Houston and Florida Chase Statement Wins on a High-Drama Sunday Slate

Initially, the Saturday schedule, outside of a few games, didn’t look like it was going to have many great games, but just like every night in this wonderful sport, there were great games up and down the schedule.  Georgetown might be good as they beat Clemson in DC.  The Hoyas now have wins at Maryland and against Clemson.  Those will be good wins when it gets to March.  

Speaking of Maryland, they beat Marquette, but star Pharrel Payne suffered a serious hip injury that likely will put him on the shelf for the season.  The loss of the star will be hard to overcome for the Terrapins, but it rallies the troops, so to speak, today against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are going to struggle this year. 

Nebraska set a Sanford Pentagon scoring record by scoring 105 points and beating Oklahoma 105-99 in a game that had a tournament-like atmosphere.  The Huskers had 20 assists to just five turnovers, and coach Fred Hoiberg’s offense is complex and challenging to stop when the Huskers are hitting shots.  The Sooners have an elite backcourt but need a lot of help in the front court this year.  

We will get to the game of the night, but first, let's talk about another Big Ten team from Minnesota, which escaped with a win in overtime against Green Bay.  The Gophers didn’t look good, were too dependent on Cade Tyson, and got outplayed for most of the game by a Green Bay team that won four games all of last year and only has one win this year.  It is going to be a long year for head coach Niko Medved.

The game of the night goes to BYU and UConn.  The Huskies jumped out to a massive lead before the Cougars, led by AJ Dybantsa, came roaring back.  BYU had a chance to win the game late before a costly turnover led to the clinching free throws by UConn.  The Huskies are a National Championship contender.

Finally, the games on Sunday feature the top two teams in the country, a top-10 team, and another team in the top 25 that still has unanswered questions.  The following games are highlighted below.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Ohio State Buckeyes - Two high-scoring teams look to prove their start wasn’t a fluke.

Ohio State and Notre Dame finally get to take on a power school.  Notre Dame has an athletic roster that is expected to be significantly improved over the past two years under head coach Micah Shrewsberry.  The Irish have scored huge points against far inferior competition.  If Notre Dame were to leave Columbus with a win, it would be a massive step in the right direction for coach Shrewsberry and his program.

Ohio State has one of the best backcourts in the country and can really score.  The same was said about the Buckeyes last year, early in the season, and they were once considered a tournament team.  This year, the offense is legitimate, and point guard Bruce Thornton Jr. is playing like a first-team All-American currently.  Ohio State, much like its opponents, is finally playing a power conference school and needs a strong showing to demonstrate that the program is heading in the right direction.

No. 1 Houston Cougars vs No. 22 Auburn Tigers - The Battleground 2k25 pits two Final Four teams against each other.

Houston was close to winning the National Championship last year.  The Cougars have most of their National Runner-Up team returning, and they have added two freshmen who are playing like two of the best players in the country.  The Cougars are going to defend and make it almost impossible to score.  They rebound, shoot a ton of threes, and now, with their two new freshmen, they are one of the most athletic teams in the country.  Everyone is familiar with how head coach Kelvin Sampson coaches his teams by now. This year, Houston has the extra motivation to win the National Title.

Auburn was one of the best teams in the country last year and was expected to be one of the better teams heading into this year, but their coach, Bruce Pearl, left the team, leaving it in the hands of his son, Stephen Pearl.  The Tigers are currently undefeated but were given an unexpected test by Bethune-Cookman on opening night.  Auburn could be good and should be good, given its current ranking. However, the question is where they fall in the rankings: just how good are they?

Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 10 Florida Gators - Jacksonville Hoops Showdown features high-scoring Hurricanes and the National Champions.

Full disclosure that I did not expect anything from Miami.  The roster was new, coach had never been a head coach before, and the Hurricanes didn’t have much depth.  At least that is how it was viewed in the preseason.  The reality is that Miami is one of the highest-scoring teams in the country and has achieved this with a strong scoring backcourt.  Can Miami keep the scoring average the same with the massive increase in competition?

The Gators have struggled a bit to start the season as they continue to integrate new players, especially guards into the mix.  Florida lost on opening night and barely escaped their bitter rival Florida State earlier this week.  Winning is important but it feels a little uneasy in Gainesville right now. 

Here are the picks for the rest of the games for an intriguing Sunday: