Week 6: The Best Non-Con Saturday Ever?
Helloooooooo my friends in College Hoops!
Welcome back to the BracketBound newsletter, I hope everyone had a fantastic last week and that your last full week of work before the holidays off to a nice, easy start. I don’t always get to just post up all day on Saturday and watch every single game, in fact I rarely do that because there’s usually something going on, but I did just that this weekend and buddy…it had to be one of the best December college basketball days of all time. Started it off with Memphis @ Clemson at about 9am Mountain Time here, ended it with Gonzaga vs. UCONN about ~12 hours later, and there was never a dull moment. It was spectacular - one of the better non-con slates in modern history. I hope you all had a chance to partake and enjoy a bit on Saturday, as well.
Before we start talking about SEC teams beating non-SEC teams, which is the template for the recap of every game this season, I wanted to share that we posted our first podcast on Monday! It’s available now on Spotify, and we’ll work to post the next episode (hol’ up, waaaaaait) on Apple, next week. If you’re into podcasts, give it a listen / subscribe / review / share, and let me know your thoughts and if there’s anything specific you want me to talk about. I’m going to keep this newsletter light because there’s a whole hour of me riffing on that podcast…I’m still working through how to divide and conquer between the pod and this blog, but we’ll figure that out as we go along. And now, the Top 10 most important stories from last week:
Tennessee beats Illinois 66-64 in one of the best ugly games you’ll ever watch. Jordan Gainey went coast to coast to beat Illinois at the last second…it was heartbreaking for an Illini crowd that was bumping all day. Offensively, this was an absolutely disgusting game to watch…but it was so competitive that it was somehow still fun to watch. Tennessee shot 32% from the field and 25% from 3 (6/24), while Illinois shot 29.4% from the field, 17% from 3 (4/23). Tennessee shot 20/28 from the charity stripe, while Illinois hit 30/36…almost half their points were free throws. On the bright side, both teams had very good rebounding days! Jordan Gainey was the hero - he had 23 pts on 6/14 shooting (3/6 from 3) and 8/9 from FT. Jakucionis had 22 pts (5/15, 2/7 from 3, 10/14 from FT) for Illinois.
UCONN wins their 3rd straight big game against Gonzaga (77-71), and I don’t want to say Gonzaga are frauds but it might be time to start asking questions. UCONN is back - they’ve won 4 in a row, 3 in a row vs. KenPom Top 40 teams (Baylor, Texas, Gonzaga). Liam McNeeley might be the best player on this UCONN team…he’s proving to be every bit as good as advertised, which I was admittedly skeptical about. He was far and away UCONN’s scoring leader with 26 pts on 7/13 shooting. Notably, no other starter had double digits. But the bench played pretty well: Jaylin Stewart had 10 pts in 19 mins, 4/5 FG and 2/2 from 3, and Tarris Reed had 12 pts on 5/9 shooting after Samson Johnson got hurt. I don’t know what to make of Gonzaga. They’ve lost 3 of their last 5, against West Virginia, Kentucky, and now UCONN. Their good wins are Baylor (by 38), Arizona State at home by 8, and at San Diego State by 13 (maybe a better win than some are appreciating). Khalif Battle was the main source of energy and fight behind Gonzaga’s effort. He had 21 pts on 6/12 shooting (4/6 from 3). Nembhard had 16 pts on 6/15 shooting (1/4 from 3), Ajayi had 14 pts on perfect 6/6 shooting (which is rare), and no one else scored in double digits. Gonzaga’s frontcourt was disappointing. Ike only had 3 pts on 1/3 shooting because of foul trouble (only played 12 mins). Huff and Gregg didn’t shoot the ball well, Huff had 8 pts on 4/10 and Gregg had 5 pts on 1/4. Oh, and Dan Hurley is playing nice with the refs again now that his team is winning games.
