College basketball fans won't have to wait long to see one of the best matchups of the entire season and a potential Final Four/national championship preview. The 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge schedule and matchups were officially announced on Friday, which was headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Duke and Florida.
Florida and Duke are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in Gary Parrish's Top 25 and 1 rankings. If Duke and Florida come in as the top two teams in the poll on December 1, it would mark the first regular-season matchup of that kind since Auburn faced Alabama during SEC play in 2025.
After returning its entire starting frontcourt of Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon, the Gators are penciled in to open the season as the top-ranked team. Meanwhile, Duke has one of the deepest rosters in the sport, headlined by returners Patrick Ngongba II, Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster.
There are plenty of other intriguing matchups on the slate. On the same day Duke faces Florida, Texas will face Louisville in a potential top 15 matchup. First-year North Carolina coach Michael Malone will have one of his first big tests as a college coach when the Tar Heels host John Calipari's Arkansas squad coming off its second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
The SEC will look to win this challenge for the third consecutive year. They are 30-16 against the ACC over the last two seasons in this event.
With the matchups for this year's challenge officially unveiled, we are ranking the games and picking a winner for all 16 of the ACC/SEC Challenge showdowns. Notably, SMU and Cal won't be participating in this year's ACC/SEC Challenge.
ACC/SEC Challenge schedule, early predictions
1. Duke at Florida
Plenty can change between now and the time this game is played on the first day of December, but it's hard to envision a better matchup on paper heading into the 2026-27 season. Duke has the deepest roster in college basketball, but lacks a proven superstar, while Florida might have the best player in the sport (Haugh).
Last season's game between the Blue Devils and the Gators In Cameron Indoor Stadium came down to the wire. Ultimately, a late 3-pointer by Isaiah Evans sealed the win for Duke. For the third consecutive season, Florida is going to have the best frontcourt in the country. I'll give the Gators the edge at home in one of the most anticipated regular-season matchups I can remember. Pick: Florida
2. Texas at Louisville
The hype is real at Texas and Louisville. After an up-and-down season in Year 2 of Pat Kelsey's tenure at Louisville, the Cardinals backed up the Brinks trucks. They landed the top-ranked transfer portal class in the 247Sports rankings, headlined by Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad and Arkansas wing Karter Knox. Texas wasn't far behind (No. 4) in the rankings after picking up Isaiah Johnson from Colorado and David Punch from TCU. This is the clear-cut second-best matchup on the schedule. If this game were at a neutral site, I would lean toward picking Texas. Louisville's home court advantage will be the difference. Pick: Louisville
3. Arkansas at North Carolina
The nucleus of this Arkansas roster will revolve around freshmen. Five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr., the No. 2-ranked player in the 2026 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, will have massive shoes to fill after Darius Acuff Jr. produced one of the best seasons ever by a John Calipari-coached guard. Arkansas brings back Billy Richmond III, who will be the veteran of the group. UNC's roster will look very different under Malone, who built a roster with a heavy emphasis on transfers and international players. I'll take Arkansas on the road. It has a better roster on paper than UNC at the moment. Pick: Arkansas
4. Alabama at Miami
This matchup will be electric. Miami was one of the best stories in college basketball last season under first-year coach Jai Lucas. Alabama (Amari Allen) and Miami (Shelton Henderson) both feature a player who bypassed the NBA Draft after his first season to return to school and were among the best retentions of the offseason. One major offseason storyline is whether Aden Holloway will play for Alabama this season. He entered a "second chance" program as part of his plea agreement following two felony drug charges. I love what Miami did in the portal. The Hurricanes will be one of the top ACC contenders this season. Pick: Miami
5. Kentucky at Virginia
Kentucky's offseason has been under a microscope after missing out on names such as Robert Wright III, Donnie Freeman and Tyran Stokes. However, Kentucky did pick up some late momentum by landing the top shooter in the portal (Milan Momcilovic) and getting back big man Malachi Moreno. The pieces Kentucky did pick up in the portal fit. The ceiling of the roster is yet to be determined, but Kentucky should be able to win on the road against a good Virginia team that brings back star forward Thijs De Ridder. Pick: Kentucky
6. Florida State at Tennessee
Tennessee was one of the most active teams in the portal this offseason. In total, the Vols landed eight transfers, including Wake Forest star Juke Harris. As for Florida State, the Seminoles ended the season strong by winning 10 of their last 13 games, which included a near-upset win over Duke in the ACC Tournament. FSU will make some noise in the ACC, but Tennessee's roster is too strong here. Pick: Tennessee
