Upset Saturday Recap

Upset Saturday was relevant all throughout sports today, with the 7-9 Seahawks and the #6 seed Jets emerged victorious; however, as the NFL playoffs began, college basketball just became a lot more interesting.  On Saturday alone, 8 ranked teams fell including one undefeated team.  #8, #11, #12, #13, #17, #18, #19, and #24 all lost in the most active day of the season.

We start off with the #8 Mizzou Tigers, who lost to Colorado as both teams played in their first Big 12 game of the year.  Colorado improves to 12-4 and they will go as far as their high powered offense takes them.  Averaging over 84 points a game, Colorado has a chance at a few more upsets in Big 12 play.  As for Missouri, the Tigers lost their second game this year with their only previous loss coming to Georgetown in an overtime thriller.  Missouri, considered one of the favorites to compete for the Big 12 title this year, shot just 41% from the field vs. Colorado, and were outrebounded 45-32.

#11 Kentucky lost to Georgia in a very close SEC matchup.  Kentucky struggled all game, shooting 38% from the floor, but their 11 offensive rebounds kept them close.  In the end, it came down to the free throw line, since Kentucky committed 24 fouls in the 40 minutes of play.  Georgia converted 30 of their 34 free throw attempts, which ultimately put this game away.

The best game of the day surely has to be the duel between #9 UConn and #12 Texas.  Texas started the game on fire and Kemba Walker just couldn't find the hoop.  Walker had his worst game of the year, shooting 8 of 27; however, he still scored 22 points and the small guard grabbed 9 boards.  Alex Oriakhi had 21 rebounds (10 offensive), as UConn came back to force overtime.  In overtime, Kemba Walker showed his true stardom, making a ridiculous three pointer moments before making the game winner with 5 seconds left.  The Longhorns had an attempt to win it at the end of overtime, but Freshman Cory Joseph could not convert a late three pointer, as UConn prevailed 82-81.

West Virginia knocked off #13 Georgetown, as the Hoyas have been playing close game after close game.  Casey Mitchell had 28 points for the Mountaineers and made four three pointers.  Georgetown played sloppily all game, turning the ball over 18 times.  The 65-59 final score shows that defense played a large factor and its a trend that will probably continue in the Big East all season.

Oklahoma State comfortably upset #17 Kansas State behind Jan-Paul Olukemi's double-double off the bench.  He had 22 points and 11 rebounds, as the Cowboys outscored Kansas State 48-34 in the second half.  Jacob Pullen scored 20 points, but the Wildcats shot 35% from the field and 29% from downtown.

In one of the bigger upsets of the day, the 9-6 Houston Cougars handed UCF its first loss of the season.  UCF struggled mightily on offense and could not muster much in the first half.  They were limited to 21 points in the first half and went through the tunnel down 15 points.  Their offense was great in the second half as they scored 50 points, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.  Houston had 4 players in double figures and shot 48%.

#19 Michigan State suffered its 5th loss of the season, which is the most by any ranked team.  Penn State was the beneficiary of a poor Spartan offensive effort, as they only scored 62 points.  Penn State had just 8 points off the bench, but their starters did their job by playing tough defense and scoring just enough to knock off one of the more talented teams in the country.

#24 Vanderbilt is the eighth victim of a crazy Saturday of basketball, as they lost in overtime to South Carolina 83-75.  Sam Muldrow had a night to remember for the South Carolina Gamecocks.  Not only did he score 16 points and grab 14 rebounds, but he had 10 blocks.  He set the tone in a game where John Jenkins dropped 28 points for Vanderbilt with 6 three pointers.

Tomorrow is another day with possible upset alerts, as Minnesota travels to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes.  The undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats go to Villanova to test on the Wildcats and Maryland faces rival Duke in an ACC battle.  Tune in to The Point After for more analysis and news!