The last full day of college basketball action was a full one indeed. Non-conference play is either over or almost over for most Division I teams, a Southern Conference opener for two teams was mixed in, and we had the start of the Diamond Head Classic, which will account for more than half of the few Division I games over the next four days.
Interestingly, on Wednesday night, the ACC had the SEC’s number, but that reversed on Saturday with the SEC pulling off three wins in the four matchups between the two conferences.
Without further adieu, here are notes from many of the day’s games.
Arizona State 80, Kansas 76: The Pac-12 gets a signature win they desperately needed, although they need more than this. Still, it greatly helps the Sun Devils, who have the best resume of anyone in the conference.
Kentucky 80, North Carolina 72: Finally, we have something to hang our hat on about Kentucky. To this point, the feeling has been that they’re good, but really indistinguishable from about a hundred programs in America. This win gives you reason to believe they can be more than just good.
Ohio State 80, UCLA 66: Another missed opportunity for the Pac-12 in the opener of the CBS Sports Classic. Ohio State, meanwhile, continues to play like a team maximizing what they have.
Tennessee 83, Wake Forest 64: The Volunteers could be atop the polls when they come out on Monday, and it’s hard to say they don’t belong.
Auburn 93, Murray State 88: Ja Morant gave Auburn all they could want and more, and the Tiger backcourt is no slouch. He had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but it wasn’t enough to pull this one off.
Georgia 70, Georgia Tech 59: A solid win for the Bulldogs in a rivalry game as Tom Crean tries to get them going.
Virginia 72, William & Mary 40: How good is Virginia’s defense? William & Mary is as efficient as they come and can shoot as well as anyone, and Virginia held the Tribe to 32.7 percent shooting, including 2-20 from long range.
Florida State 81, Saint Louis 59: There’s no shame in losing to the Seminoles, who I think many are still sleeping on, but getting outclassed like this tells you that if the Billikens are the best in the Atlantic 10, you’re talking about a one-bid league this year.
TCU 82, Charlotte 57: They were already favorites, but now the Diamond Head Classic is TCU’s to lose in light of the other quarterfinal results on Saturday.
Seton Hall 78, Maryland 74: The Pirates are looking more and more like a team that knows how to pull out close games late, something they did in this one on the road.
Villanova 81, UConn 58: With non-conference play in the rearview mirror for the Huskies, they can be summed up thusly: they beat the teams they should beat save perhaps for Arizona (a home loss), and save for Syracuse they lost to the teams they should have lost to, including this thumping at the hands of a flawed but still good Villanova team.
Kansas State 69, Vanderbilt 58: The Wildcats made their halftime lead stand up to get a good win in Kansas City.
Arizona 70, UC Davis 68: A close shave. A win is a win. Let’s just say that this was a little too close for comfort for the Pac-12, as this would have been one more blow.
Indiana State 72, Colorado 67: The Buffaloes couldn’t pull one out like the Wildcats did, though, so the conference takes another hit in a Diamond Head Classic quarterfinal.
West Virginia 74, Jacksonville State 72: That this one was so close tells you Bob Huggins’ team is still figuring things out with just one game left before Big 12 play begins.
Nevada 68, Akron 62: A bit of a close shave, but the Wolfpack won to go to 12-0. Talk of running the table can’t be far off.
Drake 66, New Mexico State 63: Drake is quietly 9-2 after this win, and it’s a quality win at that. They also handed Texas State their only loss prior to Saturday (the Bobcats lost a close one at Arkansas).
San Diego 82, Washington State 75: San Diego is 10-3, so this isn’t a bad loss, but it is a missed opportunity, especially since a win would mean a chance to play Drake on Sunday after they beat a very good New Mexico State team. The Toreros are part of the West Coast Conference’s strong non-conference showing thus far.
San Francisco 74, Stanford 65: In keeping with the WCC over Pac-12 theme, San Francisco goes to 12-1 with this win. It would be a shocker if anyone beat Gonzaga, but the WCC looks much deeper than in recent years.
Texas A&M 92, Marshall 68: The Aggies may be figuring some things out, as this is their fifth straight win after they lost four in a row early on, and only one of those wins has come by single digits.
Missouri 79, Illinois 63: The Tigers end their five-game losing streak in the Braggin’ Rights game and win their fifth straight game go to 8-3 on the season.
Bucknell 84, Rhode Island 82: The Bison have looked like mere mortals thus far, but a win like this on the first day of the Diamond Head Classic is a strong sign that they will be very much one of the teams to beat in the Patriot League once again. This is also another hit to the Atlantic 10, along with the blowout loss Saint Louis suffered earlier in the day.
Penn 75, New Mexico 65: The Quakers move to an impressive 10-2, including a perfect 4-0 on the road. While Harvard and Yale will be right there as well, it’s hard not to feel like the Quakers look like the favorites in the Ivy League right now.
Montana 85, South Dakota State 74: This was a nice mid-major matchup, but the result is significant since it snaps the nation’s longest home winning streak at 26 games dating back almost two years.
