What a strange CBB media cycle today was, but luckily there were games to play tonight. Let’s do an #overnight5 (@matteisecontributing)…

1. Since starting BE play 0-3 last yr, @MarquetteMBB has gone 25-8 since – incl. conf-leading 14-3 this yr. Despite being chosen 9th of 11 in preseason BE poll, Shaka has Eagles in line for 1st BE title since ’13 w/ DePaul, Butler & St. John’s remaining.

2. It was again tale of 2 halves for Baylor at K-State tonight, as Bears were outscored 44-31 2H in 10-pt loss. 20 of K-State’s 28 FGs came on layups/dunks, again calling into question Baylor’s interior D. BU now w/ worst def-eff in B12 play of any team last 4 seasons.

3. Tennessee lost 4th straight road game & for 5th time in last 7 outings as Texas A&M improved to 13-2 SEC. After -21 FT deficit vs. UK, the Vols were -20 vs @aggiembk. No longer asking will TAMU dance this March, but rather, can Aggies win the SEC?

4. After averaging 83 PPG through Jan, Xavier held under 70 for 3x in last 4 games in 64-63 L vs. Nova. Cats controlled tempo & frustrated XU, leading to 19-2 pts off TO. Xavier’s Souley Boum has 7 ast/14 TO in 3 recent Ls after having 4.3:1 ATO in Jan.

5. Coming off OT W vs. Okla, Texas hammered Iowa St. 72-54 to stay even w/ KU in B12 race. Cyclones have lost 4 of last 5 games & 7 in a row on road. Gabe Kalscheur’s 3FG struggles continue going 3-11 (25% last 7 games). Before closing vs. KU, Texas is @ Baylor & TCU.

EXTRA: Miami stayed 1 game behind UVA in ACC standings w/ road W at VT; Mich St held home serve vs. IU in battle of B1G middle (7 teams have 7 Ls in conf play); Mizzou (11th preseason SEC) notched 20th W vs. Miss St.; TxTech conts. strange late-season surge w/ W at Oklahoma.

It’s only 1 week until the start of #championshipfortnight, 2 weeks until #championshipweek & 3 weeks until #selectionsunday. Let’s do a #weekend10 (@matteise contributing)…

1. On Sat the selection committee gave us their bracket preview. Despite 3 recent Ls, Purdue is still a #1 seed; B12 has 5 teams in top 4 seed lines; & Mick Cronin is agitated. That fall of Gonzaga? Zags sit at #15 overall.

2. Trailing 45-32 at half, KU outscored Baylor 55-26 to grab key B12 win. Baylor’s superb trio outdone by deeper KU team w/ Dajuan Harris leading charge. KU’s versatile scoring, Bill Self’s coaching & BU’s def woes all apparent during Bears’ meltdown.

3. Kentucky posts strong 2-0 week after beating Tennessee 66-54. Vols’ offense was again putrid, finishing 37% FG, 22% 3FG & 4-14 FT, again calling into question how far UT can ride? OTOH, can @KentuckyMBB finish strong & avoid NCAAT trip to Dayton?

4. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 26 pts, 12 reb, 5 blks & 3 stls in 71-68 @IndianaMBB W vs. Illini. TJD now avg’ing more than 20 pts, 10 reb, 3 asts & 3 blocks per game, something last done by Tim Duncan in ’97. Could 2/25 game @ Purdue have NPOY implications?

5. Nick Smith returned to Arkansas’ starting lineup & played 30+ min in 84-65 W @ Florida. In his 3rd game back, Smith finished w/ 10 pts, one of 5 Razorbacks in dbl-figures. If Smith can stay on the floor, will Muss Bus pick up steam heading into March?

6. After losing prev 4 games in which they posted 65 PPG, TCU beat Okla St 100-75 in Mike Miles’ 1st game back. @TCUBasketball shot 68% FG, owning a 50-20 paint pt edge. Frogs added 8-15 from 3 for complete performance. A healthy TCU is a dangerous TCU.

7. After 10-10 start this yr, @TexasTechMBB is 5-2 in last 7 following W @ WVU. Tech overcame 8-pt deficit w/ 8:27 to go, w Fardaws Aimaq controlling final 5 mins on way to his 1st dbl-dbl of season. How much will respect of B12 strength benefit RRs come Selection Sunday?

8. UNC falls to 1-5 in last 6 games w/ 77-69 loss at @PackMensBball. Heels were unproductive on both ends, w/ Bacot, Davis & Love going 14-43 & allowing NC St to shoot 65% 2H. Now 0-9 vs. Q1 opps, Heels have a stellar NIT resume.

9. Houston beat Memphis 72-64 to likely ascend to #1 in polls on Monday. Memphis’ turnover proneness reared its head to the tune of 18 miscues leading to 22 @UHCougarMBK points. Can Memphis get Kendric Davis back from injury in timely manner? Tigers host Coogs on 3/5.

10. Clemson’s 10-1 ACC start is a distant memory now at 11-5 following ugly L @ Louisville. While Tigers were +20 in paint, going 4-24 from 3 & a -15 FT difference were too much to overcome. This resume-cratering L + recent L @ BC make for a steep uphill climb for Tigers.

What Thursday lacked in intrigue it made up for with a full-coverage RTC in College Park. Let’s examine in an #overnight5 (@matteise contributing)…

1. A 29-4 Maryland run had Xfinity Center rocking like old days on way to beating #3 Purdue, 68-54. Beyond Edey & BrSmith, rest of Boilers limited to 18 pts on 27% FG. After losing 3 of 4, will returning home get Purdue back on #1 seed track?

2. Arizona responded from Stanford L by blitzing Utah in Tucson, 88-62. While Utes made Tubelis work for his 11 pts (5-14 FG), Kerr Kriisa & Pelle Larsson combined for 28 pts – stark contrast from their 6 pt egg (1-14 FG) in SLC L. Cats still 2 games behind UCLA in Pac standings.

3. Florida Atlantic suffered 2nd C-USA Feb road L w/ 74-70 defeat @ MTSU. FAU nearly overcame 14-pt deficit in final 7 mins but were unable to get late stops. FAU began day w/ top 20 NET & SOR, but L shrinks their NCAA Tourney margin of error.

4. Despite 24 TOs & near 6-min scoring drought late in 2H, Memphis got past UCF, 64-63. With W, @Memphis_MBB has now won 8 of its last 9 as they cling to #11 seed @bracketproject. W/ 2 of final 5 games vs. Houston, Memphis cannot afford Ls elsewhere.

5. Picked 8th in A-Sun preseason, Kennesaw St moved into 1st following 88-81 W vs. Liberty. Trailing 70-59, @KSUOWLSMBB made 9 of final 11 shots to recover. From going 1-28 in 2020, Amir Abdur-Rahim now has Owls positioned for March run through Kennesaw.

EXTRA: Gonzaga avenged home L to LMU by dropping 68 1H on way to 43-pt win; UCLA traded runs back/forth w/ Stanford before finally pulling away late; Iowa avenged earlier 16-pt L at Ohio State with 17-pt W at home.