Iowa St

Three teams (Belmont, Murray State and UNC Asheville) punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

NO. 10 BAYLOR (25-5, 12-5, Big 12) AT IOWA STATE (21-9, 11-6 Big 12)

 

Time: 7 p.m.

 

AP Top 25: Missouri drops from 3rd to 7th after losing twice, but the rest of the top 10 remains relatively the same. Outside of Missouri, other teams to take noticeable drops include Florida St (7 spots), Florida (4 spots), UNLV (4 spots). New Mexico fell out of the poll just one week after soaring to 18th.

 

Collegehoops.net's Top 50 Power Ranking is your weekly dive into the national college basketball scene.  The CHN Top 50 is brought to you before all the other polls late Sunday night. Arrows represent notable moves. (Also: Check out the weekly Non-BCS Top 25 Ranking.)

 

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#4 Kansas clinched their eighth consecutive Big 12 title with a wild 87-86 overtime win over #3 Missouri, placing head coach Bill Self in some esteemed company. Here are today's "Quick Hitters": 

IOWA STATE (20-8, 10-5 Big 12) AT KANSAS STATE (19-8, 8-7 Big 12)

 

Time: 1:30 p.m.

 

After a 15-2 run gave Louisville a 51-46 lead with 3:38 remaining it seemed as if the Cardinals were well on their way to an eighth straight win over #2 Syracuse. In a contest that featured some ugly offense, a five-point margin seemed to be near insurmountable despite the Orange's many talented players. However a Brandon Triche jumper just 18 seconds later would start a 6-0 run, which ended with a C.J. Fair bucket with 2:11 to go to give Syracuse the 52-51 win.

Despite the fact that the distance between first and second place is just two games with five to go many have conceded the regular season crown to #2 Syracuse (25-1, 12-1), and rightfully so as the Orange have been head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. The race to observe has involved the other three double-bye slots, and #18 Louisville (20-5, 8-4) is a player in that regard. That makes Monday's game at the KFC Yum! Center an important one, with the Cardinals also in position to use the win to bolster their resume from an NCAA tournament seeding standpoint.

The matchup between the two best teams in the SEC was expected to be a competitive affair, one that would challenge John Calipari's squad and show how much of a national title contender they really are. The answer was an emphatic one, as Kentucky controlled the game on both ends of the floor in a 78-58 win that didn't seem all that close in the second half.

Iowa State (17-6, 7-3 Big 12) AT Oklahoma State (11-12, 4-6, Big 12)

 

Time/TV: 7 p.m. (6 p.m. CST)/ESPN2