College basketball madness features top two teams falling; National Signing Day winners and losers

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NO. 9 DUKE BLUE DEVILS …

No. 9 Duke has faced plenty of top-tier opponents, and it passed arguably its toughest test yet with flying colors. Behind a strong, composed effort on both ends, the Blue Devils topped No. 2 Auburn, 82-78, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.

• Cooper Flagg posted 22 points (16 in the second half) and 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Evans had 18 first-half points on six 3-pointers. Tyrese Proctor added 12 points, including a pair of crucial buckets late.
• Early player of the year frontrunner Johni Broome had 20 points (but needed 18 shots to get there) and 12 rebounds before fouling out, and Tahaad Pettiford had 20 as well for Auburn.
• The difference was the mistakes — or lack thereof. The Blue Devils had just four turnovers, outscored Auburn 13-1 on points off turnovers and committed just 14 fouls to Auburn’s 20.

These Blue Devils have experienced a couple of late meltdowns, but they never trailed after taking a 34-33 lead at the 3:10 mark of the first half, an impressive and resilient effort against Bruce Pearl‘s hard-charging team. Flagg and the rest of his celebrated freshman class just might be growing up. That’s exactly why you play games like these.

Duke was one of just two ACC teams to win in the SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge. Clemson, which upset No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday, was the other. The SEC won 14 of the 16 games. Wow.

… AND THE CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS

As if No. 2 going down wasn’t enough, No. 1 is undefeated no more, too. Creighton toppled top-ranked Kansas, 76-63, a massive win for the Bluejays after a bumpy start to the season. It’s Creighton’s first win over Kansas since 1949 and just the second win over a No. 1 team in program history.

Pop Isaacs popped off for 27 points — including six 3-pointers — and Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 17 points apiece. When you get that sort of production from a wing, a guard and a big, you’re gonna be hard to beat. When you also allow just 36% shooting, you’re gonna be nearly impossible to beat. Kyle Boone says this win could springboard the Bluejays.

Wednesday was the first time both of the top two teams lost regular-season non-conference games since Dec. 11, 2010.

👍 Honorable mentions

And not such a good morning for …

THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS

The Lakers lost to the Heat, 134-93, the 41-point margin representing the 11th-worst loss in franchise history. LeBron James called it “embarrassing.” That would be pretty bad by itself, but the problems run deeper than just one game.

• This is the Lakers’ sixth loss in their last eight games.
• Four of those losses have been by 25 points or more.
• This game came on the heels of Los Angeles scoring 80 points in a blowout loss to the Timberwolves. It’s the first time since 2021 that the Lakers have been held under 100 points in consecutive games. The defense hasn’t been much better.
• The 12-10 season record belies a team that ranks 23rd in net rating, behind teams such as the Raptors, Nets and Bulls.

San Quinn has written on James’ decline, but James was far from the issue Wednesday. Instead, the team-wide faults are looking worse and worse, Sam writes.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 National Signing Day winners and losers: Oregon gets two huge flips

No matter when it happens, National Signing Day always packs a punch, and the earliest edition ever had plenty of drama.

Oregon was the biggest beneficiary. The Ducks flipped Na’eem Offord — the No. 2 cornerback and No. 12 overall player in the class — from Ohio State. That gives Dan Lanning‘s squad three of the top eight corners in the class. But the good news wasn’t just on defense: Four-star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele flipped his commitment from Cal to Oregon, and five-star wide receiver Dallas Wilson remained committed to the Ducks.

Oregon alumnus and Nike cofounder Phil Knight stepped up on the NIL side, John Talty reports.

• Talty: “‘He played a big role, like a huge, big role’ Offord told CBS Sports of Phil Knight. ‘He’s actually waiting on me to get up there, he’s got a lot of stuff planned for me. He’s gonna help me make my shoe.’ … It’s impossible to discount the value Knight has had for what Lanning and his staff are building in Eugene. That a five-star recruit like Offord can have a relationship with one of the greatest sports entrepreneurs to ever walk the face of the Earth is a tremendous advantage for the Ducks.”

Oregon jumped to No. 4 in the 2025 team rankings and was an obvious winner from the day’s proceedings, Andrew Ivins writes. So, too was the team that jumped to No. 1 in the rankings.

• Ivins: “Texas — Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are tracking to sign the program’s highest-ranked recruiting class since 2012 after shooting up to No. 1 in the rankings on Wednesday. Texas busted out the spatula on Tuesday and got four-star cornerback Kade Phillips back in the fold before locking up utilityman Michael Terry III less than 24 hours later. Terry – who reminds us of former UT star Ja’Tavion Sanders – became the third five-star prospect from the Lone Star State to join the class.”

Here’s more:

🏀 NBA Eastern Conference first-quarter grades

We’re a quarter of a way through the NBA season, and that means time for assessments.

The reigning-champion Celtics, unsurprisingly, earned an “A” in our first-quarter Eastern Conference grades, but they weren’t alone getting top marks writes Jasmyn Wimbish. Also earning an “A” are …

• Wimbish: “Cavaliers — Kenny Atkinson has transformed this team in just a quarter of a season. … Evan Mobley specifically has been more featured on offense, as he’s been given the ball to run the offense more frequently. He’s averaging 3.1 more drives per game this season and has seen a bump in efficiency in that regard, making those shots at a 52.4% clip. … A big reason why the Cavaliers are winning so many games is 3-point shooting. They lead the league in that category at 40.5%.

There was one “F,” and it belongs to a team we expected to contend: the 76ers, who are 5-15. Only the Wizards are worse in the East. Yes, injuries to Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have been brutal. But, as Jack Maloney writes, “Why should we believe this team will ever be healthy?”

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 No. 14 Kentucky at No. 16 North Carolina (W), 5 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 8 Purdue at Penn State (M), 6:30 p.m. on FS1
🏀 No. 4 Texas at No. 10 Notre Dame (W), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 18 Ole Miss at NC State (W), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Nuggets at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Packers at Lions, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 No. 8 Duke at No. 3 South Carolina (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Stanford at No. 5 LSU (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 19 Alabama at Cal (W), 9 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 Rockets at Warriors, 10 p.m. on NBA TV