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I Slept On It: Texas A&M Falls In Fayetteville

Wednesday's schedule didn't look great at first glance, but appearances can be deceiving, as we did see a Top 5 team go down. Plus, Clemson continued to dominate in Greenville, while home dominance continued to be the story in the Pac-12.

By ChrisDobbertean
Gunnar Rathbun-USA TODAY Sports

ACC

Can Clemson (13-7, 6-2) really only earn a bid based on home wins? The Tigers sure seem interested in sweeping their ACC home games and making the Committee think long and hard about that accomplishment. On Wednesday, they handled Pittsburgh (16-4, 5-3) fairly easily, 73-60, thanks in part to 22 points from Jaron Blossomgame.

No. 16 Louisville (17-3, 6-1) defeated Virginia Tech (12-9, 4-4) for the 11th consecutive time, 91-83, claiming a lengthy game that featured 54 fouls, 72 free throw attempts, and a mere four Hokie scorers.

In a matchup of two teams out of the at-large picture in Raleigh, Georgia Tech (12-8, 2-5) dropped North Carolina State (11-10, 1-7) 90-83. It was not the brightest moment for Wolfpack hoops, as Cat Barber scored 36, but was still involved in one of the most pathetic alley-oop attempts you'll ever see.

Big 12

No. 17 Baylor (16-4, 6-2) survived its trip to Oklahoma State (10-10, 2-6) 69-65 to stay in the Big 12's lead group. Taurean Prince and Rico Gathers led the Bears with 17 and 16 respectively on the night.

Big East

There were no upsets in the Big East on Wednesday night, as Seton Hall (14-6, 4-4) pounded visiting St. John's (7-14, 0-8) 79-60 and Butler (14-6, 3-5) having a slightly more difficult time with DePaul (7-13, 1-7), prevailing 67-53 at Hinkle.

Marquette (14-7, 3-5 Big East) won its non-conference finale, 74-60 over Stetson (8-14, 2-4 A-Sun).

Big Ten

Rutgers (6-15, 0-8) continues to own a goose egg in the conference win column, thanks to a 68-57 Michigan (16-5, 6-2) victoru in Ann Arbor, powered by Duncan Robinson's 18 points. But the most remarkable thing about this game was Rutgers committing a turnover on the front end of a Michigan one-and-one.

No. 21 Purdue (18-4, 6-3) had a much more difficult time at Minnesota (6-15, 0-9), but the Boilermakers prevailed 68-64, thanks to 24 from Vince Edwards.

Pac-12

Home teams dominated on Wednesday night, as usual.

Colorado (16-5, 5-3) completed a potentially important season sweep of Stanford (11-8, 4-4) and it wasn't close in Boulder. The Buffaloes were in control throughout their 91-75 win, who received an impressively efficient performance from George King, who scored 23 on eight field goals (on nine attempts) and five foul shots (on five attempts).

Jakob Poeltl fell just short of a double-double (21 points, 9 rebounds) as he led Utah (16-5, 5-3) to a 73-64 victory over California (14-7, 4-4) at the Huntsman Center. The Golden Bears' Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 17, while Ivan Rabb earned a double-double of his own (12 and 12).

SEC

No unbeaten teams remain in SEC play heading into (for 10 teams anyway) the SEC/Big 12 Challenge as No. 5 Texas A&M (17-3, 7-1) fell at Arkansas (10-10, 4-4) 74-71 in yet another foul filled contest this week.

The Aggies' Danuel House led all scorers with 24, but DJ Hogg's three-point attempt fell short just before the buzzer. Moses Kingsley led the victorious Hogs with 18.

Ole Miss (13-7, 3-5) got Stefan Moody back and he scored 24, hitting half of his field goal and three-point attempts, to lead the Rebels past Auburn (9-10, 3-5) in Oxford.  

No. 20 Kentucky (16-4, 6-2) warmed up for its Saturday showdown with Kansas by embarrassing Missouri (8-12, 1-6) 88-54 at Rupp. Tyler Ulis (20 points, 8 assists) and Derek Willis (18 points, 12 boards) led the Wildcats on the night.

American Athletic

Temple (11-8, 5-3) followed up its big Sunday win over SMU with a damaging 64-61 loss at East Carolina (10-11, 2-6). Tulsa (13-7, 5-3) dropped its first game as the American's projected auto bid holder at Houston (14-6, 4-4) 81-66, while USF (5-17, 2-7) won at Tulane (8-14, 1-8) 73-60 to get itself out of last place.

Atlantic 10

Dayton (17-3, 7-1) got 18 points from Kendall Pollard as the Flyers nearly doubled up Saint Louis (8-12, 3-5) 73-37. Saint Joseph's (17-3, 6-1) kept pace with the Flyers and A 10 leaders VCU by topping UMass (8-11, 1-6) 78-70. Further down the standings, Rhode Island (12-8, 4-3) got itself over .500 in conference play by topping visiting Fordham (11-8, 2-6) 79-63.

Elsewhere

UC Irvine (16-5, 6-0) won at Cal State Northridge (7-14, 2-4) by 10, 73-63 to jump a win up on fellow unbeaten Hawai'i in the Big West.

No. 22 Wichita State (15-5, 9-0) keeps on cruising, rolling past Loyola of Chicago (9-12, 2-7) 80-54 to wrap up a perfect first half of the Missouri Valley season.

In the Mountain West, Boise State (15-6, 6-2) now sits two games behind San Diego State for the conference lead, as the Broncos dropped a road game to UNLV (13-8, 4-4) 87-77.

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