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Myron Medcalf
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Myron Medcalf
ESPN Staff Writer
- Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.
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Jeff Borzello
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Jeff Borzello
Basketball recruiting insider
- Jeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.
There are 50 days till the NCAA event bracket is ready on Selection Sunday.
We’ve realized loads in the 80-plus days since the 2025-26 college basketball season tipped off, particularly as convention play has hit excessive gear. Freshmen are dominating. Scoring is at a traditionally excessive tempo. Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) are amongst the remaining three unbeatens. And that is simply scratching the floor.
Whether you are simply tuning in or get pleasure from the chook’s-eye view, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf shortly break down the eight greatest storylines shaping the season up to now under.
The greatest surprises up to now
Indiana, the losingest program in college soccer historical past coming into the 2025 season, simply gained the nationwide championship. A miraculous run could possibly be brewing in college basketball, too.
Undefeated Nebraska has orchestrated one among the prime turnarounds in latest historical past. Miami (Ohio) hasn’t misplaced, both. Clemson is off to a shocking begin in ACC play (6-0). And in his first season, Kevin Willard has made Villanova a top-tier offensive and defensive group in the Big East.
Vanderbilt is on this dialog, too. Before the Commodores’ present three-game shedding streak, they’d gained 16 video games in a row. Tyler Tanner (17.1 PPG, 39% from 3) is a projected first-round NBA draft choose in ESPN’s newest mock. And like Vanderbilt, which was picked eleventh in the preseason SEC ballot, neither Georgia (14th) nor Virginia (fifth) was picked to end in the prime tier of its respective preseason convention ballot — but each have emerged as early contenders for league titles on account of shocking begins. — Myron Medcalf
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Miami (OH) stays excellent after Luke Skaljac forces OT with acrobatic layup
Luke Skaljac hits an off-balance layup in the closing seconds as Miami (OH) forces time beyond regulation and in the end beats Kent State.
The greatest disappointments up to now
A lot of groups and gamers have unexpectedly dissatisfied.
Donovan Dent was one among the prime accessible transfers in the portal after successful Mountain West Player of the Year final season. Yet he has struggled at UCLA, capturing simply 17% from 3 for the bubble group.
Kentucky is on a successful streak proper now, however the Wildcats do not appear to be the nationwide contenders they had been supposed to be after reportedly spending $20 million on their present roster. The similar goes for Oregon, which already had a disappointing roster earlier than latest accidents continued to derail its season.
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In the Big 12, Baylor boasts two projected lottery picks, and but the Bears nonetheless managed to kick off league play with a 1-5 document. Tennessee cannot appear to discover its footing, both, regardless of having five-star freshman and projected lottery choose Nate Ament in the fold. A top-three defensive group in SEC play for the previous 5 years, the Vols are at present ranked eighth.
A piece of the Big East — see: Marquette, Providence and Georgetown, particularly — is struggling to meet preseason expectations, too.
All of that mentioned, Memphis may be at the prime of this listing: The Tigers are simply 9-9 on the season, following the greatest season of Penny Hardaway’s tenure in 2024-25 (29-6). — Medcalf
Scoring is on the rise
A confluence of things — NBA prospects returning to faculty, a traditionally sturdy freshman class, prime Europeans coming to college — has led to an unlimited quantity of expertise in the sport and a few of the most explosive offense in many years. Entering final weekend, Division I groups had been averaging 77.2 factors per sport this season; that will be the highest quantity for a single season since 1971-72, when groups put up 77.7 factors per sport.
On the same notice, groups entered final weekend capturing 45.4% from the area. That could be the highest collective area aim share since groups shot 45.7% in 1991-92.
Only one group completed final season averaging higher than 90 factors per sport (Alabama at 90.7 PPG). There are 15 groups proper now hitting that threshold.
From an effectivity standpoint, there’s been an upward swing, too. There are 11 groups at present with an adjusted offensive score of 125.0 or higher at KenPom, in contrast with simply 5 final season. — Jeff Borzello
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Highlight: No. 20 Arkansas’ offense shines at residence in win over No. 15 Vandy
Six Razorbacks attain double-digits as they shoot 57.8% and 40.9% from three to knock off the Commodores, 93-68.
Star gamers managing accidents
When he is on the flooring, Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson is amongst the elite gamers in college basketball. The potential No. 1 NBA draft choose would rank in the prime 10 in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.2 factors per sport — if he had performed sufficient video games to qualify, that’s. Peterson entered the week with simply 9 video games below his belt, having missed seven with a hamstring harm in November and December, and one other two proper earlier than Christmas after apparently reaggravating the harm. He has performed all six video games in January, though not with a full allotment of minutes. And now he’s contending with a sprained ankle, placing his standing for the quick future doubtful.
