- The Field of 68 Daily
- Posts
- An upsetting weekend
An upsetting weekend
Plenty of ranked teams fell this weekend. We dive into the notable results. Plus: Florida may be the team to beat in the SEC, the Big Ten's steady, Tech wins a wild one vs. BYU, Air Force suspends its coach, and much more.
Samuel Lance
January 19, 2026
Good morning! It was another packed Saturday in college hoops, and you’ve got plenty more to watch today, with 40+ games for MLK Day — half of which are daytime tip-offs.
But first, let’s get you caught up on what happened over the weekend.
1. Four ranked teams stumbled badly on Saturday
Nobody is ever safe in college hoops, and that was proved this weekend with four ranked teams falling to unranked opponents and some other head-scratching losses at the power five level.
The two big upsets were California’s 84-78 win over No. 14 North Carolina and Cincinnati’s 79-70 triumph over No. 2 Iowa State. The Golden Bears (14-5, 2-4 in ACC) diced up the Tar Heel defense, shooting 50% from the field and 54% from 3.
North Carolina (14-4, 2-3) has lost two in a row and three of its last four. It looks lost on defense — it’s allowed 1.39, 1.17, 1.3 and 1.19 points per possession in its last four games — and has dropped to 36th on KenPom. That’s about where it was last season at this time.
The Bearcats (10-8, 2-3 in Big 12) did the same as the Cyclones (16-2, 3-2) allowed 1.19 ppp, which is the first time they’ve allowed more than 1.9 in back-to-back games this season. The win was a rarity for Cincy.
As for Iowa State, since becoming the No. 2 team in the country, the Cyclones have struggled to guard and subsequently have been blown out by Kansas and lost to a struggling Cincinnati team.
Other ranked upsets? No. 25 Seton Hall (14-4, 4-3 in Big East) fell at home to Butler, 77-66, and No. 23 Utah State (15-2, 6-1 in MWC) stumbled at Grand Canyon, 84-74. If there’s a bright side, both should only be Quad 2 losses come Selection Sunday.
As for NC State and Syracuse, well …
The Wolfpack (12-6, 3-2 in ACC) lost 78-74 at home to a Georgia Tech team that entered the game ranked No. 162 in the NET. Syracuse (12-6, 3-2) was defeated by Boston College, the worst ACC team via several metrics. Both losses will hurt their NCAA Tournament profiles.
2. Is Florida the SEC title favorite?
When we look back at the end of the year and point to a game that decided the SEC’s regular season champion, Florida’s 98-84 win at No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday may be the moment.
