Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Program on the ‘Cut Line’ of the Playoff

Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Program on the ‘Cut Line’ of the Playoff

The 2024 college football season did not meet the expectations of many fans, making the 2025 season a crucial opportunity for teams to turn things around. One of those teams is the Alabama Crimson Tide. In Kalen DeBoer’s first year as head coach, the Crimson Tide recorded a disappointing 9-4 record, marking their worst season…

Alabama women’s basketball puts the pressure on Texas A&M

Alabama women’s basketball puts the pressure on Texas A&M

Alabama’s defense? Relentless. The Crimson Tide’s rebounding? Dominant. Offensive performance? Otherworldly. The Alabama women’s basketball team did everything right against Texas A&M on Saturday. The result was an impressive 88-49 win. The game changed on a dime after the first four minutes. Alabama pressed, which led to 12 points off five straight turnovers. Alabama went…

WATCH: Luke Hill Celebrates Home Run as Ole Miss Baseball Routs Clemson

WATCH: Luke Hill Celebrates Home Run as Ole Miss Baseball Routs Clemson

Ole Miss Rebels infielder Luke Hill was mic’d up during his team’s game against the Clemson Tigers on Sunday. The Ole Miss Rebels returned to the win column in a big way on Sunday afternoon, routing the No. 15 Clemson Tigers 15-5 in a run-rule decision to close out their time in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington,…

For the first time this season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team is below .500.  Bobby Hurley’s team has lost five in a row, is in second-to-last place in the Big 12 and has fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture.  But the Sun Devils are still in the fight. Despite their 12-13 record, ASU still has an impressive NET ranking — and they still have a clear path to March Madness.  Arizona State’s NCAA NET Ranking The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 65 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are the only rankings that are worth monitoring. The 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament.  Because the NET takes strength of schedule into account — as well as game results, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses — Arizona State is ranked above teams with much better records.  Colorado State is 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the Mountain West, but they’re ranked No. 70 in the NET in part because they have played a much weaker schedule than ASU. They do have a win over a Big 12 team — they beat TCU in overtime in November — but they also lost to Colorado by 17. And the Buffaloes are 1-13 in the Big 12.  The Sun Devils have played the ninth-toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom. Entering Monday, ASU had faced 10 teams in the top 40 in the NET. And they’ll face No. 3 Houston for the first time on Tuesday.  No. 4 Florida No. 7 Texas Tech No. 8 Iowa State No. 9 Arizona No. 10 Gonzaga No. 15 Kansas No. 20 Saint Mary’s No. 28 Baylor No. 36 BYU No. 37 New Mexico The Sun Devils only won two of those games, but they were competitive in most of them. And that’s what is driving their NET ranking. If they had won five of those games, they would be in the top 40 and an NCAA tournament team.  Fortunately for ASU, they play in the Big 12 and the rest of their schedule is lined with opportunities to get back into the hunt. Starting with Tuesday’s game vs. Houston, the Sun Devils have at least three more Quad 1 opportunities on their schedule. The NCAA defines Quad 1 games as home games against a top 30 team in the NET, or road games against a top 50 team in the NET.  If the Sun Devils run the table, they’ll be 18-13 and easily inside the top 40 in the NET — and a top-40 NET ranking typically correlates to a berth in the NCAA tournament.  Here’s a look at ASU’s final six games and the NET ranking of each opponent:  No. 3 Houston (2/17) No. 73 Kansas State (2/23) No. 36 BYU (2/26) No. 72 Utah (3/1) No. 9 Arizona (3/4) No. 7 Texas Tech (3/8)

