Saturday’s school basketball slate had just a little little bit of every part. Darryn Peterson’s apologists and doubters each earned fodder for his or her respective causes in Kansas’ 90-82 win over BYU. But exterior of The Phog, road warriors stole the highlight.
Kentucky went on the road and knocked off Arkansas. California upset Miami in Coral Gables. Texas A&M bolstered its case for high dawg within the SEC with a road dub over Georgia. Indiana modified the course of its season by surviving UCLA’s late prayer in Pauley Pavilion. Those are only a few of the handfuls of road groups that received the job performed.
Let’s dive into the highest winners and losers from Saturday’s contests.
Winner: Duke avoids potential entice spot with spectacular road win at Virginia Tech
No. 4 Duke side-stepped a probably perilous road spot with a 72-58 win over Virginia Tech to enhance to 20-1 on the season. The Blue Devils had fallen to Virginia Tech three consecutive occasions in Blacksburg when ranked as a top-five crew — however that streak was by no means in jeopardy of being prolonged. Duke went wire-to-wire with the win and closed on a 10-2 run to seal the victory.
Freshman Cameron Boozer was spectacular as traditional, particularly within the clutch, as Duke remained an ideal 9-0 on the season vs. ACC opponents. He completed with 24 factors and 5 rebounds, and singlehandedly outscored the Hokies 8-2 within the ultimate 4 minutes of play. — Kyle Boone
Winner: Unanimous No. 1 Arizona stays good with win vs. rival Arizona State
No. 1 Arizona moved to 22-0 – its greatest begin to a season in program historical past – with an 87-74 road win over rival Arizona State in Tucson. The good Wildcats had been led by 21 factors and three boards from star freshman Koa Peat, who had 15 of his 21 within the second half to shut out the Sun Devils. The twenty second consecutive win marks the longest successful streak for Arizona since 1914 because it continued to construct on a particular season below coach Tommy Lloyd. — Boone
Loser: AJ Dybantsa’s star loses some luster vs. Kansas
Seventeen factors and one rebound in 34 minutes isn’t any statline to scoff at, even for a lottery expertise like AJ Dybantsa — nevertheless it paled compared to the 18 factors, three steals and three rebounds in 20 minutes that Kansas star Darryn Peterson pumped out when No. 14 Kansas downed No. 13 BYU 90-82.
Dybantsa made a pair of 3-pointers and he actually seemed the a part of a possible top-three choose in June’s NBA Draft. But Peterson was the primary attraction and the clear greatest participant on the ground inside Allen Fieldhouse. He not solely solidified his case because the clear No. 1, however within the course of additionally clearly distanced himself from the next-most-likely No. 1 candidate in Dybantsa. – Boone
Winner: Indiana transforms its resume with win vs. UCLA in 2OT thriller
Entering the week, Indiana’s resume ranked exterior of the top-50 nationally in Wins Above Bubble. That has modified massively. Tuesday’s dwelling win over No. 12 Purdue was huge, and IU constructed on it by rising with a 98-97, double-overtime thriller on the road towards UCLA. Those two wins earned +1.4 WAB mixed, capturing Indiana’s resume into the top-30 vary nationally.
Freshman ahead Trent Sisley was the hero on this one, flattening the game-winning free throw with simply 0.3 seconds left in double-overtime after a beautiful baseline out-of-bounds play put UCLA’s protection in a bind.
It’s a enjoyable end that seemed like a possible nightmare when IU’s 10-point deficit was erased within the ultimate 110 seconds of regulation. UCLA’s Trent Perry continued his magical sophomore surge with the game-tying triple to pressure extra time, however Indiana was not going to be denied.
Indiana is anticipated to stay a No. 9 seed within the CBS Sports Bracketology mannequin, however a loss would have bumped the Hoosiers out of the sphere of 68. Indiana (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten) seems like a event crew, which is one thing that you possibly can not say about this outfit seven days in the past. – Isaac Trotter
Winner: Gonzaga stays sizzling with win over Saint Mary’s
One of one of the best rivalries on the West Coast was renewed when Gonzaga confronted Saint Mary’s within the ultimate recreation of a loaded schedule. With Gonzaga set to affix the Pac-12 this summer time, there will likely be just one extra regular-season matchup after this recreation. No. 6 Gonzaga stayed sizzling and got here away with a 73-65 win over its WCC foe. Since shedding to Michigan in November, Gonzaga has gained its final 15 video games. The Bulldogs additionally received a lift with star ahead Graham Ike returning to the lineup after a three-game absence. He completed with 30 factors. — Cameron Salerno
Winner: UCF celebrates upset of Texas Tech with two court docket storms
Are you prepared for UCF to be an NCAA Tournament crew for simply the second time within the final twenty years? The Knights improved to 17-4 with a formidable 88-80 win over No. 11 Texas Tech behind 21 factors and 7 dimes from senior level guard Themus Fulks and a 14-point, 10-rebound, double-double from sophomore huge man John Bol. UCF has now downed Texas Tech and Kansas at dwelling. Both are trending to be critical feathers within the cap of the resume.
Oh, and this recreation featured not one, however two court docket storms after a untimely blitz from the house devoted with 0.2 seconds remaining. – Trotter
Loser: John Calipari’s crew lays a stinker vs. his former crew
John Calipari’s No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks, who was favored by 6.5 factors over his former crew, Kentucky, fell flat at dwelling in an 85-77 loss to the shorthanded Wildcats. Arkansas shot a putrid 3 of 14 from 3-point vary, missed 10 of its 26 free-throw makes an attempt and completed with 9 missed layups.
