Jeff BorzelloNov 20, 2025, 09:00 AM ETCloseJeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.Follow on X
play1:17Houston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game HighlightsHouston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game Highlights
play1:15Kansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game HighlightsKansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game Highlights
play0:49Highlight: Kentucky falls to Michigan State in Champions ClassicThe Wildcats shoot 35 percent from the field against the Spartans’ 50 percent as they struggle to keep up in the 83-66 loss in Madison Square Garden.
play0:18Nate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida OspreysNate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida Ospreys
play0:14Darrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro SpartansDarrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro Spartans
Highlight: Labaron Philon Jr. takes over in Alabama’s win over Illinois (1:38)Philon Jr. finishes with 24 points and five assists as the No. 11 Crimson Tide takes down the No. 8 Fighting Illini in a 90-86 thriller. (1:38)
Houston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game HighlightsHouston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game Highlights
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game HighlightsKansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game Highlights
Highlight: Kentucky falls to Michigan State in Champions ClassicThe Wildcats shoot 35 percent from the field against the Spartans’ 50 percent as they struggle to keep up in the 83-66 loss in Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats shoot 35 percent from the field against the Spartans’ 50 percent as they struggle to keep up in the 83-66 loss in Madison Square Garden.
Nate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida OspreysNate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida Ospreys
Darrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro SpartansDarrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro Spartans
play0:18Caleb Wilson with the massive stuff at the rimCaleb Wilson gets up for the rejection
It’s hard to move a No. 1 team down if it doesn’t lose — especially when that No. 1 team just went on the road and knocked off another top-five or top-six team. It takes, frankly, a special résumé.
Purdue will look to boost its own profile and regain its perch atop the sport in December when it faces Iowa State and Auburn, while Arizona has contests against Auburn and Alabama on back-to-back weekends. Houston could also make an argument for the top spot if it wins the Players Era Festival next week in Las Vegas.
For now, though, Arizona’s impressive collection of early wins gives the Wildcats the edge for No. 1.
The return of Trey Kaufman-Renn has been a massive boost for the Boilermakers, with the All-American candidate picking up where he left off last season. Kaufman-Renn was integral in last week’s win at Alabama (19 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists), then was again the most productive player on the floor against Akron (17 points, 15 rebounds). He now has grabbed 15 rebounds three times in his career: in last season’s penultimate game and the first two of this campaign.
The absence of Tarris Reed Jr. was a clear factor in the loss to Arizona on Wednesday, but the Huskies’ rebounding issues against the Wildcats weren’t necessarily a new development. The Huskies also struggled to prevent BYU from getting to the offensive glass in Saturday’s win against the Cougars and are sub-200 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. That is notable, given the Huskies have ranked in the top 25 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage in each of the past six seasons.
Amid all the hype surrounding Mikel Brown Jr. and the Louisville guards, the Cardinals are also getting incredible mileage out of their unheralded frontcourt. Germany native Sananda Fru has been quietly one of the best international additions of the season, scoring in double-figures in three of four games and averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds through the first couple weeks.
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game Highlights
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Duke Blue Devils: Game Highlights
If Michigan State can shoot like it did in Tuesday’s win over Kentucky, look out, Big Ten. The Spartans went 11-for-22 from 3-point range after going just 13-for-60 in their first three games — they set a season-high in made 3s with more than 26 minutes left in the game. More importantly, coach Tom Izzo received the wing production Michigan State looked like it was lacking entering the season. Kur Teng had a breakout performance with 15 points, while Trey Fort contributed 13.
Next seven days: vs. Detroit Mercy (Nov. 21), Fort Myers Tip-Off (vs. East Carolina, vs. North Carolina)
Highlight: Kentucky falls to Michigan State in Champions Classic
As Florida’s guards continue to get acclimated, the Gators’ frontcourt will have to continue to carry them in the early season — and it’s been more than just Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon. Starting center Rueben Chinyelu had one of the best games of his career against Miami this past Sunday, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks less than a week after a 10-point, 16-rebound performance against Florida State.
Mark Few is still figuring out his best lineup, and he opted for a new starting group on Monday against Southern Utah. He went with freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery instead of Braeden Smith, who started the first four games, and opted for talented scorer Tyon Grant-Foster over top defender Emmanuel Innocenti. The competition wasn’t the best barometer, but Saint-Supery was terrific with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 steals.
