ESPN Men's Basketball

Perhaps no program in the country more desperately needed help at the guard position this spring than the Maryland Terrapins. It wasn't always this way. Just a month ago, the Terps were all set at the guard spot, what with ACC leading scorer Terrell Stoglin likely coming back for his junior season at the school.

Things have long since deteriorated. Stoglin was set to be suspended for an entire year for breaching the Maryland athletics code of conduct, so he put his name in the NBA draft instead -- probably the only move worth making, given the crucial lost year on the court.

So Maryland coach Mark Turgeon found himself with an All-ACC-sized hole in his backcourt, and he needed help filling it. Enter Albany transfer Logan Aronhalt. Aronhalt announced his intentions Saturday to relocate to College Park, a decision spurred on by a handful of factors: Aronhalt's desire to enroll in Maryland's renowned graduate kinesiology program (Aronhalt is a summa cum laude Albany grad with a 3.78 GPA), his proximity to family in the D.C. area and his team's trip to Maryland last season, when Aronhalt got to experience the feel of a game in the Comcast Center in late December. From the Baltimore Sun:

“It was a fun game to play in,” Aronhalt said. “It was definitely one of those experiences that gave me goose bumps, playing in front of so many people in a nice arena against a program with such a rich tradition.” [...] “I think Coach [Mark] Turgeon was excited. I’m definitely excited, too,” said Aronhalt, who will be eligible to play immediately. “It was just an experience that I’ll never forget, just playing there once. To have the opportunity to play there every home game was something I couldn’t say no to.”

Of course Turgeon was excited. Aronhalt may not be a game-changer for the Terps in 2012, but he is a veteran guard with three years of Division I experience. With Stoglin gone and injured point guard Pe'Shon Howard recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in February, Aronhalt will probably start alongside Howard and guard Nick Faust, depending on the kind of lineup Turgeon prefers. The biggest question is whether Aronhalt has the athleticism to compete against ACC guards; chronic knee pain kept him out of the lineup for the latter portion of last season.

Even so, Turgeon desperately needed a backcourt body. He got one, and a capable one at that. So maybe the post-Stoglin era doesn't have to be quite so dire after all. Plus, the name "Logan Aronhalt" sounds a lot like a fringe character from "Game of Thrones." If that's not a good sign I don't know what is.

The Afternoon Links are back, and they are exactly what they say they are. Some days will bring more links than others. This is the offseason, after all. If you have a link you'd like included, your best bet is to hit me on Twitter. You can also e-mail your link to collegebasketballnation at gmail.com, or use the submission form here.

• James Johnson's first item of business was winning the news conference, and that seemed to go pretty well, at least according to Hampton Roads Daily Press' David Teel: "James Johnson didn't act like the ACC's youngest, least-experienced and probably lowest-paid head basketball coach Tuesday. Conversely, Virginia Tech's new boss appeared comfortable during his introductory news conference. Comfortable in the spotlight, confident in himself. Don't misunderstand. There wasn't a whisper of brashness. He wasn't glib, emotional or long-winded. Some may interpret that as anxiety. But I saw comfort mixed with humility." Even better? As planned, Johnson's hiring prompted recruit Marshall Wood, who had asked for his release after former coach Seth Greenberg's departure, to remain in the fold.
• Western Kentucky freshman Derrick Gordon announced his transfer to UMass, where he will sit out a year before becoming eligible in 2013-14, via Twitter. Judging by the COPIOUS USE OF CAPS LOCK, Gordon is excited about the news.
• Over the weekend, Team USA added Oklahoma City's James Harden and (more relevant to our interests) likely No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis to the pool of players eligible for selection to this summer's Olympic team. Davis would still have to make a final cut, but given the dearth of true big men available to Mike Krzyzewski this summer -- Dwight Howard is out, and without him the only true center in the player pool is NBA defensive player of the year Tyson Chandler -- Davis might have an outside shot at making the squad. I'll be honest: I would love to see Davis play in the international system. (And also: I can not wait until the 2012 Summer Olympics. You're going down, Spain! Who's with me?)
• We missed this late last week, but Connecticut got a commitment from Phil Nolan, a 6-foot-10 forward ranked No. 23 at his position in the class of 2012. Nolan might not make an immediate impact, but in the wake of Andre Drummond's draft departure, Alex Oriakhi's transfer to Missouri, and Roscoe Smith's defection, Nolan's sheer size makes him an important get.
• The Washington Post recognized the 10th anniversary of Maryland's 2002 national championship with a photo slideshow. When done poorly, photo slideshows are one of the worst things about the Internet. When done well, they're totally awesome. This is an example of the latter, complete with "Where are they now?" updates on each of the beloved title-winning Terrapins. For example: Did you know Juan Dixon is in Turkey? True! And that Steve Blake plays for the ... ha, just kidding.
• Obligatory in-house links: Today, Myron Medcalf breaks down how Kentucky's 2012 freshmen raised the expectations bar forever. In case you missed it, be sure to see Myron's story on Trent Lockett, who transferred from Arizona State to Marquette be closer to his mother, who is fighting her second diagnosis of a "crazy" and "rare" brand of lymphoma cancer. And don't miss last week's feature on a renewed Bruce Weber, who looked refreshed and ready for a new challenge at Kansas State when he spoke with our Jason King.
• Daily basketball break: "Any faceted solid, he showed, no matter how complex or irregular, could be folded from a single uncut sheet of paper. Start with a piece of paper big enough, and you could model Notre Dame down to the last gargoyle." You may want to read this story.

Whether it's the NBA or a one-year suspension, the end result is the same: Maryland has lost guard Terrell Stoglin for the 2012-13 season, and that's a huge blow to its chances of reaching the NCAA tournament in coach Mark Turgeon's second season.

Wait ... Stoglin is leaving Maryland? Huh?

That's the reaction I had to Andy Katz's story Monday afternoon. To wit:

Terrell Stoglin of Maryland declared for the NBA draft by Sunday's deadline. But he wouldn't have been able to return to the Terps next season in any event. The school announced Monday that Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer last season, was suspended for the year for violating the school's athlete code of conduct. [...]

"Being a University of Maryland student-athlete carries a tremendous honor and responsibility," Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson said in a statement. "As much as we appreciate the effort these two young men gave to the program this season, they were unable to live up to that responsibility. We're disappointed, but hope they use this as a learning experience.''

Yes, you read that right. Stoglin, along with would-be junior guard Mychal Parker, would have been suspended for an entire year thanks to some unnamed violation of the school's rules. Whatever that act was, it was apparently very serious. As such, Stoglin did the math, deciding he might as well enter the NBA draft now. It's hard to blame him for reaching that conclusion. Waiting out the suspension would have pushed his NBA clock not just one season but two, as Stoglin wouldn't have been on the floor to try to improve his draft stock in 2012-13 anyway. Indeed, despite a relatively nonexistent draft status (at least at this late point in the process), the only reasonable thing to do was wave goodbye and turn pro. C'est la vie.

Whatever the causes for Stoglin's departure, it leaves Maryland at a significant disadvantage in 2012-13. This is not exactly rocket science. Stoglin, who scored 21.6 points per game as a sophomore, was the ACC's leading scorer in 2012 for good reason. He was a high-volume offensive player -- he ranked No. 3 in the country in shot rate -- but he was also efficient, posting an offensive rating of 110.4, the 14th-highest efficiency mark among players with a usage rate higher than 28 percent, per KenPom.com. With him back in 2012, alongside center Alex Len, sophomore guard Nick Faust and incoming ESPNU top 100 recruits Shaquille Cleare and Jake Layman, the Terps had the personnel to eclipse last season's so-so finish and make a serious, even expected, run at the NCAA tournament.

