Sometimes, the word “historical” gets thrown around too much. But on Saturday, that would’ve been the correct term to describe that NCAA Basketball slate of games from start to finish. There were five matchups with both teams ranked in the latest AP top-25 poll, the first time that’s happened in over a decade. And that didn’t even include Ohio State vs preseason No. 1 team, North Carolina.
Add that to a few Sunday games that were also noteworthy and you had an excellent weekend of marquee matchups. Here’s a recap and overall takeaways of the most notable things that occurred, along with a few honorable mentions.
Baylor outlasts Washington State on Sunday night
There wasn’t much attention to this game due to its timing late but the Bears had an unexpected fight on their hands for all 40 minutes. Washington State had a chance to take the lead in the final minute but couldn’t push through, losing 65-59. Keyonte George had 19 points to lead all scorers in the close-than-expected win.
BYU beats Utah in the Holy War
The Cougars followed up its upset over Creighton with an impressive home win over rival Utah, 75-66. Rudi Williams had 26 points off the bench to lead all scorers, with him and the team rebounding well after suffering back-to-back losses to both South Dakota and Utah Valley the week prior.
Texas outlasts Stanford, 72-62
The Cardinal moves to 4-7 on the season after this loss, one of the last few chances at a signature victory. It’s a rough position for head coach Jarod Haase, who has to be on the hot seat. Speaking of coaches, interim HC Rodney Terry has another win leading the program in place of Chris Beard, who is still out after getting arrested for domestic battery.