Category: Basketball

Kentucky basketball is preparing for the looming scheduling gauntlet

Kentucky basketball will face a difficult schedule of the next few weeks.

Just over a month out of SEC play, and Kentucky basketball is preparing for one of its toughest stretches of the season.

Wildcat basketball kicks off a two-week gauntlet this Tuesday with a matchup against Clemson.

The Tigers are 7-1 to start the season, with their only loss coming against Boise State on November 17. They’re a tough out by every stretch, as ESPN expert Joe Lunardi currently has Clemson as a ten seed in his latest Bracketology.

Their next matchup is arguably their toughest of the regular season, as Kentucky is slated to play Gonzaga on Saturday, December 7. The Bulldogs (7-1) are the fourth-ranked team in the country and a one seed in Lunardi’s latest.

Related: Kentucky leads the nation in points scored per game

These matchups are two that the team is preparing for — particularly with physicality.

“You know, next week is our first true road game. Really, it’s going to be essentially our first true road games against elite level talent,” said Wildcats coach Mark Pope. “Both insanely physical teams. Clemson incredibly physical.  Gonzaga, I know Gonzaga well. We been messing with them for a long time and coach Hughes is probably the best in college basketball or close to it, I don’t know how to rate them. Gonzaga is always insanely physical and part of their team that people miss sometimes.  It’s something, we are going into a combat week where it’s going to be a massively physical game.”

The Wildcats then have somewhat of a lull, taking on 2-5 Colgate the following Wednesday, December 11.

Then it’s straight back into action, as Kentucky is set to host blood-rival Louisville (5-2) at Rupp Arena on Saturday, December 14.

Instant reaction to Texas A&M basketball’s 80-77 win over Rutgers

Texas A&M holds off Rutgers to take fifth place in the Players Era Festival Tournament

Saturday afternoon, No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-3) in their final game to take fifth place in the Inaugural Players Era Festival Tournament at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

It’s still early and Coach Buzz Williams always gets his team whipped into shape if conference ball starts. They have a clear identity on both sides of the ball and the staff knows exactly what they want to do. However, the win against a good but inexperienced Rutgers team was another poor shooting night. It was another game where they shot below 40% in the first half and under 80% from the free-throw line.

Rutgers young guns Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey gave them all they could handle for a combined 42 points and 13 rebounds, keeping the Scarlet Knights in the game and even taking the lead a few times. The Aggies were led by All-SEC guard Wade Taylor, who scored 24 points, while Solomon Washington, Henry Coleman III, and Manny Obaseki all pitched in with 11 a piece.

A&M has all the right pieces and has been put in a great position to be 8-0 against quality competition. They are buying into what Buzz is selling and for the most part, it’s working.

However, they have to reward their coach by finishing shots and closing out teams earlier. The SEC is too competitive to leave points on the court on makeable shots.

They continue to look the part of a top-25 team but if they want to make some noise late in the season, the shooting percentage have to improve dramatically. Still the Aggies showed their resiliency holding off a dangerous team for an 81-77 win to close out their time in Las Vegas.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Photos of Notre Dame men’s basketball loss to Creighton in Las Vegas

See how the Irish concluded their time in Sin City.

Notre Dame’s appearance in the inaugural Players Era Festival in Las Vegas could have gone a lot better. Not only did it lose all three games, including an 80-76 decision to Creighton on the final day, but [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] suffered a knee injury in the first contest that will keep him out for an undetermined amount of weeks. One can’t help but think Sin City would have been kinder to the Irish had that not happened.

That said, the Irish were in every single game up until the end or close to it, including against a ranked Houston team. That’s encouraging for a team that was missing its best player almost the entire time. While we don’t know if things will get any better without that player, it’s nice to see that there’s enough available talent to at least keep games exciting.

Here are some photos of the Irish in action during this loss to the Bluejays:

RECAP: Wisconsin rolls past Chicago State to notch eighth win of 2024-25 season

RECAP: Wisconsin rolls past Chicago State to notch eighth win of 2024-25 season

Wisconsin basketball rolled past Chicago State 74-53 on Saturday to pick up its eighth victory of the 2024-25 season. As many predicted, it was all Badgers from start to finish.

UW wing John Tonje again captained Wisconsin’s offensive attack with 22 points off 5-of-12 from the field, 3-of-6 from deep and 9-of-10 from the free throw line in 29 minutes of action. The North Omaha, Nebraska native also added five rebounds and three assists in the 21-point blowout win.

Veteran center Steven Crowl logged nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 28 minutes, and sophomore center Nolan Winter added 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes as well.

Fresh off their Greenbrier Tip-Off win on Nov. 24, the Badgers set the tone early. UW built a 12-2 lead within the first five minutes of action courtesy of eight points from Tonje and a pair of layups from big men Crowl and Winter.

Wisconsin maintained a relatively comfortable lead from that point forward. Fueled by 10 points from Winter, the Badgers piloted a 21-5 scoring spurt to stretch their lead to 53-32 by the 10:14-minute mark of the second half.

