As we rapidly approach March, each result from the 181 college basketball games that took place this weekend continues to become more impactful.

Whether it was Navy securing its first outright Patriot League regular-season title since 1997 or Georgetown and Seton Hall combining for under 100 total points – there are countless outcomes from the weekend that deserve discussion.

Below, we dive into winners, losers, bubble results and noteworthy performances from the weekend.

If you were unable to sit down and properly digest the slate of games from this weekend, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s get into it.

Winners of the Weekend

Purdue Senior Class

Entering Friday, the Purdue senior class, headlined by the trio of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, had earned an overall record of 108-28 during their four seasons together. However, the Boilermakers senior class owned a somewhat disappointing mark of 3-4 against in-state rival Indiana.

Yet, its mediocre history against the Hoosiers did not trip up the trio Friday night. Purdue coasted to a 93-64 win, its largest margin of victory in the series since 1969. Kaufman-Renn led all Boilermakers with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Smith added 15 points and Loyer poured in 18 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night from the field.

Purdue gets back on track after falling to Michigan at home on Feb. 17 and picks up a vital win in its pursuit of a No. 2 seed come Selection Sunday.

Non-Conference Matchups in February

Duke has become the poster child for scheduling in college basketball. Albeit helps they are the most iconic program in the nation, their ability to seek out high-level, out-of-conference opponents has been a refreshing shift in college basketball.

The Blue Devils picked up one of the most impressive wins of the season Saturday evening, as they defeated previously No. 1 ranked Michigan. National Player of the Year favorite Cameron Boozer was magical again, knocking down multiple clutch shots en route to an 18-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist night.

The Blue Devils have now earned their third AP No. 1 ranking under Jon Scheyer and are in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Watching Star Freshman Play the Whole Game

If you find yourself exhausted with the Darryn Peterson saga, in which it has become increasingly difficult to predict when the freshman will play the entire game, shift your focus to another face of the freshman class.

AJ Dybantsa played all 40 minutes in BYU’s 79-69 over No. 6 ranked Iowa State. The 6-foot-9 freshman arguably put together his best performance of the season, scoring 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also secured 10 rebounds and dished out nine assists. Yet, the most impressive part of his performance came on the defensive end.

Dybantsa was tasked with guarding the Cyclones’ leading scorer Milan Momcilovic. The junior was held to five points on 1-of-5 shooting. Dybantsa made his case for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, while leading the Cougars to a much-needed, ranked win.

Public Apologies

Following Cincinnati’s Feb. 5 defeat to West Virginia, head coach Wes Miller was recorded publicly apologizing to a group of Bearcats fans, saying “you guys deserved to be frustrated,” and that he “understands the responsibility of the job.” Clearly, the emotion Miller displayed was not hollow.

Since the Feb. 5 defeat that seemingly snuffed their tournament hopes, and possibly marked the end of Miller’s tenure in Cincinnati, the Bearcats have reeled off four straight wins, highlighted by an 84-68 road win over Kansas on Saturday. The 16-point defeat was Kansas’ largest home loss to an unranked opponent since Bill Self took over in 2003.

Remarkably, Bart Torvik has the Bearcats as the sixth best team in the nation since Feb. 6. They still have work to do, but Cincinnati is now in position to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

Quick-Hit Winners:

• Tennessee: 69-65 road win vs. No. 19 Vanderbilt
• UConn: 73-63 road win vs. Villanova
• Virginia Tech: 82-63 road win vs. Wake Forest

Losers of the Weekend

Kelvin Sampson’s Title Dreams

While no result from the weekend could have determined that Houston was incapable of winning a national title, the Cougars’ path to cutting down the nets became a touch more difficult following their 73-66 home loss to Arizona.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee unveiled its current top 16 seeds on Saturday, Feb. 16. Houston was revealed at No. 6 overall, detailing its need of another marquee win to catapult them to the No. 1 line. However, in a home game that saw No. 4 Arizona enter without star freshman Koa Peat, the Wildcats walked out of the Feritta Center with a win.

The Cougars will have plenty of more opportunity to earn a No. 1 seed by the time Selection Sunday comes around. However, they a key opportunity for another heavyweight win passed them by Saturday afternoon. In a year where the top of the sport is potentially better than it’s ever been, a No. 1 seed is crucial in providing Houston with its best chance at a title run.

Not Practicing on Thursday

After racing out to a 10-1 start in league play and developing dreams of an ACC title, Clemson has suffered losses in four consecutive contests following Saturday’s game against Florida State.

The Seminoles, despite inspired play over the last month, will likely miss the NCAA Tournament. Due to Florida State’s position, this game felt like a quality “get right” opportunity for the Tigers. Instead, Clemson was handed another loss, continuing their slide down the projected seed line.

Following the game, head coach Brad Brownell admitted the Tigers did not practice Thursday as they were so mentally down following three straight losses. Hopefully, the Tigers do not dwell in defeat much longer, as they face No. 24 Louisville and No. 18 North Carolina next.

Boxing Out

Auburn trailed Kentucky 73-74 with 14 seconds remaining. The Tigers entered the contest as losers of their last five games, and their tournament hopes had begun to wobble. Despite holding a five-point lead with 2:54 to play, Auburn was on the doorstep of squandering another late-game lead.

As Auburn looked to get a potential game winning shot off, Kevin Overton drove to his left and put up a shot with 0:02 on the clock, which was swiftly sent away by Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate. Auburn’s KeyShawn Murphy grabbed the offensive rebound and frantically put up a look at the rim, only to have it rattle out. Then, with just over a second on the clock, Elyjah Freeman came soaring in amongst a pack of Kentucky players for a tip-in layup with 1.1 on the clock, sending The Jungle into a frenzy.  

