College basketball scores, winners and losers: Arkansas 0-3 in SEC; Tennessee, Auburn, Iowa State survive

The last time a team coached by John Calipari began conference play 0-3 was during the 1988-89 season, when the longtime Kentucky coach was at the helm of UMass in the Atlantic 10. After spending 15 years with the Wildcats, Year 1 at his new school is off to an alarming start. Calipari’s Arkansas squad suffered its third straight conference loss with a 71-63 setback at home to No. 8 Florida on Saturday.

While Arkansas suffered another agonizing defeat, No. 3 Iowa State pulled off a dramatic road win over Texas Tech to remain perfect in Big 12 play. The Cyclones erased a 13-point first-half deficit to escape with an 85-84 overtime win over the Red Raiders. 

No. 2 Auburn also was on the right side of a thrilling win on the road. The Tigers rallied down the stretch to secure a 66-63 win over South Carolina. With Tennessee losing earlier this week to Florida, Auburn will likely jump to No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches polls on Monday. 

Auburn star and national player of the year candidate Johni Broome suffered an ankle injury in the win. The Auburn big man will reportedly undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the Saturday slate in college basketball.

How the AP Top 25 fared Saturday

Winner: Alabama beats No. 10 Texas A&M on the road

Alabama improved to 3-0 in SEC play with a tough 94-88 win over No. 10 Texas A&M on the road. Alabama star guard Mark Sears scored a game-high 27 points and Aden Holloway added 15 off the bench in the win. The Crimson Tide have won their last eight games since losing to Oregon in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas in November. Texas A&M was without star guard Wade Taylor IV, who missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. — Cameron Salerno

Loser: Indiana suffers blowout loss to Iowa

Indiana was embarrassed by Iowa on the road. The Hawkeyes secured an 85-60 win over the visiting Hoosiers behind a big-scoring performance by Payton Sandfort, who scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half. Indiana opened Big Ten play with a 17-point loss to Nebraska on the road before taking its second conference loss. Iowa outscored Indiana 42-27 after halftime. All four of Indiana’s losses have been by at least 15 points. — Salerno

Winner: Flagg sets records in career game

A career day for Duke freshman Cooper Flagg landed him not just the Blue Devils freshman single-game scoring record, but the ACC freshman single-game  scoring record after pouring in 42 points in an 86-78 win over Notre Dame. Flagg’s explosion came on just 14 field goal attempts and served as a breakout on offense after dominating primarily on defense up until recently.

“He falls into the category of like — Paolo [Banchero] dealt with this some, [Jayson] Tatum — where when you’re so talented and can create a shot almost any time, you’re not used to being mentally prepared to shoot,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the game. “So for Coop he’s had to work through that. It’s never been about us needing to make him a good shooter. He’s been a good shooter. It’s just the fact he’s always been used to being able to create off the bounce. So he can do that plus you have to be ready to keep defenses honest. To see it translate into a game like this is terrific.”

Flagg’s 42 points were the third-most in a game on 14 or fewer field goal attempts in the history of the College Basketball Reference database, which dates back to 1938-39. He finished the game 4 of 6 from 3-point range and made 16 of his 17 free-throw attempts. — Kyle Boone

Loser: Arkansas drops to 0-3 in SEC play

Year 1 of Calipari’s tenure at Arkansas isn’t going according to plan. The Razorbacks dropped their third consecutive game to begin SEC play with a 71-63 loss to No. 8 Florida at home. Florida took a narrow 28-25 lead into the locker room before pulling away down the stretch behind big plays from center Alex Condon — who finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Arkansas will play on the road against LSU and Missouri during its next two games. The last time a Calipari-coached team lost three consecutive games in conference play was during the 2020-21 season. — Salerno

Winner: USC upsets No. 13 Illinois on the road

After dropping back-to-back conference games to Michigan and Indiana, USC secured its biggest win of the season on the road. The Trojans went into State Farm Arena and upset No. 13 Illinois 82-73 behind 31 points from star guard Desmond Claude. The Trojans have been playing better basketball lately and would benefit tremendously from big conference wins like this. It’s important to note that Illinois was without star guard Kasparas Jakučionis, but regardless, this is a huge win for USC. — Salerno

Loser: South Carolina squanders an opportunity

South Carolina entered Saturday’s action among the minority of SEC teams outside the projected NCAA Tournament field of CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. A win over No. 2 Auburn would have marked the Gamecocks’ first Quad 1 victory and would have served as a pillar for a potential tournament resume. But the Gamecocks went ice cold late — failing to score for the game’s final 5:18 — and let Auburn escape with a 66-63 win. Compounding the frustration for the Gamecocks was that the Tigers played most of the second half without star center Johni Broome. His absence created a golden opportunity for the Gamecocks to pick up a season-altering win, but South Carolina couldn’t capitalize. — David Cobb

New Mexico improved to 6-0 in Mountain West play with a statement 62-48 win over San Diego State at home. Star guard Donovan Dent scored a game-high 16 points to help his team stay atop the conference standings. The Lobos entered the weekend as one of two teams from the conference that had yet to lose against Mountain West competition. This win solidifies New Mexico as the favorite to win the Mountain West heading into the third week of the new year. — Salerno

