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I Slept On It: "Giving The Game Away" NIght

Tuesday night was full of drama, as more than one team attempted to win with a late rally, but only Virginia, Georgetown, and San Diego State were ultimately successful.

By ChrisDobbertean
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

ACC

No. 11 Virginia (16-4, 5-3) flat out stole a win at Wake Forest (10-10, 1-7), hitting three treys in the final :17 seconds, including Darius Thompson's banked-in effort at the buzzer to deliver a 72-71 victory to the Cavaliers.

UVa won both of its games rescheduled due to the weekend's Mid-Atlantic winter storm..

Florida State (13-7, 3-5) got its required victory at woeful Boston College (7-17, 0-7) 72-62, thanks to 22 points from Malik Beasley.

Big East

Creighton (14-7, 5-3) gave away a win at Georgetown (13-8, 6-2) 74-73. The now second-place Hoyas outscored the Bluejays 15-3 over the final 2:34 over what was a must-win for both, who are currently on the wrong side of the cut line. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the hosts with 17. Maurice Watson Jr. scored one fewer for the Jays, but he fouled out before the final possession, which arguably cost Creighton a win.

No. 7 Xavier (18-2, 6-2) won the first ever Top 10 matchup in Providence Civic Center/Dunkin' Donuts Center history 75-68 over 10th-ranked Providence (17-4, 5-3). Ben Bentil scored 25 for the Friars, while Kris Dunn filled another stat sheet with 16, 8 boards, 7 dimes, and 7 steals, but the Musketeers had more balance, with five double-figure scorers, led by Jalen Reynolds (who also claimed 11 boards) and Trevon Bluiett, who had 15 apiece.

Big 12

Texas Tech's (12-7, 2-6) at-large hopes continue to diminish. The Red Raiders were no match for top-ranked Oklahoma (17-2, 6-2) in Norman, with the Sooners running away with a 91-67 victory. National Player of the Year Candidate Buddy Hield scored 30 for OU—for the seventh time this season.

It was the same story for the Big 12's other bubble team, as Kansas State (12-8, 2-6) fell by 15 to No. 9 West Virginia (16-3, 5-2) 70-55 as Jonathan Holton recorded a 14-point, 10-board double double. 

In Austin, Texas (13-7, 5-3) split its season series with TCU (9-11, 1-7) with an easy 71-54 triumph. Kerwin Roach Jr. scored 22 for the Longhorns, while Prince Ibeh scored 17 and pulled down 10 rebounds on the night.

Big Ten

The Iowa Hawkeyes are now alone atop the Big Ten. Wisconsin (12-9, 4-4) snapped No. 19 Indiana's (17-4, 7-1) 12-game win streak with an 82-79 overtime win. Yogi Ferrell's 30-point night was in vain, while Nigel Hayes scored 31 and Ethan Happ added 25 for the Badgers.

SEC

South Carolina (18-2, 5-2) had an easier time with Mississippi State (8-11, 1-6) in Columbia than hosts Kentucky and Florida did in recent midweek games, topping the Bulldogs 84-74 in a sluggish game that featured 57 total fouls.

Karl Hess must have seen that foul total as a challenge as his crew called 55 in LSU's (13-7, 6-2) 89-85 victory over Georgia (11-7, 4-4)—a game the Bulldogs nearly won in the final minute, as they outscored the Tigers 16-9 in that span.

Vanderbilt (12-8, 4-4) held off Florida (13-7, 5-3) who scored just 19 in the first half and lost 60-59 at Memorial Gym. Damian Jones led the Commodores with 20 and 12 rebounds, while KeVaughn Allen and Kasey Hill (surprisingly, in his case) scored 16 for the Gators, who also attempted a feverish late comeback.

In a game between two teams far away from the bubble at the moment, Alabama (11-8, 2-5) finished on a 29-9 run to defeat Tennessee (10-10, 3-5) 63-57, snapping the Tide's three-game skid.

American Athletic

Memphis (13-7, 4-3) rebounded from a bad home loss to East Carolina Pirates by knocking UCF (10-8, 4-3) even closer to the reality that it isn't a very good team by a 97-86 count in Orlando.

Elsewhere

Siena (14-7, 7-3) is now a loss behind Monmouth and Saint Peter's in the MAAC, as the Saints completed their Western New York road trip with an 82-70 victory at Niagara (5-16, 3-7).

West Division leader Northern Illinois (16-4, 5-2) surrendered the MAC lead to East standard bearer Kent State (15-5, 6-1), thanks to the combination of the Huskies' 76-66 loss at Akron (16-4, 5-2) and the Golden Flashes' 73-58 home win over Eastern Michigan (10-10, 2-5).

San Diego State (15-6, 8-0) won its eighth straight and seventh Mountain West road contest in a row, barely, 57-54 at Nevada (12-8, 4-4). The Aztecs took the lead with a pair of Winston Shepard foul shots with 3:51 left, so their rally wasn't quite as unbelievable as the others.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16-3, 7-0) is now part of a three-way tie for first in the Southland, thanks to a 73-63 win over Southeastern Louisiana (3-16, 1-5).

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