College Hoops Saturday: Spartans Upset Buckeyes, Mizzou Rolls, Tar Heels Bounce Back

The Belmont Bruins got a scare from Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Championship, but prevailed, 83-69, to clinch the conference's automatic berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Four starters and five players scored in double figures for the Bruins, who trailed 42-39 at halftime. Ian Clark had 16 points to lead Belmont, Blake Jenkins had 15 points, and Mick Hedgepeth and Kerron Johnson each had 14 points. The Bruins also used a size advantage to bully the Eagles on the boards, pulling down 42 rebounds to Florida Gulf Coast's 30.

The Eagles, eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2012 after reclassifying to become a Division I team, couldn't make good on what appeared to be a great chance at a shocking upset. Brett Comer had 20 points to lead FGCU, but the other four starters for the Eagles had just 23 points combined, and Filip Cvjeticanin and Kevin Cantinol each contributing 13 points off the bench was not enough to down the Bruins.

For more on the 2012 conference tournament schedule, visit SB Nation's NCAA basketball hub.

The Vanderbilt Commodores shot the ball well in the second half and contained the Kentucky Wildcats with a difficult to break down zone defense, but the No. 1 team in the nation did enough to hold on to a road win. Vanderbilt are a team very much in need of a signature win, but couldn't find it on Saturday night as the Wildcats held on for a 69-63 victory.

Kentucky took an 11-point lead into halftime, and they looked like they were going to coast to an easy win. Vanderbilt were very poor shooting the ball in the first half, and their defense was average. Kevin Stallings apparently did something right in the locker room, as Vanderbilt looked much better in the second half. They led on two separate occasions, but Kentucky's defense was suffocating down the stretch and didn't allow the Commodores to score in the final four minutes.

Vanderbilt took their first lead with just under ten minutes remaining, but Kentucky turned the tide on an Anthony Davis three-point play, followed by a great three-pointer over the zone by Doron Lamb with just over seven minutes remaining, which gave his team a 59-55 lead at the time. Vanderbilt fought back and took a 63-61 lead on a couple of big jump shots by Brad Tinsley just before the four-minute mark, but those would be Vanderbilt's last two baskets.

Lamb hit another massive three with three minutes remaining, putting Kentucky up for good. Their defense didn't give Vanderbilt a single quality look for the rest of the game as they slowly expanded their lead to the winning six-point margin.

Davis was a monster on defense yet again, blocking seven shots on the night. Lamb led Kentucky and all scorers with 16 points and was one of four UK starters in double figures; Michael Kidd-Glichrist was the only Kentucky player who didn't hit the 10-point mark as he attempted just four shots. Kentucky are now 11-0 in the SEC, while Vanderbilt sit at 6-4 with a trip to Rupp Arena still to come.

For more on the two teams, check out Vanderbilt Commodores blog Anchor Of Gold and Kentucky Wildcats blog A Sea Of Blue.

Joe Ragland had 24 points and six assists, as Wichita State downed No. 17 Creighton, 89-68, on Saturday.

Ben Smith added 22 points while Toure' Murry and Demetric Williams had 11 apiece for the Shockers (22-4, 13-2 MVC), who have won four straight and 12 of their last 13.

The Bluejays (21-5, 11-4) could have tied Wichita State atop the MVC standings with a win, but instead lost their third straight game. They were paced by Gregory Echenique's 16 points. Leading scorer Doug McDermott had 13 on 5-of-14 shooting while Antoine Young and Ethan Wragge scored 11 apiece.

Both teams have four games remaining as the battle for the MVC regular season crown and the all-important conference tournament seeding comes down to the wire. Creighton has a much tougher road ahead with Illinois State, Missouri State and Drake on the slate.

For more on Mid-Major squads like Wichita State and Creighton, head over to Mid-Major Majority.

Some teams are just built to beat certain opponents. It appears the Tennessee Volunteers, who are 11-12 against everyone else, are built to beat the No. 8 Florida Gators. After their 75-70 victory over the Gators in Gainesville, Fla., it appears the Vols are built to beat Florida this year. Tennessee also won in Knoxville in both teams' SEC opener Jan. 7, but Saturday afternoon's contest was a much more impressive performance.