Greg Gard’s bench essentially put a bow on the second half scoring, and Wisconsin claimed its eighth straight win of the 2024-25 slate in dominant fashion.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Wisconsin did exactly what it needed to do to snag the victory. As a unit, the Badgers shot an underwhelming 39% from the field and 33.3% from outside. The team shared the wealth with 17 assists, plus scored 19 points off Chicago State turnovers. The Badgers leaned on Winter and Crowl’s size against Cougars — UW out-rebounded Chicago State by eight in the effort.

With the win, Wisconsin starts the season 8-0 for the first time since 2013-14.

The Badgers will now look to keep its undefeated start to the season alive when it hosts the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 3.

Kentucky basketball has the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense

Kentucky basketball is now leading the country in points scored per game.

On Wednesday, we reported that Kentucky basketball had the third-ranked scoring offense in the country. That’s no longer true, as the Wildcats have now climbed to the top spot in the nation.

Kentucky (7-0) now has the top-ranked scoring offense, averaging 96.7 points per game through the team’s first seven contests.

The jump comes after the Wildcats took home a 105-76 win over Georgia State boosting the team to that top spot. Those 105 points brought Kentucky’s points per game average up over a whole point, as they were previously at 95.3 points per game.

It also helps that the two teams ranked ahead of Kentucky going in to Wednesday — Utah State and UNC Wilmington — each underperformed.

In between, Utah State won the NIT Tip-Off — downing both St. Bonaventure (72-67) and North Texas (61-57) en route to the tournament win. The Aggies are off to a strong start to the season, now sitting at 7-0.

Related: Clara Strack named Music City Classic MVP

The problem for Utah State is that each game lack offensive potency. Tougher opponents mean tighter games, and Utah State’s high flying offense felt that.

As such, the Aggies have now dropped from first to tenth in scoring offense, now averaging 89.4 points per contest.

UNC Wilmington (4-2), meanwhile, underperformed in both of their games at the Live Oak Bank Classic this week after not having played since their 66-84 loss to Kansas on November 19. The Seahawks fell to Colgate on Wednesday, 59-72, but beat Sam Houston on Friday 69-60.

The pair of low-scoring games meant that UNC Wilmington’s average has fallen to 86.3 points per game.

Kentucky basketball returns this Tuesday, December 3, for a matchup against the Clemson Tigers.

Best photos from Oklahoma Sooners week at Battle 4 Atlantis

A look at the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners week at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a successful week in the Bahamas, taking part in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. The Sooners went 3-0 with wins over Providence, No. 24 Arizona, and Louisville to secure the tournament title.

Senior forward Jalon Moore earned Most Outstanding Player after averaging 18 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Moore had 24 points in wins over Arizona and Louisville, two strong basketball programs.

It was the fourth season in a row in which the Sooners have captured a regular season tournament title under Porter Moser. Though OU is just seven games into the season, they’re 7-0 and look like a tougher and deeper team than what Moser’s had in Norman in years past.

Oklahoma’s received contributions from a number of sources in their 7-0 start, with Moore, Jeremiah Fears, and Kobe Elvis scoring in double figures on the season. Each of OU’s dynamic trio had at least one 20-point game during the tournament, with Elvis leading the way in the win over Providence, Fears scoring a game-high 26 points against Arizona, and Moore leading all scorers in the tournament final win over Louisville.

The Sooners will be back in action Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Lloyd Noble Center when they take on the ACC’s Georgia Tech.

But before OU returns home, let’s take a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners time in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Fifth-Year Senior Koby Brea takes his first career charge

Kentucky ‘s Koby Brea took the first charge of his college career on Friday against Georgia St.

Weird things were happening with Georgia sports teams on Friday night. As the Georgia Bulldogs-Georgia Tech started to roll into overtime, the Kentucky basketball game against Georgia State came to an end.

It wasn’t weird in the same way the eight-overtime football matchup was. Kentucky won handily, taking home a 105-76 win.

No, it was weird for one player in particular: Koby Brea.

The senior guard, who had started the season shooting 67.6% from three through Kentucky’s first six games, was just 2/7 in the seventh.

Brea did come alive later in the game, finishing with 10 points — including a monster dunk to bring the Wildcat lead to 18 halfway through the second half.

Related: Kentucky’s offense has been key for the Wildcats

What was maybe even weirder in that performance was somewhat of a fun fact: the fifth-year senior had never taken a charge. Not once in any of the four seasons he played at Dayton, nor through his first six games with the Wildcats.

Until Friday night, when Brea took a charge late in the second half defending Zarique Nutter — Georgia State’s leading scorer with 19 points.

The Panther guard drove in from the wing, ultimately committing his fifth and final foul. Nutter went to the bench, and fans in Lexington erupted alongside Koby Brea and the Wildcats.

