Jeff BorzelloNov 13, 2025, 07:30 AM ETCloseJeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.Follow on X
play0:21Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1
Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. Houston Cougars: Game Highlights (1:19)Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. Houston Cougars: Game Highlights (1:19)
Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1
play0:17AJ Dybantsa throws down putback slamAJ Dybantsa throws down putback slam
play0:17Luka Bogavac is automatic from 3-point landLuka Bogavac nails the 3 vs. Radford Highlanders
This season’s November slate of men’s college basketball is as loaded as it has ever been, which means notable fluctuation in the early-season rankings. The biggest risers over the first 10 days were Arizona and Alabama, as both programs leveraged their strengths to secure huge road wins over top-five opponents Florida and St. John’s, respectively.
As for Alabama, it was clear the Crimson Tide had elite guards, but it wasn’t clear whether they had the frontcourt balance to make another deep run in March. Against St. John’s, though, their guards were enough. Labaron Philon Jr., Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell combined for 63 points, 10 assists and eight 3-pointers, while 6-foot-10 wing Taylor Bol Bowen had four of the team’s 14 offensive rebounds to go with 17 points.
We did have Louisville right outside the top five in our final preseason top 25, so while the Cardinals’ impressive win over Kentucky doesn’t improve their ranking much, Pat Kelsey’s team — specifically its guards — look every bit like a potential Final Four team.
Purdue doesn’t lose the No. 1 spot, despite struggling for much of Friday’s 87-77 win over Oakland — the Boilermakers still won both of their first two games by double-digits despite injured All-American forward Trey Kaufman-Renn yet to suit up. Braden Smith’s assist numbers and Fletcher Loyer’s scoring exploits have impressed, but freshman forward Jack Benter has been the surprise, averaging 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while hitting six 3s through two games.
Louisville’s first 28-30 minutes against Kentucky on Tuesday was as impressive a stretch as we’ve seen from any team this season. The Cardinals simply overwhelmed the Wildcats with their pace, shooting, depth and aggressiveness. And it doubled as Mikel Brown Jr.’s coming-out party. The star freshman finished with 29 points, 5 assists, 3 3-pointers and only 1 turnover, upping his averages to 19.3 points and 6.7 assists through three games.
What Alabama’s guards did to St. John’s last Saturday was something we have rarely seen since Rick Pitino took over in Queens. The Crimson Tide were consistently able to generate their own shots off the dribble, limiting the impact of the Red Storm’s rotations. Philon was incredible, finishing with 25 points and three assists while making two 3-pointers, with many of his shots coming in contested situations that required impressive body control.
AJ Dybantsa throws down putback slamAJ Dybantsa throws down putback slam
We were ready to move Illinois up even before its win over Texas Tech on Tuesday, simply because the Illini looked like one of the country’s truly elite offenses. But the win over Tech — notably without Tomislav Ivisic — led to a significant rise in the rankings. Kylan Boswell is quietly breaking out over the first few games, averaging 21.0 points and shooting 53% from 3-point range, while also establishing himself as one of college basketball’s premier defensive guards.
Though star transfer Yaxel Lendeborg hasn’t quite made his presence yet, UCLA transfer Aday Mara has been one of the most impressive two-way bigs in the country thus far. The 7-foot-3 Spain native just had 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks against Wake Forest, completely changing the game at both ends of the court. That was on the heels of 12 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks against Oakland. Mara is looking very much like an NBA player.
Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1
Cam Boozer fights off defender for impressive and-1
Luka Bogavac is automatic from 3-point landLuka Bogavac nails the 3 vs. Radford Highlanders
It wasn’t clear whether Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas would have a high enough usage rate to both be among the best freshman guards in the country before the season tipped, but through three games, the five-star recruits look like the nation’s best freshman backcourt and one of the most explosive offensive duos. Acuff is averaging 19.7 points and 4.7 assists, and Thomas — who has started only one of three games — is putting up 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Auburn has responded well to its opening-night overtime struggles against Bethune-Cookman, blowing the doors off Merrimack and Wofford in its past two games. Tahaad Pettiford has yet to really get going, averaging 11.0 points and shooting just 27.9% from the field and 17.4% from 3-point range, but Keyshawn Hall’s production has translated seamlessly from UCF to Auburn. He has scored at least 20 points in all three games while averaging 11.0 rebounds.
