About that WCC race…

It's the "revenge" portion of the college basketball season, where many teams get a second shot at an opponent after an earlier loss. Some say it's hard to beat a team twice when you're evenly matched, and there were several results on Thursday night that proved that theory right.

Also, for those of you who want even more college hoops in your inbox, you're in luck. We'll launch a Field of 68 premium product next week. Look for more details and a sneak peek on Saturday.

Let's get to the news.

1. Saint Mary's slip up

After an overtime win over Gonzaga last weekend, Saint Mary's was not only ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Poll but also two games up in the WCC standings with six remaining.

Here’s where it got tough. The Gaels had to leave Moraga and beat a Loyola Marymount squad that already won at Gonzaga this season.

The Lions erased a deficit in the opening minutes of the second half to make it a one-possession game. That's where it remained until the final minute, as Saint Mary's was up by five with a minute left. Then it turned into Cam Shelton time.

Overtime delivered a Shelton vs. Logan Johnson battle, with both players finishing with over 30 points. In the end, Shelton scored 24 of the team's final 31 points, including the go-ahead and-1 layup to pull off the 78-74 upset win. 

It's a monumental victory for LMU (17-9, 7-5 WCC), sealing a win against the conference's "Big 3.” Shelton, fantastic in each victory, has a case for WCC Player of the Year. Johnson could be Coach of the Year, with the Lions currently in third place in the standings, overachieving compared to the preseason ninth-place prediction. 

For Saint Mary's (21-5, 10-1), losing at LMU (Quad 2 defeat) is by no means a bad loss, but this ends its hopes of being a 4-seed or higher come Selection Sunday. It also opens the door for Gonzaga to tie for the WCC title. The Gaels still have road games at Portland and San Diego and a home game vs. BYU before the Zags rematch to end the season on Feb. 25.

2. Can the Ducks fly into March Madness?

For the past month, the Pac-12 has been divided into three tiers: Arizona and UCLA at the top, USC and Arizona State on the bubble, and everyone else at the bottom. That included Oregon, which, after non-conference losses to UC-Irvine and Utah Valley and a barely-over-.500 record, didn't have much of an at-large case.

Yet the Ducks have quietly won four of five games, including triumphs over Utah and Colorado, as well as at Arizona State. On Thursday night, they welcomed another bubble team at home in USC in an important game for both sides. And yet, it wasn’t close.

The Ducks won convincingly, 78-60, behind 17 points and five rebounds from N'Faly Dante, and 16 points and nine assists from Will Richardson. It also was one of their best defensive performances all season. “Defensively, I thought we played good in every category except second-chance points,” coach Dana Altman said. “Other than that, we beat them on the boards, we had 40-something deflections, our activity was good… that was one of our better efforts.” 

It's good timing for Oregon (15-10, 9-5 Pac-12), which has seen its NET ranking rise 30 points into the 50s. Most Bracketology projections, including the latest Fielding the 68, still don't have them in the field. But it's now a conversation, and teams should be worried, as this roster still has talent. A win against UCLA this weekend would likely put them into the field. 

USC, which didn't have Joshua Morgan or Reese Dixon-Waters, missed a chance at a résumé win, but the Trojans' (17-7, 9-4) schedule going forward has more of them. They travel to Utah and Colorado and host Arizona and Arizona State to close the regular season. 

Other results to know:

Purdue 87, Iowa 73 If freshmen guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith are going to combine for 41 points (Smith had a season-high 24), then No. 1 Purdue (23-2, 12-2 in Big Ten) is unbeatable. Zach Edey had 14 points and 14 rebounds in the easy home win, with the team shooting 55 percent from the field. Kris Murray led Iowa (15-9, 7-6) with 24.

Arizona 85, Cal 6223  points and 14 rebounds from Ažuolas Tubelis and 16 off the bench from Pelle Larsson were enough for No. 4 Arizona (22-3, 11-3) to get the easy win.

UCLA 62, Oregon State 47No. 7 UCLA (20-4, 11-2 Pac-12) held Oregon State (9-16, 3-11) to just 18 first-half points to establish momentum en route to an easy win. Freshman Amari Bailey had one of his best games of the season, scoring a game-high 24 points.

