College Basketball Weekly: Dickie V's return, Rick Pitino's reign & the debate at No. 1

Just like the countertop at your Super Bowl parties, today’s spread is absolutely loaded for College Basketball Weekly. We’ve got a round of applause for old legends and an incredible Saturday of action to recap. Here’s the menu:

• Notable Results
• Quick Hitters: Kansas St., Creighton, Texas A&M
• Down go the top two
• The debate for a new top dog
• SEC teams ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 this week???
• Rick Pitino, ladies and gentlemen

Notable Results

(8) Iowa State 52 @ (16) Kansas 69
(14) Kentucky 84 @ (25) Ole Miss 98
(9) Michigan State 61 @ UCLA 63
(11) Marquette 64 @ (12) St. John’s 70
(15) Missouri 81 @ (4) Tennessee 85
(23) Illinois 73 @ Rutgers 82
(18) Maryland 70 @ Ohio State 73
(12) St. John’s 68 @ (19) UConn 62
(6) Florida 90 @ (1) Auburn 81
(2) Duke 71 @ Clemson 77
(3) Alabama 85 @ Arkansas 81
(10) Texas A&M 67 @ (15) Missouri 64
(11) Marquette 67 @ Creighton 77
(13) Texas Tech 73 @ (20) Arizona 82
(16) Kansas 73 @ Kansas State 81

Quick Hitters

Kansas State’s frantic rebound. Like Indiana, Kansas State plunged plenty of the green stuff into their roster this summer and stumbled out to a horrid start in 2024-25, including a 55-day stretch featuring one win and nine losses. Well, since snapping that skid on Jan. 25, KSU is 5-0 with key victories over Kansas, Iowa State, West Virginia and Arizona State. Could be too little too late, but Jerome Tang is at least making a go of it rather than rolling over.

Bet on the Blue Jays. Creighton lost star guard Pop Isaacs for the year and started very slowly by their standards to become a Big East afterthought, but the Blue Jays are now the hottest team in America against the spread. Creighton is a winner of nine straight games in Big East play and covered the spread in every single one of them. Hop on the wagon, because the kids from Omaha might be St. John’s biggest threat in the league.

Texas A&M sneaking into contender territory? Every week, I sit here writing these articles just laughing at how much SEC hoops I’m covering. But hey, the top four teams in Monday’s AP Poll are likely to come from the SEC and none of them are these Aggies, who won at Missouri and are now 17-5 and about to rise even higher from their No. 10 spot in the polls. Somehow, even Buzz Williams is flying under the radar in the southeast.

Dickie V BABYYYYYYY!!!

On the most consequential Saturday slate of action yet this season, an announcer was the story. That’s right, living legend and cancer survivor Dick Vitale returned to the sideline to call his first college hoops game since helping out during the 2023 national championship — and the moment of his return showcased the best of sports.

Words do no justice to the raw emotion and sheer joy Dickie V wore on his sleeve when making his way back to that broadcast booth, and when ESPN finally switched over from that dreadful Lakers-Pacers matchup to the Duke @ Clemson game, Vitale delivered a speech on par with his late pal Jim Valvano. Take a look or read Vitale’s comments below.

Dicky V is just the best.

“This is Heaven!” pic.twitter.com/KMSAUalcu8

— Alex Weber (@alexhweber) February 9, 2025

I’m crying, and you are, too. Here’s the full transcript:

“I just want to say thank you to all the people. I mean, the reception here has been really off the charts. I’m sorry for being so emotional. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here. This is like my Super Bowl to be able to sit here courtside for a game. It beats the hell out of chemotherapy and radiation.

“I want to say to all cancer patients out there: think positive and have faith and keep fighting and fighting and fighting. I know what you’re going through and it’s not fun. But to be here… this is my Super Bowl. This is my championship.

“I felt so bad for my family, what they went through, taking me through all kinds of bloodwork and scans, all the things behind the scenes. That’s one of the reasons I want to raise so much money for kids battling cancer. I’m 85 years old. I’ve lived a heck of a life. But the kids, it breaks my heart. It’s brutal. Guys, I’ll just tell you this, it is brutal. This is Heaven. Sitting here is Heaven.“

Jeez, man. Love life and love what you do the way Dick Vitale does. That’s just about the most inspiring 90 seconds you’ll see during any sports broadcast. We all love ya, Dicky V.

Carnage Atop the Polls

Dickie V picked a terrific return game, sitting courtside for Clemson’s massive upset over Duke to finally hand the Blue Devils a conference loss. Along with Auburn, the top two teams in the country had mowed down any and all competition in conference play and looked the part of the obvious twin juggernauts of the season. But chaos on Saturday throws a big wrench into this coming week’s AP Poll.

Obviously, Auburn lost as well and in somewhat shocking fashion, considering the Florida Gators went into Neville Arena and controlled the final 30 minutes of Saturday’s contest, building a lead of over 20 points during the second half before finishing the deal, 90-81.

So, with Auburn and Duke suffering rare losses after long winning streaks, where does the AP go on Monday? Well, let’s look at the expanded case for No. 1, featuring… FOUR SEC teams. Good lord, what a league.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide appear to rightfully assume the throne by conventional thinking, since they entered the week No. 3 and scored wins at Arkansas and by 21 over Georgia at home, plus saw No. 1 and No. 2 lose. If you’re a betting man, the Tide seem the safe pick to top the polls at 20-3 and now tied for first in the SEC with a decisive home matchup vs. Auburn coming next weekend.

Auburn: Perhaps… Auburn is still the best team? We know the SEC is the toughest conference and while a home loss stings, Florida is just as viable a contender to be No. 1 next week themselves, so it’s about as quality of a loss as you can take. AP voters are notoriously stingy with keeping a No. 1 who lost, but there’s a strong argument the Tigers are still the cream of the nation.

Florida: The Gators were a few horses back at No. 6 this week but may have just as strong an argument as Alabama for No. 1. After all, the Gators are also 20-3 and just steamrolled Auburn on the road thanks to a bullying performance on the offensive glass plus an onslaught from the 3-point line. If we’re throwing current rankings out the window, Florida is tied for the best record in the nation and just earned the best win of the season.

Now add Tennessee who is likely to stay at fourth and you’re probably looking at an SEC-exclusive top-four in Monday’s AP Poll. Has that ever happened? I can’t imagine.

Rick Pitino shuts up Dan Hurley

Dan Hurley screamed at a referee earlier this season that “I’m the best coach in the ****ing sport!” — and yes, we all clowned him for such an arrogant statement. But we also knew it was probably true. However, Rick Pitino got the last laugh in that debate Friday night as a road win over the Huskies for his St. John’s squad spawned dozens of takes along the lines of… Actually, is Rick Pitino the best active college basketball coach?

What a question to even ponder after the spill he took in the late 2010s at Louisville. But after leading a Greek professional team to immense success, then re-erecting Iona into a mid-major powerhouse, to now catapulting St. John’s back into the national discussion with sold-out evenings in Madison Square Garden, it’s time to give it up for the 72-year-old Rasputin-esque character.

Next to Hurley and Bill Self, Pitino is the only other active coach with two national titles (and we can be serious about 2013 for a minute). He’s about to take his SIXTH different program to the NCAA Tournament. He’s also competing to take a FOURTH different program to the Final Four and could even win a national championship at a THIRD different school if we really want to dream.

Say what you will about Rick and his foibles. For all the drama, like Dick Vitale, he’s a living legend reminding us that he’s still got the fastball. Where many other older coaches of his generation have thrown in the towel or taken a step back in the new 2020s era, Pitino is still thriving, because that’s what he’s always done.