Ten college basketball games that should interest Kentucky fans Monday night
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Monday features 20 AP Top 25 teams; Kentucky tips off Tuesday.
- Florida vs Arizona headlines opening night; St. John's debuts former UK forward.
- Several SEC teams field impact transfers and draft-returners to lead seasons.
The Kentucky men’s basketball team will have to wait until Tuesday night to tip off the 2025-26 regular season. Just about everyone else will begin play Monday, with a schedule that features 20 of the teams in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 on the NCAA’s opening night.
As always, there are storylines aplenty as this college basketball season begins.
Here are 10 Monday games that should keep Kentucky fans occupied until the Wildcats hit the court against Nicholls at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Rupp Arena (all times ET):
No. 5 St. John’s vs. Quinnipiac (6:30 p.m. on FS1): One of the NIL kings of the offseason, St. John’s goes into the season as a legitimate national title contender, with the No. 1-ranked transfer class in the country and 73-year-old Rick Pitino looking for another Final Four trip. That transfer class includes former UK player Bryce Hopkins, who will make his Red Storm debut in this one as he begins his final season of college basketball.
No. 3 Florida vs. No. 13 Arizona (7 p.m. on TNT/truTV): The reigning national champions are back in the biggest game of opening night (and the only matchup between two Top 25 teams). Florida’s frontcourt from last season is intact, but all eyes in the early going will be on backcourt transfers Xaivian Lee (Princeton) and Boogie Fland (Arkansas), two guards who can turn a game at a moment’s notice.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Southern (7 p.m. on SEC Network): John Calipari lost Fland, among others, over the offseason, but the Razorbacks’ roster is still loaded. Point guard Darius Acuff Jr. is looking like Calipari’s next one-and-done star. Ex-Cat D.J. Wagner, now a junior, says he’s ready for his breakout season. Karter Knox pulled out of the 2025 NBA draft to continue his star turn in Fayetteville, and those three have plenty of other talented contributors around them.
No. 18 Tennessee vs. Mercer (7 p.m. on SEC+): Rick Barnes has put together an intriguing roster for his 11th season in Knoxville. Transfer guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie will have the keys to the Vols’ offense and should be a legitimate SEC player of the year candidate. Stretch forward Nate Ament is projected to be one of the best freshmen in the country and could be a top-five NBA pick. UT’s defense is always stellar. This scoring attack should be a fun watch, too.
No. 15 Alabama vs. North Dakota (8 p.m. on SEC+): Labaron Philon’s decision to pull out of the 2025 draft caught many by surprise. That was good news for Nate Oats, who will be turning Philon loose offensively now that Mark Sears, Grant Nelson and others are gone. The supporting cast should be great, too. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette are healthy after injuries ruined their 2024-25 seasons, and former McDonald’s All-American Aden Holloway will be a problem alongside Philon in the backcourt.
No. 19 Kansas vs. Green Bay (8 p.m. on ESPN+): The Jayhawks aren’t on Kentucky’s regular-season schedule in 2025, but general fans of college basketball will want to tune in to see freshman guard Darryn Peterson, the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft and a national player of the year candidate in what will surely be his only season of college basketball.
Ole Miss vs. SE Louisiana (8 p.m. on SEC+): The Rebels are fresh off their first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 24 years — and only their second ever — and will likely contend for deep March runs for as long as Chris Beard is coaching there. But UK fans will want to tune in for Travis Perry, who is expected to play a key role in Ole Miss’ offensive attack this season after transferring from Kentucky.
No. 17 Illinois vs. Jackson State (8:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network): The college debut of Zvonimir Ivisic resulted in one of the most electrifying Rupp Arena moments in years. After a so-so sophomore season at Arkansas, Big Z decided to leave Calipari’s tutelage and join his brother — Tomislav Ivisic — at Illinois, where the twin 7-footers could unleash havoc on opponents.
No. 11 Louisville vs. South Carolina State (9 p.m. on ACC Network): Pat Kelsey’s second season in charge of the Cards won’t lack for entertainment. Kelsey nabbed three of the best 3-point shooters in the transfer portal — Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooley — to go with McDonald’s All-American point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who is being hyped as one of Louisville’s best players since, well, ever. Brown is expected to be the program’s first top-10 NBA pick in 30 years.
No. 8 BYU vs. Villanova (9:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV): Mark Pope’s old team should be a must-watch this season. The Cougars’ roster will feature AJ Dybantsa, a phenom who was long on UK’s recruiting radar and will be a candidate for the No. 1 spot in next year’s NBA draft. BYU has lots of other weapons, though, and Villanova’s roster features former UK signee Acaden Lewis, who averaged 32 minutes per game in the preseason with ex-Cat Devin Askew (yes, he’s still in college) sidelined due to a knee injury.
