Another Saturday has come and gone, and with it a number of important games. It was a day of such games from wire to wire – in fact, a number of the noon games that tipped off are highlighted here for one reason or another. There was a bit of notable history along the way with a couple of them as well, one of which we highlight in more detail in the Morning Dish.
With that, here are notes from many of the day’s games.
Baylor 67, Kansas 55: A win like this gives you reason to believe this is really the Bears’ year to take over the Big 12. It comes in Lawrence – their first ever in Allen Fieldhouse – and keeps them rolling with their 12th straight win.
West Virginia 66, Texas Tech 54: The Mountaineers managed to shoot 43.5 percent from the field, but otherwise this was not an offensive showcase as they gave the ball away 21 times while the Red Raiders shot 30 percent from the field with 15 turnovers.
Iowa State 81, Oklahoma 68: The Cyclones are on the board in Big 12 play despite five Sooners scoring in double figures. The Cyclones won the possession battle with six fewer turnovers and ten more rebounds than Oklahoma, and that went a long way towards this win.
TCU 52, Oklahoma State 40: Who is tied with Baylor atop the Big 12? The Horned Frogs, who are also 3-0 while the Cowboys continue sliding down with their third straight loss and sixth in the last eight.
Texas 64, Kansas State 50: The Longhorns are now on the board in Big 12 play. The big question is if this can be the start of some wins, which they could use as even going 9-9 in Big 12 play may not be enough for them as far as the NCAA Tournament goes.
Auburn 82, Georgia 60: The Tigers remain undefeated in a romp at home, not unlike San Diego State (who took care of Boise State 83-65).
Kentucky 76, Alabama 67: The Wildcats appear to be rounding into form, taking care of the Crimson Tide despite committing 14 turnovers. Ashton Hagans nearly posted a triple-double as he had 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
LSU 60, Mississippi State 59: A very tough loss at the buzzer for the Bulldogs as they appeared on the verge of a nice road win for their first SEC win, as they were up 53-44 with five minutes left before LSU rallied and then regained the lead when Reggie Perry (13 points, 15 rebounds) got a layup with four seconds left. They dominated LSU on the glass by a 49-31 margin, though committing 18 turnovers also hurt. Instead of going home with their first SEC win, they’re 0-3.
Tennessee 56, South Carolina 55: Put this one in the “a win is a win” column for Tennessee, as this might have been the ugliest game of the day. Neither team shot 33 percent from the field and each team committed 19 turnovers.
Missouri 91, Florida 75: The Gators forgot to bring some defense with them to Columbia, as they allowed Missouri to shoot 61.5 percent from the field including 12-19 from long range. You increasingly get the sense the story of the Gators’ season will end up being more growing pains than most thought they would have.
Arkansas 76, Ole Miss 72: A nice road win for the Razorbacks, who also send the Rebels to an 0-2 SEC start behind 34 points from Isaiah Joe. The jury was out on the Razorbacks after they didn’t play a strong non-conference schedule, but 2-1 is not a bad start at all.
Wisconsin 58, Penn State 49: The Nittany Lions might be having a better year to date, but the Badgers have won 13 in a row over them, getting 24 points and 13 rebounds from Micah Potter. This gives them another good road win (along with Tennessee and Ohio State) to hang their hat on.
Indiana 66, Ohio State 54: The Buckeyes lose their fourth straight game and once again fail to reach 60 points. To think, it was not all that long ago one could have made the case that they should be atop the polls, which serves as one more illustration of how littler separation there is between teams this season.
Illinois 54, Rutgers 51: This was certainly not a pretty game as neither team shot 34 percent from the field, but the emerging 1-2 punch of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn delivered for Illinois at home. Rutgers is still without Geo Baker.
Clemson 79, North Carolina 76 (OT): It finally happened. After 59 losses in Chapel Hill, Clemson beat the Tar Heels in the best chance they were likely to have in a long time, and it required a late rally from being ten points down to force overtime in the first place.
Louisville 67, Notre Dame 64: The Cardinals held on in South Bend to hand the Fighting Irish their 18th straight loss against a ranked opponent. Simply put, the Cardinals needed it as they haven’t played their best of late despite going to 4-1 in ACC play.
