College basketball scores, winners and losers: Tennessee stands as last undefeated team one day into SEC play

Three college basketball teams entered Saturday with undefeated records. But only one team — No. 1 Tennessee — exited the day unscathed.

No. 6 Florida and No. 12 Oklahoma fell at No. 10 Kentucky and at No. 5 Alabama, respectively, to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten after a big Saturday shakeup on the first day of SEC play, leaving the Vols — who are now 14-0 after a 76-52 win over No. 23 Arkansas — as the only team still standing with a perfect record exactly two months into the season. 

For now, at least. Because up next for Tennessee: a road test in the O’Dome to face feisty Florida on Tuesday. 

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, because Saturday deserves our undivided attention. Not only did undefeated teams fall, but Big 12 heavyweights made noise, No. 4 Duke and UNC won as narrow road favorites and a winless team scored its first victory of the season after more than a dozen tries. 

That’s a slate worth celebrating. So we’ve done so accordingly in the space below with a look at all the big winners and losers from Saturday in the sport.

How the AP Top 25 fared

Winner: Auburn struts behind another big game from Broome

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Auburn dominated in a win behind another dazzling two-way performance from star senior Johni Broome.

It’s routine at this point, right? 

Broome delivered a 24-point, four-block, seven-rebound outing for the No. 2 Tigers on Saturday and in the process helped down an outclassed Missouri team 84-68. It was Broome’s ninth 20-plus point game of the young season, and Auburn’s ninth win of 15 or more points — despite playing a nonconference schedule that was among the toughest in the entire sport and included a dominant run in a loaded Maui Invitational.

“Auburn is a great basketball team,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said, comparing Auburn and its chip-on-the-shoulder style of play to the 2018-19 Virginia team that won the title one year after losing as a No. 1 seed to No. 16 seed UMBC.

Auburn lost as a No. 4 seed to No. 13 seed Yale last NCAA Tournament and has been – for my money – the best team in college hoops this season thus far. A big win over a quality conference opponent only added to that case as the Tigers improved to 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in SEC action. — Kyle Boone

Winner: Brea goes bananas for UK in top-10 thriller

Kentucky sharpshooter Koby Brea picked an opportune time to score a career-high 23 points. The No. 10 Wildcats needed every bit of firepower the Dayton transfer could provide in order to outlast No. 6 Florida for a thrilling 106-100 victory. He drilled 7 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc while elevating his 3-point percentage to 58.5% for the season. Brea shot 49.8% from deep for the Flyers last season, and the early returns suggest his marksmanship will translate to college basketball’s toughest conference with no problem. — David Cobb

Loser: South Carolina slapped in SEC opener

After a 10-3 run through nonconference play, South Carolina opened conference action Saturday with a siren-blasting wake-up call courtesy of Mississippi State – which took down the Gamecocks in Starkville 85-50. The 35-point loss was South Carolina’s seventh-largest margin of defeat since 2000, per CBB Reference, and fifth-largest of the last decade. 

“I’ll try to simplify it as much as I can,” Paris said via Alan Cole of Rivals. “They did a lot of things well, and we didn’t do many things well at all.”

That is certainly a succinct way to summate what was a butt-whooping by the Bulldogs. Mississippi State made more than double the amount of shots from the field (35 to 16) as South Carolina and blocked 10 shots and forced 14 turnovers in the 35-point beatdown. Only two of South Carolina’s 19 3-point attempts found the bottom of the net in the loss – tied for the fewest in a game since the 2022-23 season – and its 10 blocked shots were the most shots it has had swatted in a single game since Florida blocked 11 Gamecocks shots in January 2022. — Boone

Winner: West Virginia follows up its big win

Coming off a shorthanded upset win at No. 7 Kansas on Tuesday, there was no emotional letdown for West Virginia, which improved to 11-2 (2-0 Big 12) with a 69-50 win over Oklahoma State. The victory was particularly sweet for WVU guard Javon Small, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds while playing against his former team. It marked the second straight double-double for Small, who is playing like an All-American for the surging Mountaineers after suffering through a 12-20 season with the Cowboys last season. — Cobb

Loser: Arkansas gets rude intro to SEC play

If Arkansas’ SEC debut under John Calipari was any indication, you can scratch the No. 23 Razorbacks off the list of league title contenders. No. 1 Tennessee eviscerated the Hogs 76-52 with a 24-9 edge in offensive rebounds as the Vols physically manhandled a Razorbacks team that started former Vol Jonas Aidoo at center. The Hogs hit just 6 of 29 shots from 3-point range and were never within single digits after the 5:08 mark in the first half. Juxtaposed with No. 10 Kentucky’s 106-100 takedown of No. 6 Florida, it was further evidence that the Wildcats are winning the Calipari breakup. — Cobb

Winner: UNC bailed out by Notre Dame

North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau isn’t known for his 3-point shooting. Cadeau shot just under 19% from distance last season and came into the weekend shooting 23.7% from beyond the arc on 2.7 attempts. Cadeau knocked down the biggest 3-pointer — and shot — of his North Carolina career in the thrilling 74-73 win over Notre Dame. Cadeau connected on a triple to tie the game at 73 and knocked down a free throw moments after he was fouled on the shot to complete the 4-point play. North Carolina needed this win in the worst way. It could be the positive momentum Hubert Davis’ program needs to get back on track. — Cameron Salerno

Winner: Winless teams shrink to two

Winless teams now outnumber undefeated teams in college basketball by a 2-to-1 margin after Jackson State — 0-13 entering the weekend — got its first victory of the season Saturday. The Tigers went on the road to face also-winless Alcorn State (0-14) and returned home with a 72-69 win under its belt. Alcorn State is now just one of two winless teams still standing alongside Canisius (0-13), which is back in action for the first time in two weeks on Sunday at Sacred Heart. — Boone

