For the second-straight year, the No. 4 UConn non-conference schedule is a veritable murderers row. They'll face the No. 2, 3, 6,9 16, and 17th ranked teams in the AP Preseason poll, all before the calendar turns to 2027.
To get ready for the gauntlet, we divided the stretch into November and December matchups.
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No. 16 Michigan (Friday, Nov. 6)
Seven months after the Wolverines denied UConn a seventh national title, the two will meet again to kick off the 2026-2027 college basketball season. A repeat for No. 16 Michigan faces a slew of questions.
May Be a Rocky Transition
This will be a fascinating case study for UConn fans, because it's awfully close to what could have happened with Dan Hurley and the Lakers back in 2024. Granted, Hurley's move would have been less of a shock.
But the loss of Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks is arguably worse for Michigan than losing Yaxel Lendenborg, Aday Mara or Morez Johnson to the NBA draft. May built a monster of a team in Ann Arbor, and there was no indication that machine was done churning out contenders; he retooled his roster in the portal to be top 10 before his departure.
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Massive credit to interim-turned-head coach Mike Boynton for retaining the house that May built in the summer (can you imagine the blood in the water for the likes of Pintino, Calipari?) The former Oklahoma State coach is 119-109 all-time as head coach, but never took the Cowboys past the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Elliot Cadeau, An Encore
Don't forget the North Carolina transfer led the team in scoring versus UConn in the title game and was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. The 6 -foot-1 senior was the straw that stirred the drink for Michigan's title run, and while May may be gone for the NBA, his maestro point guard is still in Ann Arbor, ready to pull the strings with a new supporting cast.
The question will be; was Cadeau a Mara-Morez-Yaxel merchant, or is he ready to take the next leap with a new unit? Cadeau ranked in the 98th percentile assist rate, with an assist ratio in the 97th percentile, per CBB Analytics. Who does he dish to?
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Backcourt running mate Trey McKenney is the perfect complement to the undersized Cadeau, a hard-nosed do-it-all wing that shot 38 percent from three last year. The sixth man will slide seamlessly into the shooting guard spot.
Inside, Cadeau can dial up lobs for 7 -foot-1 Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam, and Tennessee transfer JP Estrella is an efficient bruiser in the mold of Morez Johnson. Those three will benefit the most from Cadeau running things, but the extent to which Cadeau's supporting cast ascends will determine the Wolverine's ceiling.
Michigan's depth took a hit when five-star freshman Brandon McCoy was lost in August to a torn ACL. But then it was restored with the return of Roddy Gayle Jr. through a favorable five-in-five ruling. That gives Michigan a strong Cadeau-McKenny-Gayle-Estrella-Thiam starting lineup. After that? There's a lot of pressure on LSU Jalen Reed to keep the elite big rotation going.
Defense
What made Michigan so terrifying up close last year was their sheer size. They looked like Monstars with those jumbo lineups. This year's lineup is a little more traditional. So while Thiam projects as an elite rim protector, there's not as much switchability around him.
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Notoriously offense-centric Houston hung 83 points on the Wolverines in preseason. Cadeau might not be able to pressure as effectively without three 6 '10 trees behind him.
No. 5 Arizona (Wednesday, Nov. 18)
The Huskies head to Tucson on Nov. 18, and the Wildcats have all the tools to make their second-straight Final Four. It's pretty easy to divvy up Arizona's three keys, because they have three guys who could all be All-Americans. Together, they sound like a law firm: Krivas, Kharchenkov, and Holt.
Krivas
What makes Arizona intriguing is their three best players are so well-rounded, and it's going to make their floor pretty high. Senior big Motiejus Krivas could have an Aday Mara type impact. He's a frontrunner for Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year, has an underrated low-post touch, and the mobility to guard on the perimeter. He'll anchor the Wildcats' jumbo lineups with absurd mobility for his 7 '2 frame.
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Kharchenkov
On the wing, 6-foot-7, 230-pound Ivan Kharchenkov is the perfect frontcourt partner for Krivas; a mismatch nightmare expected to make a sophomore leap with increased usage. Very few players in the country play harder; he's Thomas Haugh without the PR campaign. He can catch-and-shoot, attack closeouts, and serve as a secondary playmaker. On defense, he can guard 1-4. There's nothing more valuable in college basketball right now than a switchy wing that can do a little bit of everything. Tommy Lloyd has one of the best.