Now the Terps will have to hope guard Pe'Shon Howard -- who also, believe it or not, found himself in legal trouble this past weekend -- is a) healthy and b) ready to take on a much larger role not only as a distributor but as a scorer, too.

Maryland isn't suddenly headed for the cellar, but there's no question this team will be worse off without its suspended and now departed star player. Turgeon is well on his way toward building the fearsome Maryland program many touted when he took the job and hired an assistant staff full of recruiting stalwarts like assistant coach Dalonte Hill. But that process may be delayed by a year, or even longer, because of the latest strange and unlikely turn in Stoglin's now-finished Terps career.

First things first: I'm not entirely sure that Evan Smotrycz's decision to leave Michigan was a great idea, at least not how Smotrycz has framed it. The former Wolverines forward left saying he wanted to find a "better fit" for his abilities, but as a 6-foot-9 forward whose best quality is his shooting -- he shot 43.5 percent from 3 this season, and 38.1 percent in 2011 -- why isn't John Beilein's system a good fit? It feels like the best fit, doesn't it? Am I off-base here?

Thing is, it doesn't matter if I am off-base, because I am not Evan Smotrycz, and thus have no bearing on his college basketball career or his desire to continue it somewhere other than Ann Arbor, Mich. Which is indeed what Smotrycz is going to do, per Wolverine Nation writer Mike Rothstein's account this morning. Smotrycz is transferring to Maryland, where he will sit out the customary transfer year and be eligible to play beginning in the fall of 2013. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining. And he's already looking forward to the picks and pops:

"I just felt really comfortable with the coaches and the guys on the team," Smotrycz said. "Maryland is such a big time program that it would have been tough to beat. I didn't feel like I needed to go anywhere else." [...] "Where I fit in was kind of a four man who can pick-and-pop and come off screens and make plays and obviously shoot it," Smotrycz said. "I like the way coach (Mark) Turgeon ran his offense. He showed me a lot of film of where he thought I'd fit in and I thought it was what I was looking for."

Which all sounds about right, and which is why it's fair to expect some serious improvement from the Terrapins in the years to come. The coming season should be promising enough, what with guard Terrell Stoglin and Alex Len returning alongside a good recruiting class (featuring top-100 talents like Shaquille Cleare and Jake Layman). If that team develops as expected and Stoglin sticks around for his senior season in 2013-14 and Turgeon keeps adding recruits (which seems like a fair expectation) the addition of Smotrycz could round out a really nice starting five. Forwards who stand 6-foot-9 and shoot like Smotrycz don't come along all that often, and they are perfect complementary pieces on teams like the one Turgeon is currently attempting to build.

Would Smotrycz have been better off sticking at Michigan and performing in a similar role there? Arguably, yeah. At the very least, he wouldn't have had to miss a season waiting to become eligible while transferring. But Maryland gains an excellent building-block piece, one that will be more ready for the bright lights in a re-emerging program than nearly any recruit Turgeon could land in the coming seasons. In other words, I'd want Smotrycz on my team. The Terps agree, and that's a decidedly positive sign for the future.

Yes, that’s right: After Wednesday’s signing day madness -- Nerlens Noel to Kentucky, Shabazz Muhammad to UCLA, extra extra, read all about it -- we’ve gone and built another extremely early top 25. I know, I know. You’re excited.

The whole “too early” thing isn’t just shtick; it really is way too early to be thinking about next season’s top 25 (as if preseason rankings matter in the first place). This is all just guesswork. Fun, mostly pointless guesswork. But it’s the offseason! What else are we supposed to do?

In any case, you can check out the top 25 here. Not everyone could make the cut, which is where the rest of this post comes in. Here’s a look at some of the best teams that didn’t land in today’s top 25 -- and what they’ll bring to the floor in 2012-13:

VCU: It’s clear the Rams weren’t a one-show pony in 2011; in fact, as coach Shaka Smart is proving, this is a program with staying power. Indeed, with the exception of NCAA tournament play, Smart’s 2011-12 team was considerably better than the one that made 2011’s unlikely run, and that looks likely to be the case again in 2012-13. With star guard Darius Theus alongside returners Briante Weber, Troy Daniels, Rob Brandenberg and Treveon Graham -- and with Bradford Burgess’s little brother Jordan arriving as a freshman in the fall -- this may be the best HAVOC-style defensive team of Smart’s tenure.

Kansas State: The 2012-13 Kansas State Wildcats won’t make any aesthetically inclined fan’s list of must-see teams. With just one player signed for the class of 2012 -- three-star center Laimonas Chatkevicius -- recruiting isn’t going to get anyone all hot and bothered, either. But boring as the Wildcats may seem, their returning solidity will give them a chance to be effective. Those returners include 7-foot forward Jordan Henriquez and veteran backcourt members Will Spradling, Rodney McGruder and Angel Rodriguez, who was inconsistent but promising as a freshman last season. This group wasn’t all that much to look at in 2012, either, but under former coach Frank Martin, it thrived on rebounding, defense and toughness. Newly hired coach Bruce Weber will love to work with this team.

Tennessee: The 2011-12 Tennessee Volunteers were a rebuilding team -- a post-Bruce Pearl mess, which is what they were supposed to be -- until Jan. 21, and no further. That’s when Tennessee took down Connecticut at home and went on to win 10 of its last 13 games and land the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, just behind the Kentucky Wildcats. Tennessee’s early season woes prevented the Vols from making the NCAA tournament, but Cuonzo Martin set a clear tone for his new program, one that should carry over -- with a little help from sophomore Jarnell Stokes, whose midseason freshman arrival synced up with the Volunteers’ run -- into his second year in Knoxville.

Saint Louis: Make no mistake: The Billikens will miss Brian Conklin, a 6-foot-6 forward who played more like he was 6-10, with the interior scoring numbers to match. Otherwise, Rick Majerus’ team -- which gave Michigan State a go in the NCAA tournament’s third round -- is back. Kwamain Mitchell, Dwayne Evans, Cody Ellis, Mike McCall and Jordair Jett; these are the players who brought Majerus and SLU back to some measure of national prominence in 2011-12. There’s no reason to expect anything less in the season to come.

Cincinnati: When Yancy Gates faded Xavier center Kenny Frease on Dec. 10, we didn’t know how Cincy’s season would end up. But few would have expected the Bearcats in general -- and Gates specifically -- to so fully turn their fortunes around. Now, Mick Cronin must move on without his powerful senior center. If Cincy lands center Christopher Obekpa, the No. 77 recruit in the ESPNU 100, all the better. (For what it’s worth, many scouts think Obekpa is heading to Providence.) But if not, Cronin can lean on the accomplished veteran backcourt of Sean Kilpatrick, Cashmere Wright and Jaquon Parker.

Five more to watch:

Ohio: The Bobcats lost coach John Groce to Illinois ... and that’s pretty much it. As returning lineups go, you can’t do much better than this. All 10 of Ohio’s rotation players from last season -- which ended in a Sweet 16 finish, lest we forget -- are back in 2012-13, including star guard D.J. Cooper.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles lost their two best players, seniors Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, to the inescapable maw of time. But every main contributor around that star duo will be back, including Vander Blue, Davante Gardner, Chris Otule (coming off a December ACL injury), Todd Mayo and Junior Cadougan. This will remain a talented up-tempo team led by one of the nation’s most tireless coaches in Buzz Williams.

