Welcome back to the Starting 5. The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4.

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1. The Opening Tip

Saturday, 3 ranked Big East teams — Villanova, Seton Hall and Butler — hosted games against unranked Big East foes. And, in truly wild fashion, all 3 ranked home teams lost. It was one of the weirdest days of the year, and that’s saying something, based on how weird this season has been.

Villanova hosted Creighton and lost 76-61. Seton Hall played Xavier and lost 74-62. And, finally, Butler took on Providence and fell 65-61. Seton Hall still holds the Big East lead with an 8-1 conference record, but look at the Pirates’ next 5 games:

  • at Georgetown
  • at Villanova
  • vs. Creighton
  • at Providence
  • vs. Butler

That’s not an easy stretch, but it’s one Myles Powell and his teammates will have to navigate to win the Big East regular-season title.

Oh, and as those 3 teams try to bounce back, they’ll have to do so in a league that is still one of the most physical in the country. Just look at this play from Saturday’s Georgetown-St. John’s game:

Yeah, somehow that was ruled to be a clean play. We’ll see if Villanova-Butler on Wednesday night (more on that game later) provides similar fireworks.

Now, let’s move on to some SEC news.

2. Home-court Advantage

It might be time to call Auburn a basketball school. With ESPN’s College GameDay in town Saturday, Auburn fans showed up in force, both for the show and then for the game that night against Kentucky.

It was a tight contest throughout, but Auburn’s home crowd might have been the difference in the Tigers’ win. Austin Wiley out-muscled Nick Richards in the post and Samir Doughty went 14-for-15 from the free-throw line while scoring a team-high 23 points.

Monday, coach Bruce Pearl was asked about whether he considers Kentucky a rival and he said no. He said it’s because he doesn’t think Auburn has held up its end of the bargain to make it a rivalry over the years (via 247Sports):

“I’m just glad Auburn has become more competitive, and people ask, ‘Do you have a rivalry with Kentucky?’” Pearl said. “I say, ‘No, they’ve dominated the series for a long time, but if we can be competitive over the next few years, maybe we can develop a rivalry.’”

I really like that answer. Great awareness from Pearl, who has the Tigers on the right track once again this year. Can the home crowd play a part again this Saturday? That’s when LSU comes to town in another huge showdown.

Now, for some other SEC news:

  • Speaking of those LSU Tigers, they finally started winning some games by more than 4 points! They beat Alabama by 14 points and Ole Miss by 10 points last week. Now, there’s still work to be done, as the Tigers were outscored by both of those teams in the 2nd half. That’s a trend Will Wade will want to fix ahead of Saturday’s game in Auburn.
  • Vanderbilt gave Kentucky and Florida scares last week, but the Commodores have now lost 26 consecutive SEC games — 8 this year and 18 last year. There’s no end in sight for the Commodores’ losing streak, as they play LSU and Mississippi State this week. I’m honestly getting pretty worried that Mizzou is going to lose at Vanderbilt on Feb. 26. Can’t wait for that embarrassment!
  • Alabama had a tough week, losing to LSU and Arkansas, but that’s not surprising after the Tide lost Herb Jones to injury. He’s the defensive leader, as evidenced here:

https://twitter.com/AlabamaMBB/status/1218675712657362947

  • Jones is out indefinitely as his wrist heals, so we’ll see how it impacts Alabama’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Here’s what Nate Oats said about Jones and his leadership:

Now, let’s look around the rest of the college basketball world.

3. Road Game

I was excited Friday about Sunday’s pre-Super Bowl showdown between Illinois and Iowa, and boy, did it ever live up to expectations.

Luka Garza — a potential National Player of the Year award winner — dominated, scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also hit a career-high 4 3-point shots in the 72-65 win:

https://twitter.com/IowaHoops/status/1224357821120176140

Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn — one of the top freshman big men in the country — was held in check, scoring only 6 points to go with 6 rebounds. Still, that was a battle of 2 heavyweight big men and it was a lot of fun to watch. The game was also a back-and-forth affair until the final minutes.

The rematch will take place March 8 in the final regular-season game for both teams. Illinois will be at home this time. Mark your calendars now, folks!

Here are some other noteworthy stories from around the country:

  • Wisconsin went through a messy week, as talented scorer Kobe King announced his decision to transfer. That drew a number of reactions from around the country. Then, there was other key player Brad Davison, who was suspended for Saturday’s game against Michigan State for this sketchy move against Iowa:

  • With King out and Davison suspended, the Badgers surely lost against the Spartans, right? Wrong. Wisconsin battled hard and came away with a 64-63 victory. The Badgers are still on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can continue to pick up surprising wins.
  • The Washington Huskies entered the season just outside the top 25 in the AP Poll. They were the first team in the “also receiving votes” section. They made a few appearances in the rankings, but now they’re sitting in dead last in the Pac-12. The Huskies are 12-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play. The Huskies have lost 5 games in a row and face a tough test Sunday at Washington State. Washington has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season, and it doesn’t look to be getting any better.
  • You know replay review is taking too long when even the announcers can’t stand it anymore. Listen to ESPN’s Sean McDonough during Monday night’s North Carolina-Florida State game:

  • I tend to agree with him — if a review takes that long and only puts 1 second back on the clock when there are more than 3 minutes left in the game, it probably isn’t worth reviewing for so long. We’ll see if the NCAA addresses it this offseason.

Now, let’s take a look at the next few days in the college basketball world:

4. Outlet Pass

Now that we’re into February, the action is heating up around the country. Here are the 5 games I can’t wait to watch this week:

  1. No. 10 Villanova at No. 19 Butler (Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1) — As mentioned above, both Villanova and Butler lost at home Saturday. Neither can afford to lose again as they battle to keep pace with Seton Hall atop the Big East standings.
  2. Mississippi State at No. 15 Kentucky (Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN) — Reggie Perry and the Bulldogs vs. Nick Richards and the Wildcats? Sign me up. Winner should be the front-runner for the SEC Player of the Year award.
  3. No. 22 Penn State at No. 16 Michigan State (Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on BTN) — The Spartans are tied with Illinois atop the Big Ten standings with an 8-3 record. Penn State is still in the race at 6-4. Both will be eager for a résumé-building victory.
  4. No. 11 Auburn at Arkansas (Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network) — Auburn just picked up a huge win against Kentucky on Saturday. This Saturday, the Tigers host red-hot LSU. Bruce Pearl’s squad can’t get caught looking past this road contest against Mason Jones and the high-scoring Razorbacks.
  5. Duquesne at Saint Louis (Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+) — Both are on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They’re also both 6-3 in Atlantic 10 play. It should be a fun game in St. Louis.

Will we see some more wild finishes and crazy upsets? I wouldn’t expect anything less from this insane season.

5. Buzzer Beaters

Now, let’s get out of here for the day with a pair of random questions:

What conference will get the most teams into the NCAA Tournament?

When you look at a conference like the Big 12, there are a few stacked teams, but the conference as a whole only has 10 teams. Yes, the quality is there atop the Big 12, but I think the Big Ten will get 10 (possibly 11 or 12) teams into the field of 68. Michigan State, Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers (yes, Rutgers), Penn State and Iowa all seem like locks. That’s 6 teams, and there are several more (Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Purdue) on the bubble. We’ll see how many sneak into the field.

Would you rather attend the Super Bowl or the Final Four if your favorite teams weren’t playing and you could just enjoy the experience?

Honestly, I’d probably rather go to the Final Four. The Super Bowl is such a big event that the actual football sometimes gets lost in the hubbub. The Final Four is still all about basketball. Plus, there are 3 games to watch in those final 2 days of the tournament, which I like.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.