College Basketball

What better place to spend your Thanksgiving break than on Florida’s sunny Gulf Coast? That’s exactly what the UNC basketball team will be doing. North Carolina begins its challenging, 2-game slate in the Fort Myers Invitational on Tuesday evening, facing the undefeated St. Bonaventure Bonnies at 6 p.m. The Tar Heels (5-0) rolled through their first five opponents with little …

There’s much to be gleaned from Maryland men’s basketball’s trip to Las Vegas. Not only do the Terps play twice in as many days, but the team is also set to square off against their first ranked opponent this season. The Terps passed their first test against UNLV, a game in which the Terps trailed at half but cleaned up …

Pat Kelsey likes to be innovative. Fortunately for Louisville basketball, he is not above copying a good idea. Kelsey’s willingness to embrace what’s next is a good bit responsible for the Cardinals being ranked fifth in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. His embrace of advanced analytics is now on display on the KFC Yum! Center interior scoreboard for his …

DAYTONA BEACH — After grabbing an offensive rebound and drawing a foul while trying to put it back up, Kanaan Carlyle laid on the floor and smiled. Florida Atlantic teammates Devin Williams and Devin Vanterpool came over and feted the junior guard with a few fake punches before helping him up. Carlyle stepped to the free-throw line and nailed both …

Maryland men’s basketball fans had every right to fear an extended absence of big man Pharrel Payne. The senior was taken off in a stretcher in the team’s contest against Marquette just a week and a half ago with a lower body injury. But it didn’t take long for him to come back and give the Terps exactly what they …

On Day 1 of the Players Era Festival tournament in Las Vegas, Michigan basketball hit a royal flush The No. 6 Wolverines manhandled San Diego State on the glass, made 3-pointers and showed the grit and grind that the opposing Aztecs have become known for, running away with a 94-54 victory at Michelob Ultra Arena on Monday, Nov. 24. Advertisement …

Alabama rolled into Las Vegas tonight ready to face an excellent Gonzaga squad, and things didn’t go so well as the Zags pulled away late for a 95-85 victory. We got some tough injury news before the game, as Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was ruled out for the Players’ Era tournament with a right leg ailment. The saving grace is that …

The Ducks faced off against the #21 Auburn Tigers tonight in Las Vegas, as part of the Players Era festival. Auburn jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead early, taking advantage of some poor ball control from the Ducks. Oregon would quickly tie things up at 10 all, though, leading to a back-and-forth battle for most of the first half. …

Texas men’s basketball slides into top ten for 2026 recruiting class originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Under new head coach Sean Miller, the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball program made a  few moves in the 2026 recruiting cycle, landing the No. 6 class nationally, according to ESPN. Advertisement The …

Kiyan Anthony puts up highlights for Syracuse in front of parents Carmelo, La La originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Syracuse nearly pulled an upset of No. 3 Houston on Monday. Advertisement Although the Orange came up short, it was a notably impressive day for a handful of SU’s …

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic scored 24 points for his fourth 20-point performance in five games, leading No. 13 Illinois to an 87-73 victory over Texas Rio Grande Valley on Monday night. Mihailo Petrovic had 12 points, and David Mirkovic and twins Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic each added 10 for the Illini (6-1). They are 6-0 at home. Advertisement …

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Isaac McKneely scored 17 points for No. 6 Louisville, which put the defensive clamps on Eastern Michigan, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting in an 87-46 victory on Monday night. The Cardinals (6-0) jumped out to a 19-4 lead midway through the first half. The lead grew to 31-9 with 4:29 remaining before halftime. However, the …

Khani Rooths held strong while Eastern Michigan’s Mohammad Habhab backed him down on the block five minutes into the first half Monday night at the KFC Yum! Center. Habhab moved into the paint and tried to hit the Louisville basketball sophomore with an up-and-under move – then a turnaround. But he spun directly into a collapsing Adrian Wooley, who slapped …

LAHAINA, MAUI, HAWAII — Coming off an exciting 3 OT game winner last time out, the USC Trojans traveled to the island of Hawaii to play in the Southwest Maui Invitational tournament for the next three days, with their first game coming against the Boise State Broncos in the quarterfinals game Monday evening. Just like how it was against Troy, …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 23 points and No. 15 Iowa State defeated No. 14 St. John’s 83-82 on Monday in the Players Era tournament. St. John’s had a chance to take the lead after Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson threw the ball away with 30 seconds left, but Oziyah Sellers missed a driving layup at the …

LAS VEGAS — Nate Ament grabbed the rebound off a missed Rutgers free throw and brought the ball up the court at MGM Grand Garden Arena with authority. When a defender picked him up at half court, Ament put his head down and blew past him to the paint. The 6-foot-10 five-star freshman rose for a short jumper as another …

The Florida Gators played just one game this week on the college basketball court — a blowout home victory over the Merrimack Warriors to improve their record to 4-1 early on in the 2025-26 campaign. Todd Golden’s frontcourt still looks like the best in the country, while the team’s two transfer guards, Xavian Lee and Boogie Flanders, still look to …

The Wisconsin Badgers fell out of the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll after the third week of the 2025-26 season. The team is 4-1 to start the year, fresh off a blowout loss to No. 9 BYU. All four of its triumphs have come against inferior competition by decisive margins. The loss, as noted, was the exact inverse; …

After a strong and encouraging start to the season, Gopher hoops has floundered over the past couple of weeks. They needed overtime to beat Green Bay, they trailed Chicago State in the final 11 minutes before pulling away and on Saturday afternoon they were beat by San Francisco in a game that was controlled by the Dons throughout. Ryan Beasley …

No. 16 Tennessee (6-0) defeated Rutgers (4-2), 85-60, on Monday in the Players Era Men’s Championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Vols led, 56-30, at halftime. Ja’Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee in scoring with 32 points. He converted 11-of-20 field goal attempts, 6-of-10 three-point attempts and 4-of-5 free throw attempts. Gillespie also totaled three rebounds, four assists, …

BLOOMINGTON — When Indiana basketball added a home game against Kansas State to its nonconference schedule in late June, it felt almost like an afterthought. Surely, neutral-site games against Marquette and Louisville, plus the long-awaited renewal of the Kentucky series, would take more serious billing. The Wildcats looked like a noteworthy name on an otherwise forgettable nonconference home slate. Advertisement …

Since the opening night of the 2025 season, Leon Rice and the Broncos have flown under the radar. A loss to Division II Hawai’i Pacific will do that to you. But since then, they have won four in a row, including a pair of wins against two teams within the top 130 of KenPom – Utah Valley and Wichita State. …

Michigan State will face East Carolina tomorrow and North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day in the Ft. Myers Classic. The Spartans head to Florida with a 5-0 record which includes impressive wins over Arkansas at home and Kentucky in the Champions Classic.  Michigan State is coming off a 84-56 win against Detroit Mercy on Friday. Advertisement Though they caught flack from …

Quite frankly, it felt a little strange, if not disrespectful, that Michigan State basketball started the year ranked as low as they were in both the Coaches and AP Top-25 polls. While I’m sure Tom Izzo was happy to have more bulletin board material to motivate his team, starting at the bottom of the Top-25 was weird for a team …

Kansas Jayhawks freshman Darryn Peterson is widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. But his health has slowed his start. Peterson is a truly special guard who projects as one of the best one-and-done initiators and floor general among all backcourt prospects in many years. However, due to a hamstring injury, the 18-year-old has …