There have been loads of surprisng ends in school basketball on Saturday with two of the largest shockers coming when No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke each misplaced. The Tigers had been upset at dwelling 90-81 by No. 6 Florida. The Blue Devils met the identical destiny dropping 77-71 at Clemson. These losses may result in Alabama taking up No. 1 within the main polls after the No. 3 Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas 85-81.
Talking of the SEC, alternatives to catch your breath within the naton’s finest convention and get again on observe are few and much between 2025, which is why No. 14 Kentucky’s dwelling sport vs. South Carolina on Saturday was so important. The Wildcats entered having misplaced 4 of their earlier 5 and in severe want of a palate-cleanser.
That is precisely what UK received in an 80-57 victory over South Carolina. Place to begin guard Lamont Butler returned after a three-game absence as a result of a shoulder harm and performed 23 minutes. Key gamers Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson additionally logged substantive motion, regardless of being thought of game-time choices getting into the sport.
If Kentucky goes to succeed in the potential it confirmed with six victories over top-15 opponents, it can want all three gamers wholesome down the stretch. Fortunately for first-year coach Mark Pope, the convenience of Saturday’s win saved him from enjoying anybody greater than half-hour forward of a showdown with No. 4 Tennessee on Tuesday.
Alabama in place to maneuver to No. 1 in main polls after highway win vs. Arkansas follows losses by Auburn, Duke
Cameron Salerno
Issues did not go practically as effectively for one more struggling blue blood on Saturday, as No. 16 Kansas fell to 3-3 over its final six video games with an 81-73 loss at Kansas State. It was the protection which let the Jayhawks down as they suffered their fifth Large 12 loss.
Right here is the complete rundown of the winners and losers from a loaded Saturday of faculty basketball motion.
Loser: Flagg falls as Duke falters
Clemson delivered one of the surprising upsets of the season Saturday with a 77-71 win over No. 2 Duke at Littlejohn Coliseum. Trailing 73-71 with underneath 20 seconds to play, Duke turned to freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who was within the midst of a late-game offensive barrage. However as he tried to plant and elevate for a possible game-tying shot, he slipped to the ground and was known as for a touring violation. Clemson subsequently took care of enterprise on the free-throw line within the remaining seconds as Duke’s nation-best 16-game successful streak got here to an anticlimactic finish. – David Cobb
Loser: Auburn surprised at dwelling by Florida
Florida earned its first-ever highway win over a top-ranked crew Saturday because the No. 6 Gators dismantled No. 1 Auburn 90-81 handy the Tigers their first SEC loss. The win is Florida’s second blowout victory over a No. 1 crew this season after UF crushed then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7. Florida’s dominance in a hostile surroundings made for a shocking finish to Auburn’s 14-game successful streak, which was the nation’s second-longest. The Gators (20-3, 7-3 SEC) received it performed with out second-leading scorer Alijah Martin, who was injured in Florida’s win over Vanderbilt earlier within the week. — Cobb
Winner: Akron Zips personal longest lively win streak
Because of Saturday losses by No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke, the MAC-leading Akron Zips – an ideal 10-0 in convention play and winners of 11-straight after defeating South Alabama 80-65 – personal the longest lively successful streak in school basketball. The Zips (18-5) have but to lose within the 2025 calendar yr after beginning the season 7-5. They return to convention play Tuesday with a house take a look at vs. Western Michigan and determine to be favored in every of their remaining eight video games, in response to KenPom projections. – Kyle Boone
Loser: Protection betrays Kansas
Few are higher than Invoice Self, however the Kansas coach has his work minimize out for him down the stretch if the No. 16 Jayhawks are going to make good on lofty preseason expectations. Kansas has dropped three of its previous six video games and is fading quick within the Large 12 title race after falling 81-73 at Kansas State. Protection was the perpetrator because the Wildcats shot 50% from the ground. No. 2 Duke is the one different crew to succeed in that threshold in opposition to the Jayhawks this season.
