College basketball winners and losers: Council carries Kansas over NC State

In the last minutes of regulation Kansas'game against. North Carolina State Jayhawks star on Saturday Darrin Peterson – Projected number 1 overall in 2026. NBA Draft — left the game twice. Peterson, who returned last weekend vs. Missouri after missing his team's previous seven games with a hamstring injury, the injury appears to have worsened again.

“I think he got tense.” Kansas coach Bill Self said this after the game. “I haven’t talked to the doctor or the trainer yet, but he said he needs to get out.”

Even without Peterson, Kansas came away with a dramatic 77-76 overtime win over North Carolina State on Saturday in one of the best games of the 2025-26 season to date. Was a hero of Kansas Melvin Council Jr.scored a career-high 36 points and made nine three-pointers.

One of the biggest questions for the Jayhawks this season has been how they will handle non-Peterson minutes. Without Peterson in the lineup, Kansas was 5-2, with the team's only loss. Duke And University of California, Connecticut. The board provided exactly the spark Kansas needed to win.

College Basketball Ranking: No. 5, UConn moves to 10-1, completes non-conference list with win over Texas

Gary Parrish

Depending on how serious the injury is, Kansas may have to weather the storm again without its star freshman.

One of the stories of the college basketball season is brewing in the Big Ten. Nebraska improved to 11-0 for the first time in program history with an 83-80 upset win over No. 13. Illinois. Nebraska guard Jamarc Lawrence knocked down a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left to give No. 23 Nebraska its first ranked win of the season.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from Saturday's college basketball tournament.

Winner: Council Now is the moment for Kansas

Kaun made just 29.9 percent of his three-point attempts last season on just under four attempts per game. Heading into the weekend, the Kansas guard was shooting 18.5 percent from beyond the arc, the worst percentage of his college career. However, that didn't matter to North Carolina State. Following Peterson's absence, the Council took over and helped Kansas overcome its disappointment at North Carolina State. Every time Kansas needed a bucket, the Council stepped up to help. The Jayhawks will need that kind of production if Peterson misses significant time. — Cameron Salerno

Loser: Divine Intervention Kills Penn State

Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 23 points to help the No. 9 Spartans come back from a nine-point deficit to beat Penn State 76-72. sophomore Miami In the second half alone, the pass scored 18 goals, including five in the final minute. Ugochukwu made all four of his 3-point attempts in the second half, including two that gave Michigan State the lead. Without Devine's intervention, the Spartans might have ended up on the wrong side. — David Cobb

Winner: Rick Pitino defeats former team

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino topped his No. 22. Red Storm of St. John to a 91-64 victory over his former team Jonah Gaelsinside Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Pitino led Iona from 2021-23 before heading to St. John's in the Big East, and while he didn't exactly call the dogs off during the outburst, he was generous in the postgame victory when talking about his former employer.

“Iona has a really good team,” Pitino said, noting that the school has helped “rejuvenate” his coaching career. “Iona is a special place with great tradition. I owe them so much. We're going to play this game every year I'm coach.”

The win was a tune-up for the Johnnies heading into conference play at home on Tuesday against the Johnnies. DePaul. — Kyle Boone

Luke Loucks' first year at his alma mater is off to a fantastic start. FSU started the season by winning five of its first six games, with its only loss coming to the defending national champion. Florida by two points. Since the victory Cal State Bakersfield FSU lost four straight games last month, including a 103-95 loss to the University of Massachusetts. The Seminoles were double-digit favorites over the Minutemen. With ACC play starting at the end of the month against North CarolinaThe Seminoles have some cleanup to do. — Salerno

Jonah: Creighton free fall continues

Losing star center Ryan Kalkbrenner after five seasons was always going to require Creighton to recalibrate. But life in the post-Kalkbrenner era is proving even more difficult than expected, with Saturday's home defeat to Kansas dropped the Bluejays to 5-5. Creighton nearly erased a 20-point deficit thanks to strong play from the junior forward in the second half. Isaac Traudtwho scored 15 of his team's record 18 points after the break. But a late 6-0 run by the Wildcats ensured Creighton's poor start to the season continued. The Bluejays need to find some solutions quickly if they are going to keep their streak of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances alive. — Cobb