Point guard Trae Golden was terrific, scoring 17 points and dishing out seven assists, and he was joined in his efforts by Jeronne Maymon, who may have shot 5-14 but he managed to score 15 points and pull down 11 rebounds. The team shot nearly 50 percent from the field and over 45 percent from the three-point line, which is good enough to win games against anyone, even the Top 10 Gators.

Speaking of the Gators, they didn't play that poorly. Their Big Three of Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal and Patric Young did what they were supposed to do: they combined for 39 points and 19 rebounds, but didn't shoot a great percentage. They're still suffering from the lack of a true point guard, finishing with 15 turnovers and nine assists.

For more on these two teams, visit Florida blog Alligator Army, Tennessee blog Rocky Top Talk and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

A last-second shot victory over North Carolina and a blowout victory over Maryland make for a pretty good week in Blue Devil Country.

Miles Plumlee scored 13 points and pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds as No. 10 Duke defeated ACC-rival Maryland, 73-55, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Seth Curry scored a game-high 19 points and Mason Plumlee had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Duke (21-4, 8-2 ACC), which has won four of five, including a last-second victory over rival North Carolina on Wednesday.

Maryland (14-10, 4-6) was led by Nick Faust with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Terrell Stoglin and Mychal Parker added 13 and 12, respectively. The Terrapins have now lost three of their last four contests and find themselves reeling in the ACC.

For more on the Maryland Terrapins, visit Testudo Times. For more on the Duke Blue Devils, check out Duke Basketball Report.

Two Top-15 teams, the two best teams in the Mountain West Conference, met in Las Vegas Saturday and had themselves a good, old-fashioned nailbiter. The No. 13 San Diego State Aztecs were winning in the final minutes, but a Mike Moser steal led to an Anthony Marshall layup with 37 seconds left in the game put the No. 14 UNLV Rebels ahead for good. They would hold on, thanks to a last-second steal by Justin Hawkins, to win 65-63.

Moser is the Rebs' best player, and he showed why he is a leading candidate for Mountain West Player of the Year, finishing with a box-score-filling 19 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four blocks, with only one turnover. Marshall scored the winning bucket, but played the facilitator to perfection in the 39 minutes, 23 seconds before that. He finished with eight assists, only one turnover and six rebounds in the win.

The Aztecs played their hearts out and almost took home a win against a raucous Vegas crowd. They were led by their star, Chase Tapley, who scored 22 in the loss. Tapley was complemented nicely by his backcourt mates Jamaal Franklin, who scored 15 with seven rebounds, and Xavier Thames, who had eight assists and six boards. They fell into a tie with the Rebels for 6-2 in the conference.

For more on these two teams, visit Mountain West Connection. For all the results from Saturday's big day in college hoops, check out this storysteam.

Thomas Robinson had 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping the seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks dominate the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 81-66.

Jeff Withey also had a double-double with 18 points and 19 boards for the Jayhawks (20-5, 10-2 Big 12), who recorded their 23rd straight 20-win campaign and have bounced back well since a loss to Missouri last week. It's their second-straight blowout victory including the win over Baylor earlier this week.

Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Kansas, which has posted 10 or more wins in conference play for 18th straight seasons. Travis Releford donated 10 points.

Markel Brown ended with 21 points for the Cowboys (12-13, 5-7), who shot just 32.7 percent from the field and went 5-for-21 from beyond the arc. Keiton Page tallied 19 points.

For more on the Oklahoma State Cowboys, visit Cowboys Ride For Free. For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, visit Rock Chalk Talk.

Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder each scored 23 points, as the 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles dominated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 95-78 and took hold of their place near the top of the Big East standings.

Jamil Wilson and Vander Blue added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Golden Eagles (21-5, 10-3 Big East), who have won two in a row since a loss to Notre Dame on February 4.

Dion Dixon and Jaquon Parker had 15 points apiece for the Bearcats (17-8, 7-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Yancy Gates had a double- double with 11 points and 12 boards.

