There were plenty of surprisng results in college basketball on Saturday with two of the biggest shockers coming when No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke both lost. The Tigers were upset at home 90-81 by No. 6 Florida. The Blue Devils met the same fate losing 77-71 at Clemson. Those losses could lead to Alabama taking over No. 1 in the major polls after the No. 3 Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas 85-81.

Speaking of the SEC, opportunities to catch your breath in the naton's best conference and get back on track are few and far between 2025, which is why No. 14 Kentucky's home game vs. South Carolina on Saturday was so significant. The Wildcats entered having lost four of their previous five and in serious need of a palate-cleanser.

That's exactly what UK got in an 80-57 victory over South Carolina. Starting point guard Lamont Butler returned after a three-game absence due to a shoulder injury and played 23 minutes. Key players Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson also logged substantive action, despite being considered game-time decisions entering the game.

If Kentucky is going to reach the potential it showed with six victories over top-15 opponents, it will need all three players healthy down the stretch. Thankfully for first-year coach Mark Pope, the ease of Saturday's win kept him from playing anyone more than 30 minutes ahead of a showdown with No. 4 Tennessee on Tuesday.

Things didn't go nearly as well for another struggling blue blood on Saturday, as No. 16 Kansas fell to 3-3 over its last six games with an 81-73 loss at Kansas State. It was the defense which let the Jayhawks down as they suffered their fifth Big 12 loss.

Here is the full rundown of the winners and losers from a loaded Saturday of college basketball action.

Loser: Flagg falls as Duke falters

Loser: Auburn stunned at home by Florida

Winner: Akron Zips own longest active win streak

Loser: Defense betrays Kansas

Few are better than Bill Self, but the Kansas coach has his work cut out for him down the stretch if the No. 16 Jayhawks are going to make good on lofty preseason expectations. Kansas has dropped three of its past six games and is fading fast in the Big 12 title race after falling 81-73 at Kansas State. Defense was the culprit as the Wildcats shot 50% from the floor. No. 2 Duke is the only other team to reach that threshold against the Jayhawks this season.

Winner: Kansas State is making an incredible turnaround

Winner: Army wins record-breaking shootout in Patriot League thriller

Army outlasted Bucknell in a Patriot League shootout that ended with the Black Knights setting a program-high in a 116-110 double OT victory. The new record-high in points scored for Army bested a previous record vs. a Division I opponent of 104 that came on Jan. 27, 2001, vs. Lafayette, which it won in OT.

The win moved Army to 10-1 all-time when scoring 100 or more points, per CBB Reference data, with its only loss of those 11 games coming back in 1988 when it fell to Holy Cross 122-100.

Winner: Kentucky shakes off skid, gets right vs. Gamecocks

Winner: Jase Richardson tallies career-high in front of pops

Loser: Oregon hits worst skid in a decade

Winner: Tennessee gets back to spirit-breaking ways

Loser: Texas squanders lead, falls to Vandy

Texas entered the day as one of the "first four out" of Jerry Palm's projected NCAA Tournament field and owned a 10-point second half lead at Vanderbilt. But the Longhorns couldn't reach the finish line, falling 86-78 to the plucky Commodores. Vandy scored 51 points in the second half on 56.7% shooting while picking up an important win for its own NCAA Tournament chances. The 'Dores entered as a projected No. 11 seed with games against No. 1 Auburn and No. 4 Tennessee coming up next week.

Winner: Iowa State gets back on track

Winner: Creighton picks up key Big East win over Marquette

Loser: Well-being of trash cans in Omaha

Winner: UNC-Wilmington beats the buzzer in double-OT

Loser: Seton Hall's nightmare season continues

Winner: Texas A&M wins a thriller on the road over Missouri

Winner: UNC survives, keeps NCAA Tournament hopes alive