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After one month of the 2024-2025 college basketball, one message is clear.
It’s the SEC’s world this season, and we are all witnesses.
We tried to tell you during SEC Media Days that the SEC would be the best basketball league in the country.
Some scoffed. Some clutched their dusty VHS tapes of Tobacco Road and Big East wars from seasons long past. Some simply needed to see it to believe it.
No one doubts now.
Feast Week was the latest evidence of the absolute wagon that SEC basketball has become.
The SEC went 24-6 in Feast Week games, with 20 of those wins coming against high-major opponents. The SEC left Feast Week with multiple event champions, from Auburn’s torrid run through a loaded Maui Invitational to Oklahoma’s stunning win at a stacked Battle 4 Atlantis to Florida’s ESPN Events Invitational title, which came in 2 wins by an average of 27 points.
The SEC’s strength stands in stark contrast to the ACC, one of the weakest Power 5 leagues through the first month of the season. Only 1 ACC team is in the top 10. Only 3 programs are ranked.
Still, there are some juicy matchups in the 2nd Annual ACC-SEC Challenge, and the bulk of those games play out on Wednesday night.
New bloods challenging bluebloods.
The ACC program most recently crowned a national champion vs. the SEC program with the most titles this century.
One league known for football playing the best basketball in the country. One storied hoops league struggling.
It’s a juicy event, but Wednesday’s games are the jewels of the 2-day showcase.
Here’s a breakdown of every game in the ACC-SEC Challenge being contested on Wednesday.
No. 10 Alabama at No. 20 North Carolina (7:15 p.m., ESPN)
Two teams with lingering questions meet at the Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday night in a rematch of one of the best games from last year’s NCAA Tournament. Alabama defeated North Carolina 89-87 in a Sweet 16 thriller buoyed by a career game from forward Grant Nelson, who torched the Tar Heels to the tune of 24 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Alabama didn’t get many stops, but it got enough to erase a 1o-point Carolina lead and win.
Both teams enter this game needing a signature win.
The problem for Alabama (6-2) is that the defense is still not good enough. Nate Oats went to great lengths to address that fix in the offseason, even bringing in an NBA title-winning defensive coordinator in Brian Adams. So far, it hasn’t helped much. The Crimson Tide allowed 1.12 points per possession in their loss to Oregon in the Players Era Festival final, the 5th consecutive game they’ve given up at least 1.05 ppp. Complicating matters is the fact that Latrell Wrightsell Jr., their best perimeter defender, is being evaluated for an Achilles’ injury, and their best interior defender, Clifford Omoruyi, has struggled mightily since a great opening-night performance against UNC-Asheville.
It isn’t all doom and gloom: The offense is prolific, guard Mark Sears is still an All-American and freshmen Labaron Philon has looked every bit as good as advertised. But the Tide will need to guard better to win a national championship, which was Sears and Oats’ stated goal at SEC Media Days.
At North Carolina, All-American RJ Davis and his backcourt mates Seth Trimble and Elliot Cadeau have been fun to watch. The Tar Heels have scored 87 points or more in all but 1 game this season, and they hit 90 twice at the Maui Invitational.
Unfortunately, the front court is a mess. Jae’Lyn Withers is a sieve defensively at the 4, and Jalen Washington is getting bullied repeatedly on the interior. There are improvements at the ready on the bench in 5-star freshman wing Drake Powell and Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, the team’s best rebounder. But until Hubert Davis inserts those 2 into the starting lineup, the Heels will suffer defensively.
To wit: With Withers and Washington on the floor, the Heels gave up 1.19 ppp in Maui. With Powell and Lubin on the floor together, that number was just .92, per Synergy. Will Davis adjust? The Heels should also switch less, allowing Trimble, one of the nation’s best on-ball defenders, to stick with Sears throughout Wednesday’s game.
Prediction: North Carolina 91, Alabama 88. Alabama would roll in Tuscaloosa, but this game is in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are tough at home and have circled this game for months. The Tide aren’t equipped to bully them inside, and Carolina is 1 of maybe 3 teams in America that feels it battles Alabama to a draw at the guard position. A huge win for Davis after heartbreaking losses to Kansas and Michigan State.
No. 2 Auburn at No. 9 Duke (9:15 p.m., ESPN)
A third shot for a signature win early in the year for Duke, which has already dropped close games to Kentucky and Kansas. Meanwhile, Auburn is unbeaten and playing like the national title favorite, but it will be playing its 1st game on the road this season after winning 3 at the Maui Invitational on a neutral floor.
This is a classic battle of old and good vs. young and loaded with potential. Cooper Flagg is one of the nation’s best freshmen, and Kon Knueppel is a future star. They will test Auburn’s elite defenders, Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara and Johni Broome. Can Duke score out of the structure of its offense? Only Iowa State has done that consistently against Auburn to date. If the Blue Devils cannot, they won’t push the Tigers long.
Broome is the Wooden Award frontrunner and by far the biggest mismatch in this game. He can score at all 3 levels, control the glass and play ferocious defense inside. Khaman Maluach has struggled inside against elite competition, and outside of Maluach, there’s no natural matchup for Jon Scheyer who can consistently bang with Broome.
Prediction: Auburn 72, Duke 67. Duke will test Auburn, especially the Tigers’ guards, where there’s still no natural point guard outside of Tahaad Pettiford and seldom-used transfer JP Pegues. But Duke won’t make enough shots to win.