Butler: Will the Bulldogs return to prominence in 2012-13? It certainly looks that way. Brad Stevens’ young team will be without senior guard Ronald Nored, but otherwise will be a year older and wiser next season, while its chief deficiency -- shooting, scoring, offense in general -- should be alleviated by the arrival of sharpshooting Arkansas transfer Rotnei Clarke. Butler may not get back to the Final Four, but a return to the top of the Horizon League looks likely.

Miami: The Hurricanes were one of a handful of bubble teams left behind on Selection Sunday; in the end, a win at Duke in ACC play wasn’t enough to make up for an otherwise mediocre résumé. But 2012-13 holds some measure of promise. Star guard Durand Scott returns, as do forwards Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadji. If the Hurricanes continue to improve under Jim Larranaga, they should be dancing in no time.

Maryland: The Terrapins struggled during the program's first post-Gary Williams season, but the pieces are in place for a step forward in Year 2. Star guard Terrell Stoglin -- one of the ACC's best perimeter scorers -- is back, as is center Alex Len. Meanwhile, coach Mark Turgeon is already reaping the rewards of a renewed focus on elite-level recruiting: ESPNU top 100 players Shaquille Cleare and Jake Layman highlight a solid incoming class that should contribute right away.

Honorable mentions: Alabama, Florida State, Pitt, Murray State, Stanford, Saint Mary’s, Iowa State, Xavier, Nevada.

ATLANTA -- Every time North Carolina assistant strength and conditioning coach Jackie Manuel sees forward James Michael McAdoo, he asks the freshman one question: “You hear that clicking noise?”

McAdoo’s response: Yes. Finally.

Perhaps just in time for the Tar Heels.

With All-ACC forward John Henson icing his sprained left wrist for most of the game, McAdoo tied a career high with 14 points, and added eight rebounds, in top-seeded UNC's 85-69 victory over Maryland on Friday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. It continued a pattern of aggressive, confident and more controlled play over the last month or so -- and could be key if Henson misses any more time because of his injury.

The junior’s status will be a game-time decision for Saturday’s semifinal with NC State.

“We’ll continue to ice it and see what happens tomorrow,’’ said Henson, who sustained the injury early in the first half when he was trying to break a fall after he was fouled. X-rays taken at halftime were negative. “… But the team did fine without me, especially with how James played.”

It seems like it’s been a long time coming for McAdoo, the 2009 USA Male Basketball Player of the Year who was one of the highest-rated forwards in his freshman class.

He showed glimpses of his potential early in the season, when he would sprint in front of the fast break, or battle for a rebound. But all too often, McAdoo struggled to finish around the hoop -- coach Roy Williams even threatened the bench with running on one occasion, if the unknowing freshman didn’t finish strong on a particular play with a dunk -- as he struggled to find a place in UNC’s system.

Then all of a sudden, right around UNC’s late-January win over N.C. State, McAdoo started hearing that clicking noise.

Mostly because he met with a few coaches, and started hearing what they were telling him: that he was needed, that he could contribute more.

“The difference in high school basketball to the ACC is a big difference,’’ Williams said. “I can't tell you exactly when it [was], but even when he was struggling I kept putting him in the game, until one day I finally told him, I said, 'Hey. I must think you're pretty good because you're not playing very well, and I keep putting you in. So why don't you just go ahead and play well?”

The turnaround began on the practice court, McAdoo said, and realizing what playing hard there would mean when it mattered.

“I wasn’t really very fond of practice; I never have been,’’ he said. “But I just really bought into the way you play is how you practice, and that really has helped me.”

Teammates noticed the change in workouts -- the way he battled harder for rebounds, worked more on his shot, focused on defense.

And Maryland noticed it Friday, too, as the 6-foot-9 athlete buried jumpers, took at least one charge, hit the boards and frustrated the Terps big men.

“I was disappointed we couldn’t score more on McAdoo,’’ Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “I thought we could score on him. He is not 7-foot.”

No, but he was aggressive. And focused. And confident.

Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock led the Tar Heels with 15 points apiece, and point guard Kendall Marshall (13 points, 12 assists) set the ACC single-season record for assists. Guard Terrell Stoglin scored 30 for Maryland.

But McAdoo made 5-of-8 shots in 29 minutes, and made a difference -- especially with Henson out.

"James Michael was big,'' Williams said.

And now, he’s determined to stay that way.

Click.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A quick look at sixth-ranked North Carolina’s 88-64 victory over Maryland at the Smith Center on Wednesday night:

How it happened: On senior night, it was senior forward Tyler Zeller’s night; the 7-footer scored 30 points, including shooting 20-of-23 from the free throw line, a Smith Center record (and one off the school record) for made freebies.

It wasn’t seamless early, though.

Both teams shot worse than 40 percent in the first half, as Zeller and junior forward John Henson combined for 25 of the Tar Heels’ 36 points en route to a 36-25 lead. Maryland turned it over 11 times before the break, while the Tar Heels committed six turnovers and outrebounded the Terps by only two.

The Tar Heels were sloppy, so much so that coach Roy Williams stripped off his sports coat in frustration after a bad pass with 15:40 left, with his team leading by eight. Terps coach Mark Turgeon showed some angst of his own, picking up a technical foul about four minutes later, when his team trailed by 11. UNC, though, followed that with a 16-0 run, breaking open the game.

And the only real question then was whether Zeller would break his career scoring record. In the end, he came up two points short of tying it. But the ACC player of the year candidate took his curtain call with 6:39 left -- hugging Williams, high-fiving his teammates on the bench and waving to the chanting, standing, appreciative crowd.

Henson added 19 points for the Tar Heels, who shot 39.4 percent.

Nick Faust led the Terps with 17 points.

What it means: The victory kept the Tar Heels tied atop the ACC standings with Duke at 13-2; the rivals will face off Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the regular-season league title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Expect a focused showdown. Not only will UNC be trying to avenge its one-point loss earlier this month -- when Devils freshman Austin Rivers buried a game-winning 3-pointer to secure a double-digit comeback -- but both teams are trying to keep their hopes alive for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Maryland now has lost three of its past four games.

Hubbub: It took a while, but North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall set the single-season school assists record with about 18 minutes left on a pass to Harrison Barnes. Entering the game, he needed four to pass Ed Cota (who had 284 in 1999-2000), and Marshall finished with eight. He now needs only 15 more to pass former Georgia Tech guard Craig Neal for the ACC record; he tossed 303 in 1987-88.


Hubbub, too: As expected, senior walk-ons Stewart Cooper, David Dupont and Patrick Crouch joined senior reserve Justin Watts and regular senior starter Zeller in the opening lineup for the quintet’s final game at the Smith Center. The score was tied at 2 when the normal starters joined Zeller at the 17:55 mark.

What’s next: The Tar Heels will face the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Maryland hosts Virginia on Sunday.

