Top Five College Basketball Matchups for Opening Week

With only a little under 20 days until the start of the college basketball season, Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco takes a look at the most highly anticipated first week matchups.

The college basketball season starts in just 18 days. While the recent release of the men's preseason AP poll revealed a top three of Kansas, Duke, and Purdue, respectively, opening week has numerous exciting matchups to watch for and scout 2024 NBA Draft prospects — including players on one of those three teams.

5. Texas A&M @ Ohio State (Friday, Nov. 10)

Ohio State has four potential prospects to watch in this game, Roddy Gayle Jr and Scotty Middleton. Gayle Jr is a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard who shot 43% from the three-point line (1.4 attempts per game), 81% from the free-throw line (21 total attempts), and recorded above-average advanced defensive metrics with a 2.2 steal-percentage and 2.3 block-percentage when out on the floor. Look for him to make a potential sophomore jump this upcoming season. 

Middleton is a highly touted freshman prospect who played at Sunrise Christian this past season alongside Matas Buzelis and Miro Little. He's a 6-foot-7 wing who has the ability to hit catch-and-shoot threes, provide value off-ball defensively, and potentially be an elite on-ball defender as well.

Additionally, the Buckeyes signed two other top-50 high school recruits in the 2023 class: Taison Chatman and Devin Royal. Chatman is best known for his shooting both off the catch and off the dribble and has also shown some playmaking chops as a 6-foot-4 combo guard. Royal is a 6-foot-6 wing who is known for his physicality and finishing ability at the rim.

Texas A&M is returning one of the most productive players in the country from this past season, 6-foot junior guard Wade Taylor Jr. He averaged 16 points, 4 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a sophomore this past season while shooting 36% from three (6.3 attempts/game) and 88% from the free-throw line (5.6 free-throw attempts/game). Any player that's as productive as he was as a sophomore deserves to at least be on scouts' radars, especially with a 10.0 Box Plus-Minus.

4. Weber State @ Saint Mary's (Sunday, Nov. 12)

Dillon Jones is a 6-foot-6 wing who averaged 16.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game this past season for Weber State. After an impressive performance at the G-League Elite Camp, Jones earned himself an invite to the NBA Combine where he also played well. He's set for another extremely productive year at Weber State and is squarely in second-round pick conversations.

Aidan Mahaney is a 6-foot-3 guard who was very impressive as a freshman last year for Saint Mary's. The sophomore is capable of working out of the pick-and-roll and can hit midrange attempts off the dribble, indicative in him hitting 38.4% of his midrange attempts this past season while only 7% of those makes were assisted. He also averaged 40% from three on 5.3 attempts per game.  Look for him to have a clear sophomore breakout and be involved in second-round pick conversations.

3. Tennessee @ Wisconsin (Friday, Nov. 10)

Tennessee has seven players to watch for this upcoming season. Let's start with Jordan Gainey, a junior transfer from USC Upstate. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 15 points this past season for USC Upstate while recording a 3.6 steal-percentage and shooting 78% from the line (3.3 attempts/game). Another player on radars is Josiah-Jordan James, the 6-foot-6 graduate student who has averaged 32.5% from the three-point line (4.4 attempts/game), 80.1% from the free-throw line (1.7 attempts/game) and a 5.5 offensive-rebounding percentage throughout this career at Tennessee. James also hit my Productive Sophomore Query back in 2021, where 50% of sophomores who meet the thresholds play 5-plus years in the NBA or are currently in the NBA.

The next Tennessee player to watch is another graduate student, Santiago Vescovi. He's a 6-foot-3 guard from the NBA Global Academy (Canberra, Australia) and is known for his sharpshooting ability. He's converted 38.1% of his threes at Tennessee (6.5 attempts/game) and 79.5% of his attempts from the free-throw line (2.3 attempts/game). He also has some playmaking juice and had an 18.5 assist-percentage this past season for Tennessee while also recording a 3.3 steal-percentage. 

The fourth player to watch is freshman Cameron Carr from Link Academy. He's a 6-foot-5 sharpshooter and is an NBA athlete in the open-court, can attack closeouts, and has shown potential on-ball defensively due to his wingspan. Carr should be taken seriously as a one-and-done candidate in this upcoming 2024 draft. The fifth player is incoming freshman JP Estrella. The 6-foot-11 big has reportedly had a significant growth spurt of eight inches since his freshman year of high school and is known as a good passer and finisher at the rim. Lastly, both Jahmai Mashack and Jonas Aidoo are talented players to monitor this upcoming season for Tennessee.

