Michigan Keeps Rolling, and Other Results From Tuesday

Michigan 70, Ohio State 60
The Big 10 remains a hot mess. Ohio State was finally in a groove entering this game, and Michigan had lost two out of three. Naturally, then, the Wolverines scored 44 points in the second half to win in Columbus for the first time in over a decade. Michigan may not be the best team in this conference, but thanks to some well-timed road wins, they've suddenly got the best chance of winning the regular season title. When was the last time any team won on the road against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State in the same season? For Ohio State, the story was the same as always: LaQuinton Ross (24 points) and Lenzelle Smith (13) are the only players on this roster capable of offense. Three 3-point makes in 20 attempts isn't going to cut it.

Texas 87, Oklahoma State 68
There was little hope of Oklahoma State winning this road game without the suspended Marcus Smart. As it turns out, some things in college basketball turn out exactly how you expect them to: Texas ran the Smart-less Cowboys out of the gym with a 54-point barrage in the first half. Oklahoma State is legitimately at risk of an epic collapse: once 15-2 and considered to be a Final Four possibility, they've lost five straight and still have to play two more games (vs Oklahoma, at Baylor) without Smart. Texas, meanwhile, continues to surprise, and is on pace to be that one random #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament that nobody ever even heard about once during the season.

Florida 67, Tennessee 58
Florida never wins at Tennessee. In the Gators' last eight games in Knoxville, their record was 1-7. Now it's 2-7, even though they shot just 36% from the field as a team (they did, however, unleash some of their beastly defense by holding Tennessee to just seven field goals on 24 attempts in the second half). So if it wasn't official before, it is now: Florida is out of the SEC's league. The only real obstacle between them and an undefeated conference record is this weekend's showdown at Kentucky. That game will feature the only locks for the NCAA Tournament in this entire conference. All the other SEC "contenders" -- Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, whoever -- will probably be squarely on the bubble when Selection Sunday rolls around. It would be quite an embarrassment if a major conference only got two teams into the field of 68.

Wichita State 78, Southern Illinois 67
Wichita State didn't even play that well. They still got double-digit scoring out of five different players and sleepwalked their way to a home win over yet another overmatched Missouri Valley opponent. That's 26 straight victories without a loss. Even with five games still go to, it would now qualify as a significant surprise if Wichita State didn't finish the regular season with an undefeated record.