You know what rocks about college basketball?
That even on a random Wednesday in early February — with no ranked vs. ranked matchups, with the nation’s sporting attention otherwise turned to the Olympics, Super Bowl and NBA trade deadline — you’re still liable for a highly entertaining night.
Between multiple top-20 teams upset, on-court controversy and a game with 79 (!!) 3-point attempts (which somehow, stunningly, is nowhere near the single-game record this season), what more could you ask for?
Shorthanded Portland shocks Gonzaga, ends 20-game skid against Zags
The Portland Pilots have had a rough stretch this season in terms of health. In a recent game against Washington State, the Pilots had only eight active players in a 104-74 loss.
The team was so in need of healthy bodies that they recently turned graduate assistant Sam Noland into a player on the roster. He last played for Division III Pacific Lutheran in the 2023-24 season. He logged 12 minutes against Washington State and got on the floor against the Zags.
In fact, they’ve had so many players out that head coach Shantay Legens stepped into practice on the scout team. The result was a torn Achilles tendon.
Here’s a new one for ya.
A week ago, there were so many players sick for University of Portland that HC Shantay Legans had to play scout team. It did not go well.
He tore his Achilles.
He told me he was going to sit versus Gonzaga tonight. That has yet to happen 😂 pic.twitter.com/Z9VDMzpZHH
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) February 5, 2026
“It worked out, we won the game. I’ll take an achilles for a couple of wins,” Legans said after the game.
Like many mid- and low-major schools, the Pilots (11-14, 4-8) lost key players to the transfer portal. Their two leading scorers from last year, Max Mackinnon and Austin Rapp, transferred to LSU and Wisconsin. Their top six players in minutes are no longer on the team.
Despite all the adversity, that didn’t stop the Pilots from pulling off arguably the upset of the year, beating No. 6 Gonzaga (22-2, 10-1) at home 87-80, ending a 20-game losing streak against the Zags. The shorthanded squad led for 94 percent of the game. It’s the first time Portland has ever beaten a top-10-ranked team.
Freshman guard Joel Foxwell controlled the game, dropping 27 points and eight assists. He briefly left the game with a lower-body injury but returned to close out the game as Gonzaga trimmed what was a 15-point lead to four points. But the Pilots held on for the improbable win.
Gonzaga, known for their quality interior play, was outrebounded 32 to 27 and outscored in the paint 40-26. They held the Zags to 40 percent shooting from the field.
What does this mean for Gonzaga? This loss is the Zags’ first since losing by 40 points to Michigan at Players Era in November. This could very well be a blip in conference play in an otherwise dominant stretch. But looking at their last two games against Saint Mary’s and San Francisco, they won by single digits against two stronger WCC teams.
They still have a matchup against Santa Clara, who is now the No. 1 team in the conference, but this time they don’t have Braden Huff. The Bulldogs’ fastball of dominating the paint might have a little less kick than it did at the start of the season.
Portland and Gonzaga will rematch in Spokane in three weeks, but the Pilots got the last laugh at home. This game was the final time Gonzaga will play at Portland in the WCC because they’re moving to the new Pac-12 next season. — Matthew Ho
Michigan State cannot afford its current Jeremy Fears Jr. problem
Before getting to all the, uh, stuff with Michigan State right now, let’s at least credit Tom Izzo’s team for its fight down the stretch of Wednesday’s eventual 76-73 loss at Minnesota. Despite never leading against the Gophers, and trailing by 16 with just under four minutes to play, MSU rattled off a 20-6 run in the closing minutes — keyed by Coen Carr’s physicality and Trey Fort’s lights-out shooting — that cut the deficit to two with 20 seconds left.
Then Minnesota’s Isaac Asuma made two free throws to put the Gophers back up two possessions, which proved juuust enough to earn Niko Medved’s team its third-ranked home win this season.
The story of the game, though, isn’t that Sparty has now dropped consecutive Big Ten contests after seven straight victories beforehand.
It’s star point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who earned a technical foul — and probably could’ve been whistled for at least one more — against the Gophers for … well, see for yourself:
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. was given a technical foul on this play. pic.twitter.com/q03PMlmOzl
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 5, 2026
And unfortunately, that wasn’t all:
Jeremy Fears. pic.twitter.com/ArnjHNpqwN
— The Winged Helmet (@TWH_Chris) February 5, 2026
Fears’ on-court behavior first came under fire earlier this week, following Sparty’s 83-71 loss to rival Michigan last Friday. Michigan coach Dusty May was asked on a Big Ten teleconference on Monday about Fears allegedly tripping one of his players midgame — which video evidence seemed to corroborate — and responded: “Allegedly? … It wasn’t an illusion. I think there were several plays that (were) very dangerous.”
Fears also received a flagrant foul in that game for shoving Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg in the back on a breakaway dunk attempt.