The excellent news is that 4 of KU’s subsequent 5 are in opposition to groups at present projected exterior the NCAA Match subject, which may give Self a while to get his crew again on observe earlier than the stretch run. However it’s turn out to be painfully apparent that the Jayhawks had been overrated when AP voters deemed them the preseason No. 1 crew. — Cobb
Winner: Kansas State is making an unbelievable turnaround
Kansas State’s resurrection is now not possible to disregard or dismiss as a fluke. After beating Kansas 81-73 and dominating the complete second half, the Wildcats are formally vying to be school basketball’s prime turnaround crew of the 2024-25 season. The win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats, and 4 of them have are available in convincing vogue. A crew that appeared like roadkill at 7-11 (1-6 Large 12) just some weeks in the past is now 12-11 (6-6) and in possession of three Quad 1 wins. This crew nonetheless has some ugly blemishes on its ledger, however it’s inching towards the NCAA Match bubble, which might have been unthinkable not way back. — Cobb
Winner: Military wins record-breaking shootout in Patriot League thriller
Military outlasted Bucknell in a Patriot League shootout that ended with the Black Knights setting a program-high in a 116-110 double OT victory. The brand new record-high in factors scored for Military bested a earlier file vs. a Division I opponent of 104 that got here on Jan. 27, 2001, vs. Lafayette, which it gained in OT.
The win moved Military to 10-1 all-time when scoring 100 or extra factors, per CBB Reference information, with its solely lack of these 11 video games coming again in 1988 when it fell to Holy Cross 122-100.
Ryan Curry cooked up 30 factors for Military within the win, 17 of which got here within the additional time durations. – Boone
Winner: Kentucky shakes off skid, will get proper vs. Gamecocks
Kentucky unleashed per week’s price of pent-up frustration following back-to-back double-digit losses to Arkansas and Ole Miss with an 80-57 beatdown of South Carolina – its largest margin of victory but vs. an SEC opponent underneath first-year coach Mark Pope. Otega Oweh scored a team-high 17 factors and three different Wildcats – led by Brandon Garrison‘s huge 15-point outing – reached double figures. The win snaps a two-game skid for UK, which had misplaced 4 of its final 5 getting into the day as effectively, with No. 4 Tennessee coming to Lexington on Tuesday. — Boone
Winner: Jase Richardson tallies career-high in entrance of pops
No. 9 Michigan State erased a 14-point deficit in an 86-74 win over Oregon within the Breslin Heart led by a career-high 29 factors from freshman Spartans guard Jase Richardson. Richardson, the son of Michigan State legend Jason Richardson, had 18 of his 29 within the second half, keying the comeback to assist coach Tom Izzo match Bob Knight’s Large Ten wins file. The efficiency was doubly candy as his pops and the 2000 nationwide title-winning Spartans crew regarded on courtside. — Boone
Loser: Oregon hits worst skid in a decade
In coughing up a 14-point result in a top-10 Michigan State crew Saturday, Oregon – 16-3 general and 5-3 in Large Ten play simply two weeks in the past – suffered its fifth consecutive loss and fell to 5-8 in convention play. The skid is Oregon’s longest dropping streak underneath Dana Altman since 2013-14 and simply its second-ever dropping streak of 5 or extra consecutive video games since Altman took over in 2010-11. The Geese, a No. 7 seed in Jerry Palm’s Bracetology getting into Saturday, head again to Eugene on Tuesday in determined want of a win dealing with shorthanded Northwestern. — Boone
Winner: Tennessee will get again to spirit-breaking methods
No. 4 Tennessee and its soul-crushing squad took its present on the highway Saturday and squeezed the life out of Oklahoma in Norman, holding the Sooners to a season-low 52 factors in an 18-point victory. It is the twelfth win of the season for the Vols by a margin of 18 or bigger, the second-most by any crew in school basketball behind solely Duke. — Boone
Loser: Texas squanders lead, falls to Vandy
Texas entered the day as one of many “first 4 out” of Jerry Palm’s projected NCAA Match subject and owned a 10-point second half lead at Vanderbilt. However the Longhorns could not attain the end line, falling 86-78 to the plucky Commodores. Vandy scored 51 factors within the second half on 56.7% capturing whereas selecting up an essential win for its personal NCAA Match possibilities. The ‘Dores entered as a projected No. 11 seed with video games in opposition to No. 1 Auburn and No. 4 Tennessee developing subsequent week.
