Faculty basketball scores, winners and losers: Kansas blown out in finale, Antonio Reeves powers Kentucky

The ultimate full Saturday of regular-season school hoops motion set as much as be a banner day on paper. In observe, nonetheless, there have been a complete lot of actually good groups that bought caught looking forward to the postseason. On the precipice of convention postseason play for all the main conferences, three top-10 groups took losses on the day and 5 unranked groups toppled ranked groups in a lopsided, can’t-explain-it sort of day. 

And that was all earlier than 6 p.m. ET.

No. 2 Alabama was the highest-ranked group to discover the day with a 67-61 highway loss to No. 24 Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide trailed by double digits at halftime and by no means recovered in a flat exhibiting simply days after clinching the outright SEC regular-season title.

No. 3 Kansas discovered itself in the same boat in a 75-59 loss to No. 9 Texas. Kansas formally clinched the outright Large 12 regular-season title with Texas’ loss to TCU earlier within the week and trailed virtually your complete sport in a formidable start-to-finish exhibiting for the Longhorns. The underwhelming efficiency for KU resulted in a failed try to solidify its resume because the potential No. 1 total seed.

There have been loads of others who delivered duds and dandies throughout the school basketball panorama, so let’s break it down winners and losers type under — beginning with Kentucky.

Winner: Antonio Reeves leads Kentucky to huge highway win

With out the providers of lead guards Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky stole an enormous win on the highway over Arkansas in Fayetteville behind a career-high 37-point explosion from sharpshooter Antonio Reeves. Reeves had a good 15 factors within the opening 20 minutes earlier than going nuclear with 22 within the second half, ending the sport 12-of-17 capturing and an ideal 11 of 11 from the free throw line. Kentucky’s spot within the NCAA Event was by no means doubtful )it’s a projected 7-seed in accordance with CBS Sports activities Bracketology Skilled Jerry Palm), however the win helped UK safe the 3-seed and the necessary double-bye within the SEC Event. 

Loser: Kansas will get blown out in finale

Having already clinched the Large 12 regular-season championship earlier within the week because of Texas, Kansas laid an egg on the highway in Austin whereas struggling a 75-59 beatdown by the Longhorns. The sport was meaningless for KU when it comes to Large 12 Event implications — it already had the title and locked up the 1-seed, whereas Texas was enjoying for seeding — nevertheless it was an alarming letdown for a Jayhawks group that has seemed virtually immortal the final month. 

It is not the primary time Kansas has underwhelmed in an enormous means this season, both. There is no such thing as a doubt Kansas nonetheless has the products to doubtlessly repeat as champs, however a 16-point highway loss to Texas is its third double-digit loss this season. Possibly it is not trigger for panic, possibly it’s, however value mentioning: of KU’s 5 losses, three of them — to Texas, to Iowa State and to TCU — had been by a mean of 18 factors. When KU has it rolling, it may beat any group. When Kansas does not have it, although, it’s liable to get run out the gymnasium — because it did on Saturday. 

Loser: Alabama exhibiting some flaws

The No. 2 Crimson Tide misplaced whereas capturing simply 7 of 36 from 3-point vary. Alabama continues to be going to be the No. 1 seed within the SEC Event and stays in fine condition with regard to securing a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Event. However the Crimson Tide have not fairly been the identical over the previous 4 video games since revelations got here to gentle about Brandon Miller’s connection to the homicide investigation involving ex-teammate Darius Miles. Amid a wave of criticism for this system’s dealing with of the state of affairs, Alabama wanted time beyond regulation to beat lowly South Carolina after which squeaked out residence wins over Arkansas and Auburn, each of whom it defeated by bigger margins on the highway earlier within the season. Alabama’s resume is rock stable, however Saturday’s efficiency was the most recent signal that this group is just not working at peak effectivity getting into the postseason.

Loser: Windfall will get blasted

No. 20 Windfall is formally limping into the postseason after dropping 82-58 at residence to Seton Corridor — this system’s worst residence loss since 2004. The Friars entered as 8-point favorites however let the Pirates shoot 62.5% from the ground. Dre Davis led Seton Corridor with a career-high 24 factors on 9-of-10 capturing, and the Pirates shot a season-best 55.6% from 3-point vary. Windfall made simply 4 of 23 makes an attempt from deep and has now misplaced three of its final 4 video games following a 12-4 begin to league play.

Winner: Princeton rallies for Ivy League title

Princeton trailed Penn by 19 within the first half and was down by 9 with underneath 5 minutes to play however managed to rally for a 77-69 time beyond regulation victory to clinch a minimum of a share of the Ivy League regular-season title. It is this system’s twenty ninth league title and second straight. 4 gamers reached double figures for the Tigers, who closed the sport on a 22-5 run.

Winner: Auburn will get huge bubble win

CBS Sports activities Bracketology Skilled Jerry Palm wrote that Auburn “desperately” wanted to beat Tennessee. Effectively, the Tigers did simply that, squeaking out a 79-70 win over the No. 12 Volunteers to shut the common season with a marquee win. Getting into the day, Auburn’s solely Quad 1 victory was a November win over Northwestern on a impartial flooring. Beating Tennessee offers the Tigers much-needed juice getting into the SEC Event and helps reduce the sting of a gut-wrenching time beyond regulation loss at No. 2 Alabama from earlier this week.

Loser: Baylor falls flat in regular-season finale

With Large 12 Event seeding on the road and the ever-important NCAA Event jockeying looming massive, No. 7 Baylor laid a stinker in what I feel was essentially the most disappointing exhibiting of the season for the Bears in a 73-58 residence win to Iowa State. Iowa State had misplaced 4 straight getting into Saturday, getting into full meltdown mode, earlier than occurring the highway and handing Baylor its greatest residence loss since Feb. 13, 2016 when it misplaced at residence to Texas Tech by 18 factors.

“It was a type of video games the place each time we bought one thing going, we could not maintain it,” mentioned Baylor coach Scott Drew. “The one excellent news is hopefully everybody had a foul sport without delay and bought it out of their system, to get us refocused and reset for the convention event.”

Winner: West Virginia shores up resume

West Virginia entered Saturday’s sport towards No. 11 Kansas State on the bubble, in accordance with Palm, as a projected No. 11 seed within the NCAA Event. The Mountaineers took care of enterprise in spectacular vogue, capturing 50.8% from the ground and forcing 20 turnovers in an 89-81 win. Emmitt Matthews Jr., Kedrian Johnson and Erik Stevenson every reached 20 factors for WVU, which rallied properly from an 0-5 begin in Large 12 play to shut the common season with a 7-11 league mark.