Around the Top 25: Saturday’s Results

I wanted to put this into two posts, but I had mid-day obligations that prevented me from putting this up between four and seven, so here’s the whole thing.

I dare you to read the whole thing.

*Note* All Bracket Busters scores will have a separate post of their own.

–UPSET–Oklahoma State 61, No. 4 Kansas 60.

Not exactly the girl he was hoping would find him, I’m guessing.

This is a textbook on-the-road upset against a club that is ready to rob you in the middle of February.

Kansas wasn’t ready; Oklahoma State deserved to win this game.

Is this the type of game that will cause Kansas to lose in March?

It’s likely.

No one was able to step up for the ‘Hawks, so you have to figure that Brandon Rush or Mario Chalmers need to take on Alpha Dog personalities as we head into next month.

–UPSET– Villanova 67, No. 13 Connecticut 65.

The Wildcats won’t allow us to decide on how good they really are.

UConn was due for a loss, so this isn’t a total surprise.

What was surprising: Hasheem Thabeet not being as dominant as he is capable of against a softer-yet-still-big Villanova team.

The loss won’t hurt UConn, the win could springboard ‘Nova to a berth, but a win against Marquette and/or Louisville is optimal.

–UPSET–Arizona 65, No. 17 Washington State 55.

Yet another Pac-10 team wins on the road (the Pac-10 has more road wins in conference than any of the other Big Six).

The most refreshing news for ‘Zona fans: Jerryd Bayless was held scoreless in the first half, yet the ‘Cats manage to take out Washington State and put themselves in as a lock for The Dance.

–UPSET–Nebraska 65, No. 22 Texas A&M 59.

It’s time to give up on the Aggies.

They appear to be swan diving towards a 10 seed and a convincing first-round loss to the Pittsburghs and USCs of the world.

–UPSET–Baylor 92, No. 24 Kansas State 86.

Baylor isn’t going quietly and they’re making sure we all know that they’re at the party.

Kansas State, on the other hand, has now lost three-of-four. And I’ve been saying all year long that I have to take Tyler Hansbrough for POTY.

However, Beastley’s utterly ridiculous 44 and 13 have to make me reconsider.

Then again: K-State did lose the game.

Bill Walker threw down 31 and the Wildcats STILL couldn’t get out of Waco with a win.

Curtis Jerrells—the guy who missed the free throws against Oklahoma earlier in the week—put up a team-high 24.

For what it’s worth, this is the only scheduled meeting between these two this year.

–No. 2 Tennessee 66, No. 1 Memphis 62.

You knew it was serious because they had the player introductions televised (properly to the music of Survivor's “Eye of the Tiger").

–No. 5 Duke 86, St. John’s 56.

An expected lashing for the Johnnies.

–No. 6 UCLA 75, Oregon 65.

And Oregon continues to confuse the crap out of us with their uniforms.

The Ducks also held serve for a large part of this game with their lead well into the second half.

But UCLA’s got the better athletes, the better coach, and the better gameplan to sustain the 40 minutes.

Oregon is all but done as far as I’m concerned. With Kansas and Duke slipping, UCLA should be able to sneak back in as a No. 1 seed IF…

–No. 7 Texas 62, Oklahoma 45.

The Longhorns don’t steal it from them.

Texas is now making a late push for a No. 1 seed.

Sounds crazy, but if they win the Big XII tournament, it’s possible. (Remember, they defeated UCLA.)

Also, their resume definitely looks better than Kansas’ at this point.

Is there really this much parity in college basketball?

What I mean by that is: Oklahoma looks great in a comeback against Baylor on Tuesday night—they drop an egg on Saturday.

Blake Griffin had a monstrous 16 and 16, but only appears to be capable of being a consistent producer.

–No. 12 Georgetown 73, Cincinnati 53.

Some thought Cincinnati had a distant shot at an at-large berth—I never did.

Some think that 22-4 Georgetown is a Final Four contender—I still don’t.

Jessie Sapp seeped the life out of the Bearcats and put in a team-high 16.

Hibbert showed more flashes of how important he can be when he wants to; Hibbert had five blocks.

–No. 15 Indiana 85, Northwestern 82.

Whoa there! Lowly Northwestern almost got their first Big Ten win of the year over suddenly-dazed Indiana.

It does make you wonder: Was Indiana lacking in effort, or did they purposely ease off the gas to send a message?

Have we all agreed to stop writing “Indiana” in our brackets after the fourth line, regardless of opponent?

A huge story just slips under the headlines here…

–No. 19 Michigan State 66, Iowa 52.

Few major programs have ever gotten to 22-5 and had such little respect.

I think that’s fair though.

State nabs Iowa, as they should, while Izzo grabs win No. 300 as head coach of MSU.

–No. 20 Vanderbilt 86, Georgia 64.

They’re officially a lock for The Tournament.

–No. 25 Marquette 78, Rutgers 48.

*Yawn*

Notable:

New Mexico 72, Utah 71. Every win counts. Lobos are a fragile 22-6.

UNLV 73, Wyoming 65. Vegas remains stride-for-stride with UNM in the MWC.

Arizona State 77, Washington 63. Stay focused, Sun Devils.

Miami (FL) 78, Maryland 63. Wow.

What a game by the ‘Canes, who were anticipated to lose this game coming off the Duke high. That’s clearly not the case; Miami has the edge on Maryland now and stands at 19-7 (to Maryland’s 17-11).

Kentucky 63, Arkansas 58. What a physical, fantastic game…THAT WAS CUT OFF BEFORE IT ENDED.

UK is not on the bubble in my eyes YET. Arkansas continues to make things tough.

Louisiana State 69, Mississippi 49. Ole Miss is a damned garbage fire. They may have reached the point of no return. It’s official: They are the Clemson of this season.

San Diego State 69, BYU 65. The Cougs are only have two losses in the conference right now, plus San Diego State is respectable. Not an utterly damaging loss.