When it's conference season, and one conference has 10 teams in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, the weekends can't help but to deliver compelling matchups.
So this weekend is filled with compelling SEC matchups.
Tennessee (No. 7 in the Top 25 And 1) is trying to bounce-back from its first loss of the season in a game at Texas, which just so happens to be where Vols coach Rick Barnes spent 17 seasons on the sideline. Kentucky (No. 10 in the Top 25 And 1) at Mississippi State (No. 8 in the Top 25 And 1) is a top-10 matchup between two programs exceeding preseason expectations. Alabama (No. 5 in the Top 25 And 1) at Texas A&M (No. 12 in the Top 25 And 1) is a top-15 matchup with heralded guards. Oklahoma (No. 25 in the Top 25 And 1) at Georgia (No. 23 in the Top 25 And 1) is another ranked-on-ranked showdown between two teams with a combined record of 26-4.
Fun games on top of fun games on top of fun games.
But the most interesting matchup in the SEC this weekend, I think, is Florida at Arkansas, where John Calipari is at risk of falling to 0-3 in conference play for the first time since he started 0-6 in the Atlantic 10 while at UMass in the 1988-89 season. How at-risk is Calipari of falling to 0-3 in the SEC? Well, the only way to avoid it is to upset a Florida team that's No. 4 in the Top 25 And 1 and coming off of a 30-point win over the Tennessee team that beat Calipari's Razorbacks by 24 points just three days earlier.
Good luck, as they say.
If North Carolina and Rutgers are the most disappointing teams this season, Arkansas can't be too far behind. Even though Calipari and his staff assembled a roster talented enough to convince AP voters to rank the Razorbacks 16th in the preseason, the team has managed to win just one game in the first two quadrants. Among the schools with more wins in the first two quadrants right now: Central Michigan, Wofford, UIC, Illinois State, Liberty, North Dakota State, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
(By my count, three programs from the University of California system currently have more wins in the first two quadrants than Arkansas— and UC Davis is tied with the Razorbacks with one. Amazing.)
Arkansas is 11-4 overall and 1-4 in the first two quadrants with 10 of its 11 victories coming in either Quadrant 3 or Quadrant 4. As a result, the Razorbacks are down to 48th in the NET and 51st at BartTorvik.com — and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has moved them completely out of his projected bracket for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
In other words, things are not going well.
Is there still time to turn it around?
Of course!
And, it should be noted, that Calipari has multiple big season-turnarounds under his belt over the years. So I wouldn't rule anything out. Still, it's impossible to deny that this very expensive team he threw together after leaving Kentucky for Arkansas last April has mostly looked very much like a mismatched team that was just thrown together in a matter of months. The Razorbacks beat Michigan in early December, somehow. But, beyond that, they've done nearly nothing. Arkansas' next best win? That's probably a victory over Lipscomb that came in the opening week of the season, which is an obvious problem more than two months into this same season.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johni Broome finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 87-82 win at Texas. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 14-1 |
| 2 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 82-59 win over Utah. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 13-1 |
| 3 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 76-47 win over Pitt. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Notre Dame. | -- | 13-2 |
| 4 |  | Alijah Martin finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 73-43 win over Tennessee. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Arkansas. | -- | 14-1 |
| 5 |  | Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists in Wednesday's 88-68 win at South Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | -- | 13-2 |
| 6 |  | Chase Ross finished with 27 points and six steals in Tuesday's 74-66 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at DePaul. | -- | 14-2 |
| 7 |  | Chaz Lanier was 3-of-16 from the field in Tuesday's 73-43 loss at Florida. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Texas. | -- | 14-1 |
| 8 |  | RJ Melendez finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 76-64 win at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 14-1 |
| 9 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 88-54 win over Washington. The Spartans' next game is Sunday at Northwestern. | -- | 13-2 |
| 10 |  | Otega Oweh was 3-of-13 from the field in Tuesday's 82-69 loss at Georgia. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 12-3 |
| 11 |  | Ben Humrichous finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 91-52 win over Penn State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against USC. | -- | 12-3 |
| 12 |  | Zhuric Phelps finished with 34 points and three steals in Wednesday's 80-78 win at Oklahoma. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 13-2 |
| 13 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 74-55 win over Arizona State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | -- | 11-3 |
| 14 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 24 points and three assists in Thursday's 73-71 win at Ohio State. The Ducks' next game is Sunday at Penn State. | -- | 14-2 |
| 15 |  | Braden Smith finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday's 68-50 win at Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | -- | 12-4 |
| 16 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 68-64 win over North Texas. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against East Carolina. | -- | 12-3 |
| 17 |  | Malik Dia finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 72-64 win at Arkansas. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against LSU. | -- | 13-2 |
| 18 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 36 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 94-75 win at UCLA. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Washington. | -- | 12-3 |
| 19 |  | Alex Karaban missed two free throws in the final seconds of Wednesday's 68-66 loss at Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | -- | 12-4 |
| 20 |  | Ben Gregg finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 93-80 win over San Diego. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Washington State. | 1 | 13-4 |
| 21 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 14 points and three steals in Monday's 65-46 win over TCU. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | 1 | 11-3 |
| 22 |  | Mason Falslev finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-78 win at San Jose State. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Boise State. | 1 | 15-1 |
| 23 |  | Asa Newell finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 82-69 win over Kentucky. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | 1 | 13-2 |
| 24 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-59 win over Minnesota. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Ohio State. | 1 | 13-3 |
| 25 |  | Kobe Elvis was 0-of-3 from the field in Wednesday's 80-78 loss to Texas A&M. The Sooners' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | 1 | 13-2 |
| 26 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 68-48 win over Cincinnati. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Arizona State. | NR | 10-4 |
