College Basketball Archives - Saturday Down South

Tennessee vs. Louisville: Preview and best bet

Adam Spencer — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:44:50 +0000

A compelling nonconference showdown awaits as the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals venture into hostile territory to battle the No. 20 Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Cardinals arrive in Knoxville riding high with an impressive 9-1 record, but they’ll face a motivated Tennessee squad desperate to snap a 3-game skid. The Volunteers enter at 7-3 and hungry to defend their home court where they’ve been perfect this season.

This game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday night and can be seen on ESPN.

Louisville Cardinals vs. Tennessee Volunteers Odds

Here’s how the betting market shapes up for this SEC-ACC showdown, courtesy of BetMGM:

Bet Type	Odds
Spread	Louisville +3.5 (-110) / Tennessee -3.5 (-110)
Moneyline	Louisville +135 / Tennessee -161
Total	Over 156.5 (-110) / Under 156.5 (-110)

Odds subject to change

The oddsmakers clearly respect Thompson-Boling Arena’s home-court advantage, installing Tennessee as 3.5-point favorites despite Louisville’s superior record. The Volunteers’ -161 moneyline translates to roughly 59.2% implied probability after removing the vig, while the Cardinals sit at 40.8% – a reflection of both Tennessee’s desperation and venue advantage.

Statistical Breakdown: Louisville vs. Tennessee

This matchup perfectly illustrates the classic basketball chess match between explosive offense and disciplined defense, with each team’s statistical profile telling a distinct story:

Category	Louisville Cardinals	Tennessee Volunteers
Overall Record	9-1	7-3
RPI Ranking	41st	49th
Strength of Schedule	0.507	0.568
Points Per Game	94.3	80.9
Points Allowed	68.1	66.0
Point Differential	+26.2	+14.9
Record vs RPI Top 25	0-1	0-1
Record vs RPI Top 50	0-1	1-2
Home Record	7-0	5-0
Road Record	0-1	0-1

The numbers reveal Louisville’s offensive juggernaut averaging a blistering 94.3 points per game, creating that +26.2 scoring margin that’s made its games look like video game simulations. However, that dominance comes with an asterisk – their 0.507 strength of schedule suggests they’ve been feasting on lesser competition.

Tennessee’s path has been considerably rockier, evidenced by its 0.568 SOS rating that’s battle-tested the Vols against legitimate competition. The Volunteers already own a quality win over a Top 50 RPI opponent, something Louisville is still chasing. Tennessee’s calling card remains their stingy defense allowing just 66 points per game, the kind of unit that can disrupt rhythm and force opponents into uncomfortable possessions.

Best Bet: Tennessee -3.5

While Louisville’s gaudy 9-1 record screams bet-the-favorite, the situational dynamics strongly favor backing Tennessee -3.5 (-110) in this spot.

The Volunteers are precisely where SEC teams thrive — desperate, at home, and facing a talented opponent that hasn’t been truly tested in hostile territory. Thompson-Boling Arena has been Tennessee’s fortress this season (5-0), and there’s no better elixir for a 3-game slide than facing a Cardinals team that’s 0-1 on the road.

Expect Rick Barnes to have his squad locked in defensively, using crowd energy to disrupt Louisville’s offensive flow and force the Cardinals into the kind of half-court grind that hasn’t defined their season. The Volunteers need this game more, have home-court advantage, and possess the defensive chops to make life difficult for a Cardinals offense that has already lost a game when it has faced this level of resistance in a hostile environment.

Take Tennessee -3.5 and trust the SEC program to defend its home court when it matters most.

Sign up with BetMGM today to get in on the action for tonight’s game. Click here to get started. And check out our list of the best Tennessee sports betting apps.

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College Basketball AP Top 25: Vanderbilt, Arkansas lead SEC’s 7 ranked squads

Braden Ramsey — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:18:09 +0000

The Week 7 college basketball AP Top 25 came out on Monday morning. Like it did much of last season, the SEC again paces the nation in ranked teams (7). The order and composition of those respective schools, though, is a bit non-traditional.

Vanderbilt (No. 13) is the conference’s highest-ranked team. The Commodores, under head coach Mark Byington, are 10-0 following a victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday. They won the Battle 4 Atlantic during Feast Week and are the SEC’s last unbeaten squad. Arkansas (No. 14) slots right behind Vandy following an impressive 93-85 triumph over then-No. 16 Texas Tech. The Razorbacks had the second-biggest jump (+3) of any team in the AP poll, worse than only Nebraska (+8).

Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn and Florida all remain in the top 25. They were joined by Georgia, who snared the No. 25 spot. The Bulldogs (9-1) are ranked in back-to-back seasons for the second time this century (2001-02 & 2002-03) after an 84-65 drubbing of Cincinnati. You can see the full AP poll below:

No. 1 – Arizona
No. 2 – Michigan
No. 3 – Duke
No. 4 – Iowa State
No. 5 – UCONN
No. 6 – Purdue
No. 7 – Gonzaga
No. 8 – Houston
No. 9 – Michigan State
No. 10 – BYU
No. 11 – Louisville
No. 12 – North Carolina
No. 13 – Vanderbilt
No. 14 – Arkansas
No. 15 – Nebraska
No. 16 – Alabama
No. 17 – Kansas
No. 18 – Illinois
No. 19 – Texas Tech
No. 20 – Tennessee
No. 21 – Auburn
No. 22 – St. John’s
No. 23 (Tied) – Florida
No. 23 (Tied) – Virginia
No. 25 Georgia

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Nate Oats says Alabama ‘got demolished on the glass’ in blowout loss to Arizona

Mark Kern — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 16:30:02 +0000

Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to Arizona by a score of 96-75 on Saturday to fall to 7-3 on the season. The game was close to start the second half, but the Wildcats took complete control and ran away with the game.

The Crimson Tide’s three losses this year have been to Purdue, Gonzaga and now Arizona. All three of those teams look like they are capable of making a run to the Final Four. In the loss to the Bulldogs, they were out-rebounded 48-36. Rebounding was once again a big issue against a huge Wildcats team, as the Crimson Tide was out-rebounded 52-32.

After the game, Oats talked about the team not having chance against the best teams if it won’t rebound.

“If we’re not gonna rebound, we’re gonna lose — I mean, we’ve done this twice where we’ve just got demolished on the glass,” Oats told reporters. “We really won’t have a shot to win these games.” “We chart the blue collar points. They destroyed us, plus-33 on that stuff. … The four-minute wars on the blue collar, they kind of annihilated us on all the effort stuff. When you get beat that bad on the effort stuff, you deserve to lose by 20, and that’s what happened tonight.”

Nate Oats to @UA_CTSN postgame: "If we're not gonna rebound, we're gonna lose — I mean, we've done this twice where we've just got demolished on the glass. We really won't have a shot to win these games."

"We chart the blue collar points. They destroyed us, plus-33 on that… https://t.co/7Zozh0VeNv
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) December 14, 2025

It was especially bad on the offensive glass, where the Wildcats had a 22-3 advantage. That helped give the Wildcats a 44-20 advantage in the points in the paint. Guard Labaron Philon Jr. did his part on the glass, as he finished with a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The front-court of Aiden Sherrell (5) and Taylor Bol Bowen (4) combined for only nine. Arizona backup big Tobe Awaka had 15 rebounds himself off the bench, including seven offensive.

SEC play is just around the corner, and Oats knows how imperative it is going to be for the team to start rebounding better.

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Florida basketball snaps losing skid with win over George Washington

Cory Nightingale — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 23:22:09 +0000

Florida basketball shook off back-to-back losses against big-time teams and got back to doing what it normally does on Saturday afternoon — win and win impressively.

The defending national champions got a season-high 24 points from Xaivian Lee and 19 points from Thomas Haugh to cruise past Georgia Washington, 80-70, in the 2nd game of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Fla.

The neutral court was kind to 18th-ranked Florida, which improved to 6-4 and finally got back in the win column after disappointing losses on high-profile stages against ranked teams Duke and UConn.

Got to work#GoGators | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/v2JSypWpSi
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 13, 2025

The loss to Duke on Dec. 2 was a road game at hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium and the setback against UConn a week later was on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. Playing its 2nd game in a row on a neutral floor but being back in its home state with Saturday’s game in South Florida, the Gators went to work behind Lee, who went 4 for 8 from 3-point territory in leading the charge for UF.

Haugh added 7 rebounds while Boogie Fland chipped in 12 points and 5 assists for Florida, which only led 30-27 at halftime but got going immediately to start the 2nd half to take command. The Gators scored the first 11 points after halftime and didn’t look back, with Rueben Chinyelu’s dunk finishing off the run that gave UF a 41-27 cushion.

Florida’s lead swelled to 20 points with 12:30 left in the game on Micah Handlogten’s layup.

George Washington (8-4) didn’t go away completely, responding with a 9-0 run to trim the Gators’ lead to 11. But UF then had its own response, scoring the next 7 points to make things comfortable again.

Florida will finally return home to Gainesville on Wednesday night, when it hosts Saint Francis (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

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Georgia basketball moves to 9-1 with dominant showing against Cincinnati

Jacob Moss — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:56:43 +0000

The Georgia Bulldogs football team is gearing up for another National Championship run in the College Football Playoff, and their counterparts on the hardwood are also off to a fantastic start to their season.

The Dawgs’ men’s basketball program picked up its eighth win of the season on Saturday afternoon with a dominant 84-65 win against the Cincinnati Bearcats in State Farm Arena down in Atlanta, Georgia.

Put a bow on it#GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/aHDJojyXDa
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) December 13, 2025

The Dawgs were led in scoring by junior point guard Blue Cain, who racked up 22 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds while shooting 5/12 from the field and sinking 12 of his 14 free throws.

As a unit, Georgia shot 50% from the field while holding the Bearcats to 35%, and also managed to out-rebound their Big 12 foes 41 to 37 on the day, with sophomore big man Somto Cyril leading the way with 7 boards.

This dominant showing follows up the 107-73 beatdown they handed the Florida State Seminoles last Tuesday down in Tallahassee in the ACC/SEC Showdown, one of their biggest wins against a Power 4 opponent in program history.

Georgia will have 3 more tune-up games against smaller programs to close out 2025 before it dives headfirst into SEC play in the New Year by facing off against No. 21 Auburn.

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Oklahoma hands Oklahoma State first loss in OKC, wins fourth straight Bedlam Series game

Sydney Hunte — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 20:30:49 +0000

Bedlam still belongs to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack combined for 39 points as Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 85-76 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The win was the fourth straight for the Sooners in the Bedlam Series and the Cowboys’ first loss of the season.

Derrion Reid chipped in 10 points and Tae Davis added a game-high 10 rebounds as the Sooners improved to 7-3 on the season. The Cowboys fell to 9-1.

This was a 79-76 game with 1:37 to go in regulation. That was before Davis powered home a dunk to extend the Sooners’ lead to five. Brown and Dayton Forsythe then made clutch free throws down the stretch as Oklahoma sealed the victory.

Cleared for takeoff pic.twitter.com/DTiYibzJ9n
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) December 13, 2025

The Sooners led 46-37 with just under two minutes gone by in the second half. But the Cowboys went on a 16-5 run spanning nearly seven minutes to take a 53-51 lead with 11:32 to go.

That was the last lead Oklahoma State had in this one. Oklahoma responded with a 7-0 run to go up 58-53 with nine minutes remaining. It was able to hold the Cowboys at arm’s length the rest of the way to pick up the win and put an end to what had previously been a perfect start to the season for Steve Lutz’s team.

Oklahoma outrebounded Oklahoma State 46-36. It shot the ball at 44% to the Cowboys’ 38%.

Both teams have Kansas City on their schedule next. The Sooners host the Roos in Norman on Tuesday. The Cowboys then face them in Stillwater on Thursday.

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Arizona vs. Alabama basketball preview

Spenser Davis — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Alabama basketball will battle No. 1 Arizona in Birmingham on Saturday night in a high-profile nonconference game.

The Crimson Tide are once again expected to contend for a Final Four appearance this season, as they often have under Nate Oats. Getting to play a No. 1-ranked team during the regular season is a rare opportunity that Alabama will hope to take advantage of on Saturday night.

Arizona vs. Alabama 2025

First, let’s take a look at the betting odds for this game. This includes the best price for each market according to a variety of real money betting apps:

Arizona vs. Alabama stats

Here’s how these teams match up in a variety of key areas. Stats via KenPom:

Metric	Arizona	Alabama
Adjusted offensive rating	123.5	126.5
Adjusted defensive rating	93.3	99.5
3-point attempt rate (offense)	26.20%	52.30%
Offensive turnover rate	17.80%	13.00%
Defensive turnover rate	19.10%	14.30%
Offensive rebounding rate	40.70%	32.70%
Defensive rebounding rate	72.40%	69.40%
Offensive pace (National ranking)	41st	9th

There are a few takeaways from this side-by-side comparison. The biggest is the extremely-large discrepancy in 3-point attempt rate. Alabama takes as many 3-pointers as any team in the country while Arizona is 363rd out of 365 Division I teams in 3-point attempt rate.

Pace will certainly be something that’s worth watching in this game. Both of these offenses like to play fast, but Arizona’s lack of 3-point attempts suggests it may need to be a bit more methodical in order to find good shots. Shoring up the interior will be a major key for Alabama in this matchup.

Another thing that jumps out: Arizona’s defense has been excellent this season. The Wildcats’ adjusted defensive rating ranks 10th nationally. Here’s how Arizona’s high-profile opponents have fared this season vs. the Wildcats:

Florida: 1.06 points per possession
UCLA: 0.97 points per possession
UConn: 1.06 points per possession
Auburn: 0.92 points per possession

All of those teams are currently ranked in KenPom’s top-35. It’s been an extremely-impressive start to the season for Arizona’s defense.

One last edge for Arizona in this game: Offensive rebounding. The Wildcats are top-10 nationally in offensive rebounding rate entering the weekend. They have a history of prioritizing the offensive glass under Tommy Lloyd. Meanwhile, Alabama is just mediocre on the boards. The rebounding gap is big enough to reasonably expect Arizona will have a few extra shot attempts in this game.

Arizona vs. Alabama pick

I think the best play for this game is the under. Arizona’s defense has been absolutely elite this season, holding all 4 power-conference opponents it has faced to under 1.1 points per possession. For context, there are 130 teams who are averaging at least 1.1 points per possession so far this season — that’s not a particularly high bar and yet Arizona is consistently keeping teams under that threshold. I also think Arizona may play try to slow the game down against a fast-paced Alabama team and limit the number of possessions.

Pick: Under 178 points (-110 on Caesars)

Spenser Davis

Saturday Down South • December 13, 2025 at 6:15am

Pick

Odds

Under +178.5

Over/Under

NCAAB • Arizona Wildcats @ Alabama Crimson Tide

-110 on Caesars

CLOSED • 12/14/2025

Betslip #1765606537230-16bd-751

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Nate Oats updates status of Aden Holloway ahead of Arizona game

Derek Peterson — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:03:33 +0000

Junior guard Aden Holloway is dealing with a wrist injury that has his status up in the air for Saturday’s game against No. 1 Arizona.

When he met with reporters on Friday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats called Holloway a “game-time, game-day decision” for the matchup with the Wildcats. Holloway has not played since Nov. 27.

“Very limited practice yesterday. We’ll see how he feels this morning,” Oats said. “See what he can do today. That’s probably going to have to end up being a game-time, game-day decision and see how his wrist is feeling. Other than that, should be good to go.”

Forwards Taylor Bol Bowen and Keitenn Bristow are also both dealing with separate injury issues of their own, but Oats said that both practiced on Friday and seemed to intimate they’d be fine for the game.

Bol Bowen has made 8 starts this season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game. Bristow played 51 minutes across 3 games from Nov. 19-26, but that has been the extent of his action this season.

Holloway has started all 6 games in which he has appeared for the Tide. In his last outing, he finished with a double-double, with 17 points and 10 assists. Holloway has 3 games this season with 20 points, including a season-high 26 against UNLV on Nov. 26.

Alabama will need all the help it can get against the unbeaten Wildcats (8-0). Tip-off on Saturday is set for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Alabama (-1.5, via BetMGM) is a slight favorite in the game.

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5 surprising stats for SEC men’s basketball so far

Adam Spencer — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

The SEC men’s basketball season is a month in and… let’s just say there have been plenty of surprises.

It has been an eventful nonconference slate, to say the least. Vanderbilt, Georgia and LSU have been pleasant surprises after being picked to finish 11th, 14th and 15th in the media’s preseason poll, respectively.

Kentucky and Florida have been relative disappointments, considering they were picked to finish 2nd and 1st, respectively.

So what should we make of nonconference play so far? What do football enthusiasts need to catch up on now that there’s a lull between the end of the regular season and the start of the Playoff?

Here’s a look at 5 surprising stats through the first few weeks of the men’s college hoops season:

1. Florida already has as many losses as it had all of last year

I mentioned this in my Starting 5 column earlier this week, but Florida went 36-4 last season en route to the national championship. The Gators lost at rival Georgia on Feb. 25 to “drop” to 24-4 on the season and then went on a 12-game winning streak that featured SEC and national titles.

After losing to UConn in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the Gators are now 5-4 on the season. Does this team have a 31-0 run in it?

Uh… I’m not so sure.

This is still a Final Four-caliber Florida team, don’t get me wrong. The Gators’ 4 losses have been by 1 at Duke (excusable), by 4 vs. UConn in NYC (excusable), by 6 in Las Vegas against Arizona to start the season (excusable) and by 4 to TCU (inexcusable).

It’s not time to panic yet in Gainesville, but there’s another surprising stat involving the reigning national champions:

2. Florida is the SEC’s worst 3-point shooting team (by far)

Florida is shooting an abysmal 27.3% from beyond the arc this season. That’s by far the worst mark in the SEC. In 15th place is Georgia, and the Bulldogs are making 30.8% of their long-range attempts. That’s brutal.

Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland haven’t quite settled into this offense yet. They’re not producing at the same level as guys like Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin and Denzel Aberdeen from last year.

That’s OK… for now. It’s all about how you play in March. This team still has Final Four potential, but Lee and Fland need to lead the way from beyond the arc if things are going to improve in Gainesville.

3. Auburn’s nonconference schedule has been a roller coaster

Auburn is currently 7-3 on the season. But those 3 losses are something else.

The Tigers, now under the leadership of Steven Pearl, lost 73-72 to then-No. 1 Houston. A couple of weeks later, they lost by 30 to then-No. 7 (and now No. 2) Michigan in the Players Era Festival. Recently, Auburn lost by 29 to then-No. 2 (and now No. 1) Arizona.