Struggling a 3rd straight loss with the Tigers and Vols up subsequent would have put first-year coach Mark Byington’s membership in a decent spot. However the backcourt duo of Jason Edwards and A.J. Hoggard mixed for 29 factors within the second half, and Jaylen Carey owned the paint with 18 factors and 14 rebounds because the ‘Dores improved to 17-6 (5-5). Now it is Texas (15-9, 4-7) with some floor to make up over the past 4 weeks of the common season, beginning with large dwelling video games in opposition to No. 3 Alabama and No. 14 Kentucky subsequent week. — Cobb
Winner: Iowa State will get again on observe
Few groups wanted a win extra Saturday than Iowa State, which had dropped three straight getting into a house tilt with TCU. After a 17-2 begin, the Cyclones had been formally reeling on the heels of blowout losses to Kansas State and Kansas. Cyclones followers can formally exhale now after ISU’s 82-52 dismantling of TCU. A torrid 59.2% capturing efficiency was its finest since Dec. 22, and it included a 5 of 9 displaying from Milan Momcilovic. The sophomore ahead had missed seven video games as a result of a hand harm however regarded simply high-quality in his first sport again. — Cobb
Winner: Creighton picks up key Large East win over Marquette
A crew that is flown underneath the radar over the past month has been Creighton. The Bluejays are only one sport again of first place within the Large East standings behind St. John’s. Creighton gained its ninth consecutive sport with a 77-67 win at dwelling over No. 11 Marquette behind huge performances from Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth. The Bluejays’ final loss got here in opposition to this Golden Eagles crew. They’ve been on a roll since. — Cameron Salerno
Loser: Nicely-being of trash cans in Omaha
Omaha basketball’s continued custom of destroying trash cans in postgame victories continued in superb vogue Saturday as Brandt Daniels, the crew’s director of operations, tagged in to spearhead a poor receptacle after the Mavericks downed North Dakota State 85-74 to stay alone atop the Summit League standings. Omaha was picked to complete eighth within the nine-team Summit League within the preseason ballot however has been one among this season’s greatest surprises on the mid-major stage. After beginning the season 4-9 it has now gained 12 of its final 13 video games and is main the common season convention race with a 10-1 begin within the Summit. — Boone
Winner: UNC-Wilmington beats the buzzer in double-OT
UNC Wilmington downed Drexel 81-79 in double-overtime when Grasping Williams beat the buzzer on a coast-to-coast layup as time expired. Williams scored eight of his 14 factors after regulation because the Seahawks stayed one sport again of Towson within the CAA standings by successful their eighth straight sport in dramatic vogue. — Cobb
Loser: Seton Corridor‘s nightmare season continues
Seton Corridor suffered its ninth consecutive loss in Large East play Saturday, falling 60-46 to Georgetown because it dropped to 6-18 on the season and 1-12 in Large East play. It is the worst begin to convention play for the Pirates since opening the 1984-85 season 0-15 and ending 1-15, and sarcastically the worst begin by a crew within the league because the Hoyas went 0-19 in 2021-22. — Boone
Winner: Texas A&M wins a thriller on the highway over Missouri
There was by no means a doubt about who was getting the ball for Texas A&M in a tie sport down the stretch. Star guard Wade Taylor lV knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner within the Aggies’ 67-64 win over Missouri. Texas A&M has gained 5 of its final six video games and now sits at 7-3 in SEC play. — Salerno
Winner: UNC survives, retains NCAA Match hopes alive
North Carolina entered the weekend simply exterior the bubble in CBS Sports activities’ newest Bracketology projections by Jerry Palm. The Tar Heels 67-66 win over Pitt at dwelling may go a good distance towards getting again above the minimize line. Pitt had an opportunity to win the sport a number of instances down the stretch however could not capitalize. Pitt was one of many “First 4 Out” within the newest projections, and this loss may finally damage its possibilities. This consequence will likely be one to replicate on in a few month on Choice Sunday. — Salerno