On a day synonymous with love, Providence and No. 17 St. John’s spent part of their Valentine’s Day exchanging blows in place of pleasantries. The two Big East rivals had an old-fashioned brouhaha in Rhode Island on Saturday that led to six ejections, numerous flagrant fouls and one ugly scene after Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on St. John’s star (and former Friar) Bryce Hopkins, which required nearly a 20-minute intermission for the officiating crew to sort out.
That’s Valentine’s Day done the Big East way.
But a brutal brawl in the Big East was just one of many headlines across college hoops on Saturday — even if it reverberated the loudest of them all.
Elsewhere, Florida chomped down on the SEC lead with a 92-83 win over Kentucky, Purdue stayed hot with a road win at Iowa and Duke — as it has done much of the season — dominated another ACC foe to retain its grip on the lead league.
There were plenty of highs and lows from the day, which was largely frontloaded, and there are plenty more to come. To digest it all our team has a recap of some of the day’s biggest winners and losers below.
Winner: Duke sends a message to retain lead in ACC
With No. 20 Clemson one game back in the ACC standings heading into Saturday with a chance to take down top dog and fourth-ranked Duke inside Cameron Indoor, the Blue Devils sent a message with an emphatic 67-54 win, proving once again that they remain the class of the ACC. Duke led by double digits for nearly the entire second half and quieted any potential of a Clemson upset relatively early behind big days from Cameron Boozer (18 points, eight rebounds), Isaiah Evans (17 points) and Cayden Boozer (12 points). The win puts Duke two games clear of Clemson in the ACC standings and keeps it 1.5 games ahead of second-place Virginia. — Kyle Boone
Loser: St. John’s, Providence don’t feel the love on Valentine’s Day
Providence and St. John’s players certainly didn’t get the memo that it was Valentine’s Day. Six players were ejected after a massive brawl broke out in the battle of Big East foes. Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins, who played at the school before transferring to the Red Storm this past offseason. Powell was assessed a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected from the game. This game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes while the officials reviewed what just happened. It wouldn’t be shocking if some subsequent suspensions were handed out after what transpired. — Cameron Salerno
WATCH: Massive brawl breaks out between St. John’s and Providence, six players ejected
Will Backus
Winner: Michigan makes a case to jump Arizona for No. 1
For the last two months, Arizona has occupied the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll. After the Wildcats suffered their first loss against Kansas earlier this week, that spot could be up for grabs. No. 2 Michigan has a strong case to jump the Wildcats on Monday after recording a dominant 86-56 win over UCLA at home. The Wolverines have the most Quad 1 wins of any team in the country, and six of their 12 wins in Big Ten play have been by at least 20 points. — Salerno
Michigan makes case to jump Arizona for the No. 1 spot in next AP Top 25 poll after dominant win over UCLA
Cameron Salerno
Loser: Peterson peters out in KU loss
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson did not play the final 7:01 of Saturday’s 74-56 loss to No. 5 Iowa State and was largely ineffective in the meager 24 minutes he was on the floor, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting. It was yet another game Peterson failed to finish, which has been a theme for the projected No. 1 pick for much of the season as he’s either missed games or exited early in games he’s played.
