In the unpredictability that is the SEC, one team reigns supreme above all else.
It was ugly and brutal, but in the heavyweight battle, Auburn beat Tennessee 53-51 in one of the most anticipated games of the college basketball season. And it lived up to the bill.
Those who love offense probably had a hard time watching what happened inside Neville Arena, where every point was won in 40 physical minutes; both teams each shot 31% from the field and less than 20% from the 3-point line. While far from pretty – including some questionable decisions from the referees – these were truly two of the best teams in the country that showed what makes them so loyal.
Does Saturday’s game determine who wins the SEC or becomes a national champion? No, but what the contest proved was that Auburn is indeed the best team in the country. It’s been three weeks since conference play and every team has experienced defeat in this talent-rich league except Auburn. A perfect 6-0 start in the SEC probably couldn’t be achieved by any other team in the country, nor could an 11-1 record in Quad 1 games.
If this was the first time the majority of the country had seen the Tigers for the first time now that college football is over, it was a solid introduction for Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome. Doubtful to play after dealing with a left ankle injury for two weeks, the center appeared unimpeded against Tennessee with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance for his 11th double-double of the season.
With the first major test since the start of 2025, the Tigers will be tested again with Mississippi and Florida over the next two weeks before another possible game of the season against rival Alabama on February 15.
Will Auburn lose another game? Probably. But make no mistake: Auburn has a solid handle on the sport as we close out February, and the Tigers are leading the major storylines this past weekend of hoops.
Houston wins thriller to assert control of Big 12
Remember when Houston started the season 4-3 and there were doubts about the Cougars’ ability to continue their dominance? Well less than two months later and 12 straight wins, Houston remains on top of the Big 12 after a wild victory at Kansas.
Playing in hostile territory, Houston got off to a 17-2 start in the second half to take the lead against the Jayhawks, but Kansas fought back and appeared to be headed for a first Big 12 loss of the season for the Cougars. Houston was down six points in the final 90 seconds and managed to force overtime.
That wasn’t all. In the extra period, Kansas seemed to pull off a victory again with a six-point lead in 18 seconds. Then, an incredible sequence of 3-pointers, steals and three more suddenly tied the game to force another overtime period. The second overtime didn’t really need to be played; the crowd at Allen Fieldhouse was stunned, Kansas was out of juice, and Houston left Lawrence with a blowout victory.
The expanded Big 12 remains a hot mess, but Houston still controls the conference in its second year there. In two seasons, the Cougars are 23-3 in the conference and appear to be the leading contenders for the regular season title. It’s time to give Houston some respect back.
Wake Forest falters in well-deserved victory
For the past two seasons, Wake Forest has lived in the bubble, hoping the NCAA men’s tournament selection committee would place them in the field of 68, only to end the selection Sunday in disappointment. It’s shaping up to be another season like this for Steve Forbes after he failed to earn a signature win against Duke.
It was a first half to forget for the Demon Deacons, but they came out blazing in the second half with a 17-1 run that gave them the lead and had Veterans Memorial Coliseum ready to take on storm the field. However, Cooper Flagg and company weren’t going to just give in. The freshman star led kept the Blue Devils calm with a 14-2 run to regain a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Meanwhile, Wake Forest finished the game coolly, going more than six minutes without a made field goal before it was too late.
Wake Forest entered this weekend as a top-four team in the first USA TODAY sports bracketology of the season, and Saturday was the perfect opportunity to bolster its stock. In each of the last two seasons, he had a home win against Duke that really gave the Demon Deacons an argument to make the tournament. This time around, that’s not the case and they are now 1-5 in Quad 1 games. It will now take even more work to get back to the big ball for the first time since 2017.
Texas spurs tournament restart with last-second shot
One of the last teams thrown into the field during last week’s Bracketology, Texas has one of the best opportunities to get out of the game in Dayton with so many restart games on the schedule. Quickly, the Longhorns capitalized.
Texas appeared poised for an embarrassing home loss to rival Texas A&M as it trailed by 22 points early in the second half. Instead, the Longhorns came back strong to finish the game on a 41-18 run that was capped by Tramon Mark hitting a game-winning shot against the Aggies.
The win capped off a successful week for Texas after beating a hot Missouri team on Tuesday. Now, after an 0-3 start in the SEC, Texas has since gone 3-1, with each win being a Quad 1 victory. Are the Longhorns still eyeing a double-digit seed? Yes, but advancing to the first round is something Rodney Terry will take.
Connecticut, Oregon and West Virginia suffer heavy road losses
Even the nation’s ranked teams can struggle, but it’s different when you lose to struggling teams like Connecticut, Oregon and West Virginia.
The back-to-back defending champions have now lost three of their last five games following the Huskies’ loss to Xavier. Oregon never looked complete against Minnesota, and West Virginia was completely dominated by Kansas State for its third loss in four games. Whether due to injuries or simply season fatigue setting in, all three teams are in pretty bad shape after looking solid earlier in the season.
We also don’t have much time to figure things out. West Virginia has Houston next, Oregon has trips to UCLA and Michigan schools and UConn has Marquette and St. John’s approaching on the schedule. It’s true, it’s make or break, the moments to come.
SEC woes continue at South Carolina
As much as SEC fans like to play what-ifs, South Carolina really has the argument that they would be a strong team in any other conference.
The Gamecocks remain the only winless team in conference play, a poor 0-7 against the SEC and the only one in the league not above .500. It’s become a tough time for a team that started 10-3 and hasn’t won since the calendar flipped to 2025, but the winless start in the SEC doesn’t mean South Carolina is horrible. In fact, his performance is tight, but he just can’t capitalize in clutch situations.
It took Auburn all the way in a 66-63 loss, lost by the same margin to Vanderbilt thanks to a last-second shot, had a 14-point second-half lead against Florida that turned into a loss by one point and on Saturday took Mississippi State to overtime before falling to the Bulldogs. Lamont Paris has a good team, the unfortunately reality is that they constantly play better teams, and that’s why the Gamecocks are kept at the bottom of a deep league.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: College basketball winners, losers: Auburn. Houston wins big
