Early Madness

Record-Breaking Seven Top-10 Teams Fall on Biggest Upset Day in College Basketball History

Bring on the madness! Even though tomorrow marks the officially start of March, college basketball chaos has struck early. Teams ranked 1-6, as well as No. 9 Texas Tech, all fell on Saturday to mark the biggest Top-10 upset day ever in college hoops. There have been five times in NCAA history where six of the Top-10 teams took a tumble on the same day, with the last occurrence in February of 2017. All seven upsets came on the road, so court-storming Saturday was happening everywhere.

No. 7 Duke, No. 8 Villanova (DNP), and No. 10 Baylor were the only Top-10 teams to come out of the weekend unscathed. They — along with No. 11 Providence, No. 12 UCLA and No. 13 Wisconsin — should see a surge up the rankings today.

Recapping all seven upsets won’t come easy, so I’ve packed the bullet points into a concise rundown… You know, in case you don’t have time to watch seven upset highlight reels.

#23 Saint Mary’s def. #1 Gonzaga (67-57)

Known as that other team from the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary’s recently jumped into the top-25, and they’re not done climbing. The Gaels jumped on Gonzaga by double digits in the first half to hand Mark Few’s bunch their first loss since Dec. 4.

Colorado def. #2 Arizona (79-63)

No. 2 Arizona was riding a nine-game winning streak, and they hadn’t lost to an unranked opponent all season until Colorado’s 16-point win — the largest deficit over a No. 2 team by an unranked opponent since UMBC beat Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tourney. The Buffaloes outscored the Wildcats by 21 in the second half to pull the upset.

#17 Tennessee def. #3 Auburn (67-62)

Auburn suffered their third loss in six games after blowing a lead in the second half against Tennessee. The Tigers shot just 5-for-24 (20 percent) from the 3-point line. The Volunteers dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Auburn 54-31.

Michigan State def. #4 Purdue (68-65)

Purdue saw their Big Ten regular season title hopes likely vanish in an instant after MSU’s Tyson Walker’s game-winning 3 with 1.4 seconds left. The Boilers went just 1-for-9 from deep leading to their second loss against teams from the state of Michigan in the month of February.

#10 Baylor def. #5 Kansas (80-70)

The only questionable “upset” on Saturday came in the Big 12 with Baylor hosting Kansas. Both teams shot an abysmal 25-percent or worse from distance, and the Bears outscored KU by 10 in the final five minutes to pull away.

#18 Arkansas def. #6 Kentucky (75-73)

Kentucky and Arkansas had a 12-round knockout fight that went down to the wire before the Razorbacks scored six unanswered in the last two minutes. Oscar Tshiebwe had a 30-point, 18-rebound night for the Wildcats, but Arkansas’ J.D. Notae had 30 of his own to lead the upset.

TCU def. #9 Texas Tech (69-66)

The Red Raiders thought things were smooth sailing in Fort Worth until the Horned Frogs came roaring back in the second half, closing the game on a 19-10 run in the final eight minutes. TCU’s Mike Miles led the way with 26 points.

Other Notable Highlights

#7 Duke def. Syracuse (97-72)

#11 Providence def. Creighton (72-51)

#12 UCLA def. Oregon State (94-55)

#13 Wisconsin def. Rutgers (66-61)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Highlights

#1 South Carolina def. Ole Miss (71-57)

#2 Stanford def. Washington (63-56)

#3 NC State def. #23 Virginia Tech (68-66)

#4 Louisville def. #14 Notre Dame (86-64)

#5 Baylor def. Kansas (85-77)

#21 Iowa def. #6 Michigan (104-80)

#8 LSU def. #16 Tennessee (57-54)

#13 Maryland def. #10 Indiana (67-64)

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: Chaos Reigns in College Basketball as Record 7 Top-10 Teams Fall

ESPN: How Saturday’s Top-10 Chaos Impacts the 2022 NCAA Tournament Bracket

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