One key player was ruled ineligible. At least one key team likely saw its at-large NCAA tournament hopes snuffed. And once again, it looks as if the ACC regular-season title will come down to the final Duke-North Carolina game, next weekend. This week’s attempt at the ACC power rankings:

1. Duke: The Blue Devils -- who already lost to Miami and Florida State at home this season -- had another close call at Cameron Indoor Stadium, needing overtime to beat Virginia Tech. But their win at FSU last week keeps them right where they want to be: in the hunt for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA and ACC tournaments.

2. North Carolina: ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi said last week the Tar Heels would need to win out to make a case for a top seed in the NCAA tournament. That push continues this week with their home finale against Maryland and a trip to Duke. When will point guard Kendall Marshall set the school record for assists in a season? Stay tuned.

3. Florida State: It was a rough week for the Seminoles. First they lost at home to Duke -- and likely lost their chance at the regular-season ACC title. Then they fell at Miami on Sunday. They’ll try to stop their slide at Virginia next.

4. Virginia: Saturday’s loss to the Tar Heels stung -- not just because of the physical game, myriad of whistles against the Cavs’ big guys or forward Mike Scott's ACC season-low six points. But also because Virginia has now lost three of its last five games.

5. Miami: The Hurricanes beat Florida State on Sunday without center Reggie Johnson, who was declared ineligible by the school after an investigation revealed members of his family took impermissible travel benefits from the former coaching staff. The victory enhanced the Hurricanes' NCAA résumé, but they’re going to need Johnson back to make a stronger push (and case).

6. Clemson: Andre Young's game-winning 3-pointer in overtime against NC State means the Tigers are now 2-8 in games decided by five or fewer points this season. They have now won four out of five games and pushed themselves to .500 in league play. But that still hasn’t made much of a dent in their triple-digit RPI.

7. NC State: Saturday’s overtime loss at Clemson was just the latest defeat to rip at the Wolfpack’s NCAA tournament hopes. An ACC tournament title would give them an automatic bid, but that now is probably the only way they get there after four straight defeats (Duke, Florida State, UNC and Clemson).

8. Maryland: After beating Miami at home last week, the Terps went on the road against a struggling Georgia Tech team and promptly lost. Coach Mark Turgeon summed up his team’s performance at Georgia Tech this way: “I thought we were growing up, but today showed we haven’t grown up all the way,” he said, according to The Washington Post. “We weren’t ready to play.”

9. Virginia Tech: “One or two more rolls went different this year, we’d be a whole different team,” senior guard Dorenzo Hudson told The Washington Post on Saturday after the Hokies lost another close one -- this time at Duke. Enough said.

10. Wake Forest: After Duke comes to town on Tuesday, the Deacs will finish the regular season with a winnable game in Atlanta. After prevailing in two of their last three games, they’d like to continue on a high note.

11. Georgia Tech: After managing only 37 points in a loss to Clemson, the Yellow Jackets beat Maryland by a bucket. “We're real happy,’’ guard Mfon Udofia said, according to The Associated Press. “I always tell the guys, 'Something's going to shake.'"

12. Boston College: The Eagles have now lost 10 of 11 games. The positive: All of those freshmen will be sophomores next season.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.

The Morning After is our semi-daily recap of last night's best basketball action. It highly recommends John Gasaway's treatise on the historical origins and context of the Ratings Percentage Index. Essential reading.

I have a bad memory. It's one of the frustrating things about being my friend or girlfriend or close relative -- if you tell me something, I'll do my best, but there's a decent chance that if I don't write it down, I'll forget all about it.

So, yeah, there could have been a better night along the bubble in college hoops in the past, say, five years. There may have been a night with more bubble teams striving for late-season marquee wins or trying to avoid losses. There may have been a night with crazier results, more up and downs in a five-hour span. But if there was, well, I sure can't remember it. Can you?

Today's Morning After is really more like a mini-Bubble Watch, less a look at how Tuesday night's games unfolded and more at what those results mean for the various bubble teams therein. Let's begin, shall we?

The Marquee Wins

Seton Hall 73, No. 8 Georgetown 55: Bubble wins don't get much bigger than this. Seton Hall began the night smack dab on the cusp of the tournament, one of Joe Lunardi's last four in. Its résumé was the picture of mediocrity. Like so many of the teams around it on the S-Curve, it needed a big win, and with only Rutgers and DePaul left on the remaining schedule, Georgetown at home was this team's last big chance (at least before the Big East tournament) to distinguish itself from the batch of equally mediocre profiles on the bubble. Now, provided the Pirates don't do something crazy (like, say, losing to DePaul and Rutgers), they're almost certainly going to get in the tournament. It's really that simple.

Colorado State 71, No. 21 New Mexico 63: As big as Seton Hall's win was, this one may have been bigger. After all, the Pirates may have made the tournament even without the Georgetown win; it was hardly a sure thing, of course, but two more wins and a decent Big East tournament performance probably would have allowed them to sneak in, if only barely. But Colorado State? Colorado State couldn't merely maintain. It needed to do something drastic. Beating the conference leader, a squad that just dump-trucked UNLV days after winning at San Diego State, most certainly qualifies. Throughout the past two months, the Rams have owned the most inexplicably good computer numbers in the country. Much of that had to do with the true road game at Duke early in the season, not to mention the second-hand inflation accrued from brushing up against Southern Miss in the nonconference. Either way, it was easy to look at CSU's numbers and be dumbfounded. The best win was over San Diego State. Most of the losses weren't all that bad, but there were a lot of them (nine to be exact). Examining any portion of this team's résumé -- the 4-8 road/neutral record, the 1-4 mark against the RPI top 50, the second-best win coming against, say, Colorado? -- was mostly an exercise in wonder: How on Earth does this team have a top-30 RPI?

That question is still valid, but now Colorado State has another big win on its platter, one that should make those numbers feel more real. And those numbers are important, too. When the committee is flashing teams' nitty gritty sheets across its projection screen on Selection Sunday, it'll be looking at plenty of ugly RPI numbers. The Rams will look much less like a silly RPI outlier now.

Kansas State 78, No. 3 Missouri 68: First of all, what a win for the Wildcats. They punched Missouri in the mouth, received the Tigers' more-than-capable counter, absorbed it, and held on for the win in the end. Just impressive all the way around. What does it mean for the bubble? Less than either of the two wins above it. After K-State's win at Baylor on Saturday, it was difficult to imagine Frank Martin's team missing the tournament. This was already a solid, if unspectacular résumé, but on this bubble, "solid-slash-unspectacular" is probably good enough. But with this win, we might as well lock up Kansas State's bid. Few teams in the country will boast two marquee road wins like this team got this week. Now that's how you get in the tournament.

The Bad (And Occasionally Sad) Losses

No. 13 Michigan 67, Northwestern 55: How brutal must it be to be a Northwestern fan? I mean, can you even imagine? (Actually, Cubs fans, never mind. Don't answer that.) The Wildcats needed this win. Oh, did they need it. It wasn't unfair to call this the biggest game in recent program history, the one that, if won, could have given the school its first-ever NCAA tournament berth. And so what does Northwestern do? Take Michigan to overtime ... just before collapsing in the extra period and losing by 12. "Ouch" doesn't even begin to describe it. The Wildcats are right on the bubble. They have one big win (Michigan State) to their name, a great strength-of-schedule number (10) and a solid RPI figure. They also now have a 2-7 record against the RPI top 50 and a 5-11 record against the top 100. Combine that with the 6-9 Big Ten record and 5-7 road/neutral mark, and it's no wonder this team's bid is so shaky. The good news? Northwestern still has one big marquee chance left: Next Wednesday, Ohio State comes to town. But NU may have to win that one -- and, oh yeah, avoid treacherous bubble-bursting losses at Penn State and Iowa -- to get over the hump. But make no mistake: This game was the best chance Northwestern had, and it just barely missed it. Brutal. Just brutal.

