Colorado tops Arizona on day of upsets
K.J. Simpson and Tristan da Silva led a second-half surge that carried Colorado to a 79-63 upset of No. 2 Arizona on Saturday, matching the highest-ranked opponent ever beaten by the Buffaloes.
Fans stormed the floor after the Buffaloes (19-10, 11-8 Pac-12) ended the Wildcats’ nine-game winning streak.
The loss by the nation’s second-ranked team added to a shocking Saturday in which top-ranked Gonzaga, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 Kansas and No. 6 Kentucky all lost, as did No. 9 Texas Tech.
Da Silva scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and Simpson scored all but one of his 13 points after halftime.
Arizona (25-3, 15-2) led 3732 at the break, but the Wildcats’ leading scorer, Bennedict Mathurin, was held scoreless in the second half after scoring 12 points in the first half. Azuolas Tubelis led the Wildcats with 13 points.
at No. 23 St. Mary’s 67, No. 1 Gonzaga 57:
Tommy Kuhse had 14 points and six rebounds and the Gaels beat the Bulldogs to prevent Gonzaga from completing another undefeated run in the West Coast Conference.
Fans poured onto the court at in a wild celebration of the Gaels’ 18th consecutive win at McKeon Pavilion.
St. Mary’s ended Gonzaga’s 17-game winning streak, beating a No. 1 team for the first time since knocking off the Bulldogs in the 2019 conference tournament title game.
Matthias Tass added 13 points for the Gaels (24-6, 12-3) and made a pivotal block with 1:15 seconds remaining. Kyle Bowman made a pair of clutch threepointers after missing his first seven shots.
Rasir Bolton scored 16 points for Gonzaga (24-3, 13-1). Drew Timme had six
points and eight rebounds, but shot two for 10 for the Bulldogs, who had already clinched the WCC regularseason title.
St. Mary’s had lost seven straight to its rivals from the Pacific Northwest, including five straight at home, before stunning the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs had won 34 consecutive conference games, 33 by double-digits.
at No. 17 Tennessee 67, No. 3 Auburn 62:
Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points and Zakai Zeigler had 11 of his 13 points in the second half to lead the Volunteers over the Tigers.
Kennedy Chandler had 13 and Josiah-Jordan James added 10 for Tennessee (21-7, 12-4 Southeastern Conference), which improved its record at home to 15-0 this season.
Auburn (25-4, 13-3) was led by Jabari Smith with 27 points. K.D. Johnson had 18 points as Auburn lost on the road for the third straight time.
Tennessee led by 10 with two minutes left in the game, but Auburn chipped away at the lead.
at Michigan State 68, No. 4 Purdue 65:
Tyson Walker made a tiebreaking threepointer with three seconds left, helping the Spartans top the Boilermakers.
Michigan State (19-9, 10-7) gave Tom Izzo his 662nd victory, matching Bob Knight’s total at Indiana for the record by a coach at a Big Ten school.
Purdue (24-5, 13-5) had won three straight and nine of 10 overall.
at No. 10 Baylor 80, No. 5 Kansas 70:
Flo Thamba had 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 and the Bears overcame a big early deficit to beat the Jayhawks, avenging an embarrassing loss three weeks earlier and keeping Kansas from clinching a share of its 20th Big 12 title.
Baylor (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) didn’t take the lead until the opening minute after halftime, and went ahead to stay at 65-63 on Thamba’s jumper with 4:07 left.
That came after Ochai Abaji, who had 27 points for Kansas, made a tying threepointer.
The Jayhawks (23-5, 12-3) had their four-game winning streak snapped.
at No. 18 Arkansas 75, No. 6 Kentucky 73:
JD Notae had 30 points and eight assists, and the Razorbacks topped the Wildcats in a matchup of teams peaking late in the season.
Jaylin Williams added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Arkansas (23-6, 12-4) helped create a tie with Kentucky (23-6, 12-4) and Tennessee for second place in the SEC with two games to play.