“We were complimenting him after the game, and he revealed to our team–you know, he’s a fifth-year senior, and he was like, ‘guys, that was the first charge I’ve ever taken’,” said Kentucky head coach Mark Pope. “So, you guys were all here to witness Koby Brea’s first charge ever. He was so hyped about it and I’m sure it won’t be his last. That’s why you come to Kentucky, man.”

UNC basketball insider suggests the starting lineup could see a change

Could Hubert Davis shake up the starting lineup in UNC’s battle with Alabama this week?

North Carolina will head into this week with another top-25 matchup on the horizon. They have not been shy of top-caliber games to start this season, but thus far, they have not made the most of those games.

They went down massive against Kansas and despite the comeback late, still lost. They then went to Maui and lost two of the three games there despite trailing by double figures in each of the three games’ first halves.

With the way things are shaping up, something had to change. The frontcourt of Jae’Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington is not getting the job done and has become a major factor in the first-half deficits that the Tar Heels have faced.

UNC insider Rob Harrington weighs in on this problem with a change in the starting lineup, starting with freshman Drake Powell.

They are moving toward a lineup that will be more efficient. It’s going to involve Drake Powell. If UNC puts Powell in the starting lineup, it will be Washington who moves to the bench. Withers will play the 5 because he gives them more offensive and defensive versatility. Washington is just not getting enough touches to be effective, even though he’s skilled. A change will happen. It’s 50-50 whether it happens for Alabama, but it’s going to be in the next two weeks. Hubert will make this change. The starting frontcourt combo isn’t working. It’s killing the team in the first half.

Powell is averaging 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game in 22.3 minutes per game. However, the intensity he brings and the rim protection he can provide is far beyond what his 6-foot-6 frame would indicate.

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UNC basketball commit earns praise for recent play

A UNC basketball commit is earning some praise already in his final year of high school basketball.

The North Carolina Tar Heels only have two commitments in the 2025 recruiting class but are hoping to add more. It’s a very important class as UNC will likely see multiple players leave due to graduation or the NBA after this season.

While the Tar Heels have just two four-star players committed, one of those recruits is off to a hot start in his final year of high school basketball.

Combo guard Isaiah Denis drew the praise of 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham on Saturday for his play at a holiday tournament on Friday night. Here is what Branham had to say about Denis who scored 24 points for Davidson Day:

To end the night, North Carolina commit Isaiah Denis and his Davidson Day squad took on a tough Tri Cities team boasting multiple ranked juniors. It took a minute for Denis to get settled in but when he found his rhythm, his speed, length and athleticism were a problem for the opposition.

He kept his foot on the gas pedal, attacking downhill, pushing the break in transition and turned defense into offense for his team on his way to 24-points.

Denis’ handle looks improved and for a guy known for his shot-making, his shot wasn’t falling to its usual standard but it opened the door for him to showcase his ability to create off the dribble.

Denis committed to North Carolina a month ago and is already off to a hot start in his final year of high school basketball. That’s a great sign for UNC as he could see his ranking increase by the time the class is wrapped up.

The 6-foot-5 combo guard is ranked No. 47 nationally, the No. 8 combo guard and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

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USC men’s basketball runs into harsh reality in the California desert

Eric Musselman and USC know that this roster is a long-term project and not a quick fix. That was made clear by two losses in Palm Desert, California.

The reality surrounding USC men’s basketball is not a pleasant one, but it’s also not something to panic about in a long-term context. Eric Musselman is going through his own growing pains at USC, but what is happening this year might have little bearing on what happens in future seasons in Los Angeles. For the moment, though, life isn’t fun for the Men of Troy. They lost a second game in Palm Desert, California, falling 83-73 to New Mexico on Friday night.

The Trojans could not score on Thursday in their loss to Saint Mary’s, posting just 36 points. Friday, they couldn’t defend, allowing 83 to New Mexico. It’s always something, and it’s not just one thing, for the Trojans. That is the biggest concern. If the team had one flaw, Musselman could address it and the collective would have a chance to be really good. However, this team doesn’t have one flaw. It has many. Opponents are able to expose them, and the fact of the matter is that USC is just not ready to win big right now. The NCAA Tournament is an unrealistic goal at this point. USC has to simply improve before it can entertain bigger goals.

New Mexico unleashed a 14-0 run to break this game open in the second half after USC — down 13 — had cut UNM’s lead to just four, at 47-43. USC goes through scoring droughts, and it also goes through five-minute segments in which other teams pile up the points. At both ends of the floor, USC doesn’t have the physical heft to overpower comparably skilled opponents. Even against smaller teams — as we saw the past few weeks against Idaho State, UT Arlington, and Grambling — the Trojans couldn’t really separate from the opposition. A roster comprised of transfers was always going to need a developmental process, but the bigger point is that the transfers haven’t fit very well together.

Eric Musselman should recruit well. He will need to. In Year 1, however, he had to piece together a roster on the fly. This season will not look like future seasons. Right now, however, USC is taking its lumps, and there will probably be more lumps in the coming weeks.

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