Indiana’s upset of No. 1 Purdue stands out
A win against the top-ranked team in the country always provides a special memory for those who witness the feat. If said victory happens to come against one’s rival, the contest becomes elevated to epic status, a “Where were you when” moment. This makes Indiana the easy choice as the biggest winner of an action-packed weekend in men’s college basketball thanks to its triumph over No. 1 Purdue.
The Hoosiers shook off a loss at Maryland in their most recent outing and fed off the electric atmosphere in Assembly Hall to build an early doubledigit lead against the Boilermakers. Purdue rallied as good teams do, but IU made the needed plays down the stretch to seal it. Trayce Jackson-Davis further etched his name in the lore of IU’s storied history, recording 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
As for Purdue, the team’s first road loss of the campaign won’t be all that damaging. The Boilermakers are still two games clear in the Big Ten standings and remain well positioned for a top regional seed. The result also did nothing to diminish the player of the year candidacy of Zach Edey, who put up 33 points and 18 rebounds while doing everything he could to lead Purdue’s comeback. And hey, we don’t have to wait long for the rematch in three weeks at Mackey Arena.
Other weekend winners and losers:
WINNERS Texas
The Longhorns pulled off arguably the biggest road win of the weekend, rallying from 14 down in the first half to overtake Kansas State 69-66 in Manhattan. Texas now sits alone in first place in the high-powered Big 12, making a strong case that coach Rodney Terry should have the interim tag removed.
Iowa State
Elsewhere in the rugged Big 12, the Cyclones snapped a mini skid with a 6853 takedown of Kansas to split the season series and take over second in the ridiculously balanced conference race.
The Pac-12 leaders
The league remains a three-horse race as UCLA, Southern Cal and Arizona all took care of business at home. The Los Angeles schools handled their respective dates with Washington and Washington State, while the Wildcats dispatched the league’s Oregon representatives in Tucson.
Anybody who watched Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s
You might have lost a bit of sleep, and if you’re a Gonzaga fan you probably weren’t pleased with the final outcome. But watching Gaels guard Aidan Mahaney and the Zags forward Drew Timme trade big shots down the stretch was pure entertainment. Ultimately, it was a huge overtime win for Saint Mary’s, which is now two games up in the West Coast Conference. They’ll do it again in less than a month in Spokane.
Duke
Jon Scheyer has been part of the Duke program for a long time and therefore needed no introduction to the intensity associated with the North Carolina rivalry. A big night from veteran Jeremy Roach and key contributions at the defensive end from freshman Dereck Lively II helped him win his first bout with the Tar Heels as the head coach.
Florida Atlantic
FAU saw its 20-game winning streak come to an end Thursday at AlabamaBirmingham. Although the Owls came out flat Saturday against Charlotte, they rallied in the second half for a 71-67 victory to avoid a second defeat.
Maryland
The Terrapins followed their quality win against Indiana with a romp past Big Ten cellar dweller Minnesota to run their winning streak to four games. They have strengthened their tournament chances and jumped into a sixway tie for third place in league.
Virginia Commonwealth
The Rams are back in front of the topsy-turvy Atlantic 10 thanks to Friday’s 73-65 victory in a first-place showdown at Saint Louis. Adrian “Ace” Baldwin led the way with 37 points for VCU.
Drake
The Bulldogs avoided an upset in an overtime thriller against Valparaiso to retain a share of the Missouri Valley Conference lead with league newcomer Belmont, Southern Illinois and Bradley.
Princeton
The Tigers swept Cornell and Columbia at home to assume first place alone in the Ivy League. Yale, riding a fivegame winning steak, is one game behind.
LOSERS Florida
The Gators made a big move toward the NCAA Tournament bubble with a mid-week triumph against Tennessee but came up short in their attempt to follow it up Saturday at Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils continued to trend in the wrong direction, suffering their fifth loss in their last six outings in Saturday’s 75-70 setback to Oregon.
The ACC leaders
Virginia missed an opportunity to grab the top spot in the conference thanks to a loss at in-state foe Virginia Tech. Clemson, however, couldn’t take advantage as the Tigers suffered their first home loss of the season at the hands of Miami. Virginia and Clemson now are joined by Pittsburgh with three losses in the league.
Anybody who watched Auburn-Tennessee
It will go down as a win for Tennessee, but the 46-43 brick-laying fest will not be featured in the museum of hardwood masterpieces. The two teams combined made just 30 of 118 field-goal attempts (25.4%), including an abysmal 5-for-48 from 3-point range.
Colgate
The Raiders still lead the Patriot League by two games, but their 26game conference winning streak was stopped Saturday in a 61-60 loss at American.
UC Santa Barbara
From the “anybody can have a bad night” department, the Big West-leading Gauchos were stunned 72-67 at Cal State Northridge, which entered Saturday’s contest with one league victory.