Men's Basketball

Basketball Season Tips Off

Games from Paris to Vegas highlight opening week

College basketball is back! The men’s and women’s seasons tip off on Monday and there are plenty of exciting matchups throughout opening week. Expectations around the Big Ten are always high, but perhaps higher than ever before coming off a season where Michigan and UCLA won the men’s and women’s national titles. 

Check out our previews of all 36 men’s and women’s basketball teams and take a look at just a few of the great games on the opening week slate.

MONDAY

  • No. 20 Maryland Women’s Basketball vs. No. 1 South Carolina (12 p.m. ET on ESPN) – The Terps open the women’s basketball season in style, taking on the top-ranked Gamecocks in Paris, France. 
  • No. 3 USC Women’s Basketball vs. UNLV (4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network) – JuJu is back! JuJu Watkins returns after missing all of last year with an ACL injury and leads a roster full of top talent and national championship aspirations into their first game at the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. 
  • Purdue Men’s Basketball vs. No. 15 Gonzaga (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, HBO Max) – The Boilers, adjusting to life without their decorated senior class, will be tested right away against the Bulldogs in Vegas. 
  • No. 22 UCLA Men’s Basketball vs. No. 5 Arizona (10 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, HBO Max) – These two longtime rivals always seem to produce close games. They’ve split their matchups the last two years by a combined margin of seven points. 
THURSDAY 
  • No. 5 Michigan Women’s Basketball vs. No. 2 UConn (6:30 p.m. ET on FS1) – In last season’s contest, the Wolverines rallied from a 20-point deficit and narrowly missed knocking off the No. 1 Huskies. Olivia Olson and Syla Swords will look to get the job done on their home court this time. 
FRIDAY
  • No. 16 Michigan Men’s Basketball vs. No. 4 UConn (8 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max) – A national championship rematch in the first week of the season? Sign us up! There are some new pieces for both teams this season, but the goal remains the same as the teams meet in TD Garden. 
SATURDAY
  • Nebraska Men's Basketball vs. Providence (7 p.m. ET on FS1) – What will the Huskers do for an encore after their historic 2025-26? The new season’s first real test will come at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut against Big East foe Providence.   
SUNDAY
  • No. 10 Iowa Women’s Basketball vs. No. 2 UConn (2 p.m. ET on FS1) – Another Big Ten team takes a crack at the Huskies. The Hawkeyes will look to make an early statement to the basketball world in Storrs, Conn.  

Check out the full men’s hoops and women’s basketball schedules.