The first must-watch game of the 2024-25 men's college basketball season was anything but, with No. 6 Gonzaga decimating No. 8 Baylor in a 38-point blowout late on opening night.

With any luck, though, the next eight weeks' worth of non-conference, made-for-TV matchups will be a whole heck of a lot more entertaining.

While the preseason AP poll is rarely the best barometer for who the nation's top teams are, it does hold a lot of power over how games are marketed.

With that in mind, we have combed through the 2024-25 schedule, looking for any and every matchup between preseason AP Top 25 teams, and found 28 such games, including the Gonzaga-Baylor blowout.

Might as well rank the remaining 27, right?

Beyond rankings and which matchups are just plain intriguing because of A) prior meetings between the teams, B) historic relevance of the programs or C) entertaining showdowns between individuals on the rosters, one very important factor in the rankings is location. Specifically, the top five spots on the list were reserved for games on campus as opposed to a neutral location, because those are just inherently more fun to watch.

One final note: Prospective games in early-season tournaments are not included, but first-round matchups in those events are fair game. But, in case you're curious, we could end up getting:

• No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 12 Tennessee in the Baha Mar Hoops championship
• No. 6 Gonzaga vs. No. 17 Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals, with No. 10 Arizona possibly awaiting the winner in the championship game
• No. 3 Connecticut in the Maui Invitational championship against whichever of No. 5 Iowa State, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 11 Auburn survives that half of the bracket
• All sorts of possible combinations involving No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Houston, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 15 Creighton and No. 25 Rutgers in the final round of the Players Era Festival on Nov. 30.

AP Top 25 Teams Not Represented Here

Before we get rolling on the list of nonconference showdowns between teams with national championship aspirations, let's 'lowlight' the four ranked teams who decided they're just going to take it easy until league play begins.

No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers

The Vols will run into either No. 8 Baylor or "narrowly missed the preseason Top 25" St. John's in the championship/consolation game of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Nov. 22. They also will play on the road against an Illinois team that missed being ranked by even less of a margin than St. John's did. All the same, Tennessee isn't guaranteed to face a preseason Top 25 team until its SEC opener against Arkansas in early January.

No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers

It's likely that the Hoosiers will face No. 6 Gonzaga in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Nov. 28, with the winner of that game probably drawing No. 10 Arizona in the championship the following day. But if Indiana were to lose its B4A opener against Louisville, we'll probably need to wait until the Jan. 2 matchup with No. 25 Rutgers to see the Hoosiers take on a top-tier foe.

No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels

What else is new, right? The Rebels started out 13-0 last season, fattening up on cupcakes before ultimately missing the NCAA tournament. At least they're playing in a bracketed multi-team event this year and could end up running into No. 14 Purdue in the Rady Children's Invitational championship. They'll also face BYU in that event and have true road games against Memphis and Louisville. So, the schedule is at least a little more challenging than last year.

No. 20 Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati takes the Cowardly Cake this year.

This program has been notorious for putting together weak nonconference slates for quite a few years at this point.

Even by their standards, though, this is pathetic.

Not only are they neither facing a ranked foe nor playing in a bracketed MTE, but their only nonconference game against a team that received so much as one vote in the preseason AP poll is the annual Crosstown Shootout against Xavier—at home for the Bearcats this year, no less.

They do also have a road game against Villanova as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. But after missing last year's dance in large part because they beat absolutely nobody in nonconference play, it appears they've learned nothing.

Nos. 27-25: Texas A&M-Creighton, North Carolina-Florida, Purdue-Auburn

27. No. 13 Texas A&M vs. No. 15 Creighton (Nov. 27 in Las Vegas)

In a vacuum, this could be a gem, and it feels a bit wrongfully placed at the bottom of the list. Texas A&M's Wade Taylor IV and Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner have both been around for a while now and can single-handedly take over a game in very different ways, which should make for an entertaining battle between the 6'0" guard and the 7'1" center.

But you can already take it to the bank that this game is going to get lost in the national shuffle.

Just between Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, this is one of four games on the list taking place in Las Vegas. The 27th is also when the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis and the final round of the Maui Invitational will happen. This game is slated to air exclusively on Max, too, which is A) kind of cool, but B) going to make it tougher for people to find/watch.

Doesn't help matters that Texas A&M's season began with a late collapse in a loss to UCF.

26. No. 9 North Carolina vs. No. 21 Florida (Dec. 17 in Charlotte)

Ah yes.

The ol' "neutral" game that's not actually remotely neutral.

