The chaos in men’s college basketball has been clear to see in recent weeks, from the madness of Feast Week to Kentucky’s loss to Clemson on Tuesday to Creighton’s upset of No. 1 Kansas on Wednesday.

Highlights of this week’s SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge and Big 12-Big East battles included several high-profile performances from a handful of stars. Some of those efforts featured familiar faces, but two newcomers – one who may be the best player in the country and another who had barely played up to this point – were the clear headliners.

What followed was another reminder that this sport is at its best when new stars emerge and demand our attention. These players who stood out for their teams on Wednesday deserve recognition now and in the coming months leading up to the NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi took a look at two of the biggest days to start the men’s college season, highlighting the stars, an upset and the reason we’re worried about a particular power conference should do, turn it upside down.

Six stars from Wednesday evening

Cooper Flagg and Isaiah Evans, Duke Blue Devils
22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists (Flagg); 18 points, 6 of 8 from distance (Evans) in Duke’s 84-78 win over Auburn

Duke saw a tremendous performance from two members of its vaunted freshman class – one expected, the other came completely out of nowhere. But Jon Scheyer needed both Flagg and Evans to hand Auburn its first loss of the season. Initially, it looked like the Tigers were going to push Duke out of their own gym. So Scheyer turned to an unlikely source: Evans, who had played a total of 44 minutes in his first seven games — including zero minutes against Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky. But the No. 15 recruit from the class of 2024 hit six 3s in the first half and scored 18 points in just 11 minutes to help Duke maintain balance and take the lead.

Then it was time for Flagg to take command. He had 16 points after halftime, took advantage of matchup problems and kept getting to the rim. After late-game struggles against Kentucky and Kansas, Wednesday was a chance for Duke’s young team to step up and make a statement. — Borzello

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Pop Isaacs, Creighton Bluejays
27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists in Creighton’s 76-63 win over Kansas

Isaacs struggled with a number of problems in the first month of the season: He was unable to participate in the season opener following hip surgery last spring, and he was limited by illness at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. However, if Isaacs was fully healthy on Wednesday, Texas Tech transfer Greg McDermott will be very happy with the way forward. Isaacs was the team’s go-to guy in both halves against Kansas. He hit three early three-pointers in the first seven-plus minutes to set the tone, but it was his back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half that gave Creighton some distance. Two more throws a few minutes later answered two Kansas mini-runs.

If Isaacs can be the team’s best perimeter scorer to compensate for Ryan Kalkbrenner deep and Steven Ashworth at the point, a fully healthy Creighton should return to its elite offense after some stumbles early in the season. — Borzello

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Liam McNeeley, UConn Huskies
17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks in UConn’s 76-72 win over Baylor

Liam for THREEEEEE! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m7n1NbBXVD

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) December 5, 2024

Wednesday was a crucial game for UConn. The Huskies defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore over the weekend, but their three losses in three days at the Maui Invitational were still fresh in their minds. They were also still without All-American forward Alex Karaban, who suffered a head injury in Maui. That opened the door for five-star freshman McNeeley to assume the role of the team’s primary offensive option.

McNeeley really got going after halftime against Baylor, scoring back-to-back baskets early in the period to give UConn the lead. He was one of the team’s emotional leaders, he played with assertiveness and aggression – everything Dan Hurley could expect from his team after last week. — Borzello

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Mark Sears, Alabama Crimson Tide
20 points, 7 assists, 2 steals in Alabama’s 94-79 win over North Carolina

During a wild four-minute stretch in the first half against UNC (16-12 to 12-18), Sears – the preseason AP All-American and SEC Player of the Year – scored 9 points and recorded two assists on 3-pointers help Alabama take a 21-14 lead. North Carolina never closed the gap.

