Saturday MegaCap

Another awesome day in college basketball means it's time to roll out another megacap. Let's go.

Oklahoma @ 3 Wichita State
Oklahoma won against a top-3 team in America without Buddy Hield or Blake Griffin. How? Because of effing Trae Young. I wrote an article about Young being the next college basketball superstar 8 days ago, and I'm really starting to like my observation. He had 29 points and 10 assists in the win today and has been the major catalyst in bringing Sooner basketball back into the national prominence this entire season. Oklahoam should be in the top 15 in the AP Poll next week after being unranked this week. They've proved everyone wrong with this performance today. As for Wichita State, they didn't look good. This seemed like the first time all year where the Shocker defense we all know and love just wasn't working. Part of that was due to Oklahoma, but a lot of it was because sloppy play from Wichita State. Granted, Markis McDuffie still isn't back yet, so I can't get too worried about this loss. My point is that this should be more about Oklahoma winning than Wichita State losing.

Virginia Tech @ 8 Kentucky
I'll admit that I haven't really given Kentucky a chance this year. I saw the Kansas game in November and was so disgusted by the sloppiness of their performance that I haven't watched them since. I didn't see any of this game, but nonetheless it's a somewhat impressive win. Virginia Tech was a tournament team last year and could have a decent ACC season this year, so while I'm not fully converted to Kentuckyism, I'm headed towards it slowly.

Eastern Tennessee State @ 10 Xavier
I'm not gonna say much about this game other than the fact that Xavier was down by 22 in the second-half and came back to win by 2. I don't know whether to be concerned or inspired. Probably both. Either way, I'm still really high on the Musketeers. They have stars, size and experience. I'll roll with the X as long as they keep winning (even if they shouldn't be).

13 Kansas @ Nebraska
Kansas could've lost its third straight game, but then Sviatoslav Mykhailuk decided to not miss an open three for once and gave the Jayhawks the 1-point win 73-72. This just sucks for Nebraska. They literally had it in their hands and then poof. It was gone. Their last possession got blocked by Udoka Azubuike, who I believe is the big man Kansas has needed for awhile now. Overall, this is really bad for Kansas. You can't almost lose to Nebraska. You just can't. the only glimmer of hope for this team is if Billy Preston comes back and is as good as advertised. This team desperately needs a jolt of something because playing like this won't win them the Big 12.

15 Seton Hall @ Rutgers
Well hoooooooooly shit. I did NOT see this one coming. Rutger fricking won against a ranked team. This might've been the first time something like this has happened in my lifetime. Rutgers has quietly put together a decent season so far. They're 12-3, and those losses have all come to teams who have been ranked at some point in the season. Realistically, the Scarlet Knights aren't gonna be making so much noise in March, but this is a nice win to become the official State Basketball Team of New Jersey. For Seton Hall, this loss obviously isn't ideal, but they should still be in line to finish in the top 3 of the Big East. Desi Rodriguez is starting to fascinate me more and more, and we all know about Angel Delgado. The Pirates will bounce back.

17 Purdue vs Butler
This was supposed to be a better game than it turned out. Blame Purdue for that. The Boilermakers came ready to play and just dominated Butler from the opening tip. The best thing about this game is that Purdue showed its balance. All starters had at least 12 points. That's tough to deal with for any opponent. They've recovered from their slip up at the Battle 4 Atlantis too. They're 7-0 since their loss to Western Kentucky.

18 Notre Dame vs Indiana
I can't really describe how this game ended, so I'll just let Fox Sports do it for me: (Start at 3:21). So yeah. Notre Dame has really fallen off since it's big Maui Invitational win over Wichita State. This is one that'll hurt because they blew so many opportunities to win. The free throws at the end of regulation are just killers. Indiana still won't make the tournament, so sit down Hoosiers.

19 Florida State vs Oklahoma State
We lost another undefeated team as the Seminoles lost to the Cowboys today. I called this on my podcast earlier today, so BOOYAH.

22 Florida vs Clemson
Uhhhh...guys...Florida lost AGAIN. They lost by two to Clemson in another game they should've won. What the hell happened here? I was talking two weeks ago about how they were the odds-on favorites in the SEC and now they aren't even the odd-on favorite in the NIT. Seriously I am shocked by this loss. How can I even judge this team anymore? They almost beat Duke and now they can't compete against Loyola-Chicago. This is easily the biggest turnaround this year. The Gators gotta figure it out SOON.

Syracuse @ Georgetown
Georgetown's first non-MEAC game since like the 80's ended with their first loss. About time. I will give credit and say that the Hoyas hung with Syracuse for the entire game, and it took a vicious Syracuse run to even force overtime, but ultimately the Orange got their shit together and won. Both teams don't look very good though.

Other Notables:
2 Michigan State survived against a feisty Oakland team.
6 Miami won at George Washtington, and Lonnie Walker IV threw down this vicious dunk.
23 Arizona went on the road and knocked off New Mexico.
25 Cincinnati dismantled UCLA on the road in a must-win for the Bearcats.