Holt
Top-five recruit and future top-five pick Caleb Holt will be one of the nation's best point-of-attack defenders from the jump. Given Arizona's lack of backcourt depth, Holt will also be asked to handle the brunt of the scoring. The same way Koa Peat was a household name in November, Holt is going to force himself into that discourse sooner rather than later. He averaged 17 points and six rebounds on 43% shooting from three in Arizona's two preseason games, demonstrating a nasty first step and live dribble.
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Arizona can pick apart teams with mismatches. Guard-heavy teams will be overwhelmed with their size inside. If you can bang with Krivas and Kharchenkov down low, you better have someone that can stay in front of Holt in the backcourt. And with a projected starting lineup all 6-foot-5 or taller, get ready for tons of switching and length on defense.
The Tuscon Trio projects to be some of the best two-way players in the nation. Their positional versatility will allow Lloyd to mix and match the rest of his talented albeit inexperienced roster. If North Carolina transfer Derek Dixon steps up, or top-50 freshman Cameron Holmes is ahead of schedule, then the Wildcats could be looking at another Final Four run.
No. 2 Duke (Wednesday, Nov. 25)
Here we go again. The Fighting Scheyers are the No. 1 team in analytics, despite their No. 2 AP polling. Per Matt Norlander, their +34.42 efficiency margin ranks as the highest preseason KenPom evaluation in the history of that database. They check all of the boxes. But, there are questions.
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Alpha Five
Duke's seemingly indestructible teams the last two years had clear focal points and synergy throughout the roster. For this year's team, the roster synergy is there. There's length, switchability, shooting, and playmaking throughout. Five-stars Bryson Howard and Cameron Williams will struggle to find minutes.
But who is the undisputed alpha on the team, the one that takes the final shot?
Better put: who does the offense flow through? Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell has the best college pedigree, averaging 19 and 5 last year at Wisconsin as a three-level scorer. But check out the highlights of lefty Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, a 7-foot-2 mobile big man that took the hoops world by storm at the FIBA U17 World Cup this summer, where he shot 53% from three. Pat Ngongba II has taken a leap it seems, and shoots threes now. Dame Sarr was a demon and is another one with a reportedly rounded-out offensive game. Does Deron Rippey Jr. prove to be too good to keep off the floor?
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See what I'm getting at here? How the shot diets work with all of those guys will be fascinating.
Backup Center
Before this gets aggregated, I'm picking nits here. Duke's second unit is probably a top 15 team. But if I was forced to pick out a weakness on this team, I'd flag the backup center spot. Ngongba is a 6-foot-8 defensive maven that can stretch the floor or hit the offensive glass. He will probably be the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year.
If he gets into foul trouble, though, rim protection must come in the form of Boumtje-Boumtje, who is more advanced offensively than he is on defense. After that, there's Williams, another 7-footer but is less of a sure thing as a freshman. The team's unsung hero might be Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski, a 6-foot-10 senior that can crash the glass like a madman.
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Point Guard
Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Rippey Jr. combine to be everything you want from the point guard position. But Boozer's not a knock-down shooter (28% from three last year). Foster is a solid floor general but limits your ceiling a little. Rippey looks like a stud per preseason tape, but can he run the offense as a freshman?
Because there's not as much 'natural' shot creation on this team, it's going to be very important Duke's point guards get their guys in the right spots.
Duke has all of the pieces. But their best two players last year were also the engines of the offense that could go get you a bucket if things broke down. If Blackwell becomes the scoring machine he was brought in to be, Duke will be Duke. But if he's off, who becomes the closer?
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Ohio State (Friday, Nov. 13)
Close Enough
Including the Buckeyes here feels a lot like that dragon meme. But the Buckeyes did garner AP Top 25 votes and are projected to finish in the top half of the Big 10.
Star Power
John Mobley Jr. is a stud point guard who shot 41% from three last year. Top 10 freshman forward Anthony Thompson, will help fill the massive void left by Bruce Thornton Jr. and take some pressure off Mobley Jr.
Justin Pippen –Scotties son — is a nice addition from Cal that can set the table or get his. A'Mare Bynum is a load inside, albeit a tad undersized.
Health is Key
This team will go as far as Josh Ojianwuna's knee. The Baylor transfer hasn't played since an awful injury in February 2025. If he's good to go, there's balance on both ends for Jake Diebler to work with.
