No team will go undefeated in 2018-19. We know that for sure.
It would have been shocking had that happened, but that note is a fun way to point out that the final two undefeated teams both lost on Saturday, and both on the road. There were plenty of other big results, like one team getting their first Big 12 win, a few SEC games that stood out, and the Ohio Valley Conference was home to a couple of big individual nights.
With that out of the way, here are notes from a number of the day’s games.
Wisconsin 64, Michigan 54: The Wolverines lose for the first time in a game where the Badgers played more like the Badgers of the early going. We also got a reminder that Ethan Happ (26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) has to be on your first team All-America candidate list.
Duke 72, Virginia 70: This game was everything we expected it to be, with a lot of lead changes in the second half after Virginia first gained the lead. But the Cavaliers went into a funk late and couldn’t recover, and become the last team to lose for the first time this season.
West Virginia 65, Kansas 64: This is quite a first Big 12 win for the Mountaineers after an 0-5 start. The big question is if it ends up being an aberration, or if it gets them going.
Baylor 73, Texas Tech 62: The Bears are working their way into the NCAA Tournament discussion with wins like this, where they became the first team all season to score at least 70 points on the Red Raiders.
Kansas State 65, TCU 55: All of a sudden, Kansas State is hot, while TCU had looked like as good a challenger for the top spot as anyone but is 2-3 in Big 12 play.
Texas 75, Oklahoma 72: The Sooners had a great non-conference run and even started Big 12 play well, but they’ve come back down to earth of late in falling to 2-4.
Tennessee 71, Alabama 68: John Petty (30 points) and Alabama battled valiantly, rallying from being down by a dozen on the road, but Tennessee had enough to win their 12th straight.
Kentucky 82, Auburn 80: A big road win for Kentucky shows they have rounded into form. They are looking a lot like many expected before the season, while the Tigers have been unimpressive.
Ole Miss 84, Arkansas 67: A solid bounce-back win for the Rebels, who drop the Razorbacks to 1-4 in SEC play. The Rebels did a great job of forcing the Razorback guards to beat them, as they never let Daniel Gafford get going (nine points on 2-6 shooting) and the starting guards went 6-25 from the field, including 4-18 from long range.
Mississippi State 71, Vanderbilt 55: Although the Commodores lost their best player to injury a month ago, they still have talent. But at 0-5 in SEC play, they are not in a good place.
LSU 89, South Carolina 67: The Tigers have won seven straight now, and they hand the Gamecocks their first SEC loss. Even so, not many are talking about the Tigers right now.
NC State 77, Notre Dame 73: The Wolfpack needed this one since it’s on the road, as they lost on the road earlier in the week and still have one more on the road – at Louisville – before they come home for a couple.
Syracuse 74, Pittsburgh 63: A solid week for the Orange as they win both games to go to 4-1 in the ACC.
Purdue 70, Indiana 55: Purdue did a great job not letting Romeo Langford get going, and all Boilermakers not named Carsen Edwards shot 21-37 from the field. They are all alone in fourth place in the Big Ten, just two games back of first in the loss column.
Minnesota 65, Penn State 64: The Golden Gophers are good enough to be a solid NCAA Tournament team, but they narrowly avoided a disastrous week by hanging on after they were annihilated at Illinois earlier in the week.
DePaul 97, Seton Hall 90: Quick, who’s tied for third place in the Big East behind Villanova and Marquette? Xavier, Butler, and yes, DePaul, who got a road win here, their third win in their last four games.
Arizona State 78, Oregon 64: It’s still early yet, but thus far the Sun Devils appear to be doing a little better job of taking care of business in conference play than they did a year ago. They handled both Oregon schools at home this week.
Arizona 82, Oregon State 71: Oregon State quietly got off to a nice start in Pac-12 play, but came back to earth in this weekend’s trip to the Arizona schools.
Fresno State 63, Boise State 53: A big second half keeps the Bulldogs even with Nevada at 5-1 in the Mountain West.
UCF 64, Tulsa 62: A good bounce-back win for the Knights after losing in a tough arena for a visiting team to win a few nights earlier.
Memphis 83, SMU 61: For all the talk about how good Memphis will be as early as next year when Penny’s first recruits arrive, the Tigers are 4-1 in American Athletic Conference play, which puts them even in the loss column with four other teams.
Penn 77, Temple 70: With the bulk of Ivy League play looming after a visit from Saint Joseph’s, the Quakers head north to get a good win and snap a four-game losing streak that included two losses to arch-rival Princeton.
Dayton 89, St. Bonaventure 86 (2 OT): A big road win for Dayton against a to go to 4-1 in Atlantic 10 play. St. Bonaventure will continue to be a tough out at the very least.
Troy 77, Georgia State 75: The Sun Belt preseason favorites lose their first conference game on a late three-pointer by Jordon Varnado, the younger brother of Jarvis, the NCAA’s all-time leading shot-blocker.
San Francisco 82, BYU 63: San Francisco pulls into a tie with Saint Mary’s right behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.
Saint Mary’s 76, San Diego 59: Saint Mary’s is now 4-1 in West Coast Conference play, while the shine has come off the Toreros after they played well in non-conference.
Hofstra 86, College of Charleston 72: Not only is this Hofstra’s 14th straight win as Eli Pemberton capped off a great couple of games, but it drops the Cougars to a surprising 3-4 in CAA play after they went 0-2 in their trip to the northernmost schools.
UNC Greensboro 75, East Tennessee State 68: A solid road win for the Spartans puts them at 6-1 in Southern Conference play, keeping pace a game back of Wofford, the only team to beat them thus far.
Wofford 59, Furman 54: Not only does Wofford stat undefeated in Southern Conference play, but the shine continues to come off Furman after their storybook start to the season, as they drop to 4-3 in SoCon play.
Bucknell 85, Lehigh 83: A big win for the Bison in the first showdown between these two Patriot League contenders at Stabler Arena, and after Lehigh had rallied from being down by five with 13 seconds left. Bucknell is 5-1, a game ahead of the Mountain Hawks at 4-2.
Murray State 82, SIU-Edwardsville 72: Ja Morant continues to have a great year, scoring 40 points and handing out 11 assists in this one. He’s the first Division I player in the last 20 seasons to have at least 40 points, ten assists and five steals in a game, and he went 21-21 at the free throw line as well.
Jacksonville State 65, Tennessee Tech 48: It’s not Belmont who’s right on Murray State’s heels in the OVC, it’s the Gamecocks, who join the Racers at 6-0.
Eastern Kentucky 85, Southeast Missouri State 83: Eastern Kentucky senior Nick Mayo flew past 2,000 career points, which not only makes him the 18th player in Ohio Valley Conference history to do that, but he’s the first to also have 700 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 blocked shots and 100 made three-pointers.
