Last year’s ACC/SEC Challenge was hardly competitive. Clemson and Duke saved the ACC from the embarrassment of putting up a big ol’ goose egg in what turned out to be a 14-2 win for SEC basketball.
And unfortunately for basketball fans, only a few of the games were even competitive. Eleven of the 16 matchups were decided by 10 points or more, and the SEC was up 9-0 before Clemson finally put the ACC on the board with a 70-66 win over Kentucky. That win, alongside Duke’s 84-78 dub over Auburn, represented 2 of the ACC’s 4 victories over the SEC during the 2024-25 regular season.
Some in ACC country would be cranky if we didn’t mention the fact that the SEC destroyed everything it came into contact with last season (well, apart from the 2-0 Oregon Ducks). That’s fair. I would never remind those kind folks that the ACC performed closer to the Mountain West than it did to the remainder of Power 5 basketball last season, or that its median Net Rating was closer to the SoCon than it was to the SEC.
All that said, there’s some room for optimism this year, at least for those looking for a little more parity among conferences. The SEC, as CBB writer Will Warren pointed out in May, is bound to take at least a slight step backwards after its record-breaking season in 2024-25. The ACC, conversely, should take a step forward with Louisville, Virginia, Syracuse, Notre Dame and Miami (to name a few) all looking to be better than their 2024-25 counterparts.
Cal and Stanford were omitted from this season’s schedule, thanks to the obvious fact that the ACC has 18 teams while the SEC sits at 16. Considering both campuses are on the opposite side of the country from everyone else, this was the obvious choice — even if Cal would give LSU and South Carolina better games than Boston College and Virginia Tech.
So, which matchups should you circle? Here’s a ranking of all 16 games featured in this upcoming season’s ACC/SEC Challenge, with considerations placed on the likelihood of being a close matchup, interesting storylines and implications towards a tournament résumé. We’ll dive a little deeper into matchups 5-1.
16. LSU at Boston College
15. Virginia Tech at South Carolina
14. Texas A&M at Pitt
13. Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
12. Georgia at Florida State
11. Oklahoma at Wake Forest
10. Mizzou at Notre Dame
9. Tennessee at Syracuse
8. Clemson at Alabama
7. SMU at Vanderbilt
6. Miami at Ole Miss
I actually yawned while typing LSU at Boston College at No. 16. The Tigers have a lot of pieces to fit together, but I’d be surprised if they don’t destroy what’s sure to be one of the worst teams in high-major college basketball — even as a team that’s likely to finish in the bottom 5 of the SEC themselves. Games 16-12 might see one team, if any, advance to the tournament come March.
Tennessee at Syracuse has some big-time boom-or-bust potential, as the Orange have an exciting high school class coming in and will be looking for some revenge against the Vols after 2 straight drubbings. Syracuse should be better than last year, but that’s not exactly saying much. I see what the Orange are attempting to do on paper, but there’s far too much inconsistent scoring in the backcourt and far too little high-major experience in the frontcourt. Tennessee, on the other hand, has put together another great unit that will be a mainstay in the Top 25 all season with Ja’Kobi Gillespie, 5-star wing Nate Ament and returning rim protector Felix Okpara. Can freshmen Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White compete with that level of SEC talent right away?
I just can’t find it in myself to be too excited for yet another installment of Clemson-Alabama on the hardwood. The Crimson Tide are the vastly superior team this season — I expect the Tigers to take a decent-sized step backwards after losing Ian Schieffelin, Chase Hunter, Jaeden Zackary and Viktor Lakhin. The guys Brad Brownell brought in should keep the boat afloat — looking at y’all, Carter Welling (PF, Utah Valley) and Nick Davidson (C, Nevada) — but the backcourt offense leaves much to be desired.
SMU at Vanderbilt and Miami at Ole Miss are both really fun matchups, and I think Vanderbilt-SMU is flying under the radar. Three of the 4 teams added 6 or more transfers this offseason (SMU added 3 with 4 incoming freshmen), and all 4 should be better than they were last season — especially Miami and Vanderbilt. AJ Storr, Corey Chest and Malik Dia against high-end 4-star SF Shelton Henderson, Malik Renau and Ernest Udeh has the makings of a sneaky fun one in Oxford.
Let’s keep going.
5. Virginia at Texas
The Cavaliers may be entering Year 1 under former UMBC HC Ryan Odom (correct, that UMBC), but this team has the makings of being excellent right off the bat.
It starts with Malik Thomas, a First-Team All-WCC guard out of San Francisco. Thomas played positions 1-3 for the Dons, shot a blistering 39.4% from range and practically glides to the basket at will. He’ll drop 30+ a few times this season. NDSU transfer Jacari White and Toledo transfer Sam Lewis can similarly light it up from range — a must for Odom-led programs. PF Devin Tillis and German center Johann Grunloh on the court with Thomas and 2 of Hall, Lewis or White should pose a real threat offensively.
There’s reason for concern on the defensive end, and Texas definitely has the advantage down low here. Camden Heide and Dailyn Swain are impressive athletes, and Matas Vokietaitis should be a quality starting center… if he can keep out of foul trouble.
