No. 1 UConn and No. 3 Houston made the NCAA Tournament selection committee look smart by eviscerating quality foes on Saturday in the hours after landing as projected No. 1 seeds in the NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Preview on CBS. But not every team named in the committee's mock bracket exercise fared as well after earning recognition as one of the top 16 teams.
Just ask No. 2 seed Marquette. (Although, uh, I'd advise doing so at your own peril. The Golden Eagles did not have a good time on the road vs. No. 1 UConn. At all. Maybe give them some space.)
Of course, not every team in the top 16 went on the road to face a top-five foe, so it wasn't all doom and gloom after earning flowers earlier in the day. The No. 1 seeds that played (Houston, UConn, Arizona) all won. So did all the No. 3 seeds (Baylor, Iowa State, Alabama and Duke.) And every non-Marquette No. 2 seed (UNC, Tennessee and Kansas) also won.
Beyond that things went a bit sideways. With some of the shakier teams who earned projected No. 4 seeds, two of them -- Wisconsin and Auburn -- suffered losses. So in addition to the carnage that comes with ranked teams stumbling there opened a path for more movement with Selection Sunday one month out. Things could change in that span, and if Saturday is any indication, things likely will change. College hoops is nothing if not unpredictable.
So to run through all the madness we experienced from a full Saturday slate we've compiled a handy list of winners and losers below to scroll through to help catch you up on a busy slate.
Loser: Auburn misfires in loss to Kentucky
In a 70-59 home loss to No. 22 Kentucky, No. 13 Auburn shot 17-of-55 from the floor (30.9%), which marked its lowest home field-goal percentage in eight years. The Tigers had the same amount of assists (11) as turnovers and never led. Auburn could've moved into second place in the SEC standings behind No. 15 Alabama because of No 11 South Carolina's loss earlier in the day, but couldn't convert. The letdown comes hours after the Tigers were named the No. 13 overall seed in the early bracket reveal. -- Salerno
Winner: UConn wagon keeps rolling
The only matchup of the day between top-five opponents wound up being one of the biggest snoozers of the weekend. No. 1 UConn stuffed No. 4 Marquette in a locker and threw away the keys early in what amounted to a 40-minute celebration for Huskies fans. UConn won 81-53, which marked the largest margin of victory ever in a top-five conference matchup since the beginning of the AP Top 25 poll (which, by the way, celebrated its 75th anniversary earlier this year). Woof. It wasn't even a bad loss for Marquette. It was just an old-fashioned butt whooping from UConn. There is no doubt about where the best team in college basketball resides: it is in Storrs, Connecticut. -- Kyle Boone
Loser: South Carolina falls in stunner
No. 11 South Carolina falling at home to a .500 LSU team is itself a surprising result.
No. 11 South Carolina blowing a 16-point second-half lead at home and losing by one? Now that is genuinely stunning.
The Gamecocks' mid-week loss to Auburn turns this loss into an official skid for the once-surging South Carolina team. The 40-point loss at Auburn was a tough one to take on the chin, but blowing a 16-point lead at home while allowing LSU to hit six consecutive field goals to end the game might be even more demoralizing. This team can still win the SEC, but two tough losses in the span of four days might mean it'll have to do so with a wounded ego. -- Boone
Winner: TCU's Nelson hits game-winner
TCU guard Jameer Nelson Jr. spent nearly the entire second half operating in the shadows as Micah Peavy, Emmanuel Miller and Xavier Cork led the Horned Frogs back from a 49-41 deficit at Kansas State. But when the game was on the line, Nelson delivered. The 6-foot-1 guard hoisted a contested 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of K-State's Cam Carter. The hopeful heave hit nothing but net with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift TCU to a 75-72 victory. It was Nelson's only made basket of the second half, and it couldn't have come at a better time. -- David Cobb
Loser: Wake Forest still winless in Quad 1
Wake Forest entered the day at No. 37 in the NET, No. 28 in KenPom and No. 4 in the ACC standings. But despite its relatively strong standing in various measures of success, it was among the "First 4 Out" of Jerry Palm's NCAA Tournament Bracketology due to its lack of a Quad 1 win. A game at Virginia presented the perfect opportunity for the Demon Deacons to rectify that, but it wasn't meant to be. Cam Hildreth missed a potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer to leave Wake Forest on the wrong end of a 49-47 ACC battle. Wake Forest is now 0-5 in Quad 1 opportunities, and the opportunities are running thin. Games against Duke, Virginia Tech and Clemson over the regular season's final three weeks could be Quad 1 opportunities, and it will be imperative that the Demon Deacons get over the hump in a couple of them. -- Cobb
Winner: Duke's McCain sets records in win over Florida State
Have yourself a day, Mr. McCain. The Duke star freshman broke the program record for most 3-pointers made by a first-year player with eight and tied Zion Williamson for the most points scored by a freshman with 35. McCain connected on 8 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc and helped Duke win its fourth straight game in a 76-67 win over Florida State. The Blue Devils still control their own destiny to win the ACC regular-season title and McCain is a major reason why. -- Cameron Salerno
Loser: Bubbles get cloudier in Texas
Texas and Texas A&M each entered the day as No. 10 seeds in the projected NCAA Tournament field but were still considered "on the bubble" by CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. Neither did anything to help their cause. The Aggies fell 100-75 at No. 15 Alabama while the Longhorns lost 82-61 at Houston. It was the most lopsided loss of the season for the Aggies and tied for the most lopsided loss of the season by the Longhorns. Just a week ago, it seemed like the Aggies were on the right path with an 85-69 win over Tennessee. But after losing at lowly Vanderbilt on Tuesday and getting torched by the Crimson Tide, they will have to sweat it out in the days leading up to Selection Sunday. Similarly, Texas has now lost four of its last six to fall to 5-7 in Big 12 play with road games against No. 6 Kansas, Texas Tech and No. 12 Baylor still on the schedule. -- Cobb
