Kansas State and Texas A & M Wins Highlight an Evening of College Basketball Upsets

There were some upsets in the Top 25 college basketball teams in some midweek games on February 21st.

In Manhattan, Kansas, #14 Kansas State hosted #9 Baylor. The Bears led by three at halftime, but the Wildcats dominated in the second half, outscoring Baylor 44-31 for a 75-65 victory. Keyontae Johnson led Kansas State with 25 points. Kansas State pulled into a tie for third in the Big 12 standings at 9-6 in conference games. Third ranked Kansas and #8 Texas are tied for the lead at 11-4. Texas easily beat #23 Iowa State 72-54, while Kansas was idle.

In Cincinnati, #16 Xavier hosted unranked Villanova. The Musketeers had a 13 point second half lead before the Wildcats came back for a 64-63 victory. Xavier was held to 27 second half points. The Musketeers are tied with Creighton for third in the Big East at 12-5 in conference games, behind Providence (12-4) and Marquette (14-3). Tenth ranked Marquette neat #19 Creighton 73-71.

Number 25 Texas A & M hasn’t made a lot of noise, but has been slowly climbing the ladder in the SEC. The Aggies hosted #11 Tennessee on February 21st, aiming for their sixth straight victory. Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points to lead A & M to a 68-63 victory over the Volunteers. Texas A & M improved to 13-2 in conference games, just a half game behind #2 Alabama. A & M will host Alabama on March 4th. While the Aggies are getting hot, Tennessee is noticeably cooling down at a bad time of the season as we approach tournament time. The Volunteers are 2-5 over their last seven games.

Finally, unranked Michigan State returned to home court action since the shootings on campus February 13th, taking on #17 Indiana. The Spartans game scheduled for February 15th at home against Minnesota was postponed, and the Spartans lost at Michigan on the 18th. Tyson Walker scored 23 and A.J. Hoggard added 22 as the Spartans beat the Hoosiers 80-65.