Author: Matthew Brzezinski

Matthew Brzezinski is a sports writer for Hardwood Heroics with a deep passion for all things college basketball.

After Auburn narrowly lost to Florida on Saturday, many thought the Tigers were going to lose their #1 status. However, they remained at #1, followed closely by their bitter rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide. This weekend, for the first time in college basketball history, two regional SEC rivals will face each other as the top-2 teams in the country. There are no words to describe how unmissable Saturday’s contest is – it will be a historic day in Tuscaloosa. Alabama and Auburn Are Entering Saturday Off of Mid-week Victories Alabama faced a physical Texas team on Tuesday, needing to take…

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The ACC has been a wild conference for bubble teams this year, and the SMU Mustangs are beginning to look like one of the teams that is going to get to where they want to go. They have battled plenty of adversity this season, but after registering their 5th straight win over fellow bubble team Pitt, they might just be doing enough to squeak into the Big Dance come March. SMU is One of Many ACC Teams on the Bubble Currently, only a few ACC squads will be feeling good about their tournament chances. Louisville and Clemson are solidly behind…

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As Connecticut and Creighton played out a critical Big East battle on Tuesday night, the Blue Jays were off to a terrific start and had a 14-point lead in the first half. By halftime, they still had control of the game, but in the second half, UConn freshman Liam McNeely announced himself to the world, finishing with 38 points and scoring at will in order to power the Huskies past Creighton 70-66. Creighton and UConn Have Been Trending in Opposite Directions Since a concerning 7-5 start, the Creighton Blue Jays have been on fire. During their 11-1 stretch that began…

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The Nebraska Cornhuskers were not supposed to be making any noise in the Big Ten this year. A 6-game losing streak in January seemed to all but confirm this take, but suddenly, Nebraska is on a massive win streak and poised to find themselves as a sure-fire at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska’s Season Has Completely Turned Around in February After a road defeat to Wisconsin in January 26th, Nebraska lost their 6th straight game and were near the bottom of the Big Ten standings. After a 3-point loss to Rutgers, another 3-point loss on the road at Maryland,…

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The Clemson Tigers made a massive statement on Saturday night with their upset win over #2 Duke, whose 16-game win streak met its end. In a truly outstanding game of basketball, the stars for both teams demonstrated breathtaking shot-making, great physicality, and fantastic effort on both ends. Some are calling it the game of the year in the ACC in what was a 77-71 final score. A Historic Night in Clemson Saturday night’s matchup between the Clemson Tigers and the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils was going to be a historic occasion no matter the outcome thanks to the return of…

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Syracuse Orange freshman Donnie Freeman arrived in Central New York as a highly touted talent. Listed as the 6th best recruit in his class by ESPN and the 4th best recruit in Syracuse program history by 24/7 Sports, Freeman was projected to contend for the ACC all-rookie spot and listed as someone who could hear his name called in the 2025 NBA draft. That being said, the hype around Freeman was dampened through the opening stages of the 2024-25 season and seems to have completely dissipated since a foot injury has kept him out for multiple weeks. Donnie Freeman’s Draft…

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The Arkansas Razorbacks entered Tuesday with another chance to right the wrongs of what has been a rocky season. Against Texas, head coach John Calipari was still without star freshman Boogie Fland, but his team was more then ready to handle the Longhorns, fighting for a big lead and holding off a late comeback attempt for a 78-70 victory. A Season of Disappointment for Arkansas is Slowly Turning Around Arkansas started in the preseason ranked #16 and with huge expectations for their inaugural season with new head coach John Calipari, who had been a big part of one of the…

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The Duke Blue Devils are positioning themselves as championship favorites. Their win streak extended to 16 straight after a 29-point clobbering of the Syracuse Orange. Duke is currently atop the ACC and have continued to dominate opponents, regularly embarrassing their opposition. This team is the best Duke has had in years and is ready to bring another national championship to Durham. The Duke Blue Devils Are Championship Ready There is a certain ease about the way Duke plays on offense. While it is true that they don’t have a true point guard, this has not been a problem for John…

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NBA

The opening days of February have already been a craze for the SEC. Tuesday night saw #14 Kentucky drop their second game to #23 Ole Miss, while #6 Florida was back to winning ways against Vanderbilt. With #1 Auburn looking as undeniable as ever after a demolition of Oklahoma, let’s take a look at who is trending up and who is trending down as the drama continues to unfold in college basketball’s best conference. Trending Up: #23 Ole Miss Rebels In late January, the Ole Miss Rebels lost three straight games and were looking like outsiders in the SEC. However,…

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It was a rough week for two of the Big 12’s finest – both the Kansas Jayhawks and the Iowa State Cyclones had weeks with multiple losses for the first time in conference play this year. It was a clash of two wounded giants in Phog Allen on Monday night, and only one of them seemed ready to right the wrongs of the past few days. The Cyclones had got the better of Kansas earlier in the season, but in the opening days of February, the Kansas Jayhawks dominated Iowa State en route to a 69-52 win that just might…

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Two weeks ago, the Oregon Ducks narrowly lost to Purdue before a comeback win against the Washington Huskies. They were still in the thick of it in the conference standings and looking like a solid team who could hang with almost anyone. After all, an undefeated non-conference schedule featuring signature wins over Alabama and Texas A&M proved that this team has the ability to be special. However, the Ducks have now dropped three straight and are looking like pretenders in a crowded Big Ten. Oregon’s Losing Streak Began With A Tough Road Trip On January 25th, Oregon visited Minneapolis to…

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The #8 Tennessee Volunteers have been subject to a lot of criticism in recent weeks. They’ve had multiple recent defeats to rival SEC foes that have positioned them on the outside looking in, in terms of winning the SEC regular season title. However, on Saturday, the Volunteers put a beatdown on a Florida team that humbled them several weeks ago. Fans are hoping that this is the start of a turnaround. Recent Struggles Have Dampened Tennessee’s Season Outlook After starting 13-0, Tennessee is just 4-4 in 2025, including dropping both of their last games against the #1 Auburn Tigers and…

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It doesn’t get much bigger than Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s. The WCC’s premier rivalry game is set for Saturday night in Moraga, California. The opportunity is there for Gonzaga to reassert their dominance this season and for Saint Mary’s to prove that they are the class of the west coast. Gonzaga Has Been Absolutely Blitzing Opponents Recently While Gonzaga’s season has been primarily characterized by an inability to be at their best in crunch time situations, sometimes the best way to deal with that is to simply blow the opponents out of the water. That is exactly what the Zags…

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Don’t look now, but the Stanford Cardinal have now won 6 of their last 7 games. Center Maxime Raynaud has been grabbing headlines nationally as Stanford continues to cling on to postseason hopes during their inaugural season as part of the ACC. While the team could be destined for March, Raynaud seems destined to be an NBA Draft selection this coming summer. Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud is the Main Attraction At 7′ 1″, Raynaud has an eye-catching frame and impressive skills to match. In an NBA currently dominated by European “unicorns,” the Parisian certainly fits the bill. A towering 7-footer with…

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The Texas Tech Red Raiders were not thought of as a team that could challenge Kansas or Houston for the Big 12 crown in 2024-25. However, their recent run of form is proving otherwise. Tech has risen to 4th in the Big 12 as they ride a 5-game win streak. Texas Tech is Stacking Wins Due to Their Ability to Close Games Texas Tech has a lot of firepower on offense, namely leading scorer JT Toppin (16.3 points per game), marksman Chance McMillan (47% from deep), and Darrion Williams (14.7 ppg), but the thing that has been most impressive about…

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