The Blue Devils forced overtime against all those odds with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rasheed Sulaimon, but they came up short in the extra session, falling to the Orange 91-89 on Saturday night.

Jabari Parker and Amile Jefferson both picked up their fourth fouls before the 10-minute mark of the second half, and the Orange (21-0, 8-0 ACC) began a surge with both players on the bench that saw their lead grow to 66-59 with 6:40 left.

But the Blue Devils (17-5, 6-3) continued battling, and three consecutive 3-pointers from Tyler Thornton cut the Orange lead to 70-68 and made apparent one thing about Syracuse’s vaunted zone defense: When Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney are atop the 2-3 zone, it can be beat. Their collective lack of length and quickness are not enough to dissuade patient opponents from finding quality long-distance attempts.

Duke was the perfect team to exploit that, and the 15 3-pointers it hit—at a 42 percent clip—was proof that the Orange have one real weakness that could keep it from a national title. Syracuse entered the game allowing 33 percent from distance—good for only ninth in the ACC. When Syracuse had Brandon Triche (6-4) and Michael Carter Williams (6-6) atop the zone last season, Orange oppoents shot only 28 percent from 3. That number would be good for third in the league this season.

The good news for Syracuse fans is that there aren't a number of teams out there with elite 3-point shooting like Duke. But, in a one-and-done atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament, all it takes is one good shooting performance from a challenger to spring an upset.

By the time overtime started, Parker and Jefferson had fouled out, and it was Andre Dawkins who rose up, scoring eight of his team’s points in the extra session that gave the Blue Devils an 87-84 lead with 1:23 left. Syracuse had the answers down the stretch, making seven of eight free throws and getting what appeared to be a big break from the officials when officials did not call a foul on Rakeem Christmas in defending Rodney Hood's ultra-aggressive dunk attempt with 15 seconds left. Replay showed that Christmas got some of the ball, but also a piece of Hood's arm.

Syracuse won with remarkable efficiency, shooting 57 percent from the floor. C.J. Fair easily had his best game of the year, carrying the Orange with 28 points. Jerami Grant added 24.

The game was played before 35,446, surpassing last year’s record crowd of 35,011 that saw the Orange play Georgetown for the final time as a member of the Big East.

Now, we can't wait for the rematch between these teams Feb. 22 at Duke.


CAL KNOCKS OFF ARIZONA


Justin Cobbs hit a step-back jumper with 0.9 seconds left, and California stunned No. 1 Arizona 60-58 on Saturday night to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Cobbs dribbled to his left and beat Nick Johnson, then pulled up in front of a defender to sink the winning shot that sent a raucous crowd at Haas Pavilion spilling onto the court. Cal coach Mike Montgomery and security had to usher fans away before the final play.

Gabe York's full-court pass was knocked down to give the Golden Bears (15-7, 6-3 Pac-12) their first victory over a top-ranked opponent since Jan. 30, 1994, when they beat UCLA 85-70 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Arizona (21-1, 8-1) was one of just three unbeaten teams left in Division I. Now only second-ranked Syracuse (21-0), which beat No. 17 Duke 91-89 in overtime Saturday, and No. 4 Wichita State (23-0) remain.


THE FIRST TO DROP KU


The turnaround in Austin, Texas continues, with the Kansas Jayhawks being the latest opponent to see the Texas Longhorns’ surge first-hand.

The Longhorns started Big 12 play at 0-2, but their 81-69 win Saturday was their sixth straight win and fourth consecutive against an opponent ranked in the Top 25. Texas (17-4, 6-2 Big 12) is now the Jayhawks’ closest pursuer for the league title, and it’s put together its winning streak with superb defense and great execution.

Kansas (16-5, 7-1) shot 38 for the game, and Andrew Wiggins shot just 2-for-12 before fouling out late. The Longhorns have allowed opponents to shoot just 39 percent during their winning streak, a stretch that’s also included victories against Texas Tech, West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor.

Cam Ridley even did the unthinkable by dunking over Joel Embiid, and the Longhorns maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half. Fans at the Frank Erwin Events Center even felt comfortable enough to start the overrated cheers with 3:09 left.

Freshman point guard Isaiah Taylor has been another revelation. He had 23 points in the win over Kansas and has not had more than 2 turnovers in any game during the win streak. He had 27 in the team's last win over Baylor.

Not bad for a team picked eighth in the Big 12 preseason poll.

Four of the wins in Texas' streak have come against home, which means the Longhorns still have plenty of work left on the road. Texas still has to play at Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas and Oklahoma. It's after those games that we’ll see just how far the maturation of this program has come in the past year.


OHIO STATE GETS OFF THE MAT


Wisconsin had never been beaten three straight times at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan. Ohio State had lost five of its last six games entering Saturday’s game in Madison.

And yet it was the Buckeyes walking out of town with the win, erasing that stat from the Badgers’ history book and rewriting some of its own story in beating Wisconsin 59-58.

Neither side played exceptionally well, but it was Ohio State that got the stops when it needed to, holding the Badgers without a field goal in the final 6:48.

The Buckeyes’ biggest plays came from senior Aaron Craft, who scored his only seven points of the game in the final four minutes, and his lockdown defense on Traevon Jackson on Wisconsin’s last possession in the final seconds forced the ball out of Jackson’s hands and over to Sam Dekker, whose off-balance jumper while being well defended was right on target but short.

Two days earlier, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Ohio State held a players-only meeting, the day after losing to Penn State, an effort where senior Lenzelle Smith was questioning his team’s leadership and toughness, and Craft was among those who couldn't believe what just happened. Maybe belief will return to the team after winning in such a tough environment. But the Buckeyes must play better than they did Saturday to continue doing damage.

