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Men’s ACC-SEC Challenge guide: What to watch in Duke-Florida, UNC-Kentucky, more
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Jeff Borzello
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Myron Medcalf
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Myron Medcalf
ESPN Staff Writer
- Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.
The 2025 ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge features a bevy of AP Top 25 men’s college basketball teams in action.
Tuesday night’s showdown between No. 4 Duke and No. 15 Florida will be the first of three ranked matchups over the two-day event, followed by No. 16 North Carolina at No. 18 Kentucky later that night then No. 6 Louisville at No. 25 Arkansas on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf preview six of the top games to watch over the next 48 hours below.
Tuesday games to watch
7 p.m. ET | ESPN
Syracuse had arguably the toughest draw of the Players Era Festival, finishing 0-3 against No. 8 Houston, No. 21 Kansas and No. 10 Iowa State. This game won’t be any easier. Tennessee is top-20 in offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom and is led by shifty guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and 6-foot-10 quagmire Nate Ament, who combined to score 114 points over last week’s three games in Las Vegas. Syracuse will have to solve that riddle to have a chance in this one.
The Orange’s offense is a work in progress but leaning on pick-and-roll action — one of their greatest strengths, per Synergy Sports data — would help. — Medcalf
7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Florida’s quest for back-to-back national championships has hit a couple of early speed bumps, losing in the season opener to Arizona and suffering an upset at the hands of TCU on Thanksgiving. Duke, meanwhile, is 8-0 after beating a ranked Arkansas team last week.
For Duke, the key will be Cameron Boozer continuing his incredible production against Florida’s elite frontcourt. His worst games have come against length — “worst” being 15 points and 12 rebounds against Texas then 18 and 11 against Kansas — and the Gators can throw plenty of size at him. On the other side, Florida has to take care of the ball. The Gators’ portal backcourt of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee hasn’t hit its stride yet, but they can’t cough it up and let Duke get out and score in transition; the Blue Devils score nearly 18 fast-break points per game, per CBB Analytics. — Borzello
0:24
Cameron Boozer stuffs in a two-handed jam
Cameron Boozer drives to the paint and elevates for a strong dunk for Duke.
9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
In mid-November matchups against No. 6 Louisville and No. 7 Michigan State, Kentucky surrendered 179 combined points. North Carolina is also coming off a lopsided loss to Michigan in its last showing on the big stage.
Both of these teams excel offensively and defensively inside the 3-point line, but the Wildcats will need Malachi Moreno (1.1 BPG) & Co. to stall Tar Heels star freshman Caleb Wilson (19.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG) when he attacks — the projected NBA draft lottery pick has made 68% of his shots around the rim, per Synergy Sports data. — Medcalf
Wednesday games to watch
7:15 p.m. ET | ESPN
How the trio of projected first-round NBA draft picks — Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. (sixth), plus Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. (14th) and Meleek Thomas (27th) — will decide this game. They don’t have many weaknesses, but they will have to play to their strengths to help their respective teams win.
For Brown and Thomas, that means not forcing perimeter shots. Brown sometimes passes up easy drives to the rim for 3s (30.6%) while Thomas occasionally forces the same shots (34.5%) rather than rely on his explosiveness in the lane. And Acuff has been brilliant but didn’t do enough to get more shots around the rim in last week’s loss to Duke until the second half. He’ll have to get off to a faster start after missing five of his first six shots against the Blue Devils. — Medcalf
0:55
Mikel Brown Jr.’s best Plays vs. NJIT Highlanders
Mikel Brown Jr.’s best Plays vs. NJIT Highlanders
7:15 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Alabama has played one of the most difficult schedules in the country, notching wins over No. 14 Illinois and No. 23 St. John’s while suffering defeats to No. 1 Purdue and No. 11 Gonzaga. But the Crimson Tide are firing on all cylinders offensively, scoring a combined 220 points in their final two Players Era games. Clemson, meanwhile, is about to see its schedule kick up another notch with a date against BYU at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.
