Rallies and what might've been

Welcome back for the Thursday edition of The Field of 68 Daily! Last night provided rallies, attempted comebacks and a barrage of shocking upsets by double-digit underdogs. Sounds about right for the 2022-23 college hoops season.

Let's get to the news.

1. Country roads prove treacherous for Iowa State

West Virginia was just 14-9 overall and 3-7 in the Big 12 entering Wednesday's game against No. 11 Iowa State. Yet it was a 5-point home favorite and lived up to that expectation, winning 76-71.

Not that it was straightforward. The 'Eers won thanks to poise at the free-throw line amid a wild defensive sequence down the stretch.

A Jaren Holmes layup gave Iowa State a 71-70 lead with 1:29 left. Two Joe Toussaint free throws put West Virginia back ahead 20 seconds later. Iowa State missed a pair of shots, but with 13 seconds left, stole the ball back. Caleb Grill missed a transition layup, James Okonkwo grabbed the rebound, Toussaint hit two more free throws, then drew a charge in the final seconds. (Exhales.)

The Cyclones (16-7, 7-4 in Big 12) made a concerted effort to keep the ball out of Erik Stevenson’s hands (he scored 31-plus points in two of the past three games) and forced other Mountaineers to shoulder the scoring load, something Emmitt Matthews Jr (20 points) and Kedrian Johnson (22 points) did. If you told me before the game that Stevenson scored eight points and fouled out, I would assume the Cyclones won by double digits. Instead, West Virginia showed they aren’t a one-dimensional offense

WVU has won five of its last seven games and is still in a position to make the NCAA Tournament despite its 4-7 league mark. The 'Eers are 15th in KenPom and top-20 in the NET, and all nine defeats are Quad 1 losses.

Meanwhile, Iowa State’s loss revealed some of its flaws. When the defense isn’t forcing turnovers (West Virginia only coughed it up 11 times on 72 possessions), it can be difficult for the Cyclones to win games. Freshman point guard Tamin Lipsey struggled (zero assists, five turnovers and 16 points), as did Gabe Kalscheur (eight points on 1-of-6 shooting and 0-of-3 from three in 38 minutes). But the good news is Iowa State is at home for its next two games.

2. Upset special(s)

Three teams who were 10-plus-point underdogs pulled out victories Wednesday night. Let’s discuss.

Oh, Virginia Tech. The Hokies had just beaten Virginia and were entering a three-game stretch against some of the ACC's bottom dwellers in Boston College, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech ... and lost — at home — to BC. And it wasn't close. Boston College jumped out to a 13-point first-half lead and waltzed to an 82-76 win

The Hokies' bench was short, as an injury kept Darius Maddox out again, but the defense couldn't get any stops. The offense was also MIA for most of the first half. Now the Hokies (14-10, 4-9 in ACC) have fallen back into bubble territory (and probably the wrong side.)

Here's a Missouri Valley shocker: Evansville had lost 12 straight and hadn't won a conference game until it beat Northern Iowa 71-59. The closest the Purple Aces (5-21, 1-14) had even been to a win was seven points in that run. Yacine Toumi scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards in the win over UNI. The most impressive part of the win? Evansville’s defensive effort to limit Northern Iowa’s Bowen Born to nine points — he entered the day averaging over 19.

Lastly, the biggest stunner of the night: Vanderbilt 66, Tennessee 65.

On the final play, Vandy’s Ezra Manjon jetted into the paint and attracted multiple defenders, then dropped a dime to Tyrin Lawrence for the game-winning corner triple.

It just felt like Vandy’s night. Whether it was 50-50 balls, soft bounces off the rim, or timely missed Tennessee shots, a Commodores victory felt inevitable.

Tennessee failed to hit 70 points for a third straight game. The Vols (19-5, 8-3 in SEC) will remain susceptible to losing low-scoring contests until the offense starts consistently making shots. An elite defense can only take you so far. But I'll let the AFTER DARK crew explain more.

