CBB weekend winners, losers: Duke, UNC add another thrilling chapter to their rivalry

Tar Heels star Caleb Wilson likely bolstered his draft stock by scoring 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. North Carolina’s defense held strong in the second half, only giving up six points in the final eight minutes. Despite falling at Stanford and Cal in January, North Carolina is right back in the top-10 mix.

Loser: BYU Cougars

After losing at Oklahoma State earlier in the week, No. 16 BYU dropped its fourth straight contest Saturday night, falling to No. 8 Houston, 77-66. As a result, the Cougars are likely to drop out of the top 25.

Forward AJ Dybantsa is performing at a high level, but the rest of the offense has struggled to find consistency. Outside of Dybantsa, too much pressure is being put on guards Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III. BYU’s defense has also been lackluster, allowing at least 86 points in three of the setbacks. With No. 1 Arizona, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 13 Texas Tech left on their slate, the Cougars are in danger of a total freefall.

Winner: St. John’s Red Storm

Under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden on Friday night, No. 22 St. John’s notched a huge victory over No. 3 UConn. Forward Zuby Ejiofor racked up 21 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. The Red Storm played aggressively and were rewarded, getting to the free-throw line 31 times compared to the Huskies’ 12.

Rick Pitino’s squad has rolled off nine straight wins and has a chance to claim its second consecutive Big East regular-season title.

Loser: Vanderbilt Commodores

Since starting 16-0, No. 15 Vanderbilt has lost four of its past seven games, with its latest coming against lowly Oklahoma on Saturday. The Sooners entered the game with an 11-12 record but jumped out to a 26-10 lead. 

Despite largely outgaining Oklahoma in the box score, the Commodores trailed by 21 in the second half before falling just short of completing the comeback. The loss hurts Vanderbilt’s resume and raises questions about whether the team simply benefited from a weak nonconference schedule.

Winner: Highlight-reel dunks

Simply put, finding a Dunk of the Year candidate shouldn’t be too difficult now. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson stole the ball and dunked all over a Utah defender to punctuate the Jayhawks’ victory.

Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. located teammate Coen Carr for a jaw-dropping reverse alley-oop.

Arguably the best of them all, though, comes from Southeast Missouri State’s game against Southern Indiana as guard Luke Almodovar posterized a defender in transition.

Loser: Baylor Bears

Baylor’s disappointing campaign continued Saturday as the Bears fell to 3-8 in conference play upon losing at Iowa State. Entering the season, Baylor was viewed as a potential contender in the Big 12, especially after the arrival of Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr. After a promising 10-2 start, the Bears are 13-10 and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.