Defensively, it was simply as ugly: Arkansas allowed UK, which is with out start line guard Jaland Lowe and beginning heart Jayden Quaintance due to accidents, to shoot 13 of 21 from the sphere within the second half. In the ultimate 20 minutes of motion, Arkansas didn’t pressure a single turnover. Oh, and there have been 1,000,000 technical fouls. The stripes didn’t cowl themselves in glory on this one. – Boone
Winner: Miami (Ohio) retains good file intact with win vs. Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois gave No. 24 Miami (Ohio) a scare for the primary 25 minutes, nevertheless it was all Redhawks down the house stretch. Brant Byers and Peter Suder mixed for 40 factors to steer Miami to an 85-61 win to stay undefeated. The Redhawks at the moment are 22-0 and it confirmed it may win on an evening when the treys weren’t dropping. – Trotter
Winner: Texas A&M takes over first in SEC race
Heading into February, there may be an unlikely chief on the high of the SEC. That can be Texas A&M. The Aggies improved to 7-1 in SEC play with a 92-77 win over Georgia on the road. Texas A&M opened the sport on a 20-0 run to take a 22-2 lead lower than seven minutes in. It set the tone for the remainder of the sport.
USC switch Rashaun Agee had one in all his greatest performances of the yr after going for 18 factors, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Since shedding to Tennessee, the Aggies have gained 4 consecutive video games. Texas A&M is the one crew within the convention with only one loss. He may not be named National Coach of the Year, however Bucky McMillan deserves a ton of credit score for what he is been capable of accomplish to date in Year 1 of his tenure. – Cameron Salerno
Winner: Utah State sends Logan (and the Mountain West race) right into a tizzy
Utah State erased an 11-point, first-half deficit and held off San Diego State 71-66 in entrance of an electrical “White Out” crowd. Karson Templin got here off the bench and delivered 18 factors and 7 boards. MJ Collins and Adlan Elamin additionally cracked double figures for an Utah State membership that’s now tied atop the Mountain West standings with the Aztecs.
The Aggies improved to 18-3 general and 9-2 in convention play. They out-rebounded one of many elite rebounding groups within the nation 46-31.
San Diego State was a bit short-handed with out Elzie Harrington and Magoon Gwath, nevertheless it shot simply 6 for twenty-four from downtown and was held to 0.88 factors per possession. It was San Diego State’s third-worst offensive displaying of the season. – Trotter
Loser: SMU lets golden alternative slip away in loss at Louisville
SMU splashed 5 of its first seven triples … after which went ice chilly in Saturday’s 88-74 loss to No. 20 Louisville. SMU led by as a lot as a dozen within the first half, nevertheless it unraveled within the second half. SMU missed 15 of its final 18 makes an attempt from downtown.
After a Jan. 3 victory over North Carolina, SMU has missed out on all 4 of its alternatives towards top-shelf ACC competitors. SMU has now misplaced to Clemson, Duke, Virginia and Louisville in January. The Ponies appear destined to be a frisky No. 8 or No. 9 seed. – Trotter
Loser: Fans miss out on the second half of the Peterson expertise
The most anticipated recreation on the schedule featured the projected No. 1 and No. 2 general picks within the 2026 NBA Draft squaring off. It was a prospect matchup that basketball followers honestly hadn’t seen in fairly a while. The first half was electrical. Darryn Peterson scored 18 factors. Peterson showcased why he’ll possible go 1.01 this summer time.
However, Peterson did not play a majority of the second half because of cramps. Peterson has performed in simply 11 of Kansas’ 21 video games this season, and a few of these video games have seen the projected high choose play sparingly. It’s actually one of the vital weird conditions I’ve seen within the sport. Regardless, the expertise and shotmaking are each simple. Peterson is one of the best prospect on this class, and the winner of the draft lottery in May should not hesitate to pick out him. – Salerno
Kansas seems unimaginable with Darryn Peterson unleashed. Now his well being stands in the way in which.
Eric Bossi
Loser: Creighton suffers dangerous dwelling lack of the McDermott period
Creighton picked a foul time to catch a harmful UConn offense that’s rising from hibernation. The second-ranked Huskies handed Creighton an 85-58 whooping. The 27-point dwelling loss is tied for the worst defeat below Greg McDermott period, who took over the Bluejays in 2010. Losing by 24 on Tuesday to last-place Marquette and 27 on Saturday to first-place UConn is one brutal five-day stretch.
Creighton’s hopes for an at-large bid are all however useless earlier than the calendar flipped to February. – Trotter
Loser: Auburn cannot discover the vary, spoiling Steven Pearl’s return to Rocky Top
Auburn entered Saturday capturing below 30% from 3-point vary in SEC play, which ranked fifteenth. The capturing fortune will flip sooner or later, however the irritating pattern continued in Saturday’s 77-69 road loss to Tennessee. Auburn shot simply 7-for-31 (23%) from past the arc, and the beginning backcourt tandem of Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton mixed to shoot 3 for 18 from 3-point vary. What’s additional irritating is that they had been largely open, uncontested seems that had been offline.
Even with out beginning heart Felix Okpara, Tennessee nonetheless obliterated Auburn on the glass (46-30), and the dominance on the offensive glass helped the Vols maintain the Tigers at arm’s attain for a lot of the second half.
It’s a disappointing finish to Steven Pearl’s first recreation because the coach of Auburn again at his alma mater after suiting up for the Vols from 2007-11. — Trotter
