Six ranked teams went down on Saturday as it was rivalry weekend. There were a lot of big and intriguing games on display. At least one team from every power five conference went down as well as a team from the Big East. Selection Sunday is just over a month away as teams try and position themselves for the NCAA Tournament.
Six Ranked Teams Go Down Saturday
Michigan Upsets #16 Michigan State
One of the best rivalries in college basketball took place between Michigan and Michigan State on Saturday. It was a very sloppy beginning to the game but Michigan was able to get ahead and stay ahead. Michigan State made it very close in the second half but Michigan pulled away for a 77-68 win. Star guard Cassius Winston had a 20-point game but that wasn’t enough as Michigan’s Zavier Simpson has 16 points and eight assists with four threes. This was a much-needed win for the Wolverines as they improve to 14-9.
Oklahoma Upsets #13 West Virginia
Oklahoma has been a very inconsistent team throughout the year. This win against West Virginia was very good. They got an unbelievable performance out of Kristian Doolittle, who had 27 points with 12 rebounds. Their bench also put up 16 points in a huge win. West Virginia had two starter combine for 27 points but the rest only combined for seven. This will be a very good win on their resume as they head into a very important three-game stretch that includes Kansas and Baylor.
UCLA Upsets #23 Arizona
UCLA entered the game only one game over .500 but they’ve won four out of six coming into this game. On the other hand, Arizona only had six losses coming into this game and was ranked #23. UCLA had a one-point lead at the half but then put it on Arizona in the second half. Chris Smith and Tyger Campell had 12 and 15 points respectively and shot a combined 50% from downtown. The bench had a combined 23 points which were critical if they wanted to win. Arizona got a double-double with 14 points and ten assists from Zeke Nnaji but he had the highest point total for them and that’s not enough. They don’t have tournament aspirations, but they sure would like to play spoiler.
Oregon State Stuns #14 Oregon
This is probably the most shocking result on Saturday. Oregon State was going through a rough patch coming into this game against Oregon. They had lost five of six coming into this one and a lot of people didn’t give them a chance. They got good performances out of their starters. Four of their five had double-digits and three of them had over five assists. It was a complete team effort as they shut Oregon down. Late night in the Pac-12 is always crazy and you see why. Oregon has now lost two in a row as they look to rebound against Colorado.
Ranked vs Ranked
#11 Auburn Survives #18 LSU
This was a great game throughout. Auburn only had two losses coming in and it looked they were going to have three. They didn’t play their brand of ball in the first half and LSU took advantage as they took a 42-30 halftime lead. Auburn identified themselves and made it a game in the second half. LSU couldn’t take hold and Auburn tied it to send it to overtime. It was a very close overtime and it took J’Von McCormick‘s 23 points and last-second shot to win 91-90 and escape defeat. Auburn also had two other players hit 20+ points. Skylar May‘s 30 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for LSU was not enough to win the game. This was one of the best games this weekend as two of the SEC’s top dogs took it to the wire.
#12 Seton Hall Beats #10 Villanova
This was one of the best matchups on Saturday as two Big East foes clash. Villanova had the lead into the half but couldn’t finish, even with Saddiq Bey‘s 22 points. Myles Powell had 19 points and had help with Quincy McKnight scoring 14 points with seven rebounds and Sandro Mamukelashvili scoring 17 points with eight rebounds. This is Seton Hall’s first win at Villanova in 18 games which goes back to 1994. The Big East is really tough this year and these two ranked teams play each other once more but they could meet yet again in the Big East Tournament.
Last Shot
With it getting closer to Selection Sunday, every game is important for just about every team in the country. The top of the rankings are starting to stay consistent and that includes 24-0 San Diego State. Chaos continues to show its ugly head this season as we head towards March Madness but that’s what it’s all about.
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