Checking in on the top teams and players in men’s college basketball

The GIST: March will be here before you know it, so before the regular season flies by, let's check in on the biggest and brightest stars of the men’s college basketball world, shall we?

😈 Cooper Flagg doing Cooper Flagg things: The superstar Duke freshman leads his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Flagg had his best game of the season on Saturday, recording a conference freshman record 42 points in a win over Notre Dame.

• And the National Player of the Year favorite — widely anticipated to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — only added to the hype last night, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out six assists in his No. 3 Blue Devils’ 89–54 win over Miami.

🐺 Two-time defending champs endure up-and-down campaign: No. 14 UConn has had a headline-grabbing season, including criticism for HC Dan Hurley’s sideline behavior. Despite some surprise losses and losing one of their top players to injury until at least the end of the month, the 13-4 Huskies still have one of the best offenses in the country. Could the three-peat still be in play?

🐯 Player of the Year favorite Johni Broome out with injury: After leading No. 1 Auburn to a 15-1 season start, Broome suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s win over South Carolina. It’s TBD how much time he’ll miss. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

🥇 The SEC is the country's top conference: Prior to conference play tipping off, SEC teams owned an 88.9% winning percentage, by far the best record of any conference and the best in league history. Plus, the 16-team SEC currently has 11 squads projected to make the NCAA Tournament. How do you spell dominance? S.E.C.