Top NCAA basketball teams fall in buzzer-beaters

The GIST: The parity shifts in women’s basketball (WBB) and men’s basketball (MBB) have created anarchy this season, and the past two days brought enough photo finishes to send your blood pressure through the roof. Deep breaths, then let’s go.

Buzzer-beaters deliver MBB upsets: LSU’s aforementioned win over No. 17 Kentucky wasn’t the only Wednesday game that came down to the wire: New Mexico’s 68–66 defeat of No. 22 Colorado State also ended with a buzzer-beater, while Penn State mounted a furious late comeback to take down No. 12 Illinois 90–89. TL;DR? It ain’t over ’til the big dawg sings.

No. 4 Iowa WBB runs into a buzzsaw: Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark fell just one assist short of a triple-double, but her showing wasn’t enough to overcome monster performances from No. 14 Indiana guard Sara Scalia and forward Mackenzie Holmes that secured last night’s 86–69 upset win — an Indiana miracle after their own brutal upset loss on Monday.

Carolina’s women shake up the ACC: Duke and UNC pulled off big wins last night: The Blue Devils bagged a decisive 58–45 road win over No. 17 Syracuse, while lights-out shooting helped UNC shock No. 6 NC State 80–70. No one’s safe in this cutthroat conference.

No. 21 Washington State MBB runs it back: The newly-ranked Cougars captured their eighth straight win last night, and it was a biggie: They locked down a season sweep of No. 4 Arizona with a 77–74 win, snagging the Pac-12’s top spot in the process. Junior forward Jaylen Wells led the Cougs with 27 points while freshman guard Myles Rice led with a whole lotta heart. Inspiring.

Showdowns to watch: The No. 7 USC women have two crucial weekend matchups against teams that already handed handed them tough season losses: First, they’ll host No. 11 Colorado tonight at 10 p.m. ET, then No. 18 Utah on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

• And on the men’s side, No. 2 Houston takes their four-game win streak to No. 11 Baylor for a Big 12 battle tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET. Because of course the weekend’s biggest game is in the country’s most chaotic conference.