UMass 80, Xavier 73: XU got a big win Saturday, topping rival Dayton in overtime, a game that gave it a much better chance of avoiding bubble trouble in the final weeks of the season. Now? Losing to UMass is hardly a crime -- that's a solid Minutemen team, one that's not completely out of the bubble picture -- but the last thing Xavier needs now is blasé losses to decent-but-not-great A-10 foes. Fortunately for Chris Mack's team, that win at Vanderbilt is still on the ledger. Plus, the computer numbers are still OK. But the Musketeers have shown plenty of collapse potential pretty much all season, and they may have to get a really difficult win at Saint Louis next week to feel safe about their chances.

No. 1 Kentucky 73, Mississippi State 64: How good is this Kentucky team? Mississippi State was great for much of Tuesday night's loss, but when UK turns it up that extra half-notch -- when the defense starts locking down and the Wildcats start rolling on offense -- they're just something to see. It's incredible. In any case, losing to UK is hardly going to push Mississippi State off the bubble. I think we can all forgive it for getting a bunch of shots blocked by Anthony Davis, because, well, that happens to everybody. But this was a major missed opportunity. A win would have sealed MSU's deal. Instead, this was the Bulldogs' fourth loss in a row (the other three: home to Georgia, at LSU, at Auburn), a streak that has made what once seemed like a surefire bid suddenly questionable -- the nonconference SOS number is particularly bad -- and trending in the wrong direction each day. A loss at Alabama Saturday, and all of a sudden, we might be talking about this team missing the tournament. Yikes.

No. 7 North Carolina 86, NC State 74: When NC State led Duke by 20 points last week, the Wolfpack's once-long-shot bid seemed very, very real. A week later, and NC State is right back where it started. The win at Duke would have been marquee. A win against Florida State Saturday would have qualified. And Tuesday night's home game versus North Carolina -- which featured a clinical 22-point, 13-rebound, zero-turnover performance from UNC point guard Kendall Marshall -- was another big marquee chance and, ultimately, another loss. Without a win in any of these three, NC State's next best chance comes at home versus Miami, a fellow bubble team but hardly a big-time opponent. If the Pack don't survive at Clemson and at Virginia Tech, it won't matter anyway. That Duke meltdown may haunt this team forever.

Maryland 75, Miami 70: Speaking of Miami, the Hurricanes entered Tuesday night as one of Joe Lunardi's last four teams in the field. By the time this game was over, they were one of the first four out. A loss on the road to Maryland isn't devastating, but other than a win at Duke -- and a great win it is -- this team's profile just doesn't have a whole lot going on. Florida State comes to town Sunday, and with a game at NC State to follow (plus a non-needle-mover against Boston College to close out the season), that's basically a must-win.

No. 9 Ohio State 83, Illinois 67: Being on the wrong side of a rout in Columbus is nothing to be ashamed about. In a different world, or a different season even, Illinois could have taken its lumps and moved on. But in 2012, if Illinois' at-large chances weren't dead already -- and Saturday's 23-point loss at Nebraska may have done the trick anyway -- they are now. Tuesday night's defeat was the Illini's ninth in 10 games. The ongoing Bruce Weber saga (short version: dude's getting canned) lords over this team, and at this point, unless the Illini go crazy in the Big Ten tournament, the NCAA will be eager to avoid the hot mess this once-promising team has become. Sad stuff, really. Not as sad as Northwestern, of course. But sad.

1. Alabama coach Anthony Grant will ultimately be judged on wins and losses during his tenure in Tuscaloosa. But he will sleep well at night knowing he is running his program the right way. His decision to indefinitely suspend four players -- Andrew Steele, Trevor Releford, JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell --should earn him plenty of praise. Grant won’t put character behind the quest for wins and an NCAA tournament berth. Mitchell was already suspended while the other three were driven back to Alabama from Baton Rouge for a violation of team rules that occurred prior to the trip. The Tide lost handily to LSU and host Florida on Tuesday. The four players’ status is unknown as of Sunday. The NCAA tournament selection committee won’t give Bama credit for losing games without suspended players. But the Tide administration should.

2. Maryland’s Terrell Stoglin has been an elite scorer this season. But Saturday against Duke, he wasn’t pleased with the way his 30 minutes were dispersed and the time he spent on the bench. So he tweeted after the game: “Loved sitting that bench today. Smfh wow.’’ Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said he would handle the matter internally and that Stoglin was frustrated. He could also add that Stoglin is a bit immature. And that’s OK. He’s in college. But Stoglin doesn’t need to tweet every thought he has and potentially disrupt the team concept when the Terps are trying to survive the season with depleted numbers.

3. The Colonial Athletic Association didn’t distinguish itself in the nonconference, and that’s a shame. The top three CAA teams are playing as well as they have at any point in the season and are headed for a fantastic league finish. Drexel (13 in a row), VCU (11 straight) and George Mason (won nine of 10) are all tied at 13-2 with three games remaining in the conference season. But it’s hard to see how any of them would get an at-large berth. Still, VCU, or Drexel, especially, could be a dicey opponent in the first or second round of the NCAA tournament.

Seth Curry scores 19 to lead Duke to a 73-55 victory over Maryland.

North Carolina rallied, Miami upset and Virginia and Florida State battled. It was quite a weekend for the ACC, and here’s an attempt at this week’s power rankings:

1. North Carolina: Harrison Barnes can star when hurting. Kendall Marshall can play an extended stretch with four fouls. And the Tar Heels can still rally, as they showed by coming back from a nine-point deficit at Maryland. But they’re going to have to get more production from their bench, as their reserves managed only nine points in two games last week.

2. Florida State: Michael Snaer managed only three field goals against Virginia’s defense, but they all came at timely points in the second half. The Seminoles have now won seven in a row -- including beating the three other ranked teams in the ACC -- and remain in the driver’s seat for the league’s regular-season race.

3. Duke: The Blue Devils’ loss to Miami marked their second ACC loss at home. Coach Mike Krzyzewski summed up the problem like this: “A Duke team should play with energy for 40 minutes – or 45,” he said, according to The (Raleigh) News & Observer. “Go outside and look at the banners. There are quite a few of them up there. They were not won without energy, without hunger, with ... complacency, with[out] people really wanting it.”

4. Virginia: The Cavs recorded a season-high 20 turnovers in their loss to Florida State, which they blamed more on their execution than the Seminoles’ defense. Senior Mike Scott continues to impress, as Virginia’s four losses this season have come by a combined 10 points.

5. Miami: It took three overtime periods -- two versus Maryland, one at Duke -- to extend the Hurricanes’ winning streak to four, and in so doing, they’re pushing their way back into the NCAA conversation. Sunday’s win marked Miami’s first at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and only its second win over the Blue Devils since joining the ACC.

6. NC State: Scott Wood made six 3-pointers in the Pack’s victory against Wake Forest. Most notably, he did it in his home arena, the RBC Center -- although he told The News & Observer he prefers playing on the road. "Anytime you have fans talking trash, it raises your game."