Peterson is not the solely projected lottery choose to have missed time with accidents and now have a imprecise timeline for return. Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. hasn’t performed since the Cardinals’ Dec. 13 sport in opposition to Memphis, lacking the previous 9 matchups with a decrease again harm. Head coach Pat Kelsey admitted final week that, though he expects Brown to return in some unspecified time in the future this season, he does not know when that shall be.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance missed the first 11 video games of the season whereas recovering from a torn ACL he suffered final February. He returned on Dec. 20 and was excellent in opposition to St. John’s earlier than scoring simply 10 factors over his subsequent three contests after which being dominated out for Kentucky’s previous three video games. — Borzello
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More former execs in college ranks
Has anybody checked on Tom Izzo? He and different energy brokers in the sport sounded the alarm in October after two G League gamers (Thierry Darlan and London Johnson) had been cleared to play college basketball, a first-of-its-kind transfer by the NCAA. Then, James Nnaji — the thirty first choose in the 2023 NBA draft who performed solely in summer season league and EuroLeague video games however by no means an official NBA contest — was cleared to compete for Baylor in late December. He had by no means performed college basketball, so his case rivaled that of the former worldwide execs who’ve been allowed to play Division I basketball with the exception of his draft standing.
On Wednesday, an Alabama choose gave former Crimson Tide standout Charles Bediako — who had signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs after going undrafted in 2023 — a brief restraining order permitting him to return to play college basketball for the following 10 days. Prior to Bediako’s case, no participant who had truly performed in the college and skilled ranks had been given a possibility to return to college. His Tuesday listening to for a preliminary injunction to play the remainder of the season, if profitable, may open the floodgates for different younger two-way and NBA gamers to make their case for NCAA eligibility. — Medcalf
The strongest freshman class in latest reminiscence
The recruiting class of 2025 had been circled by college coaches and NBA scouts for a number of years — and these freshmen have collectively exceeded all expectations.
Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer entered the 2025-26 season as the three large names in the class; they’ve change into three of the greatest gamers in college basketball, with Boozer and Dybantsa operating 1 and a pair of in most National Player of the Year discussions. But it is about extra than simply these three.
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Cam Boozer leads Duke to a comeback win vs. Louisville
Cam Boozer drops 27 factors, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals in Duke’s comeback win over Louisville.
Nine freshmen had been named to the Wooden Award midseason prime 25 watchlist, with Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arizona’s Koa Peat and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson all discovering their means onto the listing.
That does not even embrace UConn’s Braylon Mullins or Arizona’s Brayden Burries, who’re beginning for the prime two groups in the nation. Or breakout stars Keaton Wagler of Illinois and Ebuka Okorie of Stanford. Nor does it embrace the former European execs who’re labeled as freshmen, equivalent to Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach. — Borzello
Strength of high-major conferences
The 2025-26 season is anchored by a deep area of contenders in the nation’s prime leagues. The Big Ten has 10 groups ranked in the prime 40 on KenPom, together with top-15 Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Nebraska and Illinois.
The Big 12’s declare to fame this 12 months is its star energy: AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Kingston Flemings (Houston), JT Toppin and Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), and Koa Peat (Arizona) are all able to main their respective groups to the Final Four — and incomes nationwide accolades, too.
The ACC has additionally demanded respect in a bounce-back season. Duke is Duke, after all. And North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia have added to the depth of the league with sturdy total begins.
Having mentioned that, the SEC stays KenPom’s top-ranked convention a 12 months after its document 14 NCAA event bids. It may not match that quantity once more, however reigning nationwide champion Florida is shaping up to defend its title. Alabama’s protection remains to be phenomenal. Kentucky is enhancing. John Calipari might need the greatest level guard in the nation at Arkansas. And Vanderbilt already has six top-50 KenPom wins. — Medcalf
Big lineups are dominating
It wasn’t way back that three-guard lineups had been the most well-liked setup for high-level groups — assume Villanova’s perimeter-oriented championship groups in 2015 and 2017, or Baylor’s 2021 title group that began 4 gamers 6-foot-5 or shorter. According to KenPom’s common peak metric, solely 4 NCAA event groups had been in the prime 20 in peak in 2021.
This season, the prime three groups in common peak are ranked in the AP ballot. Six different top-25 groups aren’t far behind.
Just have a look at the prime 4 groups on this week’s AP ballot. Arizona’s eight-man rotation options six gamers 6-6 or taller. UConn does not begin anybody shorter than 6-4. Michigan begins three gamers 6-9 or taller. Duke is No. 2 in common peak and does not have a single participant in its nine-man rotation shorter than 6-4.
The NBA has valued positional dimension increasingly, and unsurprisingly, college basketball is following go well with. — Borzello