Loser: Indiana State goes 0-2 as a Top 25 team
No. 23 Indiana State has lost its last three games as a ranked team. The most recent defeat came on Saturday to Southern Illinois in a 74-69 loss on the road. The Sycamores fell earlier this week to Illinois State 80-67 as a 17.5-point favorite just one day after entering the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1979 — the same year they lost to Magic Johnson and Michigan State in the national title game. The Sycamores are now approaching dangerous territory because of the losses this week to unranked opponents. Indiana State will likely have to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament. -- Salerno
Winner: Big 12 frontrunners
The top of the Big 12 standings before Saturday looked the same after Saturday's festivities as No. 10 Iowa State and No. 3 Houston held serve at home vs. Texas Tech and Texas, respectively, to improve to 9-3 in conference play. The wins kept the two Big 12 frontrunners tied atop the standings even with the chasing Kansas Jayhawks and Baylor Bears sneaking out road wins, and they assured us one heckuva matchup Monday with the Cyclones traveling to Houston to take on the Cougars. -- Boone
Winner: Kansas takes care of business on the road
No. 6 Kansas has developed a reputation of being one of the best home teams and one of the worst road teams this season -- it was 1-5 away from Allen Fieldhouse in its last six games entering Saturday -- but the Jayhawks took care of business with a massive road win over No. 25 Oklahoma to stay in the Big 12 hunt. KU is still on the chase looking up at Iowa State and Houston, but it lives to keep its hunt alive with a crucial road win at a time it desperately needed one. With ailing star Kevin McCullar Jr. reentering the lineup, the Big 12 race could get juicy in the stretch run of the regular season. -- Boone
Loser: Wisconsin's struggles continue
No. 20 Wisconsin received the benefit of the doubt from the NCAA Tournament selection committee and landed as a No. 4 seed in the Bracket Preview. But the positive vibes didn't carry over to the court as the Badgers dropped their fifth game in their last six tries, falling 88-86 at Iowa in overtime. The Badgers led by 13 in the first half and held a three-point lead in overtime. But Tony Perkins slipped in a dagger with this late bucket that lifted the Hawkeyes to victory. -- Cobb
Winner: North Carolina's Bacot is on a tear
Armando Bacot posted his fifth consecutive double-double as No. 7 North Carolina cruised to a 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. Bacot finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 11 of 16 shooting in the most recent example of how the fifth-year star is elevating his game as the season's stretch run arrives. The Tar Heels have been treading water for a few weeks, but Bacot's recent tear offers a hulking reason for optimism that UNC can win the ACC title after all. -- Cobb
Winner: Creighton and Dayton make their case
Among the first teams left out in the bracket reveal were No. 16 Dayton and No. 17 Creighton; both landed just outside the selection committee's breakdown of the top 16 teams. Following the snubs, both went out and made their cases with wins. The Bluejays turned a 35-34 halftime deficit into a 79-57 win at Butler behind 57.1% shooting in the second half thanks to Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner. The duo combined for 48 points, including 28 in the second half, as Creighton won its third straight. Dayton wasn't quite as impressive in a 78-70 win over Fordham, but star forward DaRon Holmes II was spectacular. The All-American candidate scored 29 points on 10 of 13 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. -- Cobb
Loser: Mississippi Valley State stumbles (again)
Detroit Mercy took care of business at home this week and scooted past IUPUI to get its first win of the season, leaving Mississippi Valley State as the only winless team in the sport entering the weekend. That did not change Saturday. With its chance to equal the Titans in the win column, MVSU failed in spectacular fashion with an 80-57 road road loss to Alabama A&M to move to 0-25 on the season. The Delta Devils will likely be underdogs in each of their remaining six regular-season games. -- Boone
Loser: BYU takes bad road loss
It's hard to win in the Big 12 and even harder to do so on the road, but No. 19 BYU's 93-83 loss at Oklahoma State might take the cake as the most confounding of the day that was. The Cougars were favored by 7.5 points and wound up losing by 10 to an OSU team that, even with the win, ranks outside the top-100 at KenPom and sits at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Yuck, Cougars. Yuck. -- Boone
Loser: Indiana State goes 0-2 as Top 25 team
Indiana State has lost its last three games as a ranked team. The most recent defeat came on Saturday to Southern Illinois in a 74-69 loss on the road. The Sycamores fell earlier this week to Illinois State 80-67 as a 17.5-point favorite just one day after entering the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1979 -- the same year they lost to Magic Johnson and Michigan State in the national title game. The Sycamores are now approaching dangerous territory because of the losses this week to unranked opponents. Indiana State will likely have to win the Missouri Valley Conference outright in order to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. -- Salerno
Loser: Auburn has brickfest in loss to Kentucky
In the 70-59 loss to Kentucky, Auburn shot 17-of-55 from the floor (30.9%), which marked its lowest home field-goal percentage in eight years. The Tigers had the same amount of assists (11) as turnovers and never led. Auburn could've moved into second place in the SEC standings behind Alabama because of South Carolina's loss earlier in the day, but couldn't convert. The letdown comes hours after the Tigers were named the No. 13 overall seed in the early bracket reveal. -- Salerno