The start of the 2023-24 men's college basketball season is just days away.
Dan Hurley and No. 6 UConn will be looking to become the first repeat NCAA championships since Florida in 2006-07. But the Huskies will have several challengers aiming to deny them a second straight title.
The Kansas Jayhawks enter the season as the No. 1 team in the nation after adding former Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson via the transfer portal. The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils and No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats boast the top two freshman classes, each adding multiple five-star recruits, while the No. 21 USC Trojans landed top-ranked prospect Isaiah Collier along with fellow five-star guard Bronny James.
Then there's the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers, who are once again led by big man Zach Edey back as they try to bounce back from a historic loss to No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Of course, as last season showed, title contenders can come from outside the preseason top 25. Three of the four teams that reached the 2023 Final Four began the season unranked, including UConn.
With no shortage of storylines to watch, here's what to know about when the new college basketball season gets underway.
When does the men's college basketball season start?
NCAAB
The 2023-24 season begins with a huge slate of games on Monday, Nov. 6.
What are the first men's college basketball games of the season?
Almost every ranked team will be in action on the opening night of the season:
- Samford at No. 3 Purdue, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Northern Arizona at No. 6 UConn, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Tennessee Tech at No. 9 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. ET
- NJIT at No. 13 Miami, 7 p.m. ET
- Radford at No. 19 UNC, 7 p.m. ET
- American University at No. 22 Villanova, 7:30 p.m. ET
- North Carolina Central at No. 1 Kansas, 8 p.m. ET
- UL Monroe at No. 7 Houston, 8 p.m. ET
- Alcorn State at No. 14 Arkansas, 8 p.m. ET
- Texas A&M-Commerce at No. 15 Texas A&M, 8 p.m. ET
- New Mexico State at No. 16 Kentucky, 8 p.m. ET
- Incarnate Word at No. 18 Texas, 8 p.m. ET
- Morehead State at No. 24 Alabama, 8 p.m. ET
- Eastern Illinois at No. 25 Illinois, 8 p.m. ET
- James Madison at No. 4 Michigan State, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Northern Illinois at No. 5 Marquette, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Dartmouth at No. 2 Duke, 9 p.m. ET
- Morgan State at No. 12 Arizona, 9:30 p.m. ET
- No. 21 USC at Kansas State, 10 p.m. ET
- Stanislaus State at No. 23 Saint Mary's, 10 p.m. ET
- Cal State Fullerton at No. 17 San Diego State, 10:30 p.m. ET
You can check out the full schedule here.
What is the men's college basketball preseason AP poll?
Michigan State and Marquette round out the top five of the preseason AP poll, sitting ahead of UConn and behind Kansas, Duke and Purdue.
Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic (No. 10), Miami (No. 13) and San Diego State (No. 17) are all inside the top 20 on the heels of Final Four runs.
Here's a full look at the preseason top 25:
- Kansas
- Duke
- Purdue
- Michigan State
- Marquette
- UConn
- Houston
- Creighton
- Tennessee
- Florida Atlantic
- Gonzaga
- Arizona
- Miami
- Arkansas
- Texas A&M
- Kentucky
- San Diego State
- Texas
- UNC
- Baylor
- USC
- Villanova
- Saint Mary's
- Alabama
- Illinois
Other teams that received votes: Wisconsin, Colorado, UCLA, St. John's, Maryland, Virginia, Auburn, TCU, Mississippi State, Kansas State, Xavier, Memphis, Missouri, Boise State, Indiana, Florida, College of Charleston, New Mexico, Drake.
When is March Madness in 2024?
Selection Sunday is set for March 17, with the March Madness action beginning on March 19.
Where and when is the men's Final Four in 2024?
State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale is the site of this year's men's Final Four. The Final Four will take place on April 6 followed by the national championship on April 8.
