We had another wild Saturday. You knew another one was sure to come at some point, and this was definitely it.
It started early with a big non-conference game, but that wasn’t all. The Big 12 and SEC continued to have teams beat each other up, the Pac-12 had a shakeup in their standings, and even mid-major leagues like the CAA and Ivy League were not immune.
So with that, here are notes from a number of the day’s games.
St. John’s 81, Duke 77: If the Red Storm could just play non-conference games this year, all would be right with their world. They haven’t won a game in Big East play, but they stun the Blue Devils in this one.
Virginia 59, Syracuse 44: The ACC provided some semblance of normalcy, if you will, save for Duke going down, as Virginia rolled again to go to 11-0. Syracuse, meanwhile, is 4-6 and needs to get going again.
Clemson 75, Wake Forest 67: Clemson is managing well thus far without Donte Grantham, as Gabe DeVoe continues to play well. That’s a very encouraging sign, and considering their balance and the way Brad Brownell normally coaches offense, it would have been a major surprise if the bottom appeared to fall out quickly after the injury.
NC State 76, Notre Dame 58: While the Wolfpack continue towards a potential nice story in Kevin Keatts’ first year, a season that began with a lot of promise for Notre Dame is careening out of control thanks largely to injuries.
Florida State 80, Louisville 76: This might have been the closest thing to a surprise in the ACC, coming in Louisville, but the Seminoles are a capable team.
Miami 84, Virginia Tech 75: A solid road win for Miami in a battle of middling ACC teams which, if it occurred in a few weeks, would feel like an NCAA at-large elimination game of sorts.
Purdue 78, Rutgers 76: The Scarlet Knights have given a lot of good teams fits, especially in Piscataway, where this game was played. But Purdue pulled out another one, and they’re 12-0 in Big Ten play.
Michigan State 63, Indiana 60: The Hoosiers continue to give the top teams a run for their money, but in the end they’re a little short again.
Oklahoma State 84, Kansas 79: The Big 12 gets a little more interesting, while the Cowboys get a much-needed resume win in Lawrence. The Jayhawks fall into a tie at the top with Texas Tech and lose at home for the fourth time this season.
Texas Tech 83, TCU 71: The most deceptive conference record in college basketball has to be TCU’s Big 12 mark of 4-6. The Horned Frogs are a very good team, but the Big 12 is just stacked, and there’s no shame in losing to the Red Raiders aside from the fact that this game was in Fort Worth.
Texas 79, Oklahoma 74: Speaking of the stacked Big 12, the Longhorns are good, but we’ve wondered just how good. They have needed a signature win and finally got it in this one.
West Virginia 89, Kansas State 51: The Mountaineers needed to stop the bleeding, and this manhandling of the Wildcats is certainly one way to do it.
Baylor 81, Iowa State 67: The Big 12 is so good that this was a game you couldn’t blame someone for watching. The Bears took over in the second half and looked like the Bears of November.
Missouri 69, Kentucky 60: A solid win for the Tigers against a Kentucky team that is, well, playing like a young team. The Wildcats look really good one night, like they aren’t a bunch of freshmen and sophomore anymore another night, and then like an inexperienced team on a day like this.
Tennessee 94, Ole Miss 61: The Rebels are a better team than most realize, so this blowout is a pretty good win for the Volunteers.
Texas A&M 83, South Carolina 60: This tells you more about the potential of Texas A&M than it does anything about South Carolina. When healthy and playing like they’re capable of, the Aggies can be very good, as they have shown and did show on Saturday.
Alabama 68, Florida 50: Just when you thought the Gators might be turning a corner away from the inconsistency that plagued them for a stretch, they get handled like this at home.
LSU 94, Arkansas 86: This isn’t a bad loss, especially since it was in Baton Rouge, but Arkansas needs to get wins as they are 4-6 in the SEC.
Mississippi State 72, Georgia 57: Mississippi State has suddenly won three straight, including this battle of the Bulldogs, and they’re 5-5 in SEC play. Meanwhile, Georgia is 4-6, and it feels like they really need to stop the bleeding.
Providence 77, Marquette 75: The road team wins both games between these two, and this time around the Friars did a much better job on Markus Howard, who was 4-15 for 16 points after scoring 52 points in the first meeting. They also let Andrew Rowsey get off just five shots.
Washington 78, Arizona 75: The Huskies are quietly and surprisingly right there in the mix, just a game and a half back of the Wildcats after this. They are even with USC in the loss column for second.
UCLA 82, USC 79: The Bruins are 7-4 in the Pac-12, just a game back of USC for second, but it doesn’t feel like they’re having that good a year. Does that tell you something about the Pac-12 this season?
Stanford 96, Oregon 61: What to make of this, aside from Stanford being white-hot on the day (62.5 percent from the field)? Well, it tells you Oregon is almost certainly not going to be an NCAA Tournament at-large team, as they’re now 5-5 in Pac-12 play. Stanford continues to be a pleasant surprise at 7-4.
Saint Mary’s 65, San Diego 62: For a time, it looked like the Toreros might be a sleeper team to contend with the usual top three in the WCC. And while they gave the Gaels all they can handle, they’re 6-5 in conference play now.
Gonzaga 68, BYU 60: While this snaps a three-game winning streak BYU had in Spokane, the more important result is it’s a missed opportunity for the Cougars after a bad loss at Loyola Marymount a couple of nights earlier.
Nevada 76, Colorado State 67: Give the Rams credit for giving the Mountain West leaders all they could handle despite all the adversity they’ve had to face. Down the stretch, it was too much Caleb Martin as he had 26 points, including several clutch baskets to seal it.
Boise State 93, UNLV 91 (OT): The Broncos hang on to stay right on Nevada’s heels.
Drexel 91, William & Mary 79: The Dragons have won two big ones over the last week against teams near the top of the conference, with this one coming in Williamsburg. They’re starting to grow up.
College of Charleston 86, Hofstra 85: The Cougars sweep an important road trip to the two northernmost schools, and their reward is being all alone in first place when combined with the aforementioned loss by William & Mary.
Brown 102, Princeton 100 (OT): A shocker in the Ivy League, as the Bears win in Jadwin Gymnasium. This further shakes up the race.
Harvard 76, Cornell 73: The Crimson bounce back to go to 5-1 in Ivy League play, very much setting the pace as they get some help with Princeton losing at home.
Florida Gulf Coast 80, Jacksonville 55: This game came on the road, so it gives you an idea of just how far ahead of the pack the Eagles are in the Atlantic Sun.