7. Maryland: The Terps gave the Tar Heels all they could handle on Saturday, even leading by as many as nine points in the second half before UNC rallied. Guard Terrell Stoglin continues to lead the ACC in scoring, but Maryland has now lost five of its past six games.

8. Clemson: The Tigers lost both their games last week and also lost forward Milton Jennings, who was suspended for the second time this season, this time for academic reasons. He’s out indefinitely, meaning the Tigers lose an average of 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

9. Virginia Tech: The Hokies -- who had had six of their previous eight ACC games decided by four or fewer points -- finally won a close one when it beat Clemson 67-65. But they squandered a 17-point and lead and needed the Tigers to miss a shot at the end to survive.

10. Wake Forest: It was a tough week for the Deacons, who lost to two in-state foes -- UNC and NC State. That extended their losing streak to four.

11. Georgia Tech: Glen Rice Jr. scored three points in the final minute to help his team beat Boston College and snap a six-game losing streak. “Everybody in the locker room right now is going crazy,” Tech guard Mfon Udofia told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the game.

12. Boston College: The Eagles have now lost six in a row -- the last two by a combined nine points -- and things don’t get any easier with Florida State coming to town on Wednesday.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.

A scan of the college basketball box scores each night guarantees all kinds of statistical oddities and standout performances. Here are some we found from Saturday:

Note of the Day
Six teams had three or fewer turnovers Saturday. Entering the day, only eight teams had had a game with three or fewer giveaways.

George Mason 54, Old Dominion 50
George Mason won despite shooting 27.7 percent from the field and committing 21 turnovers. The only other team to win a game this season despite shooting less than 30 percent and committing at least 20 turnovers was Kentucky on Dec. 31 against Louisville.

North Carolina 83, Maryland 74
North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall had 16 assists Saturday, matching the highest single-game total by any player this season. He had nine more assists than the entire Maryland team. That nine-assist margin is the highest this year by one player over the opposing team.

Indiana 78, Purdue 61
Purdue lost despite turning the ball over only three times. It’s the second time the Boilermakers have lost a game with three or fewer turnovers; all other Division I teams have combined to do it only four times on the year.

Valparaiso 63, Wright State 54
The Crusaders won despite registering just one offensive rebound. Only six teams this year have had a game with no more than one offensive rebound, and Valpo has done it twice. Those six teams are a combined 6-0 in those games.

Morehead State 56, Eastern Illinois 55
Morehead State attempted only 30 field goals in the win, the lowest number of field goal attempts by a team this season. The next-lowest total was achieved Saturday as well, as Valparaiso attempted only 32 shots in its win over Wright State.

Oakland 74, Western Illinois 70 (2 OT)
Oakland’s Lucas Laval-Perry did not score a point in 41 minutes of action, matching the longest scoreless appearance by any player this season.

Cal State Fullerton 99, UC Santa Barbara 86
Cal State Fullerton hit 17 of 26 3-pointers (65.4 percent), the highest percentage by any team in a game this season, minimum 25 attempts.

Drexel 65, Towson 57
Drexel’s Frantz Massenat made all 15 of his free throw attempts Saturday, one shy of the most free throw attempts without a miss by any player this season. Massenat has now made his last 33 attempts from the charity stripe.

BYU 79, Portland 60
BYU attempted 53 free throws Saturday at Portland, five more than any other road team in a game this season.

Davidson 88, Chattanooga 61
Davidson attempted 40 3-pointers in the win, only the second time since Jan. 1 that a team has attempted that many 3s. The other instance in 2012 happened Thursday in Chattanooga’s prior game, in which Western Carolina attempted 41 from long range.

Here are a few things we learned from the biggest games Saturday afternoon. Check back later for analysis of tonight's games.

No. 3 Ohio State 58, No. 20 Wisconsin 52: Ohio State is hardly a breakneck team, but its adjusted tempo this season is 68.9 possessions per 40 minutes, far above those of many of its Big Ten brethren. The Buckeyes like to get out on the break a little. Thad Matta has a ton of talent, shooting, athleticism, scoring, you name it, and the Bucks aren't shy about letting it shine in the open floor.

In other words, this is exactly how Wisconsin wanted this game to go. It wanted it to be slow -- as slow as possible, in fact -- and it was. These two teams traded 57 possessions Saturday afternoon. If you had told Bo Ryan this game would be this slow, he'd have given his team an excellent chance of knocking off what might just be the best team in the nation. This is the luxury of having Jordan Taylor commanding your team: If you want the game to be deathly slow, with supreme economy of movement and as few possessions as possible, you can't do better than the Badgers' point guard.

The only problem? Ohio State has Jared Sullinger. Wisconsin does not. "The Artist Currently Known As Sully" just so happens to be very comfortable playing half-court offense, and as good as UW was on defense -- as much as it shaded and doubled and harried and harassed -- Sullinger was simply too much. He played all 40 minutes Saturday. He scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half alone. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 steals, just 1 turnover and an 8-of-10 shooting mark at the charity stripe. He was too much. Jared Berggren did his best, and the Badgers kept their shape well defensively -- there's a reason OSU scored just 1.02 points per trip -- but they never found an answer for the big man on the block.

They also learned the lesson anyone who has played this Ohio State team (or last season's version, for that matter) already knows: The Buckeyes defend, too. Per Ken Pomeroy's metrics, the Bucks are the stingiest per-possession defense in the country. The second stingiest? Wisconsin. But while the Badgers allow .81 points per trip, OSU allows an absurd .77, the rare team that forces turnovers but doesn't give away fouls and one that also cleans up the defensive glass. UW has had its troubles scoring from time to time this season, but the Buckeyes are a whole 'nother animal.

Play fast, play slow, play at your court, play in Columbus. Play however you like. If you don't have someone who can guard Jared Sullinger -- never mind a group of players to check the insanely talented group around him -- and/or an offense that can find a way to score against this kind of defense, it doesn't really matter. Ohio State is going to beat you.

Wyoming 68, No. 13 UNLV 66: For much of the season, during a remarkably quick turnaround, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher has been the consensus favorite for national coach of the year. Deservedly so. But any mention of the words "coach of the year" should also, after today, be followed closely by the words "Larry Shyatt."

Shyatt's story is remarkable. Wyoming gave him his first head-coaching gig in 1997, but after a successful season, he left to take over at Clemson, where he stayed until 2003. Shyatt spent the past several years on Florida coach Billy Donovan's bench, until this offseason, when he returned to Laramie to start over and repay a debt he felt he owed for his quick departure 15 years ago.

And what a return it has been. In 2010-11, the Cowboys finished 10-21 overall and ranked No. 215 in Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings. After a two-point stunner over UNLV -- during which they led for nearly all 40 minutes and turned it over just eight times -- the Cowboys now are 18-5 and ranked among Pomeroy's top 60 teams in the country. This is primarily thanks to their defense, which Shyatt has transformed entirely. Last season, the Cowboys were hands down the worst defensive team in the Mountain West. This season, the defense is among the MWC's best, and on Saturday, it held UNLV to 3-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc.

The question now -- after the school's first victory over a ranked team in 12 years -- is whether Shyatt's miracle story can end with an NCAA tournament berth. The jury is still very much out, and Wyoming probably will have to grab another big win or two to be bubble-relevant going forward. But NCAA tournament or no, this team has made a drastic year-over-year turnaround. It has gone from a no-name afterthought to a program on the rise. And Shyatt's prodigal return is the reason.