Marquette gets the rest of the week off as they prepare for the unpredictable UConn Huskies next Saturday while Cincinnat will get a chance to bounce back against lowly Providence on Wednesday.

For more on the Golden Eagles, check out Anonymous Eagle. For more on the Bearcats, visit Down The Drive.

Mark Fox's Georgia Bulldogs squad went on the road to Starkville on Saturday and pulled off a 70-68 upset overtime win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It was undoubtedly Georgia's biggest win of the season to date, and their second in a row in the SEC.

The Dawgs were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who came out firing and put up 12 shots from downtown. He hit six of those attempts as the freshman did all of his damage from behind the arc. After Georgia had fallen behind by one in overtime, Caldwell-Pope hit a huge three-pointer to put the Dawgs back in front for good. He was also active on the glass and grabbed eight boards when it was all said and done.

In addition to the freshman, senior Gerald Robinson was in double figures with 13 points - with nearly all of it coming in the overtime session. Robinson tied it up with thirty seconds remaining and then went on and scored eight of the Bulldogs 11 points in the extra session to really carry Fox's team to the upset win.

Guard Dee Bost led MSU with 21 points but was just 3 of 10 from three-point range. Renardo Sidney had a double-double off the bench, grabbing 13 rebounds and scoring 10 points on the interior. But no one had any answers for the penetration of Georgia's Robinson.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on UGA, visit Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia blog. For all your Mississippi State coverage, visit For Whom The Cowbell Tolls, SB Nation's Bulldogs blog.

The No.4 ranked Missouri Tigers improved to 23-2 on Saturday with a convincing 72-57 home win over the Baylor Bears. The Tigers, who escaped Waco with a one-point win last month, had four players in double figures as they attacked Baylor with a four-guard lineup in the second half.

Phil Pressey led the Tigers with 19 points, hitting four of seven three-pointers, but all three other guards chipped in as well. Marcus Denmon had 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and three-point range. Michael Dixon came in off the bench and added 16 points, hitting four threes of his own and Kim English rounded out the backcourt attack with 12 points. As a group, the Tigers hit 14 of their 28 attempts from downtown.

Baylor really struggled to respond once Mizzou got some momentum going on the offensive end. It was their second straight double digit loss to what are considered the other two of the big three teams in their conference. With four guards on the floor, the Bears dominated on the glass early but could not answer on the offensive end with Quincy Miller the only Baylor player in double figures. He finished with 20 points but Perry Jones III struggled mightily and scored only four points on 2 of 12 shooting.

Mizzou now hosts Oklahoma State, one of two teams to beat them this season, on Wednesday night in Columbia. Baylor, which will tumble out of the top ten, hosts Iowa State on Monday night.

For all your Mizzou news, visit Rock M Nation, SB Nation's Tigers blog. For all your Baylor coverage, visit Our Daily Bears, SB Naton's Baylor blog.

Florida State bounced back from its upset loss to Boston College this week with a 65-59 home win over state rival Miami. The Canes came to Tallahassee riding a five-game ACC winning streak, which included a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But Leonard Hamilton's defense bottled up the Canes on the offensive end, and held Reggie Johnson to just four points.

Bernard James led the 'Noles with 18 points, including 15 in the second half which helped keep Miami at arm's length over the final 10 minutes of the game. He matched his career-high while also helping control Johnson of the other end of the floor. Michael Snaer added 11 points for FSU from the backcourt, but this game was all about the defensive effort.

Kenny Kadji had 14 points for Jim Larranaga's club but he had little help. After dominating Duke and Virginia Tech this week, Johnson only made two baskets in 28 minutes on the floor. The Canes hit just 5 of 22 attempts from three-point range and simply could not pull even with FSU.

The Seminoles are now tied with North Carolina for first place in the ACC, while the Hurricanes are two back in the loss column and tied for third place.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Seminoles, visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For all your Hurricanes news, visit The 7th Floor, SB Nation's Miami blog.

The Syracuse Orange improved to 25-1 on Saturday with an 85-67 win over the Connecticut Huskies. After going into overtime to defeat rival Georgetown on Wednesday, the Orange had a little easier time in the second half against their other rival and cruised to a comfortable win.

