John Calipari gets the last laugh
4 mins read

John Calipari gets the last laugh

Postens Zach Braziller provides a college basketball clock and looks forward to this week’s biggest game.

This week’s game

No. 5 Florida at No. 1 Auburn, Saturday, 16:00:

Saturday’s showdown against the streets will highlight Auburn’s sixth match this season against a current top 10 team.

The highest ranked tigers are 4-1 in such competitions, well on the way to the total No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Auburn Tigers -Guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) reacts after a three -point basket during the second half against the Mississippi rebels at Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. USA Today Sports via Reuters Con

They own a ridiculous 12-1 record in Quad 1 games and sit completely alone on top of the dominant Sec, a game in the loss column up on No. 4 Alabama. Expect offensive fireworks in this, as two of the five best crimes in the nation of efficiency meet.

Seed

1. Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Tennessee

2. Purdue, Iowa State, Florida, Houston

3. Marquette, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Michigan State

4. Kansas, Arizona, Ole Miss, Missouri

Warehouse clock

Up

John Calipari

Saturday’s victory at No. 12 Kentucky must be one of the most satisfactory winnings in the Hall of Fame coach’s career.

In one night when he was booed at his old arena, despite led Wildcats to a national championship and four last four quay sites in 15 mostly successful seasons, Calipari led his new program, Arkansas, to a win that could ultimately get them to NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas head coach John Calipari leads his team during the first half of an NCAA College basketball game against Kentucky in Lexington, KY., Saturday, February 1, 2025. Ap

Calipari was gracious afterwards, when no one would have failed him for taking any farewell shots at the Kentucky fans.

Saint Mary’s

WCC is Saint Mary’s to lose. After struck Gonzaga on Saturday night, Gaels has won 10 straight matches and keep a leading three-game lead over San Francisco and Zags. Their three losses, to Utah State, Arizona State and Boise State, have each come with seven points or fewer.

Despite losing star guard Aidan Mahaney to the transfer portal, Saint Mary’s another large year, bent by a pole-depth player, has an average of at least nine points per match and a defense that allows 60.8 points, the seventh lowest in the country.

Saint Mary’s Jordan Ross (2) goes up for a layout past Gonzaga Bulldogs’ Ryan Nembhard (0) during the second half of an NCAA -College basketball game at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California, Saturday, February 1, 2025. Ap

Down

Kansas

Pre -season # 1 team shows large cracks. After blowing a 21-point lead on former Skidding Baylor, Kansas has lost three of his last six matches coming into another difficult week: home for No. 3 Iowa State and in State Rival Kansas State.

Two of Jayhawk’s large transfer portal supplement, AJ Storr (Wisconsin) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama), have not panned as expected and put an onus on the big three of Hunter Dickinson, Zeke Mayo and Dajuan Harris Jr. Kansas finds himself in a three -way tie for fifth place in Big 12, three full games behind the 6th ranked Houston and Arizona on top of the league.

Milos Uzan #7 by Houston Cougars celebrates a victory 92-86 on double overtime as he goes past Hunter Dickinson #1 in Kansas Jayhawks. Getty Images

Acccera

ACC may be this year’s Big East, the conference most angry with the selection committee’s decision. The league trends incorrectly the first week of February. Saturday was especially ugly: North Carolina was not competitive to Archrival and the 2nd ranked Duke, Pittsburgh’s shaky game continued in a loss in Wake Forest and No. 21 Louisville suffered a fantastic setback to Georgia Tech.

Right now ACC has three teams that I think will do it in: Duke, Louisville and Clemson. Pittsburgh seemed to be in good shape before this current slide with five losses in seven matches.

North Carolina, flirting with missing tournament for the second time in three years, is a catastrophic 1-9 in Quad 1 game. Wake Forest and SMU, two potential bubble teams, is also a combined 1-9 in Quad 1. Only three bids are not questioned.