Lead Story: Kentucky's Alumni Squad Is One Win From $2 Million
La Familia, the Kentucky Wildcats alumni entry in The Basketball Tournament, dismantled Kansas-themed JHX Hoops 78-65 on Wednesday night inside a packed Historic Memorial Coliseum to claim the TBT Alumni Championship and book a spot in Sunday's winner-take-all final. Archie Goodwin was the engine again, pouring in 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting and burying 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, then closing the night himself with the Elam Ending bucket that ended it.
The game swung in the third quarter. After Kentucky took a 30-23 lead into halftime behind Goodwin's 10 points and six apiece from Willie Cauley-Stein and Sean McNeil, La Familia's defense smothered Kansas for an entire period, outscoring JHX Hoops 21-7 to build a 44-31 cushion. The Wildcats forced turnovers, owned the glass, and fed off a Memorial Coliseum crowd that has turned a July exhibition tournament into a genuine Lexington event. Goodwin had already set the tone in the second quarter with a dunk off a steal that pushed the margin to double digits, and he opened the Elam Ending by banking in a deep three.
The $2 million prize is now one game away. La Familia will host the winner of Thursday night's semifinal between The Mecca and Davis Steel on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Historic Memorial Coliseum, with the title game airing on FS1. Goodwin, speaking after the win, pointed at the atmosphere as a difference-maker and pushed for a sellout Sunday — a reasonable ask in a town where basketball never actually goes out of season.
Quick Hits
- Kentucky extends 2027 offer to Ahmed Nur. The Wildcats offered the Bella Vista Prep forward on Wednesday, their 22nd scholarship offer in the class of 2027 as of July 29. Nur is a 6-foot-9, 190-pound stretch forward with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, ranked the No. 25 player nationally and No. 5 in Arizona by 247Sports. The Hopkins, Minnesota native averaged 12 points with 3SSB on 40/30/69 shooting splits and also holds interest from Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas, Kansas, Purdue, Penn State, Wake Forest, BYU and Arizona State.
- Missouri lands on a College Football Playoff watch list. Daire Carragher of Pro Football Focus slotted the Tigers No. 5 among eight teams that could reach their first Playoff in 2026. Missouri has won 29 games since 2023, fourth-most in the SEC. Running back Ahmad Hardy's 92.0 PFF grade ranks second among all returning backs, though his return timetable remains uncertain, and quarterback Austin Simmons arrives from Ole Miss with a starting job to claim.
- Congress runs out of runway on college sports legislation. Per CBS Sports, the Big Ten and SEC are still waiting on critical bill language as the August recess deadline closes in on a Senate effort to bring regulatory structure back to college football.
- Texas volleyball collects two Preseason All-SEC nods. Torrey Stafford and Cari Spears made the league's preseason team. Stafford, a senior from Torrance, California, earned AVCA First Team All-America honors for a second straight year and was a National Player of the Year semifinalist after leading Texas with 516 kills, 33 aces and 580.5 points in 2025. Spears, a Frisco native entering her sophomore season, took AVCA Third Team All-America honors and became the first Texas freshman named AVCA National Player of the Week, hitting .600 in sweeps of No. 9 TCU and No. 21 Baylor.
- SEC housekeeping. Texas was picked to finish second in the SEC football race with 11 players on All-SEC teams, while Ole Miss was tabbed third at SEC Media Days. Texas men's basketball's SEC schedule release includes home-and-road dates with Florida.
Portal Watch
No new SEC transfer portal entries or commitments were logged in the last 12 hours. The most consequential portal move still shaping the league's fall is Austin Simmons' arrival at Missouri from Ole Miss — a departure tied to Trinidad Chambliss' emergence during Simmons' injury absence rather than any decline in his own play. On the diamond, Texas baseball added outfielder Carlos Lugo out of the portal, per 247Sports.
Recruiting Buzz
Tennessee added its second running back of the cycle Wednesday night, landing 3-star Asa Barnes out of Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee. The 5-11, 200-pounder ran for 1,208 yards on 146 carries and caught 27 passes for 567 yards while scoring 31 total touchdowns for a 14-0 team. Tennessee held off Arkansas for the commitment after Barnes took June officials to both; Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State were among his other offers. He is the Volunteers' 19th commitment in the class, the No. 22 player in Tennessee and No. 551 overall per 247Sports, and he plans to enroll after a December graduation. Tennessee now ranks 21st in the 2027 team rankings. Barnes follows 5-star David Gabriel-Georges, who chose the Volunteers over Ohio State.
Missouri baseball scored a flip of its own, pulling incoming freshman Myles Ross away from Texas Tech. Ross, a top-11 prospect out of Kansas City, Kansas, in the 2026 class, is a switch-hitter with the range and arm to play shortstop, second, third or the outfield.
Games to Watch
No SEC games are scheduled for Thursday, July 30. The next event that matters to the conference is Thursday night's TBT semifinal between The Mecca and Davis Steel, which determines La Familia's opponent. That championship game tips Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FS1 in Lexington, with $2 million to the winner.
