SEC/ACC challenge and Big 12-Big East battle boast top-25 matchups

The GIST: If you thought last week was wild, buckle up — the top-25 matchups are only heating up. We have teams riding high and others (looking at you, defending champs UConn) in desperate need of a win as the star-powered SEC/ACC Challenge and Big 12-Big East Battle began yesterday.

🐻 No. 15 Baylor at 🐶 No. 25 UConn — 6:30 p.m. ET — FS1: Before a blowout win this past Saturday, UConn had lost three straight and plummeted from No. 2 to No. 25 in the latest AP poll. Beating Baylor, a team that’s yet to record a top-25 win, would certainly help the reigning champs get back on track.

🐘 No. 10 Alabama at 🐏 No. 20 UNC — 7:15 p.m. ET — ESPN: Alabama is without fifth-year senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and his average of 11.5 points per game after he ruptured his Achilles on Saturday. That means the Crimson Tide will lean on its three other double-digit scorers while contending with UNC’s experienced backcourt. Tide or Tar Heels?

🦅 No. 5 Marquette at 🌪️ No. 6 Iowa State — 8 p.m. ET — ESPN+: Transfers are a major part of college sports, but Marquette’s top scorers are a testament to staying the course. Guard Kam Jones and forward David Joplin are both four-year Golden Eagles and flying high with 19.6 and 15.9 points on average, respectively.

• As for the Cyclones, Iowa State’s sophomore big Milan Momcilovic is the one to watch fresh off a 24-point performance. No. 5 vs. No. 6? Say less.

🐯No. 2 Auburn at 😈 No. 9 Duke — 9:15 p.m. ET — ESPN: The undefeated Tigers have already topped then-No. 4 Houston, then-No. 5 Iowa State, and then-No. 12 UNC this season, and are looking to add the Blue Devils to their list of slain top-25 opponents.

• But they’ll have to get through Duke’s dynamic freshman duo: Cooper “likely No. 1 overall 2025 NBA Draft pick” Flagg and Kon Knueppel.