There are eight such matchups on this year's list, with North Carolina facing a major-conference opponent in Charlotte for the third consecutive year.

Maybe Florida can pull off the semi-away upset that Michigan and Oklahoma couldn't in recent years? The lead guard showdown between R.J. Davis and Walter Clayton Jr. should be fun to watch.

25. No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 14 Purdue (Dec. 21 in Birmingham)

The last two times these teams met were both merciless blowouts in Purdue's favor. The Boilermakers won by 18 in the 2001 NIT and by 25 in the 2016 Cancun Challenge.

This time around, though, they each have viable national championship aspirations, as well as a viable candidate for National Player of the Year. Purdue hopes lead guard Braden Smith can orchestrate another convincing victory over Auburn and do-it-all big man Johni Broome.

(FWIW, there will be a return matchup in Indianapolis next December.)

Nos. 24-22: Texas A&M-Purdue, North Carolina-UCLA, Gonzaga-UCLA

24. No. 14 Purdue vs. No. 13 Texas A&M (Dec. 14 in Indianapolis)

Purdue used to always play either Butler or Notre Dame in Indianapolis at this point on the calendar, but it instead faced Davidson two years ago, Arizona last year and draws the Aggies in this year's Indy Classic.

It's a rematch nearly 15 years in the making. Purdue clipped Texas A&M in overtime in the second round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, and they have avoided each other ever since.

Can the Aggies exact a small amount of revenge in what is effectively a road game? Or will the Boilermakers win this mid-December "neutral"-court affair by an eight-point margin for the third consecutive season?

With no Zach Edey walking through that door for Purdue, perhaps A&M's big men will be able to feast in the paint.

23. No. 9 North Carolina vs. No. 22 UCLA (Dec. 21 in New York City)

22. No. 6 Gonzaga vs. No. 22 UCLA (Dec. 28 in Inglewood, CA)

By late December of last season, UCLA was a sub-.500 train wreck that had even suffered a home loss to Cal St. Northridge. The Bruins did put up an exhilarating fight against Gonzaga in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational, but it was mostly a forgettable season, woefully lacking in offensive execution.

But in addition to getting most of what was a very young roster back for another year, Mick Cronin brought in a bunch of impact transfers, including Kobe Johnson from USC and Skyy Clark from Louisville, hoping to make UCLA's first season in the Big Ten a whole heck of a lot better than its final season in the Pac-12.

After a bunch of tune-up games for the first month of the season, they'll be facing preseason top-10 opponents on three consecutive Saturdays in December to try to prove they can win a national championship for what would be the first time in 30 years. (These two against UNC and Gonzaga come after the big rivalry game against Arizona on the 14th.)

Nos. 21-19: Gonzaga-Kentucky, Duke-Kentucky, Baylor-Arkansas

21. No. 6 Gonzaga vs. No. 23 Kentucky (Dec. 7 in Seattle)

This is the third installment of the six-year series that Mark Few and John Calipari agreed to in 2022, but Cal skipped town before ever getting a win over the Zags. Gonzaga dominated the first matchup at home by a 16-point margin before going to Rupp Arena last February and picking up a crucial win after being very much on the bubble heading into that one.

Can Mark Pope score what is essentially a road win over Gonzaga to provide a big boost five weeks into the Kentucky portion of his coaching career?

Or will it be business as usual, both in terms of Gonzaga beating Kentucky and in terms of Gonzaga beating Pope, who went 1-9 against the Zags during his time with Utah Valley and BYU?

20. No. 7 Duke vs. No. 23 Kentucky (Nov. 12 in Atlanta)

For more than a decade, the Champions Classic has been a can't-miss extravaganza; the unofficial beginning of the regular season.

This year's edition doesn't pack quite the usual punch, though.

Michigan State isn't ranked. Kentucky barely cracked the preseason poll. And with all due respect to Jon Scheyer and Mark Pope, Duke-UK ain't quite the same as when it was Coach K against Coach Cal.

Both games should still be very good, though, and the anticipation leading up to the Champions Classic should be buoyed by the fact that there's not much else on the CBB docket worth getting excited about from Nov. 10-14.

19. No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 16 Arkansas (Nov. 9 in Dallas)

We've already mentioned Calipari several times on this tier, so we might as well put his first major test here, too.

The Razorbacks will also play road games against Illinois and Miami, as well as a neutral-site game against Michigan in this year's Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. However, this is their only nonconference game against a currently ranked foe, which could make this first-weekend impression somewhat of a lasting one.

In his first season at Kentucky, Calipari started out 19-0. But if Baylor can bounce back from its initial embarrassing loss, it could hand him an L in just his second game with the Hogs.

Nos. 18-16: Alabama-Rutgers, Purdue-Marquette, Marquette-Iowa State

18. No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 25 Rutgers (Nov. 27 in Las Vegas)

The preseason KenPom projection had Alabama favored by 10 in this one, which is the widest expected margin of this 27-game bunch. However, KenPom and similar algorithms simply don't know what to do with Rutgers having two of the most talented freshmen in the entire country.

Because this will be our first opportunity to watch Dylan Harper and Airious "Ace" Bailey square off with a top-50 foe—let alone one that almost landed at No. 1—this matchup could easily rank a whole lot higher than this.

If the Scarlet Knights pull off the upset, not only would it immediately cement them as the bandwagon team of the year, but it could set them up for another colossal showdown three days later in the final round of the Players Era Festival, where Houston, Creighton and Texas A&M are all potential opponents.

17. No. 14 Purdue @ No. 18 Marquette (Nov. 19)

The first true road game on the list, and not a shabby one by any stretch of the imagination.

These teams met last year in the championship of the loaded Maui Invitational, as well as the previous November at Purdue. In both cases, the Boilermakers won close contests, with Zach Edey double-doubles outweighing what the Golden Eagles got from Tyler Kolek.

There will be a much different look this year without those two back-to-back consensus All-Americans on the floor, though both squads are prepared to soldier on just fine without them. Time for the Braden Smith and Kam Jones eras to begin.

16. No. 18 Marquette @ No. 5 Iowa State (Dec. 4)

Speaking of Kam Jones, Shaka Smart's lead guard will have his work cut out for him in this trip to Hilton Coliseum, where the Cyclones went a perfect 18-0 last season, holding opponents to 56.8 points per game.

Sure, about half of those opponents were the Q4 blowouts that had college basketball Twitter in a frenzy last season. But Iowa State still went undefeated at home in Big 12 play, allowing 60.2 points in those nine games.

That team has become a serious defensive juggernaut under T.J. Otzelberger, but maybe the architect of VCU's "HAVOC" can find a way to emerge victorious from what promises to be an extremely physical affair.

Nos. 15-13: Houston-Auburn, UConn-Texas, Auburn-Duke

15. No. 4 Houston vs. No. 11 Auburn (Nov. 9 in Houston)

Houston playing a 'neutral' game in Houston?

Sure.

OK.

Regardless of the venue, the Cougars asserted their usual defensive oppression in the 97-40 opening win over Jackson State. We'll see how that destruction of a SWAC team translates to this much more capable SEC opponent, though, as Auburn sure can get after it on the defensive end, too.

Definitely pack some first aid kits. Maybe bet the under.

14. No. 3 Connecticut @ No. 19 Texas (Dec. 8)

After meeting in the championship game of last year's Empire Classic—won 81-71 by Connecticut—the Huskies and Longhorns agreed to a home-and-home series over the summer, with Texas hosting the first one.

And for Texas, this is already looking like...a borderline must-win game?

Freshman Tre Johnson dropped 29 points in the opener against Ohio State, but the Longhorns lost that game by eight. This game against UConn is their only nonconference game against a currently ranked foe, and they would need to put in some serious work in SEC play (still weird to say) in order to make up for taking multiple losses against what is largely a cupcake-riddled first two months of the season. (Seven of their remaining 12 nonconference games come against teams ranked outside the KenPom top 325.)

Meanwhile, Connecticut will be looking to maintain its noncon dominance, presently sitting at 34-1—with each and every one of those wins by double digits—since the beginning of 2022-23.

13. No. 11 Auburn @ No. 7 Duke (Dec. 4)

Hard to believe that this matchup barely cracks the top half, but there sure are some incredible games in the top 12.

Part of what kept Auburn-Duke from making it into the top 10 is that it's happening on Dec. 4, which is just an outrageously loaded night of college hoops. Between the ACC/SEC Challenge and Big East/Big 12 Battle, we're talking five on-campus games pitting preseason top-18 teams against one another.

All on the same night.

It's going to have a Sweet 16 feel to it...but with five games instead of four.

This will be the final game of that quintet, and perhaps an ideal capstone for it, pitting super freshman Cooper Flagg against the grad-senior frontcourt tandem of Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. Both Duke and Auburn will already be quite battle-tested by this point in the season, but this could be special.

