The last Saturday of the men's basketball regular season provided plenty of drama as ranked teams across the country fell, bringing the madness to March before all conference tournaments begin.
Here's what you may have missed.
No. 24 Texas A&M takes down No. 2 Alabama
Texas A&M handed Alabama only its second SEC loss and fifth overall this season with a 67-61 Aggies win.
Texas A&M took down the SEC regular season champions behind Wade Taylor IV's 28 points. He was one of three Aggies to score in double figures (Tyrece Radford and Dexter Dennis the others) as A&M topped the Tide. It wasn't Texas A&M's best shooting night, as the Aggies shot only 34 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep, but they used stout defense to make up for it.
That 3-point play though 💪 @aggiembk pic.twitter.com/Tho58f6bx3
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 4, 2023
Texas A&M limited Alabama to just 19.4 percent from 3-point range and only 33.8 shooting overall.
Huge @aggiembk steal‼️ pic.twitter.com/PZdNu2WOcJ
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 4, 2023
With the win, Texas A&M finished 9-0 in SEC play at home. The Aggies have now won 17 of their last 20 games.
🔮: 2023 March Madness men's bracket predictions by Andy Katz to start March
No. 9 Texas handles No. 3 Kansas
No. 9 Texas took down No. 3 Kansas 75-59 in one of two of Saturday's top-10 matchups. Sir’Jabari Rice & Tyrese Hunter combined for 43 points in the win and Texas outscored Kansas in bench scoring 32-8.
While Texas held Kansas to just 36 percent shooting, star Jayhawk Jalen Wilson still scored 23 points to surpass his season average of 19.4 points per game against ranked opponents. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough as Texas moved to 16-7 under coach Rodney Terry.
turning blocks into buckets 🤘
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 4, 2023
and smile for the camera @DylanDisu 😄 pic.twitter.com/moeLG3N9cf
With the win, Texas finishes second in the Big 12, its highest regular-season finish since 2010-11.
Iowa State blasts No. 7 Baylor
Iowa State traveled to Waco, Texas and shocked No. 7 Baylor 73-58.
Having lost six of its last seven games going in, the win came at the perfect time for Iowa State. The Cyclones are now 18-12 on the season with notable in-conference wins against top-15 Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and now twice against Baylor. In fact, Saturday's outing was Iowa State's second 15-point victory over Baylor this season.
Back in December, the Cyclones bested then-No. 12 Baylor 77-62 behind a 23-point performance from Gabe Kalscheur. On Saturday in both teams Big 12 regular-season finale, Kalscheur put up double figures again, tallying 12 points for Iowa State in the win.
The Cyclones defense frustrated Baylor, forcing the Bears to shoot just 35.8 percent on its home floor.
MEN'S TOURNAMENT: 2023 March Madness schedule, dates, times
No. 4 UCLA rides big second half to down No. 8 Arizona
UCLA led by just three points at halftime, but a strong start to the second half helped lift the Bruins to the 82-73 win.
The Bruins began the second half with a quick 8-0 run. Before Arizona could find an answer, a 10-3 run helped UCLA open the game up even more and keep the Wildcats at arm’s length.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds led the way for UCLA, and Tyger Campbell added 21 points and five boards. Campbell also hit 11-of-12 free throws. David Singleton (17 points) and Jaylen Clark (11) each reached double-digit points as well. The Bruins also overcame a below-average night of three-point shooting, going just 27.27 percent from beyond the arc.
Jaime with the hammer 🔨
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) March 5, 2023
📺: ESPN
💻: https://t.co/ElS4fli8Qt #GoBruins | @jaquez_jr pic.twitter.com/0BflsVBPg4
Arizona benefitted from a balanced attack from both the starters and the bench. Azuolas Tubelis went toe-to-toe with Jaquez Jr., putting up a double-double with 24 points and 10 boards, along with an 8-for-8 showing at free throws. Kylan Boswell (14 points), Kerr Kriisa (13) and Pelle Larsson (10) also hit double digits in scoring.
While the Bruins were nearly automatic at the charity stripe, going 20-for-22 (90.91 percent), the Wildcats couldn’t match, making 68.75 percent (11-of-16) of their opportunities.
West Virginia outlasts No. 11 Kansas State
Three 20-point scorers powered West Virginia to an 89-81 win over No. 11 Kansas State. Erik Stevenson, Kedrian Johnson and Emmitt Matthews scored 27, 23 and 20 points, respectively. Tre Mitchell also added 14 points as all four seniors won the final home game of the year.
The shot. The roar.#HailWV | @ej_stevenson5 pic.twitter.com/d86H2tSClP
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) March 4, 2023
West Virginia led by as many as 15 points in the second half behind 58 percent second-half shooting from the field. The Mountaineers forced 20 turnovers in the win and have momentum entering the Big 12 tournament.
AQ TRACKER: Tracking all 32 NCAA men's basketball conference tournaments, auto bids for 2023
Auburn stuns No. 12 Tennessee
Auburn ended its regular season on a high note after beating No. 12 Tennessee 79-70. Auburn's win came at the hands of a strong defensive effort that held Tennessee scoreless over the last six minutes of play. The Tigers scored 21 points off 11 turnovers in the win.
In addition to its defense, Auburn's offensive firepower was on full display with 49 second-half points. Wendell Green Jr. scored 24 points to lead all Tigers for the game as four scored 13 or more points.
YUP!!!! 😤😤😤 pic.twitter.com/FLMFRWeq3K
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 4, 2023
In the loss, Tennessee struggled without leading passer Zakai Zeigler who's out for the season with a torn ACL. It led to the fifth straight road loss for the Volunteers.
No. 16 Miami escapes No. 25 Pittsburgh
No. 16 Miami won a close ACC battle 78-76 over Pittsburgh. Wooga Poplar led the way with 18 points, powered by 6-8 shooting from deep.
Wooga Poplar. Five 3-pointers tonight. Ice cold. ❄️
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 5, 2023
Tune in on ACCN: https://t.co/NAm9Uqsn39 pic.twitter.com/bklsKJprB7
Miami outrebounded Pitt by 22 and scored 18 more second-chance points than the Panthers. With the win, Miami wins a share of the regular season ACC title.
Seton Hall steamrolls No. 20 Providence
Four days before the Big East tournament, Seton Hall cruised past No. 20 Providence, 82-58.
The Pirates played without two of its core pieces, Kadary Richmond and Tray Jackson, due to injuries. But Dre Davis took command off the bench with 24 total points — a career-high for the junior guard. He made nine of his 10 shots, including all four on 3s.
DAVIS AGAIN😤 @DAndreDavis x @SetonHallMBB pic.twitter.com/SX9zuvT3LP
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 4, 2023
Flanking Davis was Femi Odukale and KC Ndefo, who posted 19 and 15 points, respectively. From beyond the arc, the Pirates shot an impressive 56% clip on 18 attempts.
The win improved the Pirates to 10-10 in the Big East while dropping the Friars to 13-7 ahead of the conference tournament.
Oklahoma beats No. 22 TCU
Oklahoma beat No. 22 TCU 74-60. It's the Sooners' fourth ranked-win of the year.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 14-2 lead, and led 38-21 by halftime. The Sooners maintained their lead in the second half with a smothering defense that limited TCU to 38 percent shooting for the game.
Offensively, Tanner Groves and Grant Sherfield each scored 20-plus points in a game for the first time this season. Groves led the way with 23 points and Sherfield followed with 20 points. With the win, Oklahoma will now enter the Big 12 tournament.
