10 Stats from an Action-Packed Saturday in College Basketball

Saturdays throughout the winter belong to Division I college basketball.

There were 140 games played yesterday and most lived up to the billing.

Don't believe me? Look at the numbers.

Struggling teams overcame adversity—several while facing the nation's elite squads—and millions of basketball fans tuned into the action.

52.0

Percentage of preseason top-25 teams who were ranked entering Saturday

This is why they play the games. University alumni don't really know their teams' capabilities, neither do expert analysts or even the coaches themselves.

Powerhouse programs North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State have been highly-ranked in every major poll since November.

Among the preseason top 25, though, barely half still have numbers next to their team names.

Honestly, who saw Murray State (21-0) and Virginia (17-3) coming? Both won this past Saturday.

28,740

Attendance at the Carrier Dome for the West Virginia-Syracuse game

The largest crowd of the day was treated to an exciting and controversial finish as Orange fans packed the seats at Syracuse's Carrier Dome for a match-up with the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Big East foes were never separated by more than six points.

The visitors dominated on the boards, but ultimately lost 63-61 after an obvious goaltend by Syracuse's Baye Keita went uncalled.

It was the third straight game that center Fab Melo missed because of an unresolved academic issue. The Orange have won two of contests.

72.7

Percent chance that the Kansas Jayhawks would beat the Iowa State Cyclones, according to ESPN's AccuScore

Before their visit to Ames, Iowa, the Kansas Jayhawks were a perfect 7-0 in the Big 12 conference. Naturally, the expectation was that they would continue to roll.

Shockingly, junior forward Thomas Robinson was far from dominant and the home team eked out a 72-64 victory over the nation's No. 5 program.

The 10,000 game simulations via AccuScore expected Robinson to drop 23 points and rack up 13 rebounds (not 13 and seven, respectively).

Iowa State had lost to the Jayhawks two weeks prior.

Four

Number of top-25 teams that lost to unranked opponents

Aside from the Iowa State Cyclones, three other unheralded squads came away with surprising wins on Saturday versus ranked teams.

The Pittsburgh Panthers earned just their second Big East success of 2011-12 against the top 10-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. Pitt surrendered only 22 points in the first half and the final score was 72-60.

Colorado State of the Mountain West beat San Diego State definitively, 77-60. There was a double-digit separation throughout the final 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Kansas State Wildcats were the only one of the 19 ranked teams in action to fall at home. Steven Pledger and the Oklahoma Sooners defeated them 63-60 for their second win over K-State this season.

20.7

Percentage of games that were decided by one possession

Of the 140 Division I contests played on January 28, 29 were truly in doubt until the very end (20.7 percent).

In this statistic, I'm counting all games that were won by three points or less and/or needed to be played beyond regulation.

Nail-biters were the norm from power conferences like the ACC, Big 12 and Big East to less prominent ones including the Summit, Big West and Missouri Valley, where the Drake Bulldogs needed three overtimes to finish off the Wichita State Shockers, 93-86.

With 179 combined points, that MVC showdown was the highest-scoring contest of the day.

Ten

Number of 30-point scorers across the nation

Individual statistics in college basketball tend to be less ridiculous than NBA ones because games are shorter (by eight minutes) and the shot clock is extended (by 11 seconds). As a result, there are fewer possessions, fewer shot attempts and not as many plays to be made.

Still, there were 10 scorers who put their teams on their backs with 30-plus points.

Shane Gibson of the Sacred Heart Pioneers was the high man with 41, but Reggie Hamilton wasn't far behind. He led the Oakland Golden Grizzlies with 37.

Mike DiNunno and Jaron Jones—each of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels—delivered 33 and 30 points, respectively.

Four 30-point scorers came from the power conferences, including freshman Moe Harkless. He managed an even 30 for the St. John's Red Storm against the Duke Blue Devils in a losing effort.

2010

Calendar year of Towson University's last win before Saturday's victory

After an NCAA-record 41 consecutive losses, the Towson Tigers made headlines with a 66-61 triumph over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks.

At 1-22, Towson is all but assured to miss the NCAA tournament for the 21st straight season, but this victory did not evoke memories of 1991.

Instead, this was a throwback to December 29, 2010, when the men's team last won a regular-season basketball game.

Congrats on finally getting off the schneid.

Six

Number of teams that earned their first conference wins of the season

The Towson Tigers weren't the only team amid a miserable campaign to celebrate on Saturday. In total, six schools previously winless in conference play added one to their win columns.

The USC Trojans, for instance, defended their home court against the similarly unimpressive Utah Utes. Both are rotting in the Pac-12 cellar.

Notable weaklings who did not pull through include the Binghamton Bearcats and Texas Tech Red Raiders. The former team now holds the distinction as the nation's most pathetic will a 0-21 record, while Texas Tech let an opportunity to turn around its season pass by on the road against the No. 2 Missouri Tigers.

Two

Number of wins by 30 points or more

In conference play, competing teams are generally very evenly matched, which explains why so many recent games have gone down to the wire.

However, there are exceptions. A pair of legitimate blowouts transpired on Saturday.

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks faltered again in the absence of longtime head coach Mike Adras. They are 3-9 since his sudden resignation after losing 77-43 to the Sacramento State Hornets.

By a similar score, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits pounded the IPFW Mastodons, 74-43. What an awesome team nickname, though.

100-Plus

Number of college basketball topics that trended on twitter

How do I know college basketball had a terrific day? The "twitterverse" blew up with commentary on the action.

Thousands of topics trended across the globe for varying lengths of time, a good deal of them, unfortunately, having to do with Justin Bieber.

College hoops held its own and then some.

At least 100 basketball-related phrases from "Coach K" to "Iowa State" to "Flagrant 2" to "Wow West Virginia" and "Congrats to Towson" were widely tweeted.

February 4 ought to be an even better date—152 games are scheduled.