Sports We’re hitting the house stretch of the 2024-25 men’s college basketball regular season.
Most groups are coming into the second half of of their convention seasons now that the calendar has flipped to February. And there are some marquee faculties which have some work to invent to present a boost to their seeding in the NCAA tournament or even merely fabricate the field. Here is a stare upon eight of the most underachieving groups in college basketball thus a long way.
North Carolina (13-10, 6-5 ACC) Carolina’s 87-70 loss to Duke on Saturday was once plenty worse than the closing safe indicated. UNC was once outmatched from the bounce and it has now lost four of its final five video games. Duke was once the correct ranked team the Tar Heels have confronted in that stretch.
Though to be dazzling, No. 2 Duke is the correct ranked team in the ACC. It’s a down twelve months for the convention total and North Carolina embodies the ACC’s struggles. The Tar Heels are seventh in the convention thus a long way and have lost four video games by a single possession. Oh, they’re also 1-9 in opposition to groups classified as Quad 1 opponents in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
The upside for UNC, nonetheless, is a somewhat gentle schedule the relaxation of the manner. Out of doors of the regular-season finale vs. the Blue Devils, North Carolina’s ideal varied recreation final in opposition to a team earlier than it in the ACC standings is a commute to Clemson on Feb. 10.
Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 SEC) John Calipari’s first season in Fayetteville got a bit brighter on Saturday when the Razorbacks won in his return to Kentucky. Arkansas was once 13-of-25 from the 3-level line in the 89-seventy 9 win. The win was once Arkansas’ second in its final three video games after an 0-5 originate to SEC play.
The SEC is the toughest convention in the nation and can accumulate a characterize alternative of groups in the NCAA tournament. Arkansas has the aptitude to be one in all these groups, especially if the Kentucky recreation was once extra indicative of the team’s ceiling than a three-level house loss to Oklahoma was once accurate days earlier than.
Nonetheless there are few easy wins final on the Razorbacks’ schedule. Arkansas has five video games left in opposition to groups in this week’s AP Top 25 and along with has journeys to Texas and Vanderbilt. Arkansas could presumably must win a pair video games in the SEC tournament to genuinely feel genuinely correct about its NCAA tournament chances.
Arkansas has won two of eight SEC video games thus a long way. (Listing by Wesley Hitt/Getty Photos)
UConn (16-6, 8-3 Huge East) The two-time defending champions are accurate two video games serve of St. John’s atop the Huge East and are fourth in the convention. Nonetheless it’s already been a season of frustration for coach Dan Hurley, whose madden in opposition to officiating has been the dominant storyline.
UConn lost all three video games it performed in the Maui Invitational as the Huskies lost by three aspects mixed to Memphis and Colorado earlier than getting blown out by Dayton. And the Huskies have lost on the freeway to Villanova and Xavier and at house to Creighton, even though the Blue Jays are tied for second in the convention.
Here is composed a team that can win the Huge East and trot on a amble in the NCAA tournament again. And a Huge East title becomes plenty less complicated to test with a win on Friday night time. St. John’s visits Storrs earlier than UConn plays at Creighton on Feb. 11.
Indiana (14-8, 5-6 Huge Ten) Indiana followers have not any longer been jumpy to designate their displeasure with the manner that Mike Woodson’s team has performed this season. Indiana is in a muddled heart of the Huge Ten after five losses in its final six video games, including a five-level defeat at Purdue on Saturday.
The schedule isn’t very forgiving in the shut to future, both. The Hoosiers seek the advice of with No. 21 Wisconsin on Tuesday night time earlier than data superhighway hosting No. 24 Michigan on Saturday after which going to No. 9 Michigan Stammer. It’s no longer out of the question that the shedding trot will stretch to 6 video games earlier than UCLA visits on Feb. 14. And if it does, Indiana’s tournament hopes will be in deep trouble.
Indiana’s tournament hopes are a long shot for the time being. (Listing by Michael Reaves/Getty Photos)
Gonzaga (16-7, 7-3 West Cruise) The Bulldogs’ presence on this checklist is basically resulting from the frequent of West Cruise Conference success it has space for itself. Gonzaga has no longer lost bigger than three video games in convention play since the 1997-98 season. That was once also the final time Gonzaga failed to fabricate the NCAA tournament.
We doubtlessly don’t prefer to fright about the Bulldogs breaking their tournament trot this season despite the incontrovertible fact that they’re three video games in the serve of Saint Mary’s in first. Gonzaga is composed No. 11 in KenPom’s metrics with an offense that ranks fourth in the nation. Conversely, Gonzaga’s luck metric ranks 351st out of 364 groups on the head stage of college basketball.
Cincinnati (12-9, 2-8 Huge 12) The Bearcats opened the season at No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and currently get themselves in 15th in the Huge 12.
Cincinnati enters Wednesday’s recreation at UCF on its second four-recreation shedding trot of the season in convention play. The Bearcats lost by 13 at house to West Virginia on Saturday — a team that also enters the recreation on a three-recreation shedding trot — and Cincy’s ideal convention victories thus a long way are over Arizona Stammer and Colorado. The Solar Devils have three Huge 12 wins and Colorado is 0-10. For the time being, Cincinnati is No. Fifty three in the NCAA’s NET rankings and is 0-6 in opposition to Quad 1 opponents.
Rutgers (11-11, 4-7 Huge Ten) The Scarlet Knights weren’t preseason contenders to win the Huge Ten. Nonetheless it was once also likely to test Rutgers getting a single-digit seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991. Despite all the pieces, this was once a team that boasted Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, two capacity top-10 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
As an alternate, Rutgers is barely outscoring its opponents and allowing practically 75 aspects per recreation. Bailey and Harper are the team’s main scorers and mix for 39 aspects per recreation. Nonetheless no one else on the team averages over 7.2 aspects per recreation and Harper is facing an ankle sprain.
Ace Bailey and the Scarlet Knights are going to must trot on a amble leisurely in the season to fabricate the NCAA tournament. (Rich Graessle/Getty Photos)
Kansas Stammer (10-11, 4-6 Huge 12) The Wildcats have had the most most up-to-date success of any team in this bunch after a depressing December and January. Kansas Stammer has won three straight and beat then-No. 3 Iowa Stammer 80-61 on the freeway on Saturday to snap ISU’s 29-recreation house win trot.
Things were genuinely gruesome earlier than the mini win trot, nonetheless. KSU had lost 9 of its outdated 10 video games, a stretch that incorporated a double-digit loss to Wichita Stammer and a six-recreation shedding trot in Huge 12 play.
We’re going to have the selection to must composed accumulate a correct advice of accurate how sustainable this amble is for Kansas Stammer rather soon. The Wildcats host No. 16 Kansas on Saturday earlier than No. 20 Arizona visits on Feb. 11.