Welcome to a special edition of Talking Hoops With Ted Sarandis. In this edition, we get into the history behind the wild Saturday that was, namely with three games in particular.
To set the stage, we get to two notes from ESPN Stats and Info (a group which, notably, includes former Hoopville writer and editor Michael Protos):
And it continues:
With (2) Gonzaga losing to (23) BYU tonight, their 19-game win streak comes to an end.
With (1) Baylor and (4) San Diego State losing today, this is just the 4th instance over the last 30 D-I seasons with 3 losses by the AP Top 4 on the same day. pic.twitter.com/pdlY36HL8M
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 23, 2020
Entering yesterday, the longest active win streaks in D-I belonged to San Diego St (26), Baylor (23), and Gonzaga (19).
All three lost. According to @EliasSports , it was the first day over the last 50 seasons in which 3 teams carrying win streaks of at least 19 games all lost. pic.twitter.com/X1ZppaRzsZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 23, 2020
We start with San Diego State’s undefeated run coming to an end as UNLV edged them 66-63. It was a surprise coming in San Diego, but give UNLV credit, as well as new head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who has had a lot of progress in his first year at the helm.
Next, we go back to one of the first games of the day, a highly-anticipated showdown in the Big 12 as Kansas visited Baylor. The Bears had won 23 straight, a Big 12 record, including the first meeting in Lawrence. This time around, Udoka Azubuike was terrific and led the Jayhawks to a 64-61 win.
Finally, we look at one of the last games of the day, where BYU was again a thorn in Gonzaga’s side. In the 2016-17 season, Gonzaga was undefeated heading into the final game of the regular season and hosted a BYU team that was a likely NIT team (and ended up there, getting handled by UT Arlington in the first round). The Cougars stunned everyone by knocking off the Bulldogs 79-71 in Spokane. On Saturday night, the Bulldogs came in undefeated in the West Coast Conference and with only a loss to Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis on the season. BYU would pull away late in a great game and knock off the Bulldogs 91-78 at the packed Marriott Center.
Not only is this a big win on the surface and knock Gonzaga down a peg, but this does wonders for BYU’s NCAA Tournament chances. If they take care of business from here on out, the Cougars now look like they will be dancing.
We close with a quick note from a big comeback on Thursday night, and how the same team beat another top team in the conference two nights later.
We hope you enjoy this special edition of the podcast and share it with your fellow college basketball fans. Be sure to tune in again in a few days for more of our coverage of college basketball.
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