College basketball is back. The 2026-27 season tips off Monday, November 2, and opening night is loaded, from a top-five showdown in Las Vegas to the new No. 1 opening its title defense of the regular season in Tampa. Here is every marquee game, with tip times and TV, plus the early-November dates worth circling right now.
The headliner: No. 1 Florida vs No. 14 Miami
The reigning preseason No. 1 Florida Gators open against in-state No. 14 Miami at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2, part of the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. It is the rare opener that pairs a national title contender with a ranked, motivated neighbor, and it is the first game of the night nationally, so it sets the tone for everything that follows.
Monday night’s full marquee slate
Five ranked teams headline the opening-night board. All times Eastern.
| Time (ET) | Game | TV |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 PM | No. 1 Florida vs No. 14 Miami (Tampa) | ESPN2 |
| 7:00 PM | Jackson State at No. 19 Texas Tech | CBS Sports Network |
| 7:30 PM | Purdue vs No. 15 Gonzaga (Las Vegas) | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
| 9:00 PM | La Salle at No. 10 Houston | CBS Sports Network |
| 10:00 PM | No. 22 UCLA vs No. 5 Arizona (Las Vegas) | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
The TNT doubleheader from T-Mobile Arena is the night’s showcase: Purdue and Gonzaga open at 7:30, then No. 5 Arizona and No. 22 UCLA renew an old Pac-12 rivalry at 10. If you only have time for one window, that is the one.
How to watch opening night
Three windows cover almost everything. ESPN2 carries Florida-Miami and streams on the ESPN app with a TV login. The TNT doubleheader runs on TNT and truTV and streams on HBO Max, which now carries the TNT Sports college slate. The two CBS Sports Network games stream on Paramount+ and through most cable and live-TV packages. A cable or streaming bundle that includes ESPN, TNT and CBS Sports Network gets you the entire night.
The rest of opening week
Opening night is just the start. A few more to circle:
| Date | Game | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov. 6 | No. 16 Michigan vs No. 4 UConn (Boston) | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
| Tue, Nov. 10 | Champions Classic: Michigan State vs Duke (Chicago) | ESPN |
| Tue, Nov. 10 | Champions Classic: Kansas vs Kentucky (Chicago) | ESPN |
The State Farm Champions Classic returns to the United Center in Chicago on November 10 with two blue-blood doubleheaders, four programs that have combined for a long list of national titles between them.
Printable opening-week schedule
Want it on the fridge? Grab the one-page printable with every opening-week tip time and channel.
Download the printable Opening Week schedule (PDF)
More 2026-27 basketball on SportsBrackets
See where every team starts in our 2026-27 preseason AP Top 25, then dig into the full-season printables in the Men’s College Basketball Schedule Hub. Conference fans can jump straight to the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 schedules, each with printable dates and TV.