KU coach Bill Self said postgame the decision to sit Peterson for the final 7:01 was his to make as he looked ahead to prep the No. 9 Jayhawks for Wednesday because ISU was so in control of the game. He also added that Peterson, who missed Monday’s game vs. No. 1 Arizona because of an illness, did not get a full allotment of practices this week as he dealt with the lingering effects of it. — Boone
Iowa State routs Kansas, snaps Jayhawks eight-game winning streak in Darryn Peterson’s return after illness
Kyle Boone
Winner: Hilton Magic shows off its powers
Far too often this season, Iowa State has relied solely on Milan Momcilovic to be the best shooter in the country and Joshua Jefferson to do, well, everything. But in the 74-56 dismantling of No. 9 Kansas, it was Iowa State’s supporting cast that had its best showing in awhile. Jamarion Bateman came off the bench and splashed three treys. Blake Buchanan (11 points, six rebounds) had his best game in a month. Momcilovic did his thin with 18 points and four triples, but 57 points from everyone not named Momcilovic or Jefferson is exactly what Iowa State needs to reach the peak of its powers. Oh, and a vicious defense doesn’t hurt either. — Isaac Trotter
Loser: NC State chokes late in blowing lead
NC State led by as many as eight points in the second half — and held a seven-point lead with 55 seconds remaining over Miami! — before flailing to the finish in the biggest choke job of the afternoon. Miami scored eight unanswered points in the final 52 seconds, which culminated with three free throws from Miami guard Tru Washington after an ill-advised NC State foul on a 3-point attempt from Washington.
Washington made all three attempts from the charity stripe, and NC State’s attempt to win it with a buzzer-beater on the other end was no good in the 77-76 Miami victory.
“I don’t see a whole lot of positives,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “Poor coaching. Poor coaching on my part that we couldn’t bring that home. We looked like Keystone Cops there at the end of the game.”
It’s the second consecutive loss for NC State after falling at Louisville on Monday by 41 points — its largest loss since 2017. — Boone
Winner: BYU’s Wright goes for career-high for second time this week
For the second time in as many games, BYU guard Rob Wright dropped a career-high in points in a game his team needed every bit of his production. Just four days removed from a career-high 30 points vs. his former team, Baylor, the first-year Cougars star scored 39 points and led BYU to a 90-86 overtime win over Colorado. He finished the game 12-of-16 shooting from the field, made all four of his 3-point attempts and was 11 of 13 from the free throw line. He also added five boards and four steals.
Wright’s production was only second-most important to the timeliness of said production. Twenty-three of his 39 points came in the second half, and a combined 29 of his total 39 points came in both the second half and overtime. In overtime, he scored or assisted on 11 of his team’s 12 points to eventually pull away. — Boone
Winner: TCU gets gritty OT win over Oklahoma State
TCU could have folded after giving up an uncontested layup to Parsa Fallah to force overtime with a tenth of a second left in regulation, but the Horned Frogs continued their standout play with a gut-check 95-92 overtime victory over Oklahoma State. It’s the second key road win for TCU’s ever-improving resume, and Jamie Dixon’s bunch has now won three in a row. Six different Frogs cracked double figures, but Jayden Pierre (16 points, four assists) was the star of the game.
He snuffed any Oklahoma State momentum with his four trey of the game. David Punch (19 points) was also excellent after intermission. TCU has added +1.2 Wins Above Bubble to its ledger in the last five days after knocking off a top-10 Iowa State club and notching a road win — which is vital for WAB — over the Pokes. — Trotter
Loser: Fire briefly pauses Oklahoma vs. Georgia
During the first half of Oklahoma’s 94-78 victory vs. Georgia, the game was paused temporarily after a fire broke out on the concourse at Lloyd Noble Center. Fans near the fire were temporarily cleared out of their seats. The game resumed after a short pause in the action. It appeared that a popcorn machine was what caught on fire. — Salerno
Winner: Louisville’s Brown goes off (again)
Mikel Brown Jr. followed up his 45-point Monday explosion against NC State with 29 points in No. 24’s Louisville’s 82-71 win over Baylor. The freshman flamethrower made 4 of 5 attempts from beyond the arc and also dished out six assists in another sterling performance that demonstrated the Cardinals’ high-end potential. Louisville was just 4-4 when Brown missed over a month due to a back injury, but it is 6-1 since his return. Brown is one of the most exciting guards in college basketball, and his presence on the floor makes Louisville a lethal offensive team. — David Cobb
Loser: Virginia Tech’s resume takes a beating
Virginia Tech entered the day as one of the First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament field in CBS Sports Bracketology after its at-large hopes picked up significant steam Wednesday night in a win at Clemson. That upset victory was worth a meaty 0.78 points in WAB, which is an important metric the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses in evaluating a team’s resume. But the Hokies turned around and gave it all back on Saturday — and then some — while getting run off their own floor late in a 92-69 loss to Florida State.