Notre Dame 76, No. 15 Marquette 59: It's not fair to say the Fighting Irish looked totally irredeemable in their 8-5 nonconference start, but they certainly didn't look good. Notre Dame was dominated by Missouri, handled by Georgia, no match for Gonzaga, beaten by Maryland and overwhelmed by Indiana. Any time the Fighting Irish played a good (even decent) team, they looked exactly like what all thought they were: rebuilding, in transition, mediocre, meh.

Now? After Saturday's strong home win, which was keyed by a massive second-half run, it's impossible to discount the Irish. The Syracuse upset of two Saturdays ago was more than a random upset or a product of ND's mystically inexplicable propensity to upset elite teams in South Bend. No, Mike Brey's team is much more than that. Guard Eric Atkins is among the nation's most improved players, but he might be eclipsed in that category by forward Jack "Don't Call Me Mini-Harangody" Cooley, who, after years of geeks like me writing, "Hey, that guy looks exactly like Luke Harangody," is rapidly making his own name. (And Patrick Connaughton, whose Irish-name swagger deserves serious respect, was tremendous, too: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 big blocks on huge defensive stops. Dude can play.)

Most impressive in this game was Notre Dame's late push, even if "push" feels like an understatement. With eight minutes remaining in the second half, the Irish led 54-48. The final score speaks for itself. Marquette is a good team, and the Irish simply ran away. The only conclusion: Notre Dame is pretty darn good, too.

No. 11 Florida 73, Vanderbilt 65: It was the opinion of this writer that Florida and Vanderbilt felt like identical SEC twins: guard-oriented perimeter offenses led by sharpshooters (Vandy's John Jenkins, Florida's Kenny Boynton), versatile play from outside-in small forwards (Vandy's Jeffery Taylor, Florida's Bradley Beal) and one true post presence apiece (Vandy's Festus Ezeli, Florida's Patric Young). So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this game's box score featured such near-identical numbers for both teams. Each team recorded 12 assists; each team snagged nine steals. Both teams turned the ball over at about the same rate. The teams' effective field goal percentages were similar. Vanderbilt shot 18 free throws. Florida shot 17.

You get the idea. So what was the difference? Simply put, 3-point shooting. The Gators made 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc. VU shot just 8-of-25 from long range. There were other differences, too: Florida outrebounded Vandy on the offensive glass, grabbing 36.8 percent of its available misses to just 28.6 percent for the Commodores. But the real difference was shooting. Florida made three more of its 3s, and it shot 16-of-17 from the charity stripe.

All told, it wasn't Vanderbilt's best offensive day, but there are promising signs. For one, it didn't score the ball particularly well and still hung with a good team on the road. For another, there are signs Vandy's defense, which has played so well (surprisingly so) in the SEC campaign, is for real. It held the nation's best offense to 1.09 points per trip at home; compared to UF's usual output, that's not too shabby.

In the end, this is just what Florida does. It makes shots. It made a few more of them in this one. Not a bunch more. Just a few. But in a game this close, with such a doppelganger of an opponent, a few extra makes were all the Gators needed.

No. 24 Florida State 58, No. 18 Virginia 55: The scoreline says it all. If you don't like slow, plodding, offensively challenged basketball, this was not the ACC matchup for you. But it also was the rare game in which both teams can come away feeling pretty good. Virginia's task in Tallahassee was to take on one of the nation's best defenses and hottest teams, one that recently had found a scorching offense to go along with its typically staunch defense.

Florida State no doubt hoped to keep the good offensive vibes rolling, but more important in the end was holding serve on its home floor. After an incredible streak that included a 33-point win over UNC and a win at Duke, the last thing the Seminoles needed was a lackluster home loss to pull their record (and, maybe, their spirits) back to earth.

FSU didn't keep the offense rolling. Virginia's defense was nearly up to the task. The Cavaliers forced Leonard Hamilton's team into a turnover on 31 percent of its possessions. Unfortunately, UVa coughed it up even more frequently than did FSU. That's the thing about this Florida State team, which is now 7-1 in ACC play: When the Noles are shooting the ball well and scoring it with ease, they're just about unstoppable. But even when they're not, that defense will always be there, providing a baseline when the going gets tough. That has to be comforting, doesn't it?

No. 6 North Carolina 83, Maryland 74: How good are the Tar Heels? Sometimes it's hard to tell. They often look dominant, every bit the national title contender we assume they'll be in March. Just as often, though, they struggle, particularly on the road and frequently against teams they should rather easily handle. Maryland is one such team.

On Saturday, facing the Terrapins in front of a rowdy crowd, the Tar Heels struggled. There's no other way to put it. Maryland brought it, sure, but UNC often seemed to be on its heels, no pun intended. UM center Alex Len was excellent, and Terrell Stoglin showed why he probably should be an all-ACC inclusion by the end of the season. By the 17-minute mark in the second half, Maryland had opened a nine-point lead. Suddenly, as analyst Len Elmore said, the Heels found themselves in a dogfight.

Here's another reason Carolina is so often so hard to appraise: This team seems to have the fabled ability to "hit the switch," i.e., to suddenly focus its efforts, let talent take over and go win the game even when not playing well. And that's what happened Saturday. UNC seemingly flipped its switch, started locking down on defense, started getting easy buckets on offense, started making 3s -- you know, basically, all the things this team should do -- outscoring Maryland 46-34 in the second half en route to a victory. It wasn't pretty, and we often tend to expect more from purportedly great teams, but it's impossible to dismiss this team's talent and its ability to transform that talent at a moment's notice.

No. 2 Syracuse 95, St. John's 70: And so all was well in the land of the Orange. When sophomore center Fab Melo was lost to a lingering first-semester academic issue, Syracuse lost its first game of the season without him, and even in the two wins that followed -- at Cincinnati and in questionable fashion over West Virginia -- the Orange didn't look anything like their typically dominant selves. With so much depth and talent, it was hard to pin all this on Melo's absence ... but it was hard to compare Syracuse's offensive output with and without Melo (not to mention its block percentages, where Melo really excels) and not think the newly trim and focused big man didn't have a much bigger effect on this team's 20-0 start than many originally thought.

And then you watch Saturday's game, Melo's first since his return. You see the big man score a career-high 14 points on a tidy 5-of-6 from the field. You see the Orange roll St. John's to the tune of 1.34 points per possession on a day when they didn't shoot the 3 particularly well (just often). You see them tie a season high with 24 second-chance points and 52 in the paint.

Given all that, you can't help but think Melo is absolutely crucial to this team's national title chances. And then our fine friends at ESPN Stats & Information send along the following statistics, and you see the facts in all their glory: With Melo, Cuse is 21-0, and averages 38.9 points per game in the paint (28.7 without him), 14 second-chance points per game (6.3 without) and 1.18 points per possession (1.00 without), and has an offensive rebound percentage of 39.5 (25.5 without).

So, yeah, I suppose you could say he's pretty important. Impressive performance for Melo, impressive win for Syracuse.

Memphis 72, Xavier 68: "That Used To Be Us." It's the title of Thomas Friedman's questionably considered new book. It also feels appropriately descriptive of the Xavier Musketeers, who spent the first two months of the season earning difficult wins thanks to late rallies but were the victims of such a rally Saturday afternoon at the FedExForum.