3. Other notable results

Creighton 75, Seton Hall 62Don’t let the final score fool you: Seton Hall (15-10, 8-6 in Big East) kept Creighton (16-8, 10-3) close for 35 minutes. The Pirates only had five turnovers compared to an uncharacteristically high 19 for Creighton. However, it’s tough to win when your opponent shoots 61 percent from the field and 12-of-20 from deep, which is why Creighton secured the road victory. Baylor Scheierman’s day was a mixed bag: A few too many turnovers (6), but he led the Blue Jays with 19 points and drilled five triples.

Alabama 97, Florida 69That was a golden victory by No. 3 Alabama (21-3, 11-0 in SEC) over a hungry Florida (13-11, 6-5) team. This year's Alabama team dominates the SEC, akin to the best Kentucky squads from the last decade. They're 11-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1955-56.

Baylor 82, Oklahoma 72Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 in Big 12) desperately needed a road victory over No. 14 Baylor (18-6, 7-4) to claw its way onto the tournament bubble. But winning in Waco is much easier said than done. Keyonte George led the Bears with 23 points.

Houston 80, Tulsa 42Tulsa's trend of being the worst team against the spread continues. Not even 28.5 points were even as No. 2 Houston (23-2, 11-1 in AAC) throttled the Golden Hurricane by 38. Marcus Sasser led the Coogs with 25.

Memphis 99, South Florida 81Memphis (18-6, 8-3 in AAC) is in a situation where avoiding losses to non-Houston AAC teams is paramount. The Tigers had another terrific offensive game, led by 26 from DeAndre Williams. Former Tiger Tyler Harris scored 28 for South Florida (10-14, 3-8).

Michigan 92, Nebraska 73Six Wolverines (14-10, 8-5 in Big Ten) reached double figures, led by 22 from Jett Howard in a convincing win over Nebraska (11-14, 4-10.) Michigan has won three straight heading into this weekend's matchup against Indiana in Ann Arbor.

Villanova 81, DePaul 65At one point, DePaul (9-16, 3-11 in Big East) led by double digits, but Villanova (11-13, 5-8) quickly asserted itself on a night when it honored Jalen Brunson. All five 'Nova starters scored 10 or more points, led by Caleb Daniels with 18. Are the Wildcats finding their groove right in time for the conference tourney?

Wisconsin 79, Penn State 74A battle of the Big Ten bubble teams went to overtime! Wisconsin (14-9, 6-7) pulled out the road win thanks to a near triple-double by Tyler Wahl. The loss marks three straight for Penn State (14-10, 5-8).

Syracuse 76, Florida State 67Joe Girard dropped 25 points on 5-of-8 from deep in Cuse’s (15-10, 8-6 in ACC) win over Florida State (8-17, 6-8.) At least Jim Boeheim didn’t have any snarky comments about Florida State using NIL to its advantage.

Hofstra 72, Northeastern 53Hofstra (18-8, 11-2) stays atop the CAA with a convincing road win over Northeastern (8-15, 4-8.) Aaron Estrada only mustered 13 points but Tyler Thomas kept Hofstra’s offense rolling with 18.

Charleston 93, UNCW 61Charleston (23-3, 11-2 in CAA) left no room for debate in this one. The Cougars completely hammered a solid UNC Wilmington squad (19-7, 9-4) as versatile forward Ante Brzović went off for 23 points and seven rebounds.

George Washington 107, Richmond 105Brendan Adams scored 35 points in George Washington’s (12-12, 6-5 in A-10) double overtime win over Richmond (12-13, 5-7.) Anytime you see two college basketball teams hit triple digits, it’s worth mentioning.

San Diego State 63, Utah State 61A little Mountain West after dark certainly didn’t disappoint! Midway through the first half, Utah State’s Taylor Funk and Darrion Trammell got into a minor kerfuffle crossing into each other while heading into a timeout huddle. However, Trammell was ejected for “leaving the bench,” so San Diego State (19-5, 10-2 in MWC) played the final 27 minutes of the game without its starting point guard. Utah State (19-6, 8-4) stormed back from a 44-28 halftime deficit — and had a chance to win in the final seconds. However, Max Shulga's jumper just missed.

Fordham 77, UMass 67Fordham (19-5, 7-4 in A-10) secured its 19th win on Wednesday with a double-digit W over UMass. Once again, Darius Quisenberry and Khalid Moore carried the offensive load, combining for 40 points.