Arizona State 69, Stanford 65With a four-game losing streak coming into the game, a road loss at Stanford (10-14, 4-9 Pac-12) would've been a killer for ASU’s résumé. Instead, Arizona State (17-8, 8-6) squeaked out with the last-minute win, thanks to 18 points and six rebounds from DJ Horne. The Cardinal shot just 37 percent from the field but made 12-of-29 from deep to stay in the game.

Saint Francis (Brooklyn) 64, Wagner 62 (OT)One of two overtime battles in the Northeast Conference, Francis (13-12, 6-6 NEC) pulled off the impressive regular-season sweep over Wagner (12-10, 5-6) in thrilling fashion. Josiah Harris led all scorers with 20 points on the night.

St. Francis (PA) 78, Sacred Heart 76 (OT)Another NEC thriller. Josh Cohen, who leads the conference in scoring, had 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in extra time to get the win for St. Francis (9-15, 6-5 NEC). Sacred Heart (13-14, 6-6) was able to slow him and the Red Flash in the earlier win between the two but couldn't this time around, despite a 12-0 start the game.

Florida Atlantic 90, Rice 81 The top team in Conference USA staved off a good effort from Rice (15-9, 6-7 CUSA), despite 27 points from Quincy Olivari and 25 from Travis Evee. It was another balanced effort from the Owls of FAU (23-2, 13-1), with Vladislav Goldin producing 19 points and nine rebounds and the bench contributing 40 points.

Gardner-Webb 61, Radford 48A minor Big South upset, but more because of how it happened, as Radford (16-10, 10-3 Big South) ended its nine-game win streak with a season-low 48 points. It is now a game behind UNC Asheville in the standings and a game in front of Garder-Webb (14-11, 9-4). The Runnin' Bulldogs got a big road win thanks to 14 points from Anthony Selden. 

Georgia Southern 76, James Madison 73It's a disappointing loss for the Dukes (17-9, 8-5 Sun Belt), who ended a four-game win streak and still have one more game on this road trip. They couldn't stop Andrei Savrasov of Georgia Southern (13-13, 6-7), who scored a game-high 22 points.

Liberty 70, Bellarmine 50It's another easy win for Liberty (20-6, 11-2 ASUN), led by ASUN Player of the Year favorite Darius McGhee with 21 points. 

Little Rock 72, Morehead State 68There isn't a true "top" or "bottom" in the Ohio Valley, as this result between the first and last-place teams showed. Little Rock (8-18, 4-9 OVC) got 15 points from CJ White as Morehead State (16-10, 9-4) missed an opportunity to get some separation in the standings.

Kennesaw State 54, Jacksonville State 52It was tight to the finish, but Kennesaw State (19-7, 11-2 ASUN) avoided the massive road upset. Skyelar Potter managed to drop 28 of 52 Jacksonville State’s points (10-16, 3-10) and gave it a chance to win late.

North Texas 82, UAB 79 (2OT)North Texas (20-5, 11-3 CUSA) won this Conference USA thriller and maintained its second-place standing. Tylor Perry led all scorers with 28 points for the Mean Green, while Jelly Walker had 20 for UAB (17-8, 8-6), which may be in the middle of the standings but can make a run now that it's healthy.

Northwestern 69, Ohio State 63It's now two pairs of 5-game losing streaks for the Buckeyes (11-13, 3-10 Big Ten) in the past month, as they fall to 13th place in the Big Ten standings. On the other side, Northwestern (17-7, 8-5) gets another road and résumé-boosting Quad 1 victory, led by 19 points from Brooks Barnhizer.

Oral Roberts 95, St. Thomas 88One of just three unbeaten teams in conference play (Alabama and Eastern Washington are the others), Oral Roberts (22-4, 13-0 Summit) survived an offensive onslaught from the Tommies (16-11, 7-7), led by 25 points from Andrew Rohde. However, 27 points from Summit League Player of the Year favorite Max Abmas gave the Eagles enough.

Milwaukee 94, Detroit Mercy 89After a shocking home loss to Green Bay, Milwaukee (17-8, 11-4 Horizon League) looked to blow out the Titans, up by double-digits early in the second half. But behind 42 points from star guard Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy (10-16, 6-9) came back to tie it late. But BJ Freeman answered with 26 points, and the Panthers won and stayed in contention for the regular-season title.

