A Real Friday Test: Ohio State Visits No. 4 UConn, No. 6 Virginia Hits the Road and Auburn's Home Streak Meets Arizona

The first big Friday night of the college basketball season brings real tests, not tune-ups. No. 4 UConn welcomes Ohio State to Hartford, No. 6 Virginia plays its first road game at Maryland, and Auburn puts the nation's longest home nonconference winning streak on the line against No. 12 Arizona.

The Huskies are 3-0 and the Buckeyes are 2-1 heading into the 7:30 p.m. Eastern tip at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, which airs on TNT and truTV, according to Ohio State Athletics. It is Ohio State's first true road game of the season and its second test against a ranked opponent.

The Buckeyes arrive shorthanded. Forward Nik Khamenia is out and is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks, Eleven Warriors reported, with freshman Colben Landrew likely to start in his place. That puts even more on guard John Mobley Jr., who has been averaging about 19 points and five assists a game, according to the same preview. Eleven Warriors called the trip the stiffest test of Ohio State's season so far.

For a young team, there is no better measuring stick in November than a hostile building against a program that has made a habit of winning in March. Landrew's first major start, if it comes, will happen on national television against one of the best teams in the country.

Virginia is 4-0 and carries the program's highest Associated Press ranking since early 2023 into its first road test of the season, Streaking the Lawn reported. The Cavaliers have been fast starters, outscoring opponents 188-116 in first halves, and forward Thijs De Ridder has raised his level over the last four games, the site noted.

Maryland comes in looking to bounce back. The Terrapins lost their most recent game to Georgetown, and Friday brings their first packed home crowd of the season at Xfinity Center, Testudo Times reported. The game tips at 8 p.m. Eastern and streams on Peacock. Slow starts have been a problem for Maryland, and against a team that builds early leads the way Virginia has, the first 10 minutes may decide the night.

The late game may be the most interesting of all. Auburn owns the longest home nonconference winning streak in the nation, and Friday puts it to its biggest test, the Auburn Observer reported. The Observer noted that the KenPom ratings project the Tigers to win, and that a victory would be their biggest over a nonconference opponent in the history of Neville Arena. The game airs on ESPN2.

Auburn's offense runs through guard Tahaad Pettiford, who leads the SEC at 22.0 points a game and scored 30 in the Tigers' loss at Arizona last December. Auburn wants to avenge that lopsided defeat in Tucson, Yahoo Sports reported. Coach Steven Pearl called it "a unique game," noting that ranked nonconference opponents rarely come to Auburn anymore.

The easy path in November is a string of home games against overmatched opponents, a few highlight dunks and a shiny record nobody believes. UConn, Maryland and Auburn chose the harder road by putting real opponents on their home floors, and Ohio State and Virginia deserve credit for getting on the bus.

That is how the sport should work. Fans pay good money for tickets and cable packages, and they deserve games with something at stake before Thanksgiving. Players are better for it too: a freshman like Landrew learns more from one night in Hartford than from a month of blowouts, and a veteran team like Virginia finds out early whether its fast starts travel.

Win or lose, the teams that test themselves now are usually the ones still playing when March arrives. Friday night is a good place to start finding out who is for real.