Nine men’s college basketball teams that need to turn around their seasons — now

There are just under two months left in the 2025-26 men’s college basketball regular season — plenty of time for most teams to beef up their NCAA Tournament resumes before Selection Sunday.

For some programs, this will be enough to regain the momentum they may have lost after the initial stages. For others, the gap between preseason expectations and where they are now may be too wide to overcome. And if teams that fall into that latter category aren’t prudent about changing things up, they could find themselves looking at a missed opportunity at this point in the season, costing them what could have been a successful campaign.

Here are nine that need to change gears sooner rather than later.

Note: Teams are listed alphabetically.

Overall record: 12-5
SEC Records: 2-2

Alabama has lost to Arizona (No. 1), Purdue (No. 5), Gonzaga (No. 9), Vanderbilt (No. 10) and Texas — and the common thread in each loss was a poor defensive effort. Last Saturday, Alabama gave up 92 points (129 points per 100 possessions) at home to a Texas team that suffered losses to Arizona State and Mississippi State. Overall, the Tide have allowed 93.2 points per game in their five losses and rank 79th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Bright spot: lebron fillon jr. (21.3 ppg) and aden holloway (18.6 ppg) are one of the nation’s top duos and lead one of the best offensive units in America. Still, Alabama’s losses to Vanderbilt and Texas last week show that may not be enough.

Overall record: 11-5
Big 12 Records: 1-3

sum of James NanajiMade the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft a firearm Coaches across the country criticized the move. But Baylor coach Scott Drew added the 7-foot center because his team needed more size after Jaslin Bodo Bodo Suffered an offseason injury. However, the Bears will need more from the former European pro to get the program moving in the right direction.

Baylor, which has a defense that ranks inside the top 100 in efficiency, lost its first three games in the Big 12. That stretch included a loss on the road to TCU and home losses to Houston and Iowa State. This is not an easy collection of games for any team. However, Baylor is struggling with imbalance. cameron carr And Tounde YessoufouTwo projected first-rounders ESPN’s latest mock draftLead a top 20 offense. But the Bears will need to improve on the defensive end to survive the remainder of their Big 12 schedule and secure a bid to Selection Sunday.

Overall record: 10-6
SEC Records: 1-2

According to Bart Torvik, Kentucky’s defense has been weak since a loss to North Carolina on December 2 and ranks 66th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Its offensive production has been even worse, falling to 91st in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Wildcats have been one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in America during that span (32.1%).

Now, Pit Transfer jaland lowe (8.0 ppg, 2.4 apg) out for the season And Projected NBA Draft Lottery Pick jayden quantance Is suffering from knee injury. Taking those factors into account, the Wildcats may be a below-average team wearing the uniforms of a historic program. They don’t look like a Final Four contender As we expected them — or even a team poised to make the NCAA Tournament — despite Allegedly Spending $22 million on the current roster.

If Mark Pope can’t turn things around quickly, he could be on the hot seat heading into the 2026-27 season.

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Overall record: 12-5
ACC Records: 2-3

A month ago, the NBA draft lottery pick was predicted mikel brown jr. Was out with a back injury before Louisville’s loss to Tennessee. Coach Pat Kelsey then seemed confident that Brown’s injury would not be a major problem for the Cardinals. He was wrong.

Tuesday’s 79-70 loss at home to Virginia was the seventh consecutive game the Browns (16.6 ppg, 5.3 apg) lost. The timing is not ideal for a Louisville team that will face Duke and SMU before the end of the month. The Cardinals, ranked 11th in the preseason AP Top 25, are 3-4 overall and 2-3 in ACC play without Brown. Even without him, they are trading at about one-fifth of their assets.

With or without Brown’s imminent return, a change in strategy, the end result of his absence could be a tough first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

Overall record: 6-12
Big East Records: 1-6

Shaka Smart is a far cry from his 2011 Final Four run with VCU. Marquette’s current decline, a team that started the season ranked 46th on KenPom, is a stark contrast to the success they have enjoyed.

Picked to finish fifth in the Big East preseason poll, injuries and the sudden departure of Zaid Lowery (8.1 ppg) have played a role in the Golden Eagles’ slow start. But Smart’s team has also failed to show proficiency on both ends of the court. Marquette is currently one of the nation’s worst offensive (152nd in adjusted offensive efficiency) and defensive (92nd in adjusted defensive efficiency) high-major teams. And there are no signs of immediate improvement for a program that has already hurt Maryland and Georgetown. Marquette will need a miracle of sorts to finish the season strong.

Overall record: 7-8
American records: 2-1

Penny Hardaway is having the best season of her tenure at the helm of her alma mater. PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter were All-American first-team honorees for a Memphis team that won 29 games and reached the NCAA Tournament, where it ultimately lost its sixth game in the first round to Colorado State (notably without Hunter). The team lost its sixth game of the season on December 17.

Going 7-8 on the week, it marks the first time the Tigers have had a losing record under Hardaway since a 1-2 start to the 2020-21 season. Their ticket back to the NCAA Tournament will have to come by winning the American Tournament. The recent 89-78 loss at Florida Atlantic shows that this is far from guaranteed, especially if Memphis’ 20.5% turnover rate (337th nationally) persists.

Overall record: 12-4
SEC Records: 2-1

At its best, Missouri can defeat defending national champions Florida and Kentucky in consecutive games. But lopsided losses to Kansas (20 points) and Illinois (43 points), as well as other losses to Ole Miss and Notre Dame, also showed the Tigers’ limitations.

Since a loss to the Fighting Irish on Dec. 2, the Tigers are ranked 85th overall bart torvik. mark mitchell (17.4 ppg), but Anthony Robinson And others haven’t been the consistent contributors coach Dennis Gates needed them to be. A tough SEC schedule could make or break a Missouri team that will end the season with its toughest stretch yet heading into Selection Sunday, but a NET ranking of 76 means the Tigers have even more work to do before even thinking about it.

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Highlights: Missouri gets off to a hot start by beating Kentucky in SEC play

Mark Mitchell paced the offense with 21 points as the Tigers defeated the Wildcats 73–68, marking the first 2–0 SEC start in school history.

Overall record: 8-9
Big Ten Records: 1-5

Having made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, Dana Altman had the talent to make the tournament three times in a row. Unfortunately, the campaign did not go as expected.

After starting the year ranked 37th on KenPom, Oregon entered the week ranked 83rd. An overtime loss to Rutgers on January 5 – the same Scarlet Knights team that lost to Central Connecticut (252nd on KenPom) – highlighted how far the Ducks have fallen from the preseason expectations that had put them squarely in the NCAA Tournament conversation.

Jackson Shellstead (15.6 ppg) is dealing with a hand injury and has missed the first three games of 2026, but Altman’s team had significant challenges ahead of that development. The Ducks are now 1-5 in Big Ten play and still have matchups against Michigan and Michigan State later this month. Having started the season with turbulent results, the Ducks’ season could continue to decline without a rapid turnaround.

Overall record: 11-5
Big Ten Records: 3-2

Reigning Mountain West Player of the Year donovan dent Was a prestigious transfer. When he signed with UCLA, he was expected to raise his game in his hometown. He is yet to do so.

Dent has only connected on 9% of his 3-point attempts against Division I opponents this season (no typo!) after making 40% a year ago. Part of Mick Cronin’s charge to turn UCLA into a Big Ten contender — the Bruins started 3-2 in conference play and were ranked ninth in efficiency to begin the week — Dent will need to use the same skill set that made him a star at New Mexico last season. hamstring injury for Sky Clark (13.5 ppg) could complicate that mission.