As the regular season in college basketball winds down, there’s nothing like a set of upsets to get everyone excited about what the selection committee is going to do, with Maryland (by beating Wisconsin), Syracuse (winning against Notre Dame) and North Carolina State (shocking North Carolina) stirring things up with surprising wins.
#14 Maryland beats #5 Wisconsin: It’s been quite the transition for Maryland into the Big Ten, and although they’re also ranked, it came as quite a shock to see them become only the second team this season in the Big Ten to beat the Badgers, who had won their previous 10 conference games. Their previous loss came to another new conference inductee, Rutgers of all teams. They lost in the non-conference stretch to Duke. For Mayrland, this was the Dez Wells show with 26 points, backed up by Melo Trimble scoring 16. Frank Kaminsky scored 18 points for the Badgers, held to just 38.5% from the field.
Syracuse beat #9 Notre Dame: This hasn’t been the best of seasons for the The Orange, but it doesn’t mean they’re incapable of influencing what goes on at the top of the ACC. The conference title is going to be Virginia’s more than likely, and now they have one less team to worry about due to the Irish losing at home 65-60 thanks to excellent defense and a big night from B.J. Johnson scoring 19 points off the bench.
North Carolina State beat #15 North Carolina: Another example of why the Tar Heels can’t be taken too seriously. Losing at home 58-46 to the Wolfpack comes right after Roy Williams criticized the home fans for being too quiet and elegant. It’s the first time North Carolina State have won on the road in the Carolina-State rivalry since 2003, and only their third win since 2004.