Feast Week guide: The must-watch college hoops games

Every year, Feast Week presents a buffet of elite nonconference matchups that matter now, sure, but will mean a lot more once Selection Sunday arrives. Powerhouse programs can add more quality wins to their early résumés, while multiple upset-minded programs will get their shots in for at-large consideration.

This year is no different.

UConn has a chance to stake its claim as America’s top team by running through a strong Maui Invitational field — though North Carolina and Auburn stand in its way, and could even change that conversation by defeating the Huskies. Gonzaga is another team that could end the week with a strong argument for the No. 1 spot.

But for all the multiteam events and nonconference tournaments that have already concluded or are just tipping, the week really begins with Cooper Flagg continuing his campaign to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft in Las Vegas, where Duke will play No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday night.

There’s also a new entrant to Feast Week this year: The Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, which could revolutionize future holiday tournaments.

The event, anchored by Houston, Alabama and Rutgers, will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and will give $1 million in NIL payouts to every participating team. Pay-for-play events are against the NCAA’s rules, which means the Players Era Festival organizers are trying to ensure compliance even as all signs point to the games moving forward.

Which means it will be closely watched by not just the NCAA, but the entire college basketball world. Because the format, and importantly the financial benefits, could become the norm in this new era if it goes off without a hitch. If it doesn’t, it will be an anomaly in a strange time for college basketball.

As you try to pick which of the many men’s college basketball games to watch this holiday week, let ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, Joe Lunardi and Neil Paine help you decide where to tune in. Most of them are nonconference tournaments at neutral sites. A few are not. All are guaranteed to be entertaining.

Monday

Maui Invitational | 2:30 p.m. ET | Maui | ESPN2

UConn begins a massive step up in competition after rolling through four sub-300 KenPom teams by an average of 37 PPG — the largest scoring margin in the country. Memphis isn’t really a national title contender, but the Tigers have three really good guards and a big man in Dain Dainja who is a handful — if he can stay on the floor. It’s a good test for a Huskies team with unanswered questions. — Borzello

play

Dan Hurley: Anything short of an NCAA title is a failure at UConn

UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley tells Pat McAfee what his program’s expectations are heading into the season.

Maui Invitational | 9 p.m. ET | Maui | ESPNU

Now this has the feel of a Feast Week championship game — or a potential Final Four matchup. While both teams have elite defensive units, the key will likely be Auburn’s offense vs. Iowa State’s defense. Can the Tigers take care of the ball and prevent the Cyclones, who rank fifth nationally in points off turnovers per game, from getting out and running? And can Iowa State limit Johni Broome and the Tigers, who lead the nation in two-point field-goal percentage, at the rim? — Borzello

Maui Invitational | 11:30 p.m. ET | Maui | ESPN2

Dayton didn’t enter the season with the same hype it had a year ago, but the Flyers are off to a 5-0 start that includes a win over Northwestern. The additions of high-major transfers Zed Key and Posh Alexander, and the return to health of Malachi Smith, has them positioned well in the Atlantic 10. Monday offers a chance at a statement win against a Carolina team that possesses one of the deepest and most talented backcourts in the country. — Borzello

Tuesday

7 p.m. ET | Philadelphia | ESPN+

Yours truly is on the call for this one. Am already lobbying that night’s officiating crew to get us off the air in time for Kansas-Duke. — Lunardi

Players Era Festival | 8:00 p.m. ET | Las Vegas | TBS

Something has to give in this battle between the top-five offense of Alabama and perennial top-five defense of Houston. The Crimson Tide have broken the 100-point mark a staggering 11 times since last season. Meanwhile, the Cougars haven’t allowed more than 75 in regulation since Feb. 3. Expect both to be competing for No. 1 seeds all the way to March. — Lunardi

Vegas Showdown | 9 p.m. ET | Las Vegas | ESPN

This is the highest profile Feast Week matchup, at least in terms of preseason rankings. Kansas began the year and remains at No. 1 in the major polls. Duke stumbled late against Kentucky in the Champions Classic but rebounded convincingly at Arizona before its trip to the desert. Look for Cooper Flagg to face his stiffest challenge yet against fifth-year big man Hunter Dickinson. It’s hard to imagine the winner of this game not being a No. 1 seed in March. — Lunardi

Wednesday

Maui Invitational Championship (teams TBD)

Maui Invitational | 5 p.m. ET | Maui | ESPN

We don’t know who the two teams will be in the Maui Invitational final, but if things go chalk, two-time defending NCAA champ Connecticut could be in it against any of Auburn, Iowa State or UNC — all of whom rank among Ken Pomeroy’s Top 12 entering Monday — out of the other side of the bracket. The best possible matchup according to KenPom? No. 2 Auburn versus No. 6 UConn. — Paine

Players Era Festival | 6:30 p.m. ET | Las Vegas | Max

Both are off to good starts, and both are KenPom top 20 teams. Impact seniors abound on both sides: A&M is headlined by Wade Taylor IV, Creighton goes as far as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth take it. Look for whether a swarming Aggies defense (top 100 in steal rate at 11.5%) can force giveaways from a Creighton team that allows steals on 13.3% of its offensive possessions — one of the worst rates in the nation. With both currently projecting in the 4-5 seed range in the NCAA tourney, the winner will have an early leg up. — Paine

