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I Slept On It: Iowa Alone Atop The Big Ten; Arizona Back In The Pac-12

The Hawkeyes are no longer tied with the Hoosiers and Terps, who both lost over the weekend, but they had a tougher time than expected with Minnesota. Out West, the Wildcats completed a home sweep of the L.A. schools. Meanwhile, in the ACC, Syracuse picked up another win, while FSU and Pitt both dropped games they needed.

By ChrisDobbertean
Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

ACC

Thanks to a horrid penultimate possession, Florida State (16-9, 6-7) missed a big opportunity to claim a marquee win, falling to No. 12 Miami (20-4, 9-3) 67-65. Dwayne Bacon's three with under a minute left gave the Seminoles hope, but they simply couldn't convert on a rushed possession where it seems like all five players forgot the simple notion of "time and score." Sheldon McClellan led the victorious Hurricanes with 20 points, though he fell hard on his right ankle a couple of times during the game.

Pittsburgh (17-7, 6-6) is sliding toward the bubble, as the Panthers dropped their third game in a row (and fourth in five)—an 85-64 blowout at No. 9 North Carolina (21-4, 10-2). Brice Johnson scored 19 for the Tar Heels, who look to have reclaimed the mantle of ACC favorite, while Marcus Paige added 15.

Syracuse (18-8, 7-5) won its fifth in a row, running past Boston College (7-18, 0-12) 75-61, largely due to an excellent second half. Freshman Tyler Lydon led the Orange with 20 off the bench, while Matt Milon had a career day for the Eagles—also off the bench—with 25. At this point, the Orange look to be a safer tournament team than either FSU or Pitt.

Big Ten

No. 8 Michigan State (21-5, 8-5) dominated Indiana (20-6, 10-3) earlier in the day in East Lansing, recording an impressive 88-69 win. Naturally, Denzel Valentine had a great day, scoring 30 for the Spartans and dishing out 13 assists. That Hoosier loss means fourth-ranked Iowa (20-5, 11-2) moves into sole possession of first in the Big Ten, though winless Minnesota (6-19, 0-13) gave the Hawkeyes a devil of a time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Still, with a 75-71 win, Iowa recorded its fourth straight 20-win season. Peter Jok led the Hawkeyes with 27, while Jarod Uthoff scored 24 and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Pac-12

Well then, No. 17 Arizona (21-5, 9-4), winners of five in a row, is now tied at the top of the Pac-12 with Oregon Ducks, thanks to an 86-60 home victory over No. 23 USC (18-7, 7-5). Gabe York, who scored his 1000th point as a Wildcat during this one, led Arizona with 17, while the Trojans' Bennie Boatwright led all scorers with just one more. It was a disappointing weekend in the desert for USC, who joins the group of five-loss teams, which numbers four. Only two of them can earn a quarterfinal bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Utah (19-7, 8-5) followed its 0-2 trip to Oregon with a sweep of the Washington schools, demolishing hapless Washington State (9-16, 1-12) 88-47, thanks in part to 25 from Jakob Poeltl.

UCLA (14-11, 5-7) kept its fading hopes alive by winning at Arizona State (14-12, 4-9) 78-65. Jonah Bolden led the Bruins with 16, while Bryce Alford made up for his struggles from the floor (10 points on a 4-11 shooting night) by dishing out 11 assists. Andre Spight led ASU with 21 off the bench.

American Athletic

Temple (16-8, 10-3) is a half-game up on SMU for the American regular season crown and a full game up on Cincinnati for the top seed in the conference tournament following its 77-65 win over USF (5-21, 2-11).

Elsewhere

New Hampshire (15-10, 8-4) gave Stony Brook (22-4, 13-0) a fight on Long Island, but the Seawolves remain perfect in the America East after a 59-58 win. Still, you'll want to keep an eye on the Wildcats during the Championship Fortnight.

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