Louisville battles hard to restore rivalry with Kentucky that is reinvigorated by new coaching faces, but falls short at Rupp 93-85. The rivalry is back - there was a little scuffle, good energy involved - credit to Louisville for hanging around as much as they did. They were as close as 3 pts away with 12 mins to go…and as close as 5 pts down with the ball, with 2 mins to go. Lamont Butler returned from injury for Kentucky, and went 10/10 from the field, 6/6 from 3, to score a career high 33 pts…if he doesn’t do that, Louisville might actually win this game. But the Wildcats shot 58% from the field, 11/21 (52.4%) from 3…which is hard to beat. Give Louisville credit, they played 7 guys and still managed to keep it close on the road. The Cardinals shot 44% from the field, hit 14/39 (36%) from 3. Chucky Hepburn led the way with 26 pts (9/18, 4/6 from 3), 5 boards, 5 assists. Terrance Edwards added 23 pts on 5/7 shooting. I think this game could say a lot about both teams. Louisville is tough and has some talented players. It sucks that they’re dealing with bad injury luck, but they’ll give some teams hell, even if they don’t end up making the tournament in Kelsey’s first season. Kentucky is going to be difficult to outscore, but they’re not going to make it very hard for their opponents to try - which could hurt them eventually.
Dayton scores 5 points in the first 10 mins, then somehow beats Marquette 71-63? Dayton was down 18-5 and still managed to win by a comfortable 8 points. Enoch Cheeks had 14 pts, Zed Key and Javon Bennett had 15 pts, and Nate Santos had 12 pts and 13 rebs. Meanwhile, the Flyers’ star point guard Malachi Smith had 11 assists to only 1 turnover (FWIW, he’s #1 in KenPom’s assist rate). Marquette had 13 TO’s while Dayton only had 7, and Dayton outrebounded them 38-31. Chase Ross had 19 pts (6/10, 2/5) and Kam Jones had 18 (6/13, 2/5). This was a MASSIVE win for Dayton, who hadn’t had a Top 10 win since beating Pitt at home in 2007. They’re 9-2 with wins over Marquette, UCONN, and Northwestern, only losses being to UNC and Iowa State…sheesh.
Purdue loses 70-66 at home to Texas A&M, who is beating teams with some of the ugliest basketball you’ll ever see. Zhuric Phelps had 16 pts on 4/9 FG (2/4 3FG) and 6/7 FT, while Pharrell Payne had 16 pts on 6/6 FG and 9 rebounds. For Purdue: Braden Smith had 15 pts on 5/11 3FG, Foster Loyer had 12, TKR had 11, and CJ Cox had 10…but he was the only bench player to score. The deeper pieces of Purdue’s rotation haven’t been very reliable in some of these big-time matchups. Purdue got outrebounded 34-23, A&M had 14 offensive rebounds and shot 41% from 3. There were 34 turnovers in this game…another beautiful basketball contest.
Memphis upsets Clemson 87-82 in OT to bounce back from their embarrassing Arkansas State loss! Clemson had 20 seconds at the end of regulation to take a game-winning shot, and Chase Hunter dribbled for 16 seconds then took a DEEP, contested 3, which he missed badly. Hunter had a good day overall, 17 pts on 7/14 shooting, but messed up in some big moments. I would’ve handed it to Jaeden Zackery, he was 3/4 from 3 on the day. Lahkin and Schieffelin were awesome too - 23 pts and 17 pts respectively. But Memphis shot 12/25 from 3 (48%) and 52% from the field, which is hard to keep up with. Tyrese Hunter was 7/11 from downtown and had 24 pts, while Colby Rogers had 22 pts on 4/7 shooting from 3. When Memphis is on, they can beat almost anyone. They have a few dudes who can flat-out ball.
