Men’s ACC/SEC Challenge guide: Best games — and what their results mean

The 2025 ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge features a bevy of AP Top 25 men’s college basketball teams in action.

Tuesday night’s showdown between No. 16 North Carolina and No. 18 Kentucky is one of three ranked matchups, followed by No. 6 Louisville at No. 25 Arkansas on Wednesday.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf preview the top games to watch over the next 48 hours below — and analyze the results.

Jump to: Tuesday results and analysis

Tuesday games to watch

9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

In mid-November matchups against No. 6 Louisville and No. 7 Michigan State, Kentucky surrendered 179 combined points. North Carolina is also coming off a lopsided loss to Michigan in its last showing on the big stage.

Both of these teams excel offensively and defensively inside the 3-point line, but the Wildcats will need Malachi Moreno (1.1 BPG) & Co. to stall Tar Heels star freshman Caleb Wilson (19.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG) when he attacks — the projected NBA draft lottery pick has made 68% of his shots around the rim, per Synergy Sports data. — Medcalf

Wednesday games to watch

7:15 p.m. ET | ESPN

How the trio of projected first-round NBA draft picks — Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. (sixth), plus Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. (14th) and Meleek Thomas (27th) — will decide this game. They don’t have many weaknesses, but they will have to play to their strengths to help their respective teams win.

For Brown and Thomas, that means not forcing perimeter shots. Brown sometimes passes up easy drives to the rim for 3s (30.6%) while Thomas occasionally forces the same shots (34.5%) rather than rely on his explosiveness in the lane. And Acuff has been brilliant but didn’t do enough to get more shots around the rim in last week’s loss to Duke until the second half. He’ll have to get off to a faster start after missing five of his first six shots against the Blue Devils. — Medcalf

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Mikel Brown Jr.’s best Plays vs. NJIT Highlanders

Mikel Brown Jr.’s best Plays vs. NJIT Highlanders

7:15 p.m. ET | ESPNU

Alabama has played one of the most difficult schedules in the country, notching wins over No. 14 Illinois and No. 23 St. John’s while suffering defeats to No. 1 Purdue and No. 11 Gonzaga. But the Crimson Tide are firing on all cylinders offensively, scoring a combined 220 points in their final two Players Era games. Clemson, meanwhile, is about to see its schedule kick up another notch with a date against BYU at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

Pace will play a key part in this one, as Alabama loves to push the ball up the floor and bring some chaos to the game, while Clemson would prefer to have a half-court game without many turnovers. It’s hard to see the Tigers having the firepower to keep up with Nate Oats’ team, especially with the way Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway are playing. — Borzello

9:15 p.m. ET | ESPN

Both teams hit the road for marquee Feast Week tournaments, with Auburn having the better time of the two. The Tigers were destroyed by Michigan like every one of the Wolverines’ opponents en route to winning last week’s Players Era championship, but the Tigers notched double-digit wins over Oregon and St. John’s while in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, NC State suffered a surprising quarterfinal loss to Seton Hall at the Maui Invitational and gave up 102 points in a defeat to Texas.

It’s easy to make the case that Will Wade’s team needs this win more than Steven Pearl’s group. At this point in the season, both offenses are ahead of their defenses, which should make for a fun affair. The head-to-head matchup between Darrion Williams and Keyshawn Hall is as good as it gets, while the difference will be whether Tahaad Pettiford‘s early-season slump is a thing of the past. He was terrific in Las Vegas, averaging 22.3 points over three games and going 7-for-14 from 3 in his past two games. — Borzello

Tuesday results

The first half looked like a continuation of the first-month narratives for both teams: Cameron Boozer playing like the front-runner for every award, Duke dominating at both ends and Florida looking for answers in the backcourt. But Todd Golden and the Gators came all the way back from a 15-point deficit to take the lead in the final minute on a Boogie Fland 3 before the Blue Devils responded with an Isaiah Evans 3 and closed it out with two huge defensive plays.

Boozer did nothing to slow his momentum, finishing with 29 points and 6 rebounds and coming up with the game-winning assist to Evans. Credit to Boozer’s frontcourt mates Patrick Ngongba II and Maliq Brown, too, who came up with key plays in the second half at both ends.

Florida had a few encouraging developments: Fland has strung together two strong performances in a row, finishing with 16 against Duke after scoring 17 against Providence on Friday. The Gators were also able to take much better care of the ball in the second half — until the last couple possessions, at least. And Thomas Haugh (24 points) looks like one of the best players in the country, a legitimate All-American candidate.

It’s worth noting that Golden opted for Urban Klavzar over Xaivian Lee for long stretches in the second half. The Gators need to get Lee going to reach their potential, but he’s struggling right now. — Borzello

After a week full of heartache after finishing 0-3 at Players Era in Las Vegas, Syracuse returned home and earned an upset over No. 13 Tennessee in the program’s second win over a ranked opponent under Adrian Autry. The same grit that kept this team alive in its overtime battle with No. 8 Houston last week — Nate Kingz had 19 points in Tuesday’s first half — fueled a win for the Orange, who have the potential to evolve into a bubble team, especially once leading scorer Donnie Freeman returns from injury.

For Tennessee, there are only questions. Projected NBA draft lottery pick Nate Ament had his second lackluster effort in three games, going 2-for-10 from the field. More than anything, the loss demonstrated the limitations of a Vols squad that needs Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (0-for-3 from 3) to play well together in order to win big. Still, why couldn’t Tennessee stall a Syracuse squad that gave up 95 points to Iowa State a week ago? — Medcalf