programs (Arkansas State, Miami and Baylor).
Since winning it all in 2021, Baylor has been vanquished in the second round of the last three NCAA Tournaments. The Bears harbor high hopes for this spring.
St. John’s, meanwhile, is enjoying a much-needed program renaissance and enters rated 16th by KenPom. St. John’s doesn’t rely on the 3-point shot like the Bears, but it makes its name on the defensive end and is in the top 20 in block percentage and blocks per game. Opponents are struggling at the rim, and the Johnnies don’t give up many free throws.
RJ Luis Jr. is a burgeoning star this fall, with nightly averages of 17.5 points, three assists and nearly eight rebounds. In a convincing 14-point win over New Mexico at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Luis had 21 points and seven dimes to just one turnover.
Rick Pitino played all of his starters for 33 or more minutes in that game. Four players attempted at least 10 shots. If this team has a glaring weakness, it would be its lack of depth and penchant for turnovers. Senior guard Kadary Richmond had seven of them against the Lobos.
Baylor’s “no middle” defensive scheme generates a lot of pressure. If the Red Storm is to secure their first win over a ranked opponent in more than a decade, they will have to be more disciplined with their possessions.
No. 11 Tennessee vs. Virginia
Time: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
The Volunteers tout the NCAA’s fourth-best defense when adjusted for efficiency and have opened this campaign 4-0, with an impressive 22-point beatdown of Louisville on the road. The team is led by Zakai Zeigler, a four-year Vol that racks up buckets, dimes and steals. His 7.8 assists per game are a career-high, but so are his unsightly 4.5 turnovers. Croatian senior Igor Milicic Jr. transferred from Charlotte and has made more than two-thirds of his shot attempts so far.
Tennessee is a double-digit favorite in this one. Virginia is looking for an identity in the post-Bennett era. It opened this season 4-0 but sits 77th in KenPom rating and 130th in adjusted offense. Granted, the Cavaliers have always been partial to a grinding style of basketball.
Freshman Jacob Cofie already looks like an archetypal Virginia player, averaging two steals and 1.7 blocks. If this game gets close, it will likely be due to an Isaac McKneely heat check. A career 43.5 percent shooter on 3s, he has hit a blistering 64.7 percent of them so far this season.
Games to watch in West Virginia
Now to the Allegheny Mountains, the Bahamas of Appalachia. The first-ever Greenbrier Tip-Off has an interesting pair of matchups, headlined by the surging Wisconsin Badgers.
Pittsburgh vs. LSU
Time: Friday, 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
The 5-0 Panthers and 4-0 Tigers are scheduled for a Friday afternoon tip. Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe just recorded the sixth triple-double in program history, and Jeff Capel’s team is off to its best start since 2018-19 — complete with a beatdown of West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl last week.
LSU’s player to watch is undoubtedly Cam Carter. This year, the Kansas State transfer has been lights out from behind the arc at a 57 percent clip.
Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe already has a triple-double this season. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
No. 19 Wisconsin vs. UCF
Time: Friday, 5 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
Wisconsin comes to this early in-season tournament with an abundance of momentum and good vibes. Its seismic win over Arizona was spearheaded by sixth-year guard John Tonje, who scored 41 points on 14 shots. Yep, read it again.
UCF gets an arduous nonconference challenge before the loaded Big 12 schedule kicks in. The Knights stunned Texas A&M on their opening night, with fourth-year guard Darius Johnson scoring 24 points while burying five 3-pointers.
The winners of these two games will play on Sunday afternoon at Colonial Hall — the Greenbrier’s massive convertible grand ballroom. Pinkies up.
More college basketball coverage
Why UNC star RJ Davis couldn’t resist returning for his fifth season — and one more shot
An inside look at Wisconsin basketball’s ‘new-school,’ pro-driven game day approach
Court Vision: College basketball’s Year of the Freshmen living up to the hype early
(Top photo of Caleb Love: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
