Huge wins by Kansas State, Seton Hall and Colorado State may have earned the trio a spot in the field of 68 for the time being. Scroll down for recaps of all eight Tuesday night games involving ranked teams.
Get caught up on all Tuesday night's action with the college basketball scoreboard.
The Colorado St. Rams hosted the No. 18 New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday night, hoping not only to play the spoiler against their division rivals, but to climb above .500 in the Mountain West Conference. They ended up accomplishing both goals in one fell swoop with a 71-63 victory.
The Lobos knew they were in for a fight from the outset, as they entered halftime trailing by a score of 30-29. The home team kept up the pressure and opened up a definitive lead late in the second half before clamping down for the win.
With the loss, New Mexico is now 8-3 in the MWC, with an overall record of 22-5. They remain in first place in the conference, 1.5 games ahead of the UNLV Rebels. The Colorado St. Rams improve to 6-5 in the conference, with an overall record of 17-9.
Rams guard Dorian Green led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Pierce Hornung added a big double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds to the winning effort. Kendall Williams led New Mexico's scorers with 16 points.
The Lobos will play their next game on Saturday, Feb. 25, when they visit the TCU Horned Frogs. Colorado St. will also play on Saturday, as they visit the No. 24 San Diego St. Aztecs.
For all news and information regarding the Mountain West Conference, please visit Mountain West Connection. For complete coverage of college hoops, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub.
Northwestern played No. 11 Michigan even for 40 minutes but couldn't recover when the Wolverines opened overtime with consecutive three-pointers from Trey Burke, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass.
The Wolverines spent the rest of the period bleeding the clock and shooting free throws, eventually winning, 67-55, with a margin of victory that belies just how competitive this game was for most of the night.
It was a fitting ending for Michigan, who relied on the long ball all night long -- including long-distance buckets from Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the final minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime. As a team, the Wolverines shot 14-for-38 from beyond the arc, with long balls accounting for the majority of their 56 field-goal attempts on the night.
Burke led all scorers with 19 points. Hardaway Jr. added 14 points, and Douglass 12. For the Wildcats, John Shurna scored 14, with Reggie Hearn notching a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Michigan has won four in a row, improving to 21-7 on the season and 11-4 in the Big Ten, one-half game back of Michigan State for the conference lead. Northwestern, meanwhile, fell to 16-11 and 6-9 in conference play. The Wildcats have never been to the NCAA Tournament, and barring an unlikely turn of events, they'll probably have to wait at least another year.
For more on this game, visit Michigan blog Maize n Brew and Northwestern blog Sippin' On Purple.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs almost grabbed the signature win that likely would have put them into the NCAA tournament, but it appears that they have some work left to do. The Kentucky Wildcats pulled off a comeback win in Starkville on Tuesday night, keeping their perfect SEC record intact and dropping MSU to 6-7 in conference play. UK trailed by 13 points at halftime, but were brilliant in the second half of their 73-64 victory.
Dee Bost led all scorers with 21 points while Arnett Moultrie notched a double-double, but the Bulldogs had no answer for their opponent's offense in the second half, during which Kentucky scored 45 points. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Wildcats with 18 points on 7-12 shooting.
Kentucky took their first lead with 4:10 remaining in the game, when Kidd-Gilchrist made a layup while being fouled to create an opportunity for a three-point play. He missed the free throw, but his field goal gave Kentucky a 63-62 lead that they would never relinquish.
For more on the two teams, check out Kentucky Wildcats blog A Sea Of Blue and Mississippi State Bulldogs blog For Whom The Cowbell Tolls.
The No. 25 Virginia Cavaliers visited their in-state rivals the Virginia Tech Hokies on Tuesday night in ACC action. Virginia was looking to pick up another win to stay on pace and remain in the AP Top 25, and they were able to tough out a 61-59 victory over the Hokies.
Virginia might have expected Virginia Tech, who entered the game with a 4-8 ACC record, to be a bit more of a pushover, but the Hokies took the game right down to the wire. Virginia Tech actually entered halftime holding a 35-32 lead, but the Cavs bounced back in the second half and went ahead. Still, the Hokies managed to stay within two points right into the final seconds. Virginia was able to hold on for the win to improve to 21-6 overall, with an 8-5 ACC record.
The top scorer in the game was Virginia forward Mike Scott, who just missed out on a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sammy Zeglinski and Jontel Evans each put up 13 points for the Cavs. On the losing end, Erick Green paced Virginia Tech with 19 points.
The Cavs will play their next game on Saturday, Feb. 25, when they host the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels. Virginia Tech's next game will also be on Saturday, as they visit the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils.
