Top 25 Roundup: Nation’s Top 6 Teams All Lose

Saint Mary's Gaels forward Kyle Bowen (14) reacts after drawing a charging foul from Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Julian Strawther (0) during the second half at University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2022. (Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media)

Tommy Kuhse scored 14 points and No. 23 Saint Mary’s posted an epic wire-to-wire 67–57 victory over top-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday night in their West Coast Conference matchup at Moraga, Calif.

It marked the second time the Gaels have defeated a No. 1 team in 13 opportunities. The other time was the school’s memorable 60–47 victory over Gonzaga in the 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament title game.

Matthias Tass added 13 points as Saint Mary’s (24–6, 12–3 WCC) halted the Bulldogs’ 17-game winning streak. The Gaels ended a seven-game skid in the series while beating Gonzaga (24–3, 13–1) for just the fifth time in the past 27 meetings.

Rasir Bolton scored 16 points, Andrew Nembhard had 15 and Julian Strawther tallied 14 for the Bulldogs, who were held to a season-low point total that was far below their national-best average of 89.5 per game.

Colorado 79, No. 2 Arizona 63

Jabari Walker had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Tristan da Silva scored 19 points, and the Buffaloes upset the Wildcats in Boulder, Colo., denying the visitors a chance to clinch a share of the Pac-12 Conference title

Keeshawn Barthelemy also scored 15 points for Colorado (19–10, 11–8 Pac-12), which has won five straight home games against Arizona. The Buffaloes made 10 of their first 13 shots out of halftime to erase a five-point Arizona lead.

Azuolas Tubelis scored 15 points, and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 12 for the Wildcats (25–3, 15–2).

No. 17 Tennessee 67, No. 3 Auburn 62

Kennedy Chandler scored 13 points, including a key floater in the lane with 32 seconds left, and the Volunteers rallied from 11 points down in the second half to knock off the Tigers in their Southeastern Conference matchup in Knoxville, Tenn.

Santiago Vescovi scored nine of his 14 points in the final seven minutes, and Zakai Zeigler added 13 points and three steals as Tennessee (21–7, 12–4 SEC) snapped a six-game losing streak against Auburn and improved to 15–0 at home. The Volunteers also tightened the SEC race, pulling within a game of first-place Auburn (25–4, 13–3) and tying No. 6 Kentucky and No. 18 Arkansas for second.

Tennessee shot only 32.8 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers. But the Volunteers dominated the boards, 54–31. It was the third straight road loss for Auburn. The Tigers were led by Jabari Smith’s 27 points and eight rebounds. K.D. Johnson added 18 points.

Michigan State 68, No. 4 Purdue 65

Tyson Walker hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining as the Spartans bolstered their NCAA Tournament hopes with an upset of the Boilermakers in East Lansing, Mich.

Gabe Brown scored 13 points and Julius Marble scored 12 points for Michigan State (19–9, 10–7 Big Ten). Max Christie and A.J. Hoggard each had 11 points.

Zach Edey scored 25 points and Jaden Ivey had 16 points for Purdue (24–5, 13–5), which fell out of a first-place tie with Wisconsin in the conference standings.

No. 10 Baylor 80, No. 5 Kansas 70

Flo Thamba scored 18 points and Jeremy Sochan added 17 as the Bears roared back from a slow start and tightened the Big 12 race by downing the Jayhawks at Waco, Texas.

Baylor (24–5, 12–4 Big 12) triumphed for the fifth time in six games. James Akinjo netted 12 points and Adam Flagler scored 13 for the Bears, who fell behind 16–4 at the outset and did not lead until the second half. Matthew Mayer added nine points and 12 rebounds, while Thamba grabbed nine boards.

Ochai Agbaji scored a game-high 27 points for Kansas (23–5, 12–3) but made just 8 of 22 shots as the Jayhawks had their four-game winning streak snapped. Christian Braun posted 17 points and 10 rebounds, and David McCormack added 10 points and 13 boards.

No. 18 Arkansas 75, No. 6 Kentucky 73

JD Notae scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams registered 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Razorbacks edge the Wildcats 75–73 in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Razorbacks (23–6, 12–4 SEC) stretched their winning streak to four games while snapping a two-game run for the Wildcats (23–6, 12–4) as the programs pulled into a second-place tie behind Auburn atop the conference standings.

Arkansas overcame a 30-point, 18-rebound effort from Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe to win for the 13th time in 14 games, prevailing in a contest that had 17 lead changes.

No. 7 Duke 97, Syracuse 72

Mark Williams scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Paolo Banchero and A.J. Griffin lit it up from beyond the arc as the visiting Blue Devils dominated the Orange.

In the final regular-season matchup between Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim—the two winningest coaches in Division I history—the Blue Devils stormed out of the gates and never looked back. Krzyzewski, who is retiring at season’s end, improved to 12–5 all-time against Boeheim.

