ATLANTA — St. John’s was No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll. Kentucky was No. 9. Fast-forward to the present, and the Red Storm are all the way down at No. 22, and the Wildcats are unranked. In other words, things haven’t gone as planned — for either team. And that’s why unless North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson does something to make us reconsider which five-star freshmen will be the ACC Player of the Year, or unless Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton goes big in an upset, the story coming out of Saturday’s CBS Sports Classic will likely be whichever team loses the first game of the doubleheader here inside State Farm Arena.
St. John’s or Kentucky?
Who takes it? Who doesn’t?
The victor will add a Quadrant-1 win to the resume while the loser watches its fanbase meltdown again following another defeat. Fun times. Either way, the expectation is that Jayden Quaintance will make his debut for UK after missing the first 11 games while recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season while playing at Arizona State.
He could be a real difference-maker.
Quaintance, a 6-foot-9 forward, is slotted 11th in Kyle Boone’s latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft thanks in part to a 7-foot-5 wingspan that allows him to block and alter shots at a high rate. His block-percentage last season was 9.8, which ranked 11th nationally, according to KenPom.com. Quaintance’s presence alone should change how St. John’s tries to attack UK’s defense.
College basketball picks, schedule: Predictions for Duke vs. Texas Tech, more top 25 games
Kyle Boone
St. John’s is No. 21 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan remains No. 1 for the 11th straight day. UK is No. 25.
Tip is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Approximately 30 minutes after it’s done, the second game of the CBS Sports Classic will get underway between North Carolina and Ohio State. It will also be on CBS. The Tar Heels are No. 10 in the Top 25 And 1.
