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Florida
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
Florida
South Florida officers sue Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, claiming details in ‘The Rip’ are too real
Entertainment
“The Rip” features Affleck and Damon as South Florida police officers who find millions of dollars inside a house. Parts of the movie were inspired by a real 2016 case.
MIAMI (AP) — Two South Florida police officers claim Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s recent action thriller “The Rip” used too many real-life details in its fictionalized narrative, causing harm to the officers’ personal and professional reputations, according to a defamation lawsuit.
Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, filed the lawsuit in Miami federal court earlier this month against Artists Equity, a film production company owned by Affleck and Damon. Court filings don’t say how much the officers are suing for, but the civil complaint says they’re seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney fees, as well as a public retraction and correction.
“The Rip” features Affleck and Damon as South Florida police officers who find millions of dollars inside a house. Parts of the movie were inspired by a real 2016 case, where police found over $21 million linked to a suspected marijuana trafficker in a Miami Lakes home.
An attorney for Artists Equity declined to comment when reached Monday by The Associated Press. But in a March 19 response to the plaintiffs’ demand letter, Leita Walker, an attorney for Artists Equity, wrote that the film does not purport to tell the true story of that incident or portray real people, which had been stated by a disclaimer in the film’s credits.
Although Smith and Santana aren’t named in the film, the lawsuit claims that Santana was serving as the lead detective assigned to the real case, and Smith was the sergeant who supervised the investigative team. The film’s inclusion of real details about the case gives the impression that the characters are based on the plaintiffs, the suit said.
And this, the lawsuit claims, has given friends, family members and colleagues the impression that the plaintiffs committed the criminal acts that appear in the film, which include (SPOILER ALERT) conspiring to steal seized drug money, murdering a supervising officer, communicating with cartel members, committing arson in a residential neighborhood, endangering the lives of civilians, repeatedly violating core law-enforcement protocols and executing a federal agent rather than making an arrest.
Walker wrote in March that the plaintiffs haven’t even identified which particular character is supposed to be based on Smith or Santana, so even if “The Rip” was actually about a real-life narcotics team, there’s no way to connect any of the characters to the plaintiffs.
“The Rip,” directed by Joe Carnahan, debuted in January on Netflix. It’s currently rated 78% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
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