CBS Sports graphic
Top-10 matchups are always great on paper — but not necessarily on the court. Duds happen, often out of nowhere; I can acknowledge that. But Monday’s only top-10 matchup — Houston-Iowa State inside Hilton Coliseum — was both great on paper and on the court. And it was the latest awesome high-profile game in what is becoming one of the best college basketball seasons in modern-history.
Final score: Iowa State 70, Houston 67.
These days, best I can tell, you can’t do better than plopping down in front of a television on a Monday night and finding college basketball. Three Monday nights ago, we had a projected one-and-done top-20 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Brayden Burries, getting 29 points in Arizona’s 86-83 win at BYU. One Monday night later, we had Darryn Peterson, the presumed No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, getting 19 points in Kansas‘ 64-61 win at Texas Tech. One Monday night after that, we got Kansas, minus-Peterson for whatever it was that kept him out of that game, handing Arizona its first loss of the season, 82-78. And then, one Monday night after that, last night, we got a tight contest between top-10 teams led by two of college basketball’s best coaches — Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson.
Despise NIL and transfer-waivers all you want; I get it. College basketball is more different than it’s ever been. But, all of that acknowledged, the on-the-court product has been undeniably terrific this season. Monday night was great. And I expect the same from Tuesday night — mostly because that’s when Michigan will visit Purdue in another top-10 matchup that looks incredible on paper, in part because of the stuff Yaxel Lendeborg brings to the matchup. The Wolverines are No. 1 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Purdue is No. 7.
Tuesday’s tip is set for 6:30 ET.
You can watch it live on Peacock.
Top 25 And 1 rankings