That’s an absolutely brutal schedule. Obviously, losing by 29-30 points to anyone isn’t a great sign. But battling Houston hard was definitely a positive.

On December 20, Auburn plays Purdue, another team that has spent time at No. 1 in the polls this year. The Tigers will certainly be battle-tested by the time SEC play rolls around.

4. Georgia is leading the nation in a whole bunch of categories

To borrow a bit from my colleague, Connor O’Gara — which of these stats are true about Georgia Bulldogs basketball in 2025-26 so far?

A: Georgia leads the nation with 99.9 points per game
B: Georgia leads the nation with 78 blocks
C: Georgia leads the nation with 44.6 bench points per game
D: Georgia leads the SEC with 100 total steals
E: All of the above

It’s “E.” It’s always “E.”

Georgia also plays at the fastest tempo of any power conference team, per KenPom. It shows up on the scoreboard and on the defensive end of the court.

Mike White’s crew has scored 100+ points in 4 of 9 games thus far, including a 107-73 blowout win at Florida State recently. No, the Dawgs’ 8-1 record doesn’t have any ranked wins on it, but Georgia has certainly been impressive through the early going. This is a team that should finish much higher than 14th in the SEC, where it was picked to finish by media members this preseason.

5. Vanderbilt and Alabama are also in the top 6 nationally for scoring offense

Georgia may be No. 1 in the nation in offense, but it isn’t alone among the elites in Division I this season. Two other SEC programs — the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Alabama Crimson Tide — are also in the top 6 nationally.

Vanderbilt — who is a perfect 9-0, it should be mentioned — is No. 4 with 96.8 points per game, and Alabama is No. 6 at 95.1 points per contest.

It’s arguably most impressive what Nate Oats and the Tide are doing. They’re averaging those 95.1 points per game against the nation’s second-toughest nonconference schedule, per KenPom. Indeed, the Tide have faced then-No. 5 St. John’s (103-96 W), then-No. 2 Purdue (87-80 L), then-No. 8 Illinois (90-86 W), then-No. 12 Gonzaga (95-85 L) and also have a game coming up against current No. 1 Arizona this weekend.

The Tide continue to challenge themselves against the other top teams in the nation. At least offensively, they’re more than holding their own so far!

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Starting 5: What to make of Florida, Kentucky’s effort problem, Arizona at No. 1

Adam Spencer — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to the Starting 5 column. The Starting 5 is written each week by Adam Spencer to keep you in the loop on all the news and events in the world of men’s college hoops. You can follow Adam on X at @AdamSpencer4.

1. The Opening Tip

The Florida Gators won the national championship last year, posting an overall record of 36-4.

Todd Golden and company lost at Georgia on Feb. 25 to “fall” to 24-4 and then never lost again, rattling off 12-straight wins en route to SEC and national titles.

It only took until Dec. 9 this season for the Gators to lose their fourth game.

After a 77-73 loss to No. 5 UConn in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the Gators are 5-4 overall and have plenty of question marks.

The biggest problem comes from 3-point range.

The Gators are dead-last in the SEC in 3-point percentage, knocking down only 27.3% of their shots from beyond the arc. For context, the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the SEC is Georgia, and the Bulldogs make 30.8% of their shots from deep.

That’s a 3.5% gap from last place to second-to-last. That’s crazy. That’s bigger than the gap from Georgia to the No. 9 3-point shooting team in the SEC (Auburn at 33.9%).

The Gators’ struggles from deep continued against UConn, as they shot right at their 27% average (4-for15) from long range. Make even 2 more of those shots and it’s a completely different game down the stretch.

There’s a case to be made that even if Florida shot 30% from 3-point range (which would still be last in the SEC), the Gators would be 8-1 or even 9-0. You just can’t beat elite teams shooting that poorly from 3 in this day and age.

My colleague Neil Blackmon, who every Florida fan should follow, provided some much-needed nuance to Florida’s struggles this year following Tuesday night’s loss to UConn:

UConn is Final Four good. Elite backcourt.

Florida has lost 3 games to 3 of the 5 best teams in America by a combined 11 points.

None of those games were at home. 2 were basically on road (at Duke, UConn at MSG).

Gators will be fine.
— Neil W. Blackmon (@nwblackmon) December 10, 2025

Neil’s right — losing at No. 4 Duke by 1 point, in New York by 4 to No. 5 UConn and by 6 to then-No. 13 (and now No. 1) Arizona in Las Vegas is hardly a reason to smash the panic button. (The 4-point loss to TCU is something I can’t, and won’t even try, to defend.) But by last year’s Florida standard, there are more problems than just the 3-point shooting.

Another issue for the Gators? They lack “closers” on both ends of the floor like they had last year.

I’m not breaking any news by saying it was always going to be tough for Florida to replace integral parts of last year’s title-winning team in Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard. But those absences are keenly felt in the final minutes of games.

How many heroic “onions!” shots did Clayton hit last year? Too many to count.

And if the Gators still had a defensive stopper like Martin on the team, I don’t think a shot like this that doomed them at Duke would’ve happened:

The crowd pop after Isaiah Evans hit the go-ahead three against Florida. Chills pic.twitter.com/wBITd6q2lv
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) December 3, 2025

It’s not all doom-and-gloom in Gainesville, though. Per KenPom, the Gators have the No. 11 adjusted defensive efficiency rating. That’s pretty dang good. The problem is simply that the Gatos haven’t closed games well in hostile environments this season.

If that changes, Florida still has plenty of talent to cut down the nets in both the SEC Tournament and March Madness. If it doesn’t, well, the Elite Eight might be the ceiling for this year’s team.

2. SEC Notes

The SEC got 14 of 16 teams into the NCAA Tournament field last year.

That won’t happen again this year.

Sorry SEC fans, but this year’s crop of teams just isn’t at the same level as last year’s historic group that went 59-19 against other power conferences. Even if you set aside the disaster that the state of Mississippi has become in men’s hoops this year, other teams like Mizzou, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M (shout out to the old Big 12 squads, unfortunately), aren’t quite March Madness-caliber yet.

In ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, the SEC gets 8 teams into the 68-team field:

Alabama — No. 3 seed
Vanderbilt — No. 3 seed
Florida — No. 5 seed
Tennessee — No. 5 seed
Auburn — No. 6 seed
Arkansas — No. 6 seed
Georgia — No. 8 seed
Kentucky — No. 8 seed

Lunardi also has LSU and Mizzou among his “First Four Out,” with Oklahoma leading the “Next Four Out” section.

That seems… about right. I do have my concerns about Georgia’s lack of a signature win and Kentucky’s myriad struggles (which we’ll discuss more in a second), but having them in the field for now makes sense.

The SEC is playing like a 7 or 8-bid league this year. The absolute ceiling is probably 10 teams. No chance at 14 again. But hey, we’ll always have last year!

Now let’s dive into some more notes from around the SEC:

Speaking of the Kentucky Wildcats, what the heck is going on in Lexington? Kentucky took care of business against NC Central on Tuesday night (as it should), but there was some drama in the first half. Big man Brandon Garrison turned the ball over in the paint and then jogged after the play in transition on the other end of the court. Coach Mark Pope then was seen on camera benching Garrison, telling him to “go sit down.” He never returned to the game. Will this be the wakeup call the Wildcats need? Otega Oweh said as much after the game. Only time will tell, though. Kentucky faces a tough Indiana squad on Saturday and then Rick Pitino’s ranked St. John’s squad on Dec. 20.
How worried should we be about Tennessee? The Vols have a win over then-No. 3 Houston on their résumé, but since then, they’ve lost 3-straight to unranked Kansas and Syracuse squads and No. 14 Illinois. The Syracuse loss was bad. The others are defensible, in certain ways. But there are some common themes that are cause for concern. Against Kansas and Illinois, the Vols’ defense completely fell apart in the second half, allowing 47 and 43 second-half points, respectively. Against Syracuse and Illinois, Tennessee’s free-throw shooting was embarrassing. In the loss to the Orange, the Vols went 8-of-15 (53%) from the stripe. Against the Illini, they were an abysmal 8-for-18 (44%) from the line. That’s simply not going to cut it. When the Vols put everything together, they’re Final Four good. But they haven’t done that very often this year against quality opponents. A test against Louisville awaits this weekend (more on that in a bit).

Next, let’s take a look at some other conferences around the country.

3. Around the World

Arizona is the new No. 1 team in the country following the latest update to the AP Poll. It’s a close race at the top, with the Wildcats taking the No. 1 spot by 21 total points (1,461 to 1,440) over Michigan. The Wildcats garnered 33 first-place votes to the Wolverines’ 19.

If you go by the KenPom numbers, Michigan is the best team in the land. Dustin May has his team at No. 1 in KenPom’s defensive metrics and No. 12 offensively. Arizona, meanwhile, is No. 9 on offense and No. 10 on defense, good for No. 5 overall, per KenPom.

Arizona has a 6-point win over then-No. 3 Florida, a 4-point win over then-No. 3 UConn and a 29-point victory over then-No. 20 Auburn.

Michigan, meanwhile, embarrassed then-No. 12 Gonzaga 101-61 and has a 30-point win over then No. 21 Auburn (poor Tigers) in its 2 games against ranked foes.

No matter how you slice it, these are the 2 best teams in the country. We’ll see how that battle atop the polls plays out in conference action and who blinks first.

Now, let’s hit some more non-SEC notes:

Florida-UConn may have been the marquee matchup of the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday, but if you missed the opener between Clemson and BYU, you missed one heck of a comeback. Clemson led 44-22 just after halftime (good for a 98.5% win probability) and it looked like the game was turning into a laugher. But from that point on, BYU went on a 45-20 run to steal a 67-64 victory from the jaws of defeat. AJ Dybantsa was magnificent, scoring 28 points to go with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Check out this highlight reel if you want to see a top-3 (and potentially No. 1) pick in the 2026 NBA Draft at his best.
Purdue’s time at No. 1 (its second stint in the top spot this season) didn’t last long. The Boilermakers were embarrassed at Mackey Arena over the weekend by then-No. 10 Iowa State, 81-58. That was tied with UConn’s loss to Villanova back in 1995 as the worst loss ever suffered by an AP Poll No. 1 team at home. Yikes. Cause for concern or just a minor blip? I, for one, am not pressing the panic button yet. This is still the same Purdue squad that went to Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama by 7. It also has a neutral-court 30-point win over a ranked Texas Tech squad on its résumé. But I’ll be monitoring the Boilermakers moving forward.

Now let’s take a look at some of the top games over the next 7 days:

4. Games to Watch

The next week features plenty of incredible college hoops action. Here are the 5 games we can’t wait to watch over the coming days:

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 12 Alabama (in Birmingham) — Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN — Alabama continues its brutal nonconference slate. This will be the second top-2 team the Tide have played, having lost to then No. 2 Purdue in Tuscaloosa earlier this season. Arizona has been a wrecking ball this year, as previously discussed. The Wildcats are 2-0 against the SEC this season, beating Florida and Auburn. Can Alabama flip the script?
No. 11 Louisville at No. 20 Tennessee — Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN — Since beating then-No. 3 Houston, the Vols have fallen into a slump, losing 3-straight games to Kansas, Illinois and Syracuse. This will be the last chance for Tennessee to add a résumé-building nonconference win. Louisville lost in Fayetteville to Arkansas recently. Expect plenty of fireworks in this border-state showdown.
No. 17 Arkansas vs. No. 16 Texas Tech (in Dallas) — Saturday at noon ET on ESPN2 — Speaking of the Hogs, they head to Dallas on Saturday to face Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have lost both ranked matchups they’ve played this year — by 4 to No. 14 Illinois and by 30 to then-No. 1 Purdue. Arkansas has a golden opportunity here.
No. 23 Nebraska at No. 13 Illinois — Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock — The Illini looked good to start Big Ten play in Columbus against Ohio State. Now they get to return home to face a feisty Nebraska squad. You’ll want to make sure you have access to Peacock for this somewhat-surprising matchup of ranked squads.
No. 25 UCLA vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (in Seattle) — Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET on ESPN — This one is worth staying up late for, folks. The Zags look incredible, as usual, and continue to challenge themselves in nonconference play. UCLA will be looking to tune up for the bulk of Big Ten play with another résumé-building victory. Should be plenty of late-night drama in this one.

Now it’s time for one last note before we get out of here and enjoy the rest of our days.

5. Buzzer Beater

As I mentioned in an earlier section, Vanderbilt is currently projected to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. After the football program went 10-2 this year, it’s safe to say everything is coming up Vandy!

Anchor Down, indeed.

This is a basketball column, though, if you haven’t figured that out already. So let’s end today by giving a shoutout to Mark Byington and his team.

The Commodores are the highest-rated SEC team in KenPom’s rankings. They sport the No. 2 adjusted offensive efficiency rating, behind only Purdue, and check in at No. 27 defensively. That’ll play.

They’re also featured in the uber-important trapezoid of excellence:

Trapezoid of Excellence update as of 12/9

The boundaries were wildly tough to draw bc even with a formula & historical data, this is a new historical level of efficiencies at the top that history doesn't have much of.

*Slightly more inclusion than normal bc of that* pic.twitter.com/wZU3tpyXtU
— Ryan Hammer (@ryanhammer09) December 9, 2025

Why have the Commodores been so good this year? For one, they’re knocking down 3-pointers at an impressive 38.8% clip. That’s good for first in the SEC. Texas A&M is second, all the way down at 36.5%.

They’re connecting on an impressive 52.7% on their field goals as a whole, just a notch above Mizzou (52.4%) to lead the league.

One reason for pause regarding Vanderbilt? The schedule.

The Commodores have big wins over Saint Mary’s and SMU in their last 2 games, but neither of those 2 teams are/were ranked. The only meat left on the Commodores’ nonconference slate is a game against Memphis and another against Wake Forest. This team won’t be as battle-tested as other SEC squads when league play starts.

Will that matter?

We’ll find out when the calendars flip to 2026.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on X @AdamSpencer4 or email me at a.spencer@sportradar.com.

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Florida vs. UConn: Best bet and preview for Jimmy V Classic clash

Adam Spencer — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 21:37:31 +0000

The defending national champion Florida Gators are in the Big Apple for tonight’s Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Their opponent? Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies.

This is a battle between the last 2 champions, as Florida took the crown in 2025 and the Huskies won it all in 2024.

This Tuesday night matchup tips off at 9 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN. UConn is currently 8-1 overall, with wins over BYU, Kansas and Illinois on its résumé. The only blemish is a loss to current No. 1 Arizona.

Florida is only 5-3 on the season, but lost by only a single point at Cameron Indoor against Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Issues shooting the 3-pointer have plagued the Gators.

Florida is currently No. 18 in the AP Poll, while the Huskies check in at No. 5. Let’s dive into this matchup a bit more.

Florida vs. UConn Odds

The oddsmakers have installed UConn as the favorite for this marquee neutral-site clash. The spread sits at 3.5 points in favor of the Huskies, with standard -110 juice on both sides. The total for the contest is pegged at 145.5 points.

Bet Type	UConn Odds	Florida Odds
Moneyline	-180	+145
Spread	-3.5 (-110)	+3.5 (-110)
Total (O/U)	O 145.5 (-110)	U 145.5 (-110)

Odds courtesy of BetMGM

Check out our list of the best Florida sports betting apps to get in on the action for this epic Tuesday night clash.

Tale of the Tape

The numbers paint a picture of 2 teams with strong offenses, but with differing levels of success on defense:

Stat	Florida	UConn
Record	5-3	8-1
Points Per Game	83.4	80.1
Points Allowed	71.9	60.4
Point Differential	+11.5	+19.7
RPI Ranking	37	9
Strength of Schedule	0.6191	0.6252
vs Top 25 Teams	0-2	3-1
Neutral Site Record	2-2	2-0

The most glaring disparity shows up on the defensive end, where UConn has been absolutely dominant by surrendering just 60.4 points per contest. That stingy defense fuels the Huskies’ impressive +19.7 scoring margin, nearly double Florida’s +11.5 mark despite the Gators’ superior offensive output of 83.4 points per game.

Florida has yet to notch a signature win this season, going 0-2 vs. Top 25 competition. The neutral-site splits also lean UConn’s way, as it’s perfect at 2-0 away from home courts compared to Florida’s even 2-2 record.

What makes this particularly intriguing is the revenge factor. Florida eliminated UConn from last year’s NCAA Tournament, giving the Huskies extra motivation in this rematch. The Gators’ offensive firepower hasn’t faced a defensive unit of this caliber, while UConn will look to prove its championship pedigree against the team that ended their title defense.

The Pick: Back the Gators to Keep It Close

While UConn’s defensive numbers are undeniably impressive, there’s value in backing the defending champions getting points in this spot. Florida’s 83.4 points per game represents legitimate offensive firepower, and championship DNA has a way of showing up in big moments like this Madison Square Garden showcase.

Keep in mind that Florida only lost by 1 in Cameron Indoor, one of the toughest road environments in all of sports. Todd Golden and company might not win tonight at MSG, but they should be competitive throughout.

Pick: Florida +3.5 (-110 at BetMGM)

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ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updates bracketology projection for 2026 NCAA Tournament

Cory Nightingale — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 20:51:06 +0000

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi revealed new projections on Tuesday morning for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with a deep SEC flavor surrounding a March Madness that will be here before you know it.

It might be College Football Playoff time right now, but college basketball is in full swing, and Lunardi gave fans some new projections to pour over in early December. For LSU fans, it might be a treacherous path to the NCAA Tournament, according to Lunardi, who on Tuesday had the Tigers as 1 of his First Four Out.

That wasn’t the only SEC team that might be sweating things out, according to Lunardi, who also had another Tigers from the SEC, the Mizzou version, as 1 of his First Four Out. Oklahoma is yet another SEC team that might be walking the tightrope to a possible NCAA bid, with Lunardi having the Sooners as 1 of his Next Four Out.

While those SEC squads are on the bubble, at least right now with plenty of basketball still to be played, Lunardi has a bevy of SEC teams safely in the NCAA Tournament. Like, for instance, Georgia, which is in the middle of football frenzy right now in Athens but could have something to really cheer about in March, according to Lunardi. He has the basketball Bulldogs seeded 8th in the East Region and playing Wisconsin in their first-round game.

What about Alabama? Well, Lunardi has Nate Oats’s team seeded 3rd right now in the Midwest Region and playing Northern Colorado in the first round.

Among the other SEC teams Lunardi has in the tournament is, of course, defending national champion Florida, who he sees right now as the No. 5 seed in the West Region.

This is all for fun right now, in early December, for these SEC hopefuls, but it’ll start to get very serious very soon, as teams jockey for position to try to squeeze their way into the NCAA Tournament.