Banchero made 4-of-7 3-pointers en route to 21 points and also dished out nine assists, while Griffin shot 6 of 10 from long distance and scored 20 points. The Orange (15–14, 9–9) were led by 23 points from Buddy Boeheim and 18 from Joe Girard III.

TCU 69, No. 9 Texas Tech 66

Mike Miles Jr. racked up 26 points and had a huge steal in the final seconds as the Horned Frogs roared back and owned the final minutes in a win over the Red Raiders in a Big 12 Conference dustup in Fort Worth, Texas.

Emanuel Miller added 11 points and Damion Baugh had 10 for TCU (18–9, 7–8 Big 12), which won for the second time in its past three games in its fight for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs were playing their fourth game in a stretch of eight days.

Bryson Williams led Texas Tech with 21 points, while Adonis Arms had 15 and Davion Warren scored 12. The Red Raiders (22–7, 11–5) had a four-game win streak snapped.

No. 11 Providence 72, Creighton 51

A.J. Reeves shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 23 points as the Friars clinched their first Big East regular-season title in program history with a victory over the visiting Bluejays.

Nate Watson and Al Durham each contributed 12 points while Justin Minaya had 11 rebounds for Providence (24–3, 14–2 Big East), which had three conference games canceled because of a COVID-19 pause in January.

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 13 points and Alex O‘Connell had 12 for Creighton (19–9, 11–6), which shot 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) from 3-point range. O’Connell was held to 2-for-8 from long distance. Ryan Hawkins added 10 points.

No. 12 UCLA 94, Oregon State 55

Tyger Campbell had 20 points and five assists while Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points as the Bruins, playing without the injured Johnny Juzang, bounced back from a loss at Oregon two nights earlier and routed the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.

Jules Bernard added 16 points for the Bruins (21–6, 13–5 Pac-12). Juzang, who leads UCLA in scoring with 17.0 points per game, sat out with an ankle injury. Cody Riley added 13 points and Jaylen Clark had 10 for the Bruins, who shot 13-for-20 (65 percent) from 3-point range.

Maurice Calloo scored 13 points and Roman Silva and Glenn Taylor Jr. each added 10 for Oregon State (3–24, 1–16), which has lost 14 consecutive games. The Beavers dropped Thursday’s game against No. 16 Southern California in double overtime.

No. 13 Wisconsin 66, Rutgers 61

Johnny Davis scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half as the Badgers held off the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, N.J., to take over the top spot in the Big Ten Conference.

Wisconsin (23–5, 14–4 Big Ten) moved a game in front of fourth-ranked Purdue, which lost 68–65 at Michigan State on Saturday. The Boilermakers, who fell 74–69 to the Badgers on Jan. 3, play at Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Brad Davison added 14 points and Chucky Hepburn 13 as Wisconsin earned its fourth win in a row. Geo Baker scored 19 points, including 16 in the second half, and Ron Harper Jr. added 15 for the Scarlet Knights (16–12, 10–8).

No. 16 USC 70, Oregon 69

Drew Peterson’s game-winning 3-pointer with 14 seconds left capped his 20-point night as the Trojans ran their winning streak to six by defeating the Ducks in Eugene, Ore.

Peterson’s 3-pointer gave USC (25–4, 14–4 Pac-12) its 10th lead of the contest, and the Trojans avoided a season sweep by the Ducks (18–11, 11–7). Isaiah Mobley finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Five Ducks scored in double figures, led by Quincy Guerrier with 15 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. De‘Vion Harmon finished with 13 points and N’Faly Dante notched 12.

No. 19 Murray State 70, Southeast Missouri State 68

Justice Hill hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 39 seconds left as the Racers rallied for a victory over the host Redhawks in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The Racers (28–2, 18–0 Ohio Valley Conference) became the sixth team in the 74-year history of the OVC to go unbeaten in conference play.

K.J. Williams led all scorers with 23 points, and Trae Hannibal added 20 for Murray State, which shot 43.3 percent from the field. Tevin Brown contributed 15 points and Hill finished with 11 as the Racers beat the Redhawks for the 10th straight time.

No. 20 Texas 82, West Virginia 81

Timmy Allen scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds as the Longhorns outlasted the reeling Mountaineers in Big 12 Conference play in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Marcus Carr finished with 15 points, and Jase Febres added a season-best 14 for the Longhorns, who shot 63.4 percent (26-for-41) from the field for the game.

Curry scored a career-high 27 points for West Virginia (14–15, 3–15). The defeat was the Mountaineers’ sixth straight and 13th in 14 games.

No. 24 Alabama 90, South Carolina 71

Jaden Shackelford came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Crimson Tide raced to a 23-point halftime lead and defeated the Southeastern Conference rival Gamecocks in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Jahvon Quinerly added 20 points and five assists for the Crimson Tide (19–10, 9–7 Southeastern Conference), and Keon Ellis finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Reserves Charles Bediako and JD Davison contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Erik Stevenson scored 17 points and dished out six assists for the Gamecocks (17–11, 8–8), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.