It is deeply ironic that in the middle of the “get old, stay old” era, featuring NBA G Leaguers and 23-year-old international products flocking back to college basketball, it’s teenage freshmen who are becoming the talk of the town.
Saturday proved to be a special showing for the dominant Class of 2025. Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Houston’s Kingston Flemings and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa all cracked the 40-point plateau. Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. continued their remarkable seasons with 32 points and 31 points, respectively, to lead their clubs to conference victories as well.
These are bad, bad men.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from a historic Saturday slate.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Houston’s Kingston Flemings are stars on historic day for freshmen
Isaac Trotter
Winner: Illinois stuns Purdue in Mackey Arena
Turnovers always seem to be the bugaboo when Purdue loses a basketball game. Not Saturday. The Boilermakers coughed it up just three times, but Purdue had zero answers for Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler, who delivered an all-time performance with a record-breaking 46 points. That’s the type of showing it took for No. 11 Illinois to outlast No. 4 Purdue 88-82 without forcing turnovers. It’s the first time since Feb. 10, 2018 that the Boilermakers have lost a game while posting three or fewer giveaways.
Wagler is the story, but he had help from an Illinois big-man corps that drilled some enormous 3-pointers down the stretch. Illinois’ four frontcourt players (Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, Ben Humrichous and David Mirkovic) combined for seven treys to complement the brilliant Wagler and give Illinois a statement victory. The Illini look every bit the part of the No. 1 offense in the country, and they are on pace to be the best team Brad Underwood has ever constructed.
They did it all without stud guard Kylan Boswell, who is sidelined for a month with a broken hand. – Isaac Trotter
Winner: Texas Tech shows toughness in win vs. Houston
Texas Tech scored 55 points on Houston in the first half. Sometimes, you’re fortunate to get 55 points in an entire game against Houston. Not in 20 minutes! In fact, it was the most points Houston allowed in any half in the last 10 years.
When you make history like that, you simply have to win that game.
No. 12 Texas Tech did just enough, emerging with a 90-86 win over No. 6 Houston in one of the best games of the season. The two Big 12 titans left it all on the floor. JT Toppin continued his special season with a 31-point, 12-rebound, three-assist display. Sharpshooters like Jaylen Petty and Donovan Atwell were locked and loaded to offset a quieter day for the usually brilliant Christian Anderson who was blanketed by Milos Uzan.
Texas Tech (16-4, 6-1 Big 12) is also starting to get healthy. Forward Josiah Moseley made his highly anticipated Texas Tech debut and splashed two 3-pointers and ripped down six boards in just 10 minutes. He’s going to help this thin, but talented, Texas Tech club in a major way.
In some ways, Texas Tech used Houston’s recipe to beat the Cougars. Grant McCasland’s club eviscerated Houston for 21 offensive rebounds. Texas Tech’s 55% offensive-rebound rate is the highest mark against Houston in Sampson’s tenure, which dates back to 2014-15. – Trotter
Loser: Alabama loses after defying NCAA
No. 17 Alabama defied the NCAA by bringing Charles Bediako out of the G League to play against Tennessee on Saturday night nearly three years after his last college game.
But it lost anyway.
The Volunteers escaped Tuscaloosa with a 79-73 victory, despite the fact that Bediako looked great in his first game for the Crimson Tide since the 2022-23 season. The seven-footer, who left Alabama after his sophomore season to enter the 2023 NBA Draft, finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 25 minutes. He couldn’t stop Alabama from going cold down the stretch, though. Nor could he stop Tennessee’s tandem of Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament from combining to score 53 points for the Volunteers (13-6, 3-3 SEC), who picked up their first true road win of the season. While Alabama (13-6, 3-3) lost, Bediako’s solid performance suggested the headache and ridicule that has come with working to get him onto the floor may end up being worth it in the end.
