Best NCAA men's basketball games in early November
November 4, 2019 at 2:03AM
Five big games in 2019-20 season's first 10 days:
TUESDAY
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Kentucky: Tom Izzo vs. John Calipari. Savvy veterans vs. one-and-dones. This featured matchup in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden has early national title favorite implications.
TUESDAY
No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 4 Duke: The allegations of major NCAA violations could hang over Bill Self and his Jayhawks program for a while, but their first challenge is in the Champions Classic vs. Duke in the post-Zion era.
NOV. 12
No. 14 Memphis at No. 15 Oregon: Is Penny Hardaway's No. 1-ranked recruiting class deserving of the early hype? The Ducks have a chance to prove otherwise with the Pac-12's top national contender.
NOV. 13
No. 10 Villanova at No. 18 Ohio State: The Buckeyes return one of the top teams in the Big Ten and can prove to be even better than their preseason ranking by beating a top-10 opponent at home.
NOV. 14
No. 1 Michigan State at No. 12 Seton Hall: No coach in college hoops schedules tougher before conference play than Izzo, who also plays Virginia Tech (Nov. 25) and Duke (Dec. 3).
Marcus Fuller
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Projected Gophers starting center Frank Mitchell will miss Wednesday night's opener against Oral Roberts because of a shoulder injury and will be reevaluated next week.