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SEC Basketball Power Rankings, Dec. 9: Kentucky falls, Vanderbilt on the rise

Adam Spencer — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

We’re about a month into the college basketball season. We’ve made it through Feast Week, but still have some holiday tournaments to get through and some other electric nonconference games on the schedule before SEC league play tips off in January.

This seems like a great time to take a look back at my preseason men’s hoops power rankings and figure out what has changed.

Spoiler alert: A lot has changed. Seriously, almost every team has moved either up or down in my rankings over the past month. We’ve had teams like Kentucky disappoint. Vanderbilt has looked incredible. Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas and others continue to challenge themselves in nonconference play, which could end up paying dividends come SEC season.

For now, though, we’ll take a snapshot of the state of SEC men’s basketball as we enter the second week of December.

Here are my updated power rankings, starting with No. 16:

16. Mississippi State (4-5 overall)

Preseason power ranking: 11

Looks like I was too high on Mississippi State entering 2025-26. This team is a mess. A loss to Iowa State? I can forgive that. Losses to Kansas State (by 21 points), New Mexico and San Francisco are much less forgivable. The Bulldogs just aren’t really good at anything this year (No. 85 offensively, per KenPom, and No. 86 defensively) and don’t play fast (144th in adjusted tempo, per KenPom). More losses are coming if these metrics don’t improve.

15. Ole Miss (5-4)

Preseason power ranking: 9

After starting off 5-0 (beating up on a bunch of lower-level schools), the Rebels are in a free-fall. Utah is one of the worst Power 4 teams. Miami is not good. Ole Miss lost to both of them. Coach Chris Beard is very frustrated with AJ Storr (shocker) and his team’s overall effort. The Rebels have a lot of work to do if they want to compete in the SEC.

14. South Carolina (6-3)

Preseason power ranking: 16

Look, the Gamecocks haven’t done much, if anything, to impress me. South Carolina’s 3 losses were to Butler, Northwestern and Virginia Tech. The only reason South Carolina has risen 2 spots is because the state of Mississippi is a dumpster fire this year when it comes to men’s hoops. The Gamecocks look like they’ll struggle mightily in SEC play.

13. Texas A&M (7-3)

Preseason power ranking: 12

I’m not going to hammer the Aggies like I did the teams below them. Texas A&M has a new coach and an entirely new identity. Bucky Ball was always going to take some time to implement. As long as they’re at least competitive in SEC play more often than not, I’m staying calm with the Aggies this season. Losses to Oklahoma State, UCF and SMU certainly don’t look great on a résumé, though.

12. LSU (8-1)

Preseason power ranking: 15

The Tigers have beaten up on a lot of nobodies and then lost their 1 ranked matchup (to Texas Tech), but there are some positive signs in Baton Rouge. Four different guys are averaging 11+ points for LSU. The offense is solid. The defense is OK. Again, the Tigers haven’t really played anyone yet, but there are signs of progress.

11. Oklahoma (6-3)

Preseason power ranking: 14

The Sooners have put together a couple of decent efforts against decent teams. They’ve also suffered a couple of disappointing losses. Oklahoma, as things stand right now, does not look like an NCAA Tournament squad. We’ll see if things change in SEC play, but I’m not holding my breath.

10. Texas (7-3)

Preseason power ranking: 8

Texas has been… fine… this season. Losing to start the year against Duke? Not going to get too down about that. Losing to Arizona State? That’s not great. Losing by 19 against Virginia? That’s bad. But the Horns also have a nice win over NC State that will age well. Sean Miller and company are going to be flirting with the bubble all year, I think.

9. Mizzou (8-2)

Preseason power ranking: 6

I’m still not entirely sure what to make of Mizzou. The Tigers seem firmly middle-of-the-pack this year. Dangerous at home, not so dangerous away from Columbia. We’ll see if the Tigers can get a nonconference win that’s better than Minnesota in a couple of weeks when they play Illinois in St. Louis for the Braggin’ Rights rivalry.

RELATED: Missouri sports betting is now live! Bet on the Tigers all season long by checking out this list of the current Missouri sports betting promos.

8. Georgia (8-1)

Preseason power ranking: 13

I was skeptical of Georgia until I looked at the metrics. The Bulldogs are No. 22 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, No. 44 defensively and play at the 6th-fastest adjusted tempo. Their only loss is by 3 points to a Clemson squad that will be in the NCAA Tournament picture. We’ll see what that leads to in SEC play, but this could be a middle-tier or slightly better team in league action.

7. Kentucky (5-4)

Preseason power ranking: 3

I really thought about dropping Kentucky much further. The only thing that saved the Wildcats is that their 4 losses are all to ranked teams — Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga. The Gonzaga game was embarrassing, though, as the Cats lost to the Dogs 94-59 in Nashville. Yikes. This team cannot shoot. It doesn’t have a ton of defensive intensity. There are injuries, sure, but this should be a much better Kentucky squad.

6. Arkansas (7-2)

Preseason power ranking: 5

Competitive losses at Michigan State and vs. Duke keep the Razorbacks from falling too far. The Hogs also have a really nice win over Louisville. Barely beating Samford and Winthrop a couple of weeks ago made me sour on Arkansas a bit, but John Calipari has his team playing some solid basketball right now with Texas Tech coming to town this weekend.

5. Auburn (7-3)

Preseason power ranking: 7

Auburn got blown out by Arizona and Michigan, sure, but the Tigers only lost by 1 to Houston. Arizona is No. 1 in the latest AP Poll. Michigan is No. 2. Houston is No. 7. The Tigers also have a win over then-No. 14 St. John’s on their résumé. Steven Pearl’s team will be battle-tested heading into SEC play, that’s for sure. Oh and the Tigers play preseason No. 1 (and current No. 6) Purdue on Dec. 20. What a nonconference slate!

4. Tennessee (7-3)

Preseason power ranking: 2

The Vols have perhaps the best win in the SEC this year, taking down then-No. 3 Houston in the Players Era Tournament. But Tennessee needs to snap out of its recent skid that has seen Rick Barnes and company fall to unranked Kansas, unranked Syracuse and No. 14 Illinois in 3-straight games. Louisville comes to town next week to give the Vols a chance to add another key win to their résum

3. Florida (5-3)

Preseason power ranking: 1

The Gators nearly pulled off an upset win over Duke in Cameron Indoor. They deserve some credit for that. But Florida falls out of the top spot after a month because of the 3-point shooting woes. The Gators currently rank dead-last in the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage, making only 27.4% of their triples. For contest, No. 15 in the league is Georgia. The Bulldogs make 30.8% of their 3s. Florida faces a tough test against UConn on Tuesday night.

RELATED: Check out all the best Florida sports betting apps to get in on the action all hoops season long.

2. Vanderbilt (9-0)

Preseason power ranking: 10

It’s time to give the Commodores their due. Vanderbilt hasn’t played a ranked opponent yet, and won’t until SEC play. But the Commodores aren’t playing a ton of cupcakes, either. Wins over SMU and Saint Mary’s are solid. The metrics love the Commodores; KenPom has Vanderbilt ranked 8th overall. I’m not sure exactly how good Vandy is, but I’m confident that the ‘Dores are much better than the No. 10 spot where I had them in the preseason (and I was higher than consensus on Vanderbilt, for the record).

1. Alabama (7-2)

Preseason power ranking: 4

Alabama takes the No. 1 spot because of wins over top-10 foes in St. John’s and Illinois. The Tide’s 2 losses are to Purdue and Gonzaga — not exactly something that hurts the ol’ résumé. This weekend features Alabama making the short trip to Birmingham to face new No. 1 squad Arizona. That game will be Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Don’t miss it!

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5 takeaways from the ACC/SEC Challenge

Neil Blackmon — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It was much closer this time around, but the SEC once again captured the ACC/SEC Challenge, winning 9 games to the ACC’s 7.

The ACC stormed to a 6-3 lead on Tuesday, only to see SEC teams benefit from home-court advantages on Wednesday to rally for the Challenge victory. Arkansas, Alabama, and Auburn all secured wins that should age beautifully in the process.

From the ACC’s perspective, it was a solid showing, more evidence that the conference is vastly improved from the meager 4-bid league it fielded in 2024-25, when only Duke advanced beyond the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

For the SEC, it was proof that rumors of the league’s demise as a basketball power were overstated. Sure, the league isn’t the absolute wagon it was a year ago, when 7 SEC teams reached the Sweet 16, 2 advanced to the Final Four, and Florida won the program’s third national championship. But the SEC is still a force to be reckoned with, the top ranked league in both KenPom and Bart Torvik’s analytical rankings, and well on the way to double-digit NCAA Tournament bids for the second-consecutive season.

Here are 5 takeaways from the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Duke’s narrow win over Florida was one of the best games of the year to date

Saturday Down South was in Cameron Indoor Stadium for No. 4 Duke’s nip-and-tuck 67-66 win over No. 15 Florida, which was by far the best game in the 16 game ACC/SEC Challenge.

After a tight first 10 minutes, Duke closed the opening half on a 17-5 run, buoyed by the brilliant play of freshman Cam Boozer. Just a year removed from Cooper Flagg winning National Player of the Year honors as a freshman, Boozer is an early frontrunner himself, and he was magnificent on Tuesday, getting to most of the spots he wanted to on the floor in the first half and doing an incredible job finishing over Florida’s excellent post defense, length and athleticism. Boozer would finish with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Florida’s guards struggled mightily with Duke’s length and defense in the opening half, with the trio of Boogie Fland, Urban Klavžar, and Xaivian Lee shooting just 2-17 in the opening half and a dismal 1-10 from beyond the arc.

The Blue Devils led by as many as 15 points, and when they scored the opening basket of the second half, the lead was 14 again.

That’s when Florida found itself for perhaps the first time since early in the season opener against Arizona.

Boogie Fland played more assertively, getting into the paint at will and scoring in the midrange and at the rim. Tommy Haugh (24 points, 6 rebounds) continued to build on his All-American campaign, hitting massive shots and playing outstanding defense on Caleb Foster, Dame Sarr, and whichever member of Duke’s supporting cast was thrown his direction.

Alex Condon got involved in the mid-post, facing up defenders and attacking the basket, forcing the Duke defense to help and scoring multiple big-time buckets to help Florida chip away.

Todd Golden wisely refused to double Boozer, relying on the tremendous defense of Rueben Chinyelu to force Boozer left and make him uncomfortable for the first time in his college career. Boozer missed 7 consecutive field goals in the second half, almost exclusively a product of Chinyelu’s physicality and quickness.

Klavžar hit a huge 3 to cut Duke’s lead to 3 in the second half and later swiped the ball from Boozer to help the Gators tie the affair at 59. A Boozer 3 quickly gave Duke the lead again, but Florida wouldn’t go away, and the Gators reclaimed the lead, 66-64, when Fland buried a 3 off a beautiful horns set with just 30 seconds remaining.

This was the Florida team most folks thought the Gators had built in the preseason.

But just as it seemed Florida would swipe the best win of the year for any program, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer drew up a beauty:

ISAIAH EVANS IS BUILT FOR THE MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/7jD6cFh8nl
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) December 3, 2025

Duke ran an inverted pick-and-roll, getting the ball to Boozer at the top of the arc off a ball screen. Klavžar tagged screener Isaiah Evans initially but then cheated just a bit to help Chinyelu force Boozer to his weaker left hand. The extra help created just the space Isaiah Evans needed to veer and flash open off the ball screen. Evans was 0-7 from deep on the evening, but this time, given a clean look, he was pure.

Scheyer, whose Duke team scored 18 points after timeouts on Tuesday evening, said the play was “exactly” what was drawn up — and called the ensuing roar “the loudest he’d ever heard Cameron Indoor,” either as a national title-winning player, assistant, or head coach.

Duke still needed 2 stops to win, but Fland dribbled off his leg on the first possession and Tommy Haugh’s desperate pass with 1.5 seconds remaining was deflected by Maliq Brown, sealing the win for the Blue Devils.

The game wasn’t without controversy.

An obvious Duke goaltend of a Haugh layup late in the first half was not called, costing the Gators 2 points in a game Florida lost by 1. And Haugh was bizarrely called for a dead ball technical while shielding his body in the air from an oncoming Patrick Ngongba on this sequence, which allowed Duke to send a free throw shooter of its choice (Evans) to the line and gave Duke an extra possession, allowing Duke to extend its slim lead late in the second half.

Actually, it’s worse. It was called a dead ball technical— which allowed Duke to pick their FT shooter. Preposterous https://t.co/jAkxdG1JUo
— Neil W. Blackmon (@nwblackmon) December 3, 2025

That call may have been justice for a similarly controversial flagrant called on Maliq Brown in the opening half, except that Duke was without a challenge (it had lost its challenge earlier in the game) on the Haugh play, making Scheyer’s pleas for a review especially suspect.

Still, as Golden pointed out after the game, you have to expect you won’t get the benefit of the doubt from officials on the road, and you have to fight through it to win at a place at Cameron against a team as talented as Duke.

Florida had its chance to win with 1 stop. The Gators didn’t get it.

The Gators are now without a clear Quad 1 win, and things won’t get any easier with yet another tough game in a hostile environment coming next week when Florida plays UConn at the Jimmy V Classic.

Can Florida bottle what it found in the second half rally at Cameron? It’ll need to do that and perhaps be even better to avoid matching its season loss total from last year’s national championship team in just 9 games this season.

Long term, Florida will be fine, as long as the Fland the Gators have seen the last 2 games is the one they get for the next few months. But being a defending champion is different, no matter how much you insist you aren’t defending anything in the offseason.

As for Duke, the 9-0 start is the best in nearly a decade, and even though this group lacks the high-end talent of last year’s Final Four team, there’s an argument they defend better as a group. The Blue Devils are certainly Final Four good.

A win that will last for Arkansas

No. 25 Arkansas couldn’t finish against Duke on Thanksgiving, overwhelmed by a 27-11 Duke run over the final 10 minutes that saw the Blue Devils simply suffocate the Hogs offensively and get whatever they wanted in the paint offensively.

The Hogs responded with aplomb in Fayetteville on Wednesday night.

Arkansas led No. 6 Louisville by 18 points in the first half, stifling the Cardinals’ explosive offense on the perimeter in holding the Cardinals to a season-low 22% (8-37) from beyond the arc. Trevon Brazile (21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) was fantastic for Arkansas, as was sensational freshman Darius Acuff Jr. (17 points, 10 assists, 4 turnovers).

But the story of the game for John Calipari’s team was defense.

Limiting Louisville, who entered the night ranked second in the country in offensive efficiency, to just 29 points in the first half, and zero in transition, is stupendous.

If Arkansas is going to guard at that level, the Hogs are good enough to win the SEC Championship.

Is it time to panic for Kentucky? Or will getting healthy fix it?

There’s no question Kentucky is banged up.

The Wildcats didn’t have Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance, or Mo Dioubate in their 67-64 loss to No. 16 North Carolina at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, and it showed.

Kentucky was pummeled 41-30 on the glass by the Tar Heels, who weren’t terribly efficient (1.05 points per possession) but made good use of the 20 offensive rebounds they collected to claw out a win in the final 5 minutes. The win was the first Power 5 nonconference road win of the Hubert Davis era. No, really.

Kentucky should compete better inside when Dioubate returns, and if Quaintance can play this season and be productive, there’s still upside to Mark Pope’s pricy frontcourt.

But will it matter if they don’t get more from their guards and wings?

Denzel Aberdeen has been excellent defensively, but he’s still plagued by the offensive inconsistency and shot selection issues that made it easier for Florida to decline to match Kentucky’s lucrative NIL offer this offseason.

Colin Chandler is a great shooter, but he is a young player still learning to finish at the rim.

And Jaland Lowe might give Kentucky a guy who can get into the paint and get to the free throw line when he returns, but he’s not a good shooter, and won’t solve the problem Kentucky has when defenses stay attached to Chandler and dare someone else to make a play late in the shot clock.

That player was supposed to be Otega Oweh, the preseason SEC Player of the Year who donned many All-American lists. But he’s best as a cutter or driver off zoom and dribble hand-off actions, not as a late-shot-clock isolation threat.

Without a post scorer, Carolina was able to key on halting dribble penetration, and the result was a scoring drought of 10 minutes and 25 seconds for Kentucky in the second half, a run that included 13 consecutive missed field goals.

Kentucky is now 0-3 against the Power 5, with Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John’s all looming.

It’s too soon to call this $22 million roster a bust. But Kentucky is in trouble. And it’s not clear simply getting healthy fixes it.

The Jungle remains magical for Auburn

Auburn has recovered beautifully from being shellacked by Michigan in Las Vegas, and on Wednesday night, the Tigers demonstrated the Jungle will still rock in a world without Bruce Pearl.

The Tigers (7-2) shot 59% from the field, 55% from deep and scored 1.19 points per possession in manhandling Will Wade’s talented NC State team 83-73 in a game that felt less close.

Most important? On a night when Tahaad Pettiford went AWOL (1-7 FG, 0-3 from 3, 4 turnovers), the Tigers got a monster game (28 points, 10 rebounds) from Keyshawn Hall and an electric night from Kevin Overton (29 points, 6-9 3P FG) to overcome the poor showing from their All-American candidate. Hall also gives Auburn a guy who can make something out of nothing when everything breaks down. There aren’t many teams in America that have one of those players, let alone 2 like Auburn.

What a shot from Keyshawn Hall

(via @espn)
pic.twitter.com/tYlT2AMmJO
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 4, 2025

Hall has scored 20 points or more in all but 2 of Auburn’s games, proving he is a SEC Player of the Year candidate in his own right — and giving Steven Pearl an offense that can score on anyone while Auburn figures its defense (61st in KenPom efficiency) out ahead of league play.

An impressive win for a team that is building a nice résumé.

Is Vanderbilt the SEC Favorite?

It isn’t too early to suggest this and we’re going to keep suggesting it until Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, or Auburn prove we shouldn’t.

No. 17 Vanderbilt continued its red-hot start by mauling previously unbeaten SMU 88-69 at Memorial Gym. Tyler Tanner was sensational, building on a brilliant Battle 4 Atlantis with a 26-point, 6 assist, 5 rebound evening where he once again played at an absurdly efficient level (10-14 from the field, including 2-5 from 3).

Tyler Tanner's breakout for Vandy deserves attention after last night's 26-5-6 + 3 stocks vs. Boopie Miller, undefeated SMU. Small guard only 6-0 but already with 6 dunks and a real disruptor defensively, 4.7 STL%. Absolute spark of speed, creativity, shotmaking and defensive… pic.twitter.com/graPf3ylyN
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) December 4, 2025

Mark Byington’s team is the lone SEC team in the top 10 in KenPom (7th) and they are the nation’s second most efficient offense, behind only Purdue.

