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Wednesday’s Things to Know: North Carolina rolls Duke as Zion exits with injury; Four ranked teams upset

North Carolina v Duke

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 20: Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels tries to throw the ball in bounds against Cam Reddish #2 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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Duke vs. North Carolina had the nation’s attention on Wednesday night but there were still plenty of other happenings to track in the world of college basketball. Four ranked teams suffered upsets to unranked opponents while the Big East had a shakeup at the top.

No. 8 North Carolina dismantles No. 1 Duke as Zion Williamson exits with injury

It only took 33 seconds, but the entire trajectory of Wednesday night’s storied ACC rivalry between Duke and North Carolina changed once Blue Devil star freshman Zion Williamson literally exploded out of his shoe and left with a knee injury.

Once Williamson exited the contest (preliminarily being called a mild knee sprain), the Tar Heels pounced as they jumped all over Duke for an easy double-digit win.

CBT’s Rob Dauster has plenty more on this one as he breaks down Zion’s impact on the game while talking about Duke’s underperforming supporting cast.

Marquette takes the lead in the Big East following Villanova’s loss to Georgetown

Among the conference races to watch on Wednesday included an intriguing two-horse race in the Big East. The conference began the night with No. 17 Villanova losing back-to-back league games for the first time ever in the reformatted “new” Big East as Georgetown had a convincing upset win.

Following the slip-up by the Wildcats, No. 11 Marquette took advantage as they rallied after a halftime deficit to knock off Butler at home. The win gives the Golden Eagles (11-2 in league play) a current half-game lead in the loss column over Villanova (11-3 in league play) as the season heads into the final stretch. A week from now (Feb. 27) these two teams play in Philly as it could serve as a sort of Big East regular-season title game.

Florida, Syracuse among the night’s bubble winners after upset wins

Besides for Georgetown’s aforementioned win over No. 17 Villanova, two more ranked teams suffered upsets to unranked bubble teams on Wednesday night.

In the ACC, Syracuse earned its best win since the road upset at Duke in early January with a blowout home win over struggling No. 18 Louisville. Given the tumultuous state of the bubble, this could be the win that really helps the Orange get into the field as an at-large as this was an important win before the remaining schedule becomes daunting.

Over in the SEC, Florida continued a recent surge with an impressive overtime road win at No. 13 LSU. Banged up and depleted in this one, the Gators rode the hot hand of senior guard KeVaughn Allen (21 points) in the second half and overtime for their biggest win of the season. With one of the most bizarre bubble profiles in the country, Florida desperately needed this one to avoid the bubble bursting. Now, with a winnable three-game stretch following Wednesday’s win, the Gators could build some momentum before some tough games to end the regular season.

No. 6 Nevada falls to San Diego State

To close out an action-packed night, San Diego State earned the biggest upset of Wednesday with a home win over No. 6 Nevada.

Suffering only their second loss of the season after a 24-1 start, this could wind up being a killer loss for the Wolf Pack. Not only does Nevada have to contend with Utah State being one game behind in the Mountain West standings, but this loss could have potentially big NCAA tournament seeding ramifications.

Although nationally-ranked in the top ten of the AP poll, Nevada doesn’t have nearly the same credibility when it comes to bracketology numbers. The Wolf Pack, remarkably, still haven’t played a single Q1 opponent this season as their non-conference schedule and a weak Mountain West has hurt their strength of schedule. Already slotted as a No. 4 seed by many, this is the type of loss that could drop Nevada to the No. 5 or No. 6 line -- even though they’re currently the No. 6 team in the country.