"Going through (adversity) last game helped us a lot today," Craft said. "Everyone had a look in their eye in the timeout, and we didn't want that to happen again."

It could have just as easily gone in the Badgers' direction after the Buckeyes' Smith turned the ball over after missing a layup in transition with 10 seconds left, then fell to the floor after retrieving the offensive rebound and was whistled for traveling. But Jackson had trouble against Craft, and Ohio State survived.

Now tied in the Big Ten standings at 4-5, the urgency to win remains for both the Buckeyes and Badgers. Wisconsin faces three ranked opponents in its next five games, including road games at Michigan and Iowa, and Ohio State has the Hawkeyes and Wolverines in two of its next three games.

But it’s the Badgers who have more questions with an unprecedented loss. Maybe they would benefit from their own players-only meeting.


UK'S MOMENT OF GROWTH


The Kentucky Wildcats were in the bottom half of the SEC in turnovers entering Saturday’s game against Missouri, a team that was 43-2 at home under Frank Haith.

Make that 43-3 after the Wildcats committed a season-low seven turnovers and won 84-79. That’s a big statement from a young team that was soundly beaten Wednesday at LSU to fall to 2-5 away from Rupp Arena.

"I thought (John Calipari’s) team fought as hard as they’ve fought all year," Haith told reporters about Kentucky’s effort after the game.

But there are some things to fix. Dakari Johnson, inserted into the starting lineup after his solid 15-point, six-rebound game vs. LSU, picked up two fouls in the first three-plus minutes of the game and scored just 2 points in 11 minutes of action. Willie Cauley-Stein, whose starting job went to Johnson, had another stinker game (0 points and rebounds) after collecting his first two fouls in a 26-second span. So if the lineup switch was meant to light a fire under Cauley-Stein, it appeared to do the opposite. Could Marcus Lee be an answer?

If the Wildcats can get consistency from their 5-spot, they have the other four positions ably covered by the Harrison twins, Julius Randle and James Young. But in the tightest games, Calipari leans heavily on his starters—his top four players played at least 31 minutes Saturday—which could be a real problem in a NCAA Tournament weekend (two games in three days).

In the near-term though, if Kentucky wants to stay in the hunt to win the league’s regular-season crown, it must beat Ole Miss at Rupp on Tuesday. The Rebels rallied from a 15-point second-half hole against South Carolina and have won five of their last six.

It’s another big spot for these Wildcats, another chance to signal what they’re capable of come March.

"The stuff that anyone’s saying about this team and these players, they can change it,” Calipari said. “It’s not like, ‘Well, you can’t play.’ "


MICHIGAN STATE EXPOSED ON BOARDS


After seeing Michigan State’s 64-60 loss to Georgetown, a team that entered the day on a five-game losing streak, maybe we should start to worry about the Spartans, who have lost two of their last three.

But the good news is this: Michigan State is expecting to get senior center Adreian Payne (sprained foot) back in the lineup in less than a week. Michigan State was outrebounded by Georgetown 35-29, and by the same count last Saturday in a home loss to Michigan. The Spartans have been able to cover for Payne’s singular absence, but losing Branden Dawson as well has exposed this team down low.

Gary Harris did an exceptional job in raising his game in the second half vs. the Hoyas, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the final 20 minutes, but he needs some help. On one possession with 55 seconds left, the Spartans tried forcing the ball to Harris, who was blanketed by Jabril Trawick, and the ball went out of bounds. Payne is a solid scorer, and Dawson is athletic enough to be a difference-maker on the offensive end too.

Integrating Payne back into the rotation will be a chore, but it's something that Spartans coach Tom Izzo will welcome.

"That's not going to be easy and that's going to bring some bumps in the road too,” Izzo said in a report by MLive.com “It's not like when we get him back everything's going to be fun, but it's going to be a lot more fun than it's been."

And when Dawson is able to return later this month, it will be rinse and repeat in terms of rotation shuffling. But no doubt the Spartans will enjoy having all of its key pieces available for March.


JT TO UF?


The last game of the SEC season is set up to be the best.

On March 8, Kentucky will travel to the O'Connell Center to take on Florida in what could be the biggest game of the conference season. While both teams will have locked up at-large bids by that point, there is the added possibility that the regular season title is on the line.

With the conference's best team going up against its most talented group, all eyes will be fixed on The O'Dome.

So, to make things extra special, Florida wants to bring in "The President of Pop" to sing the national anthem.

That's right, Florida's student organization, known as the "Men's Basketbal Rowdies," neamed after the "Rowdie Reptiles" student section, is actively campaigning to have Justin Timberlake sing the "Star Spangled Banner" before the biggest home game of the season.

From their official Facebook page: "We need Gator Nation to help us make enough noise on social media to persuade JT to come to UF and sing the National Anthem. The Rowdies are going to post photos, videos and tweets about why it’s great to be a Florida Gator and why JT should come to Gainesville for the game on March 8. What we want from everyone else is for you to do the same from your own social media accounts. ... Any post should include the hashtag of the movement: #BringJT2UF. Posts should also include #UFvsUK and the date of the game, while tagging JT and the Rowdies."

Kentucky has the upper hand when it comes to famous fans, as hip-hop icon Drake loves representing Big Blue Nation when ever he gets the chance. Having Timberlake in the Gators' corner would give them something to brag about, even if they did need to use social media to coerce him into joining the fray.

Will Timberlake do it?

It would make sense. After all, he is a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently have two former Gators on the roster, Nick Calathes, who played from 2007-2009, and Mike Miller, who played from 1998-2000.

Contribuors: Troy Machir, The Associated Press