Let’s dive into the impact of Wednesday night and how it affects conferences races and the national picture moving forward:
1. Purdue’s rebounding, despite its size caught up with the Boilermakers in a thrilling one-point loss to Ohio State. The Boilermakers, the pick to win the Big Ten a day ago, now could be in trouble to get the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament if they lose at Michigan State Saturday.
2. Ohio State has the two best wins in the Big Ten with one over Michigan State and at Purdue. The Buckeyes have the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament, may have the national player of the year in Keita Bates-Diop and are one of the best stories this season.
WATCH: Keita Bates-Diop's off-the-glass-putback lifts Ohio St. over No. 3 Purdue
3. Virginia will win the ACC. I feel as confident as that pick as I have about URI in the A-10 and Cincinnati in the AAC. The road win at Florida State is another example why.
4. I have no explanation for St. John’s beating Duke at home and then winning at Villanova after going 0-11 in the Big East.
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6. Miami is starting to play up to its potential and winning games it should after defeating Wake Forest at home last night.
7. Florida desperately needed the win over LSU. Huge.
Back on track. Check out all the highlights from our 73-64 win over LSU pic.twitter.com/12Sd65lqwF
— Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 8, 2018
8. Penn State still has a mountain to climb but has the chances with games remaining against Ohio State and Michigan at home and at Purdue and at Nebraska. And that’s why the win over Maryland was a must.
9. Nevada not having Caleb Martin was a difference in the loss at home to UNLV. I still love the Wolf Pack, but they can’t afford to lose to anyone else not named Boise State.
10. Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith’s 21 in the win over Iowa State is yet another example of the Red Raiders depth.
11. Markus Howard is a stud. He scored 32 in Marquette’s incredibly important road win at Seton Hall. The Big East is going to be pushing for the highest percentage of bids than any conference.
RELATED: Meet the parents behind one of the game's best scorers in Markus Howard
12. Texas A&M may pull off the impossible by going form 0-5 in the SEC to being in the field based on overall resume and a strong finish. The Aggies win at Auburn was a must in this chase.
13. The Tigers have their toughest slate of the SEC in the month of February and it could pave the way for Tennessee to win the SEC.
15. Jaylen Adams scored 44 for St. Bonaventure in its win over Saint Louis. Adams needs to be on display in the postseason. And the way to get there may just be for the Bonnies to win the A-10 tournament. But Adams should be on the display in March.
No, these aren't video game stats. This is really Jay's stat line from tonight.
— Bonnies MBB (@BonniesMBB) February 8, 2018
School record 10 () 3s
Career-high points
1st back-to-back 40-pt games for a Bonnie since 1969
ALSO 6 assists, giving him a hand in 74% of our FG pic.twitter.com/X0khxRocDs
16. Kansas State seems to be bubbalicious every season under Bruce Weber. The win at Texas is yet another example of how this team will find a way to be right on that line.
17. Georgia simply isn’t winning enough games down the stretch to warrant a bid right now and losing at Vanderbilt by 15 doesn’t help its cause.
18. Virginia Tech continues to keep its bid chase on the board by beating NC State by 10.
MORE: What to watch in one-bid leagues in the coming weeks
19. Creighton’s Marcus Foster is a gamer. He nailed the winning shot and scored 29 to knock off DePaul on the road.
20. I’m feeling good about promoting McKinley Wright IV early in November. He has been a stud/star for the Buffaloes and one of the best finds this season. He led the Buffaloes with 17 to knock off Cal.
21. If you haven’t heard of Hayden Dalton then you should watch him. He scored 27 for Wyoming in a blowout win over Utah State.
22. I highlighted Loyola-Chicago vs. Drake Wednesday and the Ramblers got the season sweep behind Cameron Krutwig’s 17. Porter Moser may be going to the Dance with Loyola and if so this is a team that can win a first-round game.
23. Ryan Taylor of Evansville is on quite a tear. He scored 31, his fifth-straight 20 or more point game in a row, for the Purple Aces in their win over Evansville.
24. Wofford’s Fletcher Magee has had a great season for the Terriers and he lit up Samford for 27.
MORE: How Fletcher Magee became one of the best three-point shooters in NCAA history
25. Richmond has had one bizarre season. The Spiders started 3-13 but are 6-1 since and got the season sweep Wednesday night of city rival VCU.
