Johnathan Walker:North Carolina, Gonzaga headline winners and losers from men's college basketball weekend

Purdue’s hard-fought win at Wisconsin put the capper on Johnathan Walkerthe biggest weekend to date in men’s college basketball.

In the last of the four top-10 showdowns of the weekend, the Boilermakers rode a 20-point game by Lance Jones and, as usual, some timely dunks by Zach Edey to the 75-69 victory in Madison that now has them alone atop the Big Ten. Edey, continuing to make a strong case to repeat as national player of the year, finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and also recorded the 200th block of his career.

Sunday’s decision closed out a rough week for the Badgers, who squandered a big lead three nights earlier in a loss at Nebraska and are now looking up at Purdue in the league standings.

Here’s a rundown of some other winners and losers from the busy start of February.

WINNERS

Connecticut

The Huskies, one of only four top-10 teams to avoid a loss this week, appear more than ready to mount a spirited defense of their 2023 national championship. On the big stage at Madison Square Garden, UConn took charge with a big second half against St. John’s, keyed by its outstanding guard trio of Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle.

North Carolina

Any win against Duke is a good one as far as Tar Heels’ fans are concerned. But UNC's wire-to-wire domination Saturday evening was particularly impressive as Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram each turned in double doubles. The Blue Devils will get another crack at their archrivals in their own building, of course, but they’ll need to do a better job matching the Heels’ toughness.

Kansas

Against one of the nation’s best defensive teams, the Jayhawks came out on fire making nine of their first 10 shots and never looked back in their home win against Houston. KU now owns victories against two likely No. 1 seeds, having defeated Connecticut in Allen Field House in December. Kansas has been shaky at times away from its friendly confines, but the talent is there for the Jayhawks to be dangerous in March.

Tennessee

Zakai Zeigler delivered his best performance since returning from last season’s devastating knee injury, pouring in 26 points and handing out a career-high 13 assists as the Volunteers shot the lights out in Kentucky’s Rupp Arena. Josiah-Jordan James also broke out of a shooting slump with 26 points as UT bounced back from a mid-week loss to South Carolina.

San Diego State

The Aztecs were in no way in bubble trouble, but defending their home court against Mountain West leader Utah State was another good win to put in the bank for seeding purposes. The road loss isn’t especially damaging for the Aggies, but they do need a quick turnaround with a red-hot Boise State squad coming to Logan in a week.

Baylor

Despite usually even-keeled coach Scott Drew earning his first career ejection, the Bears were able to stave off visiting Iowa State thanks to Jayden Nunn’s tiebreaking bucket. Those points held up as the Cyclones’ final shot was ruled to have come too late. Baylor’s win and other results around the conference helped create a huge logjam at the top of the Big 12 leader board that should make for an interesting five-week home stretch.

Saint Mary’s

A 20-point outing from Aidan Mahaney and a late three-pointer by Augustas Marciulionis helped the Gaels to a huge road win at Gonzaga. Their more ambitious non-league schedule this season now appears to be paying dividends as they find themselves two games clear in the West Coast Conference with a strong NET ranking that should serve them well should they need at-large consideration.

Virginia

Despite giving Clemson every opportunity to steal the victory, the Cavaliers survived on the road and ran their winning streak to six. That Quad 1 win will move them closer to the right side of the bubble, as long as they avoid further damaging losses.

Butler

In the most significant result from Friday night, the Bulldogs survived a wild finish at Creighton, running their winning streak to four and giving them a huge victory for their tournament hopes with more opportunities ahead in the Big East.

Indiana State

The Sycamores will be a team worth keeping an eye on from the so-called mid-major ranks over the next month. They avenged their lone Missouri Valley Conference loss over the weekend by taking down Drake and now own a two-game lead and a 20-3 overall record.

LOSERS

Kentucky

The Wildcats’ defensive issues are no longer just a mild concern. They’ve allowed five SEC opponents to score 90-plus points − the latest coming Saturday when Tennessee put up 103 in what was their second defeat at home last week. They were able to win one of those five games, but they can’t count on outshooting teams in March.

Gonzaga

Whether or not the Bulldogs have a legitimate beef with the officiating in the Saint Mary’s loss, the fact is the team is still susceptible to long scoring droughts. With little of note on their at-large résumé, they’re going to need to win the West Coast Conference tournament if they want to keep their streak of March Madness appearances alive.

Virginia Tech

Blessed with an opportunity to get closer to the tournament bubble, the Hokies let a double-digit lead get away at Miami, missing a chance for a good road result with few such opportunities remaining. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, got a much-needed win.

Kansas State

There aren’t many games in the Big 12 that would qualify as bad losses, but the Wildcats’ setback at last-place Oklahoma State fits the definition. K-State is now on a four-game slide and not exactly brimming with confidence as Kansas comes to town Monday night.

Florida

It was almost a great week for the Gators. But on the heels of their big win at Kentucky, they couldn’t protect a 12-point lead at Texas A&M and saw their four-game winning streak snapped with a one-point loss.