Thursday briefing in West Alabama

Good morning, West Alabama. It is Thursday, December 5, 2024.

Observations on Thursday morning:

Over the years, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has been the darling of college basketball, much like the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is of college football. Five ACC teams have won 15 sanctioned basketball national championships. Members North Carolina, Pittsburg, Syracuse and Notre Dame claim seven more pure poll titles.

The SEC has won 11 national titles over the years, but only three league teams have taken home the hardware.

Men’s second year ACC/SEC Challenge The ACC series aired on Tuesday and Wednesday and featured promotions that touted the league as a preeminent college basketball conference. They’re still good, but the timing may have been questionable as the SEC won 14 of the 16 games played.

The outstanding basketball league woke up this morning with a massive headache. They were outclassed by what they like to call a football conference. This is how it happened:

Notre Dame 48, Georgia 69

South Carolina 73Boston College 51

Arkansas 76Miami 73

California 93, Missouri 98

Syracuse 70, Tennessee 96

Wake Forest 44, Texas A&M 57

Ole Miss 86Louisville 63

Georgia Tech 61, Oklahoma 76

Florida State 75, LSU 85

Kentucky 66, Clemson 70

Virginia 69, Florida 87

Alabama 94North Carolina 79

Pittsburgh 57, Mississippi State 90

Vanderbilt 80Virginia Tech 64

Texas 63NC State 59

Auburn 78, Duke 84

The annual event gives teams from both conferences a chance to improve their resumes and secure some good competition before conference play begins in a few weeks. The outcome of the games serves as a warning to the rest of the country that the SEC is under strain.

Fans and commentators from other conferences are already complaining that SEC basketball has reached the same level of quality as football.

The eyes of the college sports world may be on the final round of the College Football Playoff, which will be released on Sunday, but watch out: The basketball season looks to be entertaining for SEC fans.

(The opinions expressed in the Morning Briefing are not necessarily those of the owners, management or employees of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

Weather:

A rainy start to today gives way to decreasing cloudiness behind the front and gusty winds develop later in the day. Clear skies tonight will allow for much colder overnight lows, ranging from the upper teens in Walker, Fayette and Lamar counties to the low 20s as far south as Demopolis. Wind chill values ​​could drop as low as 4 to 10 degrees.

The forecast:

Saturday evening

The days of Tuscaloosa County’s only toll road may be numbered. The Tuscaloosa County Commission joined the City of Tuscaloosa in passing resolutions calling on Governor Ivey to urge the state to purchase the Black Warrior Parkway toll bridge and eliminate tolls. The Northport City Council is expected to follow suit at its next meeting.

The former Tuscaloosa church accountant admitted using the stolen funds to purchase TikTok coins and personal items.

If the Alabama Men’s Basketball team hadn’t had so many unforced turnovers this season, they might be undefeated right now. They did that last night, and combined with the team’s overall performance, they easily handled #20 North Carolina 94-79 last night in Chapel Hill.

The Dean Dome is considered one of the most difficult venues to play in, but it had little impact on the Tide as they led for most of the game. It was Bama’s third straight win over the Tar Heels (the other two at neutral sites).

Bama will be off until Saturday, December 14th when they host Creighton at Coleman Coliseum. The Bluejays just defeated #1 Kansas.

On3 Sports reports that Alabama is one of four schools in the final mix for AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2025. His finalist list consists of four schools: Kansas, Alabama, BYU and North Carolina.

Read more: Alabama advances to Final Four for top basketball recruit

Alabama scored a big win yesterday during the early football signing period. Depending on the recruiting service, the Tide took a recruiting class that was the second best in the country up to the 11th best class.

Due to the transfer portal and NIL, the early signing period no longer receives the attention it once did, but it is still critical.

Read more: Kalen DeBoer comments on the 2025 recruiting class