Duke

While they're likely a long shot to get back into contention for the WCC regular season title, Dave Rose's BYU (18-6, 6-3) need to make sure they at the very least finish no worse than fourth in the conference. With the setup for the WCC Tournament being what it is the top two seeds receive byes to the semifinals while the third and fourth seeds get a bye to the quarterfinals.

To say that there were some complaints about the "quality" of Saturday's schedule would be an understatement as many felt that the college basketball slate wouldn't provide much intrigue. But once again college basketball didn't disappoint the fans, with the big result being Iowa State's 72-64 win over #5 Kansas. The Cyclones won despite turning the ball over 19 times by getting to the foul line and controlling the boards. ISU attempted 34 free throws (making 25) to just sixteen for the Jayhawks (who made ten) in handing the visitors their first Big 12 loss.

Consistency has been an issue for the Oklahoma State Cowboys this season, and it's been an issue for highly-touted freshman Le'Bryan Nash as well. After scoring 21 points in the Cowboys' 71-68 loss to Iowa State (which ended at the buzzer on a Scott Christopherson three) Nash scored just four points in a 66-58 home loss to Kansas State. But the Dallas native brought his "A-game" to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday night, making 12 of 18 shots from the field to score 27 points while also grabbing four rebounds in Oklahoma State's 79-72 win over #2 Missouri.

Neither team is currently in first place in the Atlantic 10 but if anything that magnifies the importance of Saint Louis (15-4, 3-2) heading east to take on Xavier (13-6, 4-2) at the Cintas Center. Both teams are a game out of first place in the loss column, and a closer look at the Billikens' computer numbers shows that they could use a win like this to bolster the resume.

With the announcement that starting center Fab Melo would miss Saturday's game due to an unresolved academic issue, the chances that top-ranked Syracuse would remain undefeated took a hit. But few would have thought that the Orange would have few (if any) answers in the paint as a result of his absence, and that's exactly what happened at Purcell Pavilion. Jack Cooley scored 17 points and grabbed ten rebounds and Notre Dame led by as many as 18 points on their way to the 67-58 win, the eighth in school history over a top-ranked opponent. 

On the heels of their first loss of the season, #3 Baylor (17-1, 4-1) returns home to take on #5 Missouri (17-1, 4-1) in a game that features a major contrast when it comes to team strengths. Scott Drew's Bears are one of the biggest teams in college basketball while Frank Haith's Tigers are neither as big or as deep in the frontcourt. That simply means that in addition to forwards Ricardo Ratliffe (13.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Steve Moore (4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) all hands must be on deck of Missouri is to have any shot of leaving Waco with a victory.

Remember the concerns late in non-conference play that Vanderbilt was destined to be one of the country's biggest busts? Don't look now but Kevin Stallings' Commodores won their eighth straight game on Thursday night, beating Alabama 69-59 in Tuscaloosa to remain tied atop the SEC with Kentucky (4-0). Alabama shot 26.5% from the field in the first half and trailed 26-19 at the half, and a 17-4 run over a five-minute stretch pushed the Vanderbilt lead out to 23 points at 58-35 with 8:12 remaining.

Sunday's a quiet day with regards to the number of games on the college basketball schedule, but there's a critical matchup of Top 10 teams in Columbus as #7 Indiana (15-2, 3-2) visits. #5 Ohio State (15-3, 3-2) in their second meeting of the season. The Hoosiers won the first meeting 74-70 back on New Year's Eve, and a big reason why was the way in which they defended point guard Aaron Craft. Tom Crean threw multiple guys at the sophomore point guard, and the varying looks were a big reason why Craft turned the ball over a season-high six times.

 

 

 

NO. 8 DUKE (14-2, 2-0 ACC)

AT