Scoop Jardine led Syracuse with 21 points and was incredibly efficient, hitting eight of nine shots from the floor. Jardine was a perfect four for four from behind the arc, including two back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions that really sparked 'Cuse to the win. Led by Jardine, Jim Boeheim's club was a phenomenal 62.5 percent from downtown and shot nearly 60 percent from the floor.

The Huskies simply did not have enough firepower to keep up with Syracuse's hot-shooting. George Blaney, who continues to fill in for Jim Calhoun, tried to find a way to break through Cuse's zone but could not match the streaking Orange. Jeremy Lamb played the full forty minutes and led the Huskies with 18 points but was just two of ten from three. UConn is now 5-7 in the Big East and has lost six of its past seven games.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Orange, visit Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, SB Nation's Syracuse blog. For all your Huskies news, visit The UConn Blog.

The North Carolina Tar Heels bounced back from their crushing last second home loss to Duke on Wednesday with a 70-52 win over a ranked Virginia Cavaliers team. The Cavs kept it close through the first twenty minutes, but UNC turned it up in the second half to pull away for the comfortable double-digit win.

Carolina clamped down on the defensive end, holding a slow-paced Tony Bennett squad to just 52 points. While Virginia boasts one of the ACC's best frontcourt players in Mike Scott, UNC's front line combination overwhelmed the Cavaliers and was the difference in the second half. Tyler Zeller, who missed a key free throw on Carolina's final possession against Duke, led Roy Williams's squad with 25 points while also grabbing nine rebounds. His partner down low, John Henson, added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The third member of Carolina's front court, Harrison Barnes, did not have his best shooting day but still matched Henson's double-double effort by chipping in with 10 points and 10 boards.

Scott held his own on the offensive end for UVA, finishing with 18 points. But the potential ACC Player of the Year candidate had little help, as sharpshooter Sammy Zeglinski was just one of six from behind the arc. The Cavs struggled as a team from long range, shooting a woeful 18.8 percent. The poor shooting, along with UNC's front line which had a 17 rebound advantage on the glass, were simply too much for UVA to overcome.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on North Carolina, visit Carolina March, SB Nation's Tar Heels blog. For more on the Cavaliers, visit Streaking The Lawn, SB Nation's UVA blog.

The Louisville Cardinals went on the road in the Big East on Saturday and came away with a 77-74 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers. WVU has now lost five of their past six games. They led for almost the entire second half until a late Kyle Kuric three pointer pulled it even with less than three minutes to play. The Mountaineers fell one game below .500 in the conference while the Cardinals won their sixth straight.

After trying to chase down the Mountaineers for most of the game, Louisville finally pulled even on Kyle Kuric three with two and half minutes remaining. The Cardinals then stole the ensuing inbounds pass to take take a 73-71 lead. All of West Virginia's 11 turnovers lead to immediate Louisville points. Kuric finished with a team-high 17 points, hitting four of eight attempts from behind the arc. As a team, the Cardinals shot better than 45 percent from downtown to keep it close with star Peyton Siva in foul trouble for much of second half.

Kevin Jones, a strong Big East Player of the Year candidate, had yet another dominating performance on the inside for the Mountaineers. Jones finished with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Deniz Kilicli teamed up with Jones in the paint and had 17 points of his own, before a late charge call fouled him out with under two minutes to go. Truck Bryant, however, could not get anything to fall all afternoon and finished just 3 of 17 from the floor, including a last second desperation three to tie it that fell short.

For more on the West Virginia Mountaineers, visit SB Nation's Mountaineers blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Louisville Cardinals, visit SB Nation's Louisville blog Card Chronicle.

The two teams that have distinguished themselves as the class of the Big 10 year in and year out will battle Saturday evening, as the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes host the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes (21-3, 9-2) and the Spartans (19-5, 8-3) play classic Big 10 basketball, predicated on defense, rebounding and forcing a whole lot of missed shots.

