If College Basketball Took Over Christmas Day, What Would Your Ideal Schedule Look Like?

We all know that the NBA has dominated Christmas Day by putting five games on the schedule and giving us matchups we want to see. They give us storylines to follow and things like LeBron vs Golden State this year, Boston/Philly and even the up and coming team Jazz. It makes for a great day, especially following Big Cat’s unders for the first two games rule.

So I got to thinking. What if college hoops dominated Christmas Day? They started to try and do this with New Year’s Eve and the Big East running their schedule that day in a similar format. I enjoy it, but that’s still a bowl game day. There are limited games on Christmas Day and you can start to build the hype for college hoops. Everyone starts to tune in once football ends and right around this time, you just have bowl games and the NFL playoffs left.

So, since I plan on being commissioner of college hoops in a short amount of time – watch your ass, Emmert, I’m coming for you – I figured I’d work through this exercise, because, well it’s August and the NBA Christmas Day schedule got released last night.

The rules for the schedule is non-conference games only and working on games that aren’t already on the schedule. That means no Kansas/Kentucky, Duke/Kentucky, Kansas/Nova, etc. So what do we end up with? Reminder, this is also just for the 2018-19 season. Here’s what I have and let me know yours on Twitter @barstoolreags

Noon: Virginia vs Tennessee – Nashville
Two top-10 teams get us started off here that people often forget about. Virginia has been one of the best programs over the last few years as they consistently win the ACC and be a top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They return a lottery pick talent in De’Andre Hunter to go with Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome. Tennessee returns pretty much everyone from a team that was co-SEC regular season champions. We get two teams that focus on defense and a different style of play.

3:00: Kansas vs UNC – St. Louis
Two bluebloods give us the big name matchup in the second game here. We’ll put this game in St. Louis as UNC will travel well and Kansas will fill the stadium. Despite losing their backcourt and Svi, Kansas is a top-2 team in the country depending what poll you look at as they bring in a ton of transfers and a loaded recruiting class. Looking at someone like Dedric Lawson go up against UNC will have my attention on Christmas Day. As for UNC, they lose the two seniors in Joel Berry and Theo Pinson, who were the heart and soul of that team last year. This year’s team will be predicated on how quick Coby White can pick up the point guard position at the collegiate level, but the trio of Cam Johnson, Nasir Little and Luke Maye is a good starting point. Enjoy watching this one before the early dinner.

5:30 – Michigan vs Duke – Indianapolis
We get the runner-ups from last year vs a favorite to win it all this year. Michigan and Duke have history too going back to the Fab Five days. Michigan, despite losing Moe Wagner and Abur-Rahkman, will be a favorite to win the Big 10 again this year. Throw in John Beilein with Charles Matthews and you have a team that will be a preseason top-15 or 20 team depending where you look. Duke has that big time recruiting class coming in led by RJ Barrett. You get the internet sensation Zion Williamson on national TV in a stand alone game and Beielin vs K. Yes, please.

8:00 – Villanova vs Kentucky – Madison Square Garden
Again, a battle of two blueblood names. You have the contrast in style from the fan opinion as well. Kentucky, known for getting one-and-dones vs Villanova, the program that’s known for bringing in guys, having them redshirt and build their way through the program. Both are going to be preseason top-10 this year as Kentucky has a mix of big time freshmen and returning guys like PJ Washington and a grad transfer in Reid Travis. Villanova is going to look different this year as they lose 4 key players from last year. You get Cal vs Wright. You get Nova’s offensive system vs Cal’s defensive-minded team. This gets the primetime spot and throwing it in MSG where everyone will travel to. A ton of big time names like Eric Paschal, Phil Booth, Jahvon Quinerly, Ashton Hagans, Keldon Johnson and more. Yeah, let’s make this happen.

10:30 – Gonzaga vs Nevada – Las Vegas
We end the night with two ‘mid-majors’ that are top-5 teams coming into the year. Gonzaga and Nevada are two teams that are going to dominate out West this year after both made the Sweet 16 last season. Both teams are legit national title threats this coming season as they have NBA talent and depth. Gonzaga returns Killian Tillie and Rui Hachimura while Nevada has the Martin twins and Jordan Caroline. You have Mark Few, who is one of the best coaches in the game and Eric Musselman who is starting to get linked to every opening now. Two great offensive teams to close the night out and throw an over bet? Let’s do this.