Category: NCAA Basketball

What former Michigan State center Paul Davis said "ticked me off," Izzo admitted to reporters after his team's blowout victory over USC on Monday night.

It seemed as though everybody in Nebraska was calling for Fred Hoiberg's job just a few years ago, when it also seemed as though the former Iowa State coach would be unable to replicate the success he had years earlier with the Cyclones. The Huskers won seven games his first season. Four more years down the road, Nebraska begins the week as one of six remaining unbeaten teams in Division I men's college basketball, and the Huskers barged into 10th in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, the highest they've been since they were No. 9 on Feb. 28, 1966.

The Spartans enjoyed a 25-5 advantage in fast-break points and a 21-9 edge in points off the bench.

The 6-foot-1 Francis, a junior NJIT transfer, has scored 100 in the past four games — all coming off the bench.

Braden Frager scored 15 points off the bench and No. 10 Nebraska held off a late rally by Ohio State to win.

Braden Frager scored 15 points off the bench and No. Nebraska held off a late rally by Ohio State to win 72-69 on Monday night. Rienk Mast added 12 points while Jamarques Lawrence and Pryce Sandfort each had 11 as the Cornhuskers (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten) extended the best start in school history.

Coen Carr scored 18 points and Jaxon Kohler added 16 on perfect shooting to lead No. 12 Michigan State to an 80-51 blowout against Southern California on Monday night. Jeremy Fears Jr. had 15 points and seven assists for the Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten), who took control with a 27-6 run early in the game and led by at least 20 for much of the second half. Kohler made all six of his field goal attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers, and sank his only free throw.

Michigan State basketball score: Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler combined for 34 points in the Spartans' rout of USC at Breslin Center on Monday, Jan. 5.

Tariq Francis made 10 of 16 from the field, hit 10 of 11 from the free-throw line, and scored 30 points to help Rutgers beat Oregon 88-85 in overtime on Monday night. Darren Buchanan Jr. hit a corner 3-pointer and threw down a two-hand dunk before Francis made a jumper that capped a 7-1 spurt and gave Rutgers (8-7, 1-3 Big Ten) an 87-82 lead with 1:09 to play. Buchanan, Jamichael Davis and Lino Mark each scored 13 points for the Scarlet Knights.

Defending national champion Florida shot its way out of the AP Top 25. It was Florida’s fifth loss — one more than it had last season — and was the team’s latest display of lackluster shooting and less-than-ideal playmaking. The Gators (9-5, 0-1 SEC) failed to hit double-digit 3-pointers for the 12th time in 14 games and shot a paltry 26% from behind the arc in a 76-74 loss to the Tigers.

An overtime win over Auburn in its Southeastern Conference opening game showed No. 23 Georgia’s high-scoring offense is no fluke.

“Yaxel is day to day,” Michigan basketball coach Dusty May said of star with Yaxel Lendeborg, who has a calf strain. “He’s feeling much better.”

The one-point difference kept the first poll of 2026 from becoming the second ever with a tie for No. 1; Oregon State and Virginia shared the top spot on Jan. 26, 1981.

Also, Nebraska looks legitimate for the first time in forever.

Here's an updated look at the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 on Jan. 5 of the men's college basketball season: