College Basketball Winners & Losers (12/15)
This week, we will look at the surprises and disappointments.
Surprises (“Winners”):
Nebraska
Nebraska finished 7–13 in Big Ten play last season and was mired in a five-game skid when the new College Basketball Crown Tournament came calling.
They responded by reeling off four straight wins to capture the tournament, capped by a 77–66 triumph over Central Florida in the title game.
Because of that run, they are now on a country-leading 15-game winning streak and seem primed to make a run at the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska has reached the tournament field just eight times in school history—and has gone winless at 0–8 in those appearances.
It’s not a school filled with tradition, but can they be a tournament darling in 2026? We are three months away from finding out.
California
A poor schedule and not-so-great metrics leave the Golden Bears at 76th in the KenPom despite their 10-1 record.
However, it is not hard to envision a scenario where they sneak into the NCAA Tournament. Some of this is due to that schedule.
They play Duke, North Carolina, and Louisville once apiece, with all three games at home. The only currently ranked team they face on the road is Virginia, and they have their own weak schedule to justify.
Junior Dai Dai Ames, playing for his third school in three years, is leading the way. Shooting an impressive 49% from 3-point territory, he averages 18.3 points per game.
Seton Hall
Has Shaheen Holloway put his stamp on the Pirates?
After missing out on the NCAA Tournament but winning the NIT in 2023-2024, Seton Hall crashed last season. They went 7-25 (2-18 in the Big East). Losses included games against Hofstra, Fordham, and Monmouth. Interestingly, one of their two Big East wins was over UConn.
This squad is the definition of a modern college basketball team. It is filled with transfers from schools ranging from North Carolina State and Miami to Merrimack and Elon. Senior A.J. Staton-McCray (the Miami transfer) is averaging 14.3 points per game, while junior Adam Clark (Merrimack) is dishing out 5.5 assists while averaging 2.0 steals. That stat matters—Holloway’s system thrives on forcing turnovers. Their 120 steals rank eighth nationally and lead all power-conference programs.
Can they sustain this momentum? The Big East offers little resistance beyond UConn and St. John’s. With a bubble that won’t be flowing with many mid-major teams, there will be openings for teams like Seton Hall.
Disappointments (“Losers”)
Creighton
Ranked 23rd in the preseason and first regular season AP polls, the Blue Jays are off to a 5-5 start with non-competitive losses to Gonzaga, Iowa State, and Nebraska. The Gonzaga and Iowa State losses occurred during the Players Era Festival, where they went 0-3.
Additionally, they have lost to Baylor and Kansas State by seven.
They are currently ranked 73rd in the KenPom, and the upcoming Big East schedule has its pros and cons. They can definitely rack up plenty of wins in a top-heavy conference. However, those wins may lack the quality that would impress the committee.
The worst part of their campaign is that they do nothing well, shooting only 44.2% from the field, including 32.5% from three-point range.
Their streak of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances is in jeopardy, as is their streak of ten straight 20+ win campaigns.
North Carolina State
Favored to win the Maui Invitational, the Wolfpack laid a 1-2 egg that included losses to Seton Hall and Texas.
This was supposed to be a rebirth year. They brought in Will Wade after his 50-9 mark with McNeese State that included an NCAA Tournament win. Wade’s past may be controversial, but winning has always been ingrained in his DNA.
That may still be true. They aren’t buried at 7-4. Still, it’s fair to say they’ve fallen short of expectations.
What works in their favor is a KenPom ranking that remains bullish at 28th, paired with an offense averaging 87.6 points and shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc.
The improved nature of the ACC, + a solid non-conference slate, will help them. However, they will need to start winning more games against good competition.
Florida
Repeating a magical season is hard in college basketball, and the Gators are finding that out.
After starting the season ranked third in the AP poll, they are on the brink of falling out thanks to a pedestrian 6-4 start to their campaign. Their biggest issue is the inability to beat good competition, as their four losses are to Duke, Connecticut, Arizona, and TCU. On a positive note, those four losses are by a combined 15 points.
There aren’t any more of those types of non-conference games remaining, so they will need to do damage in the SEC to build up their resume. Given the closeness of their losses, it is too soon to count them out. Their 10th-ranked defense suggests they have the tools to reverse their fortunes and make a push for a Sweet 16 berth before the season’s end.
However, for now, it’s been a slog.