At long last, it’s here: the start of the men’s college basketball season.

And while opening night isn’t what it used to be — remind us why we don’t start every season with the Champions Classic? — the season begins with two high-quality, intriguing matchups Monday. The first pits No. 3 Florida, the reigning national champions, against Tommy Lloyd’s freshmen-led No. 13 Arizona squad, which has its sights set on the Big 12 title. And for a nightcap, how about the official debut of AJ Dybantsa, the nation’s top freshman, and No. 8 BYU against Villanova?

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Yes, please.

The rest of the week is a little light — outside of No. 6 Duke versus Texas on Tuesday, that is, in Sean Miller’s debut with the Longhorns — but the opening weekend makes up for it. We’ve got No. 19 Kansas at No. 25 North Carolina, in what should be KU freshman Darryn Peterson’s national breakout. No. 15 Alabama at No. 5 St. John’s, our first real look at Rick Pitino’s revamped roster. Not to mention No. 14 Arkansas at No. 22 Michigan State, Oklahoma at No. 21 Gonzaga, Virginia Tech at Providence, and a handful of others. Saturday is one of those “don’t move from the couch” days.

The start of the season also brings something else: our preseason predictions. Not one of our 10 voters picked Florida to make the Final Four last season. Oops. Are we wiser this year? We’ll see.

Our 12 panelists only gave votes to five teams — three of whom have played in the last two national championship games — to win it all this season. On the other hand, 14 different teams — including one who barely snuck into the preseason top-25 — received at least one Final Four nod.

Bookmark this page for, say, January, and check back in then. Onto our picks and bold predictions:

Which high-major team that missed last season’s NCAA Tournament will make it in 2026?

Ohio State: The Buckeyes were close to making the NCAA Tournament last year and had one of the best offseasons in college basketball. The Buckeyes retained three legit starters and got better through the portal. Christoph Tilly (Santa Clara) was one of the best available centers and gives their frontcourt some maturity it was missing. Ohio State also signed a top-50 recruit in Amare Bynum and landed a high-profile international prospect in Mathieu Grujicic. If the Buckeyes stay healthy, there’s no excuse for this not to be a tourney team. — CJ Moore

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NC State: Following the bold move to bring Will Wade back to power-conference basketball, NC State patiently crafted a tournament-caliber roster. Darrion Williams is the star, but advanced metrics also adore the trio of Tre Holloman, Terrance Arceneaux and Ven-Allen Lubin. NBA scouts are paying close attention to wing scorers Matt Able and Paul McNeil. With Wade in charge of what should be an extremely switchable defense, the Wolfpack will not need a magical March run to go dancing this year. — Jim Root

Iowa: This is a bet on Ben and Bennett to instantly restore energy and hope in a program that got increasingly stale under Fran McCaffery and missed the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. That’s coach Ben McCollum and point guard Bennett Stirtz, the duo who led Drake to a 31-4 season in 2024-25, including an NCAA tourney win over Missouri. They give Iowa one of the bright young coaches in the game and perhaps the best point guard this season. Is there enough around them?