Pace will play a key part in this one, as Alabama loves to push the ball up the floor and bring some chaos to the game, while Clemson would prefer to have a half-court game without many turnovers. It’s hard to see the Tigers having the firepower to keep up with Nate Oats’ team, especially with the way Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway are playing. — Borzello
9:15 p.m. ET | ESPN
Both teams hit the road for marquee Feast Week tournaments, with Auburn having the better time of the two. The Tigers were destroyed by Michigan like every one of the Wolverines’ opponents en route to winning last week’s Players Era championship, but the Tigers notched double-digit wins over Oregon and St. John’s while in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, NC State suffered a surprising quarterfinal loss to Seton Hall at the Maui Invitational and gave up 102 points in a defeat to Texas.
It’s easy to make the case that Will Wade’s team needs this win more than Steven Pearl’s group. At this point in the season, both offenses are ahead of their defenses, which should make for a fun affair. The head-to-head matchup between Darrion Williams and Keyshawn Hall is as good as it gets, while the difference will be whether Tahaad Pettiford’s early-season slump is a thing of the past. He was terrific in Las Vegas, averaging 22.3 points over three games and going 7-for-14 from 3 in his past two games. — Borzello
NEWS
A man is in custody after deputies said he tried to kidnap a woman at a Wawa near Winter park. Per investigators, Matthew Seaberg approached the victim from behind, picked her up by the waist, and threw her into his truck.
Florida
Jury selection continues in fatal boat crash trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino
MIAMI — A new group of prospective jurors was questioned Tuesday in the trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino, who is charged in connection with a 2022 boat crash that killed a teenager in Miami-Dade County.
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During jury selection in a Miami-Dade courtroom, Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez asked potential jurors what they already knew about the case and whether they had recently seen or heard anything about it.
Several prospective jurors said they knew only basic details, including that a fatal boating crash occurred and that a teenage girl died. Others said they recalled media reports that alcohol may have been involved.
As questioning continued, some prospective jurors disclosed connections to schools and communities tied to the case.
Passengers aboard Pino’s boat included his wife, his teenage daughter and 11 of her friends, many of whom attended private schools in Miami-Dade County.
One prospective juror said they graduated from a local private school around the time of the crash and were familiar with some of the students involved.
Another said references to schools and witnesses brought back memories of seeing posts and articles about the incident shared on social media.
A third said their child participates in youth sports with students from schools connected to the case.
Investigators said the boat struck a channel marker while returning from an outing on Biscayne Bay. Seventeen-year-old Lourdes Academy student Lucy Fernandez drowned after the crash.
Tinkler Mendez also addressed concerns that a prospective juror had been viewing a news report about the case on a cellphone while waiting outside the courtroom.
Another prospective juror reported hearing the report but said it was not loud enough for everyone in the area to hear.
Tinkler Mendez reminded prospective jurors to avoid news coverage and social media discussions related to the case as jury selection continues.
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STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man who confessed to killing his girlfriend’s infant daughter and throwing her body in a pond three decades ago is set to be executed Tuesday evening.
Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in 1997 for the death a year earlier of 5-month-old Gabrielle Hanshaw.
This would be Florida’s eighth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
According to court records, Lukehart was watching his girlfriend’s baby in February 1996 while his girlfriend was caring for her older daughter, who had been ill. At some point, the girlfriend said Lukehart drove away from their Jacksonville home, and she couldn’t find baby Gabrielle. Lukehart called his girlfriend about 30 minutes later and told her to call police because the baby had been kidnapped and he was chasing the kidnapper.
Later that evening, Lukehart was found in a neighboring county after driving his car off the road. During questioning the next day, Lukehart told investigators that Gabrielle died after he dropped the baby on her head and then shook her. He told police that he panicked and threw the baby in a pond. Law enforcement officers searched the pond and found the child’s body.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s appeals last week. His attorneys had claimed that medication he was taking for kidney disease could have a negative reaction with the lethal injection drugs. They also argued that having only a month between the signing of Lukehart’s death warrant and the execution deprived him of his due process.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Lukehart’s final appeal on Monday.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
Another execution is planned in Florida later this month. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
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