The Tigers picked up a vital win and inched closer to cementing their position in the NCAA Tournament. While Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was overheard expressing his frustration with the referees as he ended his postgame press conference, he is likely equally as frustrated with his team’s inability to box out in the closing seconds.

America

Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton has spent four seasons as a Buckeye, a rarity in the current era of college basketball. Despite a coaching change and likely being offered significant compensation to transfer elsewhere, Thornton has remained loyal to Columbus.

Although Thornton has put together one of the most illustrious careers in Buckeyes’ history – he moved into second place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 2,037 career points Sunday – he has never participated in the NCAA Tournament, as the Buckeyes have missed the Dance the last three seasons.

Following Sunday’s 66-60 road loss to Michigan State, Ohio State remains firmly on the bubble, and with no Quad 1 wins their tournament dreams seem bleak. If the Buckeyes miss the NCAA Tournament once again, America is the true loser, as Thornton is one of the game’s best and deserves to shine under the bright lights in March.

Quick-Hit Losers:

• Texas: 91-80 loss at Georgia
• Utah State: 80-77 loss at Nevada
• Troy: 65-54 loss at South Alabama

Bubble Up and Bubble Down

Bubble Up:

UCLA Bruins

The Bruins delivered the biggest bubble win of the weekend, defeating No. 10 Illinois 95-94 on a coast-to-coast buzzer beater from Donovan Dent in overtime. UCLA was down 23 points in the first half before etching a win that may bolster their resume just enough to make the 68-team field on Selection Sunday.

Cal Golden Bears

The Golden Bears faced off against fellow PAC-12-turned-ACC opponent Stanford on Saturday night in what was a must-win game for both teams. Cal sits amongst the “Bubble In” or “Bubble Out” teams depending on which bracketology platform you use, but a home win against 16-11 Stanford will keep their tournament lives afloat. SMU comes to town on Feb. 25 in what is another looming opportunity for Mark Madsen’s team.

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU presents one of the more intriguing bubble resumes in recent history. The Horned Frogs have picked up wins over No. 7 Florida, No. 4 Iowa State and Wisconsin. On the flip side, they have suffered a handful of inexplicable losses for a tournament team, losing to New Orleans, Notre Dame, Utah and Colorado. Saturday, they closed out a six-point win over 16-11 West Virginia. The Horned Frogs’ resume will be heavily debated as we move through March, and the Jamie Dixon-led Frogs must finish their season well to see their name called on March 15.

Other Bubble Ups:

• Cincinnati: 84-68 win at Kansas
• Virginia Tech: 82-63 win vs. Wake Forest
• Saint Mary’s: 83-67 win at Washington State

Bubble Down

USC Trojans

From losing Rodney Rice to the delayed debut of highly-touted freshman Alijah Arenas, the season has been quite tumultuous for Eric Musselman’s squad. Yet, the Trojans entered Saturday’s contest against Oregon firmly on the bubble. That position was altered after Ducks forward Nate Bittle knocked down two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to defeat USC 71-70. A home loss to Oregon would not damage tournament hopes in previous seasons, but the Ducks have amassed a measly 10-17 overall record with a 3-13 mark in Big Ten play.

VCU Rams

The Rams had a chance to notch their first Quad 1 win of the season when they traveled to Saint Louis to face off against the No. 18 ranked Billikens Friday night. Despite holding a 42-33 lead after 20 minutes, Saint Louis used a 55-point second half barrage to pull away from VCU for an 88-75 win. The Atlantic 10 provides little opportunity to pick up quality wins, and the Rams may need to win the A-10 Championship to dance in March.

Creighton Blue Jays

Following the upset of No. 5 UConn on the road, the door to the NCAA Tournament was cracked open for the Bluejays. However, any hope of an at-large bid was smushed with Creighton’s 81-52 loss to St. John’s. Greg McDermott will have to pull some serious Big East Tournament magic to will his team into the tournament.

Other Bubble Downs:

• Mizzou: 94-86 loss at Arkansas
• San Diego State: 83-74 loss at Colorado State
• Oklahoma State: 83-69 loss at Colorado

Performances of the Weekend

Anthony Dell’Orso, Arizona: 22 PTS, 8-14 FG, 2-5 3PT

Dell’Orso helped Arizona upset Houston in the absence of Koa Peat. His 22 points off the bench tied his career high and boosted the Wildcats to a win.

Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska: 33 PTS, 11-17 FG, 4-8 3PT, 6 REB

Nebraska expectedly rolled past Penn State by a score of 87-64. While it was never expected that the Cornhuskers would lose, it was important for a team that had lost four of its last seven games to get back on track, and Sandfort helped them do just that.

Donovan Atwell, Texas Tech: 26 PTS, 8-11 FG, 6-9 3PT

While Texas Tech was another team that was expected to handle their opponent on Saturday, the important note from this game was how the Red Raiders would respond without JT Toppin. In the first game without its leading scorer, Atwell stepped up in his absence.

Cliff Davis, JMU: 27 PTS, 10-14 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4 REB

Davis poured in 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting against Georgia State, powering the Dukes to their fifth straight win. JMU continues to climb the Sun Belt standings with two regular season contests remaining.

Elijah Mahl, Santa Clara: 30 PTS, 11-21 FG, 7 REB, 4 STLS

Santa Clara continues to push for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, and the play of Mahl is a large reason why. The senior averages 14.4 points per game and serves as the Broncos second-leading scorer. Santa Clara notched a dominant, 94-73 road win over in-state rival San Francisco to improve their NCAA Tournament standing.