@ESPNStatInfo
February 27th,
On a Saturday loaded with a bunch of important college basketball games, including potential résumé building and momentum needed games for teams going into the final stretch before tournament play, the impossible happened. For the first time EVER, top six teams ranked in the AP Poll were all downed in a single day.
It all started off with a noon tipoff between No.4 ranked Purdue on the road against a desperate Michigan State team needing a win after losing their previous 5 of 6 including an embarrassing loss at Iowa this past Tuesday. From tip, it was obvious that MSU knew this was a game they needed to have, showing the aggressiveness that had been seen early in conference play. Greg Brown knocked down ealy shots, Julius Marble had one of his better games offensively while having to deal with the load of Zach Edey, Max Christie had his spurts, and AJ Hoggard dished out 6 assist while having a few solid possessions guarding potential top-5 pick Jaden Ivey. In the end, it was Tyson Walker who hit the big shot nailing a 3 to take the 68-65 lead leaving just a second on the clock and winning the game. On Purdue’s half, Edey had his big game with 25 points, but it was a tough 25, and not much of anything else from Purdue, Ivey struggled with 5 turnovers and only one made three (the only 3 Purdue made this game), sharpshooter Sasha Stefanovic couldn’t buy a basket, and just an all around struggle for Purdue as now with this loss, their destiny in obtaining the regular season Big 10 title has gotten a bit tougher.
No.6 Kentucky traveled to No.18 Arkansas in what was anticipated to be an exhilarating SEC top-25 matchup, and it was was no shortage of that. National Player of The Year candidate Oscar Tshiebew put up 30 and 18 giving him his 11th straight double-double and potentially making him the clear leader for the award. Arkansas though, got the best of Tshiebew and the Kentucky Wildcats as JD Notae put up 30 points and edged out a crucial 75-73 win to keep themselves in the conversation for the SEC regular season title. Arkansas created 12 turnovers and generated 20 points off of them hounding the guards of Kentucky. Kentucky’s best shooter Kellan Grady only attempted 3 shots and made just one three. Davion Mintz couldn’t break into the scoring column in his 20 minutes of action as well. Both teams look to finish out the regular season strong as they both already claimed double-byes in the SEC tournament.
In another SEC top-25 matchup, the No.3 ranked Auburn Tigers traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Vols. Before this game, Auburn had won the 6 previous matchups against Tennessee and were looking not only to make it 7, but to also end their two game losing streak on the road. The Vols started fast, but Auburn quickly responded, taking control for most of the 1st half. It was the same story early in the 2nd half as Auburn was up as much as 11. Tennessee themselves though, also responded with a run eventually giving them the lead with just around 8 minutes left in the game. A well-rounded performance with 4 guys scoring in double digits propelled the Vols past the Tigers, including a combined 26 points from the small guards in Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Zeigler in a 67-62 win. It also keeps them in the hunt for the SEC regular season title. Things looked scares for Auburn late in the game as their only offensive option down the stretch was Jabari Smith who ended with 27 and 8. With this loss, it continues to leave the SEC wide open and it gives Auburn its 3rd road loss in a row.
As good as this Arizona team had been with their No.2 ranking to prove it, they were shaken up by conference foo Colorado as the Buffaloes took care of business at home. The Wildcats put up a good performance in the 1st half, going up by 5, but the Buffaloes came out hot in the 2nd out-scoring Arizona by 21 points in that half giving them the 79-63 win. Colorado got a great contribution by potential draft pick Jabari Walker who put up a double-double with 15 and 14. Tristan da Silva stole the show though with his outstanding shooting and scoring 19 in the win. For Arizona it was just a rough night all-around as they shot just 39-percent from the field as a team and 29-percent from three. They also turned the ball over 16 times and gave up 21 points off turnovers. Colorado gets a much needed win to boost any tournament hopes they have for March.
This top 10 matchup that featured the top 2 teams in the Big 12 in Kansas and Baylor was the 2nd time the two would be facing off this seaons with. No.5 Kansas coming into Waco,Texas to face No.10 Baylor. This was a Baylor team that had gotten completely embarrassed by this same Kansas team early in the month in an 83-59 loss in Lawrence. Baylor being down LJ Cryer and Tchamwa Tchatchoua who’s out for the year, showed how deep they are giving Kansas all they could handle. The Jayhawks started off with a 16-4 lead early in this game but the Baylor Bears were able to claw themselves back and go into halftime only down one. Getting double digit scoring production from four guys including a career-high 18 points from Flo Thamba, the Bears were able to handle Kansas winning 80-70 helping their chances at getting back into the 1-line for the tournament. Ochai Agbaji put up 27 points for the Jayhawks but needed 22 shots to do so, and David McCormack had to fight for all 10 points and 13 rebounds he registered in this game. With this win for Baylor, this gives them life for trying to grab the Big 12 regular season title.
In the night cap, the No.1 team in the nation in Gonzaga was facing off against their toughest opponent in conference play on the road in Saint Mary’s. It was the final game in the WCC and senior night for the Gaels. Going into tonight's game, it just had the feel that it could be special for Saint Mary’s and sure enough the Gaels got their 2nd win against an AP-Poll ranked No.1 team in the nation in history (1st coming against Gonzaga in 2017). Saint Mary’s had complete control of this game from start to finish with a 67-57 victory and getting double-digit outputs from four guys, including two major threes from Kyle Bowen to seal the deal. They were also able to slow down All-American Drew Timme to just 6 points on 10 shots. With this win, Saint Mary’s snapped Gonzaga’s 17-game winning streak and gained major momentum and confidence going into conference play. For the Zags, they just have to move on from a terrible and sloppy performance and get ready for tournament time as they look to defend their WCC title.
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