The final Saturday before conference tournaments begin was a wild day, and it started early. The first set of games ended with two teams that have been at best on the bubble getting big wins that can change the narrative around them.
But it didn’t stop there. The surprises continued to pour in as the afternoon went on, then we had some big games in the evening. Some of those games are notable mainly for what the bottom line result means, others came right down to the end. One of the last games of the night was also notable for the winning team that is now in the lead in their conference.
With that, here’s a look at notes from many of Saturday’s key games for one final time this season.
Kansas 62, Kansas State 58: This game ended with much less drama than the first meeting, thankfully, although it was a close call for the Jayhawks.
TCU 75, Baylor 72: While Baylor has suddenly lost two of three after their big winning streak, the bigger news is that TCU just might not be dead yet as far as the NCAA Tournament goes. But the Horned Frogs need this to be the start of something as the losses have piled up and they go to Kansas on Wednesday night.
Texas 68, Texas Tech 58: The Longhorns aren’t dead yet. They have now won four in a row, with this one having added significance as a road win, and an additional sign of progress is that they trailed by seven at halftime, their largest such deficit overcome this season.
Oklahoma 73, West Virginia 62: A very big win for the Sooners as it comes in Morgantown, even as they still have more work to do. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, aren’t exactly trending in the right direction even though they’re certainly not fading.
Gonzaga 86, Saint Mary’s 76: The Gaels were right there for most of the first half and some of the second half, but once Gonzaga broke a 42-42 tie, you had a sense that the Gaels weren’t going to have enough of a run in them to catch the Bulldogs.
Michigan State 78, Maryland 66: The road team wins both meetings between these two teams, and the Spartans postpone the Terrapins clinching a share of the regular season title in the Big Ten. This game is a sign that the Spartans are as capable as they were believed to be before the season.
Iowa 77, Penn State 68: The Hawkeyes continue to win at home, and Luke Garza (25 points, 17 rebounds) continues to put up monster games.
San Diego State 83, Nevada 76: The Aztecs trailed by nine at halftime, but Malachi Flynn (36 points) & Co. took control in the second half to pull this one out in Reno.
New Mexico 66, Utah State 64: The Lobos have been fading, which is exactly why this is a damaging loss for Utah State even though it was on the road. If they have any margin for error left, it’s a tiny amount.
Seton Hall 88, Marquette 79: Markus Howard had 37 points on Senior Day, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates built a good lead and held off the Golden Eagles to go to 13-3 in Big East play.
Providence 58, Villanova 54: First, the Friars were going to be a curious case for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, but at this point, the Friars have be closer to locks than first four out. They have won four in a row, three coming against ranked teams, and now they’re guaranteed a winning record in Big East play.
Butler 60, DePaul 42: Considering how they started the season, it’s hard to believe the Bulldogs needed this to get back to .500 in Big East play at 8-8.
Clemson 70, Florida State 69: The Tigers shake up the ACC race with the game-winner in the final seconds, just when it looked like the Seminoles had the inside track on the top spot.
Virginia 52, Duke 50: As was expected given their personnel losses, the Cavaliers have been, well, human this season. But here’s what’s amazing: they are guaranteed to at least finish fourth in the ACC and can still win the regular season title, even if it is a big down year for the conference.
NC State 77, Pittsburgh 73: The Wolfpack had to have this one ahead of the big one in Durham on Monday night. They blitzed Duke in Raleigh, but one shouldn’t expect the same thing this time around.
North Carolina 72, Syracuse 59: The last-place Tar Heels go to Syracuse and win by double digits? Garrison Brooks (26 points, 14 rebounds) came up big and had more help than Bourama Sidibe (17 points, 15 rebounds) as the Orange lose at home for the seventh time this season. It’s probably a good thing that the Carrier Dome is closing for renovations, meaning they won’t play there again this season.
Wake Forest 84, Notre Dame 73: Quietly, the Fighting Irish were still in the mix as a potential NCAA Tournament team, but this loss hurts. It was quite the battle of big men, as Olivier Sarr had 30 points and 17 rebounds for Wake Forest while John Mooney had 24 and 17 in the losing effort.
Kentucky 73, Auburn 66: Remember when Auburn was undefeated? It seems like so long ago. Thanks to struggles on the road (they are 4-5 in true road games), they went from that to being victims of Kentucky as the Wildcats clinch the SEC regular season title with a week to go.
