It was an extremely busy Saturday afternoon and night of college basketball action. While just about everyone was engaged in conference action, four AP Top 25 teams found themselves engaged in non-conference tilts.
No. 1 Texas dropped their second straight, falling 88-74 at a suddenly inspired Connecticut. Jerome Dyson scored a career-high 32 to lead the Huskies. No. 11 West Virginia used a big second half to come back to beat No. 21 Ohio State, 71-65. No. 25 Baylor routed UMass, 71-45, to win their 11th straight at home.
Among the conferences...
In the ACC, No. 7 Duke traveled to No. 17 Clemson in the game of the day. The Blue Devils prevailed, 60-47, and moved to 4-2 in the conference. Virginia will no longer be alone atop the league, as they fell at Wake Forest, 69-57. The Cavaliers will be joined by Maryland who picked up an 88-64 home win over N.C. State. Elsewhere, Virginia Tech survived a visit from Boston College, 63-62.
No. 16 Temple remains unbeaten atop the A-10 after a 62-45 win at Fordham. Xavier moved to 5-1 by beating Rhode Island, 72-61, dropping the Rams 3-2. Charlotte is also a game behind the Owls after they won at La Salle, 84-82. Richmond moved to 4-2 with a 62-57 win at GW. St. Joseph's upset Dayton in Philadelphia, 60-59, to send the Flyers to 3-2 in the conference. Duquesne won their first conference game, defeating St. Bonaventure, 70-69, in the dying moments in Pittsburgh.
No. 4 Villanova needed to mount a comeback late in the first half to top St. John's, 81-71. The Wildcats remain atop the Big East thanks to the victory. No. 5 Syracuse opened up a nice lead in the second half against Marquette, but the Orange had to hold on, earning a 76-71 win. Rutgers was no match for No. 12 Georgetown. The Hoyas routed the Scarlet Knights, 88-63. DePaul got back to their losing ways, falling 87-77 at Notre Dame. Meanwhile, USF won a 109-105 overtime thriller at Providence,
No. 6 Michigan State trailed most of the way, but ended up grabbing a 65-64 win at Minnesota to stay unbeaten in the Big Ten. No. 13 Purdue won their second straight, defeating Manny Harris-less Michigan, 69-59. In Evanston. Northwestern beat Illinois for the first time since 2004, 73-68.
No. 3 Kansas remains atop the Big 12 after pounding Iowa State, 84-61. Oklahoma State stunned No. 10 Kansas State, 73-69, without the services of injured Ray Penn. Missouri defeated Nebraska, 70-53, to keep the Cornhuskers winless in the conference. Colorado gave Texas A&M a battle in College Station before falling, 67-63. Texas Tech moved to 2-3 in the conference with a 75-65 win over Oklahoma.
UAB defeated Marshall at the buzzer, 61-59, in a battle of C-USA unbeatens. Tulsa joins the Blazers at 5-0, as they snuck past 0-6 Rice, 62-58. The Owls and East Carolina are the only two winless teams left in the conference. The Pirates fell at previously winless Southern Miss, 68-53. UTEP, meanwhile, is a game back of the leaders, as they crushed UCF in Orlando, 96-59. Memphis is right there too, as they rebounded from their midweek loss to the Miners to beat Houston, 92-77.
No. 14 BYU got a game from San Diego State, but the Cougars remain unbeaten in the Mountain West, thanks to a 71-69 win. New Mexico remains two games behind BYU, as they topped Colorado State, 82-64. UNLV is also two games back after they picked up a 79-70 win at TCU. Air Force at Utah moved to 3-2 with a 71-54 win over still winless Air Force.
California now leads the Pac-10 at 5-2 after a 65-61 home win over Oregon State. But five teams are just behind them at 4-3. Arizona is among the group, as they won at Arizona State, 77-58, depriving the Sun Devils of the chance to join Cal at the top of the standings. UCLA joined the tie for second, as they defeated Washington State, 74-62. Stanford is also at 4-3 after they handed Oregon their fifth straight loss, 84-69. USC also stands at 4-3, though they aren't eligible for the postseason. The Trojans blasted Washington, 87-61.
No. 2 Kentucky should move up to the top spot after they demolished Arkansas, 101-70, in SEC action. Two ranked teams lost. No. 8 Tennessee got hammered at Georgia, while No. 23 Mississippi State fell 62-57 at Alabama. Chandler Parsons did it again, hitting a 3 at the buzzer to give Florida a 58-56 win over South Carolina. Vanderbilt is now 4-0 after they topped Auburn, 82-74. No. 22 Ole Miss kept LSU winless in the conference, winning 73-63 in Baton Rouge.
After the jump, I'll take a look at what happened in the rest of Division I.
