Sports
Nine men’s college basketball teams that need to turn around their seasons — now
There are just under two months left in the 2025-26 men’s college basketball regular season — plenty of time for most teams to enhance their NCAA tournament résumés ahead of Selection Sunday.
For some programs, it will be enough to regain momentum they may have lost after the opening stages. For others, the gap between preseason expectations and where they stand now may be too wide to overcome. And if teams that fall under that latter category aren’t prudent about turning things around, they could find themselves looking back at this stretch of the season as a missed opportunity that cost them a shot at a successful campaign.
Here are nine that need to shift gears sooner rather than later.
Note: Teams listed in alphabetical order.
Overall record: 12-5
SEC record: 2-2
Alabama has losses to Arizona (No. 1), Purdue (No. 5), Gonzaga (No. 9), Vanderbilt (No. 10) and Texas — and the common thread in each defeat was a woeful defensive effort. This past Saturday, Alabama surrendered 92 points (129 points per 100 possessions) at home to a Texas team that has losses to Arizona State and Mississippi State. Overall, the Tide have allowed 93.2 points per game in their five losses and rank 79th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
The bright spot: Labaron Philon Jr. (21.3 PPG) and Aden Holloway (18.6 PPG) are one of the top duos in the country and lead one of the best offensive units in America. Still, Alabama’s losses to Vanderbilt and Texas over the past week suggest that might not be enough.
Overall record: 11-5
Big 12 record: 1-3
The addition of James Nnaji, the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft, created a firestorm as coaches around the country criticized the move. But Baylor coach Scott Drew added the 7-foot center because his team needed more size after Juslin Bodo Bodo suffered an offseason injury. The Bears will need more than the former European pro to move the program in the right direction, though.
Baylor, which owns a defense that’s barely inside the top 100 in efficiency, lost its first three games in the Big 12. That stretch included a road loss to TCU and home losses to Houston and Iowa State. That’s not an easy collection of games for any team. Baylor is grappling with imbalance, though. Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou, two projected first-rounders in ESPN’s latest mock draft, lead a top-20 offense. But the Bears have to improve on the defensive end to survive the rest of their Big 12 schedule and secure a bid on Selection Sunday.
Overall record: 10-6
SEC record: 1-2
Kentucky’s defense has been subpar since the Dec. 2 loss to North Carolina, ranking 66th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Bart Torvik. Its offensive production has been even worse, coming in at 91st in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Wildcats have also been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in America over that stretch (32.1%).
Now, Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe (8.0 PPG, 2.4 APG) is out for the season and projected NBA draft lottery pick Jayden Quaintance is dealing with a knee injury. Considering those factors, the Wildcats could be a below-average team wearing a storied program’s uniforms. They don’t look the part of a Final Four contender like we expected them to — or even a team that’s a lock to make the NCAA tournament — despite reportedly spending $22 million on the current roster.
If Mark Pope can’t turn things around fast, he could enter the 2026-27 season on the hot seat.
1:20
Jaland Lowe to have season-ending surgery
Jeff Borzello discusses Jaland Lowe’s season-ending shoulder surgery and how it affects the rest of the Kentucky roster.
Overall record: 12-5
ACC record: 2-3
A month ago, projected NBA draft lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. was ruled out with a back injury prior to Louisville’s loss to Tennessee. Coach Pat Kelsey seemed confident then that Brown’s injury wouldn’t become a bigger problem for the Cardinals. He was wrong.
Tuesday’s 79-70 home loss to Virginia was the seventh consecutive game Brown (16.6 PPG, 5.3 APG) missed. The timing isn’t ideal for a Louisville team that will face Duke and SMU before the end of the month. The Cardinals, ranked 11th in the preseason AP Top 25, are 3-4 overall and 2-3 in ACC play without Brown. They’re committing turnovers on nearly one-fifth of their possessions without him, too.
Short of an imminent return for Brown or a shift in strategy without him, the end result of his absence could be a difficult first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament.
Overall record: 6-12
Big East record: 1-6
Shaka Smart is a long way from his 2011 Final Four run with VCU. The current slide by Marquette, a team that started the season ranked 46th on KenPom, is the extreme opposite of the success he has enjoyed.
Picked to finish fifth in the Big East’s preseason poll, injuries and the sudden departure of Zaide Lowery (8.1 PPG) have played a role in the Golden Eagles’ slow start. But Smart’s team has also failed to show proficiency on either end of the court. Marquette is currently one of the worst offensive (152nd in adjusted offensive efficiency) and defensive (92nd in adjusted defensive efficiency) high-major teams in the country. And there are no signs of immediate improvement for a program that has already suffered losses to Maryland and Georgetown. Marquette would need a kind of miracle to finish the season strong.
Overall record: 7-8
American record: 2-1
Penny Hardaway is coming off the best season of his tenure at the helm of his alma mater. PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter were first-team honorees in the American for a Memphis team that won 29 games and reached the NCAA tournament, where it finally lost its sixth game in the first round to Colorado State (notably without Hunter). This season’s team had lost its sixth game by Dec. 17.
With a 7-8 tally entering the week, this is the first time the Tigers have had a losing record under Hardaway since their 1-2 start to the 2020-21 season. Their ticket back to the NCAA tournament will have to come through winning the American tournament. A recent 89-78 loss at Florida Atlantic suggests that’s far from a guarantee, especially if Memphis’ 20.5% turnover rate (337th nationally) persists.
Overall record: 12-4
SEC record: 2-1
At its best, Missouri can beat defending national champion Florida and Kentucky in back-to-back games. But lopsided losses to Kansas (20 points) and Illinois (43 points), along with other defeats to Ole Miss and Notre Dame, showcase the Tigers’ limitations, too.
