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USA Today
15-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Can Alabama beat Florida in the SEC Tournament? ESPN gives game odds
Alabama basketball looks to advance to the SEC Tournament championship game with a win today against the Florida Gators in a No. 3 vs. No. 2 seed matchup in the conference semifinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Alabama (25-7 overall), ranked No. 5 in this week's AP Top 25 poll, cruised past the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats 99-70 on Friday night in Nashville behind 21 points from freshman Labaron Philon. No. 4 Florida defeated No. 21 Missouri 95-81 on Friday with Walter Clayton Jr. leading the way with 18 points. The Gators have had Alabama's number of late, winning the past three meetings against Nate Oats' squad dating back to March of last year when Florida beat the Crimson Tide twice in a span of four games: in the penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season in Gainesville and again in Alabama's only SEC Tournament appearance. Both were blowout wins by Todd Golden's team. Fast-forward a year later, and Alabama and Florida are set to meet for the second time in four games again Saturday. The Gators pushed the Tide around back on March 5 in Coleman Coliseum for a 99-94 victory, a game where Florida led by as many as 14 in the second half. As for how the two teams stack up on a neutral court, Florida enters as a slight favorite by the oddsmakers, and ESPN for one seems inclined to give the Gators a similar edge entering Saturday's matchup against Alabama. ESPN Analytics' Matchup Predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its College Basketball Power Index ratings and other variables, gives the Gators a 51.2 percent chance to win the top-five showdown, compared to the Crimson Tide's 48.8 percent. ESPN defines BPI ratings as a "measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is, adding: "Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude." Alabama ranks No. 5 in ESPN's BPI with an overall rating of 19.6, with Florida at No. 4 (19.8). Alabama-Florida is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT tip at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN. The winner will face the winner of No. 8 Tennessee (26-6) vs. No. 3 Auburn (28-4) in the SEC title game at noon CT Sunday. HOW TO WATCH: Time, TV channel for Alabama vs. Florida
USA Today
14-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Will Clemson beat Louisville in ACC Tournament? ESPN makes its prediction
Will Clemson beat Louisville in ACC Tournament? ESPN makes its prediction Who has the edge in tonight's matchup between Clemson and Louisville? Here's what ESPN thinks of the matchup. Next up for the Clemson Tigers is a rematch with the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC Tournament tonight. Louisville (26-6 overall) was one of only two teams that defeated the Tigers (27-5) in the ACC regular season. That came on Jan. 7, when J'Vonne Hadley had a career-high 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 74-64 Cardinals win. Clemson has lost only once since then, as has Louisville. Both teams fell to Georgia Tech. The Tigers opened ACC Tournament play Thursday night with a gritty 57-54 win over the SMU Mustangs. Chase Hunter had 15 of his 21 points in the second half to help Clemson erase a five-point deficit for the team's ninth straight win. Louisville won its 10th straight on Thursday with some late heroics from Chucky Hepburn, whose put-back at the buzzer helped the Cardinals escape for a 75-73 win over Stanford. Hepburn had 20 points to go with Terrence Edwards' 25. How do Clemson and Louisville stack up on a neutral court? While oddsmakers essentially have the game as a tossup, ESPN gives the Tigers better odds. ESPN Analytics' Matchup Predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its College Basketball Power Index ratings and other variables, gives Clemson a 61 percent chance to win Friday's game at Spectrum Center. ESPN defines its BPI ratings as a "measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is." Adds ESPN: "Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude." Clemson enters the day No. 17 in ESPN's BPI, while Louisville is No. 28. Clemson vs. Louisville is scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. ET tip at Spectrum Center. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Clemson-Louisville winner will face the winner of North Carolina (22-12) vs. Duke (29-3) in the ACC title game Saturday night at 8:30 ET. HOW TO WATCH: Time, TV channel for Clemson-Louisville Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