For the moment, Maine is tied atop the America East with Vermont at 5-1. The Black Bears won at Hartford, 77-69. The Catamounts will move to 6-1 if they beat Binghamton tomorrow.
Campbell is now alone atop the A-Sun at 7-2 after they defeated Lipscomb, 82-79. That loss puts the Bison two games behind the Camels in the loss column. ETSU couldn't stay in a first-place tie. The Bucs fell at Belmont, 100-89. The Bruins are now also two games back. Jacksonville is also at 7-3 after beating USC Upstate, 65-52.
Weber State is still in front in the Big Sky. The Wildcats rolled past Eastern Washington, 89-67, to get to 7-1. Montana State is two games behind in the loss column, as they defeated in-state rival Montana, 61-52.
Coastal Carolina picked up a crucial 64-56 win at Charleston Southern to increase their hold on the Big South race. Radford is now two games behind the Chanticleers, as they fell to Liberty at home by a 60-55 score. VMI defeated the team who was tied with Charleston Southern at 5-3, High Point, by a score of 94-91.
Pacific remains a game up in the loss column on UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly in the Big West. The Tigers defeated 3-3 UC Davis, 77-61, while the Gauchos and Mustangs also won. UCSB beat Cal State Fullerton, 85-80, while Cal Poly won another close one, 73-72, over Cal State Northridge. UC Riverside remains in last, despite picking up a 65-56 win over UC Irvine.
Three teams are tied at 8-1 atop the CAA. Old Dominion held off William & Mary, 58-55; Northeastern picked up a resounding 74-62 win over VCU at Matthews Arena; and George Mason won at Towson, 80-71, to stay in a tie atop the league. The Tribe are now two games back, alongside Drexel, who moved to 6-3 by sending Hofstra to their sixth straight loss, 75-62. Delaware won their second league contest of the year, topping Georgia State, 76-74 in overtime.
Butler had a far easier time with Illinois-Chicago than they did with Loyola, winning 84-55 to move to 9-0 in the Horizon. Detroit dropped their second straight game to fall to 5-4 in the conference. Wright State defeated the Titans, 61-59, to get themselves their fifth conference win. Valparaiso also stands at 5-4, as they hammered Loyola-Chicago, 86-67.
Cornell picked up their second straight easy win to start the Ivy campaign, blasting Columbia, 77-51. Harvard is also 2-0, as they won at Dartmouth by a 62-58 score.
Central Michigan and Northern Illinois are tied atop the MAC West Division and overall standings. The Chippewas handed the Huskies their first conference loss, 81-75. Kent State routed Akron at home, 87-70, putting both teams at 3-2 in the MAC East. Ohio finally got its first conference win, sending Buffalo to their second straight blowout defeat, 99-77. Miami defeated Bowling Green, 64-52, to join the four-way tie atop the division. In the West, Western Michigan got to 3-2 with an easy 73-41 win over Toledo. Eastern Michigan and Ball State are both now 2-3, as the Eagles defeated the Cardinals, 57-53.
Morgan State had to rally against Delaware State, but the Bears won 72-62, to move to 5-0 in the MEAC. Bethune-Cookman remains a game back in the loss column, thanks to a 57-52 win over Hampton. Florida A&M handed Howard their second conference loss, 72-65. Maryland-Eastern Shore moved to 3-2 with a 70-62 win over Coppin State.
Drake moved to 5-4 in the MVC by beating second-place Wichita State, 78-64. The Shockers had a bit of a letdown after their big home win over leaders UNI Tuesday. Bradley is also 5-4 after they kept Evansville winless, 74-64. Southern Illinois got to 4-5 by beating Illinois State in overtime, 81-80. The Redbirds stayed in that big group with 5 league wins thanks to the loss.
Robert Morris took temporary possession of first in the NEC with a 66-53 win over Monmouth. Quinnipiac can join the Colonials with a victory over Central Connecticut State tomorrow. St. Francis (NY) is a game back after they slipped past Wagner, 57-54. Long Island also stands just behind the lead pack, after beating Mt. St. Mary's, 67-58. Sacred Heart joins Monmouth at two games behind the leaders after they beat Bryant, 84-60.
Murray State moved to 11-0 in the OVC with an 80-61 win at Southeast Missouri, while Morehead State is 9-1 after a 69-53 win at Eastern Kentucky. In other action, Austin Peay defeated Jacksonville State, 66-64, in a battle of 4-4 teams. Eastern Illinois also ended a four-game losing streak with a 60-46 win at Tennessee-Martin, who remains without a conference victory in the post-Lester Hudson era.
