In college basketball, schools get an exhibition game and a closed scrimmage or two, if they want them. The scrimmages are never officially announced but media members always get wind of ‘em anyhow. This year NC State will be traveling to East Carolina. The Wolfpack hosted the Pirates for a scrimmage last year.
There are some pretty good matchups in there, though they are destined to live in obscurity with no media coverage whatsoever.
These scrimmages are good for two things: they let you size up your squad against live competition, and they allow fans to build enormous but totally founded expectations based on the rumored results.