It’s time to stop the predictions, speculation and ultimately pointless talk that got us through the offseason. College basketball is back.
NCAA basketball schedule: Georgetown and Oregon kick off the season in South Korea
College basketball returns on Friday with 19 Top 25 teams in action. Georgetown and Oregon play in the Armed Forces Classic while UConn and Maryland get things started at Barclays Center.
Tonight, more than half of Division I will start the regular season, and from Stillwater to Syracuse, the expectations are high and the anticipation has hit its peak.
With 19 of that nation’s Top 25 teams in action, there’s plenty to watch on opening night.
For the second straight year, two prominent programs will open play at a military base overseas. This time it is Georgetown and No. 19 Oregon, playing at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. Though the Ducks will be the favorites, they will have to win without Dominic Artis and Ben Carter, who have been suspended indefinitely. The Hoyas will play their first game in the post-Otto Porter era, leaning on returning veterans Greg Whittington and Markel Starks.
Meanwhile in the states, Maryland again opens the season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Terrapins will face No. 18 Connecticut, which returns one of the best backcourts in the country in Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and Brooklyn native Omar Calhoun. The Terps are led by Dez Wells, who will try to make up for the loss of this year's No. 5 NBA Draft pick Alex Len.
Here are some of the games to to follow on college hoops’ opening night (all times Eastern):
North Florida at No. 10 Florida (Global Sports Challenge, 3 p.m., ESPN3)
Oklahoma vs. Alabama (5 p.m.)
Boston College vs. Providence (6 p.m., FS1)
No. 18 Connecticut vs. Maryland (Brooklyn, N.Y., 6:30 p.m., ESPN2)
UNC Asheville at. No. 1 Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN3)
McNeese St. at No. 2 Michigan St. (7 p.m.)
Davidson at No. 4 Duke (7 p.m., ESPU)
Massachusetts-Lowell at No. 7 Michigan (7 p.m.)
Cornell at No. 8 Syracuse (7 p.m.)
Illinois St. at No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth (7 p.m.)
St. John’s vs. No. 20 Wisconsin (Sioux Falls, S.D., 7 p.m., Big Ten Network)
Miami (Ohio) at No. 21 Notre Dame (7 p.m., ESPN3)
James Madison at No. 24 Virginia (7 p.m.)
Louisiana Monroe at No. 5 Kansas (8 p.m., ESPN3)
Mississippi Valley St. at No. 9 Oklahoma St. (8 p.m.)
Southern at No. 17 Marquette (8 p.m.)
Georgetown vs. No. 19 Oregon (Armed Forces Classic, South Korea, 8 p.m., ESPN)
Oakland at No. 12 North Carolina (9 p.m.)
Florida Gulf Coast vs. Nebraska (9 p.m., Big Ten Network)
Cal Poly at No. 6 Arizona (10 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
Colorado at No. 25 Baylor (10 p.m.)
Drexel at No. 22 UCLA (Midnight)
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