Virginia Tech 72, NC State 58: While at first glance this goes down as a questionable loss for the Wolfpack, it may end up being a good win for the Hokies, who are quietly building a case for the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse 63, Virginia 55 (OT): This game wasn’t as bad offensively as the first meeting between these two to open the season, but the surprise came in overtime as the Orange scored 20 points.
Seton Hall 69, Marquette 55: The Hall didn’t have the non-conference success they surely hoped for, in part from injuries, but they are rolling in Big East play at 4-0. Marquette, meanwhile, is 1-3.
Villanova 80, Georgetown 66: The Hoyas’ slide in Big East play continues as they drop to 1-3, while Villanova goes to 3-1 behind a career-high 33 points for Saddiq Bey on 10-15 shooting overall including a remarkable 8-10 from long distance. Villanova had 20 assists on 27 made baskets.
Creighton 77, Xavier 65: This is a very solid road win for the Bluejays, who get to 2-2 in Big East play and drop Xavier to 1-3.
St. John’s 74, DePaul 67: This was going to be a “get well” game for one of these two as both came in winless in Big East play. At 0-3 in the Big East, plenty are surely asking even more if DePaul’s non-conference run was just a mirage, though as noted before, they didn’t just run up a nice record against a bunch of bad teams there.
California 61, Washington 58 (OT): It’s just the second game for the Huskies without Quade Green, but they’re already 0-2. Mark Fox, meanwhile, already has the Golden Bears on the upswing as they are now 8-8 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12.
Santa Clara 67, Saint Mary’s 66: Maybe it’s time to take the Broncos seriously, as this one came in Moraga and boosts them to 15-3 overall. They don’t have an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume, but they might be more of a challenger in the West Coast Conference than first thought.
Utah State 80, Nevada 70: The Aggies get back to .500 in Mountain West play and also get a nice game from Neemias Queta with 19 points on 8-12 shooting and seven rebounds. If he can stay healthy and play like this more often, they should climb back into contention.
Rhode Island 65, VCU 56: A solid road win for Rhode Island, and VCU drops their first Atlantic 10 game on the season.
Duquesne 66, George Washington 61: Okay, we know the Dukes played a weak non-conference schedule. Maybe those wins are having the desired effect in a case like that, which is getting wins in conference play and especially on the road.
Saint Louis 74, Richmond 58: A solid, convincing road win for the Billikens after the teams were tied at the half, which puts them at 3-1 in Atlantic 10 play early on.
Tulsa 63, Houston 61: A stunner in Tulsa as the Golden Hurricane scored the final seven points of the game to pull this out and end the Cougars’ six-game winning streak.
East Carolina 71, SMU 68: The jury was out on just how good SMU is with their 12-2 record coming into this game, and although this game was in Greenville, it’s not a good loss for a team hoping to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Northern Iowa 80, Missouri State 57: This was never a ballgame as Northern Iowa ran out to an early lead and was never seriously challenged after that, getting 28 points from A.J. Green. The Panthers are 3-1 in Valley play, tied for first place.
UNC Greensboro 86, Furman 73: The Spartans needed a good win after a couple of early Southern Conference losses, and this certainly qualifies as they go on the road to hand the Paladins their first conference loss.
South Alabama 52, Little Rock 43: Now it’s getting interesting in the Sun Belt as the preseason favorites hand the Trojans their second straight home loss after a 5-0 start, and they pull within a game of them as well.
Georgia State 84, UL Monroe 62: The Panthers pull into a tie with Little Rock and in-state rival Georgia Southern (71-51 home winners over Louisiana) atop the Sun Belt
William & Mary 67, College of Charleston 56: The great run continues for the host Tribe, who got another big game from Nathan Knight with 21 points and 13 rebounds and held the Cougars to 34.5 percent shooting. They held Grant Riller in check with just 10 points on 3-12 shooting as well.
Drexel 78, James Madison 71: The Dukes have a nice nucleus that has grown together over the past couple of years, but more is expected this season as many view them as at least a dark horse in the CAA. But after two straight home losses, they are 1-5 and look nothing like a contender.
