Winners and losers: Nebraska remains undefeated; Michigan takes first loss

Saturday began with six undefeated teams in college basketball.

Only five remain.

That’s because Wisconsin — 19.5-point road underdogs vs. No. 2 Michigan — pulled off the improbable in Ann Arbor, downing the Wolverines 91-88 and delivering them their first loss since last season’s Sweet 16.

Four of the other five remaining unbeaten teams were in action Saturday (Miami Oh. won Friday) — and the four held up their part. No. 1 Arizona, a road favorite, rolled TCU; No. 11 Vanderbilt, a home favorite, stopped LSU; and No. 3 Iowa State, a heavy home favorite, cruised past Oklahoma State.

Perhaps most impressive among those unbeaten teams was what transpired in No. 10 Nebraska’s 83-77 win vs. Indiana. The Cornhuskers– a 4.5-point road underdog, and the only underdog among top-10 teams in action Saturday — remained unbeaten with a gritty 83-77 win over the Hoosiers, erasing a 16-point second-half deficit to win by six.

Nebraska is now 16-0. That is their best start to a season in program history. 

Here’s to you, Huskers fans. What a season it’s been. You’ve earned this space.

The rest of Saturday’s winners and losers across the college hoops landscape is below.

Loser: Kansas’ season hits another snag

Darryn Peterson had his third consecutive outing of 23 or more points — he finished with 23 points, six boards and two assists — but Kansas still managed to stumble in an 86-75 loss to West Virginia as its roller-coaster season hit yet another bump. The loss moved No. 22 KU to 11-5 on the season, marking its second-worst start through 16 games since Bill Self took over the program in 2003. The loss also moved KU to 1-2 in Big 12 play, tying for its worst start to conference action since a 1-2 start in 2005-06.

“We suck right now,” Self said after the loss. “But it’s right now. Everybody goes through ebbs and flows in the season. The last three games we haven’t played well. We’ve got to flip it.”

Kansas will have a chance to flip its momentum Tuesday as No. 3 Iowa State comes to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks. KU has defeated Iowa State seven consecutive times the two have met in Allen Fieldhouse. — Kyle Boone

Winner: Houston blows out Baylor despite cold shooting

No. 7 Houston shot just 28% from downtown in a Big 12 road game against an in-state rival … and still waxed a solid Baylor club 77-55. That’s one impressive feat. Houston showed a glimpse of the recipe that’s made the Cougars a Big 12 juggernaut. Houston smoked Baylor on the glass, corralling a whopping 23 offensive rebounds. Houston also held Baylor to just 35 points through the first 34 minutes of regulation. This Houston defense is starting to look like Houston again after some November follies. This offensive rebounding with this defense and this level of guard play? Yeah, Houston is certainly in play to win the National Championship. — Isaac Trotter

Loser: Michigan suffers first loss of the season vs. Wisconsin

For a better part of the 2025-26 college basketball season, Michigan has looked almost unbeatable. The No. 2 Wolverines entered the weekend with 11 wins by at least 14 points and were 3-0 against ranked opponents. However, Wisconsin’s hot shooting second half helped the Badgers pull off a 91-88 upset over Michigan. The Wolverines were one of six Division I teams without a loss entering the weekend, and that number has since been reduced to five. After nearly being upset earlier in the week against Penn State on the road, Michigan finally suffered its first loss. – Cameron Salerno

Winner: Nebraska keeps its perfect season alive

Nebraska kept its dream season alive with a steely performance on the road by erasing a 16-point second-half deficit in Bloomington to defeat Indiana 83-77. The Cornhuskers, whose 16-0 start is best in school history, got a career day from Jamarques Lawrence, who scored a career-high 27 points and also had season-highs in both steals (3) and rebounds (5). The team also finished with 14 3-pointers on 34 attempts, which is the second-most made 3-pointers in a game for Nebraska vs. a high-major opponent since 2020. — Boone

Winner: Shorthanded Kentucky wins big

The boo birds were out inside Rupp Arena as Kentucky fell behind Mississippi State by 12 in the opening six minutes. From there, Wildcats played some of their best basketball of the season to earn an authoritative 92-68 win. A loss would have dropped UK (10-6, 1-2 SEC) to 0-3 in league play for the first time since 1976, and the woebegone Wildcats were reeling early. But with their backs against the wall in a must-win game, UK finally flashed its full potential. Otega Oweh led the charge with 22 points and five steals as the Wildcats built a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers with the sort of intensity that had been lacking.

