Shakeup Saturday didn’t disappoint, with five of the nation’s top 11 teams losing to conference rivals. A look at what we learned entering the final week of the regular season.
They’re getting hot
Back in January, when Kansas State was busy dropping seven of 12 and falling out of the AP Top 25 poll, Wildcats coach Frank Martin swore his team was close to turning the corner. And while we still think Martin is a bit, ah, overzealous, it appears he was right. K-State has won six of seven — including an 84-68 thumping of then-No. 1 Kansas — and star guard Jacob Pullen has played brilliantly, averaging 29 points a game the last two weeks. Meanwhile, in the Pac-10, UCLA, which suffered early-season losses to Virginia Commonwealth and Montana, has won 12 of 14, including a 71-49 stomping of No. 10 Arizona.
Do they belong?
San Diego State has had a phenomenal season and likely will be rewarded with either a two or three seed in the NCAA tournament. Kawhi Leonard and the Aztecs would be undefeated if not for two 13-point losses to Jimmer Fredette and BYU. And that’s the problem. San Diego State doesn’t have a win against any team currently in the Top 25. Then there’s Texas, which cracked the top five with an 11-game winning streak only to drop games at Nebraska and Colorado in a span of seven days. National title contenders lose games on the road against conference rivals, but they don’t blow 22-point leads against bubble teams. The red flag is up in Austin.
A tough out
The best thing about Virginia Tech’s 64-60 win over Duke: We probably don’t need to worry about hearing Seth Greenberg complain on Selection Sunday this year. But it’s telling that the Hokies were able to win on a night when Malcolm Delaney was 4-for-15 from the floor and finished with 11 points. Jeff Allen (18 points, 15 rebounds), who registered his eighth double-double in nine games, provided proof that Virginia Tech can win even when Delaney struggles.
