College Basketball: Ranking the Top Five Matchups Next Season

While the powers that be huff and puff to realign college basketball as we know it, let's get back to the season at hand.

Lost in all the speculation of which teams are going where is the fact that we are about to face one of the most intriguing seasons in a while. 

Talented recruits and returning sophomores are what make college basketball, and teams are currently rife with them.

Everyone has their respective team to follow and all their games are important, but if you are a fan of college basketball as a whole, you will want to see these games.

5: North Carolina vs Michigan State—on an Aircraft Carrier

The venue on its own is enough to make this game very intriguing.

I know aircraft carriers are huge, but I can't help but wonder what will happen if a ball goes overboard during the game. Do they send divers in after it or just continue with another ball?

This game is on November 11, so North Carolina will have more to lose, as they more than likely will be the preseason No.1 team.

Michigan State will be looking to rebound from a disappointing season by their standards, so North Carolina has to ensure that they do not fall victim here.

4: Ohio State at Kansas

Ohio State will be a top-five ranked team going into the season. With Jared Sullinger back for his sophomore season, rising senior William Buford and a few talented freshmen, Thad Matta has a very good squad on his hands.

The unknown factor here is Kansas. Is Thomas Robinson the real deal? He was a great backup to the Morris twins, but is he any good as a starter?

A guy playing fifteen minutes a game will look promising, but when he has to play major minutes, fatigue and foul trouble might prove tricky to manage.

This game will be a great measure of how good Kansas will be.

Also, the matchup between Sullinger and Robinson will provide insight into which one of these power forwards has the best NBA career ahead.

3: Duke vs Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Last year the Big Ten won this challenge—their second time in about a dozen years of the tournament.

Duke was one of few ACC teams to win last year. This year they have drawn a juggernaut in the form of preseason-ranked No. 3 Ohio State on November 29.

Intriguing matchups are Jared Sullinger/Mason Plumlee, Aaron Craft/Seth Curry and William Buford/Austin Rivers.

Duke will be on the road, so Ohio State has the upper hand, but do not rule out the craftiness of Mike Krzyzewski.

2: Kentucky vs Louisville in the Battle for the Blue Grass

Kentucky will play their rival Louisville on the last day of the year. New year's celebrations will be clouded for one fan base, while the other will welcome the new year with one more thing to be joyous about.

Kentucky is loaded, but Rick Pitino has a solid squad capable of the odd upset.

Pitino adds two highly ranked recruits, Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear, to a battle-tested team.

Rising senior Kyle Kuric was the second leading scorer last season and solid point guard Peyton Siva is still on campus.

Not the the first choice of a team to play Kentucky's four highly touted freshmen led by sophomore Terrence Jones, but the history between these two programs will keep it interesting.

The Wildcats lead the overall series 28-14 and won the last two meetings.

While Pitino was the coach of Kentucky (1989 to 1997), they went 6-3 in this series.

1: North Carolina vs Kentucky

This has potential to be a No. 1 versus No. 2 match, on December 3. North Carolina will be the top-ranked team and Kentucky will be right behind them to start the season.

If both teams can stay undefeated coming into this game at Rupp Arena, it will add more excitement to this game.

Kentucky's youth versus experience.

There will be many interesting matchups in this game. Kentucky's flashy freshman point guard, Marquis Teague versus North Carolina's steady, effective sophomore Kendall Marshall.

Another key tandem matchup is Kentucky's sophomore sensation Terrence Jones and the No. 1 freshman in the 2011 recruiting class, Anthony Davis, against junior shot-blocking sensation John Henson and senior Tyler Zeller, arguably the best post scorer in college basketball.

Not to mention Harrison Barnes, the No. 1 small forward in the 2010 recruiting class against the No. 1 small forward in the 2011 recruiting class, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Roy Williams and John Calipari will provide entertainment on the sidelines.

This game will be the blockbuster of matchups next season.