USA Today
13-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How to watch Clemson vs SMU today: Time, TV channel for ACC Tournament
How to watch Clemson vs SMU today: Time, TV channel for ACC Tournament Clemson has never won the ACC Tournament. The Tigers look to take a step toward that goal when they face the SMU Mustangs in a quarterfinal round game tonight. It's officially March Madness for the Clemson Tigers. After the most successful regular season in the 113 years of Clemson men's basketball, the Tigers (26-5 overall, 18-2 conference) open their ACC Tournament schedule today with a quarterfinals matchup against the SMU Mustangs at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Brad Brownell's team closed out the regular season with eight straight wins, including a 65-47 blowout of Virginia Tech last Saturday in a game the Tigers never trailed. Viktor Lakhin had 16 points and seven rebounds on Senior Night against the Hokies, and Jaeden Zackery added 12 points to go with four steals and four assists. Clemson, ranked No. 10 in this week's Top 25 polls, has averaged 77.1 points per game this season, good for fifth in the ACC. Defensively, their 65.7 points allowed per game ranks second behind the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The Tigers are ranked No. 22 in the NET rankings, No. 19 in the KenPom ratings, and No. 15 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index. In the latest NCAA Tournament outlook from USA TODAY Sports, Clemson is a projected No. 4 seed. In the only other matchup between the two schools this season, Clemson defeated SMU 79-69 on Feb. 22 in Dallas behind 19 points from Zackery, 17 from Chase Hunter and 16 from Lakhin. SMU (23-9, 13-7), the No. 6 seed in the tournament, defeated Syracuse 73-53 Wednesday night. Four players finished in double figures, including Chuck Harris and Matt Cross with 12 apiece. Here's how to watch today's Clemson game, including tipoff time, TV channel and streaming information. What channel is Clemson vs SMU on today? TV Channel: ESPN2 Livestream: Fubo (free trial), ESPN+ Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst) will have the TV call of today's game on ESPN2. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers. The game can be heard across the Clemson Athletic Network with the Tigers' radio broadcast team of Don Munson and Tim Bourret through the official Clemson Tigers app and on SiriusXM Channel 80. For FUBO: Watch Clemson vs SMU live on Fubo (free trial) For ESPN+: Watch Clemson vs. SMU live on ESPN+ Clemson vs SMU time today Date: Thursday, March 13 Thursday, March 13 Start time: 9:30 p.m. ET Clemson vs. SMU is scheduled to get underway at 9:30 p.m. ET from Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Clemson vs SMU game odds Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Thursday, March 13, 4 a.m. ET. ODDS: Clemson -5.5 O/U: 144.5 Clemson schedule 2025 Nov. 4: vs Charleston Southern (W, 91-64) Nov. 8: vs St. Francis, PA (W, 88-62) Nov. 12: vs Eastern Kentucky (W, 75-62) Nov. 17: at Boise State (L, 84-71) Nov. 21: Radford (W, 79-51) Nov. 25: vs San Francisco (W, 70-55) Nov. 26: vs Penn State (W, 75, 67) Nov. 29: vs Florida A&M (W, 86-58) Dec. 3: vs Kentucky (W, 70-66) Dec. 7: at Miami (W, 65-55) Dec. 14: vs. Memphis (L, 92-87 OT) Dec. 17: at South Carolina (L, 91-88 OT) Dec. 21: vs. Wake Forest (W, 73-62) Jan. 1: vs. Stanford (W, 85-71) Jan. 4: vs. California (W, 80-68) Jan. 7: at Louisville (L, 74-64) Jan. 11: vs. Florida State (W, 77-57) Jan. 14: at Georgia Tech (W, 70-59) Jan. 18: at Pitt (W, 78-75 OT) Jan. 22: vs. Syracuse (W, 76-62) Jan. 25: at Virginia Tech (W, 72-57) Feb. 1: at NC State (W, 68-58) Feb. 4: vs. Georgia Tech (L, 89-86, 3OT) Feb. 10: vs. North Carolina (W, 85-65) Feb. 15: at Florida State (W, 72-46) Feb. 22: at SMU (W, 79-69) Feb. 26: vs. Notre Dame (W, 83-68) March 1: at Virginia (W, 71-58) March 5: at Boston College (W, 78-69) March 8: vs. Virginia Tech (W, 65-47) Record: 26-5 SMU schedule 2025 Last five games: Feb. 26: at California (W, 81-77) March 1: at Stanford (L, 73-68) March 4: vs. Syracuse (W, 77-75) March 8: at Florida State (L, 76-69) March 12: vs. Syracuse (W, 73-53) Record: 23-9 We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
USA Today
08-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How to watch Clemson vs Virginia Tech today: Time, TV channel for Tigers' Senior Day
How to watch Clemson vs Virginia Tech today: Time, TV channel for Tigers' Senior Day Clemson is searching for its eighth straight win and, just maybe, an ACC title. It's Senior Day at Littlejohn Coliseum, and the Clemson Tigers hope to close out the final game of the 2024-25 regular season in style when they face Virginia Tech. Clemson (25-5 overall, 17-2 ACC), ranked No. 11 in this week's Top 25 polls, has had a historic season. Their 17 ACC wins are a school record, as are their eight consecutive conference road victories. The Tigers held off a second-half rally at Boston College on Wednesday for their second straight win, 78-69 over the Eagles. Jaeden Zackery tied a season-high with 21 points in his return to Chestnut Hill after transferring to Clemson last offseason. Chase Hunter added 18 points and Viktor Lakhin finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. Hunter and senior forward Ian Schieffelin will draw the loudest applause from the Tiger faithful ahead of today's tipoff. After returning for his sixth season of eligibility last summer, Hunter leads Clemson in scoring with 16.4 points per game. Schieffelin is second with 13.1 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 9.5 a night. Clemson is seeking its 14th win in 15 games and is looking to end the regular season with an eight-game winning streak ahead of next week's ACC Tournament in Charlotte. The Tigers have already clinched a double-bye in the conference tournament and are assured no worse of a No. 3 seed. They have a remote chance of winning the ACC regular-season title entering the day, but they'll need some help in the form of a Louisville loss to Stanford and a Duke loss at North Carolina. The Tigers are ranked No. 22 in the NET rankings, No. 19 in the KenPom ratings, and are tied with the Kentucky Wildcats for No. 14 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index. Virginia Tech (13-17, 8-11) is coming off a 91-59 home loss to North Carolina on Tuesday. Tobi Lawal leads the Hokies in scoring at 12.5 points per game. He had 14 in the first meeting between the two teams this season on Jan. 25 in Blacksburg, a 72-57 Clemson victory at Cassell Coliseum. Today's game marks the 45th all-time meeting between Clemson and Virginia Tech on the hardwood. The Hokies the series, 24-20. Clemson has won three of the past four meetings, including a 51-50 victory the last time the Tigers and Virginia Tech met at Littlejohn Coliseum (Jan. 21, 2023). Here's how to watch today's Clemson game, including tipoff time, TV channel and streaming information. What channel is Clemson vs Virginia Tech on today? TV Channel: ESPNU Livestream: Fubo (free trial), ESPN+ Anish Shroff (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst) will have the TV call of tonight's game on ESPNU. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscriber. The game can be heard across the Clemson Athletic Network with the Tigers' radio broadcast team of Don Munson and Tim Bourret through the official Clemson Tigers app and on SiriusXM Channel 193. For FUBO: Watch Clemson vs Virginia Tech live on Fubo (free trial) For ESPN+: Watch Clemson vs. Virginia Tech live on ESPN+ Clemson vs Virginia Tech time today Date: Saturday, March 8 Saturday, March 8 Start time: 6 p.m. ET Clemson vs Virginia Tech game odds Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Saturday, March 8, 3 a.m. ET. ODDS: Clemson -17.5 O/U: 136.5 Clemson schedule 2025 Nov. 4: vs Charleston Southern (W, 91-64) Nov. 8: vs St. Francis, PA (W, 88-62) Nov. 12: vs Eastern Kentucky (W, 75-62) Nov. 17: at Boise State (L, 84-71) Nov. 21: Radford (W, 79-51) Nov. 25: vs San Francisco (W, 70-55) Nov. 26: vs Penn State (W, 75, 67) Nov. 29: vs Florida A&M (W, 86-58) Dec. 3: vs Kentucky (W, 70-66) Dec. 7: at Miami (W, 65-55) Dec. 14: vs. Memphis (L, 92-87 OT) Dec. 17: at South Carolina (L, 91-88 OT) Dec. 21: vs. Wake Forest (W, 73-62) Jan. 1: vs. Stanford (W, 85-71) Jan. 4: vs. California (W, 80-68) Jan. 7: at Louisville (L, 74-64) Jan. 11: vs. Florida State (W, 77-57) Jan. 14: at Georgia Tech (W, 70-59) Jan. 18: at Pitt (W, 78-75 OT) Jan. 22: vs. Syracuse (W, 76-62) Jan. 25: at Virginia Tech (W, 72-57) Feb. 1: at NC State (W, 68-58) Feb. 4: vs. Georgia Tech (L, 89-86, 3OT) Feb. 8: vs. Duke (W, 77-71) Feb. 10: vs. North Carolina (W, 85-65) Feb. 15: at Florida State (W, 72-46) Feb. 22: at SMU (W, 79-69) Feb. 26: vs. Notre Dame (W, 83-68) March 1: at Virginia (W, 71-58) March 5: at Boston College (W, 78-69) Record: 25-5 Virginia Tech schedule 2025 Last five games: Feb. 18: at Boston College (L, 54-36) Feb. 22: at Miami (W, 81-68) Feb. 25: vs. Louisville (L, 71-66) March 1: vs. Syracuse (W, 101-95, OT) March 1: vs. North Carolina (L, 91-59) Record: 13-17 We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida moves into top 5 of ESPN Basketball Power Index
Florida moves into top 5 of ESPN Basketball Power Index Florida has made its way into the top five of the ESPN Basketball Power Index after a six-game win streak in conference play. Since we last checked in three weeks ago, The Gators dropped a game to Tennessee, beaten Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State on the road, and taken down Oklahoma, South Carolina and Vanderbilt at home. Now 11-3 in SEC play, the Gators are cementing themselves as one of the top teams in the country. With just four games left in the regular season, Florida figures to be a top-10 team heading into the SEC Tournament. Florida's BPI is 19.1, further broken down as 10.5 (seventh) on offense and 8.8 (13th) on defense. Compared to the last numbers recorded — 18.1, 9.9 and 8.2 — UF's offensive and defensive ratings are up by 0.6 each. Those changes are good for a two-spot jump on offense and a four-spot increase on defense. Note: The BPI is updated daily; however Gators Wire provides weekly updates so as not to overwhelm fans with constant changes. We took two weeks this time. 'The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,' ESPN explains. 'BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.' ESPN BPI Projections ESPN now projects Florida to finish the season with a 26.6-4.4 overall record and a 13.6-4.4 record in conference play — 1.9 more than three weeks ago — based on results to date and BPI-based projections for remaining scheduled games. With only conference games left on the schedule, those projections will continue changing by an identical amount. The Gators have 6.4% odds to win the conference, down 1.1% from last time. Florida faces the ninth-toughest schedule moving forward with all four games ahead being Quadrant 1 matchups against SEC programs. NCAA Tournament Resume Florida's 24-3 record has the program ranked second overall in strength of record, which translates to a No. 1 seed. Three of the four top seeds are expected to go to SEC teams, Auburn and Alabama being the others. Florida's overall strength of schedule is now ranked No. 55, down seven spots from a week ago, and its non-conference strength of schedule is up eight spots to No. 111. The Gators are 7-3 in 'quality matchups' (against the top 50 in BPI). ESPN gives Florida 4.6% odds of winning the NCAA Tournament and 10% odds of making it to the championship game. A Final Four appearance (02.9%) or Elite Eight appearance (39.1%) continue to see increased odds, as do the chances of a Sweet 16 (65.6%) and Round of 32 appearance (95.1%). Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