Tennessee 63, Florida 58: Don’t count the Vols out yet. They may be trending in the wrong direction, but this is a quality win and they have a few of those, though the losses have mounted.
Mississippi State 67, Missouri 63: The Bulldogs get a nice win against a Missouri team that has been playing better of late, and it’s their fourth win in five games.
Alabama 90, South Carolina 86: The Crimson Tide are thought to have kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, while the Gamecocks, not so much – but who knows if either or both are really true. What can’t be denied is that both have a lot of work to do in the final week plus the SEC Tournament.
Georgia 99, Arkansas 89: This is a damaging loss for the Razorbacks, who already lost a lot of their margin for error regarding an NCAA at-large bid.
UCLA 69, Arizona 64: The Bruins sweep the Wildcats to win their seventh straight and 11th in 13 games, and the real surprise of it all is that they lead the Pac-12 by a half game and will carry that lead into the final weekend of regular season play.
USC 71, Arizona State 61: The Trojans hold serve at home to go to 10-7 in the Pac-12, with only a home game against UCLA left. That should be a good one with the Bruins playing for at least a share of the regular season title.
Tulsa 65, UCF 54: The Golden Hurricane go a half game ahead of Cincinnati and Houston atop the American Athletic Conference, for now, before those two teams battle on Sunday.
Memphis 74, Tulane 67 (OT): The Tigers survived, simply put, and Precious Achiuwa had a lot to do with that as he had the game of a lifetime with 22 points and 22 rebounds.
Northern Iowa 70, Drake 43: The Panthers left no doubt that they deserve the outright regular season title in the Missouri Valley, blowing out the Bulldogs to lock it up.
Loyola-Chicago 67, Bradley 66: The Ramblers did what they had to do, though they came up short by a game when it was all said and done. Look out for them in St. Louis, though.
Missouri State 84, Southern Illinois 59: The Salukis were once right in the hunt for the top spot, but close the regular season out losing five out of six. The Bears, meanwhile, battled plenty of adversity but finish 9-9 in Missouri Valley play.
East Tennessee State 68, Western Carolina 67: The Buccaneers win the outright Southern Conference regular season title.
Little Rock 91, Louisiana 69: The Trojans clinch an outright Sun Belt regular season title.
Hofstra 97, James Madison 81: The Pride win an outright CAA regular season title, and they aren’t coasting in to the CAA Tournament as they hit 20 three-pointers (out of 36 tries) to win this one comfortably over easily the most disappointing team in the conference.
Montana 79, Sacramento State 71: The Grizzlies control their own destiny heading into the final week, tied atop the Big Sky but holding the tiebreaker and having both games at home.
Eastern Washington 68, Northern Colorado 64: The Eagles stay hot with their fifth straight win, and on the road, to go ahead of the Bears.
Yale 66, Princeton 63: The Bulldogs knock the Tigers two games back, but their lead remains at a game with Harvard also winning on the night. It might very well come down to next Saturday night’s regular season finale in Cambridge since Harvard won the earlier meeting in New Haven.
Penn 73, Brown 68: By pulling this one out on the road, the Quakers even things up for the fourth spot in the Ivy League Tournament. It all comes down to next weekend.
Murray State 75, Austin Peay 61: The Racers win the big showdown convincingly and tie Belmont, who beat Tennessee State, for the regular season title in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bruins, however, got the top seed for the OVC Tournament.
Stephen F. Austin 95, Lamar 76: The Lumberjacks clinch the outright regular season title in the Southland Conference as they keep rolling at 17-1 there and 26-3 overall.
Robert Morris 78, Saint Francis U 68: The Colonials earn the top seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament by way of a tiebreaker, while Merrimack – ineligible as a newcomer to Division I – wins the outright regular season title.
Lipscomb 77, Liberty 71: The Flames could have won the Atlantic Sun regular season title outright with a win, but they remain the top seed for the conference tournament by the tiebreaker.
St. Peter’s 69, Canisius 68: Like they have done for a lot of the year, the Peacocks found a way to pull this one out on the road to stay with the rest of the pack contending for the top.
American 90, Holy Cross 47: The Eagles had the tiebreaker to take the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a win, and they left no doubt, jumping out to a 25-5 lead and never being seriously challenged.
