Predicting upsets in College Basketball this week
Last week was one of our best in this column. After hitting Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri, and Wake Forest, we were 4-for-4 in predicting upsets heading into the late window Wednesday night before USC completely laid an egg against Illinois. The goal this week, although unlikely, is to improve on that and go 5-for-5. Here are the predictions for the upsets this week in college basketball.
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Texas over Florida
This is the biggest game of the season for the Longhorns as the defending champs come to town, presenting an incredible opportunity for a much-needed Quad 1A win. If this game were in Gainesville, I wouldn’t pick this way. But I think the home crowd, and maybe the home whistle, can be huge. Texas big man Matas Vokietaitis is 2nd nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes with 9, and if he can get Florida’s massive frontcourt in foul trouble, that would force the Gators to change their rotation and play out of their comfort zone.
Florida State over Miami
The Seminoles are playing their best ball at the right time, winners of 6 of their last 7. They’ve started playing their younger and more promising players, like Thomas Bassong and Martin Sommerville, for more minutes. Crazy how that leads to more wins. They’ve already beaten Miami on the road, and now get the Hurricanes back at home for the rematch.
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Illinois over Michigan
As we saw with the Duke game last Saturday, very few teams are equipped to beat the Wolverines. You have to have not only the requisite size to defend Michigan’s frontcourt, but you also need floor spacing offensively and the ability to limit Michigan’s transition scoring. That profile screams Illinois to me, and add that to the fact that this game is in Champaign, and I don’t think Michigan has a natural matchup to defend Keaton Wagler.
Dayton over St. Louis
It’s easy to forget that the Flyers were a popular preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10 before a slew of injuries derailed a promising start to the season. They’re now fully healthy, winners of three straight, and should have a raucous home crowd to take on their bitter rival (pundits have been comparing this St. Louis team to 2020 Dayton, and Dayton fans will take that personally). French center Amael L’Etang is now back healthy and will be a nightmare matchup for Robbie Avila, and I think the fully healthy Flyers can get this done.
Marquette over Georgetown
It might not be outwardly obvious in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but the Marquette Golden Eagles are playing better basketball as we approach the stretch run of the season. This is largely because they’ve turned the offense over to exciting freshman Nigel James Jr., and he will be the best player on the floor in this game. Meanwhile, Georgetown is coming off an abysmal 51-47 loss to Seton Hall, where they shot under 20% from three.
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Klinsmann tells Inter how to overturn 3-1 Bodo/Glimt scoreline: ‘Be patient’
Jurgen Klinsmann has given his verdict ahead of Inter’s Champions League play-off round second leg against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday evening, and has reflected on his own experiences of overturning a two-goal deficit in Europe with the Nerazzurri.
Inter fell to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie against Bodo/Glimt last week, and will now need to win by at least two goals to keep the fixture alive in San Siro on Tuesday night.
Klinsmann on Inter memories, Bodo/Glimt challenge and Esposito growth
Klinsmann knows full well what it is like to go into the second leg of a European match looking to overturn a two-goal deficit. Back in 1990, he and his Nerazzurri teammates responded to a 2-0 UEFA Cup loss against Aston Villa by winning 3-0 in San Siro in the reverse fixture.
“It’s one of the games I’ll never forget, the biggest comeback of my career,” Klinsmann told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
epa11076040 South Korea head coach Juergen Klinsmann holds a press conference ahead of a Group E match against Bahrain at the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup at the Main Media Centre in Doha, Qatar, 14 January 2024. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT
“After the first leg, nobody thought that we wouldn’t make it, in fact we were all convinced. You always have to start from there, from the optimism that convinces you to do great things.
“The rest of the credit goes to the supporters in the stadium, because it was a simply incredible atmosphere. It was one of the most energetic matches I’ve ever been part of. I still remember the supporters waving all those flags.”
Klinsmann believes that the current Inter squad could learn a few lessons from that famous night back in 1990.
“It teaches you that you have to be patient and that you don’t necessarily have to score all the goals straight away. I scored one early, but we had to wait until midway through the second half for Berti’s second. Then, a little while later came that fabulous goal from Alessandro Bianchi. The roar was incredible.”