That’s a stark contrast from last week, when the Tide were tied or tied at halftime in all three Players Era Festival games. They avoided the same situation against the top-25 Tar Heels by showcasing their offensive prowess, but also the challenges that all opponents will face this season as Nate Oats’ team takes an early lead and its best Players influenced the game as much as Sears did. — Medcalf

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Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State Cyclones
24 points, 2-for-4 from distance, seven assists in Iowa State’s 81-70 win over Marquette

He absolutely feels it.#Cyclones | #C5C | @kg2times pic.twitter.com/ULWK1lM2IX

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) December 5, 2024

In November, Kam Jones made a case for being named National Player of the Year. However, he wasn’t the best player in Marquette’s matchup against Iowa State on Wednesday. Instead, it was Gilbert who led Iowa State to a top-five win over the Golden Eagles. Performance like this is becoming the norm for the former UNLV transfer: He has scored 23 points or more in three of the last four games. He has also shot 59% from inside and 82% from the free throw line this season.

It was an incredible start for a player hoping to lead Iowa State to its first conference regular season appearance since 2001 and the Final Four for the first time since 1944. Gilbert’s performance on Wednesday was convincing. He’s currently playing like one of America’s best for a top 10 team. — Medcalf

ACC is not doing itself any favors against the SEC juggernaut

The ACC spent much of the offseason lamenting March’s Selection Sunday snubs. The league fielded only a third of its teams in the NCAA Tournament last year, compared to 57% in both the Big 12 and SEC and 43% in the Big Ten.

Most galling for ACC fans was that the conference continued to outperform its numbers in the tournament itself – a consistent pattern in the NET era and in direct contrast to the trend of having fewer teams and fewer seeds in the bracket. The ACC has sent 51.7% of its NCAA teams to at least the Sweet 16 since 2019, leading all conferences compared to the Big Ten’s bottom 11.4% in that category.

More with less or less with more, if you will.

To patch things up, the scheduled ACC bubble teams made a concerted effort to achieve better scheduling in the 2024-25 season – notably the Pittsburgh Panthers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Clemson Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, Syracuse Orange and Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their respective non-conference slates.

There was just one problem: you still have to win games. And the just-concluded ACC-SEC Challenge was a real disaster for the ACC. Aside from the league’s dismal 2-14 record in the 16 contests on Tuesday and Wednesday, the teams the conference needed most simply weren’t there.

At this point, it will be difficult for the ACC to top its 2024 bid total, even with the addition of the California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal and SMU Mustangs.

The SEC, on the other hand, is headed for an all-time season. In 2011, the Big East sent a record 11 of its 16 teams — including eventual champion UConn — to the tournament. The SEC is on track to have at least 12 of its newly formed 18 teams on the board by March 2025.

When it happens, we would do well to remember that first week of December. — Lunardi

The big surprise on Tuesday

It was a huge win for Clemson on Tuesday. Ian Schieffelin (20 rebounds) was fantastic on the glass, while Jaeden Zackery and Chauncey Wiggins both made big shots in the second half. The Tigers have now won each of their last four games against top-five AP opponents; They are only the third team ever to do so, according to ESPN Research, and the first since UTEP from 1985-92.

So what went wrong for Kentucky? Simply put: the outside shots weren’t falling. The Wildcats made three of their first six 3-pointers and then made just four the rest of the game. After making a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, they managed just one more three-pointer in the next 19½ minutes, a stretch that only ended when Lamont Butler made a three-pointer with two seconds left in the game. For an offense that relies heavily on its shooting prowess, things really stalled in the half-court game toward the end of the contest. Otega Oweh tried to get his own shot, Jaxson Robinson tried to get his own shot, and so did Andrew Carr and Butler. But none of these guys are destined to be a main visual creator on a consistent basis. Brad Brownell’s defense popped up and Kentucky’s shooters didn’t respond.

The Tigers are coming off an Elite Eight appearance, but they didn’t receive much hype early in the season. They are now 8-1, with their only loss coming in a true road game at Boise State. They are clearly one of the top four teams in the ACC, and that kind of win will hold up come Selection Sunday. — Borzello