College basketball fans are going to be treated to some titanic tilts during the non-conference portion of the schedule, and the SEC/ACC Challenge will only add to the excitement.
The 16 cross-conference matchups will take place on December 1 and December 2, and will provide teams with golden opportunities to boost their March Madness resumes.
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We’ll power rank the top five SEC/ACC Challenge matchups that will make the holiday season that much sweeter.
Alabama has turned into one of the most fun teams in college basketball, as they’ve been pushing the pace under Nate Oats for the last several seasons. The Crimson Tide figure to keep this up even with the departure of Labaron Philon, and it’ll be fascinating to see if Miami decides to run and gun with them or slow down the tempo.
The Razorbacks have a coach who has been a pillar of college basketball dominance for the last three to four decades. The Tar Heels have a new head coach who is getting his feet wet at the college level. It’ll be fascinating to see the chess match between John Calipari and Michael Malone in this contest, with the latter looking to prove he can put players at the collegiate level in the best position to win.
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The Cavaliers had a bit of a disappointing end to last season, as they were bounced in their second NCAA tournament game as a three seed. Virginia will hope to maintain their balance of strong offensive play and staunch defensive effectiveness against a Kentucky team who moved heaven and earth to land Milan Momcilovic in the transfer portal.
Speaking of the transfer portal, no program arguably helped themselves more during the spring than the Cardinals. Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad will anchor a revamped Louisville team under Pat Kelsey that has designs on winning the ACC and doing damage in March. On the other side, the Longhorns certainly made their presence felt during March Madness and are hoping to continue that momentum into next season.
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While the other matchups are incredibly appealing, it’s going to be difficult for any of them to touch the anticipation surrounding Duke vs Florida. The Gators will once again feature a stingy frontline anchored by Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. It’ll be fascinating to see how Duke’s frontline fares against a trio with so much experience together.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: SEC/ACC Challenge: Ranking the top 5 matchups in 2026