The frontcourt continues to punch above its weight, too. The Commodores rank in the top 50 nationally in defensive rebounding (42nd), answering the biggest question about the team on paper with a resounding display of will and want on the glass early this season.

This is the team to beat in the SEC.

The post 5 takeaways from the ACC/SEC Challenge appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Louisville Cardinals: Preview and best bet

Adam Spencer — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 15:21:17 +0000

The undefeated Louisville Cardinals (7-0) head into hostile territory on Wednesday night, traveling to Fayetteville to square off against the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-2) in what promises to be one of the marquee matchups of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey, Louisville has been absolutely scorching opponents, averaging 96.7 points per game.

The Cardinals are led by a dynamic backcourt tandem featuring senior Ryan Conwell, who’s putting up 20.1 points per game, and freshman sensation Mikel Brown Jr., who’s chipping in 17 points while dishing out a team-high 6 assists per contest.

Meanwhile, Arkansas coach John Calipari is looking to defend his home court at Bud Walton Arena and bounce back from recent struggles. The Razorbacks have leaned heavily on their own freshman phenom, Meleek Thomas, who’s averaging 17.6 points per contest.

This ACC/SEC battle tips off Wednesday, December 3, at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. We’ll break down the betting odds, dive into key matchup advantages, and share our best bet for this game.

Louisville vs. Arkansas Odds

Despite hitting the road for perhaps their biggest test yet, the undefeated Cardinals enter Bud Walton Arena as betting favorites. Oddsmakers have installed a hefty total, reflecting the dynamic offensive capabilities Louisville has flashed all season long.

Bet Type	Odds (BetMGM)
Spread	Arkansas +3.5 (-110) / Louisville -3.5 (-110)
Money line	Arkansas +140 / Louisville -169
Total	Over/Under 165.5 (-110)

All odds are via BetMGM.

The betting market clearly respects Louisville’s perfect record, making the Cardinals 3.5-point road favorites. The money line reflects that confidence, with Louisville sitting at -169 while Arkansas checks in as a +140 home underdog. That massive 165.5-point total suggests the books expect fireworks in this one.

Check out our list of the best sports betting apps.

Statistical Breakdown: Louisville vs. Arkansas

This matchup presents a classic tale of 2 different paths to December. Louisville has been absolutely demolishing inferior competition outside of a win over rival Kentucky, while Arkansas has taken its lumps against elite-level opponents:

Statistical Category	Louisville Cardinals	Arkansas Razorbacks
Overall Record	7-0	5-2
Points Per Game	96.7 (3rd in ACC)	88.1 (10th in SEC)
Points Allowed Per Game	63.0 (3rd in ACC)	71.6 (10th in SEC)
Point Differential	+33.7	+16.6
RPI Ranking	58	80
Strength of Schedule	0.4545	0.539
Record vs. Top 25	1-0	0-2
Record vs. Top 50	1-0	0-2
Home Record	6-0	5-0
Away/Neutral Record	1-0	0-2

The Cardinals’ staggering +33.7 point differential screams dominance, but context is everything here.

The reality check comes when you examine strength of schedule. Louisville has only faced a single top-50 opponent, Kentucky, building its pristine record against significantly weaker competition (0.4545 SOS). Arkansas, conversely, has already been through the gauntlet with a much tougher 0.539 strength of schedule. Those 2 Razorbacks losses? Both came against top-25 teams (Michigan State and Duke).

What should give Arkansas backers confidence is the Hogs’ perfect 5-0 home record at Bud Walton Arena. This represents Louisville’s first true road test and its first crack at legitimate high-major competition. Meanwhile, Calipari’s squad has been battle-tested in ways the Cardinals simply haven’t experienced yet this season.

Best Bet: Arkansas +3.5

PICK: Arkansas +3.5 (-110 at BetMGM)

Home court advantage in college basketball is real, and Bud Walton Arena is no joke. Arkansas sits at a perfect 5-0 at home this season, and Calipari knows how to prepare his team for big moments. The Razorbacks have the athletic ability and defensive principles to give Louisville’s high-octane offense a reality check.

Conwell and Brown haven’t faced the type of physicality and pressure that Arkansas can bring, especially in a hostile road environment. Meanwhile, Meleek Thomas, Darius Acuff Jr. and company have already proven they can perform against elite competition. Getting more than a full possession with the spread feels like found money when backing the team that’s actually been tested against quality opposition.

Take the home underdog and the points in this one.

The post Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Louisville Cardinals: Preview and best bet appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Florida Gators vs. Duke Blue Devils: Best bet for Tuesday’s ACC/SEC Challenge matchup

Adam Spencer — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:35:07 +0000

A marquee nonconference showdown awaits as the Florida Gators venture into the lion’s den at Cameron Indoor Stadium to battle the undefeated Duke Blue Devils.

The Gators bring a solid 5-2 record into this Tuesday night clash. Meanwhile, Duke enters riding high with a perfect 8-0 start that has it perched atop the ACC, averaging a blistering 91.9 points per game behind freshman sensation Cameron Boozer’s 22.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.

This marks Florida’s first trip to Cameron Indoor in 27 years, adding historical significance to an already compelling ACC/SEC Challenge matchup. The Gators will counter Duke’s interior dominance with their own glass-cleaning specialist in center Rueben Chinyelu, who’s hauling down 10.9 rebounds per game for the defending national champions.

Action tips off Tuesday, December 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, setting the stage for what could be one of December’s defining nonconference battles.

Florida vs. Duke Odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, current as of December 2, 2025:

Bet Type	Duke Blue Devils	Florida Gators
Moneyline	-455	+333
Spread	-9.5 (-102)	+9.5 (-118)
Total	Over 155.5 (-115)	Under 155.5 (-105)

The betting markets clearly respect Duke’s unblemished record and Cameron Indoor mystique, installing the Blue Devils as heavy favorites at -455 on the money line. That spread of 9.5 points reflects the significant gap between these programs, while the total of 155.5 acknowledges Duke’s offensive firepower.

Breaking down the implied probabilities after removing the bookmaker’s juice, Duke carries approximately 78% win expectancy compared to Florida’s 22% chance.

Statistical Breakdown: Florida vs. Duke

The tale of the tape reveals a fascinating contrast in team strengths, with Duke’s elite shooting facing off against Florida’s superior glass work:

Statistical Category	Duke Blue Devils	Florida Gators
Overall Record	8-0	5-2
Points Per Game	91.9	85.9
Points Allowed Per Game	58.8	72.6
Point Differential	+33.1	+13.3
Rebounds Per Game	40.3	45.9
Assists Per Game	20.3	15.9
Turnovers Per Game	10.3	14.1
Field Goal %	52%	44%
3-Point %	37%	27.7%
Free Throw %	72.3%	71.9%
RPI Ranking	#21 (0.641)	#50 (0.5982)
Record vs. Top 25	1-0	0-1

Duke’s dominance shows up immediately in the efficiency metrics. That staggering +33.1 point differential stems from an offense shooting 52% from the field and 37% from deep, combined with a defense allowing just 58.8 points per game. The Blue Devils also protect the basketball exceptionally well, dishing out 20.3 assists against only 10.3 turnovers per contest.

Florida’s path to competitiveness runs through the glass, where it holds a 45.9 to 40.3 rebounding advantage. Led by Chinyelu’s work on the boards, the Gators must capitalize on second-chance opportunities while limiting Duke’s extra possessions. However, Florida’s shooting woes present a challenge for Tuesday night. That 27.7% 3-point percentage and 44% field-goal accuracy could prove fatal against Duke’s lockdown defense.

Best Bet: Back the champs to keep it close

The Pick: Florida +9.5 (-118 on BetMGM)

Laying nearly double digits always carries risk. While Duke has beaten some good teams this year, it hasn’t played anyone as good as the reigning national champions.

Florida needs to take care of the ball if it is going to at least cover the spread. The Blue Devils commit just 10.3 turnovers per game compared to Florida’s sloppy 14.1, meaning fewer extra possessions for the Gators to exploit.

I do think the Gators have the ability to defend Duke on the perimeter to neutralize the 3-point advantage the Blue Devils have. Duke will likely win this game outright, but look for Florida to at least keep it close.

The post Florida Gators vs. Duke Blue Devils: Best bet for Tuesday’s ACC/SEC Challenge matchup appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Missouri Tigers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: ACC/SEC Challenge Preview and Predictions

Adam Spencer — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:24:07 +0000

The ACC/SEC Challenge tips off on Tuesday night, featuring matchups between Florida and Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, and more. However, don’t sleep on the undefeated Missouri Tigers heading into South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Tipoff for that matchup is set for Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Mizzou is a perfect 8-0 entering this game, but a closer examination of the Tigers’ record shows the most-impressive win is against… Minnesota? Yikes.

The Irish, meanwhile, enter the game with a 5-3 record, but their losses are to Ohio State, Kansas and Houston. It’s safe to say Notre Dame is the more battle-tested team. But while the Irish have played top teams fairly tight (losing by 10 to both Kansas and Houston), their best win is… Rutgers? Again, yikes.

This ACC/SEC Challenge matchup will answer a crucial question: Can Missouri’s high-octane offense maintain its efficiency against a defense that’s been hardened by legitimate competition, or will the Fighting Irish expose the Tigers as early season pretenders?

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Missouri Tigers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Odds

The betting markets are treating this as essentially a coin flip, with oddsmakers giving Notre Dame the slightest edge as the home team. Here’s how the numbers break down at BetMGM:

Bet Type	Missouri Tigers	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Moneyline	-110	-110
Spread	+1.5 (-120)	-1.5 (+100)
Total	Over 146.5 (-110)	Under 146.5 (-110)

Both teams carry identical -110 money line odds, essentially making this a dead heat in the eyes of the books. The 1.5-point spread barely favors Notre Dame as the home squad, while the 146.5-point total suggests we’re in for a track meet, which makes sense given Missouri’s offensive firepower.

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Tale of the Tape: Offensive Juggernaut Meets Battle-Tested Squad

Here’s how the Irish and the Tigers stack up statistically:

Key Stat	Missouri Tigers	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Overall Record	8-0	5-3
Points Per Game	92.9	75.4
Points Allowed Per Game	68.1	67.2
Point Differential	+24.8	+8.1
RPI Rank	143	103
Strength of Schedule	0.3618	0.5463
Field Goal Percentage	55.5%	46.4%
Three-Point Percentage	39.1%	34.9%
Rebounds Per Game	38.6	33.6
Assists Per Game	16.8	11.4
Steals Per Game	8.8	5.4
Turnovers Per Game	13.6	10.8
Record vs. RPI 1-25	0-0	0-2
Record vs. RPI 51-100	0-0	0-1

Missouri’s offensive efficiency is ridiculous — the Tigers are shooting better than most teams do in practice (55.5% FG, 39.1% from 3) while averaging nearly 17 assists per game. Their +24.8 point differential screams dominance, but that 0.3618 strength of schedule exposes the reality: they’ve been beating up on nobodies.

Notre Dame’s more modest offensive output (75.4 PPG) comes with context — the Irish have been tested by a schedule nearly twice as difficult (0.5463 SOS). The Irish have actually been the better defensive team, allowing just 67.2 points per contest, and they protect the basketball significantly better, with only 10.8 turnovers compared to Missouri’s 13.6. In a game projected to be decided by possessions, that discipline could prove decisive.

Best Bet: Trust the Mizzou offense

Missouri’s offensive explosion has been a thing of beauty, and Mark Mitchell’s 64.4% shooting percentage has been impressive. The Tigers will need to rely on the steady veteran in their first real road test of the season.

The key number here is turnovers. Missouri’s been loose with the basketball (13.6 per game) against inferior competition, while Notre Dame protects possessions like they’re gold (10.8 turnovers). In what projects to be a possession-by-possession battle, that 2.8 turnover differential could be the difference between covering and going home empty-handed.

Still, even if the Tigers don’t reach their ridiculous average of 92.9 points in this game, 75 seems imminently doable, win or lose.

Pick: Mizzou over 74.5 points (+100 at BetMGM)

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College Basketball AP Top 25: Tennessee, Vandy rise as Alabama, Florida drop

Braden Ramsey — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:44:37 +0000

College basketball’s “Feast Week” provided a tremendous opportunity to gauge where the sport’s supposed best teams stand as we enter December. Some SEC schools got the results they were looking to receive. Others? Not so much.

Alabama (No. 12) is still the highest-ranked SEC team in the AP poll, but the conference no longer has any top 10 squads. The Crimson Tide also experienced one of the bigger drops (-4) in the poll following their loss to Gonzaga in the Players Era Festival. Another SEC team, Florida, fell 5 spots after losing to TCU.

While those SEC schools went backward, the Volunteer State used Feast Week as a springboard. Tennessee leapt 4 rungs despite a loss to Kansas because of a win against previously unbeaten Houston. And Vanderbilt, who entered the AP Poll for the first time last week, made the biggest jump, going from No. 24 to No. 17 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Overall, the SEC still boasts the most teams (7) in the AP poll ahead of the ACC-SEC challenge. You can see the full AP poll below:

1 – Purdue
2 – Arizona
3 – Michigan
4 – Duke
5 – UCONN
6 – Louisville
7 – Michigan State
8 – Houston
9 – BYU
10 – Iowa State
11 – Gonzaga
12 – Alabama
13 – Tennessee
14 – Illinois
15 – Florida
16 – North Carolina
17 – Vanderbilt
18 – Kentucky
19 – Texas Tech
20 – Auburn
21 – Kansas
22 – Indiana
23 – St. John’s
24 – USC
25 – Arkansas

The post College Basketball AP Top 25: Tennessee, Vandy rise as Alabama, Florida drop appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Mizzou basketball opens game with absurd 23-0 run

David Wasson — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 20:04:28 +0000

It’s impossible for a college basketball team to completely shut out an opponent, but the Missouri basketball squad certainly made a decent run at it against the Cleveland State Vikings.

Mizzou (7-0) kept Cleveland State off the scoreboard entirely in the first 8:59 of Saturday’s game before the Vikings managed their first points at Mizzou Arena. At that point, the Tigers were ahead 23-0.

Cleveland State missed its first 13 shot attempts of the game, while Mizzou got 8 points from Mark Mitchell during the opening run – even though the Tigers didn’t score their first points of the game until the 18:01 mark.

Cleveland State’s Dylan Nessah finally broke the seal with a pair of free throws with 11:01 to play in the first half. The Vikings didn’t manage their first field goal until Nessah hit a jumper with 10:13 remaining.

The Vikings (3-5) made up for their lackluster start after that, however, chipping away to make the deficit 16 points at one juncture before heading into halftime trailing 46-22.

The Tigers started the 2022-23 season 9-0 and are aiming for similar results in 2025-26. Mizzou has played all but 1 of its games this season at home, a season-opening 88-67 victory at Howard.

RELATED: Live sports betting will be in place in the state of Missouri for this year’s NCAA Tournament. Get signed up with one of our Missouri sportsbook promos.

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Auburn uses second-half surge to upset No. 14 St. John’s

Derek Peterson — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 14:53:19 +0000

Led by a second-half takeover from guard Tahaad Pettiford, No. 21 Auburn outscored No. 14 St. John’s by 20 points in the second half to knock off the Red Storm at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Auburn (6-2) trailed by 9 points at the break and fell down by 11 early in the second half. But a hot-shooting night from Pettiford powered the Tigers to an 85-74 victory. St. John’s, which opened the season ranked fifth in the nation, has lost 3 of its first 7 games.

Playing its third game in as many nights, Auburn showed some serious mettle in the second half. The Tigers were blown out by Michigan on Tuesday, losing by 30 points in what was the program’s biggest defeat in over 2 years.

They shot 46% from the field over the opening 20 minutes, but went 1-for-6 on triples and turned the basketball over 10 times. St. John’s converted those giveaways in 13 points while also grabbing 10 offensive rebounds.

Auburn cut the turnovers in the second half (down to 2) and connected on 16 of its 25 shots from the field while also getting to the foul line 21 times. Keyshawn Hall made 9 free throws by himself in the second half to score 18 points in 18 minutes. Hall finished with 20.

Pettiford, though, was the star of the show. He scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half while connecting on 6 of his 8 attempts from the field and 2 of his 3 triples. He played every minute of the second half and turned it over only once.

“I knew that if I got things rolling, my team would follow,” Pettiford said after the game. “Once I got going, they kept feeding me, and it just kept going.”

Auburn led by as many as 7 in the first half. Over the final 8:30 of the opening salvo, St. John’s outscored Auburn 25-9.

In the second half, Auburn used a 13-2 run to flip the game.

“Proud of our guys,” said coach Steven Pearl. “[Tuesday] was not easy. To lose the way we lost was a little deflating. Our defense stepped up and carried us. Really proud of the effort and execution.”

Auburn faces NC State next as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. That game tips from Neville Arena on Dec. 3 at 9:15 p.m. ET (ESPN).

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Kansas knocks off Tennessee in third-place game at Players Era Tourney

Derek Peterson — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:24:18 +0000

Kansas didn’t make a shot from the field over the final 4 minutes and 16 seconds on Wednesday night, but the Jayhawks (6-2) still had enough to knock off No. 17 Tennessee (7-1) and hand the Vols their first loss of the new season.

In the third-place game at the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas, Tennessee lost 81-76.

Nate Ament led the Vols with 20 points and 9 rebounds. He shot 5-of-15 from the field and made all 8 of his attempts from the free throw line. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 11 points, but struggled with his shot all night. Gillespie went 5-for-19 from the floor and 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Tennessee had a 7-point lead at the halftime break, but shaky shooting flipped the script in the second half.

After a pair of foul shots from Ament with 15:06 to play, Tennessee led 55-43. The Jayhawks then scored 8 unanswered to climb back into the game.

As a team, Tennessee shot just 28% on its 3-point attempts. The Vols went ice-cold in the second half, making 2 of their 12 attempts from deep and connecting on just 31% of their shots overall. Ament didn’t make a shot from the field in the second half while Gillespie was tagged for 4 personal fouls in 19 minutes.

The Jayhawks scored their final 10 points from the free throw line. After a 3-pointer from Kansas guard Jamari McDowell with 4:16 to play, the Jayhawks only took 1 more shot from the field.

Everything else came from the charity stripe. Tennessee missed, and Tennessee fouled.

The Vols have a little under a week off before they make a trip to Syracuse to face the Orange on Dec. 2. That game tips at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Previewing Feast Week for SEC basketball

Neil Blackmon — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 20:09:33 +0000

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

It’s Rivalry Week on the football field, Thanksgiving in our homes, and gratitude fills our hearts. Especially Lane Kiffin’s. I’m not sure how the Lane Kiffin love triangle soap opera ends, but I’ll sure be glad when it’s over.

