I Slept On It: Oregon Tops USC; Arizona Wins At Stanford

Big Ten

No. 9 Iowa (15-3, 6-0) didn't have the easiest time at Rutgers (6-14, 0-7), but the Hawkeyes remained undefeated in the Big Ten with a 90-76 road win, powered in large part by Peter Jok's career night—29 points on a 10-19 shooting night, 5-9 from three. Jarrod Uthoff and Anthony Clemmons scored 20 apiece for the league co-leaders.

Ohio State (12-8, 4-3) gave No. 22 Purdue (17-3, 5-2) a game at Mackey Arena, but the Boilermakers had just a bit too much for the Buckeyes last, prevailing 75-64, depriving the Buckeyes of what would have been an impressive road win for their profile.

Wisconsin (11-9, 3-4) survived its trip to Penn State (11-9, 2-5), holding off a late Nittany Lion rally to win 66-60. Ethan Happ led the Badgers with 20 on the night.

Pac-12

Oregon (15-4, 4-2) extended its long home win streak over No. 21 USC (15-4, 4-2), which lost its share of first place when the Ducks prevailed 89-81. Elgin Cook scored 26 to lead Dana Altman's squad. In Berkeley,California (13-6, 3-3) got itself to. 500 in conference and snapped a three-game skid by handing Arizona State (11-8, 1-5) its second straight defeat, 75-70.

The two later tips both went in favor of the visitors, who each won handily. No. 12 Arizona (16-3, 4-2) continued its dominance over Stanford (10-7, 3-3), though the Cardinal tightened what ended up a Wildcat 71-57 win in the second half. Gabe York led Arizona with 19, while Ryan Anderson contributed 18. Meanwhile, Utah (14-5, 3-3) romped in Pullman, topping Washington State (9-9, 1-5) 92-71, thanks to hot three point shooting from Jordan Loveridge (22 points) and Brandon Taylor (21).

SEC

John Calipari got his first win at Bud Walton Arena as Kentucky (14-4, 4-2) head coach, as the 23rd-ranked Wildcats got 24 from Tyler Ulis as they defeated Arkansas (9-9, 3-3), 80-66. It was not the ideal result for the Razorbacks' questionable tournament profile.

American

Cincinnati (14-6, 4-3) got its tourney hopes back on track with a 76-72 home win over Memphis (12-6, 3-2), who fell out of pole position for top seed in the AAC Tournament as a result. Troy Caupain led the Bearcats, who still have work to do to get into the at-large picture, with 25.

Elsewhere

It took three overtimes, but Hofstra (13-6, 5-2) won at Northeastern (12-8, 4-3) for the first time since 2011, claiming a 96-92 thriller to retain a share of the CAA lead. In fact, the only first-place squad to lose to a non-first place squad on Thursday night was Towson (13-7, 4-3), who fell at home to the College of Charleston (11-7, 3-4) by a final score of 40-37. Really. UNC Wilmington, James Madison, and William & Mary all won at home, thus remain in a four-way tie with the Pride.

Monmouth's (14-5, 6-2) road to an at-large hit a bit of a speed bump, as the Hawks fell out of the MAAC lead with a 78-71 loss at Manhattan (8-10, 5-4), thanks in part to Calvin Crawford's 20 points. Monmouth now has losses to the Jaspers, Canisius, and Army to go with its three Top 50 wins.

Belmont (14-6, 6-0) remained perfect in OVC play heading into its Saturday OVC showdown with also-perfect Tennessee State Tigers by winning at UT Martin (10-10, 2-3) 82-72.

Chattanooga (17-3, 6-1) now leads ETSU (12-7, 5-1) by a half-game in the SoCon race. The Mocs had no trouble winning at UNC Greensboro (6-13, 2-4) 73-60, while the Bucs knocked Mercer (14-5, 4-2) out of the lead pack 65-63 after overtime.

UT Arlington (14-3, 5-1) picked up a big Sun Belt road win, blowing out Arkansas State (9-9, 5-2) in Jonesboro by a 91-64 count to knock the Red Wolves out of a share of first. Little Rock (16-2, 6-1) is a half-game up on the Mavericks, though they needed five extra minutes to grab a 77-74 win at Texas State (8-7, 2-4).

Control of the WCC race now belongs to Saint Mary's (16-2, 7-1), which defeated Gonzaga (14-5, 6-2) for the first time in its last nine tries , 70-67. The Bulldogs look more and more like a bubble team with each passing game. BYU (14-6, 5-2) sits in third, a half-game behind the second-place Zags, as the Cougars picked up a 91-80 victory at Loyola Marymount (9-10, 2-6).

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