The busiest day of the college basketball season so far has doubled its season high with buzzer beaters, late-game drama, and scoring explosions all while filling a full day on Saturday’s schedule.
So who were the winners and losers that day? Well, after all, there are . Five games were played ranked versus ranked with a total of 19 ranked teams participating. It led to a very good moment for many (Kansas When Gonzaga!), some low moments for others (Indiana!) And for a select few, there are some tough moments. (I’m watching you, UCF!)
It would still be a few weeks before conference play was in full swing across the country, but the stakes were high in places like New York’s Madison Square Garden. of Virginia John Paul Jones Arena and Birmingham, of Alabama Legacy Arena with marquee matchups. The NCAA Tournament field won’t set for months, but Saturday’s action will no doubt make its way into Selection Sunday’s bracket.
See some of the most important slate winners and losers of the 2022-23 college basketball season and see what a packed Saturday meant.
winner: Arizona’s the offense keeps humming
The most interesting matchup of the day was between the 6th places. Tennessee The McKale Center’s 9th Arizona featured the 1st Defense (Tennessee) against the 1st Offense (Arizona). It was the Wildcats who took down the Volunteers in a 75–70 victory, but Arizona had the worst shooting of the season, finishing in the 3-point range in 5 of 24 games, putting him in the team’s percentage. was the third worst. However, Arizona reached the free-throw line 27 times, including 15 trips to the charity stripes in the second half, with conversions on 24 of those attempts.
Arizona has been susceptible to over-reliance on three-point shooting this season and paying the price of living and dying with it. Utah It came after posting a season-low 14.3% over the arc. But the balance this team is made up of, by and large, makes them a brutal threat to their opponents. In Frontcourt vs. Volunteers, Umar Balo and Azuola Tuberis scored a total of 37 points and 17 boards. In the backcourt, Courtney Ramey, Kerr Kryssa and Pele Larson teamed up for 38 points and 10 assists.
Winner: Kansas State (and its social media team)
No. 8 Kansas hit the Vegas line hard, effectively wiping out pregame expectations and covering a 5.5-point spread easily supported by No. 14 Indiana’s 84-62 beatdown. that was the product. Freshman Grady Dick scored 20 points and five other KU players finished in double digits.
then there was real Post-match merchandise from KU’s social team. After the win, he began tweeting to mock Indiana’s tweets and inserting Kansas into the mix. Savage yet beautiful.
Loser: Indiana’s slip continues
After starting the season 7-0, they culminated in a win over then No. 2. 18 north carolinathe Hoosiers had a humble month on the calendar, losing to Kansas, recording their third loss in their last four games. It was the biggest difference of the season.
IU’s coach Mike Woodson said, “I thought practice this week was going to be really competitive, so it hurts.” I need to somehow get this team to understand that I have to give myself a chance.”
Indiana got out early with careless mistakes and turnovers, committing 23 along the way. With Jalen Hood-Schifino in and out of the lineup through injury, guard play has been a bit erratic lately, and IU has room for improvement (he played his 30 minutes, but he’s the team’s best). recorded 5 turnovers.)
“Twenty-three turnovers against a really good team and 23 no chances to take the ball away, and they came in a bunch,” Woodson said. “We’re a big turnover team. It’s not, so that’s something that has to be put away.”
Winner: Zags Announces Return
Earlier this season, Gonzaga was touch-and-go as a contender to some great wins – and more kentuckythat’s all Xavier – and some severe losses (to texas When Purdue with a lot Baylor Little by little. ) but Saturday felt like an epic awakening for Zags. In a (semi-)road environment, Gonzaga beat his No. 4 Alabama. This team has already beaten his #1 team in the AP ranks twice this season. houston Last weekend – with a closing margin of 100-90.It was the first time, and the first time since, that Gonzaga scored 100 points against a top-five team. duke A 118-84 victory in 2018 gave the team more than 100 points in away regulation. Matt Eisenberg.
Winner: Bama’s Brandon Miller Reignites Stardom (again)
Just one week removed from last weekend’s lowest-scoring game of the season – an 8-point outing saw him go 0/8 off the field against No. 1 Houston – Miller scored his most complete on Saturday. Submitted the game season. Despite the loss, his impact on keeping Bama against Gonzaga is immeasurable. He was aggressive defensively, attacking aggressively, got his basketball into the hoop, and scored 36 points.
loser: depaul explode
3 days after losing by 11 at Duquesnethe blue demons NorthwestThe Wildcats outscored DePaul 44-19 in the second half, forcing 22 turnovers as the Blue Demons fell to 6-6. Although he acknowledged that injuries contributed to the team’s poor play, Athletic his director Dewayne his Peavy issued a surprisingly scathing assessment of the program’s performance after losing by 38 points.