The good news?

We have Feast Week, bar none the best week of the college basketball season until March, to distract and entertain us. Yes, the days of the Great Alaskan Shootout are gone forever and, in the age of NIL, 3-game bracketed multi-team events (MTEs) like the storied Maui Invitational appear to be dying or in decline.

But the buffet of basketball that begins on Monday is as good as ever, even if the names of the events that made Feast Week before it was Feast Week have changed.

All told, there are 8 SEC teams in Feast Week tournament action this week, with Georgia (2nd at the Charleston Classic), South Carolina (4th at the Greenbrier Tip-Off), and Mississippi State (4th at the Hall of Fame Classic) having wrapped tournaments contested last week.

We preview every Feast Week event involving SEC competition below, in order of watchability. From appointment television (hello, Players Era) to hoops for junkies (I’ll never forgive the Emerald Coast Classic for this field, but I’m sure LSU fans will spot Knox Kiffin the crowd), we’ve got your Thanksgiving week of hoops covered.

A special thank you to my friend Chris Dobbertean’s MTE tracker, which is an amazing resource for Feast Week viewers everywhere.

Players Era Festival (Las Vegas, November 24-26)

SEC Teams in the Field: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee

The “Rest” of the Field: Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. John’s, Syracuse, UNLV

The Skinny: Are you kidding me? This thing is loaded. National runner-up Houston headlines a tournament that also includes Gonzaga and Louisville, both ranked in the top 10 in KenPom’s efficiency metrics early this season.

Is there a drawback?

Sure. The format is stupid. There’s no bracket. There are just 2 pre-set games and then the tournament will seed a “championship” between the 2 teams with the best records and point differentials from Monday and Tuesday. That makes it unlikely the best team in Vegas is crowned champion, given the absolutely stacked matchups on Monday and Tuesday. But I think this is still the best event by some distance, simply based on the amount of teams and college basketball royalty descending on Sin City beginning Monday.

Best Games: Gonzaga and Alabama’s matchup on Monday night (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT) is the Monday headliner. Tennessee and Houston meet in an Elite 8 rematch on Tuesday. Keep an eye out for Kansas, who has a softer draw (Notre Dame, Syracuse) and could easily sneak into the championship given the weird format. St. John’s has disappointed early. The Johnnies play Monday against a tenacious Iowa State and have a quick turnaround against Baylor on Tuesday. The tournament feels huge for Rick Pitino’s team, who won’t get a lot of opportunities to make seeding statements in a weak Big East. Auburn and Michigan (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT) showcase Tuesday night’s action.

Predicted winner required by SDS: Houston, but the format is silly, so maybe Kansas? I think Michigan will run past San Diego State on Monday night, but Auburn has played very well of late and will upset the Wolverines on Tuesday evening. Alabama and Gonzaga are unlikely to make the final because they play each other on Monday night. That leaves Houston, who should throttle Syracuse and frustrate a Tennessee team playing competition with a pulse for the first time this week. But if Tennessee beats Houston, it could also make the final, given the Vols should crush Rutgers in their opener. In the end, I wish the format made sense, but the event will produce a smorgasbord of stellar hoops.

Maui Invitational (Lahaina, Hawai’i, November 24-26)

SEC Team in the Field: Texas

The “Rest” of the Field: Arizona State, Boise State, Chaminade, NC State, Seton Hall, USC, Washington State

The Skinny: I don’t want to declare Maui “dead” yet, for 2 reasons. First, while the allure of NIL riches and the easier travel make the Players Era Festival the current “it” destination in the sport, the reality is Maui is 1-year removed from a field that included Final Four bound Auburn, back-to-back defending national champion UConn, blue-blood North Carolina, Iowa State, and Michigan State. It was must see TV all week. Second, the field at the event this year isn’t as bad as folks make out. NC State spent a boatload of cash on players like Darrion Williams and Tre Holloman and the Wolfpack look second-weekend good. Eric Musselman feels good about where his program is in Year 2 at Southern California. And Sean Miller’s first Texas team looks much better than advertised. There’s plenty to like about this field and well, I’m sentimental this time of year and it’s still Maui.

Best Games/Potential Games: A USC-NC State semifinal will be electric, as long as the Trojans get past a Boise State team that has made 3 of the last 4 NCAA Tournaments under longtime coach Leon Rice. Texas cannot shoot (31% from 3 and 51.9% effective FG%) but it can rebound (35th in offensive rebounding percentage nationally) and guard (21st in KenPom defensive efficiency). The Horns should roll past a bad Arizona State team in Round 1 and even if they miss shots, shouldn’t be pushed by Washington State or Chaminade in the semifinals. Texas’s defense and rebounding kept it in the game against Duke earlier this year. There’s no reason it can’t push NC State or USC in the championship on Wednesday.

Predicted Winner Required by SDS: NC State. The Wolfpack have the tournament’s best player in Darrion Williams. They’ll cut down the nets thanks to an explosive offense that runs away from both USC (semifinals) and Texas (finals) late.

Rady’s Children Invitational (San Diego, November 27-28)

SEC Team in the Field: Florida

The “Rest” of the Field: Providence, TCU, Wisconsin

The Skinny: This 4-team bracketed event features the reigning national champions in Florida and 3 teams in the KenPom top 75 (Florida at 5, Wisconsin at 22, Providence at 62). Are the Gators and Badgers on a collision course for a Friday championship game (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX)? TCU has played better of late, pushing preseason B1G title contender Michigan in Fort Worth last week. Jamie Dixon’s team really defends, but can it score enough to beat Florida? Unlikely. Wisconsin and Providence will be a fun Thanksgiving watch. Both teams get up and down and shoot the 3 with gusto. The Badgers are excellent in the pick-and-roll, too, an offense that has tormented Todd Golden’s outstanding teams for 2-plus years. With John Blackwell and Nick Boyd making plays in the backcourt, Wisconsin matches up well with Florida if it doesn’t get dominated inside.

Best Game/Potential Games: Wisconsin and Florida in a championship.

Predicted Winner required by SDS: Florida. This is a big tournament for the Gators. Florida hasn’t shot the ball well (26% from 3-point range) but they rebound so prolifically (45.1% offensive rebounding rate) and guard so well (4th in KenPom defense) it hasn’t mattered since an opening night loss to Arizona. Florida is one of 2 teams in America (Alabama) playing 7 of its first 9 games against Power 5 competition. Florida visits Duke on December 2 and plays a functional road game against UConn at Madison Square Garden on December 9. Those will be tough places to get wins — so Florida needs the résumé builders in San Diego.

Battle 4 Atlantis (Atlantis, Bahamas, November 26-28)

SEC Team in the Field: Vanderbilt

The “Rest” of the Field: Colorado State, Saint Mary’s, South Florida, VCU, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, Wichita State

The Skinny: There’s an argument the Players Era Festival did more damage to the Battle 4 Atlantis than Maui. The battle in the Bahamian ballroom had been a destination event for blue-bloods and Final Four mainstays alike in years past, hosting the likes of North Carolina, Kansas, UConn, Florida, and Villanova on multiple occasions. This season, Vanderbilt is probably the best team in the field, depending on how much you like Randy Bennett’s Saint Mary’s Gaels. After those 2, mid-major darling VCU is here, and Mike Young’s Virginia Tech is a team I slotted into my preseason Field of 68, but I’m not sure there are 5 interesting basketball programs or teams in this tournament. That’s a far cry from what this event used to be.

Best Game/Potential Games: A championship game between Vanderbilt — who might be the best offensive team in the sport (62.5% effective field goal percentage, 100 points or more in 4 of its first 5 games) and Saint Mary’s would be a rematch of one of the most entertaining games of the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March. Saint Mary’s has a bona fide All-American candidate in Mikey Lewis — the best player you probably haven’t heard of in college basketball this season. Mike Young’s Hokies hit the portal jackpot with bouncy VCU transfer Tobi Lawal and Greek forward Neo Avdalas is one of the better international prospects in the sport. A Saint Mary’s-Virginia Tech semifinal would be fun.

Predicted Winner Required by SDS: Saint Mary’s. I’m on record suggesting that the Kryptonite for the Commodores in 2025-26 will be elite rebounding opposition. The Gaels, who get 41.5% of their misses and use those second chances to bury 3-pointers (45% from deep early this season!) are exactly that type of team. They’ll win a memorable final.

Acrisure Classic (Palm Desert, CA, November 25-26)

SEC Team in the Field: Ole Miss

The “Rest” of the Field: Grand Canyon, Iowa, Utah

The Skinny: Three teams that should compete for NCAA Tournament berths meet in the Coachella Valley with at least 1 showcase game — Iowa vs. Ole Miss — guaranteed. The Hawkeyes are led by All-American candidate Bennett Stirtz, who transferred to Iowa from Drake after his head coach, Ben McCollum, took the post in Iowa City following the dismissal of longtime Hawkeyes’ head coach Fran McCaffrey. Tavion Banks, Cam Manyawu, and Isaia Howard all followed Stirtz, giving Iowa continuity from a group of players who advanced to the Round of 32 a season ago, albeit at Drake. Ole Miss has a big-time transfer in AJ Storr who looks more like the All-B1G player we saw at Wisconsin and not the bust he was at Kansas a year ago. Couple him with Malik Dia, one of the nation’s most underrated and complete players, and the Rebels have a terrific 1-2 punch offensively. Can they guard? Early returns are mixed, and we’ll find out more in California. Grand Canyon, coached by Bryce Drew, has struggled out of the gate but it should own the glass enough to outlast Utah, the worst team in the Big 12 by some distance.

Best Game/Potential Game: Ole Miss vs. Iowa, by some distance. Two great coaches and teams with second-weekend top-end potential.

Predicted Winner: Iowa. The Hawkeyes’ continuity as a group puts them a little ahead of Ole Miss right now. Iowa’s offensive ability to get the shots it wants (the Hawkeyes rank in the 96th percentile in shot quality early in the year, per Synergy) will make life difficult on Ole Miss, who doesn’t really turn you over or play a disruptive style defensively.

Emerald Coast Classic (Niceville, FL, November 28-29)

SEC Team in the Field: LSU

The “Rest” of the Field: DePaul, Drake, Georgia Tech

The Skinny: This is the event insomniacs will DVR to go to sleep. I get that maybe it wasn’t as bad when they invited Drake, but now that Ben McCollum is off to much-greener pastures at Iowa, this is basically the Charlie Brown Christmas tree event of MTEs. At least the Florida panhandle is nice this time of year?

Best Game/Potential Games: Drake’s best players went to Iowa with McCollum. That means the best game in this tournament might be… DePaul and Georgia Tech? Chris Holtmann is a good basketball coach and DePaul is vastly improved, especially offensively. I think it might finish in the top half of the Big East for the first time in nearly 2 decades. Georgia Tech ranks in the top 20 in KenPom defensive efficiency (16th). It won’t be a pretty game, but it will be a close one.

Predicted Winner Required by SDS: LSU. I’ve been buying Matt McMahon’s team since SEC Media Days, when McMahon told me his team was “going to be pretty good.” Cynical, I dug a little deeper and well, I started to like the roster more than I did when I picked the Tigers 15th on my SEC preseason ballot. Jalen Reed is healthy and a force inside who can play comfortably with the ball outside. Mississippi State transfer Mike Nwoko appears to have given LSU a rim protector and offensive rebounder to help a team that’s never going to shoot it great. Dedan Thomas is a bucket. Marquel Sutton is a glue guy who knows how to win after reaching the NCAA Tournament with Omaha. There’s a lot to like in Baton Rouge — and it’s been a while since we said that about their basketball program. The Tigers will roar in Niceville.

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College Basketball AP Top 25: Kentucky drops again; Alabama, Tennessee move up

Braden Ramsey — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:12:49 +0000

The Kentucky Wildcats have been completely dominated in 3 of their 4 halves against ranked opponents this season. They looked terrible in their Champions Classic loss to Michigan State. As a result, they’ve fallen further than any other team in the latest AP poll.

Mark Pope’s team, ranked No. 12 last week, dropped to No. 19 after the disappointing showing against the Spartans. The Wildcats are now the fourth-highest ranked SEC team, behind Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. The Crimson Tide (No. 8) and Volunteers (No. 17) each jumped 3 spots from their Week 3 placement.

Vanderbilt (No. 24) joined the AP poll for the first time this week. Their addition pushed the SEC (7) above the Big Ten (6) for the most ranked teams in the country:

No. 1 – Purdue
No. 2 – Arizona
No. 3 – Houston
No. 4 – Duke
No. 5 – UCONN
No. 6 – Louisville
No. 7 – Michigan
No. 8 – Alabama
No. 9 – BYU
No. 10 – Florida
No. 11 – Michigan State
No. 12 – Gonzaga
No. 13 – Illinois
No. 14 – St. John’s
No. 15 – Iowa State
No. 16 – North Carolina
No. 17 – Tennessee
No. 18 – UCLA
No. 19 – Kentucky
No. 20 – Texas Tech
No. 21 – Auburn
No. 22 – Arkansas
No. 23 – NC State
No. 24 – Vanderbilt
No. 25 – Indiana

Alabama, Tennessee and Auburn all have multiple chances to boost their NCAA Tournament resumes this week in the Player’s Era Festival. The Volunteers — who are currently beating Rutgers — will face Houston on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide matches up with Gonzaga tonight and UNLV on Tuesday, while the Tigers battle Oregon today and Michigan tomorrow. They’ll each face a third to be determined foe on Wednesday to round out the event. Additionally, Arkansas plays Duke on Thanksgiving.

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Hoops insider says Alabama is in its ‘golden era’ under Nate Oats

Cory Nightingale — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 01:00:48 +0000

Hoops insider Jon Rothstein believes Alabama fans are living through the “golden era” of Crimson Tide basketball under head coach Nate Oats.

It’s hard to argue with the CBS Sports college basketball analyst. Alabama is once again highly ranked, at No. 11 right now, and is coming off a huge victory over No. 8 Illinois on Wednesday night in Chicago, which wasn’t a true road game but might as well have been, taking place down the road from the Fighting Illini’s campus in Champaign.

The win improved the Crimson Tide’s record to 3-1 early in what shapes up to be another strong season under Oats, who took over in 2019 and has led the program to unprecedented heights. Alabama’s only loss this season came on Nov. 13 at home against then-No. 2 Purdue, which is ranked No. 1 now. So, it was nothing to apologize over, and Oats’s accomplishments during his still-brief time in Tuscaloosa are something to behold.

Including that 3-1 start this season, Oats is 148-64 at Alabama, including a 75-33 record in the SEC. He’s led the Tide to SEC regular-season titles in 2021 and 2023 and to SEC tournament crowns in those same seasons. And, of course, Oats coached Alabama to the only Final Four in program history in 2024.

Sure, that special Crimson Tide team fell just short of winning it all, but just getting this football blue blood to its first Final Four was an incredible accomplishment in itself.

Rothstein has recognized all that and believes things have never been better in T-Town on the hardwood than now under Oats.

“This is now the golden era of Alabama basketball,” said Rothstein, who pointed to that victory on the road over Illinois as just another example of how far Crimson Tide basketball has come. “I got to thinking of the totality of what Nate Oats has done since he took over Alabama’s program in 2019 after an incredible run at Buffalo.”

The “pockets of success” that Alabama enjoyed before Oats got there are no longer just pockets, pointed out Rothstein during his positive rant on the Crimson Tide on Thursday.

“Alabama in my lifetime, in my 20 years of covering college basketball on a national level, has never been a consistent threat to always be on top in the SEC. Alabama has never been a consistent threat to always be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. That has changed under Nate Oats,” Rothstein said.

Here is Rothstein’s full explanation of why this is the golden era of Bama basketball:

The is the Golden Era of Alabama Basketball.https://t.co/c9JLel2QnF (Apple) https://t.co/EsZxIkca32 (Spotify)https://t.co/E3ZIo27MiE pic.twitter.com/ESmGrFYT5X
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 20, 2025

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USC wins triple overtime game with outrageous buzzer-beater

Derek Peterson — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 17:33:34 +0000

It’s not even close to March yet, but college basketball has been madness through the first few weeks of the season. And Thursday night’s slate of games featured one of the most outrageous buzzer-beaters we might see all season.

USC, led by former Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman and former Auburn wing Chad Baker-Mazara, beat Troy in triple overtime to move to 4-0 on the young season. Baker-Mazara scored 34 points in the win, but it was a rotation man off the bench who had the biggest play of the night.

Trojan guard Jordan Marsh, who scored just 6 points and played 16 minutes all game, hit a double-clutch triple at the buzzer to give the home team a 107-106 victory and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1991751620611436671

The final play of the game was unbridled chaos, but that was in keeping with the rest of the evening.

Troy hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds to play in regulation and force overtime. Troy then outscored USC 4-1 in the final 19 seconds of the initial overtime period to force a second overtime.

Troy scored with 22 seconds remaining in the second overtime to tie the game at 89-89. USC had a chance to win it then, but Baker-Mazara missed a layup and Jerry Easter II missed a putback attempt in the final seconds.

In the third overtime, Troy had a 106-102 lead with 59 seconds to play. USC’s Rodney Rice got a quick 2 at the rim to bring the Trojans within a bucket, then Baker-Mazara blocked a dunk attempt at the other end with 19 seconds remaining to give the Trojans a shot at tying the game.

Baker-Mazara missed at the rim, Troy secured the rebound and threw the ball ahead, but Rice stole it and kicked it ahead to Marshall, who threw up the desperation shot at the buzzer.

The Trojans went 17-18 in Musselman’s first season at the helm, missing the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. The Trojans are looking to make the field with a retooled roster. They face Boise State next Monday.

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Tennessee basketball throttles Tennessee State to move to 5-0

Derek Peterson — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 03:09:38 +0000

Behind a dominant defensive performance at home on Thursday night, Tennessee basketball moved to 5-0 on the young season.

The Vols beat Tennessee State 89-60 on their home floor. Five different UT players scored in double figures as the Volunteer offense knocked in 8 triples and 31 free throw attempts. Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the way with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Nate Ament and Amaree Abram each added 15 points.

But the story of the game was the Tennessee defense.

Tennessee forced a season-high 22 turnovers — 12 of which came off steals — and turned those extra possessions into points. They had 13 fastbreak points and 24 points off turnovers. They controlled the boards and limited Tennessee State to 7 second-chance points.

The Tigers shot 32% from the field and just 19% from beyond the 3-point line. They made only 5 triples all game. Tennessee also made more free throws than TSU attempted (25).

Tennessee has held each of its first 5 opponents under 70 points.

