College Basketball

Entering the bulk of Big Ten conference play on Saturday, No. 23 Iowa basketball (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) opened 2026 with a dramatic 74-61 win over UCLA (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) from a jam-packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena that created quite the buzz on social media from Hawkeyes fans. Senior point guard Bennett Stirtz was the leading scorer for Iowa on the …

On Saturday afternoon, the Alabama Crimson Tide officially opened SEC basketball action inside Coleman Coliseum with a highly-anticipated showdown against the Kentucky Wildcats. In the contest, Alabama started the game fast all-around, and eventually held a commanding 50-34 led at halftime. The Crimson Tide also carried over that success to the second half, and eventually opened SEC conference action with …

Dennis Gates’ appreciation bordered on an apology. It was pretty clear he’d heard the backlash. The Tigers’ season was on life support and the Missouri basketball coach, if you read between the lines, had dialed up the heat behind the scenes of a rare winter break. Advertisement So, after a season-altering win over the reigning national champions, as Mizzou beat …

Conference plays continue tonight with just one game as Washington heads east to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers. Washington Huskies at Indiana Hoosiers Indiana will try to win their third game in a row tonight against Washington. The Hoosiers opened the season with seven straight wins before an upset loss at Minnesota, followed by losses to Louisville and Kentucky. They …

Florida basketball fell to the Missouri Tigers, 76-74, on the road Saturday night in the SEC opener. Everything went right for the Gators over the first 15 minutes of the game as UF built up a lead between five and seven points, but that’s where the luck stopped. Missouri went on a 10-4 run to close the half, tying things …

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Anthony Robinson II had 19 points and eight rebounds as Missouri held off No. 22 Florida 76-74 on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Mark Mitchell added 14 points, Jacob Crews had 13 and Trent Pierce scored 10 off the bench in his first game this season for the Tigers (11-3, 1-0). …

PHILADELPHIA — Keaton Wagler is indispensable to Illinois. Against the best of the best, they can’t survive without him. He’s the type of player who can melt into a game. The kind that provides a 10-0 spark with his elegant movement on the court, high basketball IQ, elite shooting ability, and an ideal positional length at 6-foot-6. Advertisement The only …

There are not a lot of ways to couch this game as a positive. This one is to avoid finishing dead last in the Big East. Make no mistake, the bottom four of the conference will feature DePaul and Xavier in some positions. There may be a smattering of Marquette, Butler, Providence, or Georgetown in there as well, but those …

The Iowa Hawkeyes shot a blistering 56% in the first half to build a 24-point lead. They fought off a UCLA comeback attempt but were able to complete the 74-61 victory. Bennett Stirtz led the way with 27 points on 8/10 shooting and 5 assists, as Ben McCollum had to manage his minutes as he notched his 4th foul with …

The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers at the Kohl Center to open up the new year, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. on FOX. Wisconsin has started the season 9-4, with all four of its losses being Quad 1 games to the BYU Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Villanova Wildcats. Advertisement As a …

SALT LAKE CITY — Tobe Awaka and Jaden Bradley each scored 18 points and No. 1 Arizona cruised past Utah 97-78 on Saturday to remain undefeated. Brayden Burries had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Koa Peat also scored 17 and Ivan Kharchenkov 13 for the Wildcats (14-0, 1-0 Big 12 Conference), who extended their best start to a season since …

For the first time in decades, an NBA Draft pick played in a college basketball game on Saturday. The player was James Nnaji, who was selected 31st overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft. After five years playing for FC Barcelona in Europe, he signed with a Baylor program looking for interior help. It is the start …

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored a career-high 29 points, including a key 3-pointer with just over two minutes left in the second half, to help No. 18 Arkansas to an 86-75 win over No. 19 Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday. Arkansas (11-3) used a 18-5 run over a 6-minute, 37-second …

The TCU Horned Frogs hosted a high-powered Baylor Bears squad for their first game of a challenging Big 12 conference slate. Despite Baylor’s top-five-ranked offense, Jamie Dixon’s team set the tone early with smothering defense. Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes. TCU finally got on the board with a Brock Harding three-pointer, followed by treys from Liutauras …

NEW YORK — Stefan Vaaks scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half and Jamier Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help lead Providence to a 77-71 victory against St. John’s on Saturday despite a career-tying 33 points by Zuby Ejiofor. Vaaks made four 3-pointers and Jaylin Sellers added 15 points for the Friars (8-6, 1-2 …

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Aden Holloway tied a career-high with 26 points, Labaron Philon Jr. added 17 points and No. 14 Alabama beat Kentucky 89-74 on Saturday. Kentucky fought back from a 21-point deficit, cutting the lead to single digits, 77-68, with 5:38 to play. But the Wildcats were outscored 12-6 down the stretch, with all but two of the Crimson …

Alabama led by as many as 21 points in the first half Saturday, but the Kentucky Wildcats should get some credit for scrapping their way back to make it a nine-point game on two occasions in the second half before falling by a final score of 89-74. This Alabama team was really good coming into Saturday, and they showed why …

Save for the first several minutes of the second half, the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers dominated NC State on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first ACC win of the year, 76-61. Sam Lewis led all scorers with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half as he alone matched NC State’s first-half output. A 40-20 halftime lead …

The Wisconsin Badgers resume Big Ten Conference play by hosting the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers at the Kohl Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM on FOX this Saturday, January 3. Purdue enters as a 5.5-point favorite. Despite shooting just 4-of-22 from three-point range, the Badgers defeated UW-Milwaukee 80-60 on December 30. Nick Boyd scored 16 points, and Nolan Winter …

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sam Lewis matched his career high with 23 points, Thijs De Ridder took over after halftime and No. 21 Virginia beat N.C. State 76-61 on Saturday. Lewis had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting by halftime for the Cavaliers (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed three days after losing in triple overtime at Virginia Tech. …

Darryn Peterson is, by all accounts, available to play today as the Jayhawks face the UCF Golden Knights at 1pm Jayhawk Time. The game will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network for TV viewers, and Peacock for those with a subscription. Kansas is currently favored by 4.5 points. The spread might seem a little light, but UCF has been …

They’re calling it the biggest win in Nebraska basketball history. While that might seem hyperbolic or a little melodramatic, for a program that has failed to ever win a single NCAA Tournament game, a January win over a top ten opponent with the pedigree of Michigan State clearly means a lot to the Nebraska basketball program, fans, and their head …

The 8th-ranked Houston Cougars open conference play rolling, looking for a seventh straight win overall as they visit the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincy hasn’t strung together back-to-back wins over its last nine games, part of the reason they’re 7-point home ‘dogs in the college basketball odds. With little juice on the Cougs winning outright, my Houston vs Cincinnati prediction and free college basketball …

After a week off from the FridA10 Notebook for the holiday season, we are back with conference play underway, and like clock work, the Atlantic 10 is cannibalizing itself. I guess having a #ZeroBidLeague was the only way we could truly honor the 50th anniversary of our beloved A10? Our resident A10 reporter, Riley Frain, is bringing you a weekly …

For the first time in the 2025-26 season, Maryland women’s basketball has to respond to a game that didn’t break its way. Bogged down by foul trouble, the team dropped a nailbiter to Illinois on the road Thursday afternoon, losing the 14-game undefeated streak that opened the year. Just four days after the loss, a reeling Indiana program will arrive …