A fun, busy and eventful Saturday of college basketball concluded after midnight on the East Coast with a showdown between two programs possessing legitimate Final Four aspirations.
Final score: Arizona 75, Tennessee 70.
The five-point victory represented Arizona's fourth Quadrant-1 win of the season and improved second-year coach Tommy Lloyd's record to an incredible 41-5 since replacing Sean Miller, who was fired following the 2020-21 season. The Wildcats got 19 points and nine rebounds from Azuolas Tubelis, and 18 points and eight rebounds from Oumar Ballo, to improve to 10-1 on the season, 6-0 at home.
"Oumar and Zu, I mean, we've got to get that out of them every night, no matter how they guard us," Lloyd said after the win. "They're a force in there. You just don't see that type of one-two punch in there. Those two are dominant guys, and you're probably going to go back and wish we would have gotten them the ball a little bit more."
With the win, Arizona is up to No. 4 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings; Tennessee remains No. 13. And Purdue is still No. 1 after improving to 11-0 with a 69-61 win over Davidson in which national player of the year candidate Zach Edey finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds.
One note: I made the unusual move of removing a team from the Top 25 And 1 after a 50-point win. Honestly, I don't think I've ever done this before.
Let me explain.
I've had Texas Tech ranked for a while based on the idea that when I added the Red Raiders they had 1) good computer numbers, and 2) nothing but losses to teams ranked ahead of them. Neither of those things remain true. One of Texas Tech's two losses is to a Creighton team that's now lost six straight games. That's obviously not good. Beyond that, the Red Raiders are down to 66th in the NET, 48th in Sagarin, 37th at BartTorvik.com and 36th at KenPom.com. Literally no reputable computer still has the Red Raiders in the top 30. They're 0-2 in the first two quadrants with zero wins over schools ranked in the top 150 of the NET.
Simply put, it's pretty inarguable that Texas Tech shouldn't be ranked right now, so the Red Raiders have been removed from the Top 25 And 1. They've been replaced by a North Carolina team that spent Saturday beating the Ohio State team that owns a win over Texas Tech. UNC is now 4-4 in the first two quadrants with zero losses to sub-45 KenPom teams
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 69-61 win over Davidson. The Boilermakers' next game is Wednesday against New Orleans. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 68-46 win at Butler. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Georgetown. | 1 | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jarace Walker finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 69-61 win at Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against McNeese State. | 2 | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 75-70 win over Tennessee. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Montana State. | 4 | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 84-62 win over Indiana. The Jayhawks' next game is Thursday against Harvard. | 10 | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Virginia missed 16 of the 22 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 69-61 loss to Houston. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday at Miami. | 4 | 23-11 |
| 7 |  | Timmy Allen finished with 15 points and three assists in Monday's 87-81 overtime win over Rice. The Longhorns' next game is Sunday against Stanford. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 8 |  | Drew Timme finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 100-90 win over Alabama. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Montana. | 4 | 27-8 |
| 9 |  | Alabama allowed Gonzaga to shoot 57.1% from the field in Saturday's 100-90 loss to the Zags. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against Jackson State. | 5 | 25-12 |
| 10 |  | Jordan Walsh finished with 18 points and four steals in Saturday's 76-57 win over Bradley. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against UNC Asheville. | 3 | 16-17 |
| 11 |  | Tolu Smith finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 68-66 win over Nicholls State. The Bulldogs' next game is Tuesday against Drake. | 2 | 21-14 |
| 12 |  | Keyonte George finished with 22 points and six assists in Tuesday's 80-57 win over Tarleton State. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Washington State. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 13 |  | Tennessee missed 19 of the 27 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 75-70 loss at Arizona. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Austin Peay. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 63-53 win over Kentucky. The Bruins' next game is Wednesday against UC Davis. | 4 | 16-17 |
| 15 |  | Dariq Whitehead finished with 15 points and two assists in Saturday's 82-55 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Indiana allowed Kansas to shoot 51.5% from the field in Saturday's 84-62 loss. The Hoosiers' next game is Tuesday against Elon. | 6 | 19-14 |
| 17 |  | Mathew Mayer finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 68-47 win over Alabama A&M. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Missouri. | -- | 29-9 |
| 18 |  | Only one Kentucky starter finished with more than eight points in Saturday's 63-53 loss to UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Florida A&M. | 4 | 23-10 |
| 19 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 69-58 win over Creighton. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 27-10 |
| 20 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 78-56 win over Lehigh. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | 2 | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | Souley Boum finished with 28 points and seven assists in Friday's 102-89 win at Georgetown. The Musketeers' next game is Tuesday against Seton Hall. | 2 | 16-18 |
| 22 |  | Emmitt Matthews finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 81-70 win over UAB. The Mountaineers' next game is Sunday against Buffalo. | 2 | 9-23 |
| 23 |  | Isaiah Wong finished with 22 points and 10 assists in Saturday's 91-76 win over St. Francis (Pa.). The Hurricanes' next game is Tuesday against Virginia. | 2 | 15-17 |
| 24 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 21 points and six assists in Saturday's 74-48 win over Grambling. The Hokies' next game is Wednesday against Boston College. | 2 | 19-15 |
| 25 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 89-84 overtime win over Ohio State. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Michigan. | NR | 29-8 |
| 26 |  | Ohio State finished with 16 turnovers in Saturday's 89-84 overtime loss to North Carolina. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday against Maine. | 6 | 22-14 |
