There are Big Mondays and then there are the Biggest Mondays.
This is the Biggest Monday.
Take every possible matchup in college basketball, put them all on the table, give me a choice, and I really might select first the matchup on tap at 9 p.m. ET — specifically undefeated and top-ranked Arizona inside Allen Fieldhouse against a Kansas team that’s on a seven-game winning streak, coached by a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer (Bill Self) and led by the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (Darryn Peterson). Simply put, this is as good as it gets.
Want some interesting notes?
Here are some, courtesy of Rock Chalk Blog:
- This will be Self’s 39th Big Monday game at Allen Fieldhouse. His record to date in such games is 38-0.
- This will be the first time a team ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll has entered Allen Fieldhouse as a visitor in the Self era.
- If KU wins, it will be the Jayhawks’ first ever victory at Allen Fieldhouse over a top-ranked team in the AP poll.
Like I noted on Sunday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, somebody, by definition, has to lose this game — but picking against either team seems silly. If you pick Arizona, you’re picking against Self and Peterson at Allen Fieldhouse while they’re on a seven-game winning streak. That seems dumb. On the other hand, if you pick Kansas, you’re picking against an Arizona team that’s 23-0 with wins over UConn, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, BYU and UCLA. That also seems dumb.
So I offer no pick. I’ll just sit back and enjoy it. I hope you do the same. Then Matt Norlander and I will discuss it on the Eye on College Basketball Podcast on CBS Sports Network Tuesday at 1 pm ET.
Arizona remains No. 1 in Monday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings for the 30th consecutive day. Kansas is No. 10. Arizona is listed as a 2.5-point favorite in this high-profile matchup. The get-in price as of Monday morning is $269, according to StubHub.
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