College Basketball

MANHATTAN — A frustrated Jerome Tang called out his players’ effort and toughness after their embarrassing loss to Bowling Green, sounding the alarm eight games into the Kansas State basketball season. The Wildcats won their first five games and have now lost their last three, with difficult matchups on the horizon. There is a real possibility that the Wildcats could …

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gicarri Harris let his hand hang in the air a bit on the follow-through, Purdue basketball’s sophomore guard finally feeling the surge for the first time this season. Late in the first half of the No. 1 Boilermakers’ 81-65 victory at Rutgers, his 3-pointer provided the final flourish on a fast break. The season’s first few weeks …

LEXINGTON, Ky. — There was no fear, no hesitation, no thought of failure in front of more than 20,000 rabid fans inside Rupp Arena. When the moments arrived, UNC basketball freshman Derek Dixon snatched them and sent a sea of blue — Big Blue Nation — to the exits in the final seconds. Over the course of 53 seconds in …

This episode of The C.L. Brown Show features ESPN senior college basketball reporter Myron Medcalf to talk Louisville basketball’s first road trip of the season at Arkansas and what Kentucky basketball needs to do to get rolling. Medcalf tells why he doesn’t yet have the Cardinals listed among his Final Four/national title contenders. He explains why UofL coach Pat Kelsey has nothing …

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gicarri Harris let his hand hang in the air a bit on the follow-through, Purdue basketball’s sophomore guard finally feeling the surge for the first time this season. Late in the first half of the No. 1 Boilermakers’ 81-65 victory at Rutgers, his 3-pointer provided the final flourish on a fast break. The season’s first few weeks …

EUGENE, Ore (AP) — Chad Baker-Mazara scored 25 points and Jacob Cofie added 17 as No. 24 USC defeated Oregon 82-77 on Tuesday night in a Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. USC, which entered the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time in more than two years, improved to 8-0 to continue its best start since …

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — UConn fans had been eagerly anticipating the day Braylon Mullins could truly step onto the court for them. The five-star freshman rewarded their patience when the Huskies needed it most. Advertisement Mullins hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 17 points, blocked a layup by Kansas guard Jamari McDowell in the closing seconds, then sealed fifth-ranked …

LEXINGTON — There’s no such thing as a “learning how to win” statistic. It’s empirical. An intangible quality. Some teams intrinsically possess this trait — finding a path to victory in spite of struggles. To this point, early in its 2025-26 season, Kentucky basketball hadn’t proven it could do that. Advertisement UK had beaten five opponents (Nicholls, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Loyola …

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter’s ability to keep a nucleus together for four years helped the Boilermakers grow into the nation’s No. 1 team and a national championship favorite. Painter, though, is under no pretense that’s an easy thing to pull off. When asked about Rutgers playing six freshmen against Purdue on Tuesday, he agreed the youth …

“It was the basis of my career,” Michael Jordan said. Michal Jordan’s love of the game was the focus of the latest “MJ: Insights to Excellence” conversation with Mike Tirico, which aired Tuesday as part of NBC’s coverage of the 2025-26 NBA season. Jordan talked about how his passion for the game was the foundation for everything. It was that …

Pharrel Payne is an unstoppable force against low-major teams. The center averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 29 minutes per game against Coppin State and Alcorn State, the two he’d played against entering Tuesday. But the senior saved his best for Wagner, the final low-major opponent of his career. On a night where Maryland men’s basketball was a shell …

Syracuse (5-3) defeated No. 13 Tennessee (7-2), 62-60, Tuesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York. Tennessee suffered its second consecutive loss after finishing in fourth place in the Players Era Championship. The Vols lost to Kansas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advertisement The Orange led Tennessee, 32-30, at halftime. Jaylen Carey, a Vanderbilt transfer, scored …