Nos. 12-10: Alabama-Creighton, Alabama-Purdue, Arizona-UCLA

12. No. 15 Creighton @ No. 2 Alabama (Dec. 14)

11. No. 2 Alabama @ No. 14 Purdue (Nov. 15)

Alabama is No. 2 in the AP poll, but No. 1 in our hearts for putting together a nonconference schedule befitting of a championship contender.

In addition to facing Houston, Rutgers and a TBD third (likely-ranked) foe in Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, the Crimson Tide also have a semi-home game (in Birmingham) against Illinois, a true road game against North Carolina and this pair of on-campus games against Sweet 16-caliber competition.

Also, only two total games against teams outside the KenPom top 160? One of which is a true road game against North Dakota??

Not all heroes wear capes, but it'd be fitting and funny if Nate Oats coached in one at some point this season.

For what it's worth, both of these games are big parts of the Alabama Revenge Tour. The Crimson Tide lost back-to-back games to Purdue (in Canada) and Creighton (in Nebraska) last December, both of them by narrow margins. A road win over the Boilermakers next week could be the beginning of a special four-month tear.

10. No. 10 Arizona vs. No. 22 UCLA (Dec. 14 in Phoenix)

Conference rivals maintaining that rivalry even after the conference is gone is always a crowd-pleaser; doubly so when both teams have reasonable aspirations of winning what would be their first national championship in nearly three decades.

Both former Pac-12 squads made quick work of their current MAAC foes on opening night, with Oregon State transfer Tyler Bilodeau notably making a great first impression for UCLA with 18 points in 22 minutes. Perhaps he can be the missing link on offense for the Bruins in a rivalry where they have lost six of the last seven matchups.

Nos. 9-7: Alabama-Houston, Kansas-Duke, UConn-Gonzaga

9. No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 4 Houston (Nov. 26 in Las Vegas)

If recent history is any indication of what's coming here, get your popcorn ready.

Three years ago, Alabama won a thrilling, back-and-forth affair 83-82 on a controversial non-call of a possible goaltending in the closing seconds. The following December, the Crimson Tide erased a 15-point second-half deficit for a six-point road win over what was the No. 1 team in the AP poll.

Has Alabama cracked the code to defeating the Cougars? Or is Houston gearing up to clamp down on the Crimson Tide?

8. No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 7 Duke (Nov. 26 in Las Vegas)

Two of the seven programs with at least four national championships, as well as two of the three betting favorites (along with Connecticut) to win this year's title?

Yeah.

That'll do.

Kansas-Duke automatically landed outside the top five because it's not an on-campus game. It also got leapfrogged by a neutral game that got a whole lot more interesting after the first top-10 clash of the year and slots behind a Maui Invitational opener with major implications for the subsequent two rounds of that event.

Truthfully, though, this feels like the No. 1 nonconference game, and it may well be the most-watched game of the first three months, even with a 9 p.m. ET start time on pre-Thanksgiving Tuesday.

7. No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Gonzaga (Dec. 14 in New York City)

This one was already earmarked for a spot in the top 10, but you best believe it jumped a few rungs after the Zags gobsmacked No. 8 Baylor in what was supposed to be the pièce de résistance of opening day.

Now, it's the two-time reigning champs taking on the "Oh buddy, this might finally be their year" team...at the Mecca of Basketball, no less.

Prior to two years ago, every game between these teams seemed to be an instant classic, starting with the Elite Eight showdown in 1999, when Gonzaga first became America's Cinderella and when Connecticut first became a national champion.

After that NCAA tournament game was decided by five points, each of the 2005 Maui Invitational championship game, the 2007 Hall of Fame Showcase, the 2008 Battle in Seattle and the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis matchups were decided by either one possession or in overtime.

But UConn annihilated Gonzaga 82-54 in the 2023 Elite Eight before also beating the Zags by 13 in Seattle last December. Can the Bulldogs get some revenge on the Huskies?

Nos. 6-4: Iowa State-Auburn, Baylor-UConn, Kansas-Creighton

6. No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 11 Auburn (Nov. 25 in Maui)

There could be some most excellent games coming in the latter stages of the Maui Invitational and Battle 4 Atlantis.

Between those two loaded fields, though, this is the only known, guaranteed matchup between presently ranked teams.

And while you may think it's too early to start thinking about March Madness, the NCAA tournament seeding stakes for this game are considerably high, making it the biggest neutral-site game of the first two months of the season.