Southern Miss 82, Louisiana 71In a battle of the top teams in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss (22-4, 11-2 Sun Belt) pulled off the home win to stand alone on top of the standings. DeAndre Pinckney had 22 points for the Eagles, which was enough to hold off 25 from Jordan Brown of Louisiana (20-5, 10-3).

Northwestern State 88, Texas A&M-Commerce 82Northwestern State (17-8, 9-3) remained tied atop the Southland Conference. Demarcus Sharp, who has scored 23-plus points in six of the last seven games, went for a career-high 35. Texas A&M-Commerce (11-14, 7-4) is still just one game back in the standings.

Pepperdine 92, BYU 80After winning its first WCC game last weekend, Pepperdine (9-17, 2-10 WCC) is now on a two-game streak, beating BYU (16-11, 6-6) and making it a 7-7 record all-time. Freshman Jevon Porter had a season-high 30 points to lead the Waves.

UC-Irvine 55, Cal Poly 54 In what should've been a blowout on paper, Cal Poly (7-18, 1-12 Big West) put up a tremendous fight on the road against the second-place team in the conference. DJ Davis had 16 points for UC Irvine (16-8, 9-3) in the narrow win. The Anteaters may have been looking ahead to a key weekend clash with UC Riverside.

UC Santa Barbara 75, Long Beach 72A huge road win for UC Santa Barbara (19-4, 10-2), which remains in sole possession of first place in the Big West. Ajay Mitchell had 17 points to lead the way for the Gauchos, spoiling the upset efforts of Long Beach State (14-11, 8-5).

Hawai'i 69, UC San Diego 62The Rainbow Warriors (18-7, 9-4 Big West) have struggled a bit as of late but Noel Coleman had 19 points to lead all scorers in the win.

3. Is Rodney Terry's raise a sign of what's to come?

It's been two months since Texas assistant Rodney Terry took over for Chris Beard as the interim head coach. Since then, the team has gone 12-4, is atop the Big 12 standings and is ranked fifth in the AP poll.

Makes one think this is a worthwhile reward.

But could it be more than a bonus and a hint at what's to come? 

Texas certainly isn't pinching pennies and can afford to give its coach another $600,000. Plus, the last thing you want to do is look cheap for future coaching candidates. They've reportedly been in contact with John Calipari about the opening, though others are advocating that this should be Terry's job going forward.

It's hard not to be impressed with Terry's job thus far. The only losses include three road games versus top-15 teams, along with a shocking 116-103 defeat to Kansas State to open league play. But if that caused concerns, the coach and the team have rebounded nicely to lead the Big 12 standings with an 8-3 record.

Before this season, Terry likely wouldn't have been a candidate for any high-major job. Now, he's taking full advantage of this opportunity and making it really difficult for the admin to go in another direction. If Texas wins the Big 12 and makes it to the second weekend, the coaching carousel could have one fewer opening. 

4. Awards season heats up

Thursday saw two more award announcements, including the Karl Malone Award for best Power Forward and the Naismith top-30 midseason list. A few forwards are part of both lists, including Drew Timme (Gonzaga), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Kris Murray (Iowa), Ažuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Kyle Filipowski (Duke) and Bryce Hopkins (Providence).

The four who didn't make both lists are Enrique Freeman (15.1 ppg and 11.0 rpg at Akron), A-10 Player of the Year favorite DaRon Holmes, and a pair of ACC forwards in Norchad Omier (13.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg at Miami) and Hunter Tyson (16.1 ppg and 9.8 rpg at Clemson.)

Tyson is the surprise nominee as the rare fifth-year breakout star. His career averages (6.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg) marked him as role player. But the 6-8 forward has been a scoring machine, going for 20-plus points six times, including a career-high 31 points and 15 rebounds in a win over NC State. He's the reason why Clemson is tied for first in the ACC standings and in position for an NCAA Tournament bid.

The list for the Naismith Men's Midseason Team doesn't feature a lot of shockers; Zach Edey (Purdue), Brandon Miller (Alabama) and Jalen Wilson (Kansas) highlight the list in addition to Tubelis and TJD.