Xavier opened a 10-point lead in the second half, but Memphis fought back. The Musketeers opened another one with seven minutes remaining, finding themselves up double digits (62-51) as the Tigers' ugly offense appeared headed toward a losing effort. And then something funky happened. Memphis used a 12-1 run to rally all the way back and tie the game at 63-all with 2:12 remaining. And then something even funkier happened. Memphis closed out the game with a score of made free throws. The Tigers shot 24-of-28 from the line, including 9-of-11 in the final two minutes. Joe Jackson alone was 12-of-12. All told, Memphis went on a 17-1 tear, and the game went from 62-51 to 68-63 before the Tigers closed it out.

It was a nice -- and much-needed -- win for Memphis, sure, but more than anything, it spoke to the seemingly downward trajectory of the Musketeers. This team hasn't been the same since the Dec. 10 brawl, of course, but at this point, the cause-and-effect is beginning to look tenuous. Now more than ever, it looks like X really wasn't all that good in the first place. Losing on the road is hardly a crime. Losing like this? It's something closer.

Some more observations from this afternoon's games:

• Is Arizona on the rise? It's hard to ignore the three-day stretch the Wildcats had, getting not one but two wins on their Bay Area road trip. First, the Wildcats held on for a win over apparent league favorite Cal on Thursday, and then they looked even more impressive in their 56-43 victory at Stanford on Saturday afternoon, holding the Cardinal to just 16-of-63 (!) from the field and 3-of-12 from 3 in their own building. Zona might or might not get on the bubble by the end of the season, but these sort of performances might just carry the Cats to the top of the league's standings before all is said and done. At the very least, Sean Miller's team is worth keeping an eye on.
• Butler's offense is not worth keeping an eye on -- and it continues to cost the Bulldogs games. It's been the case all season, really, and it was the case again today. The Dogs lost to a team that made just two of its 10 3-point field goal attempts and shot just 20-of-47, because Butler's offense was even worse: 18-of-51 from the field, 4-of-19 from 3, just one made field goal from any bench player, a tough 0-of-7 night from Ronald Nored. The Bulldogs can't score. Nothing new here. But give some measure of credit to Detroit for a tough win on the road. Hinkle Fieldhouse was sold out, and the Titans got the job done in Indy for the first time since 1999.
• Baylor loves to play close games. It's either that or the Bears can't help themselves. Whatever the reason, the good news is Baylor seems more capable than most of winning those close games, particularly on the road. It did so twice this week. The first came in a three-point win at Texas A&M on Wednesday. The second came Saturday afternoon, when Oklahoma State rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a 57-56 lead on Keiton Page's 3 with 1:42 remaining. Baylor ended up finishing the game in the final moments, which is nothing new. The Bears have played eight games decided by five points or fewer this season. With the exception of the 89-88 loss to Missouri, they've won every single one. That might not be by design, and it probably doesn't help Bears fans' blood pressure levels, but it's the kind of trait that might come in handy in March.
• Seton Hall is officially off the wagon. A loss at UConn is understandable, even forgivable, but the Pirates were absolutely smacked, 69-46, by a team that had lost six of its previous eight games, to say nothing of Jim Calhoun's sudden and indefinite medical absence. That's Seton Hall's sixth consecutive loss. Unfortunately, the Pirates' happy redemption story is rapidly shrinking under the rigors of Big East play. Shame.
• Before Saturday, South Florida's Big East record was 6-3. Considering the Bulls entered conference play with a 7-6 record and their best conference win was at Villanova, it was fair to say that surprising league start had more to do with South Florida's schedule than its skill. After today's blowout loss at Georgetown -- USF's worst conference loss since joining the Big East and its worst loss period since 2004 -- I think we can officially cement that perception.

For full coverage of the Kansas-Missouri matchup, check out Weekend Watch.

Saturday

South Florida at Georgetown (ESPNU, 11 a.m. ET): OK, let’s see if South Florida is for real in the Big East. The Bulls are 6-3 and tied with Georgetown in the loss column. USF has wins at Villanova and DePaul, but that shouldn’t compare to Georgetown this season. The Hoyas have their mojo back. Georgetown can’t be ruled out to catch Syracuse with a game against the Orange next week.

Marquette at Notre Dame (1 ET): The Golden Eagles have to be applauded for playing well despite not having Chris Otule and Davante Gardner in the post. Gardner isn’t expected to be ready for this game. The Irish have been golden at home so far, save a game against UConn. The Eagles need this one in their quest to stay with Syracuse.

Vanderbilt at Florida (1 ET): The Commodores have a rough week with games at Arkansas and Florida. They’re already down one. If Vandy is going to be taken seriously as a real contender with Kentucky and Florida, it has to pull off an upset.

Virginia at Florida State (ESPN3, 1 ET): The Cavs and Seminoles are the two “other” choices to win the ACC. If either has visions of knocking off UNC or Duke from the top spot, it's got to win this game. FSU is on more of a roll. Beat back the Cavs in what should be a grinder and the Seminoles will continue to be in the chase.

Xavier at Memphis (1 ET): This had the look of a game between two teams that were the favorites in the A-10 and C-USA at the start of the season. Since then, both have taken a few shots. Neither is a lock for the NCAAs and both could use some momentum to pique the selection committee’s interest. Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons against Will Barton and Joe Jackson will headline this game.

Ohio State at Wisconsin (ESPN, 2 ET): This has become one of the most anticipated games of the Big Ten season. The Badgers don’t have the inside presence to deal with Jared Sullinger. But Jordan Taylor can certainly match up with Aaron Craft. The Badgers will have to do something special inside to win this game.

North Carolina at Maryland (ESPN, 4 ET): The Tar Heels are simply better, more talented and have the depth to dismantle the Terps. That’s what should happen. But Maryland has showed some fight lately. The Terps will have to play their best game of the season to pull off this upset.

UNLV at Wyoming (4 ET): The Runnin’ Rebels had to struggle in overtime to get past Boise State and Air Force in their last two road games. Wyoming is a better defensive team than Boise or Air Force. This will test the Runnin’ Rebels yet again. New Mexico and San Diego State were both able to get out of Laramie with a win. Will UNLV?

Old Dominion at George Mason (ESPNU, 5 ET): I was leading the chorus that George Mason should have received a television game in BracketBusters. And then the Patriots lost to Delaware. There is a four-way tie for first in the CAA between ODU, Mason, Drexel and VCU. Separation begins with this game.

Iona at Manhattan (ESPN3, 7 ET): Momo Jones went for 43 against Canisius on Thursday night. Scott Machado had 14 assists. But Manhattan is in step with the Gaels, tied atop the MAAC at 10-2. The winner will be tied with Loyola in the loss column. This game could determine all-important seeding in the MAAC tourney.

Oregon at Colorado (9 ET): The Buffaloes smacked Oregon State on Thursday by 22 at home, where they’ve been a force in their first year in the Pac-12. Oregon, meanwhile, had to come back to beat Utah. The Ducks need a split to stay in the chase for a top-three finish. Coach Tad Boyle has done a tremendous job in Boulder after losing his two best players from last season.

Sunday

Michigan at Michigan State (1 ET): Draymond Green (left knee sprain) may be a game-time decision. The Spartans do have depth to handle his possible absence. But it’s not preferred against a Michigan team that is confident going into East Lansing after knocking off the Spartans in a last-possession game in Ann Arbor. The winner here stays in the chase in the Big Ten. The loser might have to think about the second-place race if Ohio State wins at Wisconsin.