No. 18 Pitt at Mississippi State (9:15 p.m., SEC Network)
The Panthers have played like the 2nd-best team in the ACC, losing only to Wisconsin in a splendid game in the Greenbrier Tip-Off Championship during Feast Week. The Panthers have an emerging star in sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, who scored 28 points and dished out 4 assists in 42 minutes in Pitt’s thrilling 91-90 overtime win at Ohio State on Friday. He has made the departure of Carlton Carrington for the NBA bearable for Jeff Capel. Pitt also appears to have found something in wing Zack Austin, who sniped the game-winning triple against the Buckeyes. Austin struggled adjusting to high major basketball after transferring from High Point a season ago. He spent the summer working on his shooting and is making 41.5% on the year in a larger role, a nearly 12-point jump from last year (29.8%).
Miss State hasn’t been tested much. The Bulldogs are 2-1 against the KenPom top 100, but none of those games have come against top-50 competition. Chris Jans’ defense is designed to protect the paint. It will force you to take — and make — 3-pointers and then get rebounds. A season ago, when opponents shot just 29% against State from deep, the ploy worked. This season, opposing teams are shooting 36%. That’s not a good recipe for State’s scheme — or future success.
Prediction: Pitt 79, Miss State 70. The Panthers are better inside-out than the Bulldogs, and their physicality inside, coupled with some sharpshooting from Lowe, will help Pitt get a shiny resume win.
Virginia at No. 13 Florida (7:15 p.m., ESPN2)
The Gators pulverized their opponents in winning the ESPN Events Invitational over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, outscoring Wake Forest and Wichita State by an average of 27 points a contest. Outside of Alabama and North Carolina, there may not be a better, deeper backcourt in America than Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin. The Gators currently rank 2nd in the SEC in offensive efficiency (9th nationally), trailing only Auburn.
But it’s the defense in Gainesville that has impressed outsiders. Florida squandered an elite offense a season ago, losing in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament when Colorado scored on 16 consecutive 2nd-half possessions. Florida brought in 2 elite defenders from the portal in Martin, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional in Florida Atlantic’s run to the Final Four, and big man Rueben Chinyelu, a rebounding machine and rim protector. That defense allowed Florida to suffocate previously unbeaten Wichita State, going on a 27-0 run against the Shockers to build a 48-point lead.
Defense is always Virginia’s calling card, and that has continued in month 1 ATB (After Tony Bennett). Ron Sanchez’s team guards at a high level, protecting the rim by blocking shots and avoiding fouls. But the Hoos struggle mightily to score out of the structure of their offense, and if Isaac McKneely doesn’t make shots, this game could get lopsided.
Prediction: Florida 75, Virginia 56. The Hoos will hang around for a half and bother Florida in its halfcourt offense. But eventually, Florida’s relentless rebounding and defense will create transition opportunities, and Clayton and the Florida guards will take advantage on their way to a comfortable win.
Texas at NC State (9:15 p.m., ESPN2)
The Longhorns won the Legends Classic with the well-traveled Arthur Kaluma (16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) starring in a win over Syracuse and 5-star freshman Tre Johnson leading the way in the championship against Saint Joseph’s. Scoring balance and quality shooting will win this Texas team a lot of games, but it’s the defense right now, especially on the interior, that has impressed. The Longhorns are holding opponents to just 38% on 2-point attempts and a 42.6% effective field-goal percentage overall. Those numbers rank 1st and 20th in the country.
NC State struggles to score, especially when its guards fail to get downhill and force the issue at the basket. NC State is 5-0 in games in which it attempts 20 or more free throws this season. The Wolfpack are 0-2 when they don’t. It’s that simple for Kevin Keatts’ group.
Prediction: Texas 71, NC State 63. A veteran Wolfpack team is a tempting pick against the Longhorns, who are younger and playing their 1st game away from home. But Texas is marvelous at defending without fouling and protecting the paint, negating 2 of NC State’s strengths. Hook ’em rolls late.
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech (9:15 p.m., ACC Network)
Mike Young’s Virginia Tech team has been one of the season’s biggest disappointments.
Mark Byington’s Vanderbilt team has been one of the nation’s biggest pleasant surprises.
Neither team defends, as this is the lone SEC-ACC Challenge game featuring 2 defenses that rank outside the KenPom top 100.
Virginia Tech has dropped 4 consecutive games, plagued by poor defense and turnovers. One of those — a 10-point loss to Jacksonville in the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum — was the nadir. I don’t know if Mike Young is on the hot seat, but it feels like things are trending in the wrong direction in Blacksburg.
The vibes at Vanderbilt are wildly different. The Commodores’ lone loss came to Drake in the Charleston Classic championship game, and Mark Byington has run the same fun, freewheeling offense that made his James Madison teams a nightmare to guard. Playing his final college season, Michigan State transfer AJ Hoggard has been terrific at point guard. Tyler Nickel, a sharpshooting wing who spent last year at Virginia Tech, has also exceeded expectations in Nashville. Picked last in the SEC, the Commodores have a strong chance to enter league play 10-2 or 11-1 if they win this game.
Prediction: Vanderbilt 82, Virginia Tech 75. Hoggard and Jason Edwards are too much at the guard position for the Hokies, who could be looking at an extremely long year in Blacksburg.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
