The King has spoken

The GIST: With last night’s scores, the picture for two men’s conference regular-season championship races became clearer. Keep that crystal ball out, because women’s titles will also find more clarity tonight and tomorrow.

The Big 12 men’s race narrows: New–No. 1 Houston’s path to the Big 12 title grew more certain with last night’s 67–59 win over Cincinnati. No. 7 Kansas is still technically in the mix, but last night’s shocking 76–68 choke job against BYU made their title hunt near-impossible — meaning No. 8 Iowa State, who hosts Oklahoma tonight at 8 p.m. ET, has the best shot to take it should Houston stumble.

Tensions rise in the SEC: The SEC is absolutely popping off, with a mind-boggling six men’s teams in striking distance of the regular-season title. No. 16 Kentucky barely stayed in the race with last night’s 91–89 comeback road win over Mississippi State, but they’ll still need several lucky breaks to win their first trophy since 2020.

• No. 4 Tennessee is currently tied with No. 14 Alabama atop the conference, but the Vols have a brutal slate to finish out the season, starting with current second-place squad No. 11 Auburn tonight at 7 p.m. ET. The stakes for every game are through the roof.

Women’s titles on the line: The No. 20 Oklahoma Sooners are this close to clinching their first outright Big 12 regular-season title since 2009 — but first, they’ll have to take down a searing-hot No. 3 Texas tonight at 7 p.m. ET. The Sooners have already stunned the Longhorns once — if they can pull off the season sweep, the hardware’s theirs for the hoisting. No pressure.

• In the Pac-12, No. 4 Stanford will lock down sole ownership of the trophy with just one more dub. But No. 11 Oregon State, who’s in a three-way tie for second, could claw back a share of the crown when they host the Cardinal tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET. This conference, man…

The GIST: One of the sport’s spiciest rivalries will add another chapter tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET with a rematch of the 2023 national championship game on ESPNU. A Top-3 showdown this early in the season? Non-conference play is serving up a treat.

The contenders: No. 3 Northwestern wiped the floor with nearly every opponent en route to last year’s natty (their program’s eighth), thanks largely to two Tewaaraton Award (lax’s MVP) finalists, attackers Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall — both of whom are back this season. However, the ’Cats have already suffered an upset, allowing Boston College to claim the top spot in the poll.

• BC is a women’s lax blueblood notorious for struggling to close the deal: The Eagles competed in the last six national title games but only brought home the trophy in 2021. It’s more frustrating than literally anything Tom Sandoval does.

The matchup: This rivalry is relatively new — they’ve met just five times, including twice last year — but it’s become very heated. Northwestern won the 2023 regular-season bout 15–14, their narrowest win last year. However, the rematch in the national final was a brutal 18–6 beatdown that certainly has the host Eagles hungry for revenge.

• Tomorrow will likely come down to offensive firepower vs. poise. This season BC’s outscored their five opponents by a jaw-dropping average of 14 goals, but they’ve faced just one ranked squad. Meanwhile, this will be the Wildcats’ third Top-10 matchup in five games. Let’s dance.

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🥎 Softball: No. 9 Clemson Tigers (11-2) vs. No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) — Today at 5 p.m. ET — SEC+

• Georgia’s already battle-tested with four ranked wins to their name, while this is Clemson’s biggest test of the season so far. To nab an upset, the Tigers will need their top-notch bullpen, led by reigning Player of the Year Valerie Cagle, to cool down Georgia’s red-hot bats.

🥍 Men’s lacrosse: No. 7 Syracuse Orange (4-1) vs. No. 5 Army Black Knights (3-0) — Today at 6 p.m. ET — ACCNX

• The Black Knights are rocking their highest ranking since 2005, and a win here would give them their first 4-0 season-start since 2007. Are the ’00s really back, or will Syracuse — the OG aughts powerhouse — drag them back to 2024?

🎾 Men’s tennis: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) vs. No. 14 Baylor Bears (2-0) — Today at 7 p.m. ET — ESPN+

• Ohio State’s quest to sweep this year’s indoor and outdoor national titles faces its first challenge in Waco, TX, where the Bears are 8-0 since ITA play began in mid-January.

🏐 Men’s volleyball: No. 4 UCLA Bruins (12-4) vs. No. 11 USC Trojans (10-6) — Tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET — Pac-12 Insider

• Both squads’ head coaches were teammates on UCLA’s 1995 championship roster, adding extra spice to this crosstown rivalry. The Bruins have won six straight over USC, but with the sport’s parity skyrocketing, tomorrow could finally be the Trojans’ turn.