Loser: Texas squanders Tre Johnson’s big game

Texas wasted a 26-point outburst from star freshman Tre Johnson and missed out on a chance for its first-ever victory against an AP No. 1 ranked opponent as the Longhorns fell 74-70 to visiting Tennessee. Texas led 56-52 with 7:31 remaining before the Vols flipped the script with a 14-4 run. Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler iced the outcome with six points in the final minute as the Vols avoided their second loss of the week. Johnson was spectacular for the Longhorns, shooting 11 of 17 from the floor. But Texas struggled defensively down the stretch as the Vols made 6 of 9 shots to close the game. — Cobb

Winner: UConn, Karaban bounce back at Georgetown

UConn coach Dan Hurley said earlier this week after losing to Villanova that now, while true freshman star Liam McNeeley is sidelined with an ankle injury, is a good time to play this Huskies team as it finds its way at less than full strength. UConn responded from the loss with a big win on Saturday, though, taking down Georgetown 68-60 on the road. And Alex Karaban – who uncharacteristically missed a pair of free throws late in the Nova loss that might have won UConn the game  – led the way for the Huskies with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. That’s a nice palate cleanser for Hurley and the Huskies as they head into a seven-day breather – their longest remaining stretch between games in the regular season – with Creighton coming to Storrs next Saturday. — Boone

Loser: Texas Tech blows chance for big win

By nearly every statistic – 3-point shooting, rebounding, second-chance points, time leading – Texas Tech outplayed No. 3 Iowa State on Saturday in Lubbock. Just not in the one that mattered most.

The final score: Iowa State 85, Texas Tech 84 (OT)

The Red Raiders led by as many as 13 over the Cyclones but failed to close it out in regulation despite numerous opportunities to do so. Its inability to finish the Cyclones cost them a crucial home win as ISU forced overtime and slammed the door shut, with Josh Jefferson scoring six points in the final minute to seal the Iowa State comeback.

Texas Tech has been hot and cold to start the season with some ugly losses to Saint Joseph’s and UCF but some encouraging wins vs. the likes of Utah and BYU to start the new year. This one falls somewhere in between. A loss to Iowa State in a vacuum is nothing to fret about, but losing in excruciating fashion after seemingly having it in the bag has got to sting for the Red Raiders. — Boone

Winner: UNC’s Washington rejects NC State’s chances

Jalen Washington picked a great time to produce his first career double-double as North Carolina’s junior center finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds in UNC’s 63-61 win at rival NC State. The Tar Heels led by nine with under six minutes left before the Wolfpack mounted a furious late charge to tie the game with 1:29 remaining. That’s when Washington capped his day with a couple of huge plays. 

First, his dunk put the Tar Heels ahead with 24 seconds remaining. Then he swatted a potential game-tying attempt from NC State’s Jayden Taylor and grabbed the rebound himself as time expired. UNC has struggled to coax substantive contributions from its bigs this season, but the Tar Heels may not have escaped their in-state rival without Washington on Saturday. — Cobb

Loser: Oklahoma remains winless in SEC play

On Jan. 4, Oklahoma entered the day ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and one of only three undefeated teams in college basketball with a big test to prove itself looming with a road tilt vs. Alabama. Fast forward one week, and the Sooners are riding shotgun on the struggle bus. They fell on the road Saturday to Georgia – their third loss in the span of a week – to drop them to 0-3 in SEC play. It’s not totally unexpected given the league’s newfound depth and strength, but the last week has been a reality check for one of the SEC’s newbies – and a sobering one, at that. — Boone

La Salle won its first game in A-10 play in dramatic fashion on Saturday against St. Bonaventure. La Salle guard Deuce Jones knocked down a 3-pointer in the final seconds of overtime to give his team an 83-82 win over the Bonnies. La Salle dropped its first two conference games against Dayton and Loyola Chicago before securing a huge win. Jones finished with 16 points. — Salerno

Loser: Pitt gets torched by Louisville’s Smith

If there’s one player for Louisville who you absolutely cannot let get hot, it’s Reyne Smith. The flame throwing guard who transferred from Charleston along with Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey entered Saturday as a career 37.1% shooter from 3-point range with 348 makes over four seasons. But the Panthers must’ve missed that on the scouting report as they allowed Smith to drain a season-high seven triples in an 82-78 win for the Cardinals. Smith hit four of his bombs in the final 10 minutes to help Louisville improve to 12-5 (5-1 ACC) in what’s beginning to look like an impressive debut campaign for Kelsey. — Cobb

Winner: William & Mary nails buzzer-beater for win

William & Mary erased an 8-point second-half deficit and defeated North Carolina A&T to remain perfect in CAA play with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Keller Boothby. Boothy finished with 12 points but was scoreless in the second half before nailing the game-winner as time expired from the logo. It keeps the Tribe as the only remaining CAA team yet to lose in conference play after Charleston lost earlier in the day to fall to 3-1. — Boone

Loser: Cincinnati drops fourth straight game in Big 12 play

Cincinnati dropped to 0-4 in Big 12 play with a 54-40 loss to No. 11 Kansas at home. The Bearcats came into the weekend having lost their last three games to Kansas State, Arizona and Baylor after starting the season 10-1. Cincinnati is one of three teams from the conference (with newcomers Colorado and Utah being the others) that haven’t won in Big 12 play yet. The Bearcats shot 18 of 59 from the floor as a team and an abysmal 3 of 22 from beyond the arc. — Salerno

Winner: Alcorn State becomes last team to get win

There are no more winless teams in college basketball after Alcorn State defeated Alabama A&M 62-52 on Saturday to improve to 1-14 on the season. The Braves stood as the only winless team in college hoops less than 24 hours after Canisius, entering Friday 0-14, defeated Rider 85-67. — Boone