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SATURDAY’S SNACKS: Six top ten teams lose in a wild day

Kansas State v Baylor

WACO, TX - FEBRUARY 4: Barry Brown #5 of the Kansas State Wildcats takes the ball on a fast break after a steal against the Baylor Bears on February 4, 2017 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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SATURDAY’S THINGS TO KNOW

Things got wild in the Big 12 on Saturday as the top three teams in the conference leaders all lost at home to unranked, bubble-bound teams.

It started when Iowa State earned one of the most important wins of the season by beating No. 3 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cyclones snapped the Jayhawks’ 54-game winning streak. I have more on this one here.

After Kansas fell, No. 2 Baylor had a chance to make a move in the Big 12 standings but they lost that opportunity by losing at home to Kansas State. The Wildcats nearly blew a 15-point halftime lead by held on as Kamau Stokes had 15 points. Rob Dauster has more on why this win is so important for Kansas State.

Then to cap it all off, No. 7 West Virginia lost at home to Oklahoma State, 82-75. It is the fifth straight win for the Cowboys, who have played their way off the bubble and into the NCAA tournament.

The afternoon started with an important game in the Big Ten as No. 23 Purdue traveled to No. 17 Maryland. Sophomore Caleb Swanigan had a solid outing and overcame some poor play from Purdue’s other interior options as the Boilers earned a huge road win. I have more on why this one was critical to the rest of Purdue’s season.

The biggest statement of the day was made by No. 13 Oregon, who pounded No. 5 Arizona into submission with an 85-58 win.

Speaking of statements, No. 24 Florida landed their first marquee win of the season as No. 8 Kentucky came to town and caught a backhand from the Gators. It was the best performance of Kasey Hill’s college career.

Keeping with the theme of unranked teams beating ranked teams on the road, Xavier pulled off a win at No. 22 Creighton without Edmond Sumner as the Musketeers had a balanced effort. I have more on why this one helps Xavier so much.

It was also a big afternoon for Syracuse as the Orange beat No. 9 Virginia and head coach Jim Boeheim coached in his 1,000th win with the program (although the NCAA vacated 101 wins, leaving him officially at 899 wins). CBT’s Rob Dauster has more on why this one mattered so much for the Orange and Boeheim and what it means for Syracuse’s NCAA tournament outlook.

Coach K returned to the sidelines for No. 21 Duke as they took down Pitt for a home ACC win. Junior Grayson Allen had 21 points to lead the Blue Devils and CBT’s Rob Dauster has more on the lineup changes that Duke could be using the rest of the season.

STARRED

Jaaron Simmons, Ohio: Facing Akron, the MAC’s only unbeaten team in conference play, the junior guard had a monster outing as Simmons finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in an Ohio win. Simmons went 10-for-16 from the field and he was perfect from the three-point line (5-for-5) and 13-for-16 from the free-throw line.

Angel Delgado, Seton Hall: Maybe the best big man nobody in college basketball is talking about, Delgado had 26 points and 17 rebounds in an overtime road win over Georgetown. The Pirates are fighting to stay in the NCAA tournament picture and Delgado is putting up 15.4 points and 14.7 rebounds per game in 10 Big East games. He’s playing at an All-American level.

Keon Johnson, Winthrop: If Winthrop makes the NCAA tournament, don’t forget about this guy. Johnson went for 39 points in a win over Campbell. The Big South leaders have come to expect big performances like this from Johnson as this tops his previous season high of 38 in a win over Illinois.
RELATED: Get caught up on all of today’s bubble action

REST OF THE TOP 25


  • No. 1 Gonzaga remained undefeated, although their streak of 267 minutes without trailing came to an end in the first half.
  • Easy win for No. 6 Louisville as they ran past Boston College for an ACC road win. Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell both finished with 19 points each.
  • No. 11 UCLA avoided getting upset by Washington.
  • No. 14 Cincinnati handled UConn without much trouble behind 27 points from Kyle Washington.
  • San Diego scored nine first half points and 27 total points as they got mollywhopped by No. 18 Saint Mary’s.
  • Tight win for No. 19 South Carolina over Georgia to stay among the SEC’s elite as P.J. Dozier had 21 points and Sindarius Thornwell had 18.

NOTABLE


  • In the ACC, Miami earned a solid road win at N.C. State as Davon Reed had 26 points. Freshman Dennis Smith Jr. had 31 points and nine assists in the loss for the Wolfpack.
  • Staying in the ACC, Wake Forest pulled off a home win over Georgia Tech as big man John Collins had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
  • TCU earned a Big 12 home win over Texas to keep its NCAA tournament credibility intact. The Horned Frogs had 18 points from Vladimir Brodziansky.
  • The Horizon League race got interesting with Green Bay beating Valparaiso by double digits at home. Kareem Kanter had 17 points and nine rebounds as the win snapped the Crusaders’ eight-game win streak. One game separates first-place Valpo and Green Bay in the conference now.