Kentucky and UNC soar; Free-falling Memphis is down to one NCAA Tournament path

The CBS Sports Classic was the belle of the ball in Saturday's college basketball schedule, and boy, did it deliver. Kentucky survived a scary-looking injury to Jaland Lowe and rallied in the second half to run away from No. 22 St. John's, 78-66. The outlook in Lexington has dramatically changed as the now-healthy 'Cats showcased some real teeth. 

After Jayden Quaintance's Kentucky debut in victory vs. St. John's, things are looking up for Wildcats

Gary Parrish

In the nightcap, it was all North Carolina for close to 37 minutes before a late Ohio State rally that was snuffed with a game-winning Henri Veesaar slam in the closing seconds to give the Tar Heels a 71-70 victory. 

But compelling basketball was not hard to find in every nook and cranny. 

Let's dive into the winners and losers from Saturday's topsy-turvy slate.

Winner: Kentucky's bookends emerge

Point guard and center are the two most important positions on the floor, and Kentucky coach Mark Pope's offseason vision finally came to fruition in Saturday's 78-66 win over No. 22 St. John's. Lowe somewhat miraculously shook off another shoulder stinger and cooked St. John's in the second half for 13 points and three assists. But the return of big man Jayden Quaintance was the biggest story. Quaintance totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and numerous rim-rocking slams to go along with blanketing defense on St. John's star Zuby Ejiofor. 

"You all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers," St. John's coach Rick Pitino said after the game. "You're expecting Kentucky to be a great basketball team with all of these injuries. You all need to learn a lesson -- you can't be a great basketball team without two of your best players." -– Isaac Trotter

Winner: The sweater game between Tom Izzo, Greg Kampe

Michigan State won the game 79-70 over Oakland in Detroit, but the real winner from this one was the fashion from its head coaches. Tom Izzo donned a Christmas sweater with the word "NAUGHTY" in all caps on it -- and friend and competitor, Greg Kampe, wore a matching sweater with the word "NICE" in all caps across the front. Izzo's sweater also had a visual of him yelling at an official while Kampe's shows him smiling and fist-bumping an official. A bang-up job all-around and a huge win for fashion in college hoops. -- Kyle Boone

Winner: UNC's frontcourt stays flexin'

Has any position group transformed from a weakness to a strength like UNC's frontcourt? 2024-25 UNC featured a frontcourt that was undersized and limited on both ends. The glow-up is real with the Henri Veesaar-Caleb Wilson tandem taking center stage. No. 12 North Carolina improved to 11-1 with a last-second, 71-70 victory over Ohio State thanks to a game-winning, rim-rocking slam from Veesaar to cap a day that saw him who score 17 points, grab 10 boards and dish out five assists. 

Wilson, a potential top-five pick in next summer's NBA Draft, continued his unbelievable freshman campaign with a 20-point, 15-rebound, two-assist, three-block showing even amidst a slow first half.

North Carolina certainly has one of the top frontcourts in the country. Oh, and getting a healthy Seth Trimble back certainly doesn't hurt. Trimble splashed some big treys, delivered the game-winning dime, helped slow down Ohio State star Bruce Thornton and finished with 17 points. All in a day's work for the UNC captain. -- Trotter

Loser: Memphis hits a freefall

A year ago, Memphis rode a 10-3 record against one of the nation's toughest nonconference schedules to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This time around, a similarly challenging slate is wreaking havoc on the Tigers, who fell to 4-7 with a 71-67 loss at Mississippi State on Saturday. 

Now 1-6 against high-major opposition, the Tigers have no path to the NCAA Tournament outside of winning the AAC Tournament -- their chances at making the Big Day as an at-large are 0.0%, per CBS Sports Bracketology. 

