Two ACC powers suffered upsets and fell in this week's poll with three weeks left to go in the regular season:
Blue Devils win fifth straight, stay at No. 4, but North Carolina, Louisville fall back
Duke increased its winning streak to five by knocking off Florida State and Syracuse on the road and is No. 4 in this week's poll. The Blue Devils got 42 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds from their backcourt and held off the Seminoles 73-70 Monday before overcoming a heroic performance from Duke transfer Michael Gbinije at the Carrier Dome Saturday night. Freshman center Jahlil Okafor led the way in the second half as the Blue Devils quieted 35,446 fans by prevailing 80-72. Duke will face two home games against rival North Carolina Wednesday night and Clemson Saturday this week.
The Tar Heels continued their recent ACC slide this week, letting Pittsburgh shoot 65 percent from the field and pull of the upset 89-76 Saturday. North Carolina fell from No. 12 to No. 15 after its third loss in its last four games following an emotional week. Louisville also suffered an upset Saturday, falling 74-65 at home to N.C. State Saturday as the Wolfpack successfully handled the Cardinals' pressure by committing just eight turnovers. The Cardinals fell from ninth to 12th this week.
Virginia stayed at No. 2 after two nail-biting wins and Notre Dame stayed at No. 10 after winning its only contest to round out the ranked ACC squads. The Cavaliers own a two-game lead in the loss column in the league standings.
Big 12 chaos continues
The Big 12 has seen shakeups each week in league play and this one was no different. The action started Monday, when then-No. 21 Oklahoma State won at then-No. 16 Baylor 74-65 Monday and then-No. 17 Oklahoma ran past previously No. 14 Iowa State 94-83. More upsets occurred Saturday, when Kansas State upset the Sooners in Manhattan 59-56 thanks to a late Marcus Foster 3-pointer.
Oklahoma's other team also fell, as Texas Christian used two 10-0 runs to upset the Cowboys 70-55 and end their three-game winning streak in Fort Worth, Texas. The win was just the Horned Frogs' second in league play and could prove costly for Oklahoma State, which had a chance to stay in the top four in the conference standings with a win.
Then-No. 8 Kansas and the Cyclones took care of business against ranked foes Saturday, with the Jayhawks handing Baylor its second loss of the week 74-64 and Iowa State dominating then-No. 21 West Virginia 79-59 led by point guard Monte Morris and his 19 points. After the dust settled, Kansas stayed at No. 8, Iowa State remained at No. 14, Oklahoma stayed at No. 17, Baylor fell four spots to No. 20, Oklahoma State fell one spot to No. 22 West Virginia dropped to No. 23.
Kansas now owns a two-game lead in the Big 12 standings, but as the previous weeks show, anything is possible in the crowded conference this year.
Villanova escapes at Butler
The No. 6 Wildcats got 31 points and a late 3-pointer from senior guard Darrun Hilliard II to stun the then-No. 18 Bulldogs 68-65 Saturday in Indianapolis in a key Big East showdown. Villanova completed a season sweep of Butler and opened up a two-game edge ahead of the Bulldogs in the league standings with the win. Butler also lost more than the game, as starting forward Andrew Chrabascz fractured his right hand and will be out 2-4 weeks. He averages 11.1 points per game and his absence could be felt down the stretch for the Bulldogs, who fell one spot to No. 19 this week.
Hilliard's late triple wasn't the only example of clutch perimeter play Valentine's Day, as Michigan State got a fitting 3-pointer from swingman Denzel Valentine with 3.2 seconds left to upset then-No. 23 Ohio State 59-56 in East Lansing Saturday. The Buckeyes slid just one slot in the rankings to No. 24. No. 5 Wisconsin is in complete control of the Big Ten and owns a three-game edge in the loss column with just three full weeks left in the regular season.
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