Charles Bediako cleared to play: Alabama star returns to college basketball after entering NBA Draft
David Cobb
Winner: Auburn’s Steven Pearl notches best win of young career
Keyshawn Hall erupted for 24 points and Auburn’s defense delivered its best showing of the season to help the Tigers rock No. 16 Florida 76-67 on the road. It’s just the third loss that Todd Golden has suffered since the 2023-24 campaign. It’s no coincidence that Auburn is starting to play its best basketball with a healthy KeShawn Murphy at the helm. Murphy went toe-to-toe with Florida’s intimidating frontline and delivered a 16-point, nine-rebound performance. That’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Golden and Steven Pearl are close friends and former colleagues, so Pearl will savor this one for a minute. – Trotter
Loser: Virginia’s defense craters vs. UNC
No. 14 Virginia’s defense cratered in an 85-80 home loss to No. 22 North Carolina. The Tar Heels shot a blistering 63.3% from the floor in the second half and 49.2% for the game. No team has shot it better from the floor against the Cavaliers over the course of a 40-minute game this season. Furthermore, UNC turned it over just four times all game, leading to a 19-2 disparity in points in off turnovers. Virginia led by as much as 16 late in the first half. But it was all Tar Heels from there as UNC picked up a much-needed Quad 1 road win over one of the ACC’s top squads. – David Cobb
Winner: UConn survives Villanova, remains atop Big East
UConn’s offense is not quite the Death Star unit that it can be, but Solo Ball looked like Solo Ball again with five treys and Silas Demary Jr. made multiple winning plays in the final moments of regulation and into overtime to help UConn hold off Villanova, 75-67. Ball finished with 24 points. Demary chipped in 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Villanova was game for a fight, and Kevin Willard’s group had four players crack double figures. But UConn keeps finding ways to stack wins while not playing its best offensively. When it clicks, these Huskies could be gnarly. – Trotter
Winner: Otega Oweh’s resurgence continues vs. Ole Miss
Otega Oweh was named the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, but he sure didn’t fit the bill early this season. As of late, Kentucky’s senior guard is starting to look the part. Oweh turned in another strong performance in Kentucky’s 72-63 win over Ole Miss as he scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. He’s reached 20 or more points in five of UK’s seven SEC games as the Wildcats (14-6, 5-2 SEC) have begun to figure things out amid a stretch of poor health.
Oweh attempted a season-high 13 free throws in the win — a tell-tale sign that his signature aggression has returned – and he didn’t leave the floor in the second half. This is the version of Oweh we often saw last season, and it’s the version Kentucky needs in order to continue its recent resurgence under second-year coach Mark Pope. – Cobb
Winner: Nebraska keeps its perfect season alive
Fred Hoiberg and the No. 7 Cornhuskers kept their perfect season alive and extended their program-best start to a season to 20-0 Saturday with a 76-57 road win over Minnesota in Minneapolis. Nebraska was just a 4.5-point favorite but blew the game open with a 42-21 edge in the second half to erase an eight-point deficit. Pryce Sandfort scored 20 of his 22 in the final 20 minutes of action in the come-from-behind win, and Jamarques Lawrence also spearheaded the team’s 20th victory with 12 of his 14 points and three of his five assists coming in the second half. – Boone
Winner: Vanderbilt rights the ship vs. Mississippi State
Breathe easy, Vanderbilt fans. After a three-game slide that called the legitimacy of the Commodores’ sterling start into question, No. 15 Vandy got back on track in a big way by thrashing Mississippi State 88-56. It took barely three minutes for the ‘Dores to build a 10-point lead, and they never looked back. Tyler Tanner led the way with 24 points, and Duke Miles added 17. Defensively, the Commodores frustrated Bulldogs star Josh Hubbard by limiting him to just seven points on 2 of 10 shooting. At 16-3 (3-3 SEC), Vanderbilt has stopped the bleeding and restored some order to what’s still shaping up to be the program’s best season in at least 15 years. – Cobb
Loser: Oklahoma State whiffs on big home opportunity
Facing a wobbly Iowa State team that had lost two of its last three games, and in dire need of a signature win to play its way into the projected 2026 NCAA Tournament field, Oklahoma State faceplanted in front of its home crowd with a wire-to-wire 84-71 loss that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.
The Cyclones jumped out to a 23-4 lead seven minutes into the game and the Cowboys’ deficit was so big they could never get close to digging out of it. It’s the second consecutive loss for OSU and fourth in its last five outings as it dropped to 2-5 in Big 12 play.
Its season began with much promise under second-year coach Steve Lutz – OSU started 12-1 with wins over Northwestern and Texas A&M, among others. But Big 12 play has been unkind to the Pokes, who now have their backs against the wall to make the Big Dance and are likely to be underdogs in at least three of their next four games.
“Mentally, you have to be ready to play. Everybody has to be locked in and ready to play,” OSU coach Steve Lutz said postgame lamenting his team’s slow start. “You have to have an edge about you, and you have to be locked in and ready to compete.”