Getting in the SEC win column did come with a price, though. Starting point guard Jaland Lowe left in the first three minutes after appearing to re-aggravate his injured right shoulder. Sophomore center Jayden Quaintance also did not play due to swelling in his knee. The absence of two top portal prizes only made this showing more impressive.

Winner: UConn off to best Big East start in 24 seasons 

Don’t look now, but No. 4 UConn — which won national titles in 2023 and 2024 under coach Dan Hurley — is quietly (or perhaps not-so-quietly all of a sudden) off to its best start to a season in nearly two decades. The Huskies downed DePaul, 72-60, to improve to 16-1 overall — building off their best start to a season since 2008-09 when it opened 24-2. The win also moved UConn to 6-0 in Big East play for the first time in 24 seasons. — Boone

Loser: Gainesville remains a prison for Tennessee

A year ago, Florida used a 30-point home win over Tennessee in early January to show a championship-level ceiling en route to a national title. These Gators still have some kinks to work out, but Saturday’s 91-67 home beatdown of the No. 21 Volunteers provided compelling evidence to suggest Florida is heading in the right direction after an uneven start.

Florida (11-5, 2-1 SEC) used 18 Tennessee giveaways to create a 30-8 edge in points off turnovers. In a matchup between the nation’s top offensive rebounding teams, the Gators also owned the glass with a 12-6 edge in offensive boards that led to a 14-6 advantage in second-chance points. Tennessee looked uncharacteristically sloppy on defense, as six Florida players reached double figures. Boogie Fland led the charge with a season-high 23 points.

Tennessee has dropped nine of its past 11 games at Florida. Eight of those nine losses have come by double-digits, and UF has won three of its past four home games vs. the Volunteers by 24 or more. — Cobb

Winner: Perfect Big 12 teams stay unbeaten

The list of undefeated teams in college basketball dropped from six to five on Saturday — but the two unbeaten Big 12 teams did their part to keep their unbeaten seasons alive. Iowa State held off Oklahoma State at home to move to 16-0 and No. 1 Arizona impressively blasted TCU on the road in a tough spot to get to 16-0 itself. That leaves Arizona, Iowa State, Vanderbilt, Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) as the only five undefeated teams still standing. — Boone

Loser: Alabama takes a confounding loss

Texas stunned No. 13 Alabama 92-88, bringing an end to the Crimson Tide’s 23-game home winning streak against unranked teams. The Longhorns (10-6, 1-2 SEC) entered rated 15th among SEC teams at KenPom and with just one win over a high-major opponent. But the frustrations of a slow start for first-year coach Sean Miller dissipated with each made 3-pointer and offensive rebound. Jordan Pope exploded, tying a season-high with 28 points on 6 of 13 shooting from beyond the arc. After getting outworked on the glass in a loss at Tennessee earlier in the week, the Longhorns racked up a 20-12 edge in second-chance points. — Cobb

Winner: Miami continues hot start under Lucas

Miami continued its hot start under first-year coach Jai Lucas by riding a 52% shooting performance to a 91-81 win over Georgia Tech. Tre Donaldson led the charge with a career-high 27 points and 10 assists for the Hurricanes (14-2, 3-0 ACC), who have already doubled last season’s win total and are considered a No. 8 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology.

There’s a long way to go, but with veterans like Donaldson and Indiana transfer Malik Reneau leading the charge, the ‘Canes are on track to reach the NCAA Tournament. Lucas, a former Duke assistant, also brought former Blue Devils commitment Shelton Henderson with him. The stud wing prospect is proving to be one of the ACC’s best freshman players. And his coach is proving to be one of the nation’s best freshman coaches. — Cobb

Winner: NC State offense explodes like it’s 1991

NC State ran circles around Florida State on the Seminoles’ home floor in a 113-69 rout to improve to 3-1 in ACC play. The 113 points for the Wolfpack were the most they’ve scored vs. an ACC opponent since scoring 114 vs. Maryland on Feb. 27, 1991, per CBB Reference Data — and the 44-point final margin is their largest vs. an ACC opponent on the road in program history.

