After two days of barely any interesting games, Friday offers some compelling matchups thanks to multiple power-conference coaches being willing to take their ranked teams into true road environments.
Florida is at Florida State. Alabama is at Purdue. Marquette is at Maryland. Arizona is at Wisconsin. Ohio State is at Texas A&M.
Sure, it'll all be overshadowed Friday night by a fight between a 58-year-old former boxing champion turned cannabis entrepreneur (Mike Tyson) and a 27-year-old content creator turned professional boxer (Jake Paul) -- weird as that is to type. But it'll still be nice to watch some of college basketball's best challenge themselves against quality opponents in hostile environments, and I'm probably most looking forward to Alabama at Purdue, where the Boilermakers' 21-game winning streak inside Mackey Arena will be tested.
Alabama is actually a 2.5-point favorite in the game, which speaks to the program Nate Oats has built. Last season, he guided the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four appearance in school history before losing to UConn in the national semifinals. This season, he has Alabama off to a 3-0 start behind CBS Sports Preseason National Player of the Year Mark Sears, who is averaging 18.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 50.0% from the field and 42.9% from 3.
He's great.
So I can't wait to see the 6-foot-1 guard make his first big case to win the 2025 Wooden Award in a game played inside the arena Zach Edey called home while winning the 2023 and 2024 Wooden Awards.
Alabama is No. 2 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Purdue is No. 9. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 77-69 win over Michigan State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Oakland. | -- | 3-0 |
| 2 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 72-64 win over McNeese. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday at Purdue. | -- | 3-0 |
| 3 |  | Johni Broome finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 79-56 win over Kent State. The Tigers' next game is Monday against North Alabama. | -- | 3-0 |
| 4 |  | RJ Davis missed 12 of the 15 shots he attempted in Friday's 92-89 loss at Kansas. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against American. | -- | 1-1 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 17 points and two assists in Wednesday's 90-49 win over Le Moyne. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M Commerce. | -- | 3-0 |
| 6 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 82-56 win over Kansas City. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against IU Indy. | -- | 2-0 |
| 7 |  | Braden Huff finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 88-80 win over Arizona State. The Zags' next game is Friday against UMass Lowell. | -- | 2-0 |
| 8 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 13 points and five assists in Wednesday's 91-45 win over Louisiana. The Cougars' next game is Nov. 22 against Hofstra. | -- | 2-1 |
| 9 |  | Braden Smith finished with 22 points and five steals in Monday's 92-84 win over Yale. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Alabama. | -- | 3-0 |
| 10 |  | Igor Milicic Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 92-57 win over Montana. The Vols' next game is Sunday against Austin Peay. | -- | 3-0 |
| 11 |  | Bruce Thornton finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 80-72 win over Texas. The Buckeyes' next game is Monday against Youngstown State. | -- | 2-0 |
| 12 |  | Tobe Awaka finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 102-44 win over Old Dominion. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Wisconsin. | -- | 2-0 |
| 13 |  | Andrew Carr finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 77-72 win over Duke. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Lipscomb. | -- | 3-0 |
| 14 |  | Kon Knueppel missed 15 of the 20 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 77-72 loss to Kentucky. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Wofford. | -- | 2-1 |
| 15 |  | Stevie Mitchell finished with 17 points and three steals in Monday's 70-62 win over Central Michigan. The Golden Eagles' next game is Friday against Maryland. | -- | 3-0 |
| 16 |  | Mackenzie Mgbako finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 90-55 win over Eastern Illinois. The Hoosiers' next game is Saturday against South Carolina. | -- | 2-0 |
| 17 |  | Jayden Nunn finished with 19 points and four assists in Tuesday's 104-67 win over Sam Houston. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Tarleton State. | -- | 2-1 |
| 18 |  | Adou Thiero finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 65-49 win over Troy. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Pacific. | -- | 2-1 |
| 19 |  | Tre Johnson finished with 19 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 105-58 win over Chicago State. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against Mississippi Valley State. | -- | 2-1 |
| 20 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 78-43 win over Houston Christian. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against Kansas City. | -- | 3-0 |
| 21 |  | Zhuric Phelps finished with 16 points and seven assists in Monday's 97-71 win over Lamar. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Ohio State. | -- | 2-1 |
| 22 |  | Rueben Chinyelu finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Monday's 86-62 win over Grambling. The Gators' next game is Friday at Florida State. | -- | 3-0 |
| 23 |  | Dylan Harper finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Monday's 75-65 win over Saint Peter's. The Scarlet Knights' next game is Friday against Monmouth. | -- | 2-0 |
| 24 |  | Dillon Mitchell finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 83-56 win over Morehead State. The Bearcats' next game is Friday against Nicholls. | -- | 2-0 |
| 25 |  | Sean Pedulia finished with 27 points and four steals in Tuesday's 64-54 win over South Alabama. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Colorado State. | -- | 3-0 |
| 26 |  | RJ Luis Jr. finished with 13 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 66-45 win over Wagner. The Red Storm's next game is Sunday against New Mexico. | -- | 3-0 |