For Wisconsin, there are three players to watch. Both Connor Essegian and AJ Storr are players to watch this upcoming season. As freshmen last season, they both hit statistical thresholds that other freshmen like Brice Sensabaugh, Keyonte George, and Cason Wallace hit. In fact, 45% of all freshmen who hit those criteria were either drafted in the 2023 NBA Draft or are widely considered projected first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft (Proctor and Filipowski). Therefore, Essegian and Storr should both be on radars. Lastly, Chucky Hepburn is a talented junior guard that should at least be on scouts' radars.

2. Auburn Tigers @ Baylor Bears (Tuesday, Nov. 7)

Auburn has two players to watch in this game. The first is 5-star freshman Aden Holloway. He's a 6-foot-1 quick guard who's capable of hitting difficult shots off the dribble. Another player is Johni Broome, the ultra-productive 6-foot-10 big man who's a redshirt junior this upcoming season. The former Morehead State-transfer averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game in his first season at Auburn. To put those numbers in statistical perspective, he recorded a 12.2 offensive-rebounding percentage, a 22.8 defensive-rebounding percentage, and a 9.6 block-percentage this past season. 

Baylor has seven players to watch for in this game. The best prospect on the team is Link Academy's Ja'Kobe Walter. The 6-foot-5 guard will be one of the best all-around guards in the country this upcoming season. Offensively, he's capable of hitting catch-and-shoot threes, attacking closeouts, is a savvy off-ball cutter, and has even shown some self-creation ability. Defensively, he's a smart help defender and is capable on-ball as well.

Baylor has two other freshmen to watch for this season, 6-foot-4 guard Miro Little and 6-foot-10 big man Yves Missi. While the fluidity of his catch-and-shoot jumper could improve, Little has shown the ability to create opportunities for others off of drives. Missi is a very talented player on both ends of the floor, capable of running the floor in transition and impacting the game as both a rebounder and rim protector.

Lastly, Baylor has four returners worth keeping an eye on as well: Jalen Bridges, Langston Love, Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchatchoua, and Joshua Ojianwuna. All four players have positional size.

1. Arizona @ Duke (Friday, Nov. 10)

The Wildcats have three players to watch for this upcoming season: Henri Veesaar, Pelle Larsson, and Oumar Ballo. Veesaar is a 7-foot sophomore that was virtually ineffective this past season but was the No. 36 overall recruit in the 2022 high school class. Larson is a 6-foot-5 senior guard who converted 84% of his attempts at the free-throw line this past season (3.8 attempts/game), shot 36% from three (2.5 attempts/game), and converted 61% of his attempts at the rim this past season. Overall, he's a productive guard worth monitoring. Lastly, Ballo is a 6-foot-10 senior big that had 14 points and 8.6 rebounds this past season. While not on many NBA Draft radars, he's still another player worth monitoring.

Duke may have the most NBA Draft prospects on one team in the entire nation. They have seven potential NBA prospects to watch this upcoming season, which includes three returners and four incoming freshmen.

Let's start with potential lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and one of the three returners, 6-foot-5 guard Tyrese Proctor. Proctor is a crafty passer in the pick-and-roll and off of drives, and he's a capable point-of-attack defender as well.

Another returner and projected lottery pick for Duke is Kyle Filipowski. The 7-foot big provides value in pick-and-pop situations and is an excellent passer. The last returner to watch for at Duke is 6-foot-9 sophomore Mark Mitchell, who's a forward that has shown some slashing ability.

Duke also signed four of the top twenty recruits in the 2023 high school class, including Jared McCain, Sean Stewart, Caleb Foster and TJ Power. McCain is a 6-foot-2 combo guard, the No. 13 overall recruit, and was one of the most impressive players at the CP3 elite guard camp. Stewart is a 6-foot-8, 230 pound wing out of Montverde Academy and is the No. 17 overall recruit. He's known for his finishing ability and event creation on the defensive end. Foster, the No. 19 overall recruit, is a 6-foot-5 combo guard and was one of the most productive players in the country last season. Lastly, we have TJ Power, No. 20 overall recruit and is a 6-foot-9 forward with an ability to stretch the floor.

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