With the win, Tennessee has now opened consecutive seasons with 5-0 starts for the first time since 2019 and 2020. The Vols head to Las Vegas on Monday to face Rutgers in the Players Era Men’s Championship.

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Mark Pope gives injury update on Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe

Jake Faigus — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 23:52:05 +0000

Kentucky entered the 2025-26 season with plenty of promise. The Wildcats were ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll and returned last year’s leading scorer, Otega Oweh. After a 24-win debut for coach Mark Pope, more was expected in Year 2.

However, one of their biggest offseason additions — Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe — has been sidelined for most of the year by a shoulder injury suffered in practice.

At a media availability on Thursday, Pope gave an update on Lowe’s status, but stopped short of offering a timetable for his return.

“We’re still in consultation. Still seeing how rehab goes. So, right now, it’s just a matter of can he get to a place where he feels some stability and some strength,” Pope said. “So, I wish I had better answers for you right now, but it really is kind of a day-to-day process to see where he ends up.

“He’s got really good mobility right now, and so it’s just a matter of stability and strength and kind of see what we get and take another swing at it, if we can.”

Lowe made his season debut for Kentucky against Valparaiso on Nov. 7. He played 18 minutes and scored 6 points to go with 5 assists. Lowe played 30 minutes against Louisville, scoring 9 points to go with 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, and 1 rebound.

While he was at Pitt, Lowe averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals a game. He quickly became one of the better guards in the ACC, making him a massive transfer portal pickup for Kentucky.

The Wildcats are coming off an 83-66 loss to Michigan State. They host Loyola (MD) on Friday.

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Starting 5: Kentucky panic time, Cam Boozer makes history and a huge Bama win

Adam Spencer — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to the Starting 5. The Starting 5 is written each week by Adam Spencer to keep you up to date on all the news and events in the world of men’s college hoops. You can follow Adam on X at @AdamSpencer4.

1. Opening Tip

This is why Tom Izzo is a Hall of Famer, y’all.

Seconds before tipoff against Kentucky on Tuesday night at the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden, Izzo and Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope were interviewed by ESPN’s Kris Budden. Coaches rarely say anything detailed or combative during these pregame hits, and this was no different.

Izzo’s note? He wanted to see his team make some shots.

Boy, did the Spartans ever listen to their coach.

By the 7:11 mark in the first half, Michigan State had knocked down 6 3-pointers, more than it had made in any entire game so far this season. Triple No. 7 came 20 seconds later at the 6:51 mark as the Spartans took a 31-19 lead at the under-8 timeout.

Michigan State finished an impressive 11-of-22 from long range. Kentucky shot an abysmal 7-for-30 from deep. There’s always going to be some variance in 3-point percentage on a night-to-night basis, but this game can be explained by something deeper.

It was shot selection that doomed the Wildcats. While Michigan State was playing “inside-out” basketball, getting the ball to the paint before kicking it back out for 3s, Kentucky was settling for contested 3s all too often. Just look at these 2 plays below:

Again, Otega Oweh’s game isn’t playing off of ballscreens/handoffs. It’s a wasted action if he is involved.

No real offense. No penetration. Down 17 points…and you get an Oweh pull-up 3 with 22 seconds on the shot clock.

Why?!?! pic.twitter.com/i7hp7g8mzw
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) November 19, 2025

That’s just bad offense. Even more so when you’re already down by 10+ points and trying to stage a comeback.

Pope said after the game that Kentucky’s problem is bad coaching. That’s something every coach will say after a couple of bad outings, but in this case, I’m inclined to agree with him. Kentucky needs to play more cohesive offense or it is going to struggle in SEC play.

Here’s where I mention that the Wildcats didn’t have Jaland Lowe (and are still without Jayden Quaintance) due to injury, but it shouldn’t have resulted in the lackluster effort I saw on Tuesday night. Rebounds are an effort stat more often than not and the Wildcats got out-rebounded by the Spartans 42-28 in this game. That should be absolutely unacceptable to Pope and his staff.

If you can’t get up for a game at Madison Square Garden, it’s time to press the panic button.

2. SEC Notes

My former college roommate and good friend Robert will text me his random basketball/football thoughts from time to time. I always welcome these texts, but especially when they concern Illinois basketball, as no one in my life is more thoughtful/insightful about our home-state basketball squad than Robert.

Still, my jaw dropped when I saw what he said the Monday before the Illini scored a big-time win over a ranked Texas Tech squad. He said:

“In my opinion, this is their best team since ’04-’05,” his text read.

Mind you, this is an Illinois team that has made it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 twice since that magical 2004-05 season that saw the Illini lose to North Carolina in the national title game.

I say all that to say this…

That was a hell of a win for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

To go to Chicago, walk into the United Center — where Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and company dominated the 1990s — and do that to a great Illini team? Incredible.

This was a Final Four-caliber matchup and it’s only mid-November. These teams like Illinois, like Alabama, like Arizona, like UConn, like Florida, like Gonzaga and dozens of others that use nonconference play to actually challenge themselves? This is what college basketball is all about.

Shoutout to Labaron Philon, who returned to school despite having the ability to potentially be a late first-round pick or early second-round pick in last year’s NBA Draft. He scored a team-high 24 points and also led the Tide with 5 assists in the 90-86 win over the Illini. The NIL era works, y’all!

He made himself a lot of future NBA money with tonight’s win, scoring 10 of the Tide’s final 15 points. Look at this highlight reel:

Labaron Philon with a HUGE performance to lead Alabama over No. 8 Illinois:

24 PTS | 9-18 FG | 3-6 3PT | 5 AST | 25 MINS pic.twitter.com/LuadCnmNva
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 20, 2025

The 3-point shooting? NBA caliber. The finishing at the rim? NBA caliber. The passing? Getting there, but almost NBA caliber. We’ll talk more about Philon in the final section of this column.

Also, credit to the Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide shut down everyone but Kylan Boswell (who my best friend Michael’s wife, Hanna (shoutout, Hanna!), taught back when he was in 5th grade) from the start of the second half until the 10:51 mark of the second half.

It’s odd to give credit to a defense that allowed 86 points, but the Tide forced the Illini to rely on Boswell and Andrej “Baby Peja” Stojakovic almost exclusively in the second half.

The Illini are still trying to work Tomislav Ivisic and Mihailo Petrovic back to full health, so they’ll be even more dangerous in March assuming everyone is healthy by then. But don’t take anything away from this Alabama squad that has challenged itself to the max early this season. The Tide still have Gonzaga and Arizona on their schedule before SEC play starts.

College basketball is the best.

And here are a few other notes from around the SEC:

First of all, it’s always great to have Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas back on the broadcast for big games on ESPN. Those 2 are pro’s pros and really add to the atmosphere of a high-quality matchup. My favorite broadcast team in the men’s hoops game today. Honorable mention goes to Jason Benetti and the legendary Bill Raftery on FOX.
Let’s check in on the reigning champion Florida Gators, shall we? After a season-opening loss to Arizona, the Gators have reeled off 3-straight wins against in-state foes, including winning the “state championship” by beating Florida State and Miami. One problem is beginning to present itself, though — Florida is really struggling to shoot the 3. It all starts with the new-look backcourt of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee. In a 78-76 win over FSU (too close for comfort), the Gators shot 19% as a team from 3-point range and Lee and Fland combined to shoot 3-for-17 from deep (17.6%). In the Miami game? Lee and Fland were a combined 0-for-10 from beyond the arc. That won’t fly in SEC play.
I’m officially worried about the Arkansas Razorbacks. (Interestingly, another SEC team that lost to Michigan State than I’m pressing the panic button on.) The Hogs have won their last 2 games, beating Samford and Winthrop. But they only beat Samford by 4 and needed a heroic shot by Nick Pringle with 11 seconds left to beat Winthrop 84-83. I don’t need to tell you this, reader, but a ranked SEC team shouldn’t need heroics to beat Winthrop. Color me concerned.

Now let’s move on to the rest of the country.

3. Non-SEC Notes

If, for some reason, you are trapped under a rock and haven’t watched Duke play yet this year… first, you clearly have internet access if you’re reading this article, so call for help. Second, make sure to watch Duke freshman Cameron Boozer play basketball ASAP, maybe from your hospital bed as you recover from your injuries/dehydration.

One of 2 sons of former Duke/NBA star Carlos Boozer on this year’s Duke team, Cameron is doing it all for the Blue Devils. In fact, he’s already making history:

Cameron Boozer is first ACC player with at least 100 PTS, 50 REB and 20 AST in a 5-game span since BC’s Craig Smith in March 2006 @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/3yUVJLAeHE
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) November 19, 2025

In case that tweet doesn’t load for you, Boozer is the first ACC player since March of 2006 with 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a 5-game span. That player was Boston College’s Craig Smith.

Smith was a senior in 2006. Boozer is a true freshman.

Oh, and Boozer has done this in his first 5 games. Like his first 5 college games ever. I cannot stress to you how insane it is that a college freshman is already this good. Look at the full-court pass he makes in the highlight video below. That’s on par with Nikola Jokic and Kevin Love, 2 of the best outlet passers the NBA has ever seen:

cam boozer’s processing and calmness when it comes to getting to his spots is special as well as his playmaking feel.

always seems like he’s one step ahead.

all aboard the booze cruisepic.twitter.com/kVZv60buc6
— Paige (@paigeotto_) November 19, 2025

Now, before you think I’m comparing him to Jokic and Love already, he still has a lot of work to do. If there’s one flaw to his game at this point, it’s that you can throw size at him defensively to rattle him a bit. He’s not making a high enough percentage of his shots at the rim:

Cam Boozer is shooting 48 percent at the rim in the half-court (15-31)

Really struggling against length.

He's tried to use his strength to force his way to the rim, but he's not getting much lift on his layups, and his touch has been much worse than in his pre-NCAA sample. pic.twitter.com/A0lKAiARJ9
— Latif Love (@realLatifLove) November 19, 2025

Is this something he can fix? Sure. Is he still a near-lock to be a top-5 2026 NBA Draft pick? Absolutely.

Duke has an incredible nonconference run coming up when it plays Arkansas (Nov. 27), Florida (Dec. 2) and Michigan State (Dec. 6) in 3-straight games. Mark your calendars now, as those games will all be appointment viewing.

Now for some other storylines around the country:

Koa Peat. (I had this in here as a reminder to talk about him, but it really says it all.) Koa Peat. The guy who is the son of former NFL OL Todd Peat and current NFL OL Andrus Peat plays basketball, well… like an offensive lineman. He’s not afraid to mix it up with opposing players:

Things are getting heated in Storrs pic.twitter.com/gNJkreBUbr
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 20, 2025

He is a beast in the paint:

Thought this play from Koa Peat was really cool. Tipped it with his left and then tipped his miss with his right. Fire statpad. pic.twitter.com/SMeHCizZF0
— Dray Mottishaw (@draymottishaw) November 20, 2025

The guy can do it all on the court. Also, shoutout to former Alabama guard Jaden Bradley, who has become a steady veteran presence for the Wildcats this year. They don’t win that game at UConn (71-67) without Bradley’s leadership.
I’d be remiss not to mention the No. 1 team in the country — the Purdue Boilermakers — in this section. I wouldn’t want to be remiss, so let’s talk about Matt Painter’s squad for a second. Purdue’s offense, led by Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and Oscar Cluff, is one of the most-efficient groups you’ll ever see on a court. Per KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings, Purdue (128.3) is 2.4 points better than No. 2 Louisville (125.9). That gap is as big as the gap between Louisville and the No. 6 offense in the country (Vanderbilt). The Boilermakers aren’t just beating up on nobodies, either — they have a true road win at Alabama on their résumé already and face Memphis in the Bahamas on Thursday night. Expect this team to continue its strong run all year long.

Now let’s take a look at the week ahead.

4. Games to Watch This Week

Here’s a ranking of the top 5 games I can’t wait to watch over the next week of college hoops action, which takes us into Feast Week:

No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 13 Gonzaga (Monday, November 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT) — Alabama continues to schedule like absolute maniacs during nonconference play, and I love it. How are you supposed to prepare yourself for SEC play if you beat up on a bunch of nobodies before January comes around? Nate Oats and the Tide have the NCAA Tournament résumé to back up this strategy. This will be a must-see game in Las Vegas. Also, Gonzaga might be No. 13 in the AP Poll, but the Bulldogs are the No. 2 team in the nation according to KenPom.com.
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 20 Tennessee (Tuesday, November 25 at 6 p.m. ET on TNT) — Two teams that have been incredible defensively in recent years and are once again the top 5 of the defensive efficiency ratings on KenPom.com? Sign me up to watch that. This game will teach us a lot about the new-look Vols, who had to replace defensive maestro Zakai Zeigler this offseason.
No. 9 BYU vs. No. 23 Wisconsin (Friday, November 21 at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock) — I admittedly haven’t watched much of AJ Dybantsa yet this year. It appears he’s been as advertised. I can’t wait to watch him in this Friday afternoon matinee. The guy who could end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft should be ready for the national spotlight.
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 22 Auburn (Tuesday, November 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT) — Auburn is coming off a 1-point loss to an elite Houston squad. That loss changed my opinion on the Tigers. I think they’re ready to take a step forward. The Wolverines will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday night if they’re going to remain unbeaten.
No. 14 St. John’s vs. No. 16 Iowa State (Monday, November 24 at 4:30 p.m. ET on truTV) — Zuby Ejiofor wasn’t quite able to get St. John’s over the hump against Alabama, but he was amazing in that game. In addition to having one of the best names, he’s also one of the best players. This should be another fun Feast Week afternoon showcase.

This Feast Week isn’t as meaty as ones in the recent past, but that’s not a huge surprise as more teams move away from preseason tournament (thanks a lot, Dan Hurley). Thankfully the Players Era Festival has some great matchups to keep us entertained all week long.

5. Buzzer Beater

In this spot this week, I just want to do a quick ranking of my 5 favorite 2026 NBA Draft prospects from the SEC. There’s a nice mix of guys who came back to school to go with some talented freshmen. Let’s dive in:

Nate Ament, Tennessee freshman — Any NBA Draft conversation involving the SEC has to start with the talented Tennessee freshman. Being 6-10 and moving the way he does shouldn’t be legal. He has the chance to lead the Tennessee basketball program to new heights this season, and I’d be shocked if he’s not a first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas freshman — As long as Acuff stays healthy this year, he can be what the Hogs thought they were getting in Boogie Fland last year, and could be even better. He’s an elite shooter. His passing is beyond his years. His defense needs to improve, but what freshman’s defense doesn’t? The Razorbacks have something special in Acuff.
Labaron Philon, Alabama sophomore — I was surprised Philon didn’t enter the 2025 NBA Draft, but he returned to school and will be looking to make himself some first-round money this coming summer. So far, it looks like a good decision. Prior to Wednesday night’s game against Illinois, Philon had improved his shooting percentage (45.2 to 54.5), his 3-point percentage (31.5 to 33.3), points per game (10.6 to 19.3) and a bunch of his other numbers from last year to this year. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll be a Round 1 pick.
Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky sophomore — I’m a bit lower on Quaintance than many. I just want to see how he looks in his return from an ACL injury suffered last year at Arizona State. Is that too much to ask? He has a chance to make me look like an idiot if he comes back and is able to build on the impact he was having with the Sun Devils last year. He’s the biggest X-factor in the SEC this year.
Thomas Haugh, Florida junior — Haugh is a Swiss Army Knife who is well-positioned to be drafted in the middle of Round 1 of the upcoming draft. That’s going to be perfect for him, as he could end up being the missing piece for a team that’s on the edge of playoff or title contention. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo currently has Haugh going No. 15 overall to the Boston Celtics. Imagine him stepping into a situation where he’s coming off the bench for a team with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. That would be ideal for the Florida wing.

Honorable mention goes to Tahaad Pettiford of Auburn, who I absolutely love watching every time he’s on the basketball court. However, I think his lack of size (6-1, 170 pounds) will hurt him in NBA circles. I expect him to push to be a late first-round pick, but current consensus seems to have him going early in Round 2.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on X @AdamSpencer4 or email me at a.spencer@sportradar.com.

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Todd Golden surprises Will Richard with national championship ring

Parker Gillam — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 02:30:01 +0000

With Florida‘s basketball team having made a recent trip to Jacksonville to defeat Miami by a score of 82-68, head coach Todd Golden decided to keep the statewide journey going in a special way.

With the program’s 2025 National Championship rings having recently arrived, Golden and assistant coach Carlin Hartman made the short trip down to Orlando in order to surprise current Golden State Warriors guard Will Richard with his piece of jewelry.

Golden and Hartman walked into a team meeting after being introduced by Steve Kerr, who noted that his squad has two former Gators in its midst, both of whom won national titles. Al Horford, a back-to-back champion in 2006 and 2007, is the other.

Florida’s head coach spoke to the Warriors’ players about why he specifically made the trip to see Richard.

“We just finished our third year at Florida, culminating with a national title, and the first young man we brought into our program was Will,” Golden said. “As soon as Will committed with his family, we said that if we were able to go out and build a team with a bunch of guys like Will Richard, we could have a bunch of success in a short amount of time.”

Golden went on to emphasize how Richard was the MVP of the National Championship win over Houston and discuss what he believes the guard can bring to a team when it comes to his selflessness.

“He doesn’t care about who gets the credit,” Golden said.

Will got his ring

Coach Golden and Coach Hartman went down to Orlando to surprise Will Richard with his 2025 National Championship Ring pic.twitter.com/xj83ZugZrD
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 19, 2025

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Kentucky dominated by Michigan State in Champions Classic

Braden Ramsey — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:24:57 +0000

The Kentucky Wildcats have looked the part of a top-10 team when battling mid-major competition this season. When they’ve faced potential Final Four contenders, though? Not so much.

No. 12 Kentucky was beaten up and thrown onto Madison Square Garden’s sidewalk in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night, falling 83-66 to No. 17 Michigan State. The Spartans — who entered the game shooting just 21.7% from 3-point range in 2025 — connected on 50% (11-of-22) of their long-distance attempts against the Wildcats.

Michigan State was DOMINANT against #12 Kentucky

11-22 (50%) 3PT
32-64 (50%) FG
8-10 (80%) FT
+14 on the glass
+12 on assists

Some vintage Michigan State basketball on display tonight pic.twitter.com/FFXIP86ZnA
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) November 19, 2025

Michigan State’s hot shooting obviously didn’t help Kentucky’s chances, but the bigger story was the Wildcats’ lack of physicality. No Kentucky player had more than 4 rebounds; 4 different Spartans recorded at least 5 rebounds. Michigan State also had 25 assists on 32 made shots.

