The college basketball season tipoff always brings great anticipation in the form of highly intriguing matchups that help set the tone for how the NBA draft ultimately shapes up in June.
Along with a new 2020 mock draft, we've compiled a list of the best matchups for the top prospects from this list in the month of November, with a heavy emphasis on what NBA executives will be watching closely. Follow along all month long.
Now on to the new draft picks and our viewer's guide.
ESPN's Basketball Power Index was used create the draft order. All times EST.
NBA draft guide to November basketball
Nov. 5: State Farm Champions Classic (ESPN)
Games: Kansas-Duke (7 p.m.) | Michigan State-Kentucky (9:30 p.m.)
The college basketball season starts with a bang, as four of the most heralded programs in college basketball meet at Madison Square Garden. This is possibly the most well-scouted event of the season from an NBA standpoint, with all 30 teams traditionally sending multiple decision-makers to evaluate the proceedings.
This is an intriguing year for the NCAA blue bloods. Despite all four squads ranking atop the Associated Press' preseason poll, none has a projected top-10 pick at the moment. That certainly could change as the season moves on.
Kentucky has two players expected to be in the late lottery (Kahlil Whitney at No. 11, Tyrese Maxey at No. 13), and Duke features four players in the Nos. 16-28 range.
Michigan State has two first-round hopefuls in Cassius Winston and Aaron Henry, plus analytics darling Xavier Tillman. Kansas has three legitimate draft prospects with Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji and Tristan Enaruna. We'll have more on these prospects following Tuesday's action.
Nov. 6 Virginia at Syracuse | 9 p.m. | ACC Network
After the Champions Classic scouting bonanza, quite a few NBA executives will continue onto to Syracuse, as Virginia opens its season with a rare, early ACC matchup. Mamadi Diakite is the lone returning starter for the defending champions, who brought in a recruiting class highlighted by combo guard Casey Morsell.
For Syracuse, freshman combo forward Quincy Guerrier is probably the best prospect, and he'll have a chance to start building his scouting file with a strong showing in front of a large contingent of talent evaluators.
Nov. 8: Baylor vs. Washington | 9.30. pm | ESPN
Nov. 16 Washington vs. Tennessee | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Washington is back as a scouting hotbed, starting the season with two matchups against NCAA tournament-caliber opponents in Baylor and Tennessee within a span of eight days. All eyes will be on projected lottery picks Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels.
Scouts will be watching Stewart to see how his muscular frame, insatiable motor and physical dominance at the prep ranks translate to higher-level competition. They'll want to see the progress McDaniels has made physically since the spring, how his skill-level adjusts to this level and where he stands with his feel, intensity and decision-making.
Nov. 10: Florida State at Florida | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Both of these teams will be looking to make deep NCAA tournament runs, and they have quite a few prospects vying for draft position.
For the Gators, this is our first opportunity to see McDonald's All Americans Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann, as well as the debut of grad-transfer senior Kerry Blackshear Jr., a preseason All-American big man who left Virginia Tech. Plus, starting point guard Andrew Nembhard is coming off a summer with the Canadian senior national team at the FIBA World Cup.
The Seminoles' big draw is combo forward Patrick Williams, a freshman who wasn't considered a five-star prospect by high school recruiting services but nonetheless finds himself in the top 20 of our draft rankings. He likely will see minutes matching up head-to-head with Lewis. Both players are better known for their defensive prowess, so it will be interesting to see what kind of contributions they can make with their perimeter shooting and shot-creation ability in the half-court in what's likely to be a very physical game.
Nov. 10: Illinois at Arizona | 9 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Tucson will also be a popular hot spot for scouts on this day. This is one of the better early-season guard matchups, as Arizona freshman Nico Mannion tests himself against long-armed sophomore Ayo Dosunmu. While fellow Illini combo guard Trent Frazier might also end up seeing some possessions on Mannion, Dosunmu's superior size and length should make him the better option to slow down Arizona's offense.
Some of the Wildcats' young frontcourt prospects also will be monitored closely, namely potential first-rounder Josh Green, as well as big men Christian Koloko and Zeke Nnaji.
Nov. 12: Memphis-Oregon | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Phil Knight Invitational, Portland
Penny Hardaway landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in his first full year on the job, including potential No. 1 pick James Wiseman, projected lottery pick Precious Achiuwa (No. 14) and future NBA player Boogie Ellis (No. 48). They will match up with a retooling Oregon squad that has a number of prospects that scouts will be monitoring, including potential All-American point guard Payton Pritchard, juco transfer Chris Duarte and five-star recruit C.J. Walker.