Providence 74, Georgetown 62The Friars (18-6, 10-3 in Big East) made easy work of Georgetown (6-19, 1-13) leading by double digits for virtually the entire game. Bryce Hopkins‘s candidacy for first team all-conference honors gets stronger by the game — he posted 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win.

Oklahoma State 71, Texas Tech 68the Cowboys (15-9, 6-5 in Big 12) are without Avery Anderson for the foreseeable future, but an NCAA Tournament bid is still very much in play. And the Cowboys secured the win over Texas Tech (12-12, 1-10) thanks to John-Michael Wright’s put-back layup in the final second.

Colgate 81, Lehigh 53The Raiders (18-8, 12-1 in Patriot) might have wrapped up the regular-season title with an impressive win over the Mountain Hawks (14-10, 9-4), who are second in the league standings, but three games back with five to play.

Utah Valley 71, California Baptist 55Utah Valley (19-6, 10-2) holds onto a commanding lead in the WAC with a wall-to-wall win over the Lancers (13-12, 5-7.) 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo is an automatic double-double — securing 10 points, 10 boards and five blocks for good measure.

4. It’s not always sunny in the portal

It’s been a bizarre season in Laramie where Wyoming went from a potential Mountain West contender to the worst team in the league. A big reason is preseason conference POTY Graham Ike hasn't played. Another is a trio of Pac-12 transfers who haven't lived up to their potential.

Well, now those transfers are gone.

It's a hot mess out west. But Wyoming isn't alone.

The portal isn’t just about opportunity; it’s also about fitting into the right system and culture. Look no further than Jarod Lucas, who moved from Oregon State to Nevada and developed into one of the Mountain West's best players. Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and Providence also used the portal to their benefit this season, showing it's far more alchemy than science.

5. Julius Erving award list cut to 10 players

The Julius Erving watch list announced its late-season finalists, but it's still a little fuzzy who counts as a small forward. Jalen Wilson is on here? He could win the Karl Malone award for best power forward.

Either way, the award belongs to the freshman sensation from Tuscaloosa: Brandon Miller. He leads the No. 3 ranked Crimson Tide with 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shoots a blistering 44 percent from deep. Miller likely hears his name called in the top-5 of the NBA draft. And it won't be based solely on his potential — he has been one of the most productive players in college basketball.

It’s a little surprising to see names like Kevin Obanor and Matthew Cleveland on the list when both play for bottom dwellers. Someone like Taveion Kinsey from Marshall, who is averaging 21.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists on a solid Marshall squad makes more sense.

Closing thought: It’s incredible to see Keyontae Johnson as a finalist. When Johnson collapsed on the court two and a half years ago, it was unknown whether Johnson would ever play a single minute of competitive basketball again. Yet, he has returned to average 18 points and seven rebounds for the No. 12 ranked Kansas State Wildcats. It’s the story we diehard college basketball fans love about the sport.

Steady Edey

Iowa (15-8, 7-5 in Big Ten) has won three straight games entering the toughest contests on its schedule — a matchup in West Lafayette against the physically imposing force of Zach Edey and Purdue (22-2, 11-2). The return home should lift Purdue after its loss at Indiana on Saturday. How will Iowa defend Edey? If they let Filip Rebraca guard him solo, Rebraca will foul out before the game begins. It needs to be a group effort from the Hawkeyes.

• UAB (17-7), at North Texas (19-5), 8 pm ET (ESPN+)

• Louisiana (20-4) at Southern Miss (21-4), 8 pm ET (ESPN+)

Three true contenders

It's February 9. Selection Sunday is barely more than a month away. And we're to the point where there are three teams that will likely be the popular picks to win it all in Houston. Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster and Chris Mack discuss.

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

Links while you ponder prop bets for the Super Bowl.

• Vermont's game at Maine was delayed for two hours due to this.

• On the day of his jersey retirement, Jalen Brunson finds out his former Villanova teammate Josh Hart will join him on the Knicks.

• Fordham coach Keith Urgo grabs a snack before the game.

• This is an absolute wild way to end a game.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected]

And don't forget to listen to The Field of 68 AFTER DARK every night at 11 pm ET on Sirius XM radio, or watch it on YouTube and Twitter.

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