Klinsmann believes that a lot of credit must go to the development of Norwegian football after Bodo/Glimt’s 3-1 victory over Inter last week.
“Norwegian football has had an incredible development over the last 10 years. We don’t talk about it enough, but they will be the surprise team at the World Cup. There might be more experienced national teams who might win the whole thing, but Norway has everything to go the distance. Bodo/Glimt represents this movement very well.”
BODO, NORWAY – FEBRUARY 18: Jens Petter Hauge of Bodo/Glimt celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Kasper Hogh during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between FK Bodo/Glimt and FC Internazionale Milano at Aspmyra Stadion on February 18, 2026 in Bodo, Norway. (Photo by Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images)
Klinsmann believes it would be a mistake to underestimate Bodo/Glimt for a second time.
“The biggest mistake would be to treat them as beginners,” he said. “They won’t be intimidated because they’re an excellent team with good results in Europe. They’re not just strong at home, they have the quality to give Inter trouble in Milan as well.
“They will have to attack a lot, but without exposing themselves because they know how to punish you from the first opportunity.”
Inter will have to do it without captain and leading centre-forward Lautaro Martinez, who is unavailable through injury on Tuesday night. Klinsmann is full of praise for the man who is expected to replace him, Pio Esposito, though.
“Pio has already established himself, regardless of the role that he will have until the end of the season, whether that’s coming on or starting from the off. This guy has made it clear what he’s made of.
LECCE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 21: Francesco Pio Esposito of Inter warms up prior to the Serie A match between US Lecce and FC Internazionale at Stadio Via del Mare on February 21, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)
“We hope that he is the man of destiny for our qualification, but we hope more than anything that he can grow even further. Finally, a strong Italian who gets a chance on the pitch.
“I like him because he doesn’t know fear and he always has the right level of trust. If he misses, he is only ever frustrated with himself and not the teammate who passed him the ball. He can drag his team despite being 20 years old. But I expect the same leadership from other Inter players as well.”
Christian Horner says Max Verstappen wasn’t behind his removal at Red Bull
Christian Horner has said he doesn’t believe that Max Verstappen was “in any way” responsible for him being removed as Red Bull team principal.
Horner was abruptly relieved of his duties after 20 years in July, halfway through the Formula 1 season. He formally left the team in September.
In comments featured in the upcoming series of Netflix documentary “Drive To Survive,” his most detailed remarks on his departure to date, Horner says he believed it was the decision of Red Bull company chief executive for corporate projects and investments, Oliver Mintzlaff, and then-Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, rather than Verstappen and his father Jos.
“His father has never been my biggest fan. He’s been outspoken about me but I don’t believe that the Verstappens were responsible in any way. I think this was a decision that was made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut advising from the sideline,” Horner says.
“I think ultimately things changed within the business, within the group. The founder died (Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022 ), and after Dietrich’s death I think probably I was deemed to have maybe too much control.”
At the time, Verstappen had yet to commit to staying with Red Bull for 2026, something he did weeks after Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies as team principal.
Marko had made public comments of concern over Verstappen’s future and the potential for the four-time world champion to leave Red Bull under a performance-related clause in his contract. Marko announced his own retirement in December.
Mekies oversaw an improvement in Red Bull’s form over the second half of the season, which allowed Verstappen to take his ultimately unsuccessful title defence to the final race of the year before McLaren’s Lando Norris secured the championship.
“I feel a real sense of loss and hurt. It was all rather sudden. I didn’t really get a chance to say a proper goodbye,” Horner says of his departure from the team in the Netflix series. “I’ve had something taken away from me that wasn’t my choice, that was very precious to me.”
The announcement that Horner was no longer team principal came more than a year after Horner was accused of misconduct toward a team employee.
An investigation conducted on behalf of the Red Bull company dismissed the allegation, as did a further investigation conducted after the employee appealed against the initial ruling, Red Bull said at the time.
Horner remained in charge of the F1 team throughout the entire process.
