UNC's Cole Anthony Returns from Injury, Auburn Tops Kentucky, More Highlights

North Carolina Tar Heels freshman guard Cole Anthony returned to the hardwood for the first time since December 8 for Saturday's clash with the Boston College Eagles.

Although he produced 26 points, the Tar Heels were unable to escape the bad form that has plagued them all season. Roy Williams' side dropped back below .500 by way of the 71-70 defeat that moved its ACC record down to 3-7. Time is running out to rectify that and make a push for a berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The Auburn Tigers are trending in the opposite direction, as they knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats at home in a showdown of the highest-ranked programs in the SEC. Bruce Pearl's team is now 19-2 overall, and it is starting to gain traction as one of the many contenders to win the national championship.

Kentucky was one of nine Top 25 teams to fall Saturday, and that number could have been higher if the Gonzaga Bulldogs and San Diego State Aztecs did not fend off upset bids.

Saturday Top 25 Scores

No. 1 Baylor 68, TCU 52

No. 2 Gonzaga 83, San Francisco 79

No. 3 Kansas 78, Texas Tech 75

No. 4 San Diego State 80, Utah State 68

No. 5 Florida State 74, Virginia Tech 63

No. 6 Louisville 77, NC State 57

No. 7 Dayton 70, Fordham 56

Creighton 76, No. 8 Villanova 61

No. 9 Duke 97, Syracuse 88

Xavier 74, No. 10 Seton Hall 62

Stanford 70, No. 11 Oregon 60

No. 12 West Virginia 66, Kansas State 57

No. 17 Auburn 75, No. 13 Kentucky 66

Wisconsin 64, No. 14 Michigan State 63

Providence 65, No. 16 Butler 61

No. 20 Colorado 78, USC 57

Cincinnati 64, No. 21 Houston 62

No. 22 LSU 73, Ole Miss 63

Tulsa 54, No. 23 Wichita State 51

No. 24 Penn State 76, Nebraska 64

Michigan 69, No. 25 Rutgers 63

Cole Anthony Breaks Ankles in Return

Auburn Downs Kentucky

Tulsa Upsets Wichita State on Buzzer-Beater

Markus Howard Puts on Another Show

Xavier Upsets Seton Hall

Anthony Edwards' Windmill Slam

Cassius Stanley Shines Against Syracuse

TJ Haws' Game-Winning 3-Pointer

Alex Reese Rises Up for 1-Handed Jam

AJ Lawson Soars Above Defender at the Rim

San Diego State Rallies from 8-Point Halftime Deficit

UNC Falls in Anthony's Return

North Carolina appeared to be turning around its disastrous season just in time for Anthony to come back and lead it to a second-half push in ACC play.

Unfortunately, the two-game winning streak ended Saturday, when Boston College became the fourth ACC team to win at the Smith Center since the start of January.

In 26 minutes, Anthony recorded 26 points, five rebounds, three assists and went 14-for-14 at the free-throw line.

But a misunderstanding on the approach of the final play doomed the Tar Heels to their 11th defeat.

"I made a bad decision," Anthony said, per the News and Observer's Jonathan M. Alexander. "I should have called a timeout. There were a bunch of things I could have done."

Williams added, per Alexander: "This is something silly, but this past week we stopped practice one day and said that if it was a one-point game or the score was tied, we wanted to attack the basket. Cole might have been with the trainer. I am serious, that is how silly the game is."

UNC has the unenviable task of playing back-to-back games against the Florida State Seminoles and Duke Blue Devils, both of whom reside in the top 10 of the AP Top 25.

Anthony's presence in the lineup should help the Tar Heels be somewhat competitive in both contests, but the overall talent on the UNC roster may not be enough to handle the depth of Florida State and the stars at Duke.

The best-case scenario for the remainder of the season is to pull off one or two upsets over ranked teams and then hope to make a run at the ACC tournament to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

If that does not occur, Anthony and his teammates will be watching March Madness from home.

Auburn Tops Kentucky

Auburn outscored Kentucky by 10 points in the second half to rack up its sixth SEC victory and its first Top 25 win of the campaign.

Four Tigers reached double digits in the 75-66 victory, with Samir Doughty leading the team with 23 points.

The win over the Wildcats should not come as a surprise to those who have followed Auburn since Pearl was hired in 2014. Center Austin Wiley drove that point home after the triumph, per Josh Vitale of the Montgomery Advertiser:

Auburn now has a 4-3 record against Kentucky in the past seven games. It was 17-91 in previous meetings, per The Athletic's Justin Ferguson:

The Tigers are tied with Kentucky for second place in the SEC behind LSU, which is still undefeated in conference play. Auburn has a chance to gain ground on LSU on Saturday, when the two sides collide at Auburn Arena.

But first, the Tigers have to get through a tricky road trip to Arkansas, which is 16-5 in Eric Musselman's first year in charge.

Sunday Top 25 Schedule

No. 19 Illinois at No. 18 Iowa (1 p.m. ET, FS1)

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.