In one of the biggest upsets of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Arkansas blew a 16-point lead over Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. The Red Raiders pulled off a dramatic victory, bringing the first year of the John Calipari era at Arkansas to a disappointing end. Just over eight months later, Arkansas got revenge with a 93-86 win over Texas Tech thanks to a monster performance from the veteran big man. Trevon Brazil. Arkansas now has a season win rating over Louisville and Texas Tech. — Salerno

Jonah: Providence on the wrong side of the thriller

If Saturday's clash between Butler and Providence was any indication that life in the Great East would be harsh. In the first league action of the season, the Bulldogs defeated the Friars 113-110 in double overtime. There were a whopping 30 lead changes in the game, with neither team ever leading by more than eight. After all, Butler Finley Bizjack scored 12 of his 26 points after regulation to lead the Bulldogs to a wild finish. Jason Edwards And Jaylin Sellers combined for 58 points for Providence in the blowout loss to start league play. — Cobb

Winner: Louisville Goes Crazy Vs. Memphis

No. 11 Louisville had mercy on Memphis in the second half of a 99-73 win, slowing the barrage of 3-pointers it used to build an insurmountable lead. With less than five minutes left in the half, the Cards hit seven straight from behind the arc to increase their lead from 8 points to 20. By the end of the first half, Louisville was 12 of 22 from deep and on pace to break the school record 22 3-pointers. But the Cards made just five 3-pointers in the final 11 minutes and finished 18 of 35. It was just the third time in program history and the first time since 2008-09 that Louisville made 18 or more 3-pointers in a game while shooting better than 50% from beyond the arc. The diversity of the contributors stood out, with six different Louisville players contributing at least two each. Among them was a reserve big one Kasin Pryor. Although he only started 1 of 7 games on the season, Pryor made three threes in just over two minutes late in the first half. There were even passing attempts for the Cardinals, who improved to 9-1 heading into Tuesday's trip to Tennessee. — Cobb

Winner: Lawrence – Hero of Nebraska's Historic Victory

One of the best finishes of the day in college basketball came in Champaign, Illinois, when No. 23 Nebraska used Lawrence's game-winning 3-pointer to remain undefeated. Lawrence's shot with 0.2 seconds left gave his team an 83-80 victory over No. 13 Illinois. The Cornhuskers are now 11-0 and 2-0 against Big Ten opponents for the first time in program history. The win over the Fighting Illini was Nebraska's first win to date over a ranked opponent. — Salerno

Winner: Florida shakes off skid vs. George Washington

The defending national champion Florida Gators snapped a two-game skid with a commanding 80-70 victory over George Washington in Sunrise, Florida. Florida lost three of its last four games to go 5-4 on the day, but against the Revolutionaries, they mostly controlled the game all day.

That was thanks in part to a second-half shooting performance in which Florida shot 66.7 percent from the field to take a lead of as many as 20 points. Transfer guard Xaivian Li led all scorers with 24 points in this try and went Alex Condon led the team with seven assists and nine rebounds. — Boone

Winner: Oscar Cluff posts about the perfect shooting day in Purdue win

Purdue center Oscar Cluff made 13 shots in the Boilermakers' 79-59 home win. Marquette – nine from the field and four from the charity stripe – and finished the game without a miss. Yes: Zero.

His final statistics: 9 of 9 field goals, 4 of 4 from the free throw line, 11 rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots. He led all scorers with 22 points.

If this seems historical, that's because it is. He tied for the most points in Purdue history on 100% shooting efficiency with Caleb Swanigan, who also scored 22 points in a 2016 game against NJIT. What's even more incredible is that he did all this damage while playing just 23 minutes, the fourth-most on his team in the win. — Boone

Winner: Basketball Bedlam goes to the Sooners.

The reorganization of the conference put an end to Oklahoma against. Oklahoma State football series. Fortunately, basketball programs continue to improve, although only the Sooners have enjoyed it lately. Oklahoma picked up its fourth straight win in the rivalry series, outlasting the Cowboys for an 85-76 victory behind a streak of 13 3-pointers. Xyvier Brown led by 21 points as the Sooners picked up their third win over a major rival. Oklahoma, at 7-3, is a far cry from last year's 13-0 start. — Cobb