2025-26 nonconference impact games

As much as February and March get most of the attention, NCAA tournament résumés begin their construction the moment the college basketball season begins.

November and December matter. They matter plenty. Those are the games that shape the narrative for the rest of the season and are referenced when the selection committee is making many of its most difficult decisions.

Take last season's top teams. For a second consecutive season, UConn had some nonconference stumbles that cost the eventual national champion a No. 1 seed. Tennessee may have cost itself a top-four seed last season by playing a nonconference schedule that wasn't quite tough enough to compensate for a 3-5 start to SEC play. That won't be the case this year, with games against NC State, Louisville and UCLA in the first two months.

The Bruins play not only the Lady Vols, but four other top-15 teams before the end of November. If they get a top seed this season, the Bruins will have earned it. Another team with a heavy early schedule is Duke, which plays four top-20 programs in the first two months.

With the 2025-26 season less than three weeks away, let's look at the games we may look back at, come March, to understand why teams did or did not get into the NCAA tournament field, or their seedings..

Note: This isn't a ranking, but rather a chronological list. Holiday events were generally left off -- except for the first women's Players Era Championship. The Thanksgiving event in Las Vegas could be one of the best two days regular-season women's college basketball has ever seen. Duke, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA will all be there. Those are three No. 1 seeds and a No. 3 in the preseason Bracketology.

Duke Blue Devils vs. Baylor Bears

Nov. 3 | Noon ET | Oui-Play | Paris | ESPN

What's better than the first game of the season? The Blue Devils and Bears are the latest teams to kick things off in Paris. Duke returns four starters, plus leading scorer Toby Fournier, who came off the bench last season. Plus, this game will mark the debut of Emilee Skinner, the No. 4 recruit in the girls SC Next 100. This also marks the first game in a Baylor uniform for two-time transfer Taliah Scott, who could be the big-time wing scorer the Bears have lacked the past few seasons.

NC State Wolfpack vs. Tennessee Lady Volunteers

Nov. 4 | 4 p.m. ET | Greensboro | ESPN2

The Wolfpack are not easing into the post-Aziaha James/Saniya Rivers era. Three of their first four games are against the Lady Vols, USC and TCU. NC State now turns to Zoe Brooks as its leader, with Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre providing extra firepower. The Lady Vols are just as deep and possibly more talented than a year ago after adding transfer Janiah Barker and top-10 recruit Mia Pauldo.

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Kim Caldwell expresses importance of laying foundation for Tennessee

Caldwell gives credit to the Lady Vols last season for trusting the process to help establish the identity of the team, which helped her get an elite recruiting class for this season.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. UCLA Bruins

Nov. 11 | 10:30 p.m. ET | Sacramento | FS1

Raegan Beers vs. Lauren Betts in the post. Payton Verhulst vs. Gianna Kneepkens on the wing. Aaliyah Chavez vs. Sienna Betts, two of the most decorated freshmen in the country. The individual matchups are just as intriguing as the game itself, which should produce plenty of points. If the Sooners want to break through into No. 1 seed territory, this may be a game they need to get.

Princeton Tigers at Maryland Terrapins

Nov. 16 | 1 p.m. ET | College Park | BIG+

Should they falter in Ivy Madness this year, a win here by the Tigers would set them up for a possible at-large bid and give the Ivy League multiple bids for the third consecutive year. For the Terps, who normally play a rugged nonconference schedule, Princeton is one of only two probable NCAA tournament matchups before Big Ten play begins. With nine new faces and another returning from injury, Maryland will still be working to develop chemistry in mid-November, while the Tigers return five starters.

USC Trojans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Nov. 21 | 6 p.m. ET | South Bend | ESPN

We won't get Hannah Hidalgo vs. JuJu Watkins part 2, but it will be another early look at USC's Jazzy Davidson, the top freshman in the country and considered by many to be one of the next faces of women's college basketball. The Trojans do play NC State and South Carolina before the trip to South Bend, but if they lose those two, this game against the Irish will take on particular meaning for USC's chances to get a top-four seed.

Texas Longhorns vs. UCLA Bruins

Nov. 26 | 2 p.m. ET | Players Era Championship | Las Vegas | truTV

With apologies to the folks in Storrs, the inaugural women's Players Era Championship could be an early-season version of the Final Four in early April. The two-day, four-game event will have significant implications on potential No. 1 seeds. The Bruins and Longhorns project as such right now, but two losses in Las Vegas (there is a consolation game) would drop those odds.

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Schaefer, Booker and Harmon describe Texas' talent this season

Vic Schaefer details the talent behind the Longhorns' roster this year as Rori Harmon and Madison Booker discuss what makes them such a dynamic duo on the court.

Duke Blue Devils vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

Nov. 26 | 4:30 p.m. ET | Players Era Championship | Las Vegas | truTV

The Gamecocks' schedule does not feature UConn for the first time since the 2013-14 season, but their two Players Era games more than make up for it. Duke and South Carolina met twice last year: once in December and again in the Elite Eight. South Carolina won both, but the Blue Devils were formidable and the gap between the programs appears to have shrunk. This will be the game to measure by how much. It's also a chance at redemption for Ta'Niya Latson. The nation's top point producer at Florida State scored just nine points against Duke and the 22.6 PPG career scorer has averaged 13.0 points in three career meetings with the Blue Devils.

