NEW YORK — The CBS Sports Classic is a doubleheader held every December with rotating matchups between four of college athletics' biggest brands. This year, the matchups were UCLA-North Carolina and Kentucky-Ohio State. Surprisingly, the underdogs won both games and — as Matt Norlander explained in a column filed from here inside Madison Square Garden — revived two seasons that were going the wrong directions until the Tar Heels and Buckeyes recorded massive victories.
I didn't really see either coming.
In hindsight, though, there's nothing crazy about North Carolina "upsetting" UCLA. UNC entered with a 6-5 record, sure, but a 6-5 record with all five losses coming to teams in the top 24 of the NET, as I explained in a column filed from MSG. Simply put, the Tar Heels have never been as bad as their record suggested, which is among the reasons they've reentered Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings at No. 26.
The more-surprising result was OSU over UK by 20.
Who saw that coming?
The same Ohio State team that lost to Auburn by 38 a week earlier turned around and beat Kentucky from start to finish, which is why I'll understand if AP voters decide to flip Bruce Pearl's Tigers into the top spot on their ballots this week. But me? I'm keeping undefeated Tennessee No. 1. UT's résumé features the home wins you'd expect, neutral-court wins over Baylor, Virginia and Miami, true road wins at Illinois and Louisville — and, again, a zero in the loss column. No, the Vols can't match Auburn win-for-win. But they do still have that zero in the loss column despite playing multiple Quadrant 1 games on the road, and that's enough for me to give UT the edge for now.
So when might Tennessee lose?
Barring a surprise, not in 2024. The Vols have won their first 11 games by an average of 25.2 points, and the only things left on their nonconference schedule are home games against Middle Tennessee and Norfolk State. Considering they'll be favored by 20-plus points in both, they'll (almost certainly) be 13-0 heading into their SEC opener against Arkansas (Jan. 4), meaning they should be 14-0 heading into their first SEC road game at Florida (Jan. 7).
That's where things could get tricky for Tennessee — at the beginning of a six-game stretch that includes road games at Florida (Jan. 7), at Texas (Jan. 11) and at Auburn (Jan. 25). But, for now, Rick Barnes' Vols remain undefeated and No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 for the 18th consecutive morning and counting.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 84-36 win over Western Carolina. The Vols' next game is Monday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 11-0 |
| 2 |  | Johni Broome finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 87-69 win over Purdue. The Tigers' next game is Monday against Monmouth. | -- | 11-1 |
| 3 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 16 points and four assists in Sunday's 83-51 win over Omaha. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Morgan State. | -- | 9-1 |
| 4 |  | Kon Knueppel finished with 18 points and five assists in Saturday's 82-56 win at Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Dec. 31 against Virginia Tech. | 1 | 10-2 |
| 5 |  | Mark Sears finished with 23 points and five assists in Wednesday's 97-90 win at North Dakota. The Crimson Tide's next game is Sunday against Kent State. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 6 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 75-60 win over NC State. The Jayhawks' next game is Sunday against Brown. | 1 | 8-2 |
| 7 |  | Will Richard finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 99-45 win over North Florida. The Gators' next game is Dec. 29 against Stetson. | 1 | 12-0 |
| 8 |  | Kam Jones finished with 20 points and eight assists in Saturday's 73-70 win at Xavier. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | 1 | 11-2 |
| 9 |  | Jaxson Robinson was 3-of-11 from the field in Saturday's 85-65 loss to Ohio State. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Brown. | 5 | 10-2 |
| 10 |  | Coen Carr finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 86-69 win over Florida Atlantic. The Spartans' next game is Dec. 30 against Western Michigan. | -- | 10-2 |
| 11 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 25 points and four steals in Saturday's 80-62 win over Queens. The Rebels' next game is Saturday at Memphis. | -- | 11-1 |
| 12 |  | Kwame Evans Jr. finished with 13 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win over Stanford. The Ducks' next game is Dec. 29 against Weber State. | 1 | 11-1 |
| 13 |  | Riley Kugel finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 79-66 win at Memphis. The Bulldogs' next game is Dec. 30 against Bethune Cookman. | 4 | 11-1 |
| 14 |  | Hayden Hefner finished with 19 points and two steals in Friday's 77-45 win over Houston Christian. The Aggies' next game is Dec. 28 against Abilene Christian. | -- | 10-2 |
| 15 |  | Selton Miguel finished with 24 points and two steals in Saturday's 87-60 win over Syracuse. The Terrapins' next game is Saturday against Maryland Eastern Shore. | 1 | 10-2 |
| 16 |  | Dylan Andrew was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 75-74 loss to North Carolina. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | 4 | 10-2 |
| 17 |  | Braden Smith was 3-of-12 from the field in Saturday's 87-69 loss to Auburn. The Boilermakers' next game is Dec. 29 against Toledo. | 2 | 8-4 |
| 18 |  | Kasparas Jakucionis was 5 of 15 from the field in Saturday's 66-64 loss to Tennessee. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Missouri. | -- | 7-3 |
| 19 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 21 points and six rebonds in Saturday's 78-74 win at Butler. The Huskies' next game is Jan. 1 at DePaul. | 1 | 10-3 |
| 20 |  | Graham Ike finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 86-65 win over Bucknell. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | 1 | 9-3 |
| 21 |  | Nick Boyd finished with 17 points and four steals in Saturday's 71-50 win over Cal. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against Utah State. | 1 | 8-2 |
| 22 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 87-51 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christie. The Cougars' next game is Dec. 30 at Oklahoma State. | 1 | 8-3 |
| 23 |  | Jeremiah Fears finished with 30 points and four assists in Wednesday's 87-86 win over Michigan. The Sooners' next game is Sunday against Central Arkansas. | 1 | 11-0 |
| 24 |  | Asa Newell finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 100-49 win over Buffalo. The Bulldogs' next game is Sunday against Charleston Southern. | 1 | 10-1 |
| 25 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 94-69 win over Norfolk State. The Bears' next game is Friday against Arlington Baptist. | 1 | 7-3 |
| 26 |  | Ian Jackson finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 76-74 win over UCLA. The Tar Heels' next game is Dec. 29 against Campbell. | NR | 7-5 |
