Another busy Saturday came and went with plenty of games of consequence. As has been the case often and will probably continue to be, a number of those games were in the ACC.
The SEC/Big 12 Challenge was one big headline of the day, and the conferences split at five wins apiece. There wasn’t a big home/road split to pick up on, as home teams won six of the ten games. Only one really stood out in terms of hype behind the matchup, though at least one other could be pretty consequential down the road.
With that, here are notes from a number of the day’s games.
Kansas 79, Kentucky 73: Kentucky’s freshmen have been talked about so much that it can be easy to forget Josh Jackson, who might have been the best player on the floor in this one with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Miami 77, North Carolina 62: This is the signature win the Hurricanes badly needed, and a freshmen led them as Bruce Brown had 30 points and five assists.
Syracuse 82, Florida State 72: They rushed the floor. At Syracuse. After beating Florida State. Insanity. (And the end of a bad week for the Seminoles after a fantastic stretch.)
Duke 85, Wake Forest 83: This one could have very easily gone to the Demon Deacons, but the Blue Devils pull it out. Could this be the beginning of Duke righting the ship?
Georgia Tech 62, Notre Dame 60: We have to start talking about the Yellow Jackets as NCAA Tournament candidates, which is nothing short of remarkable. Josh Pastner’s team has knocked off North Carolina, Florida State and now Notre Dame.
Baylor 78, Ole Miss 75: It took a big second half for the Bears to get this win on the road.
Georgetown 85, Butler 81: Is this week, where Georgetown beat Creighton and now Butler (the latter on the road), a sign of the Hoyas turning things around, or is it just a blip on the radar screen?
Colorado 74, Oregon 65: The Ducks are handed their first conference loss at the end of what has been a great month of basketball for them.
Maryland 85, Minnesota 78: Quietly, the Terrapins just keep winning and staying atop the Big Ten, something few would have expected before the season.
Oklahoma State 99, Arkansas 71: Of all the games in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge besides Kansas-Kentucky, this should be the most noteworthy because it was never a ballgame with an Arkansas team that has the RPI but not necessarily the resume behind it.
Nevada 82, New Mexico 65: The first time these two met, Nevada staged a comeback for the ages to win at The Pit. This time around, they left no doubt, and gain an all-important sweep to go a game and a half up in the Mountain West.
South Alabama 78, Georgia Southern 66: South Alabama snaps an eight-game winning streak Georgia Southern had, and it’s the first Sun Belt loss for the Eagles.
William & Mary 96, UNCW 78: The first CAA loss for the Seahawks, who remain a game up on College of Charleston for the top spot.
Akron 91, Buffalo 90: Akron just keeps finding ways to win, pulling this one out to go to 8-0 in the MAC.
Vermont 71, Stony Brook 64: A big win for the Catamounts in this America East showdown, especially coming on Long Island. Vermont is up two games in the standings now.
Columbia 65, Harvard 62: A big win for the Lions to draw even with Harvard in the Ivy standings early on and serve notice that they, too, should be among the contenders.
