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A blue blood extravaganza was kicking off the start of the 2019-20 college basketball season on Tuesday night, with one very realistic permutation of the Final Four playing a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.
Michigan State, the overwhelming No. 1 team in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, was scheduled to face No. 2 Kentucky, while No. 3 Kansas was playing No. 4 Duke in the Champions Classic.
There’s a good chance the 2020 N.C.A.A. champion will emerge from this quartet. The four teams, along with North Carolina and Florida, are the favorites among sports books to win the men’s N.