“We are very disappointed with our performance in the last two games.” Peevy wrote at the beginning of the tweet thread“The Blue Demon Nation deserves to be better. I know today wasn’t what we hoped it would be.
Peavy’s candid assessment of the program doesn’t bode well for Tony Stubblefield, coach of the Blue Devils, who are 21-22 in their second season at DePaul.
Winner: Houston bounces back
Just a week after taking a 15-point second-half lead at home to Alabama and losing the program’s No. 1 ranking since the 1982-83 season, No. 5 Houston is making the most of a golden opportunity for revenge. Did. He defeated No. 2 Virginia 69-61 on the road. Five players have achieved double-digit numbers in the Cougars, led by five-star freshman Jareth Walker with 17. The Cougars assisted on 17 of their 25 successful baskets, handled Virginia’s notoriously solid defense without too much trouble in the second half, and were particularly consistent in a hostile environment.
loser: UCF lose in a painful way
Missouri They led the second half by 14 points, but needed a miracle at the buzzer to beat UCF 68-66. DeAndre Golston scored his 3-point shot from about 10 feet out of the arc as time expired, but it was Dimoy Hodge who slipped and fell with the basketball, effectively rolling it to Golston. It was after It was a truly heartbreaking finish for the Golden Knights as Jaron Young’s 3-pointer missed with seven seconds remaining. Had Young’s jumper gone down, he would have given UCF a four-point lead. Instead, the door was left open and Missouri took advantage in a miraculous final sequence.
Winner: North Carolina Gets Late Hero
North Carolina starters Caleb Love, RJ Davis, and Armando Bacotte each surpassed 20 points for 23rd place. Ohio, meanwhile, Leaky Black accepted a challenging defensive assignment. Fifth starter Pete Nance has been relatively quiet except when the team needed him the most. Nance hit a turnaround jumper off a side-inbounds pass from Black as time expired in regulation.Nance’s miraculous game sent the first game of CBS Sports his Classic into overtime and tarred him. heels won his 89-84.
Ohio State led most of the game and even had a 14-point advantage at one point late in the first half. But after Nance’s buzzer success, UNC dominated overtime by holding Ohio State to 2-of-7 shooting in overtime.
Loser: Kentucky Struggles
Kentucky’s non-conference resumption to this point highlighted by victory Michigan and loss MichiganGonzaga and Now UCLANo.16 Bruins stifled British attack on Saturday A 63-53 win in the CBS Sports Classic that dropped the No. 13 Wildcats to 7-3. Aside from a victory over the Wolverines in London on December 4th, the Wildcats’ resume means nothing. Even that victory is kind of impressive, given Michigan’s struggles.
The Wildcats might have been blown away by the Bruins had it not been for freshman winger Chris Livingston’s offensive outburst in the second half. As it stands, the star Oskartziebwe in his centre, scored four of his 12 shots from the floor and free-throwed from the line, leaving him scoreless at 4:31 in the final as he made it 4-0. did.
Winner: Purdue Hard
purdue led Davidson Only one point behind with 11:30 remaining and never leading in double digits in the second half, the No. 1 Boilermakers won 69–61 over the Wildcats. Zach Edey leads with his 29 points and he has 16 rebounds, just short last season after leading the league for the first time in program history. I have a chance.
But if U Conn There’s something to be said for that, but if enough of the AP Top 25 voters who voted for Virginia last week switched their #1 vote to the Huskies instead of the Boilermakers, the Boilermakers won both games this week. But it may give up the top spot. .
Winner: UConn dominates again
No. 3 UConn improved to 12-0 to take yet another dominant victory as the Huskies opened Big East play with a 68-46 thrashing Butler on the road. His 12 wins for UConn this season were all in his double digits, including wins against opponents in the Power Council. OregonAlabama, Iowa, Oklahoma, florida And now Butler.
With No. 2 Virginia defeated, No. 1 Boilermakers barely surviving against Davidson, and UConn back in the lead, the Huskies will race for No. 1 when the new AP Top 25 is released on Monday. It is only natural that you can challenge yourself. Adama Sanogo led the Huskies on Saturday as he tallied 27 points and 14 rebounds.
