Opening day of the 2025-26 college basketball season is essentially March Madness in November.
There's a boatload of men's and women's college basketball games on Monday, featuring some of the best teams in the nation to kickstart the new season.
On the men's side, the defending champions are in action, as No. 3 Florida begins its title defense against No. 13 Arizona. Prized recruits will get their first taste of the limelight, like BYU five-star freshman AJ Dybantsa, with the Cougars taking on Villanova.
The women's slate features three top-five outfits: No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 UCLA, and No. 4 Texas.
Here's everything that you need to know to watch the beginning of the college basketball season, with a full slate of games coming your way on Monday night.
College hoops on TV now
Top 25 Men's TV Today
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| No. 5 St. John's vs. Quinnipiac | 6:30 p.m. | FS1, DirecTV |
| No. 14 Arkansas vs. Southern | 7 p.m. | SEC Network, DirecTV |
| No. 18 Tennessee vs. Mercer | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 3 Florida vs. No. 13 Arizona | 7 p.m. | TNT, truTV, DirecTV |
| No. 4 UConn vs. New Haven | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 22 Michigan State vs. Colgate | 7 p.m. | B1G+ |
| No. 25 UNC vs. Central Arkansas | 7 p.m. | ACC Network, DirecTV |
| No. 16 Iowa State vs. FDU | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 24 Wisconsin vs. Campbell | 8 p.m. | B1G+ |
| No. 19 Kansas vs. Green Bay | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 2 Houston vs. Lehigh | 8 p.m. | CBSSN, DirecTV |
| No. 15 Alabama vs. North Dakota | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 20 Auburn vs. Bethune-Cookman | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 17 Illinois vs. Jackson State | 8:30 p.m. | BTN, DirecTV |
| No. 7 Michigan vs. Oakland | 8:30 p.m. | FS1, DirecTV |
| No. 11 Louisville vs. SC State | 9 p.m. | ACC Network, DirecTV |
| No. 21 Gonzaga vs. Texas Southern | 9 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 8 BYU vs. Villanova | 9:30 p.m. | TNT, truTV, DirecTV |
| No. 12 UCLA vs. Eastern Washington | 10:30 p.m. | BTN, DirecTV |
Top 25 Women's TV Today
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| No. 11 UNC vs. NC Central | 11 a.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 7 Duke vs. No. 16 Baylor | 12 p.m. | ESPN, DirecTV |
| No. 14 Iowa State vs. St Thomas NB | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 12 Ole Miss vs. Norfolk State | 12 p.m. | SEC Network, DirecTV |
| No. 19 Vanderbilt vs. California | 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU, DirecTV |
| No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Belmont | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 24 Kentucky vs. Morehead State | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 10 Maryland vs. Loyola MD | 7 p.m. | B1G+ |
| No. 2 South Carolina vs. Grand Canyon | 7 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 21 Iowa vs. Southern | 7:30 p.m. | B1G+ |
| No. 22 Oklahoma State vs. New Orleans | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 4 Texas vs. Incarnate Word | 8 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| No. 3 UCLA vs. San Diego State | 10 p.m. | B1G+ |
Watch college hoops now
- TV channels: ESPN | ESPNU | SEC Network | ACC Network | BTN | FS1 | CBSSN | TNT | truTV
- Live streams: DirecTV | ESPN+ | B1G+
Today's slate of season-opening games will air across an array of different TV channels.
Any game airing on broadcast television via the ESPN Networks, TNT, CBSSN, FS1 or the Big Ten Network can be streamed with DirecTV.
Several games will be available to stream exclusively on ESPN+ and B1G+.
NCAA hoops rankings
Men's AP preseason Top 25
- Purdue
- Houston
- Florida
- Connecticut
- St. John's
- Duke
- Michigan
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Texas Tech
- Louisville
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- Iowa State
- Illinois
- Tennessee
- Kansas
- Auburn
- Gonzaga
- Michigan State
- Creighton
- Wisconsin
- North Carolina
Women's AP preseason Top 25
- Connecticut
- South Carolina
- UCLA
- Texas
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Duke
- Tennessee
- NC State
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Michigan
- Iowa State
- Notre Dame
- Baylor
- TCU
- USC
- Vanderbilt
- Louisville
- Iowa
- Oklahoma State
- Michigan State
- Richmond
- Kentucky