“From top to bottom, we were terrible tonight,” FSU coach Luke Loucks said postgame. “The score reflects that. As a coaching staff we got outcoached from top to bottom. They adjusted; we tried to adjust and none of it worked.”

The 44-point final margin is the fourth-largest loss in program history and largest loss since falling to North Carolina by 48 points on Jan. 24, 1998. — Boone

Winner: New-look St. John’s could be dangerous

St. John’s dump-trucked Creighton 90-73 showing off a new rotation and tons of balance. Rick Pitino took Joson Sanon out of the rotation, and Lefteris Liotopoulos erupted for a team-high 17 points off the bench. Zuby Ejiofor (12 points), Oziyah Sellers (16 points, six rebounds, five assists), Ian Jackson (12 points), Dylan Darling (11 points) and Bryce Hopkins (12 points) all cracked double figures.

If the Johnnies find a way to earn a share of the Big East title, this week’s showing will loom so large. St. John’s emerged with two massive road wins over Butler and Creighton to improve to 4-1 in conference play. The talent on this roster was never in question, and Pitino is starting to press the right buttons. — Trotter

Winner: Vanderbilt matches best start in school history

No. 11 Vanderbilt held off LSU 84-73 to improve to 16-0. It matches the best start in school history, and Tyler Tanner continues to be a huge reason why. The sophomore point guard added another notable showing to his star-studded ledger with 20 points, three assists and three steals. He is a legitimate All-American candidate. Tyler Nickel, Duke Miles, AK Okereke and Jalen Washington all cracked double figures in the victory over the short-handed Tigers. — Trotter

Winner: Short-handed SMU impresses in road loss to Duke

Even without All-ACC guard Boopie Miller, who was stuck in the team hotel with the flu, No. 24 SMU gave No. 6 Duke all it could handle. Duke emerged with an 82-75 win thanks to more clutch heroics from sophomore sniper Isaiah Evans, but SMU looks every bit the part of a NCAA Tournament team. Prized freshman Jaden Toombs had his coming-out party with 23 points and seven rebounds against Duke’s talented frontline. BJ Edwards (20 points) was also fabulous. SMU has not made the tournament since 2017. Andy Enfield’s crew looks poised to change that in 2026. — Trotter

Loser: Chicago State finds remarkable way to lose

You could rightly say Chicago State has been inventing ways to lose for the entirety of its 42-year span at the Division I level. But the Cougars really took their ineptitude to new heights in an 85-82 overtime loss at Stonehill. 
Chicago State led 71-69 and had the basketball with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation. All it had to do was inbound the ball and the game would be over. In fact, the Cougars could have just passed the basketball to Stonehill, because the Skyhawks wouldn’t have had enough time to attempt a shot.

But in this situation, with something like a 99.99999% win probability, Chicago State did the one thing it absolutely could not do. The Cougars were out of timeouts but called one anyway. They were assessed a technical foul, which allowed Stonehill’s Kofi Hermann to sink a pair of game-tying free throws. Stonehill went on to win overtime, dropping Chicago State to 2-15 and 6-43 over the past two seasons. Even by the standards of a perennial loser, this was tough to take. — Cobb

Winner: Will Kyle’s vertical

Syracuse knocked off Pitt 83-72 but the story of the game was William Kyle unleashing arguably the dunk of the year? Kyle is up to 33 dunks this season, but this is a 10/10 rack attack. — Trotter

Trailing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by two points with time winding down, Northwestern State guard Micah Thomas went coast-to-coast and pulled off a one-legged game-winner as time expired to lift the Demons to a 79-78 victory at the horn. Thomas finished the day with a game-high 20 points and was a perfect 2 for 2 from 3-point range on the afternoon. — Boone

Winner: Smith has another big day for Purdue

Purdue star point guard Braden Smith recently became the Big Ten’s all-time assist leader, and he added to that total during a win over Penn State. Smith finished with 26 points and 14 assists and became the first Big Ten player in at least the last 10 years to hit both of those marks. Purdue has now won seven consecutive games since falling to Iowa State at home last month. Smith now has eight games with at least 14 assists, which is the most in Big Ten history by five games. He needs 36 assists to move into the top 10 in the all-time assist leaderboard. — Salerno