For the first time this season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team is below .500. Bobby Hurley’s team has lost five in a row, is in second-to-last place in the Big 12 and has fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture. But the Sun Devils are still in the fight. Despite their 12-13 record, ASU still has an impressive NET ranking — and they still have a clear path to March Madness. Arizona State’s NCAA NET Ranking The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 65 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are the only rankings that are worth monitoring. The 12-person NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NET as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament. Because the NET takes strength of schedule into account — as well as game results, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses — Arizona State is ranked above teams with much better records. Colorado State is 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the Mountain West, but they’re ranked No. 70 in the NET in part because they have played a much weaker schedule than ASU. They do have a win over a Big 12 team — they beat TCU in overtime in November — but they also lost to Colorado by 17. And the Buffaloes are 1-13 in the Big 12. The Sun Devils have played the ninth-toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom. Entering Monday, ASU had faced 10 teams in the top 40 in the NET. And they’ll face No. 3 Houston for the first time on Tuesday. No. 4 Florida No. 7 Texas Tech No. 8 Iowa State No. 9 Arizona No. 10 Gonzaga No. 15 Kansas No. 20 Saint Mary’s No. 28 Baylor No. 36 BYU No. 37 New Mexico The Sun Devils only won two of those games, but they were competitive in most of them. And that’s what is driving their NET ranking. If they had won five of those games, they would be in the top 40 and an NCAA tournament team. Fortunately for ASU, they play in the Big 12 and the rest of their schedule is lined with opportunities to get back into the hunt. Starting with Tuesday’s game vs. Houston, the Sun Devils have at least three more Quad 1 opportunities on their schedule. The NCAA defines Quad 1 games as home games against a top 30 team in the NET, or road games against a top 50 team in the NET. If the Sun Devils run the table, they’ll be 18-13 and easily inside the top 40 in the NET — and a top-40 NET ranking typically correlates to a berth in the NCAA tournament. Here’s a look at ASU’s final six games and the NET ranking of each opponent: No. 3 Houston (2/17) No. 73 Kansas State (2/23) No. 36 BYU (2/26) No. 72 Utah (3/1) No. 9 Arizona (3/4) No. 7 Texas Tech (3/8)

For the first time this season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team is below .500. Bobby Hurley’s team has lost five in a row, is in second-to-last place in the Big 12 and has fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture. But the Sun Devils are still in the fight. Despite their 12-13 record, ASU still has…

4 quarterbacks at NFL combine that Seattle Seahawks should watch closely

4 quarterbacks at NFL combine that Seattle Seahawks should watch closely

These could be a steal. The 2025 NFL Combine gets underway on February 27. This is every NFL team’s next best chance to get a close-up look at any player they might be interested in. The Seattle Seahawks and every other team can also interview a number of players. Those interviews become more important than many expect,…

Auburn Senior Guard Earns Conference Honor for First Time

Auburn Senior Guard Earns Conference Honor for First Time

Auburn Tigers senior guard Denver Jones has been named SEC Player of the Week for the first time in his career. His standout performances against Vanderbilt and rival Alabama earned him the honor. He joins forward Johni Broome as an Auburn recipient of the weekly award. Last week, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior guard averaged a team-leading…

John Schneider not going to ‘throw money’ to fix Seahawks offensive line

John Schneider not going to ‘throw money’ to fix Seahawks offensive line

Schneider does not want to revisit past mistakes. The Seattle Seahawks can go into the offseason with the approach that they are a bad team. They aren’t. The issue might be worse than simply being bad. Sometimes being mediocre, which the Seahawks certainly have been over the past few seasons, is more difficult to overcome…

PFF predicts Jackson Arnold could change Auburn football’s trajectory, save Hugh Freeze in 2025

PFF predicts Jackson Arnold could change Auburn football’s trajectory, save Hugh Freeze in 2025

While the Auburn basketball team may be ruling over college basketball currently, the Plains haven’t seen winning football since 2019. That year, under Gus Malzahn, the Tigers finished 9-4. Since then, Auburn football has compiled a 28-33 record under three head coaches. That includes Hugh Freeze, who became Auburn’s coach in 2023. Freeze will be entering his…

Penn State continues to dominate tight end recruiting, named finalist for top prospect

Penn State continues to dominate tight end recruiting, named finalist for top prospect

Four-star tight end Mack Sutter set his five official visits with Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois, Ole Miss, and Alabama. A program that has been playing college football since 1889 and with the same head coach for 46 of those seasons, has a firmly entrenched identity. Penn State is known for its linebackers and running…

Auburn’s Bruce Pearl suggests Johni Broome has chance to be best transfer in college basketball history

Auburn’s Bruce Pearl suggests Johni Broome has chance to be best transfer in college basketball history

For the sixth straight week, Auburn sits atop the AP poll. Saturday was the latest defining moment in their illustrious campaign, going on the road to Tuscaloosa against their hated rival and taking care of the Crimson Tide in one of the most anticipated college basketball games in years. The program-defining performance solidified the Tigers as…