Nov. 13: LSU at VCU | 6 p.m. | ESPN2
NBA scouts likely will flock to watch potential lottery pick Trendon Watford's first matchup with high-level competition, as his Tigers travel to preseason AP Top 25 VCU, an older and experienced team projected to have one of the better defenses in college basketball.
While all eyes will be on Watford -- and, to a lesser extent, LSU's other potential All-SEC players in Skylar Mays and Emmitt Williams -- VCU also has some athletes with professional aspirations. That list is highlighted by long-armed versatile defender Vince Williams, as well as senior combo guard Marcus Evans, a prolific scorer who has been plagued by injuries.
Nov. 14: Michigan State at Seton Hall | 8:30 p.m. | FS1
Two of the best guards in the college game in Cassius Winston and Myles Powell match up here. How much time Winston -- not known for his defense -- spends guarding the highly aggressive and versatile Powell will be a point of interest. Tom Izzo could very well elect to hide Winston somewhat to keep him fresh for running the offense.
Spartans forward Aaron Henry also has an opportunity to showcase himself against an athletic perimeter defender in Myles Cale, while Xavier Tillman could help his stock by continuing to produce inside and slowing down Powell in pick-and-roll.
Nov. 21: Georgetown-Texas (7 p.m.) | Cal-Duke (9:30 p.m.) | ESPN2
Nov. 22: Winners/losers games
The Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden will draw a large number of NBA executives, as Duke's first-round prospects will be expected to dominate a rebuilding Cal squad before getting a good test from the winner of Georgetown-Texas.
This is a good opportunity for Georgetown big man Josh LeBlanc to build on a promising freshman campaign and perhaps show he has a little more offensive skill to complement his already intriguing energy and defensive versatility. For Texas, this will be the first introduction many scouts have to the physically gifted but raw freshman Kai Jones. The matchup also features Longhorns redshirt freshman Andrew Jones, who was considered a potential first-round pick when he was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2018 and finally completed his cancer treatment this fall.
Nov. 25-27: Maui Invitational
Games on Nov 25: Georgia-Dayton (2:30 p.m.) | Virginia Tech-Michigan State (5 p.m.) | Kansas-Chaminade (9 p.m.) | BYU-UCLA (11:30 p.m.) | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
Maui appears to have the second-strongest field of teams in the early tournament slate, and the stands will be packed with NBA decision-makers.
This is the best opportunity NBA teams will have to evaluate Georgia and potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards until January, particularly if the Bulldogs can find a way to advance past potential first-round pick Obi Toppin and Dayton in the opener -- setting up a likely matchup with Michigan State.
Nov. 27-29 | Battle 4 Atlantis
Games on Nov. 27: Michigan-Iowa State (noon) | North Carolina-Alabama (2:30 p.m.) | Gonzaga-Southern Miss (7:00 p.m.) | Seton Hall-Oregon (9:30 p.m.)
This is easily the most competitive and intriguing field of prospects, with seven potential NCAA tournament teams matching up.
The headliner is potential top point guard prospect Cole Anthony and UNC, tested right off the bat with a positional matchup against Alabama's first-round hopeful Kira Lewis Jr. and two strong wing defenders in John Petty and Herbert Jones. Potential lottery point guard Tyrese Haliburton awaits the winner or loser, with Seton Hall's Myles Powell on the other side of the bracket.
Finally, it's important for NBA scouts to get an early handle on Gonzaga's prospects prior to them entering the weaker West Coast Conference schedule, which makes this a big weekend for Filip Petrusev of Serbia and France's Killian Tillie. Another highly touted international prospect, Michigan's Franz Wagner of Germany, is a question mark to participate in this event based on the recovery timeline of four to six weeks issued when he fractured his wrist last month. But Wagner might make his college debut here in the Bahamas if he returns on the early side of that projection.
Nov. 28 | Memphis-NC State | 4 p.m. | ESPN2
This is just one a handful of matchups with Power 5 conference competitors that Hardaway put on Memphis' challenging schedule, which also includes games against Oregon, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Georgia.
Considering the location at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, this one likely will draw a significant crowd of scouts (even though it's on Thanksgiving). By this point on the calendar, scouts will want to see James Wiseman's capacity for dominating a physically inferior frontcourt, as NC State doesn't have a single player on its roster listed at over 230 pounds.