After Wednesday’s incident, which Izzo deemed a “critical” play postgame, Michigan State’s head coach did not commit to starting his leading scorer for Saturday’s pivotal home tilt against No. 5 Illinois.
“Jeremy’s gotta grow up a little bit,” Izzo added.
Izzo sat Fears for almost three minutes late in the second half after his technical foul, during which Michigan State started its latepush. Izzo eventually re-inserted Fears, the nation’s second-leading assist leader, with 1:50 left and Sparty down 12.
Fears finished with 10 points and 11 assists, shooting 4-for-11 and missing all three of his 3-point attempts.
Between Saturday’s game against the Fighting Illini, a rematch with Michigan to close the regular season and four other games against projected NCAA Tournament teams in between, Michigan State cannot afford to let its Fears problem continue — or worse, to let it grow. If Sparty is going to make any sort of Big Ten push, as unlikely as that seems right now, it’s going to need Fears to play like the borderline All-American he was in the first half of this season, in key wins over Kentucky, North Carolina and Iowa.
Would Izzo ever consider temporarily suspending Fears — a la Grayson Allen at Duke in 2016 — to get a point across? And would he do so before such a massive conference game, with enormous league ramifications?
It seems unlikely, but you never know with Izzo. This isn’t the thing he’s going to tolerate. — Brendan Marks
AJ Dybantsa’s 36 not enough to stop BYU’s skid
No. 16 BYU entered Wednesday’s road trip to Oklahoma State having won 22 straight games against unranked foes, and with all four of its losses to date coming against top-15 foes — but welcome to life in the Big 12, the best basketball conference in America.
Kevin Young’s team found that out the hard way, as an expected get-right game against the Cowboys instead became the Cougars’ third straight loss, this time 99-92 to a program which hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in five seasons. (Could that change now, though, after Steve Lutz’s team picked up its first Quad 1 win of the season? Quite possibly. This result at least pushes the Cowboys into the bubble conversation, if nothing else.) Although BYU star AJ Dybantsa — a projected top-3 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft — had one of his better offensive showings of the season, topping 30 points for the fourth time in his freshman campaign, but his 36 still weren’t enough to match the Cowboys’ hot shooting.
The hero for Lutz’s team? Anthony Roy, who scored a season-high 30 while draining five 3s and shooting nine-for-15 overall. Roy, now in his sixth season of college basketball, was leading Division I in scoring at Green Bay last season (with 25.7 points per game) before an injury prematurely ended his season.
With the win, Oklahoma State moved to 26-0 under Lutz — a former Purdue assistant under Matt Painter — when scoring at least 81 points.
But for BYU, which now has to turn around and host No. 8 Houston on Saturday — gulp — things have gone from bad to worse.
Once again, the Cougars’ glaring lack of bench production — exacerbated by Dawson Baker’s season-ending knee injuries — was a major factor. BYU entered the game 285th in bench minutes, per KenPom, and only got nine points from its reserves on a night in which Oklahoma State had nine players play double-digit minutes. Combined with BYU’s 16 turnovers, which the Cowboys turned into 21 points, and Oklahoma State’s surprising 52-36 advantage in paint points, Young’s team trailed for the final 11:30. — Marks
Alabama survives Texas A&M in shootout
Would you have expected anything less between two of the highest 3-point attempt teams in the country?
After a combined 79 3-point attempts (11 off from the record this season of 90 between Alabama and UTSA), the Tide stay above .500 in SEC play in a 100-97 win over a rolling Texas A&M team. The Aggies didn’t crack the AP Top 25 but received votes this past week. A win over Alabama would’ve put A&M in sole control of the SEC.
The key for Alabama was committing only six turnovers. The Aggies lead the SEC in opponent turnovers using their full-court press to speed teams up into bad decisions, but Alabama was prepared.
A&M either sends a trap to the ball or plays the press straight up. If the defender guarding the inbounder would turn and trap, the inbounder would bolt down the middle of the floor and receive a pass on the move. If no trap came, the Tide has enough ball handling to deal with a defender one-on-one. They utilized whatever advantage they generated off breaking the press, which often turned into a 3.
Alabama has fallen out of the rankings, but they do have some real offensive talent on this team. Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr. are two dynamic guards who can play on and off the ball. Amari Allen has burst onto the scene as a freshman and has generated some NBA buzz for himself. Latrell Wrightsell and Taylor Bol Bowen (who didn’t play against Texas A&M) round out one of the best offenses in the country.
The question remains on defense. That’s what Nate Oats is hoping he’ll get out of former G-League player Charles Bediako, who’s averaged two blocks a game at least for now.
On the other hand, Texas A&M has already exceeded expectations this season under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan. They have a clear identity, which will allow them to recruit players who fit their system and may be undervalued by other programs. A&M is still in the hunt at the top of the SEC and will be an interesting team to track come March. — Ho