Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

Hunter Dickinson’s double-double helps #1 Kansas outlast #9 UNC

All eyes were on Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night as two of the traditional powers of the sport, UNC and Kansas, went toe-to-toe in one of the sport’s most iconic buildings. In the first half, it looked to be all Jayhawks, with the home team stretching out to a 20-point lead on two different occasions. Elliot Cadeau helped spark a 7-2 run to finish the first half though, which sparked North Carolina going into the break. Slowly but surely, the Tar Heels climbed back into the game, despite an absolutely incredible home atmosphere, going on top 80-79 after back-to-back buckets from Jae’Lyn Withers. The game’s final seven minutes were absolute cinema, with the Jayhawks scoring the game’s final five points and Cadeau’s buzzer-beater attempt to force overtime came up short. Zeke Mayo came off the bench tonight for Kansas, but his 21 points led the Jayhawks in scoring, followed closely behind by Hunter Dickinson’s 20. Carolina came up just short, which wouldn’t be expected looking at the box score, as the three lead guards (RJ Davis, Cadeau, Seth Trimble) combined to shoot 10-36 from the field, but the Tar Heels as a team converted 28 of 31 attempts from the free throw line. I only caught the final 90 seconds of this one, but based on the atmosphere around the arena during that final timeout, I have to imagine this one lived up to the billing of being a possible game of the year.

#2 Alabama survives test from Sun Belt preseason favorite Arkansas State

A game I did get a chance to see was Alabama’s dogfight with a very talented Arkansas State squad out of the Sun Belt. Alabama led for nearly the entire game, but the Red Wolves were in it for the entire 40 minutes. The Sun Belt preseason Player of the Year, Kobe Julien, had a big night for Arkansas State, finishing with 20 points, earning 10 of them at the line. Alabama held off the Red Wolves, but the Crimson Tide weren’t without their struggles, shooting just 6-31 (19.4%) from behind the arc. The defense for Alabama still seemed a bit suspect, but one other thing that hasn’t changed is the fact Mark Sears is one of the best bucket-getters in the sport. Sears went 0-5 from three on the night, but his ability to get to the rim and draw contact helped finally get the Crimson Tide over the hump as Sears finished with 19 points. It was an ugly showing from Alabama, but let’s not act like this was likely the worst the Crimson Tide could’ve shot from three.

#11 Auburn, #4 Houston set to battle at the Toyota Center in Houston (9:30 ET, ESPNU)

At this point we may be getting a bit spoiled with the number of marquee matchups in the first week of college basketball. We’ve already seen Baylor/Gonzaga and UNC/Kansas and now Auburn and Houston will meet for a third top 15 matchup in the first six nights of hoops. This one already has a bit of drama surrounding it, with the Auburn flight to Houston rumored to have been turned around on the first attempt after a fight broke out between two Auburn players. At the time of writing this, the Tigers are back on a new plane a few hours later, but I can’t imagine this whole situation is boosting their team in any way. For a squad that looked brilliant when they opened their season against Vermont, I question if they can handle the physicality and discipline of Houston under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars started the year with a win over Jackson State via a balanced attack, and I’m intrigued by Milos Uzan’s final stat line of eight points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals. Uzan is the key for Houston this season, and look for his impact, positive or negative, to be the difference maker in the game vs Auburn. I’m a big fan of what both these teams can accomplish this season, but in this one-off matchup, I’ll take the Cougars to win and cover the 4.5-point spread.

Other Things to Note:

• #7 Duke hits 100 in win over Army as Cooper Flagg posts double-double
• Kam Jones goes for 24 as #18 Marquette pulls away from George Mason late
• Donovan Dent, Nelly Jr. Joseph lead New Mexico to upset win over #22 UCLA in Henderson, Nevada
• LJ Thomas scores 29 points to lead Austin Peay to a stunning upset at Butler
• Furman stuns Belmont at the buzzer with game winner from Pjay Smith Jr.
• #12 Tennessee takes on Louisville in Pat Kelsey’s first big game at the YUM! Center (12:00 ET, ACCN)
• #8 Baylor looks to bounce back from loss to Gonzaga in matchup with #16 Arkansas in Dallas (7:30 ET, ESPNU)