It feels like every week when I recap the biggest headlines from college basketball’s previous week, I mention several top teams that went down in upset fashion. So this week's edition will be mostly the same: a few ranked teams went down in surprising fashion, while the rest of the action was mostly normal, right? Wrong! We had ourselves quite a week, with 15 out of the 25 ranked teams losing — almost no one was safe from the upset. This made for an amazing and entertaining week of basketball, one with so many great storylines.
No. 10 Illinois is the latest team to fall to an unranked opponent, losing at home to Maryland
After Saturday’s upset fest (more on that later), some may have thought that this week’s craziness was over, but that was not the case. Illinois probably thought that too, but Maryland had different ideas. The Illini were upset on their home floor 76-67 on Sunday in a result almost no one expected. Jahmir Young was the star of the show, scoring 28 points and assisting eight times. Julian Reese also had a great showing 20 points with 11 rebounds in his best performance of the season so far. Marcus Domask had himself another great game, scoring 26 points, although it wasn’t enough for his Illini. This was a statement game from the Terps, a team that had not lived up to expectations so far, but is looking to make some noise in Big Ten play. This could be a stepping stone for them, as they look to make an at-large tournament bid push.
No. 8 Arizona drops a shocker at Washington State, PAC-12 record suffers
Arizona went into this game as the clear frontrunner in the PAC-12, but left it with just a 3-2 conference record. This is because they were stunned on the road at Washington State. It’s the second straight year the Wildcats have been upset by the Cougars 73-70, something that should be concerning to U of A fans. Isaac Jones was the focal point of the Cougs’ offense, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead his team to victory. Caleb Love had himself quite the game as well, with 28 points of his own. Unfortunately for him, though, his team took the loss. Washington State has a slight chance at a bid to the tournament, so this win is a big deal if they want to make a push to March, but as for the Wildcats this could be a demoralizing loss, one they need to shake off.
No. 2 Houston gets upset twice this week, at Iowa State and at TCU
Houston entered the week as the last undefeated team in the country, riding high in its new conference, the Big 12. Unfortunately for the Cougars, this wouldn’t last long as they would have to travel to Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday to take on Iowa State. UH experienced “Hilton magic” first hand as they lost 57-53. This was an extremely defensive battle, with Houston having just 21 points in the first half. The Cyclones used this first half to energize the crowd and propel them to victory. Tamin Lipsey was the high scorer for ISU, putting up 14 points in what was mostly a team effort on offense. Emmanuel Sharp had 20, but his team mostly struggled on offense, leading to the Iowa State upset and eventual court storm.
On Saturday, though, Houston would have a chance to end the week on a good note, but they would have to face a tough TCU team on the road — an unfortunate draw for the Cougars as the Horned Frogs are never a team you want to face on the road. Evidently, the road environment in Fort Worth was too much, as TCU won 68-67. This was a great game from start to finish, in what was a classic Big 12 battle, even though Houston is a newcomer to the league. It was mostly offense by committee for the Frogs, with Emmanuel Miller, their leading scorer, scoring only 13. J’Wan Roberts was the leading scorer for Houston, putting up 20 in the losing effort. This game, along with the one against Iowa State, should be a wake-up call for the Cougars who haven’t experienced this tough of a league, but are very talented. UH will be back, but it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.
No. 6 Kentucky upset on the road at Texas A&M in an overtime thriller
Kentucky was looking like the possible odd man out when it comes to upsets, being one of the only teams who hadn’t gotten knocked off when their game started, but by the end of this one no one could make that claim. This game was one for the books, an instant classic some would say, but it truly was a spectacular contest. Great players from both sides made great plays throughout, but it ended with an upset victory for the aggies, 97-92 in overtime. Wade Taylor IV was the star of the show, scoring 31 points in an all-around amazing performance. Tyrece Radford also had an outstanding game for the Aggies, scoring 28 points of his own. Antonio Reeves was the leader for UK, scoring 21 points in the losing effort. The Wildcats also got a great performance out of Rob Dillingham, who made several threes down the stretch to get the game to overtime, In overtime, though, Texas A&M was the better team, giving them the much-needed victory and a win that should boost them back into the top 25 conversation.
