College basketball grades: As March Madness looms on horizon, two major contenders flunk tests

Florida showed us a side of itself that had scarcely been seen on Tuesday, when the Gators fell behind 39-13 against a bubbly Georgia team in an 88-83 loss. Though Florida completed a remarkable rally to briefly take the lead, its early woes served as a caution flag on a team that had torn through six straight league foes with an average victory margin of 15 points.

Part of the first half meltdown could be attributed to an unusually hot shooting performance from the Bulldogs, but Florida’s own offensive struggles can’t be so easily explained. Players not named Will Richard combined to shoot 6 of 24 from the floor in the first half before the Gators mounted their charge after halftime.

Prior to the clunky showing against the Bulldogs, a 64-44 Feb. 1 loss at Tennessee had served as the only real warning sign around a Florida team that has regularly shown the makings of a national-title contender. But perhaps it’s not all doom and gloom. UConn fell behind 23 at Creighton Feb. 20 of last season in an 85-66 loss. The Huskies bounced back with 13 straight victories — 11 of them by double-digits — on their way to a national championship.

We’ll see if the Gators can follow the same template.

Here is the grading rundown of how the top-10 teams in action during the week fared in their games.

No. 1 Auburn

Result: 106-76 win vs. Ole Miss

Auburn looked like a team that’s had enough of the recent love-fest surrounding Duke. The Tigers played like a club bent on reminding college basketball of why the No. 1 is next to their name in the polls as they shot a scorching 59.6%, which is their best mark in conference play. Superstar Johni Broome led the way with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Grade: A

No. 2 Duke

Result: 97-60 win at Miami

Duke shot 50% or better from the floor for the 12th time in 17 ACC games as it cruised past an abysmal Miami team with no problem. The Blue Devils had two 9-0 runs and two 10-0 runs in yet another dominant showing as they continued solidifying their case to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their 60% 3-point shooting mark (15 of 25) was a season-high. Grade: A

Result: 88-83 loss at Georgia

Florida rallied from a 26-point first half deficit to take a late lead before collapsing in the final minute.  It had been seven weeks since Georgia beat a projected NCAA Tournament team until Florida came to town. Give the Gators credit for a massive rally, but the first half constituted an abysmal display for a team with national title aspirations. Grade: D

No. 4 Houston

Result: 69-61 win at Texas Tech

On a night when top scorer LJ Cryer produced just five points, Houston used suffocating defense and a heavy dose of Milos Uzan to avenge its only Big 12 loss. Uzan dropped a career-high 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting to pace the Cougars, who held Texas Tech to a season-worst 29.8% shooting. The win clinched Houston its second consecutive Big 12 regular season championship. Grade: A

No. 5 Tennessee

Result: 65-59 win at LSU

Tennessee led by 14 with 2:29 remaining before sleepwalking over the final two minutes and allowing LSU to cover a 10.5-point spread. That aside, it was a business-like road win fueled by a whopping 27-8 edge in second-chance points. Ohio State transfer center Felix Okpara had one of his best games as a Vol with 15 points on 6 of 6 shooting against the undersized Tigers.  Grade: B+

No. 6 Alabama

Result: 111-73 win vs. Mississippi State

Alabama earned a 100 in barttorvik.com’s “game score” metric for the first time since a season-opening beatdown of UNC Asheville. The Crimson Tide never stopped pouring it on as they hit the Bulldogs with a season-high 22 made 3-pointers. This team has been a bit erratic lately, but Tuesday’s beatdown was a scary reminder of what Alabama can be when operating at full throttle. Grade: A+

No. 7 St. John’s

Result: 76-70 win at Butler

The Red Storm were pushed all night but secured at least a share of the Big East crown behind a 24-point showing from RJ Luis Jr. St. John’s returned to its poor 3-point shooting ways (4 of 15) after a couple of good perimeter shooting performances in wins over DePaul and UConn. But as has been the case all season, defense paved the way. Butler made just 6 of 22 shots (21.4%) over the final 16:10. Grade: B+

No. 8 Michigan State

Result: 58-55 win at Maryland

So, the highlight was obviously Tre Holloman’s buzzer-beating heave from beyond half court, which bailed the Spartans out following a late collapse. That insanity aside, Michigan State’s third straight win over a ranked foe epitomized this team. Ten players scored, and the Spartans a 10-0 in second-chance points to get a gritty road win, despite making just 4 of 15 from 3-point range.  Grade: A-

No. 9 Iowa State

Result: 74-68 loss at Oklahoma State

Though star guard Keshon Gilbert missed his second straight game due to injury, his absence cannot fully explain an ugly loss to an Oklahoma State team that entered with no wins against projected NCAA Tournament teams. The Cyclones tied a season-high with 18 giveaways, leading to a 24-10 deficit in points off turnovers. A 12 of 20 effort from the free-throw line was also problematic. Grade: D

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No. 10 Texas Tech

Result: 69-61 loss vs. Houston

Texas Tech hung tough with Houston, despite the injury-related absences of No. 2 scorer Chance McMillian and No. 3 scorer Darrion Williams. Given that coach Grant McCasland deployed a rotation of just six players, it was a valiant effort. But a 6 of 30 (20%) 3-point shooting mark was never going to be enough to complete a season sweep of the Big 12’s top dog. Grade: B-