Wednesday’s win against Middle Tennessee finally brought out the Yaxel Lendeborg that Michigan thought it signed up for when it landed the UAB transfer. Lendeborg had gotten off to a slow start in Ann Arbor, averaging 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first three games. But on Wednesday, he looked like the incredibly productive player he had been the past couple of seasons, finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists, shooting 9-for-11 from the field and making a pair of 3s.
Luke Bamgboye’s arrival at Texas Tech after transferring from VCU wasn’t met with a huge amount of hoopla, but the 6-foot-11 England native was considered one of the elite rim protectors in the country last season. He missed the first three games of this campaign with an injury but returned to play 13 minutes against Milwaukee, blocking four shots in his brief debut. Bamgboye, who ranked second nationally in block rate last season, should dramatically upgrade Tech’s interior defense.
Caleb Wilson with the massive stuff at the rimCaleb Wilson gets up for the rejection
Nate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida Ospreys
Nate Ament throws down big flush vs. North Florida Ospreys
Arkansas struggled to beat Samford and Winthrop this past week, winning both games by a combined five points and needing a furious final-minute comeback to beat the Eagles — not the ideal preparation for games against Duke and Louisville in the next two weeks. The Razorbacks’ defense has been especially porous, allowing Samford and Winthrop to make a combined 25 3-pointers and score a combined 1.10 points per possession.
Another team ready to jumpstart its schedule is Wisconsin, which has faced the No. 337 toughest slate so far, according to KenPom. But the Badgers now face a six-game stretch against teams all ranked inside the top 70 at KenPom: BYU, Providence, Northwestern, Marquette, Nebraska and Villanova. Wisconsin is still likely to be favored in all but one or two of those games, but we’ll have a better idea of Greg Gard’s team one month from now.
Darrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro Spartans
Darrion Williams nails the 3-pointer vs. UNC Greensboro Spartans
Through the first four games of the season, Keyshawn Hall was looking like one of the elite transfers in college basketball. The well-traveled former UCF forward averaged 23.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in that stretch, tallying three double-doubles and scoring at least 20 points in each game. But he suffered what Steven Pearl called a lateral ankle and foot sprain in Auburn’s loss to Houston and didn’t play in Wednesday’s win over Jackson State. His timetable to return is undetermined.
Jaden Bradley developing into one of the best point guards in the country has been arguably the biggest game changer in Arizona’s terrific start to the season. He took over late in the wins over Florida and UCLA, scoring 10 straight and 7 straight points, respectively. Against UConn, Bradley had a layup with 16 seconds left to put Arizona up 3. “When you have a point guard who is selfless and also a baller and has big enough cojones to take and make those shots at the end of a game, it’s pretty special,” Lloyd said after the game.
Kingston Flemings wasn’t the highest-ranked of the Cougars’ freshmen heading into the season, but word out of Houston indicated he was likely to be the most productive in Year 1 — and that’s been true so far. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 assists, shooting 40% from 3-point range, and went for 22 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in Sunday’s win over Auburn. Per ESPN Research, he became just the fourth freshman in the past 30 seasons to have 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in consecutive games for the AP No. 1 team.
A win, in Chicago, over Illinois, less than two weeks after a win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden? Alabama is ahead of schedule. Labaron Philon Jr. bounced back from his up-and-down performance against Purdue to finish with 24 points, 5 assists and just 1 turnover, constantly putting Illinois’ ball-screen defense in problematic situations. And the X factor for Nate Oats’ team Wednesday was Tarleton State transfer Keitenn Bristow, who missed the first three games of the season with an ankle injury. Bristow came off the bench to post 10 points and 8 rebounds, giving the Tide a real boost with his motor.
After Tuesday’s Champions Classic, Kansas coach Bill Self was asked to compare this year’s Duke team to last year’s version, which the Jayhawks played around this same time a year ago. While he acknowledged that the 2024-25 roster had “undeniable” talent (see: Cooper Flagg), he had high praise for the 2025-26 group. “I actually thought this year’s Duke team was playing better than last year’s Duke team in early November,” Self said. “I actually thought their execution and ball movement and all that stuff was better this time than it was last year at this time.”