OSU faces Utah on the road next Saturday before facing No. 13 BYU and No. 1 Arizona to kick off the month of February. – Kyle Boone
Winner: Miami gets off the mat in win vs. Syracuse
The 3-point gods had not been very kind to Miami lately. The ‘Canes shot 25% from downtown in losses to Florida State and Clemson, while their opponents were well over 35% both times. It’s hard to win ballgames that way!
That flipped against reeling Syracuse. Behind 20 points from Malik Reneau and 16 from Tre Donaldson (off the bench), Miami cruised to an 85-76 road victory. It never trailed to improve to 5-2 in ACC play and get the resume back on track. Remember, road wins are vital for Wins Above Bubble. Miami earned +0.55 WAB for the win over the Orange. That’ll play all day, every day. – Trotter
Loser: Oklahoma loses sixth straight as season slips away
OU gave up two buzzer-beaters Saturday in a gutting 88-87 road loss to Missouri – one at the final horn of regulation and another at the final horn of overtime – as its season on the brink continued to slip away. It marked the sixth consecutive loss for the Sooners, who sit last in the SEC standings. The scorching hot seat for coach Porter Moser isn’t likely to cool off after yet another choke job by his Sooners — and things could get worse in Norman. KenPom projects OU to likely be underdogs in its next nine games and 10 of its final 11 games to close out the regular season. – Boone
Winner: Arkansas remains perfect at home with win vs. LSU
This John Calipari-coached Razorbacks team has its share of warts – look no further than its inconsistent defense – but Arkansas remained perfect on the season at home with an 85-81 win over LSU Saturday. It’s the second consecutive win for Arkansas after falling at Georgia last Saturday and the 12th inside Bud Walton Arena in as many tries on the season. That makes Calipari 25-4 in his two seasons at Arkansas when coaching in front of the home crowd. – Boone
Loser: Maryland suffers (another) lopsided loss
Losses to Gonzaga and Alabama by 39 and 33 points in November, respectively, paled in comparison to the final margin of Maryland’s latest stinker. The Terps (8-12, 1-8 Big Ten) fell 91-48 at Michigan State – their largest loss by margin since 1944 and the fourth-largest loss in program history.
Ouch.
“I’m not going to keep a secret: We have a long, long — millions of miles to go in every possible way,” Williams said via The Diamondback. “On the floor, off the floor. I am grateful for the 97 years of experience of our staff. They’re continuing to find the right words … we’ve got to continue to make growth.”
Saturday marked the sixth loss for Maryland in its last seven outings and the 11th loss in its last 14 games after starting the season 5-1. All but one of those losses in that stretch – an 80-72 road defeat at Virginia – have come by double figures. – Boone
Winner: Rick Pitino earns 900th win vs. son
The Pitino Family Business was center stage in the Xavier-St. John’s battle. Richard Pitino’s Musketeers’ club gave St. John’s everything it could handle, but the Johnnies were not going to be denied. St. John’s erased a 16-point, second-half hole with some clutch plays from Dylan Darling (11 points, three assists) off the bench to give Rick Pitino his 900th career victory.
Don’t look now, but St. John’s is 8-1 in the Big East and looks every bit the part of a top-20 club after some November shenanigans. – Trotter
Loser: San Francisco’s upset bid falls short
San Francisco rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to give itself a chance to pull a stunning road upset of No. 8 Gonzaga. Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Zags escaped with a 68-66 victory even after allowing nine 3-pointers in the second half. Junjie Wang tried to make it 10 for the Dons in the final seconds, but his potential go-ahead shot hit the backboard and rim before bouncing off.
With Gonzaga missing leading scorers Braden Huff and Graham Ike, this was a golden opportunity for San Francisco to inflict some pain on the Bulldogs before they leave to join the Pac-12 next season. Instead, the pain was felt by the Dons, who came up just short of a marquee victory. — Cobb
Winner: Kansas wins Sunflower Showdown
No Darryn Peterson, no problem. Kansas’ star freshman guard missed his 10th game of the season — this time due to an ankle injury — but the No. 19 Jayhawks thrashed rival Kansas State 86-62 anyway. KU led just 59-55 with under eight minutes remaining before a ruthless closing run that featured lots of Flory Bidunga. KU’s big man finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 10 of 13 shooting and was a perfect 8 for 8 in the second half. Sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson contributed a career-high 19 points to ensure the Jayhawks (15-5, 5-2 Big 12) didn’t miss Peterson too much. — Cobb