No matter which way you slice it, the Wildcats were utterly dominated in this game. They failed to show the grit and resolve that helped them climb back in the game against Louisville, perhaps because Jaland Lowe was not on the court. It’s also clear that Kentucky’s highly talented players are operating on different wavelengths right now.

ESPN's @KrisBudden reports that Kentucky's players were "barking at each other" in the timeout down 14, prompting Mark Pope to step and tell them to get on the same page.
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) November 19, 2025

Four Wildcats scored in double-figures, though no one had more than 12 points. Otega Oweh led the way with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Michigan State got 20 from Jaxon Kohler on 8-of-12 shooting.

There’s still a lot of time left in the season, but there is definitely cause for concern if you’re Big Blue Nation. Performances like these, when taking on the types of foes you’ll be facing daily once you get into SEC play, can leave even the most optimistic person feeling blue.

For now, BBN must hope the team resolves its issues versus Loyola MD (Nov. 21) and Tennessee Tech (Nov. 26) before hosting North Carolina on Dec. 2.

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Kentucky fans, media blast Mark Pope for disappointing performance vs. Michigan State

Cory Nightingale — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 01:38:21 +0000

Kentucky fans and media didn’t hold back on Tuesday night during and after the Wildcats suffered a beatdown against No. 17 Michigan State on national TV in the Champions Classic.

The 12th-ranked Wildcats lost, 83-66, but it was the way they went down in the ESPN spotlight game at Madison Square Garden. Kentucky fell to 3-2 on the young season, but this was the Wildcats’ second defeat in a showdown situation, with UK also suffering a 96-88 road loss to rival Louisville exactly a week earlier.

It was obvious to everyone watching that Kentucky wasn’t ready from the tip on Tuesday night, with the Wildcats falling behind big in the first half. When halftime mercifully came, Michigan State held a commanding 44-27 lead, and the dazed Wildcats were forced to play from way behind for the rest of the night.

RELATED: Interested in betting on college basketball this season? Here’s a DraftKings Kentucky promo code to help you get started!

That didn’t go well either for head coach Mark Pope and company, and Michigan State improved to 4-0 while Kentucky and its passionate fan base were left to wonder what happened — again. There will be a lot of bad fallout for Pope in the next few days until Kentucky plays again on Friday night at home against Loyola of Maryland.

On Tuesday night though, things got really ugly for Kentucky and specifically for Pope. Here is just a sampling of the criticism from the UK basketball community and college basketball media at-large:

Opponent goes on 20-0 run

Mark Pope: pic.twitter.com/hpXNNgLfVV
— Big Blue Carti (@BigBlueCarti) November 19, 2025

I don't know what Mark Pope was talking about when he said something happened with this group before the Louisville game. He said he'd talk about it down the road. On a night like this, however, Pope's words will only lead to more speculation about what's wrong with this group.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) November 19, 2025

I was recently in a college basketball coach’s office and the first thing they mentioned to me was the cost of Kentucky’s roster. Mark Pope is going to soon learn how much that $22 million figure has made him a target.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 19, 2025

https://twitter.com/KevLukethaGreat/status/1990934535568306673

Mark Pope “Offensive Mastermind” and we have 27 points at the half pic.twitter.com/V0MSdYT2DX
— drew (@drewlockedin) November 19, 2025

Mark Pope after he see’s a lineup that works pic.twitter.com/HfSdL6ZXgk
— Thrill Keightley (@Cincitucky1) November 19, 2025

I don't know whether to put this on Mark Pope or not, but I haven't seen one bit of fire from this Kentucky team this season.
— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher248) November 19, 2025

Maybe it’s just me being picky but I’m trying to see Mark Pope chew some people out on the sideline at certain points. This no emotion style frustrates me even more.
— Tres Terrell (@TerrellTres) November 19, 2025

It’s November 18th and there may be more optimism around Mark Stoops than Mark Pope now.
— Bleed Blue Network (@BleedBNetwork) November 19, 2025

Mark Pope needs to throw the analytical substitution patters in the f’n trash.
— Bleed Blue Network (@BleedBNetwork) November 19, 2025

Mark Pope might’ve assembled the most expensive group of role players oat
— Blue Cain’s Burner (@CookedbyCain) November 19, 2025

If you’re a Kentucky fan and you’re defending this right now, you are COMPLETELY delusional

This team is bad. Mark Pope’s coaching has been atrocious. The subs, the awful defense, running absolutely nothing offensively

Complete roster mismanagement. This is not UK basketball
— tanin smith #BBN (@TaninSmithKK) November 19, 2025

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College Basketball AP Top 25: Alabama, Kentucky drop in new poll after losses

Braden Ramsey — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:19:06 +0000

The college basketball season ramped up last week with multiple big-time non-conference matchups. Unfortunately, some of the SEC’s projected best teams — Kentucky (96-88 at Louisville) and Alabama (87-80 versus Purdue) — picked up their first loss of the year in those battles. They weren’t severely punished in the AP poll for those results, though.

In Monday’s Week 3 AP poll, both Alabama (No. 11) and Kentucky (No. 12) slipped 3 spots from their Week 2 placement. This movement leaves Florida (No. 10) as the SEC’s highest-ranked basketball team in mid-November.

Overall, there are 6 SEC teams in this week’s AP poll. A seventh squad (Vanderbilt) would be ranked No. 28 in the country — based on the “others receiving votes” points — if the poll included that many schools.

Purdue
Houston
UConn
Arizona
Duke
Louisville
Michigan
Illinois
BYU
Florida
Alabama
Kentucky
Gonzaga
St. John’s
Texas Tech
Iowa State
Michigan State
North Carolina
UCLA
Tennessee
Arkansas
Auburn
Wisconsin
Kansas
NC State

Tennessee is the lone undefeated SEC team in the AP poll. The other ranked schools’ lone losses — Arizona, Purdue, Louisville, Michigan State and Houston, respectively — are not bad defeats by any means. However, they have left the conference lacking a marquee non-conference win. Kentucky has a chance to change that when it faces the Spartans in the Champions Classic on Tuesday evening (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Alabama could do the same against Illinois on Wednesday night (9:00 p.m. ET, FS1).

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Kentucky basketball fans: Louisville loss didn’t make the sky fall

Braden Ramsey — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 17:00:00 +0000

Maybe I’m coping. Maybe my (relative) youth just hasn’t given me the perspective of Big Blue Nation’s elder statesmen. Perhaps it’s a combination of both. Regardless, here’s how I feel about Kentucky’s 96-88 loss to Louisville on Tuesday night: unbothered.

Take the name off the jersey. If I told you the Kentucky Wildcats went on the road to play a top-12 team – one boasting what may be the best offense in college basketball – and lost by 8 points, you wouldn’t be this upset.

Heck, when you think about the Wildcats being down 20 points to said team in the second half, and cutting that deficit to merely 4 points with 3:35 remaining in regulation, you’d be thrilled with the grit and resolve demonstrated. Instead, because it’s Louisville, Big Blue Nation is up in arms.

The fact of the matter is this: it was Louisville’s turn to win this game. Since John Calipari was hired as Kentucky’s head coach, the Cardinals have defeated the Wildcats every fourth regular-season matchup. Louisville’s most recent wins in the series:

2012-13 (80-77)
2016-17 (73-70)
2020-21 (62-59)
2025-26* (96-88)

*The Cardinals and Wildcats did not play in 2021-22.

One every 4 years. Kentucky also has 2 NCAA Tournament wins over Louisville – including a Final 4 triumph – in the past 16 years. So, overall, the Wildcats are 14-4 vs. the Cardinals in their last 18 matchups. I simply can’t complain about that record against one of our biggest rivals since I turned 10 years old.

Side note: This year’s matchup was played earlier than any UK-UL battle had ever been played before. It should never have been played this early. College basketball fans across the country know it. Kentucky fans know it. Deep down, Louisville fans know it, too. But I digress.

Part of the reason I feel this way may also be because I know that the Wildcats have, far and away, been the better program, even recently. Think of how much the Wildcats have struggled, for their lofty standard, in the past half-decade. These “dark” years are seasons the Cardinals gladly would have taken. Their Kenny Payne experiment makes Billy Gillespie’s tenure look like a walk in the park.

If there’s something concerning for Kentucky basketball fans to be bothered by, it’s falling off its SEC perch. The Wildcats are no longer actively the big man on campus. They’re the high school jock in his letterman jacket.

Kentucky hasn’t won a regular-season SEC championship post-COVID (2019-20). Its SEC Tournament title drought is even longer: 2017-18 (my freshman year in Lexington). Five SEC schools have appeared in the Elite Eight more recently than the Wildcats. Four have been to the Final 4 since they last reached that hallowed stage.

Watching Tennessee finish with an equal or better SEC record in 4 of the past 5 seasons? Seeing that bright orange advance further in each of the last 4 NCAA Tournaments? That’s more than bothersome. It’s sickening. It’s vomit-inducing, even if it’s just the Vols’ peak surpassing the heights of UK’s valley.

Tuesday night’s result, difficult as it may have been to swallow in the moment, was encouraging. For much of the game, the offense looked clunky. The defense was borderline non-existent. Yet, when crunch time arrived, Kentucky had an opportunity to win on the road against a top-12 foe. One that is, at worst, on par with the best the SEC has to offer in 2025-26.

Would a win over the Cardinals feel better today than a loss? Of course. Do we need to see the Wildcats play better when they face Michigan State in the Champions Classic? And when they tussle with North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana and St. John’s to round out nonconference play? And in SEC competition? Undoubtedly.

At the same time, all that matters is what things look like in March. Every game until then is a testing ground. What does the offense look like when Jaland Lowe has his sea legs under him? How does Jayden Quantaince’s return impact the defensive end of the floor? What kind of forces do Malachi Moreno and Kam Williams develop into over the course of the season? Those questions, and so many others, are still unanswered.

We’re roughly 2 weeks into a 5-month journey. Yeah, little brother got one over on the Wildcats. It’s going to happen from time to time. There’s no point in being bothered by it.

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Nate Oats sounds alarm on Alabama after loss to Purdue

Jacob Moss — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:40:17 +0000

No. 8 Alabama was handed its first loss of the new campaign on Thursday night by No. 2 Purdue, dropping a tightly-contested 87-80 final at home in Coleman Coliseum to the Boilermakers.

One of the biggest factors in the Tide’s loss was their ineffectiveness on the glass, as they were thoroughly dominated in the rebound department on both ends of the floor, with Purdue finishing the night with a 52-28 advantage in total rebounds.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats touched on his team’s lackluster performance on the boards during his postgame presser, stating that they have “issues” in the crucial area that have persisted since the team’s preseason scrimmages.

“We’ve got issues on the glass,” Oats said. “In our exhibition games, we knew it. In our intra-squad scrimmages, we knew it. … We’ve been sounding the alarm on the rebounding deal. We got exposed tonight. Our guys are gonna have to decide whether they want to have a good season, or whether they’re just gonna get out-toughed every game the rest of the year.”

When asked what it would take for his team to fix their early rebounding struggles, Oats told reporters that it all boils down to desire and who wants the ball more.

“At the end of the day, it’s about desire,” Oats said. “You either want the ball or you don’t. … At the end of the day, if you’ve got the size and athleticism and you want to go get a rebound, you’re gonna go get a rebound. We’re gonna have to determine whether we want to be the tougher team.”

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Nate Oats says Purdue embarrassed Alabama in 1 key area

Jacob Moss — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 15:50:03 +0000

The eighth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball program dropped its first game of the new season on Thursday night, falling to the second-ranked Purdue Boilermakers at home 87-80.

One of the biggest reasons for the Tide’s early-season loss to the team that knocked them out of the Final Four a couple of seasons ago was Purdue’s domination of Alabama on the boards. Head coach Nate Oats was none too pleased with the effort on the glass in his postgame presser.

“They’re one of the most disciplined (teams),” Oats said. “They run their stuff in the halfcourt. They know how to attack all your coverages. But, at the end of the day, the tougher team won tonight. They out-rebounded us by 24. That’s embarrassing.

“In life, in sports, the team that plays harder, people that work harder in whatever field they’re in should win. And they won. They deserved to win. They were tougher. My guess is they prepared better coming into the game than we did. And we’re gonna have to fix some stuff.”

In total, the Boilermakers out-rebounded Alabama to the tune of 52-28, and they also collected 19 boards on the offensive glass compared to just 7 for the Tide.

Oats called the offensive glass a “major problem” his team has to get sorted out if they want to beat the nation’s best.

“We’ve got major problems on the backboard. Their starting frontcourt had 24 rebounds. Our starting frontcourt had 6. That’s a problem,” Oats said. “Until we figure out how to make tougher plays, rebound the basketball at a much higher level, we’re going to have a hard time beating the best teams in the country.”

Alabama plays No. 14 Illinois next Wednesday in Chicago.

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Alabama bullied inside by Boilermakers in 87-80 defeat

Derek Peterson — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 02:54:40 +0000

Alabama went cold from beyond the arc in the second half of Thursday night’s early-season top-10 battle with Purdue. As a result, the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide faded late and dropped an 87-80 result to the second-ranked Boilermakers.

The loss is Alabama’s first of the season.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” coach Nate Oats said after the game.

Aden Holloway led the Tide with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Labaron Philon added 11 points and 7 assists, though he shot just 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3. Taylor Bol Bowen had 13 points, and Aiden Sherrell added 12.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. struggled in the loss, going 2-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-6 from 3 to finish with 6 points. He missed his last 4 shots from the field in the game, though his cold night was hardly isolated. Alabama went 6-for-23 from beyond the arc in the second half.

That helped Purdue, which held a 2-point lead at the break, inch ahead. The Boilermakers closed on a 7-0 run to win.

Alabama had no answers for Braden Smith or Trey Kaufman-Renn. Smith took 12 free throws, making 10 of them, and knocked down 5 triples to finish with a game-high 29 points. Kaufman-Renn flirted with a triple-double, posting 19 points to go with 15 rebounds and 5 assists.

More specifically, Alabama had no answers for Purdue in the painted area. The Boilermakers took 23 free throws compared to Alabama’s 10. They outscored the Tide in the paint 30-22. And, perhaps most importantly, they outrebounded the Tide 52-28.

That included 19 offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second-chance points. Eight of Kaufman-Renn’s boards came on the offensive glass.

“They outrebounded us by 24,” Oats said. “That’s embarrassing.”

Still, the Tide had a chance late. Philon flushed through a slam with 3:05 to play in the game, drawing the Tide within 3 points of the Boilermakers. That was the last shot attempt Alabama took inside the arc in the game.

The Tide’s final 5 attempts all came from beyond the arc. A triple from Houston Mallette with 1:42 to play tied the game at 80.

Smith got a shot at the rim to go 24 seconds later to put Purdue up by a score. Philon then missed the front end of a one-and-one and Alabama fouled Smith late in the ensuing Purdue possession. Smith made both of his foul shots to put Purdue up 4 with 47 seconds to play.

Alabama missed a triple on its next possession and had to play the foul game late. Purdue’s Oscar Cluff made 3 of 4 free throws to put the game away.

The Tide travel to Big Ten country next. They’ll face Illinois next Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the United Center in Chicago. The Illini are 3-0 on the season and currently ranked 14th in the AP poll.

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South Carolina basketball lands commitment from 4-star guard

Derek Peterson — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 01:56:01 +0000

South Carolina has landed a verbal commitment from Cleveland (Ohio) Garfield Heights point guard Marcus Johnson.

Johnson revealed his pledge to multiple outlets on Thursday. A one-time Ohio State commit, Johnson was drawing interest from programs like Louisville, Michigan, Tennessee, and Arkansas, among others. He is the cousin of current South Carolina senior Meechie Johnson.

Breaking: Marcus Johnson, the No. 28 ranked player in the SC Next 100 for the Class of 2026, has committed to South Carolina, he told ESPN's Paul Biancardi. pic.twitter.com/CI5TnVPAXA
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) November 13, 2025

The 6-foot-2 Johnson is a 4-star recruit in the 2026 class. In the industry-generated 247 Composite, Johnson is the fourth-ranked point guard prospect. He is the third-ranked recruit from the state of Ohio and the 47th-ranked recruit in the class.

Johnson is the reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball following a dynamic junior season for Garfield Heights. Johnson averaged 29.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.2 steals a game for Garfield Heights, which went 24-3 and advanced to the Division III state semifinals.

He becomes South Carolina’s second known 2026 pledge, joining guard Isaac Ellis, brother of Gamecocks freshman Eli Ellis.

For coach Lamont Paris, it’s turning into a family affair in Columbia. Meechie Johnson currently leads the 3-0 Gamecocks in scoring at 18.7 points a night. Eli Ellis leads the team in assists with 4 per game. Adding Marcus Johnson alongside Ellis would give Paris a dynamic backcourt led by a pair of guards who can handle the ball, run an offense, or create for themselves.

https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1953177359563047399

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Key Kentucky basketball guard reportedly picks up injury

Derek Peterson — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:43:59 +0000

Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe injured his right shoulder during Thursday’s team practice, according to a report from KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

The severity of the injury is unknown, according to KSR. However, the injury is said to be to the same shoulder that forced Lowe out of the lineup for the Wildcats’ 2 exhibition games and their season-opener against Nicholls.

Lowe made his season debut for Kentucky against Valparaiso on Nov. 7. He played 18 minutes and scored 6 points to go with 5 assists. Lowe played 30 minutes against Louisville on Tuesday, providing 9 points to go with 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, and 1 rebound.

Kentucky (2-1) played Eastern Illinois on Friday.

Lowe transferred to Kentucky this offseason after spending 2 years at Pitt. He started in 50 of his 64 appearances for the Panthers across those 2 seasons. As a sophomore, he developed into one of the ACC’s best guards, averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals a game.

That made him one of the prized transfer portal recruits of the offseason. Kentucky coach Mark Pope brought in Lowe as part of a retooled backcourt.

It’s not immediately clear how much time Lowe will be forced to miss, but the setback is undoubtedly disappointing for the Wildcats. Kentucky has a neutral-site game against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 18. The Wildcats also have nonconference games against North Carolina, Gonzaga, and St. John’s over the course of the next month.

SEC play begins on Jan. 3 when the Wildcats visit Alabama.

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Nate Oats announces Alabama freshman is out indefinitely with a medical condition

Derek Hryn — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 20:56:18 +0000

Alabama basketball will be without one of its young big men as it gears up for a major early-season test. Head coach Nate Oats announced Wednesday that freshman center Collins Onyejiaka will be out indefinitely with a medical condition, while forward Keitenn Bristow remains doubtful for Thursday’s home matchup against No. 2 Purdue.