It feels like this one will come down to Virginia’s offense against Texas’s physicality and defense. Pick your poison.
4. UNC at Kentucky
Kentucky and UNC are similar in a lot of ways. Both spent the GDP of a small country to construct their rosters, both have pressing questions at lead guard and both are oozing with potential. Then there’s the blueblood angle that you’ve heard a million times.
Kyan Evans (UNC, via Colorado State) and Jaland Lowe (UK, via Pitt) are both stepping into new situations with new expectations, but they’re also completely different players. Whereas the sharpshooter Evans will need to prove he has the ability to be the go-to PG for the Tar Heels, Lowe will need to improve his efficiency drastically in order to successfully lead Mark Pope’s 2025 squad.
Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance and Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar are among the best rim protectors in the country. Otega Oweh and Seth Trimble are both effective at driving to the hoop. Caleb Wilson and Jasper Johnson are each 5-star prospects poised for significant playing time with some of the top programs in CBB history.
Here’s where I may lose some of you. Kentucky just boasts a way deeper, more cohesive roster. I have more confidence that Kentucky can solve the PG issue with Johnson as a backup option. Oweh is the most proven player on the court and Kentucky’s bench is far superior. Caleb Wilson would have to be an absolute animal for me to believe the Wildcats don’t win this one by multiple possessions.
3. NC State at Auburn
This is where we get to the really, really good games.
Auburn and NC State both look very different from last year. Both return just 1 player who actually saw playing time last season — Paul McNeil for the Wolfpack and star point guard Tahaad Pettiford for the Tigers.
There is a simply crazy amount of size, athleticism and raw talent on these 2 rosters. Will Wade, who bolted from McNeese to take the NC State job, brought Quadir Copeland and Alyn Breed with him while also signing Darrion Williams from Texas Tech, Ven-Allen Lubin from North Carolina and Terrance Arceneaux from Houston. 4-star SG Matt Able (No. 26 per 247Sports) should contribute right away, too.
Bruce Pearl signed UCF’s Keyshawn Hall and D2 Lincoln Memorial’s Elyjah Freeman, a pair of forwards who could probably jump to the moon if you gave them adequate prep time. It’ll be interesting to see if Pearl allows them to be on the court at the same time for longer than a few possessions a game.
Kevin Overton will face his old Texas Tech teammate as Auburn’s 2-guard, and former Mississippi State center KeShawn Murphy is likely to take the majority of minutes at the 5.
It’s hard to know what to expect because there’s so little continuity, but you can guarantee an elite atmosphere at The Jungle from a pair of teams in similar situations.
2. Louisville at Arkansas
This game would be No. 1 any other year, and it has potential to be one of the better nonconference games of the 2025-26 season. That’s a lot of hype, but I’m positive this one will deliver.
Louisville only signed 3 players out of the transfer portal (so far, at least), but they’ll all see significant playing time. Kennesaw State transfer Adrian Wooley might be the best of the bunch, but he’ll have to contend with No. 6 overall high school prospect Mikel Brown for the lead guard role. Xavier’s Ryan Conwell and Virginia’s Isaac McKneely were among the best high-volume 3-point shooters in the country last season, both knocking down above 40% of their shots to combine for exactly 200 triples. That’s just completely absurd.
Related: The Louisville Cardinals are +2200 to win the national championship in 2025-26, the 2nd best odds of any ACC program. Those looking to score $300 in bonus bets from DraftKings can click here to sign up today!
But don’t count out the Razorbacks, who can match Louisville’s red-hot potential on offense with some top talent as well. 5-star prospects Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas are both stars in the making, but veterans DJ Wagner, Karter Knox and Trevon Brazile complete the picture. Malique Ewin and Nick Pringle both have high-major experience as a starting 5, which should prove to produce an upgrade to Jonas Aidoo.
1. Florida at Duke
Duke was the best team in the country last season per KenPom, but the Gators will arrive at Cameron Indoor as the reigning national champions. Both teams lost a lot, especially Duke with Cooper Flagg off to the NBA, but this is still the no-brainer marquee matchup for the ACC/SEC Challenge this season.
For starters, we’ll be witnessing a battle between the 2 best frontcourts in the country. Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu are back for Florida while Duke retains C Patrick Ngongba and adds No. 3 overall prospect Cam Boozer, who should be a future lottery pick, alongside international commit Dame Sarr, a wing who can light it up from deep. And as Kon Knueppel did last season, 5-star PF Nikolas Khamenia is flying under the radar as a potential freshman star as well.
Florida’s guard tandem of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee are more proven, but Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans should be solid replacements for Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor, with Sarr likely to start at the 2. Cayden Boozer is the lower ranked of the twins, but he’ll be an important piece for this team as well and will contend against Foster for the starting job at lead guard.
Unstoppable force, meet immovable object.
The ACC/SEC challenge matchups I’m most looking forward to Saturday Down South.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The ACC/SEC challenge matchups I’m most looking forward to )
Also on site :