For all news and information regarding the Virginia Cavaliers, please visit Streaking the Lawn. For updates and perspective on the Virginia Tech Hokies, head on over to Gobbler Country. For complete coverage of the NCAA basketball season, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated college hoops hub.
Whatever slim hopes Bruce Weber's team had of getting back into the NCAA at-large bid conversation were completely dashed on Tuesday night as the Illinois Fighting Illini were taken apart by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Illinois, like in some of their other recent games, appeared to lack effort and were never really involved in the game. Jared Sullinger only had nine points and six rebounds, but it didn't matter as the Buckeyes cruised to a 83-67 win.
Deshaun Thomas scored 19 and William Buford chipped in with 17 points as the Buckeyes shot 65 percent from the floor. Illinois shot just 40 percent and were significantly out-rebounded on the night. Meyers Leonard had a good game with 21 points for the Illini, but he didn't get much help at all. Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson combined to shoot 6-21 from the floor.
For more on the two teams, check out Ohio State Buckeyes blog Along The Olentangy and Illinois Illini blog Hail to the Orange.
The Florida Gators didn't have a terrific first half, but rallied back with a great second-half performance to seal a convincing win over the Auburn Tigers. Auburn had a strong first half and led by three points at the break, but could only manage to score 17 points in the second half as Florida eventually cruised to a 63-47 victory.
Unfortunately, that victory came at a serious cost that will affect the Gators' postseason ambitions. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, forward Will Yeguete had to come out of the game with a foot injury. His foot is feared broken, and if that is the case, he will miss the rest of the season.
Kenny Boynton was the Gators' star, shooting 6-9 from behind the arc in a 20-point performance. Erving Walker also had an excellent game for the Gators with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
For more on the two teams, head over to Auburn Tigers blog Track Em Tigers and Florida Gators blog Alligator Army.
For the second time this season, the Missouri Tigers have lost to the Kansas State Wildcats. The first meeting between the two teams took place in Manhattan, when KSU stunned the Tigers with a beatdown that ended their unbeaten run. Mizzou was expected to fare better in the return game in Columbia, but struggled throughout as the Wildcats walked away with a 78-68 win.
The away win is a huge one for Frank Martin's team, which now sits at 8-7 in the Big 12. They were in need of a big signature victory, and this win will certainly count. Those who care about style points will be impressed as well; Kansas State took the lead eight minutes into the game and never relinquished it.
Rodney McGruder was great in the first meeting between the two teams and he was even better on Tuesday, leading all scorers with 24 points. Marcus Denman put up 19 points for the Tigers while Michael Dixon had 21 surprising points. Kim English was hindered by foul trouble and eventually fouled out of the game.
For more on the two teams, check out Missouri Tigers blog Rock M Nation and Kansas State Wildcats blog Bring On The Cats.
A combination of some solid defense and absolutely lights-out shooting gave the Seton Hall Pirates an upset victory on Tuesday night, as they took down the Georgetown Hoyas 73-55 at home. The win takes Seton Hall to 8-8 in conference play, and gives the bubble team an absolutely crucial signature win for their NCAA tournament resume.
The Georgetown bench did its part, but the entire starting lineup struggled to score. There wasn't a single member of the Hoyas who scored in double figures and Hollis Thompson, in particular, struggled from the floor. Jason Clark, the team's leading scorer, only attempted four shots.
It was a massive night for Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore, who scored a career-high 29 points. He shot a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc and 8-8 from the free throw line in an absolutely spectacular performance, and his scoring helped keep the Pirates in the lead wire to wire in the second half.
For more on the two teams, check out Georgetown Hoyas blog Casual Hoya and Seton Hall Pirates blog South Orange Juice.
No. 7 North Carolina Vs. N.C. State: Kendall Marshall Leads Tar Heels To 86-74 Win
No. 7 North Carolina enjoyed playing the spoiler on Tuesday night, beating rival North Carolina State, 86-74, on the same night that the Wolfpack honored their 1989 team, their last to win the ACC regular-season title.
Point guard Kendall Marshall, who entered the game averaging just 6.6 points per game, scored a career-high 22 to go with 13 assists. It was the first time all year that he's scored more than 14 points, and only the fourth time that he's cracked double-digits. And although it was his scoring that caught everyone off guard, he also reached a lofty milestone distributing the ball. From Carolina March:
Harrison Barnes scored 20 for the Tar Heels, with John Henson and Tyler Zeller each adding 14. C.J. Leslie led all scorers with 24 for the Wolfpack, while Lorenzo Brown added 18. No other player for N.C. State scored more than nine.
For more on this game, visit North Carolina blog Carolina March and N.C. State blog Backing The Pack.
Feb 22 8:01a by Matt Watson - 0 comments