UCLA fights back to take down old rival Arizona 57-54 in the Hall of Fame Rivalry by Continental Tire, who is now a lowly 4-5. Arizona had a 13 pt lead in the 2nd half and still managed to blow it. Both teams were horrible shooting from distance - Arizona shot 2/16 (12.5%), and UCLA shot 4/21 (19%). Tyler Bilodeau had 17 for UCLA - he’s easily their most important player on offense. Skyy Clark had 15 pts, making 3/7 from deep. Jaden Bradley and Trey Townsend were the only Cats to break double digits. Caleb Love was 3/10 and 1/7 from 3, scoring 7 points…that brings him to 36.6% from the field on the year and 28% from 3, averaging his lowest points since his freshman year. Not great! UCLA is now 9-1, and they continue to win with tough defensive play - they have the #4 defense in the country per KenPom.
Cincinnati beats Xavier 68-65 to to win their first crosstown shootout in 6 years. Xavier took the lead before half and led most of the second half, before the Bearcats staged a late comeback. This was also not a beautiful offensive game - Xavier shot 38% and 32% from 3 (6/19), and Cincy shot 38% and 25% from 3. Freemantle had 18 pts, Ryan Conwell had 17, and Dylan Swain had 13. Unfortunately for the Musketeers, Freemantle is out indefinitely with another lower body injury. For Cincinnati: Aziz Bandaogo had 12 pts on 4/4 FG, Dillon Mitchell had 11 on 4/5 FG, Lukosius had 14 pts, and Skillings had 10.
Dylan Harper hits a game winning 3 to elevate Rutgers over Seton Hall, 66-63! Seton Hall didn’t help their case - they played horrible on-ball defense on the last play. Harper and fellow five star teammate Ace Bailey combined for 45/66 points for Rutgers - only one other player (Jordan Derkack) had more than 4 pts. Seton Hall drops to 5-6; only Isaiah Coleman played well for the Pirates. Shaheen Holloway’s team may be cooked for this season.
The SEC’s dominance is getting ridiculous. The conference’s teams went 13-1 on Saturday, and the league’s overall record is 144-20 so far. Its teams are 17-8 vs. AP Top 25 opponents, 55-17 vs. major conference teams, and 42-6 vs. the Big 12 and ACC. All 16 teams in the league are currently ranked in the Top 68 per KenPom. Shoutout Brett Edgerton for those statistical nuggets.
Other Games & Off The Court Happenings::
Auburn DESTROYS Ohio State, 91-53
Florida rolls over Arizona State 83-66 to remain undefeated
OU also remains undefeated after cruising to a 80-65 victory in Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State
Kansas wins a get-right game at home vs. NC State 75-60, and Zeke Mayo scores season high 28 pts
Wisconsin beat Butler 83-74 to snap their 3 game losing streak
Alabama pulls away late to beat Creighton in Tuscaloosa, 83-75
Boise State gets another big win, this time over SMC in OT, 67-65
Our beloved UC Irvine Anteaters have finally fallen (to Oregon State, 67-55)
On Sunday, San Francisco handed Loyola Chicago its first loss - Malik Thomas had 35 pts
Earlier in the week: Iowa State got a tough 89-80 win vs. Iowa in Cy-Hawk game, outsourcing the Hawkeyes 52-36 in the second half. And Nebraska got big win at home over the visiting Hoosiers - Brice Williams is a stud.
The 2026 Final Four logo stinks
Dickie V is cancer free after successful lymph node surgery!
WCC suing GCU for breach of contract for not paying entry and exit fees after the school decided to join the Mountain West instead of the WCC
UPCOMING SLATE:
Tuesday, Dec 17
DePaul @ St. John’s
UNC vs. Florida (Charlotte)
Clemson @ South Carolina
UNLV @ Dayton
Seton Hall @ Villanova
Drake @ Kansas State
Wednesday, Dec 18
Creighton @ Georgetown
Xavier @ UCONN
Memphis @ UVA
Butler @ Marquette
OU @ Michigan…don’t think anyone expected this to be a ranked matchup in October
Samford @ Arizona
VCU @ New Mexico
Wazzu @ UW (Apple Cup!)