Lehigh tied archrival Lafayette for the Patriot League lead by picking up a 75-57 home win over the Leopards. Navy came from behind to grab a 62-56 home win against Army. That means the Middies are now 3-2 in the conference, while the Black Knights are 2-3. American and Holy Cross both tied with Army now, as the Eagles beat the Crusaders, 71-64, in Washington. Bucknell is also 2-3, as their 62-61 win over Colgate, leaves the Raiders in last place all by themselves.
Appalachian State closed Western Carolina's lead in the SoCon North to a game in the loss column by beating the Catamounts, 87-74. Chattanooga, however, is now two games back in the loss column, as they fell at Elon, 83-80. In the South, Davidson got to .500 in the conference with a 91-87 win over Georgia Southern. The Citadel got to 4-4 as well, as they defeated Furman, 70-60.
There are still two unbeatens in the Southland. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won at UT San Antonio, 66-62, to move to 5-0. Sam Houston State is 4-0 after winning 67-64 at UT Arlington. Stephen F. Austin moved into a tie atop the East Division with a 62-51 win over Southeastern Louisiana. McNeese State got to 2-2 in the conference with a 68-53 win over Central Arkansas. They're a half game behind the Lumberjacks in the division. Nicholls State joins the Lions in a tie two games back, as they fell to Northwestern State, 99-98, in double OT.
Texas Southern moved to 5-1 in the SWAC with a 74-73 win over Mississippi Valley State. Jackson State joins TSU in a tie for first after they defeated Grambling, 75-59. Arkansas-Pine Bluff topped Prairie View A&M in a matchup of teams fighting for a spot in the lead group, 62-54. Alabama State, joins the Panthers 4-2 after their 69-62 victory at Alcorn State.
Oakland got a battle from South Dakota State, but they beat the Jackrabbits, 85-82, to stay unbeaten atop the Summit League. IUPUI remains a game behind, thanks to their own close win. The Jaguard defeated UMKC, 65-64. Oral Roberts got to 6-3 by defeating Centenary, 87-56.
Arkansas State lost their second Sun Belt game, 78-63, at Florida Atlantic. However, since no other team has fewer than three losses in the league, the Red Wolves still have sole possession of first overall. Middle Tennessee won their second game against Western Kentucky in the span of six days, winning 84-74 in Bowling Green. Troy fell to 5-4 after losing at UL Lafayette, 69-54. Denver pounded South Alabama, 71-48, at home as you'd expect. Florida International defeated Arkansas-Little Rock, 96-81, in a matchup of the last place teams from the two Sun Belt divisions.
Louisiana Tech once again has sole possession of the WAC lead. That's because the Bulldogs won in Hawai'i, 65-60, while New Mexico State fell at San Jose State, 93-84. Two sets of Aggies are now tied for second, as NMSU is joined by Utah State 60-48 victors over Idaho. Nevada was unable to keep pace, however. The Wolf Pack fell 87-77at Fresno State, ending the Bulldogs' three-game losing streak.
No. 15 Gonzaga moved to 5-0 in the WCC with a 85-69 win over Loyola Marymount. Santa Clara won their first conference game, 66-65, at San Francisco.
Since I focused more on matchups involving conference contenders in this post, if you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a list of all the night's scores along the right side of the page.
For more on Saturday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.
Sunday's TV schedule is a light one, thanks to the presence of NFL playoff games in the late afternoon and evening hours.
- Central Connecticut State at Quinnipiac, 12 p.m. ET (NESN/Full Court): The Bobcats can join defending champion Robert Morris at 7-1 in the Northeast Conference with a win.
- Cincinnati at Louisville, 12 p.m. ET (Big East/Full Court): This is one the Cardinals have to win if they want to stay in the NCAA hunt.
- No. 19 Georgia Tech at Florida State, 12 p.m. ET (Raycom/Full Court): The winner of this one will be among the group with two losses in the ACC.
- Albany at Stony Brook, 12 p.m. ET (America East/Full Court): The Seawolves should be able to stay a game behind the America East lead.
- No. 9 Pittsburgh at Seton Hall, 2 p.m. ET (Big East/Full Court): The Panthers are looking to rebound from their first Big East loss of the season.
- Penn State at No. 18 Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten): The Badgers have already beaten the Nittany Lions, the only winless team in the conference, in State College.
- Rider at Niagara, 4 p.m. ET (MAAC/Full Court): These two could have been contenders, but they currently reside in the bottom half of the Metro Atlantic standings.
- Iowa at Indiana, 6 p.m. ET (Big Ten): The Hoosiers are looking for their third straight Big Ten win, while the Hawkeyes are looking to move to 2-5.
- Missouri State at Creighton, 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU): Surprisingly, these two are both 4-4 in the Valley.
For more on games that will only be telecast regionally, like No. 20 Northern Iowa at Indiana State, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.