Players Era Festival | 10 p.m. ET | Las Vegas | TBS

Bama is in a tough stretch, facing Houston and UNC within an 8-day span. The easiest matchup in between is Rutgers, and even that’s a ranked team. The Scarlet Knights have the potential to give Alabama a fight, as they take meticulous care of the basketball on offense and don’t give up anything easy at the other end with touted freshman bigs Ace Bailey and Lathan Sommerville patrolling the paint. Bama’s experience should win out here, and Rutgers has a very tough Big Ten schedule ahead anyway, but an upset W would be great for Rutgers to show the committee in March. — Paine

Thursday

Battle 4 Atlantis | Noon ET | Paradise Island, Bahamas | ESPN

Gonzaga, America’s best offensive team, has another chance to add a quality win to its résumé. Mike Woodson considers this Hoosiers roster his best as their head coach. A Thanksgiving victory over the elite Bulldogs — who have four players currently averaging double figures and are first in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom — would certainly validate Woodson’s lofty talk.To get here, though, Gonzaga and Indiana have to win their first games (against West Virginia and Louisville, respectively) in the Bahamas. — Medcalf

CBS Thanksgiving Day Game | 4 p.m. ET | Kansas City, Missouri | CBS

This early battle between teams that hope to be contenders in their respective conferences features five projected draft picks — three of whom could go in the first round. The names to watch here are Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis (10.2 PPG, 6.6 APG), who will face the Razorbacks’ Boogie Fland. If you’d like to see a couple of young point guards who could compete at the next level soon, this is a game for you. — Medcalf

Rady Children’s Invitational | 3 p.m. ET | San Diego | FS1

Both teams look different than when they met in the Final Four eight months ago and the Boilermakers walked away with the 63-50 victory. This meeting is a chance for Jayden Taylor (14.8 PPG) and the undefeated Wolfpack to legitimize their strong start and secure a top-25 ranking, while Braden Smith (12.3 PPG, 9.3 APG, 5.3 RPG) and Purdue aim to, once again, avoid an upset loss. — Medcalf

Friday

2:30 p.m. ET | Columbus, Ohio | Peacock

This is neither a ranked matchup nor an early-season tournament game. Yet, this is an extremely close matchup between two teams in the KenPom top 25 that are good at both ends of the court. Defense might be the order of the day here; no team in the nation holds opponents to a lower shooting efficiency than the Buckeyes (7-foot-1 Aaron Bradshaw is a terror protecting the rim), though the Panthers aren’t far behind at No. 15 in effective FG% defense. ESPN Analytics predicts both have an 80-90% probability of making the NCAA tournament. — Paine

Battle 4 Atlantis Championship (teams TBD)

Battle 4 Atlantis | 5:30 p.m. ET | Paradise Island, Bahamas | ESPN

The big potential matchup here is Gonzaga versus Arizona — No. 1 versus No. 17 in the KenPom rankings, and a fast-paced offensive shootout for us all to feast on. If for some reason that doesn’t happen, we might see a deep team like Indiana — led by sensational sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako — or Oklahoma — with senior Jalon Moore scoring nearly 19 PPG — instead. Both the Hoosiers and Sooners have almost exactly 50-50 NCAA tourney odds according to ESPN Analytics, making this another of those potential résumé-boosters. — Paine

Rady Children’s Invitational Championship (teams TBD)

Rady Children’s Invitational Championship | 6 p.m. ET | San Diego | FOX

This will be another chance for either Purdue or NC State to prove it still can shine on the national stage, despite losing key players from a season ago. On the other side of the bracket, both Ole Miss and BYU were on the 8-9 seed line in our latest Bracketology report. In other words, these are a couple of power-conference teams that will probably be squarely on the bubble for an at-large bid in March, and a win here would help in that regard. — Paine

Saturday

9:30 p.m. ET | Lethbridge, Alberta (Canada) | ESPN+

Closing night of the inaugural Western Slam features a pair of mid-majors picked to win their respective conferences. UC Irvine owns four of the past six Big West regular-season titles, and this year Towson was voted the preseason CAA favorite for the first time. The Tigers are looking for the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance in Division I. — Lunardi

4 p.m. ET | Philadelphia | ESPN+

The winner of this one faces Saint Joseph’s for the Philadelphia Big 5 championship on Dec. 7. A year ago at Temple, former La Salle and now Villanova guard Jahmir Brickus broke the Big 5 single-game scoring record with 41 points in a triple overtime loss. This year, the Explorers host at their new John Glaser Arena, where they have yet to lose. — Lunardi

Sunday

4 p.m. ET | Lincoln | Big Ten Network

It’s a bit of an anticlimactic end to Feast Week, but North Florida already has a pair of road wins over power-conference competition in South Carolina and Georgia Tech, before getting another chance here. The Cornhuskers, however, just picked up a huge road win of their own by going to in-state rival Creighton and knocking off the Bluejays by 11 — holding All-America big man Ryan Kalkbrenner to 4 points and 0 made field goals. — Borzello