The first Saturday of March provided one of the best days of the men's basketball season. Several teams showed they belong in the NCAA tournament, while others may have fallen out of at-large consideration altogether. Other teams secured conference titles, while others missed out on their league’s crown.
Here's everything you need to know from last weekend.
No. 4 Tennessee beats No. 14 Alabama on the road to take SEC lead
In a battle for sole possession of first place in the SEC standings, Tennessee took down Alabama on the road 81-74 in a back-and-forth game. Zakai Ziegler led the Volunteers in scoring with 18 points, while Dalton Knecht had a quieter-than-usual performance with just 13 points.
For Alabama, Mark Sears had 22 points, while Aron Estrada added 16. Those two were the only key contributors for Alabama, a contrast to Tennessee’s more balanced attack.
Tennessee has now a one-game lead over Alabama. Plus, the Vols kept their name in the conversation for a No. 1 seed as a win over a quality Alabama team on the road boosts their NCAA tournament resume. This game was a strong candidate for the best game of the day.
No. 12 Creighton gets a big win over No. 5 Marquette
Creighton got a huge home win over Marquette, 89-75. Creighton controlled the majority of the game but Marquette attempted several comebacks down the stretch. Creighton held tough, capitalizing on the absences of Marquette's Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro.
Baylor Scheierman put on a show, scoring a game-high 26 points, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points. Trey Alexander rounded out the Bluejays' big three with 18 points and 11 assists. With two of Marquette's key players out, Kam Jones shined in their absence. He had 23 points and David Joplin had 21.
No. 23 Gonzaga gets a rivalry win over No. 17 Saint Mary’s
Gonzaga defeated Saint Mary's in a game in which the Zags dominated the majority. This was a huge win for the Zags as a win may have secured an NCAA tournament berth.
The duo of Graham Ike and Andrew Nembhard was firing on all cylinders with Ike scoring 24 and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Nembhard had a double-double of his own. He scored 20 points with 10 assists.
The Zag duo outshined Saint Mary's' Aidan Mahaney, who had 16 points, and the Gaels couldn't impose their defensive style on the Bulldogs.
No. 15 Baylor uses home-court advantage to beat No. 7 Kansas
Kansas’s road struggles continued as Baylor won at home 82-74. It was a close game for most of the contest but in clutch time, the Jayhawks couldn’t compete with the Bears.
Baylor’s RayJ Dennis scored 19 with 10 assists, Ja’Kobe Walter scored 11 with eight rebounds and Yves Missi scored 17.
Kansas now has seven conference losses, which is the most it has had since 1989.
No. 18 South Carolina holds on against No. 24 Florida
South Carolina protected its home court and beat Florida 82-76. This one was extremely tight down the stretch but the Gamecocks were better in clutch time.
South Carolina's Meechie Johnson had a spectacular performance, scoring a game-high 26 points. Collin Murray-Boyles added a double-double, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds.
Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. scored 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting from three. Zyon Pulin added 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to beat South Carolina.
With the win, South Carolina jumped into second place in the SEC standings with an outside shot at a regular-season conference title.
No. 2 Purdue, No. 13 Illinois avoid upsets
Purdue survived a scare from Michigan State, which was in desperate need of a big win. The Boilermakers won 80-74. Purdue pulled away late behind Zach Edey’s stellar performance.
He scored 32 points with 11 rebounds in what was one of his best games all season. Braden Smith also played tremendously, scoring 23 points. Michigan State didn't benefit from a standout performance as Tyson Walker led the way in scoring with 14 points.
This one showed that even when tested, Purdue can persevere and win.
Illinois did the same as it went to Wisconsin and won 91-83.
Marcus Domask had an incredible game, scoring 31 points, while his teammate Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 23 points. It was hard for Wisconsin to keep up with the high-flying Illinois offense. Illinois cemented itself in second place in the Big Ten while Wisconsin’s skid continued.
Elms' Essentials: Week 12