Friday, Dec 20
St. John’s @ Providence
Cincinnati @ Dayton
Saturday, Dec 21
Duke @ Georgia Tech
Marquette @ Xavier
UCONN @ Butler
Princeton @ Rutgers
Syracuse @ Maryland
Mississippi State @ Memphis
Wake Forest @ Clemson
Louisville @ Florida State
UCLA vs. UNC (MSG)
Villanova @ Creighton
DePaul @ Northwestern
Purdue @ Auburn
Colorado State @ Nevada
Ohio State vs. Kentucky (MSG)
Utah vs. Iowa (Sanford Pentagon)
Oregon vs. Stanford (San Jose)
Cal vs. San Diego State (San Jose)
Sunday, Dec 22
Illinois vs. Mizzou (St. Louis)
Saint Louis @ Grand Canyon
Georgetown @ Seton Hall
Utah State @ Saint Mary’s
Quick Breakdown of Upcoming Games:
Tuesday: I really want to pick UNC to rebound with a big win, but they haven’t given me much reason to believe they will against a HOT Florida team. Sorry Heels, give me the Gators.
Wednesday: I think UCONN beats up on Xavier and the struggles continue for the Musketeers. I like Marquette to take their frustrations out on Butler, too. I’m going to pick Michigan to end OU’s undefeated campaign - they’re a more well-rounded team, while OU is a bit top-heavy.
Friday: Give me Rick Pitino winning at PC and Dayton continuing their dominance with another big win over Cincinnati at home. Flyers have given me way more to believe in than the Bearcats thus far.
Saturday: I’m going to mostly take favorites on what’s likely to be a less eventful Saturday in the sport. I like Duke, Marquette, UCONN, Auburn, and Kentucky. I like Memphis to keep shooting well (44% from 3 as a team, 2nd in the country…unreal) at home over Mississippi State. I think I’m going to take UNC over UCLA at MSG, too. They’ve got way more offensive firepower, and UCLA could not be traveling further for this game.
Sunday: Illinois over Mizzou - the Illini are a better team, and they might have the 3 best players in this game. Saint Mary’s bounces back with a big win over (potentially still) undefeated Utah State.
The BracketBound Top 40 Teams That Matter:
National Title Favorites
1. Tennessee
2. Auburn
3. Iowa State
Serious Final Four Contenders
4. Kentucky
5. Duke
6. Alabama
7. Florida
Could Make a Final Four (and Beat Most Teams on a Good Day)
8. Oregon
9. Marquette
10. Kansas
11. Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma
13. Purdue
14. Ole Miss
15. UCONN
16. Gonzaga
Could Make an Elite Eight Run, but Probably Not Make a Final Four
17. UCLA
18. Michigan State
19. San Diego State
20. Clemson
21. Dayton
22. Michigan
23. Houston
24. Mississippi State
25. Illinois
26. Memphis
27. Wisconsin
28. Baylor
29. Maryland
Should Make the Tournament, but Sweet Sixteen is the Ceiling
30. Missouri
31. Drake
32. Utah State
33. Creighton
34. St. John’s
35. Penn State
36. Arizona State
37. Georgia
38. Pittsburgh
39. West Virginia
40. Arkansas
Others: Cincinnati, Boise State, Saint Mary’s, North Carolina, Texas, Texas Tech, VCU, Iowa, BYU, Nevada, San Francisco, Nebraska, and SMU
Alright y’all, that’s it for this week! Thanks for reading again this week - if you listened to the podcast (or if you plan to), thank you so much for checking that out and I promise it will only get better over time. I hope your last full week before the holidays isn’t too stressful, I hope you get to watch some more college hoops, and I hope the games are entertaining, for everyone’s sake. Thanks again, I’ll talk to you again this time next week!
Humbly Yours,
BracketBound