Most appealing game (according to FanMatchTM): Purdue vs. Villanova. Eight point deficits with 1:29 remaining are rarely turned into wins, but the Wildcats turned a 70-62 game into a 75-75 tie to force overtime. Of course, it helps to have a four-point possession, and after a controversial, if technically correct, Flagrant 1 call on D.J. Byrd with 48 seconds left, that’s what Villanova got. That possession alone was worth a 30% bump to the Wildcats’ chances. ‘Nova went 10-of-10 from the line in the closing stretch of regulation, then closed out the OT for an 89-81 [87 poss] win.
Major upsets (<15% win probability): Gardner Webb (12%) went to Allstate Arena and crushed DePaul, 71-59 [65]. The Runnin’ Bulldogs led wire-to-wire and by as much as 18 in the second half, inducing a full seven minutes of garbage time to end the game.
Crazy comebacks (<3% win probability): Villanova (1.0%) over Purdue. Villanova was technically at its most dead when they were down seven with 1:02 to go.
Unbeatens remaining: 121 (19 fewer than yesterday). It was a tough day for the unbeatens, but UMass went to 2-0 after Terrell Vinson’s tip-in in traffic gave the Minutemen its second-consecutive last-possession win, 77-75.
Winless teams remaining: 66 (8 fewer than yesterday). Put Drexel in the hard-luck winless club. They’re 0-2 with two overtime losses, including last night’s surprisingly high-scoring 86-84 [80] loss to Illinois State.
Other notable events: Isaiah Canaan welcomed himself back to our collective conscience by scoring 26 points in 26 minutes as Murray State routed Auburn, 79-59 [71]. He used 38% of the Racers’ possessions when he was on the floor. I’m guessing a figure like that won’t be all that unusual for Canaan this season.
Today’s top game: Saint Joseph’s and Notre Dame tangle in the nightcap of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at roughly 9:30 ET.