7. Auburn at Clemson
Year 1 of Steven Pearl's tenure at Auburn was a rollercoaster. After missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Auburn accepted an invite to the NIT and won the whole thing. Tahaad Pettiford saw his role increase from being a reserve on Auburn's Final Four roster in 2025 to a full-time starter last season. He should once again have the keys to the offense. Clemson's best addition in the portal was landing Notre Dame transfer Cole Certa, who averaged 12.8 points last season. Pick: Auburn
8. Ole Miss at Virginia Tech
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard retooled his roster this offseason by landing six players from the transfer portal, headlined by Seton Hall guard Adam Clark. Ole Miss also returns guard Ilias Kamardine, who was the Rebels' third-leading scorer. As my colleague Isaac Trotter notes, Virginia Tech is in a "sneaky-good" spot despite losing star Neoklis Avdalas to North Carolina. Virginia Tech wins this game at home. Pick: Virginia Tech
9. Vanderbilt at Notre Dame
You can make the case that outside of Haugh, Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner was the biggest retention of the offseason. Vanderbilt will pair Tanner -- one of the best athletes in the sport -- with Washington State transfer Ace Glass. That should be one of the best backcourts in the country. Vanderbilt is going to be very good this season once again. Notre Dame's top talent was poached in the transfer portal, but Winthrop transfer Logan Duncomb will be a bright spot. Still, Vandy has too much firepower. Pick: Vanderbilt
10. Syracuse at Oklahoma
It's a new era for Syracuse after firing Adrian Autry and replacing him with another program legend, Gerry McNamara. McNamara brought three players with him from Siena to Syracuse, including his leading scorer from last season, Gavin Doty. Oklahoma has reached the NCAA Tournament just once in five seasons under coach Porter Moser. With expansion coming to the Big Dance this spring, the pressure is on Moser to get back there. Even on the road, I like Syracuse here. The Orange will surprise some teams this season. Pick: Syracuse
11. Pitt at Missouri
If you aren't familiar with the name Jason Crowe Jr. yet, it's time to start. Crowe, a five-star guard from Southern California, was the best scorer in high school basketball and will bring new life to the Missouri program. Pitt elected to bring back coach Jeff Capel for the 2026-27 season despite just one NCAA Tournament appearance (2023) in eight seasons at the helm. Stopping Crowe will be Pitt's top priority. He is the kind of player who can go for 30 points on any given night. Having him gives Missouri the edge. Pick: Missouri
12. Boston College at Georgia
Boston College hasn't reached the NCAA Tournament since 2009. This past offseason, the Eagles took a huge swing and landed top UConn assistant Luke Murray to bring new life into the program. Murray has a tall task in front of him, but he should be able to raise the floor and ceiling of this program after being the mastermind behind UConn's offense. There are a few "upset" picks on this list. Boston College will be one of them. Pick: Boston College
13. Wake Forest at LSU
It's hard to project the winner of this game because it remains unclear who will and won't be eligible for LSU this season. First-year coach Will Wade has constructed an unorthodox roster highlighted by International stars and former Big East Player of the Year, RJ Luis Jr. LSU has talent. No denying that. I'm skeptical that everyone Wade has recruited will be eligible for this season, including Luis. Until the roster is finalized (whenever that may be), it's hard to put a floor and ceiling on it. Still, on paper, LSU is better than Wake Forest. Pick: LSU
14. South Carolina vs. NC State
Speaking of Wade, Justin Gainey will be taking over his alma mater this season after spending the last five seasons at Tennessee as an assistant. NC State brought in eight transfers, including Santa Clara guard Christian Hammond. South Carolina is coming off a 13-19 campaign and is due for a bounce-back season in Year 5 of Lamont Paris' tenure. Still, give me NC State at home in this matchup. Pick: NC State
15. Stanford at Texas A&M
Texas A&M made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by landing PJ Haggerty from Kansas State. Haggerty has been well-traveled during his college career, but has remained one of the best scorers in the sport for the last three seasons. This will be a retool season for Stanford after Ebuka Okorie -- a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft -- elected to bypass a return to college. He was one of the best scorers in the sport during his one-and-done season. Haggerty has the ceiling to be the top scorer (ppg) in college basketball this season. Pick: Texas A&M
16. Georgia Tech at Mississippi State
The main reason to tune into this game will be to watch Mississippi State star Josh Hubbard. He is one of the more underappreciated stars in college basketball and is coming off a season in which he averaged 22.1 points. It's become rarer for a power conference player to play his entire career at the same school. That's exactly what Hubbard is on track to do. One name to watch for Georgia Tech this season is San José State transfer Colby Garland, who averaged 20.3 points last season. Give me Mississippi State. Pick: Mississippi State
