The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge took place over the last two days. With the longtime ACC/Big Ten Challenge a victim of new television contracts, the ACC’s new partnership with a fellow ESPN-backed league in the SEC produced some high-profile matchups and notable results. The leagues split the challenge 7–7, but in the process we learned a lot about some high-profile teams as teams try to build their résumés during the nonconference schedule.
Here are some notes on the most important results of the event.
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Kentucky’s offensive potential was obvious, even in defeat, against Kansas at the Champions Classic with the season barely a week old. Since then, the Wildcats’ explosiveness has been on full display, and a dominant performance against Miami should only further solidify the belief that they are a legitimate national title contender. Kentucky poured in 95 points on a blistering 1.32 points per possession, ripping apart Miami’s defense thanks to its combination of elite shooting, high-level ball control and variety of offensive weapons.
The game was something of an official arrival for freshman Reed Sheppard, who made five threes en route to 21 points. He and fellow freshman Rob Dillingham would make one of the best backcourts in the SEC … and that duo comes off the bench for John Calipari’s team. Having a skilled center like Tre Mitchell really opens up the floor for these guards to make plays, and no team in the country has more backcourt weapons than Kentucky does. Calipari may sacrifice a bit of that offensive firepower for better interior size once the likes of Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso return from injury, but even that might not be enough to slow down this offense. The Wildcats will undoubtedly hit some bumps playing as many young players as they are, but the ceiling is immense, and Tuesday’s win was a great reminder.
Hubert Davis was tasked with reworking North Carolina’s roster around RJ Davis and Armando Bacot after an incredibly disappointing 2022–23 season. Pouring in 100 points against a No. 10 Tennessee team known for its defense is a positive indicator that the new-look unit has what it takes to contend for an ACC title.
The big breakthrough has been the play of Harrison Ingram, a former elite recruit who disappointed in two years at Stanford. Ingram has been recast as a floor spacer and connector, and the results have been incredible. He scored 20 more points in Wednesday’s win and has really boosted UNC’s spacing. Meanwhile, freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau didn’t make a field goal, but showed off his passing chops with 10 assists and no turnovers to spark this Carolina offense. The Heels showed some cracks defensively in the second half, but this was a big home win heading into matchups with ranked UConn, Kentucky and Oklahoma squads later this month.
Sometimes all it takes is some home cooking to turn the tide for a struggling team. Arkansas certainly qualified for the “struggling” label after a rough week at Battle 4 Atlantis preceded by a loss at home to UNC-Greensboro. But even without star wing Tramon Mark, Arkansas rode an epic home crowd to an upset win over No. 7 Duke on Wednesday night in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks got bounce-back performances from guards Khalif Battle (21 points, five assists) and El Ellis (nine points, six assists) and put up a strong defensive effort before a late Duke flurry. Consistency in the backcourt will be critical going forward, but this was a good reminder of both Arkansas’s strong home-court edge and Eric Musselman’s ability to make adjustments on the fly in the middle of seasons.
The preseason concerns about Alabama’s defense have only intensified after an ugly stretch in the last week. Clemson diced up the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, following up similarly rough defensive performances from games against Ohio State and Oregon at the Emerald Coast Classic. Coach Nate Oats attributed the issues to a lack of pride on that end of the floor, but the issues may run deeper than that. The anchor of last year’s stellar defense was center Charles Bediako, whose ability to take away almost everything at the rim was huge. Bediako has since turned pro, and the Tide aren’t getting the same impact from replacements Nick Pringle and Mohamed Wague. Alabama also lost assistant Charlie Henry, widely credited with engineering the defense, to the Georgia Southern head coach job in the spring. With matchups against Purdue, Creighton and Arizona all before Christmas, the Tide will have their hands full while attempting to fix that unit before SEC play.
If Syracuse winds up in legitimate NCAA tournament contention in Adrian Autry’s first season as coach, the play of sophomore sensation Judah Mintz will be a big reason why. Mintz absolutely tore up LSU in an 80–57 win Tuesday in Syracuse, his fifth time with 20 or more points in seven games this season. Mintz has upped his efficiency in his second college season, shooting better than 40% from three after making just 30% from deep a year ago. He’s also living at the free throw line, ranking in the top five nationally in fouls drawn per game, per KenPom. Add in other talented guards like Chris Bell (23 points vs. LSU) and JJ Starling (11 ppg), and the Syracuse backcourt gives the Orange a chance to quickly climb the ACC ladder.