What's so frustrating is that Memphis has been close, as five of its losses have come in tight games. But with zero continuity from last year's team, the Tigers have lost their winning edge and are careening toward their worst season yet under eighth-year coach Penny Hardaway. -- Cobb

Winner: Louisville passes final nonconference test shorthanded

Playing without star freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. for the first time earlier this week, No. 11 Louisville looked lost on the road in an 83-62 defeat to Tennessee. But it bounced back in a big way Saturday night as Brown continued to ride the pine in recovery with a 94-54 win over Montana. The outing -- Louisville's last of its non-league schedule before ACC begins Dec. 30 vs. Cal -- was a dominant interior performance as it scored 44 of its 94 points in the paint and scored 21 points off second-chance opportunities. -- Kyle Boone

Loser: Dayton flubs shot to build momentum before A-10 play

Dayton fumbled away what seemed like a surefire win and punched its ticket to misery town with a 64-61 loss at home to Liberty. The Flyers closed as 10.5-point favorites in the game and had a 3-point lead with 2:09 remaining before the visiting Flames closed on a 6-0 run to steal the win. Dayton missed six of its final seven field goal attempts in its flailing finish and went the final 2:28 without scoring a point. Ouch. -- Boone

Loser: St. John's has leaky pick-and-roll defense

Another game, another lead guard just getting whatever it wanted in pick-and-rolls against this St. John's defense. Add Jaland Lowe to the list of lead guards who eviscerated St. John's off the bounce. All the preseason concerns about the drop-off for this perimeter defense without Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith have reared their ugly heads. Kentucky also scored 21 transition points. St. John's can't become the team it wants to be without this point-of-attack defense getting significantly stiffer quickly. -- Trotter

Loser: Colorado State takes it on the chin

Colorado State had pieced together wins against a trio of top-100 NET teams over the past month as it entered Saturday's Mountain West tilt with league frontrunner Utah State. But the Rams' momentum came to a screeching halt in a 100-58 loss. The Aggies improved to 10-1 behind double-figure scoring contributions from six players while shooting a whopping 64%, including 12 of 21 from 3-point range. 

The lopsided outcome provided authoritative evidence that the Mountain West will run through Utah State in 2026. All is not lost for a Colorado State team that has shown the makings of being a strong offensive squad under first-year coach Ali Farokhmanesh, but this was a humbling defensive performance. -- David Cobb

Winner: Longwood wins at the buzzer

Longwood edged NC Central 74-72 when Elijah Tucker tipped in a wild prayer of a shot from teammate Redd Thompson Jr. at the buzzer. It was a fitting ending for the Lancers, who dominated the offensive glass for a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points. It was Tucker's first bucket since the 9:37 mark, and it came just in time to send Longwood into Christmas with a 7-7 record. -- Cobb

Winner: Miami (Ohio) remains undefeated after another road win

Miami (Ohio) remained among the shrinking group of unbeaten teams with an 86-77 road win over Ball State to improve to 12-0 on the season. The win kept the RedHawks and fourth-year coach Travis Steele perfect, capping a challenging four-game stretch of away games that included a 3-point OT win over UNC Asheville on Dec. 10 and a back-and-forth battle Saturday vs. Ball State in which the Redhawks eventually pulled away. They will be big favorites Monday vs. the NAIA's Milligan in their penultimate game of the 2025 calendar year before diving headfirst into MAC play again Dec. 30 at Bowling Green. -- Boone

Winner: Houston makes a statement vs. Arkansas

Since losing to Tennessee last month, Houston has been on fire. The Cougars won their fifth straight game with a 94-85 win over No. 14 Arkansas, their second ranked win of the season. One of the most impressive first-year players in the sport has been Kingston Flemings. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Once again, Houston is going to be a tough out in March. -- Cameron Salerno

Purdue runs away from Auburn

Purdue got some good, old-fashioned revenge on Auburn after getting run off the floor a year ago by Johni Broome and the Tigers. This time, it was all Boilers from start to finish. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 18 points and Braden Smith dealt 14 dimes in an 88-69 romp. Purdue shot 46% from downtown and got 11 treys combined from CJ Cox, Jack Better and Gicarri Harris. -- Trotter