Baton Rouge, La. ? It took a seemingly impossible challenge to bring out the best in an LSU team that had squandered so much potential this season.
Missing leading scorer and rebounder Glen “Big Baby” Davis, the struggling Tigers got 18 points from Terry Martin, 17 from Garrett Temple and stellar defense from everyone to pull off an impressive 66-56 upset of No. 3 Florida on Saturday.
“I was coaching so hard and trying to do everything I could in the last five minutes to make sure we won that game,” said LSU head coach John Brady, who spent most of the game stomping and screaming on the sidelines. “We got upset with each other a little bit, but we all hugged after it was over. I was so emotional when I was talking to them after tonight’s game I couldn’t even finish talking.”
It had been months since LSU had been able to run out the clock while basking in the glory of a standing ovation, the rowdy student section chanting “Over-rated” at a highly ranked opponent.
LSU, once ranked as high as sixth this season, had lost three straight coming in and nine of 10 before playing host to a Florida team that had been No. 1 a little over a week ago.
This game offered an opportunity to salvage a good memory from what will be a lost season unless the Tigers somehow can run the table during the SEC tournament, the only way they could get a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Florida, which already had wrapped up the SEC regular-season title and had set a new school record for single-season victories, had little riding on the game and played like it.
No. 4 UCLA 75, Stanford 61
Los Angeles – Arron Afflalo scored 20 points, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 11, and the Bruins closed out their first undefeated home season in 32 years.
The Bruins also clinched at least a share of the Pac-10 title for the second consecutive year. They will wrap up the regular season next week at the Washington schools.
No. 9 Washington State 58, Oregon State 54
Corvallis, Ore. – Mac Hopson’s jumper with 35.5 seconds to go lifted Washington State over Oregon State.
Washington State was coming off a 64-59 loss to No. 23 Oregon on Thursday. The loss hurt the Cougars’ chances of catching UCLA in the conference race.
No. 12 Georgetown 61, No. 10 Pittsburgh 53
Washington – The biggest Big East game of the regular season went to Georgetown, whose tenacious defense made the difference in the final minutes.
Jonathan Wallace scored 17 points, Jeff Green had 14, and Roy Hibbert added 12 for the Hoyas, who won their 11th straight and took sole possession of first place in the conference.
No. 11 Nevada 95, Boise State 81
Boise, Idaho – Senior forward Nick Fazekas scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help extend the Wolf Pack’s winning streak to nine games.
Ramon Sessions added 17 points for Nevada. Denis Ikovlev had 14, Kyle Shiloh 12 and Marcelus Kemp 10.
No. 13 Southern Illinois 76, Evansville 69
Carbondale, Ill. – Randal Falker scored a career-high 30 points on 13-of-15 shooting, leading Southern Illinois.
Tony Young added 17 points, and Jamaal Tatum had 15 for the Salukis, who extended their winning streak to 11 games and will be the top seed when the conference tournament begins Thursday.
TCU 71, No. 14 Air Force 66
Fort Worth, Texas – Ryan Wall scored 19 points, and the Horned Frogs shot 75 percent in the second half to snap an 11-game losing streak.
Alvardo Parker scored 12 points, and Brent Hackett chipped in 11 for TCU, which had lost six straight games to ranked opponents.
Matt McCraw scored 17 points to lead the Falcons.
No. 15 Butler 56, Detroit 36
Indianapolis – Brandon Crone scored 17 points, and Butler finished its winningest regular season by clinching a share of the Horizon League championship.
Notre Dame 85, No. 16 Marquette 73
South Bend, Ind. – Luke Harangody scored 22 points, and Tory Jackson added 21 – both career highs – to lead the Fighting Irish.
San Diego State 86, No. 21 BYU 74
San Diego – Brandon Heath scored 30 points, and Mohamed Abukar had 27 to lead San Diego State over Mountain West Conference leader Brigham Young.
The defending conference champion Aztecs were inspired from the start, beginning with a reverse dunk by Jerome Habel off the opening tip and continuing with an 18-0 run that gave them a 22-4 lead.
No. 23 Oregon 93, Washington 85
Eugene, Ore. – Aaron Brooks scored 30 points for the Ducks.
No. 24 Virginia 75, Georgia Tech 69
Charlottesville, Va. – J.R. Reynolds scored 25 points, and the Cavaliers clinched a critical bye in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Sean Singletary added 24 points for the Cavaliers, who got key baskets and three-point plays by Tunji Soroye and Jason Cain in the final minutes to secure the comeback victory.
Auburn 86, No. 25 Alabama 77
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Quan Prowell and Korvotney Barber each had 17 points, and the Tigers handed the Crimson Tide its fourth loss in five games.
The Tigers led by as many as 18 points in the second half and hit 14 of 18 free throws over the final 1:39 to counter a Tide rally.