The Sportsletter - SEC Dominates Two Sports at Once

BY AARON YORKE

DEC. 5, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

December is known more for bowl season than college hoops, but Wednesday night was like a miniature March Madness with all the high-profile clashes between powerful programs. There might be a changing of the guard when it comes to the best basketball conference in the country, but in football recruiting, the top guys are staying on top.

✍️ Programming: The Sportsletter’s primary writer, Jeff, is taking a 30-second timeout. Aaron & Marissa will sub in for the rest of the week. Enjoy.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The SEC is a Basketball Conference

Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images

The SEC Clobbers the ACC in the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge with Wins in 14 of 16 Games

Remember when we used to stop hearing about how great the SEC was when the calendar turned to February? That might be a thing of the past as the league formerly known as a football conference completely dominated the ACC in the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge. The contest featured 16 games spread over two nights, and the ACC was playing for pride for all of Wednesday because the SEC sealed the deal with a 9-1 record on Tuesday.

On that night, Tennessee crushed Syracuse 96-70 with 54-percent shooting and 26 points from North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier. That famous (from football) SEC defense was also on display as Texas A&M smothered Wake Forest 57-44 and Ole Miss stunned Louisville 86-63. If not for Clemon's 70-66 upset over Kentucky, the SEC would have made it a clean sweep. That's ironic because the Wildcats used to be the flagbearer for the SEC in hoops, but the rise of new powers like Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas A&M have made the league very deep.

Duke saved face for the ACC on Wednesday night with an 84-78 win over No. 2 Auburn. All of Cooper Flagg's skills were on display as he led the Blue Devils in points (22), rebounds (11), and assists (4) while also offering three steals and two blocks, all with no turnovers. However, Duke freshman Isaiah Evans stole the show with 18 points on 6-for-8 three-point shooting.

A few minutes down Tobacco Road, the SEC made a statement with Alabama overwhelming North Carolina 94-79. Mark Sears led the way for the Crimson Tide with 20 points and seven assists, but keep an eye on UNC freshman Ian Jackson. He led everyone in scoring with 23 points in 28 minutes off the bench.

The rest of the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge Results from Wednesday

Florida 87, Virginia 69

Walter Clayton Jr.: 27 points, 4 assists

Mississippi State 90, Pittsburgh 57

Michael Nwoko: 18 points, 11 rebounds

Texas 63, North Carolina State 59

Tre Johnson: 18 points

Vanderbilt 80, Virginia Tech 64

Jason Edwards: 19 points off bench

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SEC and Big Ten Dominate Early Signing Period

Photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images

College Football's Two Mega Powers Appear to be the Future of the Sport as well as the Present

We saw on Tuesday how the SEC and the Big Ten are in control of the college football landscape with four members from each league projected to make the College Football Playoff with just one weekend to go until the bracket is officially set. It turns out that the future paints a similar picture. Wednesday marked the beginning of college football's early signing day period with recruits across the country locking in their school commitments for 2025. Recruiting rankings might not mean as much as they used to with players switching programs in the transfer portal every year, but they are still as good a gauge as we have on which schools are bringing in the best talent.

According to 247 Sports' updated rankings, the SEC and Big Ten will remain loaded for the near future. The top 11 classes all belong to one of those two conferences, with Notre Dame breaking up the streak at number 12.

2025 Recruit Football Team Rankings (with number of five-star recruits)

1. Texas (4)

2. Alabama (4)

3. Georgia (5)

4. Oregon (4)

5. Ohio State (2)

6. Auburn (1)

7. Michigan (2)

8. LSU (3)

9. Texas A&M (2)

10. Tennessee (1)

11. Florida (1)

12. Notre Dame (0)

There were plenty of intriguing battles on the recruiting front, with Oregon flipping the top cornerback in the class away from Ohio State. That is shaping up to be an intense new rivalry if their thrilling battle in Eugene this season was any indication.

The ACC and the slumping Seminoles took on another tough blow when LSU signed five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas. He had been committed to Florida State as a key piece to its 2025 recruiting class.

Recruiting is what makes college sports different from pro sports. That is more true than ever now that the college kids are getting paid. Instead of the worst teams being gifted high draft spots, the rich get richer. Despite that, we see underdogs and Cinderella stories like Indiana pop up almost every year. The spirit of the underdog cannot be measured by silly star ratings!

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🏒 NHL

Maple Leafs def. Predators (3-2)

Two goals from Auston Matthews

Bruins def. Blackhawks (4-2)

Marchand and Geekie score twice each

Golden Knights def. Ducks (4-1)

Shea Theodore nets a pair

Kings def. Stars (3-2)

Los Angeles rallies from two-goal deficit

🏀 NBA

Hawks def. Bucks (119-104)

Jalen Johnson: 23 points, 13 rebounds

Timberwolves def. Clippers (108-80)

Rudy Gobert: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals

🏀 College Basketball Big 12-Big East Battle

Creighton def. No.1 Kansas (76-63)

Pop Isaacs: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

No. 6 Iowa State def. No. 5 Marquette 81-70

Keshon Gilbert: 24 points, 7 assists

No. 25 UConn def. No. 15 Baylor 76-72

Liam McNeeley: 17 points, 8 rebounds

Texas Tech def. DePaul 76-62

Darrion Williams: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

STORYLINES

🏈Tom Brady proposes controversial NFL rule change after brutal hit on Trevor Lawrence

If the NFL wants to eliminate big hits on quarterbacks, Brady suggested a rule change that would probably be pretty controversial if it were to be implemented: Penalize the offense. (CBS Sports)

🏀NBA Power Rankings: Celtics Hold Strong, While OKC Thunder Gain

We're now a month and change into the NBA season, and the moral of 2024-25 may simply be that, outside of the Boston Celtics (and probably Oklahoma City Thunder), parity reigns. (B/R)

⚾️Roger Clemens Makes Good Point About Proposed MLB Rule Change

There are plenty of reasons to dislike Manfred's suggestion, and it does seem unlikely to ever come to fruition. But legendary starting pitcher Roger Clemens made another point about how the rule would impact games that further discredits it. (Outkick)

NEWS 📰

🏒NHL unveils full rosters for 4 Nations Face-Off tournament (ESPN)

🏈Ravens suspend WR Diontae Johnson weeks after acquiring him from Panthers (CBS Sports)

🏀Pelicans say Zion Williamson (hamstring) to miss at least two more weeks (Deadspin)

🏈Miami’s Cam Ward Calls Out CFP Committee, SEC Defenses After Latest Rankings (Sports Illustrated)

🥊Dana White announces championship double-header to headline UFC 311 (Yahoo! Sports)

⚾️Seattle Mariners Involved in Trade Talks With Chicago Cubs Regarding Nico Hoerner (Sports Illustrated)

🏈Giants name Drew Lock starting quarterback for Sunday's game vs. Saints (SNY)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏈 NFL (Thursday Night Football)

Packers at Lions (8:15 pm ET, PRIME)