Just hours after the top 16 reveal, several of the top teams listed fell to opponents in notable fashion this Saturday.
Here's a breakdown of what happened.
Kentucky crushes SEC foe No. 10 Tennessee
The Wildcats put on a show at home against the No. 10 team in the nation, taking down Tennessee 66-54.
Kentucky jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the outing, going up by as many as 20 points. The Cats cleaned up the boards well, outrebounding the Vols 40-32, as forward Chris Livingston led the way with 12 points and 10 boards. Big Blue had four players finish in double figures as Jacob Toppin scored 11 and Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace each scored 16.
Tennessee struggled to score from every part of the floor, shooting just 37.3% from the field, 22.2% from beyond the arc and 28.6% from the stripe. Jahmai Mashack and Santiago Vescovi were the only two Vols to score in double figures with 16 and 17 points, respectively.
No. 6 Texas survives Oklahoma in OT scare
The Longhorns were taken to the brink by bitter rival Oklahoma but pulled away in overtime 85-83 and will share possession of first place in the Big 12 with the winner of Kansas-Baylor. There were a total of 15 lead changes in this back-and-forth affair and would have stretched into a second overtime had the Sooners' final shot bounced the right way.
The Sooners sure didn't play like a team all the way down in last place in the conference standings, going punch-for-punch with the Texas offense, leading by as many as seven points in the second half. Grant Sherfield led the team with 18 points, including a 3-pointer with seconds remaining in regulation to force OT. Texas got 24 and 17 points from the duo of Sir'Jabari Rice and Marcus Carr to stretch its Red River Rivalry winning streak to five.
No. 5 Kansas outlasts No. 9 Baylor in top-10 matchup
No. 5 Kansas beat No. 9 Baylor 87-71 in a top-10 Big 12 matchup. The Jayhawks used a massive second-half rally to secure the win.
Baylor led Kansas by as many as 17 points in the first half and 45-32 at halftime. However, Kansas flipped the script to end the game on a 64-31 run. The Jayhawks outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half, with Jalen Wilson leading the team with 21 points.
In total, four Jayhawks finished in double-digit scoring as they beat Baylor by 16 points.
“don’t ever count us out” - @thejalenwilson 🗣️
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) February 18, 2023
we’d have to agree 🤝 pic.twitter.com/ObMxIsrgon
No. 12 Kansas State holds off No. 19 Iowa State
No. 12 Kansas State held off No. 19 Iowa State 61-55 in a ranked Big 12 battle. The Wildcats needed a second-half comeback to defend their home court.
Kansas State rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to outscore Iowa State 38-24 in the second half. Markquis Nowell scored 18 second-half points, leading the Wildcats in the game with his 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Nowell and Keyontae Johnson combined to outscore the entire Cyclone team 25-24 in the second half. Iowa State shot only 22.6 percent from the field in the second half.
Kansas State’s win now tied the Wildcats and Cyclones in fourth place of the Big 12 standings.
Dance, Dance Revolution#KStateMBB x @MrNewYorkCityy pic.twitter.com/6BpcyepZD6
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) February 18, 2023