Since the loss to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 2, the Tigers are ranked 85th overall per Bart Torvik. Mark Mitchell (17.4 PPG) has been a steady presence, but Anthony Robinson and others have not been the consistent contributors coach Dennis Gates has needed them to be. A grueling SEC schedule could make or break a Missouri team that will end the season with its most difficult stretch heading into Selection Sunday, but a NET ranking of 76 means the Tigers have more work to do before they can even think about that.
2:08
Highlight: Missouri defeats Kentucky to extend hot start in SEC play
Mark Mitchell paces the offense with 21 points as the Tigers beat the Wildcats 73-68, marking a 2-0 SEC start for the first time in school history.
Overall record: 8-9
Big Ten record: 1-5
Coming off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, Dana Altman seemed to have the talent to make it three in a row. Unfortunately, the campaign has not gone as anticipated.
After starting the year ranked 37th on KenPom, Oregon entered the week ranked 83rd. A Jan. 5 overtime loss to Rutgers — the same Scarlet Knights team that lost to Central Connecticut (252nd on KenPom) — highlights how far the Ducks have fallen from preseason expectations that placed them squarely inside the NCAA tournament conversation.
Jackson Shelstad (15.6 PPG) has battled a hand injury and missed the first three games of 2026, but Altman’s team had significant challenges before that development. The Ducks now sit at 1-5 in Big Ten play and still have matchups against Michigan and Michigan State later this month. Having started the season with turbulent results, the Ducks’ season could continue to decline without a rapid turnaround.
Overall record: 11-5
Big Ten record: 3-2
Reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent was a coveted transfer. When he signed with UCLA, he was expected to elevate his game in his hometown. He has yet to do that.
Dent has connected on just 9% of his 3-point attempts against Division I opponents this season (not a typo!) after making 40% a year ago. Part of Mick Cronin’s charge to turn UCLA into a Big Ten contender — the Bruins started 3-2 in conference play and were ranked ninth in efficiency to open the week — will require Dent to tap into the same skill set that made him a star at New Mexico last season. A hamstring injury for Skyy Clark (13.5 PPG) could complicate that mission.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer’s 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries.
In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates Wednesday, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a long list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would not be subject to the full and partial travel bans that apply to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.
However, the cable made clear that foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors planning to attend the same events would still be banned unless they qualify for another exemption.
“Only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception,” it said.
President Donald Trump’s administration has issued a series of immigration and travel bans as well as other visa restrictions as part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreigners. At the same time, the administration has been looking to ensure that athletes, coaches and fans are able to attend major sporting events in the U.S.
Trump’s Dec. 16 proclamation banning the issuance of visas to the 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority had carved out an exception for athletes and staff competing in the World Cup, the Olympics and other major sporting events. It delegated a decision on which other sporting events would be covered to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Wednesday’s cable lists the events that are covered, including “all competitions and qualifying events” for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan-American Games, and Para Pan-American Games; events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by a U.S. National Governing Body; all competitions and qualifying events for the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions hosted or endorsed by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, or its confederations.
The exemption also will cover official events and competitions hosted by the International Military Sports Council, the International University Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as those hosted or endorsed by U.S. professional sports leagues such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Little League, National Hockey League, Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Professional Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, LIV Golf, Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and All Elite Wrestling.
The cable said other events and leagues could be added to the list.
Of the 39 countries, a full travel ban applies to Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and people with Palestinian Authority-issued passports.
A partial ban is in place for citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In the latest gambling scandal to rock sports, a federal indictment accuses bettors and athletes of “point-shaving” in NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games.
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NCAA president responds to integrity concerns after alleged point-shaving scheme leads to dozens of arrests
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The NCAA said that protecting the “integrity” of its athletics is “of the utmost importance” for the organization after at least 26 people were charged Thursday in connection with fixed college basketball games, and urged states to “ban risky bets.”
Prosecutors said the alleged participants bribed Chinese Basketball Association players in 2022 “to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in certain games and then, through various sports books, arranged for large wagers to be placed on those games against that team.”
The following year, the participants allegedly expanded their scheme to the NCAA, recruiting players and paying bribes between $10,000 and $30,000 per game.
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NCAA President Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announce a gambling prevention program aimed at kids during a press conference at TD Garden. The program includes a school curriculum on the risks of gambling that will be rolled out to schools statewide, as well as new money towards research to understand the scope of the problem. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
According to the indictment, more than 39 players on 17 different teams attempted to fix more than 29 NCAA Division I men’s basketball games, including conference tournament contests. The organizers of the alleged scheme placed wagers totaling millions of dollars.
“Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Baker said the indictments were “not entirely new information to the NCAA,” as it had conducted “integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year.”
The NCAA logo on entrance sign outside of the NCAA Headquarters on Feb. 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The NCAA added that 11 athletes from seven schools were “recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they — or others — placed” and have since been permanently banned.
“Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools (including some of those identified above) were found to have failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today,” Baker added.
Baker also called on states to crack down on “threats to integrity,” specifically prop bets, “to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors. We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
The chargers on Thursday included bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.
“[Defendants] aided and abetted the carrying into effect, the attempt to carry into effect, and the conspiracy to carry into effect, a scheme in commerce to influence by bribery sporting contests, that is, Chinese Basketball Association (“CBA”) men’s basketball games and National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) men’s basketball games, with the defendants engaging in different aspects of this scheme, with knowledge that the purpose of this scheme was to influence in some way those contests by bribery,” the indictment said.
General view of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Florida Gators at the Georgia Dome on March 14, 2004, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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The announcement follows the federal government’s crackdown on illicit sports gambling and point-shaving schemes that involved the NBA in October.
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