Among the "surprises" in this group includes a pair of Big East guards, Souley Boum (Xavier) and Tyler Kolek (Marquette). Boum has been one of the country's most impactful transfers, leading the Musketeers with 16.3 points and 5.0 assists. Kolek is quietly third in the country at 7.7 assists per game for the Golden Eagles and runs one of the top offenses. Xavier and Marquette are top-15 teams and Big East contenders, thanks to them, making them worthy additions to the midseason team.

5. The ACC is the worst. Maybe.

Remember when people wondered last season if the ACC would get multiple bids? That ended up being pretty silly when Duke and North Carolina made the Final Four, and Miami reached the Elite Eight.

Well, let's start that whole thing up again. 

While eight ACC teams are in the mix for a bid on Selection Sunday, the numbers tell a different story.

That the Pac-12 is clearly better is a concern. That the Mountain West is also better is just ... yuck. The two main issues with the conference are both at the top and bottom. Just one ACC team is in the top 25 of KenPom (Virginia), with Miami, Duke and North Carolina in the top 40.

The top isn't strong, and the bottom is awful. Lots of awful. Louisville's KenPom ranking of 301 is the worst among all power conference programs. But several others are weighing the ACC down, including Georgia Tech (210), Florida State (183), Notre Dame (176), and Boston College (161), all outside the top 150.

Even just looking at the standings, there are a trio of overachieving programs (Clemson, NC State and Pittsburgh) whose metrics aren't loved and aren't getting much national respect. If the Panthers and Tigers lose on Saturday, they can go from tied for first place in the ACC standings to among the Last Four In/First Four Out.

The latest Three Man Weave podcast details the weaknesses of the ACC, noting the coaching situation as the main culprit. The conference has three tiers: New head coaches (Duke, UNC, Louisville, Wake Forest), older head coaches on their way out (Notre Dame, FSU, Syracuse, Miami), and a few on the hot seat (Clemson, Pitt, NC State, Georgia Tech.)

It's a league in flux at head coach, and similar to what happened in the SEC, look for more changes in the coming years. If the next wave of new coaches doesn't get the job done, the ACC will risk losing even more prestige. 

Fancy Like Tyree

Not sure anyone's had a better few days than Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby. Here's how Tuesday went:

• A career-high 35 points, along with tying a career-high 11 assists

• An ACC record 23 made free throws (on 28 attempts)

• Surpassed 2,000 career points

• Wake beat North Carolina, 92-85

He then followed that up by announcing an NIL deal with Applebee's, a perfect match if there ever was one. They're getting quite the star, too. Appleby, a 6-1 senior, is averaging a career-best in points (18.7 ppg) and assists (6.2 apg) and is shooting 36 percent from deep. Not bad. So he talked with Mike Miller for the latest Four Questions about breaking records, his fit at Wake and much more. 

Q: What are the most times you've ever shot in a game? Because between 20 field goal attempts and 28 free throws, you must've been feeling it. Did it seem like you were at the line all game, or was it just the end? You made 15 free throws in the final two minutes!

Tyree Appleby: I was definitely tired. My other career high at Cleveland State, I shot 19 times, but this is the most free throws. I felt like I had only shot like 15 or 16 times, but after the game when they told me, it was a little hard to believe. The last two minutes of the game felt like that was like the longest game ever.

Q: This is your third team and third conference. How would you compare the style of play in the ACC to the SEC? Or the Horizon? Special shout out to the time you played against Antoine Davis. That's now a combined 5,419 combined points for you two.

Tyree Appleby:  I've seen a lot of talented players in all those leagues. For the ACC compared to the SEC, both have a lot of high-major players, but I feel like the SEC is a little more fast-paced. The ACC slows it down a bit, I think. The atmosphere in the ACC is crazy. Some of these games we play, man ... but it's pretty similar, with a lot of talent. Who doesn't want to go against the best talent, night in and night out? 

Q: There are plenty of critics when it comes to the transfer portal. But I wonder if those people should look at you when it comes to how it can benefit a player and potentially a school. You've transferred twice, but both times came amid a coaching change. And there was the year you sat out before playing for Florida. How would you describe the transfer portal and what it's meant for your playing career?

