Look beyond league games for this Top 20

How many times have we seen Duke-North Carolina?

Connecticut-Syracuse?

UCLA-Arizona?

Kansas-Florida in Sin City -- Brandon Rush can't wait. (Getty Images)

Tons, right? Every year, usually at least twice. So while those are still great showdowns that probably mean more to fans of those schools, they're not nearly as intriguing as some of the non-league contests built for television.

In other words, screw conference games.

I'm more focused on the non-conference games pitting schools of different sizes, traditions and from contrasting regions against each other. With that in mind, I came up with 20 Non-league Games You Don't Want to Miss. So grab your calendar and pencil and start taking notes.

(I even put it in chronological order. I'm reader-friendly like that.)

1. Texas vs. Maryland in New York on Nov. 17 (tentative): It was four years ago when a freshman named Carmelo Anthony burst onto the national scene, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against Memphis at Madison Square Garden. This year, Texas freshman Kevin Durant could have a similar opportunity. If the Longhorns can navigate through the bracket of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, they'll find themselves on national television in the title game at MSG. That it could come against Durant's home-state school, Maryland, only makes the possibility more interesting.

2. Wichita State at George Mason on Nov. 18: This Sweet 16 rematch will give two so-called mid-majors some well-deserved exposure. Though nationally it'll certainly be overshadowed by football on this Saturday afternoon, basketball junkies would be wise to tune in and see that you don't have to have three first-round NBA picks to have a good college team, though, granted, it certainly doesn't hurt.

3. Georgia Tech vs. Memphis in Maui on Nov. 21 (tentative): Georgia Tech has to beat Purdue. Memphis has to beat Oklahoma. But if both those things happen, then the semifinals of the Maui Invitational will match two Top 25 teams, though that's not what makes this interesting. What does is that it'll be Memphis playing against the best prospect to come out of Memphis -- Georgia Tech freshman Thaddeus Young -- since, perhaps, Penny Hardaway, and if Young drops 20 on his hometown school, he could be banned from the city. Forever.

4. Duke vs. Texas Tech in Kansas City on Nov. 21 (tentative): This matchup isn't likely, considering it would require the Red Raiders first beating Gardner-Webb, Akron and Marquette (Gardner-Webb shouldn't be an issue, but Akron will be very tough, and Marquette is a top 20 team). Still, if it somehow materializes, we'd have Bobby Knight, on the verge of breaking Dean Smith's record for career wins, against Mike Krzyzewski, who, if he wants, will probably break Knight's record down the road. When Knight and Krzyzewski are each long gone, they will likely be remembered as two of the top five college basketball coaches in history. So anytime they're on the same court, it's worth paying attention.

5. Florida vs. Kansas in Las Vegas on Nov. 25: Going by my preseason rankings -- and really, what other rankings would you go by? -- this projects as a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2. There will probably be about seven future professionals on the floor at any given time, and nobody will be surprised (except North Carolina fans, of course) if the 2007 national champions are participating in this event.

6. Ohio State at North Carolina on Nov. 29: This was supposed to be the matchup of super freshman Greg Oden against super sophomore Tyler Hansbrough. Now, it's doubtful that will actually happen, considering Oden had wrist surgery in June that could keep him sidelined until January. But the big guy will probably still at least be sitting on the sidelines. So that's kind of cool, I guess.

7. Wichita State at Syracuse on Dec 2: Casual fans tend to judge Missouri Valley Conference schools by what they do against BCS members. Problem is, most of those meetings are on the road, meaning the disadvantage is great because there are only a handful of teams that are going into a place like Syracuse and winning. Regardless, that's the world we live in. So if Wichita State wants to further establish a strong national reputation, it would benefit greatly from a victory in this game, or the one a week earlier at LSU.

8. Kansas at DePaul on Dec. 2: The Blue Demons are one of those could-be-really-good teams that might be able to pull an upset here, but what makes this intriguing is that it's former Illinois coach Bill Self back in Illinois. Plus, it gives Kansas sophomore Julian Wright and freshman Sherron Collins an opportunity to play in their hometown of Chicago, and I'm guessing Self probably used that in the recruiting pitch.