No. 9 Oklahoma loses twice on the week, getting upset at TCU then losing at No. 3 Kansas
Oklahoma was considered a bit of a surprise team so far this season, as the top 10 was not a place many people figured they’d be in January. Those folks may have been right as it wasn’t the best of weeks for the Sooners. First, they were upset by TCU on the road in a game that some may not have considered to be an upset anyway. It was close in the first half, but the Horned Frogs pulled away for the home victory 80-71. Emmanuel Miller led the offense for TCU, scoring 27 points in what was one of his best games on the season so far. Javian McCollum had a good showing for the Sooners, adding 17 for OU. This didn’t end up being enough though, giving Oklahoma its first loss on the week.
As for its second game, Oklahoma faced Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse — a daunting task for anyone — but coming off a loss this game was even more important. Oklahoma couldn’t get it done, as Kansas took the victory 78-66. The stellar duo for the Jayhawks, Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr., both had great games per usual. Dickinson tallied 24 points with 12 rebounds, while McCullar Jr. had 21 points of his own. Javian McCollum had himself another great game, but similar to the game at TCU it ended in a Sooners defeat. Oklahoma played solid in the first half, but in the second they showed why some thought they were overrated at No. 9 in the country. While both of these losses this week were not bad by any means, the Big 12 will continue to be a gauntlet for OU. As for Kansas, this was a great rebound win after its upset loss earlier in the week, showing one game will not faze this experienced team.
No. 3 Kansas drops one at UCF in the Knights’ first major Big 12 win
As for that loss just mentioned for Kansas, that came Wednesday night at UCF. In what was one of the first Big 12 conference games for the Knights, UCF played an amazing game that propelled them to the upset victory 65-60. This was a statement win for UCF, proving that they truly belong in the Big 12 after all. They were led by Jaylin Sellers, who had 17 points, which included four huge threes that gave the Knights the momentum they needed to win. For Kansas, McCullar Jr. led them in scoring at 16, while Dickinson and DaJuan Harris both had off-nights, not producing very much. This is something that can’t happen in a road conference game, even to UCF, because even the Knights took advantage and picked up the huge upset win. Kansas, though, rebounded and won against Oklahoma next, so their week ended on a positive note.
No. 5 Tennessee shocked at Mississippi State in their first bad loss of the season
Tennessee was yet another team to lose a road conference game that not many expected them to, showing exactly how difficult games of that variety are. Tennessee suffered three early losses, but recently looked almost unbeatable until Wednesday. They were upset at the hands of Mississippi State 77-72, a team that is solid, but not one that many expected to contend with fifth-ranked Tennessee. This didn’t faze Josh Hubbard, as he scored 25 points off the bench for MSU. Also for the Bulldogs, Tolu Smith had 23 to lead them to victory. Dalton Knecht was the lead man for the Vols, having himself another 20-point game, but it wasn't enough. The Starkville crowd helped Mississippi State stun the Vols and hand them their first conference loss of the season.
No. 1 Purdue loses at the hands of Nebraska, Boilers’ second loss on the season
It wouldn’t have been an upset-filled week without the No. 1 team going down, and that's exactly what happened Tuesday night in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers shocked the first-ranked Boilermakers with an offensive masterpiece, scoring 88 to Purdue’s 72. Nebraska got an amazing performance out of Keisei Tominaga, who had 19 points including five 3s. He was the spark plug for the Huskers, making his teammates better — two of whom, Rienk Mask and C.J. Wilcher, scored over 16 points. All these guys energized the crowd at different times, keeping them in it in a game where Nebraska’s home court proved to be the difference. As for the Boilers, Zach Edey was held to just 15 points, one of his lowest totals all season, and the rest of Purdue’s stars had lackluster games. This all led to the Nebraska upset victory, one that sent the fans rushing the floor once the buzzer sounded and Purdue players rushing off the court to avoid the excited Husker fans. This was Purdue’s second loss of the year, but both are in-conference, making the Big Ten standings very interesting. This loss, among all the others this week, was shocking, but nothing out of the ordinary for the unpredictable sport of college basketball.
Elms' Essentials: Rivalry Week
Elms' Essentials: Week 13