The winner of this game probably gets North Carolina in the Maui semifinals, with likely Connecticut or Michigan State looming in the championship / third-place game. Conversely, the loser probably runs into Dayton and Memphis in what quickly becomes a quest to not leave Hawai'i with multiple more losses than it had upon arrival.

It's all very similar to last year's first-round Purdue-Gonzaga game in Maui. The win gave Purdue subsequent games against eventual NCAA tournament No. 2 seeds Tennessee and Marquette, while Gonzaga was sent to the loser's side of the bracket for wins over Syracuse and UCLA that ended up not being worth much of anything.

5. No. 8 Baylor @ No. 3 Connecticut (Dec. 4)

Bring on VJ Edgecombe vs. Liam McNeeley.

While Gonzaga's opening-night rout of Baylor made the impending Gonzaga-UConn clash a good deal more intriguing, it had the complete opposite effect on this Baylor-UConn game that we had originally slotted for No. 2 on the list.

Are the Bears destined to be this year's preseason top-10 team that drops like a rock and misses the dance? Or was that 101-63 annihilation just the kick in the pants they needed to now get on the right path?

We may well know the answer before this trip to Storrs, as Baylor has to deal with Arkansas on Saturday, St. John's on Nov. 21 and possibly Tennessee on Nov. 22. Regardless of how those games play out, though, this will be the Bears' last big chance to prove something—good or bad—in nonconference play.

4. No. 1 Kansas @ No. 15 Creighton (Dec. 4)

Connecticut has gone 68-11 overall over the past two seasons, but the back-to-back champs have suffered four consecutive losses in Omaha since the beginning of their shared time in the Big East—a testament to how difficult it can be for even the best teams in the country to score a road win over Creighton.

This one promises to be quite the clash of the giants in the paint, with Kansas' Hunter Dickinson and Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner the two best centers in college basketball right now. Dickinson arguably has the better supporting cast, but the Bluejays could have one of their patented games at home where they are seemingly incapable of missing from the perimeter en route to a statement victory.

Nos. 3-1: Duke-Arizona, Alabama-UNC, UNC-Kansas

3. No. 7 Duke @ No. 10 Arizona (Nov. 22)

This will be part two of the home-and-home series that began last November with then-No. 12 Arizona going on the road and upsetting No. 2 Duke.

Can the Blue Devils return the favor in a matchup where both teams are adjusting to life without four of the five starters from that game? Or will the Wildcats increase what is presently a 27-game winning streak at home in nonconference play?

Arizona will probably need to shoot better than the 8-for-28 from distance that it did in the opener against Canisius, lest Duke capitalize on what will be a size advantage across the board.

2. No. 2 Alabama @ No. 9 North Carolina (Dec. 4)

As previously noted, December 4 is going to be all sorts of awesome. Marquette-Iowa State, Auburn-Duke, Baylor-UConn, Kansas-Creighton and this Alabama-North Carolina gem, all taking place on campus as part of either the Big East-Big 12 Battle or the ACC-SEC Challenge.

Got to put this one at the top, though, given how theatrical the recent pairings have been.

In last year's Sweet 16, Alabama erased an early 10-point deficit behind a Herculean effort from Grant Nelson, storming back for an 89-87 upset. And in the previous year's Phil Knight Invitational, it was Alabama surviving a quadruple-overtime affair that seemingly neither side wanted to win. The victory set the Crimson Tide on a path to an eventual No. 1 seed, while the loss played a major part in the Tar Heels narrowly missing the dance.

Neither Alabama's Mark Sears nor North Carolina's R.J. Davis was particularly on point in last year's game, but this could have significant NPOY implications for that pair of lead guards.

1. No. 9 North Carolina @ No. 1 Kansas (Nov. 8)

Yes, the best game of nonconference play is just around the corner, with North Carolina traveling to Kansas for a rare Friday night clash—their first regular-season meeting since the 2002 NIT Season Tip-Off and their first matchup on either campus since 1960.

Hard to believe Roy Williams won more than 400 games with each program without ever igniting at least something of a regular-season rivalry between two of the winningest programs in men's college basketball history, but better late than never, right?

There are still a few leftovers from when these teams met in the 2022 national championship, namely R.J. Davis for North Carolina and KJ Adams, Dajuan Harris and Zach Clemence for Kansas.

If Davis can even remotely replicate in Lawrence what he did in the season opener against Elon—24 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, zero turnovers—the visiting Tar Heels could pull off a bit of a stunner.