The Quad 3 defeat will be tough for the Hokies to overcome in their quest to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Big opportunities at Miami (Feb. 17), at North Carolina (Feb. 28) and at Virginia (March 7) still await, and now they loom even larger than before. After faltering at home to lower-tier ACC foe, the Hokies will likely need to win a couple of those. — Cobb
Winner: Purdue scores another important road win
The Big East looks like it’s Michigan to lose until further notice, but No. 13 Purdue took another important step toward remaining in contention with a 78-57 road win at Iowa. It’s the second consecutive road win over an NCAA Tournament quality team this week after downing Nebraska in overtime on Tuesday, and one that gets it to 11-3 in conference play with Michigan coming to West Lafayette on Tuesday night. — Boone
Winner: Florida builds SEC separation
Florida won the national championship last season, but it didn’t win the SEC regular season title. After a 92-83 win over No. 25 Kentucky on Saturday, the No. 14 Gators are well on their way to changing that in 2026. Since starting league play with a loss at Missouri, Florida (19-6, 10-2 SEC) is 10-1 and operating as efficiently as any team in college basketball. A few close early-season losses may have diminished Florida’s national profile, but this team is finding its stride, looking like the clear cut best team in the SEC and a legitimate national title contender. — Cobb
Loser: Texas A&M’s slide toward bubble continues
Long losing streaks for otherwise good basketball teams are a Texas A&M staple now transcending multiple eras of Aggies hoops. Saturday’s 82-69 loss at No. 19 Vanderbilt was the fourth straight for A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC), which is slipping rapidly toward the NCAA Tournament bubble after it was first in the SEC standings earlier this month. First-year coach Bucky McMillan is new in town, but A&M fans are used to this.
Under Buzz Williams last season, A&M dropped four straight late in conference play but was still a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance. In 2024, it dropped five straight in February and still ended up as a No. 9 seed. The Aggies lost eight straight in league play during 2022 and nearly reached the NCAA Tournament anyway. The trend even dates back to Billy Kennedy’s tenure, when the Aggies started 0-5 in the SEC in 2018 and still managed to reach the Sweet 16. — Cobb
Winner: Navy (!) continues its breakout season
Navy has not made the NCAA Tournament since 1998, but the Midshipmen added another chapter to a breakthrough season under first-year head coach Jon Perry. Navy waltzed into Colgate, usually the Patriot League titan, and emerged with an 84-80 road victory to improve to 21-6 and 13-1 in conference play. Jordan Pennick splashed six treys and finished with 22 points. Donovan Draper came off the bench and added 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. These Midshipmen can hoop. — Trotter
Loser: Georgia’s tourney outlook dims with ugly OU loss
Mike White’s Georgia Bulldogs entered Saturday as one of the Last Four In the 68-team NCAA Tournament field as projected by CBS Sports Bracketology — and then laid a giant egg on the road in a tough-to-swallow loss to an OU team that was tied for last place in the SEC entering the day. UGA’s 94-78 loss to the Sooners will almost certainly dim its immediate tourney outlook, but worst of all, it’s a loss that will potentially fester and stick as a Quad 2 loss given OU’s downward trajectory. Few games in SEC play qualify as can’t-lose games, but falling to this Sooners team at this time and by 16 points — while dropping the fifth game in its last six outings — is a tough one to stomach.
Georgia shouldn’t feel good at all about where things are right now with respect to their March Madness hopes. There is work to do to bolster its lacking resume, and the schedule only gets more stiff from here. — Boone
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![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-400x240.jpg)
![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-80x80.jpg)