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Dawn Staley on Gamecocks: 'We're not going to skip a beat'

Despite the season-ending injury to Chloe Kitts, Staley reassures that South Carolina will step up, saying that "we believe in the players that we assembled."

Tennessee Lady Vols vs. UCLA Bruins

Nov. 26 | 4:30 p.m. ET | Westwood | FS1

Just four days after going through the two-day gauntlet in Las Vegas, the Bruins welcome Tennessee to Pauley Pavilion. UCLA is the big favorite in the Big Ten, but its success against a nonconference schedule that also includes North Carolina and South Florida will determine its NCAA tournament seeding.

NC State Wolfpack vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Dec. 3 | 7:15 p.m. ET | ACC/SEC Challenge | Norman, Okla. | ESPN2

The marquee game of the first night of the ACC/SEC Challenge will be a battle between two teams in the hunt for a No. 2 seed. But this game may be more important to the Sooners, with the top of the SEC loaded with the best teams in the country. While the ACC may be the deeper conference, the Wolfpack should have an easier time navigating the best the ACC has to offer.

LSU Tigers at Duke Blue Devils

Dec. 4 | 9 p.m. ET | ACC/SEC Challenge | Durham | ESPN

If it's not UCLA then Duke has the toughest nonconference schedule in the country. Facing LSU comes at the end of a three-game stretch that includes South Carolina and either Texas or UCLA -- all potential Final Four teams. The Tigers' nonconference schedule, meanwhile, is once again underwhelming. This is the only early game against another high-major school, and the only chance to see Flau'jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley on national television until SEC play.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Ole Miss Rebels

Dec. 4 | 9 p.m. ET | ACC/SEC Challenge | Oxford, Miss. | ESPN2

Get your split screen ready. The Irish and Rebels tip at the same time as LSU-Duke, and this one could have even more of an impact on the bracket. The Tigers and Blue Devils are heavy favorites to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games. Notre Dame and Ole Miss may be fighting for that distinction as well. This game will be the first true test to measure how the chemistry is building for the Rebels' eight transfers.

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McPhee-McCuin, McMahon and Iwuala speak on Ole Miss' standard

Yolee McPhee-McCuin discusses how she plans to get the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament again this year as transfer Cotie McMahon and Christeen Iwuala detail the standard in Oxford.

Iowa Hawkeyes at Iowa State Cyclones

Dec. 10 | 7 p.m. ET | Ames, Iowa | ESPN

The Hawkeyes could not figure out Audi Crooks in last year's game (31 points, 10 rebounds) but still managed to win their third straight in the rivalry. Iowa State's non-conference slate is nowhere near as daunting as it was a year ago -- when it played UConn, South Carolina and the Hawkeyes -- so breaking the losing skid in this in-state series is the Cyclones' best chance at a résumé-building win.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Oklahoma State Cowgirls

Dec. 13 | 4 p.m. ET | Oklahoma City | ESPNU

Bedlam returns after a one-year break following the Sooners' move to the SEC. Coming off a 25-7 record in coach Jacie Hoyt's third season, this could be the best Cowgirls team in more than 10 years. A meeting with Oklahoma will put that to the test. Oklahoma State will be leaning on a deep and experienced backcourt rotation of Micah Gray, Stailee Heard, Haleigh Timmer and Amari Whiting to run with the Sooners, who were the fifth-best scoring team in the country a year ago.

Washington Huskies at Stanford Cardinal

Dec. 19 | 10 p.m. ET | Stanford, Calif. | ACCNX

This matchup is more than two old Pac-12 foes reuniting: It's a key litmus test for both programs. The Cardinal missed the NCAA tournament last year for the first time since 1987 and have remade the roster around a top recruiting class, led by point guard Hailee Swain. They might need this win to end up on the right side of the bubble in March. The Huskies meanwhile made their first NCAA tournament since 2017, and did it without a good non-conference win. Stanford represents their only chance to get one of those wins this season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at UConn Huskies

Jan. 19 | 5 p.m. ET | Storrs | FOX

In two career games against the Huskies, Hannah Hidalgo has averaged 31.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists, making her the most dominant individual UConn opponent in the Geno Auriemma era. That alone makes this one a must-see. This game arrives after a tough four-game stretch for the Irish that includes facing Duke, North Carolina and Louisville. An upset of the Huskies would help erase any earlier Notre Dame blemishes.

Tennessee Lady Vols at UConn Huskies

Feb. 1 | Noon ET | Storrs | FOX

The last time the Huskies lost a game was Feb. 6 in Knoxville. The Lady Vols had lost three of their previous four and lost again three days later, making that win against the Huskies possibly the biggest upset in the series' history. The loss cost UConn any chance at a No. 1 seed but also provided the blueprint to the improvements needed for the eventual title run. The Huskies should have the Big East well in hand by this point in the season, but Tennessee will still have South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and LSU on the schedule.