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Although we are a long way away from March Madness, there is still a lot of excitement for the upcoming college basketball season. Teams have already begun practicing and the tradition of Midnight Madness has kicked off on campuses all around the country. This is what schools who are not football juggernauts are waiting for. This is a season where schools like UCLA, North Carolina and Gonzaga are ready to shine. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming season.
Opening Tip-Off
The 2022-23 NCAA Basketball season opens up on November 7th, 2022. The day will be filled with lots of games as teams all over the country will be ready to show they are ready to improve from where they were last year. Like college football, most of these first games will see Power 5 teams and upper tier mid majors hosting teams they should beat.
Early Season Teams to Watch
There are more than a few teams coming into this season with something to prove. One of those teams is Championship runner-up UNC. Coach Hubert Davis is entering his second season and is returning to a strong and experienced line-up. Armando Bacot is a preseason All-American pick and the team is returning to the backcourt of RJ Davis and Caleb Love.
In Durham, NC, about 8 miles up the road from UNC, the Duke Blue Devils are coming into the season with high hopes. For the first time in 40 years, they will take to the court without legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Jon Scheyer will take over what still looks like a good team that still expects to compete for the ACC title and make it to the Final Four.
Perennial power Kentucky plans to improve on a disappointing early NCAA tournament exit. Coach John Calipari has brought in another strong recruiting class with 5-star players Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston, who will contribute immediately. The team will be led by Oscar Tshiebwe, who is a national player of the year candidate.
Early Season Tournaments and Match-Ups
One thing that makes the college basketball season interesting is the early season tournaments. This is a good chance for top teams to see where they measure up against big-time competition. Here are some of the tournaments to look out for.
The Myrtle Beach Invitational will take place November 17th-20th. This tournament will feature Texas A&M who reached the title game in last year's NIT. Other big-name teams in this contest include Colorado, UMass and UNC-Charlotte.
One big contest will be the Phil Knight Invitational. This tournament will take place in Portland, OR starting November 24th and will go to November 27th. The eight-team tournament will feature National Runner-up North Carolina, Villanova, Michigan State, Oregon and UConn. These teams are usually the ones that look to make a run in the NCAA tournament and will get to a good early top tier competition.
The college basketball season is always exciting and a great preview for future NBA stars.