Tennessee’s big win over Houston feels like forever ago. Syracuse shut down No. 13 Tennessee in the second half on Tuesday night and held on in the final seconds to pick up a huge 62-60 upset win. The victory, part of the ACC-SEC Challenge, is easily the Orange’s biggest of the season. It also snapped a three-game losing skid, and …

Colorado basketball is off to arguably its best start in program history, sitting at 8-0 before a pivotal road matchup against Colorado State this upcoming Saturday. The Buffaloes have three solid wins against San Francisco, Washington, and, most recently, Cal Baptist. Other wins have come against lower-ranked competition. Advertisement Colorado’s offense has propelled them to a stellar start, averaging over 90 …

I’m not a “fire them all” type of writer or sports fan. I have family in the college coaching profession, and they’ve been fired…multiple times, it’s never fun. In fact, K-State fired my uncle (along with everyone else on the Stan Parrish staff) in 1988, ending their stay in Manhattan. Hell, the one thing a decade of coaching at the …

Kentucky basketball (5-2) will face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1) Tuesday night in a high-stakes matchup at Rupp Arena, looking to prove themselves after two disappointing losses to Louisville and Michigan State. The Wildcats have shown flashes of brilliance but have struggled in their biggest games, leaving fans and analysts questioning their consistency. Kentucky will likely be …

J.P. Estrella is out for Tennessee basketball at Syracuse with a right ankle injury, UT announced prior to the Dec. 2 game. The sophomore forward sustained the injury in Tennessee’s 81-76 loss to Kansas on Nov. 26 in the Players Era Festival. Advertisement Estrella is averaging 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. The No. 13 Vols …

J.P. Estrella is out for Tennessee basketball at Syracuse with a right ankle injury, UT announced prior to the Dec. 2 game. The sophomore forward sustained the injury in Tennessee’s 81-76 loss to Kansas on Nov. 26 in the Players Era Festival. Advertisement Estrella is averaging 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. The No. 13 Vols …

On Monday night at the CU Events Center, two undefeated teams battled it out in what looked like an NCAA tournament game. The Buffaloes fended off a 7-0 Cal Baptist to win 78-70 and move to 8-0 in the young season. It became the first time in 76 years (since 1949-50) to start the season with eight straight wins. Advertisement …

We’re just a few weeks away from conference play in the college basketball season, and a major story thus far has surrounded the health status of Kansas freshman and projected No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson. Peterson has missed all but two games for Kansas this season. And that trend is going to continue for at least one more game. Advertisement …

After a very successful trip to Vegas and the Players Era “Tournament,” Kansas returns to the old barn to host UConn in a marquee non-conference matchup. Kansas will reportedly be without star freshman Darryn Peterson for a seventh straight game; Peterson is recovering from a hamstring injury. Bill Self noted that Peterson is “very close” and “still not 100 percent. …

USC men’s basketball has started off the 2025-2026 season strong, getting out to a 7-0 record, including winning the Maui Invitational championship last week. It appears as though the national audience has taken notice, as for the first time under head coach Eric Musselman, the Trojans are ranked in the top 25. USC came in at No. 24 in the …

The first NET rankings of the season are our and, as expected, Purdue is among the nation’s elite teams. The hot stretch for Michigan in Las Vegas has the Wolverines at No. 1, but Purdue is currently third with a chance to take over the top spot in the next few weeks. Saturday’s game alone looks big, as it is …

Tonight’s coverage on Peacock features a Big Ten men’s basketball thriller as the Iowa Hawkeyes head to Michigan State to take on the Spartans. Both teams are undefeated after seven games, but only one can keep its streak alive. Live coverage begins at 6:30 PM ET. See below for additional information on how you can follow all of the college …

Thanksgiving is a great time to be a college basketball fan with all the holiday tournaments and marquee matchups. The feast of high-level hoops doesn’t end there. This week features another trove of must-see games, including 10 between AP Top 25 opponents. No. 4 Duke, No. 6 Louisville and No. 18 Kentucky double up on tough games, each playing two …