NCAA Basketball: Most watchable opening night matchups of 2019-20

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - JANUARY 14: Rashad Madden #00 of the Arkansas Razorbacks celebrates with fans after an overtime win against the Kentucky Wildcats at Bud Walton Arena on January 14, 2014 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Wildcats 87-85. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

1 of 3

VILLANOVA, PA – FEBRUARY 27: Jermaine Samuels #23 and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats react against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the second half at Finneran Pavilion on February 27, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 67-61. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

The NCAA Basketball season is finally here! Let’s take a look at some of the best matchups of the opening night based on my Max Watchability Index.

It’s one of the best nights of the year for basketball fans, opening day for NCAA Basketball. Fans have been patiently waiting for this day since early April, and are eager to see how their teams will fare in their first test of the season. While I too am equally excited for the college basketball season to start, I am even more excited to introduce the new and improved “Max Watchability Index” that I will be using to rate the enjoyability of games this upcoming season.

In the past, the Watchability Index only factored in offensive stats, completely disregarding all the other factors of basketball that make the game enjoyable for so many fans around the world. So, in this season’s version of the Max Watchability Index, I have decided to include six new statistics to balance out five offensive statistics that I already have. These statistics include three defensive stats (Steals per possession, Blocks per possession and Turnovers Forced per possession) and three stats that determine the basketball IQ of a team (Turnovers per offensive possession, Fouls per defensive possession and Free Throws Attempted per field goal attempted).

These stats will be averaged with the five offensive watchability stats (Points per possession, Effective Field Goal Percentage, Assists per Field Goals Made, Percent of Points from the 3 and Pace of Play) to create a new and equally balanced Watchability Index all basketball fans can relate to. Here’s how all 352 Division 1 Men’s basketball teams ranked last year according to the new index.

So now, by using the new Index, I put every single opening night matchup into the index and averaged the two team’s scores to determine which ones are worth your time. So, without any further ado, here are the five most watchable games of opening night based on the new Max Watchability Index.

Home/NCAA Basketball News