College Basketball Opening Day 2025: Must-Watch Games
Opening week college basketball preview featuring Field of 68 games, MAC vs Sun Belt Challenge, and key mid-major matchups to watch.
Folks, it’s officially opening week of college basketball!
We’ve waited months for this moment. In an offseason that has saw yet more changes to the college basketball landscape, with countless conversations around the expansion of the NCAA Tournament, legal rules around eligibility, conference realignment, last minute coaching changes, and even a team that didn’t release their schedule or roster until days before the season started…what a whirlwind.
First, I want to thank you for following along this offseason. I launched Bracket Busters in November of 2023, and we are coming off a monumental amount of growth during this past offseason. In fact, we’ve had over 15,000 views on our weekly roster breakdowns. That’s mind blowing for me. With this growth, I thought it was time for a little change in our in-season content. Without further ado, I’m excited to provide you with a snippet of what you can expect from Bracket Busters this season and a look at opening week!
What’s Changing?
Historically, I’d post a new “Mid-Major Top 25” every Monday, however, I think it’s time for a change. I’m introducing the weekly Bracket Busters Risers and Fallers. The modern era of collegiate athletics has blurred the lines of the traditional “Mid-Major” identifier. To grow with the changing times, I want to provide you with an update every week of teams that could be the next Bracket Buster and teams that are falling below expectations.
The weekly report will include key game results, outstanding player performances, and the fastest rising and falling teams outside of the traditional power conference ranks. As with our roster reviews we’ve done throughout the offseason, these reports will be written with an analytical point of view, using some of the industries’ top databases like KenPom, Evan Miya, and more.
Wait, hold on, I’m getting word that…there is more!?
We have brought on a new contributor this season, Gunnar Shoemaker! You’ll be receiving some newsletters from him covering the CAA and the Big West exclusively, which will including key games and results you should be watching out for.
We are also going to be posting video content on YouTube. We started to dabble with roster review breakdowns starting in September, and it has had good reception with minimal promotion. I do think there is some appetite for this, so if you haven’t subscribed to our channel yet then you know what to do:
If you aren’t yet, give us a follow on our socials:
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As the season kicks off, check out our Atlantic-10 conference preview!
The Week Ahead
Let’s get into what you are all here for! Our new Bracket Busters Risers and Fallers weekly report won’t kick off until next week, but there are plenty of important games to watch this week as we kick off the new season.
Field of 68 Opening Day
I love what the Field of 68 has been doing to launch the season, and this year they have an incredible slate:
Winthrop vs Queens at 7am CST
Bradley vs St. Bonaventure at 10am CST
Omaha vs Murray State at 12:30pm CST
Northern Arizona vs Drake at 3pm CST
High Point vs Furman at 5:30pm CST
We have college basketball getting started as early as 8am EST/7am CST as Winthrop and Queens kick off. The notable aspect of these games is, they are already important. Bradley, Murray State, Drake, and St. Bonaventure are going to be looking to start building resumes and help propel their conferences to multi-bid status for the NCAA Tournament.
MAC vs Sun Belt Challenge
Usually, we don’t see conference challenges until later in the season, but the MAC and the Sun Belt decided to kick off the season with this once again and I love it. Here’s the opening slate:
Georgia State vs Eastern Michigan at 5:30pm CST
Southern Mississippi vs Buffalo at 5:30pm CST
Old Dominion vs Miami Ohio at 6pm CST
Coastal Carolina vs Western Michigan at 6pm CST
Arkansas State vs Ohio at 6pm CST
Marshall vs UMass at 6pm CST
South Alabama vs Toledo at 6pm CST
App State vs Central Michigan at 6pm CST
Texas State vs Bowling Green at 6pm CST
Troy vs Kent State at 6pm CST
Louisiana vs Ball State at 6pm CST
James Madison vs Akron at 6pm CST
UL Monroe vs Northern Illinois at 7pm CST
I wish we would see more conference challenges, especially this early in the season. As the non-power conferences continue to band together to generate meaningful games, we are going to see some incredible basketball played as a result. Looking at the games above, Akron and James Madison were both picked to win their conferences ahead of the season. Miami Ohio vs Old Dominion, Akransas State vs Ohio, and Troy vs Kent State are three more games featuring top five teams in the conferences. I applaud the scheduling the two conferences did to ensure the top teams had an opportunity to face off against one another.
Key Games
Looking at standalone games not associated with kick-off events or challenges, there are plenty of key games to watch this week:
St. Thomas vs Saint Mary’s at 9pm CST on 11/3
Chattanooga vs Saint Mary’s at 9:30pm CST on 11/7
VCU vs Utah State on 11/7
San Francisco vs Memphis at 2pm CST on 11/8
South Florida vs George Washington at 12:30pm CST on 11/8
FAU vs Charleston at 5pm CST on 11/8
South Dakota State vs Northern Iowa at 1pm CST on 11/9
North Texas vs Loyola Chicago at 4pm CST on 11/9
FAU vs Liberty at 5pm CST on 11/9
There are far two many important games, and yes, important games in November to capture every single one. The games above feature games with either teams I believe could have at-large potential or could become Bracket Busters themselves come March. However, as the life of a team outside of the power conferences, your resume has to be flawless. These games in November are important for these programs to start to build their resumes early.
In particular, pay close attention to those games from the WCC. Saint Mary’s is going up against a couple of tough schools, including a rising St. Thomas program and Chattanooga who just came off a NIT Championship team. You can preview Saint Mary’s and Chattanooga from my roster reviews by following the links. You also have San Francisco (check out their roster review here) with a huge game against Memphis on the road. The WCC has a potential for a three-bid status this season, and if the Dons could knock off the Tigers on the road then that’s a huge way to start off the season.
Looking at the A-10, the conference wants to achieve multi-bid status. Loyola Chicago, George Washington, and VCU are all anticipated to be at the top of the conference, so with key games against Utah State and North Texas they have an opportunity to start building towards that. North Texas may have had a coaching change, but the Mean Green are still going to be respectable in the American this season. Utah State is also going to be fighting towards the top of the Mountain West once again, even if San Diego State is the favorite at this point. South Florida was picked second in the American this season behind Memphis, and the Bulls are going to be a tough team. This would be a huge win for either program between the Revolutionaries or the Bulls.
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Alright college basketball fans, lets have ourselves another incredible season.