9. Georgetown at Duke on Dec. 2: Last season, this was one of the better non-league games, and it served as a national coming-out party of sorts for Georgetown coach John Thompson III and his Hoyas. Any time the Blue Devils lose at home it's an upset, but this could be one of those times, especially if injured point guard Greg Paulus still isn't completely healthy.

10. Texas A&M at LSU on Dec. 5: Aggies coach Billy Gillispie was criticized last season for playing a cupcake non-league schedule. So in an attempt to show he's no chicken -- and to raise his RPI -- the man who has made basketball relevant in a football town went out and scheduled games against LSU and UCLA in a matter of five days. If the Aggies can manage at least a split, the plan will pay off, and even if it produces a pair of losses, Texas A&M's strength of schedule will benefit. Bottom line, this is a good move for a program trying to crack the top of the Big 12.

11. UMass at Louisville on Dec. 13: This will be the beginning of an interesting stretch for UMass coach Travis Ford. First, he goes head-to-head with his old college coach, Rick Pitino, at Louisville. Then nine days later, Ford and UMass will be at Kentucky, his alma mater. A split will constitute a good homecoming trip. Two losses make it depressing. Two wins boost Ford to consideration to succeed Tubby Smith at UK someday.

12. Pittsburgh at Wisconsin on Dec. 16: Traditional football schools playing during football season is usually a mistake. But considering both Pittsburgh and Wisconsin are potential Final Four participants -- and this game is just before the bowl season begins, so there's no direct competition -- I'm guessing people will pay attention when All-American candidate Aaron Gray and All-American candidate Alando Tucker take the court.

13. Kentucky at Louisville on Dec. 16: You'd think this game would've lost some of the shine considering it has been years since Pitino coached at Kentucky. But it hasn't, and it probably never will.

14. Ohio State at Florida on Dec. 23: The hope here is that Oden is healthy and on the court to produce a wonderful matchup with Joakim Noah, the reigning Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. If not, it'll probably be clear by this point that Ohio State's non-league schedule was too tough, proving that coaches should never count their chickens before they hatch or their 7-foot phenoms before they heal.

15. UNLV at Texas Tech on Dec. 28: Many are predicting this game could give Knight his first opportunity to pass Smith on the career wins list. If not, then scratch this game and circle Jan. 1 against New Mexico. And if that doesn't work either, well, then Texas Tech will be off to what experts call a bad start.

16. Kansas State at Xavier on Jan. 3: Besides the fact that it should feature two pretty good teams, this game is noteworthy because it brings Bob Huggins back to the city where he made Cincinnati into one of the elite programs in the nation. Plus, barring a turn of events, Kansas State's Bill Walker will be back in Cincinnati, too, as a freshman for the Wildcats, which is wild considering he's really supposed to be just a senior at North College Hill High.

17. Indiana at Connecticut on Jan. 20: This is the unofficial game of decommitments. It pits Indiana's Kelvin Sampson, who lured Eric Gordon away from Illinois, against UConn's Jim Calhoun, who lured Doug Wiggins away from St. John's. So if you're wondering, Illinois fans will be cheering for UConn, and St. John's fans will be cheering for Indiana.

18. North Carolina at Arizona on Jan. 27: The Tar Heels will travel west, and the result will be two of the more talented rosters in the nation running up and down the court. Hansbrough, Tywon Lawson, Brandan Wright and Wayne Ellington on one side. Marcus Williams, Chase Budinger, Jawann McClellan and Mustafa Shakur on the other. Trying to keep track of all the former high school stars could prove to be difficult.

19. Connecticut at Georgia Tech on Feb. 11: If you like talented freshman, this might be the game for you. UConn's Hasheem Thabeet and Stanley Robinson will play against Young and Javaris Crittenton from Georgia Tech. At least three of those guys should be future professionals, maybe all four.

20. Memphis at Gonzaga on Feb. 17: Credit John Calipari and Mark Few for realizing they're in the same boat, and by boat I mean two mostly inferior leagues that provide few challenges. So what did Memphis and Gonzaga do? They scheduled a rare, cross-country non-league contest in February, giving each a solid test before they get back to waltzing through Conference USA and the West Coast Conference.