It hasn’t been the stiffest of competition, but early returns on the potential Nolan Winter breakout season are positive. He opened with 17 points and 12 rebounds against Campbell, went for 12 points against Northern Illinois then had a 19-point, 10-rebound, 3-block effort in Tuesday’s win over Ball State. It will be interesting to see how he performs next Friday against Keba Keita and BYU, but Winter’s combination of defensive improvement and offensive efficiency is worth watching.
It has been business as usual for Houston so far, holding its three opponents to an average of 50 points. Kelvin Sampson doesn’t typically lean heavily on freshmen, but he’s starting two this season — and both are performing. Chris Cenac Jr. has hit double figures in scoring and rebounding in two games, and Kingston Flemings has been fantastic. Flemings had 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting against Towson, then followed it up Wednesday with 19 points and 9 assists on 8-for-12 shooting against Oakland.
Koa Peat is getting most of the plaudits in the wake of Arizona’s season-opening win over Florida, and justifiably so, considering his incredible debut against the reigning champs. But Jaden Bradley’s senior-year leap might be even more important for the Wildcats. He has taken a backseat nearly every season in college, dating to his complementary role as a freshman at Alabama. But Tommy Lloyd is leaning on Bradley, and he’s responding, with his 27 points and five assists against Florida the highlight so far.
Entering the season, BYU’s perimeter trio of AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III looked to be one of the elite offensive groups in the country. And it seems to be translating on the court. All three are averaging at least 18 points and have each taken between 39 and 43 shots. Dybantsa and Wright have been really difficult for defenders to keep out of the lane, and Saunders — despite the increased usage competition — is actually taking more shots than last season. It will be interesting to see how UConn approaches trying to limit them Saturday.
Florida is only three games into its title defense, and while it’s far too early to draw any real conclusions, there are real concerns developing — particularly on the perimeter. The Gators’ 3-point shooting has been abysmal through the first week and a half, ranking in the bottom 30 nationally at just over 21% from beyond the arc while shooting 30 3s per game. They are turning it over at a fairly high rate, including 18 times against Florida State, and are allowing teams to get into the teeth into the defense far too easily.
Cameron Boozer’s first-week performances weren’t as eye-popping as those of, say, Arizona’s Peat or North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, but he’s averaging 18.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists through three games while getting to the free throw line nearly eight times a game. They’re not the numbers Boozer was posting in Duke’s exhibition games, but the Blue Devils haven’t needed him to reach those heights yet. And when they did need him to rise to the occasion to overcome a narrow first-half deficit against Texas, Boozer responded with 15 points in the second. It’s clear he’ll still be near the top of ranks when it comes to freshman production.
St. John’s point guard issues received plenty of attention in the aftermath of the Red Storm’s loss to Alabama, but an offense that scored 96 points with a 58% assist rate arguably wasn’t the main culprit. It was a hugely disappointing performance at the other end of the court. The Tide scored 103 points, becoming the first nonconference opponent to score 100 against St. John’s since 2004. They also scored 1.22 points per possession, more than the most (1.19) the Red Storm gave up in a game last season.
Gonzaga had arguably the most dominant back-to-back performances we’ve seen this season, beating two potential NCAA tournament teams in Oklahoma and Creighton by a combined 52 points. Though it has been a remarkably balanced effort — four different players scored in double figures in each win — Graham Ike adding a perimeter threat to his game while still maintaining his usual around-the-rim dominance is worth noting. He made all four 3-pointers against Creighton after making only 19 3s in his previous 115 college games.
We’ve said before that there might not have been a better player — besides Cooper Flagg — over the second half of last season than JT Toppin. And after sitting out the opening game of the season, Toppin has picked up where he left off. He had 31 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals against Sam Houston State, then went for 35 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals in Tuesday’s loss to Illinois. His defensive responsibilities might be lessened once elite shot blocker Luke Bamgboye gets healthy. Now the question is whether that could make him even more effective on the offensive end.