Opening Night's Main Event Is in Las Vegas: Purdue vs No. 15 Gonzaga, Then No. 22 UCLA vs No. 5 Arizona at T-Mobile Arena
College basketball's first night ends where its women began it. After the Hall of Fame Series women's session filled the afternoon at T-Mobile Arena, the men's doubleheader takes the same floor Monday night — two ranked matchups, one building, and a Purdue team with something to prove.
The Hall of Fame Series closes its Las Vegas opening day with a men's doubleheader at T-Mobile Arena on Monday night: Purdue against No. 15 Gonzaga at 4:30 p.m. Pacific, followed by No. 22 UCLA against No. 5 Arizona at 7 p.m., both games on TNT, truTV and HBO Max, according to the TNT Sports announcement read in full by the desk. Brian Anderson and Grant Hill call both games. The doubleheader follows the women's session in the same building earlier Monday, headlined by UNLV against No. 3 USC.
The opener carries an unusual edge. Purdue is 5-0 all-time against Gonzaga, including double-digit wins in each of the last three meetings — and yet it is the Boilermakers who arrive unranked, after a 79-week run in the Associated Press poll ended with this year's preseason rankings. Gonzaga, meanwhile, opens its first season as a member of the rebuilt Pac-12 carrying the No. 15 ranking and the favorite's burden in a series it has never won.
The nightcap is the heavyweight bout: Arizona, No. 5 in the preseason poll and coming off a Final Four appearance last season, against a UCLA team ranked No. 22 and rebuilt for a deeper March. For Las Vegas, the day's shape is the story — by the time the second game tips, T-Mobile Arena will have hosted four ranked teams and the most-watched women's game in the country in a single Monday, which is what the Hall of Fame Series was built to make this city on opening night.