These two teams, however, don't participate in your Penn State-Iowa 48-43 nightmare games. Both of them average well above 70 points per game, thanks to talented players like National Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger of Ohio State and Draymond Green and Keith Appling for Sparty. With Appling and the Buckeyes' Aaron Craft, the point guard matchup will be one to watch. The game could ultimately come down to how the Spartans manage to defend SUllinger in the post, if at all.

Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m.

TV: ESPN/ESPN3

For more on these two teams, visit Ohio State blog Along The Olentagy and Michigan State blog The Only Colors. For all your Big 10 news, head to Off Tackle Empire.

The high-octane offense of the No. 8 Florida Gators will collide with the struggling Tennessee Volunteers Saturday in a rematch of Florida's first SEC loss from all the way back on Jan. 7. The two teams opened conference play and the Volunteers took home the victory 67-56, just three games after the Gators had fallen to Rutgers in overtime (guard Mike Rosario's old team, no less), and it seemed like Florida was on the way down.

Since then, the Gators have lost just one game — their last, four days ago, to No. 1 Kentucky — vaulting them to a Top 10 ranking and, more importantly, a 7-2 record in the SEC. Since that loss to Tennessee, the bench has ramped up its production, helping to overcome inconsistent scoring from the Gators' three best players, Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal and Patric Young.

The Volunteers have been scrambling for consistency all season under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin. WIthout any of the talented players Tennessee has gotten used to in the past five years, the Vols have managed to beat Florida and UConn and took the then-No. 8 Memphis Tigers to double overtime. They have also had games where nothing seemed to go right, leading to puzzling losses to Georgia, College of Charleston and Austin Peay, among others. Their performance will depend upon which Tennessee shows up.

Location: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.

Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 11, 4 p.m.

TV: ESPN3

The ACC's most talented team and its most surprising team will go head-to-head Saturday in a battle for positioning in the tight conference race. The No. 19 Virginia Cavaliers, behind senior Mike Scott, are 6-3, a half-game behind the N.C. State and a game behind ACC co-leaders Duke, Florida St. and the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Heels boast a lineup filled with future NBA lottery picks — guys like Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Kendall Marshall and James Michael McAdoo will all be in the League someday soon — yet have been prone to the occasional off night (lookin' at you, Deivydas Dulkys). The only real competition in the country for most physically gifted team is Kentucky, your top-ranked squad. When the perimeter players like Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston are knocking down shots and staying solid defensively, they're almost unbeatable.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have gotten where they are purely on defense because, frankly, their offense is pretty bad. They're 261st nationally in points per game, 246th in rebounds, and 180th in assists, yet somehow have lost only four games this season, which should tell you everything you need to know about their defense. Scott is averaging better than 17 and 8 for them, too, and he's a candidate for ACC Player of the Year on leadership alone. This is in Chapel Hill, though, which makes a Wahoos win seem unlikely.

Location: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 11, 1 p.m.

TV: ESPN3

For more on these two teams, visit Tar Heels blog Carolina March and Virginia blog Streaking The Lawn.

Saturday's game between the No. 2 Syracuse Orange and Connecticut Huskies is a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions. The Orange are 24-1, they're completely healthy, they're all eligible now that sophomore center Fab Melo has returned, and they're one of the odds-on favorites for the Final Four. Heck, even the case against former assistant coach Bernie Fine is getting holes poked through it.

UConn is on an entirely different trajectory. The team has lost five of its last six games, all against conference opponents, and the Huskies must try to turn their season around, for the time being, without legendary head coach Jim Calhoun, who is out indefinitely with spinal stenosis. Furthermore, they got the news that if they miss this year's tournament, which is looking more and more likely, it will likely be an extended absence from The Big Dance. The NCAA ruled Friday that because of below-standard academics, the Huskies must forego the 2013 postseason.

However, with sophomores Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier and freshmen Andre Drummond and Ryan Boatright, the Huskies are talented. It would be unwise for the Orange to look at their opponents' situation and assume a victory, because if college basketball has taught us anything, it's that no team should be taken lightly.

Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

Date & Time: Saturday, February 11, 1 p.m.

TV: CBS

For more on these two teams, visit Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and The UConn Blog. For comprehensive news on the entire conference, visit Big East Coast Bias.