Roughly the first month-and-a-half of the college basketball season is generally made up of three types of games — longstanding rivalries grandfathered into the schedule, Goliaths hosting Davids, and marquee non-conference matchups played at neutral sites. Bridgestone Arena has been dipping its toe into the early-season non-conference battles as of late, and two ranked men’s matchups are slated for 501 Broadway this weekend. The “neutral” status of these games might be called into question, though, as Gonzaga makes the 2,000-plus-mile trip to take on a significantly-closer-to-Nashville squad from Kentucky on Friday. Then on Saturday, the neutrality is even more of a sham when the Tennessee Vols take on Illinois in an event that is being dubbed Music City Madness. Regardless of the fairness of these games being counted as neutral-court affairs, these two should provide some exciting hoops and an early peek at potential Final Four selections for your brackets come March.
Dec. 5-6 at Bridgestone Arena
501 Broadway
