The first Saturday without football for many fans means tuning in to nonconference college basketball games before football conference championships. In early December, that means home games against struggling programs for Power 5 teams. Easy enough, right?
Boy, were we in for several surprises.
MORE: Remaining undefeated schools | Struggles continue for UConn
NJIT kicked off Upset Saturday with a shocking 72-70 road win over No. 17 Michigan. The Highlanders played and won their first game against a ranked opponent. Even NJIT coach Jim Engles expected his team to lose this game.
NJIT coach Jim Engles: "I kind of penciled this one in as an 'L'." His postgame presser is worth your time: http://t.co/7Tgrydb9Dh
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) December 6, 2014
The rest of Saturday's upsets:
— Green Bay 68, No. 15 Miami 55. The Hurricanes dropped their first game of the season thanks to a 12-minute scoring drought to begin the second half. Their opponent, the Phoenix, who impressively won the Gulf Coast Showcase, were coming off a shellacking by Georgia State. Miami shot a season-low 33 percent from the field and couldn't overcome a 16-point deficit in the final eight minutes.
— South Carolina Upstate 59, Georgia Tech 54. The Yellow Jackets played pretty good defense the whole game, holding the Spartans to 30.2 percent shooting. But for some reason, when shooters stepped outside the arc, Georgia Tech's defense disappeared. The Yellow Jackets surrendered a season-high 10 made 3-pointers while making just three of their own.
— North Florida 73, Purdue 70. Just days ago, the Big Ten handily won the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the second consecutive season. Somehow, two teams from one of the nation's best college basketball conferences suffered embarrassing losses Saturday. The Boilermakers lost a nine-point lead in the second half, while two 3-pointers by the Ospreys with less than a minute to play clinched the win.
We know how you feel today @umichbball 😥
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 6, 2014
I guess it's true: misery loves company.
— Tulane 59, Mississippi State 54. The road hasn't been kind to the Bulldogs. Mississippi State lost its 18th consecutive away game (excluding neutral-site games) thanks to a 2:56 scoring drought at the end of the game. In that time, the Bulldogs missed three free throws and five field-goal attempts while the Green Wave hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left to seal it.
— South Carolina 75, Oklahoma State 49: The Gamecocks, SEC doormats the past several years, dealt the Cowboys their first loss after a 7-0 start. OSU was dreadful in its first road game of the season, shooting 24.6 percent (16-for-65) from the floor in this Big 12-SEC Challenge contest. Le'Bryan Nash was the Cowboys' only double-figure scorer with 13 points. Carolina closed the first half on a 15-6 run and then broke open the game with a 20-4 spurt in the second half.
— Boise State 82, Saint Mary's 71: The Gaels capped the day of surprises with a late-night stumble at home against the Broncos. SMC (5-1) struggled from the field (39.7 percent) while Boise shot 58.8 percent.
Contributing: Tom Gatto.