The update leaves Alabama thin in the frontcourt heading into a showdown with one of college basketball’s most dominant post presences in Zach Edey. Onyejiaka, a four-star signee from The Newman School in Boston, saw action in the Crimson Tide’s first two games as a reserve. Bristow, meanwhile, has been sidelined since rolling his ankle in practice before the season opener and has yet to make his regular-season debut.

Nate Oats said freshman center Collins Onyejiaka will be out indefinitely with a "medical condition."

He also said Keitenn Bristow is doubtful for tomorrow's game vs. Purdue.
— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) November 12, 2025

With both players expected to sit, Alabama will turn to Aiden Sherrell, Noah Williamson, Taylor Bol Bowen, and London Jemison to handle frontcourt duties. The Tide enter the matchup 2-0, coming off a road win over No. 5 St. John’s, while Purdue also stands at 2-0.

No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 2 Purdue tips off at 7 p.m. ET Thursday inside Coleman Coliseum, with national coverage on ESPN2.

Interested in wagering on the Alabama-Purdue showdown? Here’s a look at the latest prediction market at Kalshi:

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Kentucky comeback bid falls short in loss to Louisville

Luke Greco — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:53:30 +0000

Kentucky attempted a furious comeback late, but the Wildcats faded in the closing minutes on Tuesday night in a 96-88 loss at rival Louisville.

The ninth-ranked Wildcats were down by as many as 20 points in the second half, yet they continued to battle. With 12:24 left to play, the 12th-ranked Cardinals led 78-58. Kentucky would go on a run over the next 8 minutes, and a Collin Chandler 3-pointer brought the game within 4 for the Wildcats with just over 4 minutes left to play. Louisville finished the final 4 minutes on an 8-4 run and got the win.

Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. led the way for the Cardinals with 29 points and 5 assists on 50% shooting. Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell also added 24 points.

The Wildcats were led by Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen, who scored 26 points to go with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 50% from the field and 40% from behind the 3-point line. Chandler and Otega Oweh also added 12 points each to the Wildcats’ totals.

The Wildcats are now 2-1 on the season and will be looking to bounce back against Eastern Illinois when they host them on Friday, Nov. 14, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Louisville remains perfect on the season at 3-0 and will look to stay undefeated when it hosts the Ohio Bobcats this Saturday, Nov. 15, at 12 p.m. ET.

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College Basketball AP Top 25: Alabama leads 6 SEC teams in new poll

Andrew Olson — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 21:46:51 +0000

The new AP Top 25 is out after the opening week of the college basketball season, and there have been some notable changes.

Houston is the new No. 1 team in the land, overtaking Purdue. The Cougars, last season’s runner-up, are off to a 2-0 start. The Boilermakers were dinged for only defeating Oakland 87-77.

There has also been an SEC shakeup. Alabama is now the highest-ranked conference squad, sitting at No. 8 after starting the 2025-26 campaign 2-0. Nate Oats’ team picked up a 103-96 win over then-No. 5 St. John’s on Saturday in Madison Square Garden. Rick Pitino’s squad dropped to No. 13 with the early-season loss.

Defending national champion Florida began the season as the SEC’s highest-ranked squad at No. 3. The Gators, however, stumbled out of the gate, losing to Arizona in Las Vegas. UF bounced back with a lopsided home win over UNF and checks in at No. 10 in the new poll.

Here’s the full top 25, including 6 SEC teams:

Houston
Purdue
UConn
Duke
Arizona
Michigan
BYU
Alabama
Kentucky
Florida
Texas Tech
Louisville
St. John’s
Illinois
UCLA
Iowa State
Michigan State
North Carolina
Gonzaga
Tennessee
Arkansas
Auburn
Creighton
Wisconsin
Kansas

Others receiving votes:

NC State 87, San Diego St. 67, Indiana 45, Oregon 43, Vanderbilt 37, Ohio St. 17, Baylor 14, Southern Cal 12, Kansas St 5, Missouri 4, Mississippi 4, Mississippi St. 3, Georgia 2, Stanford 1, Oklahoma St. 1, Texas 1, Georgetown 1, Utah St. 1, Iowa 1, Virginia Tech 1.

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Former Arkansas play-by-play broadcaster Mike Nail passes away

Cory Nightingale — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:30:02 +0000

Former Arkansas radio play-by-play announcer Mike Nail, who was the voice of a legendary era of Razorbacks basketball, died on Saturday at the age of 80.

For those fans who experienced the glory of the Nolan Richardson era in Fayetteville, Nail’s descriptions are synonymous with those incredible Hogs teams. Included during Nail’s nearly 30-year run was Arkansas’s national championship in 1994 as well as Final Four appearances in 1990 and 1995.

Those relentless Razorback teams captured the imagination of a passionate fan base, and Nail was the radio voice behind all of those victories. During Nail’s glorious run, Arkansas won 11 regular-season or tournament titles in both the old Southwest Conference and later the SEC.

The official social media account of the Razorbacks paid tribute to Nail with this post on Sunday:

https://twitter.com/ArkRazorbacks/status/1987616764776395082

According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Nail died at his home in Fayetteville after recently being placed in hospice care following his battle with cancer.

For 29 years, Nail provided the radio calls for Arkansas basketball until he retired at the end of the 2009-10 season.

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Michigan State holds off Arkansas for early-season statement win

Derek Peterson — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 02:40:33 +0000

Michigan State didn’t hit a shot from the field over the final 6:02 of Saturday’s early-season battle with Arkansas. But the Razorbacks missed 6 of their final 7 shot attempts from the floor, including a last-second attempt from Trevon Brazile to try and tie the game late.

As was the case for most of his evening, Brazile was off. His 3-point try with 2 seconds remaining missed everything. No. 22 Michigan State took over possession and escaped with a 69-66 victory.

Brazile was a force in his season debut for the 14th-ranked Razorbacks on Monday. He scored 25 points, grabbed 11 boards, and made 8 of his 14 shot attempts in the Hogs’ 109-77 win over Southern.

On Saturday night, he crashed back down to earth.

Brazile picked up 2 early fouls that limited him to 8 first-half minutes. He took just 1 shot attempt from the field, which missed, and went into the break with as many turnovers (1) as points.

After a lengthy review in the closing seconds of the game gave Arkansas possession with less than 5 seconds remaining on the clock, Brazile caught an inbounds lob out beyond the 3-point line on the right wing. With a defender draped on him and little time to do much else, Brazile put up a shot that was more a prayer than anything else.

It missed. He finished 1-for-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from 3-point range, managing just 3 points and 2 rebounds. Four personal fouls limited Brazile to just 19 minutes on the floor.

Arkansas forward Nick Pringle also fouled out in 28 minutes, finishing with 6 points and 7 boards.

Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas each scored 16 points. Acuff took 16 shots to get there while Thomas took 15. As a team, Arkansas shot just 39.3% from the floor and 25% from 3. They also missed 8 free throws in the game.

Michigan State was ice-cold from 3, only making 1 of 14 all night. Cameron Ward led the way with 18 points and 10 boards. MSU controlled the boards and won the paint battle, 46-28.

Arkansas will look to bounce back against Central Arkansas at home on Tuesday. MSU faces San Jose State before a game against Kentucky on Nov. 18. The college basketball season is just getting started, but Saturday’s result is the one that could matter when March Madness rolls around.

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Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway fuel massive Alabama win over No. 5 St. John’s

Ethan Stone — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 19:32:41 +0000

Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway were everywhere for Alabama during the Crimson Tide’s elite win over No. 5 St. John’s on Saturday. The Tide and Red Storm gave fans an excellent, competitive show of the first Saturday slate of the season, but Alabama ultimately came out on top 103-96.

The Crimson Tide guard duo was absolutely crucial for the Tide in what felt like an Elite 8 atmosphere at Madison Square Garden. Let’s start with Philon, who finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-17 shooting while turning it over just once.

But don’t discredit Holloway’s afternoon, either. The junior Alabama guard added 21 points on 9-18 shooting from the field, and that’s despite being unusually cold from 3. In what was a back-and-forth 2nd half, Holloway’s late push gave Alabama a cushion that Philon took and ran with in the final minutes.

Holloway also hit this 3 as the first half expired, giving Alabama some momentum heading to the locker room:

https://twitter.com/TheFieldOf68/status/1987219703723405516

St. John’s is a 2nd weekend NCAA Tournament squad at minimum, folks. If it isn’t obvious already, the guard play for this Alabama team is very, very real.

Alabama is more than a few elite guards, too. We have to mention Taylor Bol Bowen’s effort on both ends, especially in the second half. The 6-10 Florida State transfer is an intriguing prospect and had a huge sequence with around 7 minutes remaining in the game, giving Alabama a lead on one end and blocking a St. John’s attempt at the rim on the other. Bol Bowen finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

We’ll learn more about the Crimson Tide across their next 3 games, which just has to be the toughest stretch any team plays this season: Purdue, at Illinois and vs. Gonzaga in Las Vegas.

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Mark Pope assigned to jury duty ahead of Kentucky vs. Louisville clash

David Wasson — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 19:04:04 +0000

Being summoned for jury duty is inopportune for almost everyone, as it takes time away from work or family or both.

For Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope, well, being summoned for jury duty could take him away from preparing for the ninth-ranked Wildcats’ upcoming matchup Monday night against No. 11 Louisville (8 pm ET, ESPN).

“I got a notice that I have to go do jury duty,” Pope said on Wildcat Wrap Up after Kentucky downed Valparaiso 107-59 on Friday night. “Apparently, I have to call in starting tomorrow every day at 4:30 pm, to see if I get assigned to jury duty – which is semi-inconvenient. But I do love this Commonwealth and love this state and want to do my part. So… we will see how this goes.”

Pope seemed in the proper civic spirit about the entire thing, given that his team is ranked inside the Top 10 and faces the cross-state battle against the Cardinals along with taking on Eastern Illinois on Wednesday and No. 22 Michigan State next Saturday.

“I think I am going to jump on Instagram Live every day at 4:30 pm and invite anybody to see what happens. ‘Am I showing up at the courthouse?’ It is going to be awesome,” Pope said with a smile. “I actually don’t know what I am hoping for. We will see. It’s going to be a great week”

Mark Pope reveals he's been summoned for jury duty the same week Kentucky plays at Louisville. From Wildcat Wrap Up presented by New Vista. pic.twitter.com/sJwfOFH2Mo
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) November 8, 2025

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Florida bigs dominate, and make history, as Gators notch first win

Derek Peterson — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:07:32 +0000

Florida nearly doubled up on the visiting North Florida Ospreys in the first half. At the break, the third-ranked Gators led 52-28. And they never looked back.

Thanks to a record-setting day from Florida’s collection of bigs, the Gators trounced the Ospreys 104-64 to earn their first victory of the 2025-26 season.

Alex Condon scored 25 points in 26 minutes to lead all scorers. He also grabbed 10 boards, dished 4 assists, blocked 3 shots, and came up with 2 steals. Micah Handlogten came off the bench to record his second double-double in as many games to open the campaign, finishing with 17 points and 13 boards. Thomas Haugh scored 12 points to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Rueben Chinyelu had 8 points and 9 boards.

“We imposed our wills,” said coach Todd Golden after the game.

In the blowout win, Florida also got a chance to insert 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux into the game. When Rioux entered with 2:09 to go in the second half, he made history as the tallest person ever to play in a basketball game.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1986638332378411296

“I talked to the guys at halftime when we’re up 24 and I expressed to them the importance of getting off to a really good start so we can get some of the younger guys and some of the guys from down on the bench an opportunity to play,” Golden said after the game. “I think [Rioux] was pretty excited. It was pretty neat for him to finally see the floor.”

Because of Florida’s frontcourt depth, the redshirt freshman’s minutes will be sporadic this season. He played just 2 minutes Thursday night.

With a player like Condon leading the charge, the Gators have a star to anchor the frontcourt.

Condon was held to 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the season-opening loss to Arizona. He committed 6 turnovers and fouled out in 29 minutes. He also missed 3 free throws. On Thursday, he made 8 of his 12 shots from the field and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe. He only turned it over once and didn’t pick up a single foul.

“He wasn’t feeling sorry for himself and making excuses. He was just, ‘Let me get back to it, get back to what I know.’ I thought he did a great job of letting the game come to him, being aggressive when he needed to,” Golden said. “This is an insane All-American level type of night. We were all disappointed with how Monday went, but I thought he answered the bell.”

Florida hosts Florida State next Tuesday.

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Tennessee basketball announces future series with Big Ten power

Mark Kern — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:49:45 +0000

Under Rick Barnes, Tennessee basketball has become one of the most consistent programs in college basketball. The Volunteers have done a tremendous job of challenging themselves in the non-conference, as Barnes has shown that he will play anybody, anywhere.

On Wednesday, Barnes showed just that as the Volunteers announced that they will be doing a home-and-home series with Purdue. Next year’s game will be at the Mackey Arena, with the return game being in Knoxville in 2027.

announcing a home-and-home series with Purdue, starting next season

• Dec. 12, 2026 — Mackey Arena
• Dec. 11, 2027 — Food City Center

details → https://t.co/YMOdS28qbw pic.twitter.com/queWu8eY5S
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) November 5, 2025

There isn’t a ton of travel for the two teams, as Knoxville and West Lafayette are just over 400 miles away from each other. Despite the close proximity, the two schools have played only seven times, with Purdue winning five of the games.

The last time that the Volunteers and Boilermakers played was in the Elite Eight in 2024, with Purdue winning the game 72-65.

Both of the teams figure to be in contention for another Elite Eight appearance during this season. The Boilermakers are the preseason No. 1 team in college basketball, while the Volunteers are currently ranked 18th.

The Volunteers are 1-0 after beating Mercer 76-61 on Monday, while the Boilermakers won their season-opener against Evansville 82-51 on Tuesday night.

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YouTube TV-ESPN dispute: How to watch Texas vs. Duke basketball game

Spenser Davis — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:10:59 +0000

The 2025-26 college basketball season is off and running. Opening day for most teams across the country was on Monday, but several high-profile teams — like Duke and Texas — will make their season debuts on Tuesday evening.

Unfortunately, college basketball fans who subscribe to YouTube TV will have to find an alternative way to watch this game. Due to an ongoing financial dispute between Google and Disney, ESPN channels are currently not available on YouTube TV.

Saturday’s game between the Blue Devils and Longhorns is set to be broadcast on ESPN.

How to stream Texas vs. Duke basketball

Fortunately for fans still hoping to watch this game, there are alternatives to YouTube TV.

SlingTV is currently offering a “day pass” for its “Orange” package that costs just $4.99. The Orange package includes ESPN, ESPN 2, TNT and numerous other channels.

Here’s what you need to know for the Texas-Duke matchup:

Tipoff time: 8:45 p.m. ET
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: ESPN via SlingTV

Anyone looking for a short-or-long-term solution could also consider signing up with FuboTV. Fubo is currently offering new customers a free trial period when they sign up.

Texas vs. Duke betting odds

Duke is a significant favorite over the Longhorns, according to the betting markets. The Blue Devils have a sure-fire top-5 pick in Cameron Boozer as well as a roster that’s filled with other potential NBA Draft selections.

Texas, meanwhile, is entering what seems to be a rebuild under first-year head coach Sean Miller. The Longhorns were predicted to finish 9th in the SEC’s preseason poll, so they appear to still be on track to contender for an NCAA Tournament bid this season.

Here’s a look at the latest betting odds for this season-opener:

Texas vs. Duke basketball history

Duke has never lost to the University of Texas in men’s basketball. The Blue Devils have won all 5 meetings in this series. That includes one March Madness win for Duke — a 74-69 result that put the Blue Devils into the Sweet 16 back in 2009.

Duke and Texas last played in 2018 in Portland, Oregon. Duke won 85-78.

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Florida falls to Arizona in top-15 season-opening showdown

Andrew Olson — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 02:43:57 +0000

Florida ended the 2024-25 season by winning its last 12 games to take the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. The Gators will have to start a new winning streak.

The defending national champions started the 2025-26 season with a big test and came up short. No. 13 Arizona defeated No. 3 UF 93-87 on Monday night in Las Vegas.

Todd Golden’s team got off to a strong start. The Gators opened up a 12-point lead in the 1st half, going up 32-20 in the opening period. Arizona, though, was able to get going and get the Wildcat fans in Vegas involved in the game. The Gators would lead for the last time 41-39 at the 4:23 mark in the first period.

Arizona’s Koa Peat had a sensational collegiate debut. He was the game’s high-scorer with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 at the line. Peat also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Guard Jaden Bradley had 27 points for Tommy Lloyd’s team, leading the way down the stretch.

The Wildcats led by as many as 9 points, including an 85-76 advantage with 2:20 to go. Florida, however, didn’t go away quietly. The Gators cut the deficit to 90-87 with 29 seconds to go, but were unable to score again.

Florida entered the season with questions of how it would replace Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin. Transfers Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee are the new starting guards.

Lee was 5-of-17 from the field and 3-of-11 behind the 3-point line, adding 1 free throw for 14 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Fland finished in single digits, scoring 9 points on 3-of-9 field goals, going 0-for-2 from 3-point range. He added 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Returning big Thomas Haugh did his best to keep the Gators in the game. He scored a team-high 27 points, including 16 in the 2nd half.

The Gators lost Alex Condon (11 points, 4 rebounds) and Rueben Chinyelu (4 points, 1 rebound) to foul trouble during the game. Big man Micah Handlogten led the way with 12 rebounds.

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Florida C Rueben Chinyelu has to switch numbers after jersey ripped up against Arizona

Andrew Olson — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 01:03:08 +0000

Rueben Chineylu had to make a uniform change in the first game of the 2025-26 season.

In the first half of Florida vs. Arizona in Las Vegas, UF’s starting center had to get the attention of the officials to inform them that the front of his jersey had been completely ripped off. Though there was obvious contact, no foul was called.

Rueben Chinyelu's Florida jersey was "completely torn off the front" against Arizona.

Brian Andreson and Grant Hill with the call for TNT Sports. pic.twitter.com/aPZFJlK0DS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 4, 2025

Chinyelu’s normally wears jersey No. 9. He’ll be wearing No. 34 the rest of the night after the tear. Reporter Andy Katz noted on the TNT broadcast that the Gator staff brought 1 backup jersey and 2 pairs of shorts.

Florida trails Arizona 50-46 at the half after leading by 12 points in the early going. Chinyelu played 12 minutes in the half, logging 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting with 1 rebound.

We’ll see if Chinyelu and the No. 3 Gators can make a second-half comeback against the No. 13 Wildcats.

Looking to bet on the Gators and more? Check out the SDS guide to Florida sports betting apps so you can get in on the action today!

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