College Basketball Takes Center Stage

The NFL offseason has officially begun following the Philadelphia Eagles' dominating win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. With Round 1 of the 2025 NFL draft scheduled for April 24, men's college basketball takes center stage.

Debates regarding quad one wins, nonconference schedule strengths, and the ever-controversial "tournament bubble" teams will undoubtedly increase in frequency and passion.

This week's Bracket Watch highlights some of the best college basketball teams in the country and takes their pulse as March Madness looms in the not-too-distant future.

Last year, UConn completely dominated the NCAA Tournament on its way to winning the national title. The Huskies entered the 2024-25 campaign looking to become the first team since UCLA in the 1960s-1970s to win three consecutive championships.

Even without Donovan Clingan, Alex Karaban, and Tristen Newton, the Huskies possess enough talent to make another national title run. However, the two-time defending national champion fell out of the AP Top 25 poll following a 68-62 loss to St. John's last Friday, ending the nation's fourth-longest active streak of being ranked (53 weeks).

Connecticut has lost three of its last five games and is fourth in the Big East Conference standings.  Despite the Huskies' recent struggles, head coach Dan Hurley remains unfazed.  "I'm very optimistic," Hurley said. "I think right now is a really good time to play us. I think we've got a chance in February to kind of get this thing rolling and be looking a lot different in March."

Florida defeated No. 1 Auburn 90-81 last Saturday (Feb. 8), marking the Gators' first true road win over a top-ranked team in program history and ending the Tigers' 14-game winning streak.  Florida won despite being without guard Alijah Martin, who missed the upset because of a hip pointer.

Florida became the fifth team in AP poll history to defeat two different No. 1 teams in a single season (Tennessee and Auburn). The good news for Florida fans is that Martin was "moving around really well" in practice this week, according to head coach Todd Golden, and should be back in the starting lineup against No. 22 Mississippi on Tuesday.

Alabama made their inaugural Final Four appearance in 2024 under head coach Nate Oats and is ready to return there once more this season.  Alabama moved up one spot to No.2 following its 85-81 road win at Arkansas on Saturday, marking its sixth straight win. The Crimson Tide led by eighteen points with 6:29 left, but Arkansas went on a 13-2 run to make the game interesting in the final minutes.

Alabama improved to 9-1 in SEC play, marking the third time the Tide have started 9-1 or better in conference play during Oats' tenure.

The Jayhawks don't possess the rim protection of last season's team but have plenty of depth and scoring ability thanks to Hunter Dickinson, Zeke Mayo, Dajuan Harris, and KJ Adams, Jr. However, a lack of consistency continues to haunt the Jayhawks.  In each of its last six games, Kansas has followed each win with a loss, including last Saturday's 81-73 loss to Kansas State.

In the past two seasons, Kansas is 5-8 on the road against unranked teams.

Duke is an established top seed, boasting one of the best defenses in the country. While not as deep as Tennessee or Alabama, its speed and excellent guard play allow it to easily wear down opponents. Duke is also one of the nation's premier three-point shooting teams, making 44% of its three-point attempts this season.

Duke's surprising 77-71 loss to Clemson on Saturday ended its 16-game win streak, the longest active streak in Division I before February 8 and the program's longest win streak since the 2005-06 season (17 games). Clemson outscored Duke 40-22 in the paint and finished with a 36-23 edge in rebounding.

Creighton made waves last season as an unexpected Sweet 16 team and has a solid roster led by Ryan Kalkbrenner, Steven Ashworth, and Jamiya Neal.  The Blue Jays have won nine consecutive games following last Saturday's 77-67 win over No. 11 Marquette, moving within one game of Big East leader St. John's.  It marked a program-record ninth-straight Big East win for the Bluejays and matched their best 13-game start in Big East play since they joined the conference in 2013-14.