Winner: Alabama’s offense keeps rolling

For a second time in as many outings, Alabama’s offense eclipsed the 100-point mark and won – decisively – in Tuscaloosa. Saturday’s win came against No. 12 Oklahoma 107-79 as the Tide hit nine 3-pointers and scored 56 points in the paint to down the previously-unbeaten Sooners. It’s the third time this season Alabama has scored 100 or more points and 14th time over the last two seasons, most among all teams in college basketball. – Boone

Winner: Michigan survives USC’s upset bid 

Michigan won its third Big Ten game in mid-February last season. Under first-year coach Dusty May, Michigan improved to 3-0 in Big Ten play with a resilient 85-74 win over USC in Los Angeles. The Wolverines led by as many as 15 in the opening minutes of the second half before USC rallied back to take a brief lead. Michigan big man Danny Wolf had himself a night: 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and six blocks. If you haven’t watched him play, now is the time to start. — Salerno

Loser: Texas falls flat in SEC debut

Playing in its first conference game as a member of the SEC against a rival in Texas A&M it has not faced in more than five years, Texas failed to keep up on offense with the Aggies and didn’t have anywhere close to enough juice defensively in an 80-60 loss. A&M held the Longhorns to 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half and 6-of-24 shooting from the field, relying on its defense – as ever – to carry it home. It’s a disappointing start to SEC play for Texas as part of a gauntlet to open conference play, which includes tilts against Auburn, Tennessee and Oklahoma – a combined 40-2 between them – coming up over the next week. — Boone

Loser: Green Bay drops 12th straight

The Doug Gottlieb experiment at Green Bay continues to produce poor results as the Phoenix dropped their 12th straight game with a 78-60 loss at Northern Kentucky. Nine of those 12 losses have come by double-digits, and Green Bay is now 0-6 in Horizon League play. Gottlieb’s club hit 13 of 26 3-pointers on Saturday but was whistled for 22 fouls, leading to 26 NKU free throws. By comparison, Green Bay shot just six free throws. After failing to reach 10 wins in three straight seasons, Green Bay cycled up to 18-14 under coach Sundance Wicks last season before Wicks left for Wyoming. Now, it appears the Phoenix are back in the pit of despair. — Cobb

Loser: UCLA falls to Nebraska on the road

UCLA lost only its third game of the season on Saturday with a 66-58 loss to Nebraska on the road. The Bruins were coming off an emotional win over Gonzaga in Los Angeles … which happened less than a week after squandering a double-digit lead against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. The Bruins have wins over Oregon, Arizona and Gonzaga but have suffered losses to New Mexico, North Carolina, and now Nebraska. Although the Big Ten is wide open (and UCLA was technically a slim underdog to Nebraska), it’s hard to determine where UCLA fits within the Big Ten pecking order. — Salerno

Winner: Iowa State records statement win over Baylor

Iowa State entered the weekend as the highest-scoring offense in the Big 12, but the way they won Saturday’s game against Baylor was its relentless defense. The Cyclones held one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country in check and used their strong bench to pull away for good. Iowa State outscored Baylor in bench points 25-10, and a majority of them came from Curtis Jones, who has been one of the best reserve guards in the country. Iowa State should be one of the frontrunners to win the Big 12 heading into the second weekend of January and it has now won nine straight games since losing to Auburn in the Maui Invitational. — Salerno 

Loser: Dayton stumbles out of the gate in Atlantic 10

Dayton tested itself with a tough nonconference slate that included wins over Northwestern, UConn and Marquette. At 11-3, the Flyers entered the day projected as a No. 6 seed of the NCAA Tournament in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology. Then, they took a stunning 82-62 loss at George Washington, which was predicted to finish 13th of 15 teams in the A-10 preseason poll. Give credit to the Revolutionaries, who are off to a 12-3 start, but this was a concerning showing for Dayton. The Flyers fell behind 43-27 at halftime and let the GW backcourt tandem of Gerald Drumgoole Jr. and Christian Jones combine for 10 makes from 3-point range. — Cobb

Loser: Miami’s struggles continue

A 4-8 start to the season prompted Jim Larranaga’s abrupt resignation as Miami’s coach the day after Christmas, and that move has not changed the Hurricanes’ fortunes any more than before his departure. The team fell to 0-2 since Larranaga stepped down with an 86-85 road loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday to drop to 4-10 on the season. Miami’s latest loss was perhaps its most agonizing, as it led by four points going into the final minute before giving up a three-point play to Hokies big man Mylyjael Poteat in the final seconds. Poteat converted the basket and drilled his free throw with 2.7 seconds remaining to give Virginia Tech the final edge. — Boone

San Diego State exited Idaho with a huge 76-68 win over Boise State on the road. SDSU forward Miles Byrd scored a team-high 22 points, and Taj DeGourville added 13 points off the bench. Last season, SDSU lost both matchups against Boise State by a combined three points. Boise State entered the week as one of three teams that had yet to lose a game against Mountain West competition. — Salerno

Winner: Houston rolls in battle of Cougars

No Big 12 team has made it more of a habit to hand out humbling losses than Houston since it joined the league — and Saturday was no exception to that custom. Houston dealt BYU an 86-55 beatdown in Houston in the battle of the Cougars, giving them their second-largest win by margin since joining the league behind only its 34-point win over West Virginia last January. For BYU, it’s the program’s third-largest loss since 2000 and its largest loss to a non-Gonzaga opponent since losing by 31 to Air Force on Feb. 21, 2005. — Boone