Tyree Appleby: I like it. Sometimes, kids go to school and they expect to play, and they don't play. And some players have strong relationships with the coaches that recruited them, and then if they leave, you don't know the new coaches, the new staff, or how they're gonna use you. You want to come in work, but you don't know if they're gonna let you keep your scholarship, or play you, or if they're gonna bring in their own guys. So I think [the portal] is a blessing. It helps gets some kids in the right program. 

I love Coach Forbes. Once he called me, he always kept it real with me, was honest with me. Then I came out here and they made me feel like I was part of the family already.

Q: You just signed an NIL deal with Applebee's. Congrats! But why did it take them so long? This is a no-brainer!

Tyree Appleby: Definitely! We'd been in talks for a while, but we never got anything done. Then they reached out to me in November after one of my game-winners, and we got the ball rolling. (Note: Read more about his NIL deal here.)

Wake Forest plays host to Georgia Tech on Saturday. For more Four Questions, click here.

It’s an A-10 kind of night

There's a decent slate of Friday games, including Kent State traveling to Buffalo and No. 13 Xavier at Butler. But the Game of the Night is between the Billikens and Flyers, the two preseason favorites in the Atlantic 10. The conference may be approaching one-bid status, but these two are still fighting for first place in the standings and solidifying themselves for the double-bye in the conference tournament.

It also will be a prime showcase for the two A-10 POY favorites, with Yuri Collins (11.7 ppg and 10.1 apg) of Saint Louis (16-8, 8-3 A-10) facing off against DaRon Holmes (17.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg) of Dayton (16-9, 8-4.) (8 pm ET, ESPN2)

Other games to watch this weekend (all times ET)

Saturday

• West Virginia (15-9, 4-7 in Big 12) at Texas (19-5, 8-3), Noon (ESPN2)

• Penn State (14-10, 5-8 in Big Ten) at Maryland (16-8, 7-6), Noon (Big Ten Network)

• Alabama (21-3, 11-0 in SEC) at Auburn (17-7, 7-4), 2 pm (ESPN)

• UConn (19-6, 8-6 in Big East) at Creighton (16-8, 10-3), 2 pm (FOX)

• Rutgers (16-8, 8-5 in Big Ten) at Illinois (16-7, 7-5), 2 pm (FS1)

• Clemson (18-6, 10-3 in ACC) at North Carolina (15-9, 7-6), 2 pm (ESPN2)

• Duke (17-7, 8-5 in ACC) at Virginia (18-4, 10-3), 4 pm (ESPN)

• Baylor (18-6, 7-4 in Big 12) at TCU (17-7, 6-5), 4 pm (ESPN2)

• Missouri (18-6, 6-5 in SEC) at Tennessee (19-5, 8-3), 6 pm (SEC Network)

• Oklahoma State (15-9, 6-5 in Big 12) at Iowa State (16-7, 7-4), 6 pm (ESPN2)

• Indiana (17-7, 8-5 in Big Ten) at Michigan (14-10, 8-5), 6 pm (ESPN)

• UCLA (20-4, 11-2 in Pac-12) at Oregon (15-10, 9-5), 10 pm (ESPN)

• BYU (16-11, 6-6 in WCC) at Gonzaga (20-5, 9-2), 10 pm (ESPN2)

Sunday

• Temple (14-11, 8-4 in AAC) at Memphis (18-6, 8-3), noon, (ESPN2)

• Purdue (23-2, 12-2 in Big Ten) at Northwestern (17-7, 8-5), 2 pm (Big Ten Network)

Arkansas could make another March run

With a near-consensus view that the NCAA Tournament is wide open, there are several teams capable of making some kind of run. To do that, you'll need a star player or two that can take over. Field of 68's own Rob Dauster makes the case why Arkansas is that team, especially if Nick Smith comes back.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 AFTER DARK on YouTube and click here subscribe to the AFTER DARK podcast.

Links as you try to remember where everyone went in yesterday's NBA trade deadline.

• Oklahoma and Texas have an agreement with Big 12 to leave for SEC after 2023-24.

• Missouri State HC Dana Ford reportedly accused of groping a woman at a golf event.

• Notable ref Ted Valentine won't be officiating in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

• CAA has signed new Media Rights Deal with both CBS Sports and FloSports.

• Everything is all right at North Carolina according to Caleb Love and RJ Davis.

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