Upset Saturday for the Top 25 in College Basketball

While much of the nation was gripped in blizzards and their aftermath on January 13th, college basketball fans were treated to a bunch of upsets in the Top 25.

Let’s start with #2 Houston, playing at unranked TCU in Fort Worth. Emmanuel Miller put in a layup with six seconds left that was the winning basket in the Horned Frogs’ 68-67 win over the Cougars. Houston started 14-0 but has lost two in a row and will be dropping like a rock in the rankings. Meanwhile TCU, who also beat #9 Oklahoma this week, is 13-3 and should be well into the Top 25 when the next poll comes out.

Meanwhile, about 175 miles south of Fort Worth in College Station, unranked Texas A&M upset #6 Kentucky in overtime 97-92. Wade Taylor IV led A & M with 31 points while Tyrece Radford added 28. A&M improved to 10-6, while the Wildcats are now 12-3.

Far to the northwest in Pullman, Washington, the Washington State Cougars hosted #8 Arizona. Forward Isaac Jones had his second double double in a row with 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cougars to a 73-70 upset of the Wildcats. Washington State improved to 12-5, and while those five losses at this stage of the season will probably keep the Cougars out to the Top 25 for now, they do bear watching. Arizona began the season 8-0 but is just 4-4 since then.

Staying out west, New Mexico hosted #19 San Diego State in Albuquerque. The Aztecs were a surprise Final Four team last year, finishing as the national runner up to champion UCONN, and they led by 12 in this one with five minutes left in the first half. But the Lobos stormed back and took a 40-37 halftime lead. New Mexico kept the momentum going in the second half, out scoring the Aztecs 48-33 to win 88-70. Both schools are now 14-3, and while New Mexico was unranked, it’s another school that could move into the Top 25 soon, especially if the Lobos beat #20 Utah State in their next game January 16th.

Finally, in Morgantown, West Virginia, the West Virginia Mountaineers had four players score in double figures to lead the team to 79-73 win over #25 Texas. Max Abmas led the Longhorns with 32 points. Texas fell to 12-4 and will no doubt drop out of the Top 25. West Virginia is now 6-10.