We conducted our annual Candid Coaches series back in August and asked more than 100 Division I staff members who they believed was the best high-major coaching hire of 2024. The leading vote-getter was John Calipari. After that came Dusty May. Coincidentally, those two men's teams will meet Tuesday when Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks play May's Michigan Wolverines in the nightcap of the 30th annual Jimmy V Classic inside New York's Madison Square Garden.
Is it the best Jimmy V Classic doubleheader ever?
Definitely not.
But the first game will include Tennessee, which moved to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday; the undefeated Vols are playing a Miami team on a six-game losing streak. After that concludes, a matchup that appears more competitive on paper will tip, at which point the Razorbacks will need to upset Michigan to avoid dropping to 7-3 on the season, including 0-3 against top-85 opponents at BartTorvik.com.
Needless to say, that would not be ideal for Calipari considering Arkansas was ranked 16th in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll — but also because the third loss would come to a fellow first-year coach at a new school whose team wasn't supposed to be as good as Calipari's, and also because the third loss would come just three days after Calipari's old school, Kentucky, upset Gonzaga and improved to 8-1 with its own first-year coach, Mark Pope, who now has UK ranked fifth in the AP Top 25 poll.
There is no shortage of talking points.
Michigan-Arkansas is scheduled to start about 30 minutes after Tennessee-Miami, probably a little after 9 ET. Michigan is No. 16 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Wolverines are 8-1 with wins over Wisconsin, Iowa and Xavier. They're listed as 3.5-point favorites against Arkansas, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 96-70 win over Syracuse. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Miami. | -- | 17-2 |
| 2 |  | Miles Kelly finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 98-54 win over Richmond. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Ohio State. | -- | 17-1 |
| 3 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 19 points and five assists in Sunday's 100-58 win over Jackson State. The Cyclones' next game is Thursday at Iowa. | -- | 16-2 |
| 4 |  | Kam Jones finished with 32 points and six assists in Saturday's 88-74 win over Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Dayton. | -- | 16-3 |
| 5 |  | Andrew Carr finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 90-89 overtime win over Gonzaga. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Colgate. | -- | 14-4 |
| 6 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's 76-65 win at Louisville. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Incarnate Word. | -- | 16-2 |
| 7 |  | Mark Sears finished with 20 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 94-79 win at North Carolina. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Creighton. | -- | 16-3 |
| 8 |  | Khalif Battle had three turnovers and one assist in Saturday's 90-89 overtime loss to Kentucky. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UConn. | -- | 14-6 |
| 9 |  | Braden Smith finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 83-78 win over Maryland. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 15-5 |
| 10 |  | AJ Storr was 1 of 7 from the field in Sunday's 76-67 loss at Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 13-4 |
| 11 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 18 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 89-52 win over Nebraska. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Oakland. | -- | 16-2 |
| 12 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 86-53 win over Lindenwood. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Southern Miss. | -- | 15-3 |
| 13 |  | Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 73-71 win at Oregon. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 13-6 |
| 14 |  | TJ Bamba had five turnovers in Sunday's 73-71 loss to UCLA. The Ducks' next game is Sunday against Stephen F. Austin. | -- | 16-3 |
| 15 |  | Rodney Rice finished with three turnovers and one assist in Sunday's 83-78 loss at Purdue. The Terrapins' next game is Dec. 17 against Saint Francis. | -- | 14-5 |
| 16 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-83 win over Iowa. The Wolverines' next game is Tuesday against Arkansas. | -- | 14-4 |
| 17 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 27 points and four assists in Wednesday's 87-69 win over Virginia. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Arizona State. | -- | 16-2 |
| 18 |  | Josh Hubbard finished with 25 points and three assists in Sunday's 91-84 win over Prairie View. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against McNeese. | -- | 15-4 |
| 19 |  | John Tonje was 3 of 11 from the field in Saturday's 88-74 loss at Marquette. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | -- | 15-4 |
| 20 |  | Ben Humrichous was 1 of 9 from the field in Friday's 70-66 overtime loss at Northwestern. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Wisconsin. | -- | 13-5 |
| 21 |  | Seth Trimble finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 68-65 win over Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against La Salle. | -- | 12-8 |
| 22 |  | Nate Santos finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 86-62 win over Lehigh. The Flyers' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 13-6 |
| 23 |  | Nick Boyd finished with 17 points and six assists in Saturday's 74-57 win over San Diego. The Aztecs' next game is Wednesday against Cal Baptist. | -- | 11-5 |
| 24 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 20 points and three assists in Saturday's 79-51 win over Butler. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Troy. | -- | 14-3 |
| 25 |  | Jalon Moore finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 94-78 win over Alcorn State. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 14-4 |
| 26 |  | Chase Hunter finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 65-55 win at Miami. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Memphis. | -- | 15-4 |
