The legend of Jeff Foxwell was born on Wednesday, February 4th. A day that Portland Pilots supporters will never forget.

The Pilots, like many of their WCC brethren, are getting one last crack at Gonzaga this season. The Bulldogs are off to the new Pac-12 Conference beginning July 1st. This particular series is extra special for Portland. Gonzaga and Portland are the long-time WCC travel partners from the Pacific Northwest. They had met nearly 180 times before Wednesday. The series history is long, rich, and deep.

The added importance of the game did not change many opinions, as Gonzaga was expected to win by more than 22 points, according to outlets that make such projections.

Foxwell has been a phenomenal addition to the Portland program by way of Melbourne, Australia. The do-it-all point guard has advanced levels of court awareness, making him the top assist% player in WCC games and Top 10 in the nation. He had 15-assist games against Kent State and Santa Clara this season. When defenses take away the passing lane, Foxwell will pull up and make you pay. Gonzaga had no real tangible plan against this young man.

Portland did have a final push from Gonzaga, which became dicey. Foxwell was dealing with severe cramps, seen visibly on the floor laying down in front of the Portland bench. Ultimately, the Pilots were able to hang on for an 87-80 shocking win that stunned the nation.

The Pilots snapped a 30-game losing streak against AP top-10 teams, while the Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1) lost to a team with a losing record for the first time since Jan. 22, 2011, ending a streak of 141 straight wins.

The Pilots weren't done yet. They found themselves in a rock fight with Seattle U. and trailed by as many as 12 points. The game flow led to a heavily defensive first half before Portland found something and began taking over inside in the second half with 20 paint points in the final 20 minutes. A dramatic ending encapsulated the unbelievably unfathomable week of Portland basketball.

NORTH CAROLINA

Seth Trimble and the Tar Heels made dreams become reality as the Heels knocked off Duke in the first meeting between the two blue bloods. If somehow you missed Mr. Trimble putting Duke to sleep, here is the clip:

The game had it all. This was North Carolina's first game-winning shot with less than a second left since Luke Maye’s memorable Elite Eight shot against Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA's. Trimble talked after the game, "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life."

North Carolina now has another quality win at the forefront of its resume. This win shows that UNC has the goods to beat the elites, something we were not quite sure of until this result. It also stabilizes the resume for now as a forecasted 5-seed. More importantly, it created more memories for the Duke-UNC storied rivalry that will last a lifetime.

ST. JOHN'S

The Red Storm opened the week by going to DePaul and taking care of road business, 68-56. Zuby Ejiofor was not to be stopped on the offensive glass, gathering five offensive rebounds in the win. But this isn't why were here, is it?

As you know, this is all about that Friday night showdown between the Johnnies and UConn. Rick Pitino walking out to "Empire State of Mind" and interviewing with FOX's Allison Williams to tell the world he told his players to play with no fear.

Round One between UConn and St. John's lived up to all the expectations and hype on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. It was the Red Storm that emerged as the victor rather than the top-seeded UConn squad in a Big East heavyweight fight.

The Red Storm did so by doing something the Huskies excelled at heading into the game, something that makes them a national championship contender once again: by getting defensive stops down the stretch.

An entertaining ballgame that showed St. John's can go a full 40 minutes and grind out a win against a top-tier team like UConn. It also showed the Huskies are legit contenders once again, seeking a third national title in four years — even if their offense is still being tweaked and evolving.

For St. John's, it's the highest-ranked win since 2021 against Villanova, and the highest-ranked win at The Garden for the Red Storm since they took down No. 3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011. It's also the first three-game winning streak against UConn since the 1999-2000 season, when St. John's swept the regular season series and won the Big East championship game.

Photo courtesy of Johnnies Highlights via X

DUQUESNE

Alex Williams earned his first start as a Duke. He provided a seismic lift for the Dukes, who were without a pair of starters. Williams scored a season-high 25 points against a George Mason squad that still had high hopes for an at-large bid. He ended up sealing the victory for Duquesne by going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in the final 14 ticks.

"People talk about depth, and you really find out about your depth when you're up against it, whether it's when you have a guy down or a guy in foul trouble," head coach Dru Joyce III said after the game.

Many had overlooked Duquesne, struggling through a 4-5 start to A-1o play and with injury issues. This team showed last week that they are not backing down. The Dukes are now 6-5 in the league as they were able to outlast George Washington, 88-86, in Saturday's game. A sweep of the George's is a good thing in 2025-26.

KANSAS

Bill Self watched his Jayhawks erase a late deficit to defeat Texas Tech on the road, 64–61, at the ever-hostile United Supermarkets Arena. The win pushed Kansas to 17–5 overall and 7–2 in Big 12 play on the season, while extending its winning streak to six games. This Kansas defense behind Flory Bidunga does not get enough credit and the Jayhawks did a tremendous job holding the Red Raiders to 61 points.

Darryn Peterson delivered with 44 seconds left, drilling another key three to give Kansas its first lead since early in the half. The Jayhawks closed on a 14–2 run and managed to hold on through a wild final stretch.

Jayhawks closed the week out by handing Utah a 71-59 loss inside the Phog. Bidunga's 17 points and 10 rebounds kept the ship steady. This ship has produced a long win streak dating back to January 10th's loss at West Virginia. Kansas looks like a force with or without Darryn Peterson because the defense is so dependable. It is keeping Kansas in games regardless of offensive futility in spots.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

DENVER - These Pioneers impress me more and more each week. Tim Bergstraser has this program into the Summit middle of the pack at 5-6, following an impressive Flickertail sweep of the previously-hot North Dakota schools. The four-headed monster that consists of Zane Nelson, Logan Kinsey, Carson Johnson, and Jeremiah Burke has demonstrated the ability to keep defenses on its heels. They all played fantastic last week. Winning at NDSU tells the rest of the Summit League that Denver is capable of winning the conference tournament.

BOISE STATE - Broncos are slowly making their way back into the bubble picture, appearing as the eighth team out today. That is largely due to great recent play and some early non-conference success. The Broncos edged out Nevada at home in OT to begin the week. Dylan Andrews has been playing like a Player of the Year candidate of late. He was nationally recognized elsewhere as of Monday. The main reason? A dominant performance at the Pit, to inflict harm on the Lobo's tournament hopes. After scoring 25 against Nevada, he raised the bar further in Albuquerque, dropping 33 points and going a perfect 10-10 from the line. Boise left New Mexico with a 91-90 win, holding off a late Lobo rally.

EASTERN WASHINGTON - The Eagles have been in so many games, it feels great to finally have the chance to honor their fight. It all came together this past week as EWU ventured into the rugged Montana road trip. In the 82-74 win at the Griz, the Eagles made the key plays down the stretch to put the game away. An area that has haunted them earlier this season. Then, the real drama was reserved for the Saturday game in Billings.

FLORIDA- Gators had a mid-week bye and that seemed to give them even more energy for their road test at Texas A&M. It turned out to be not much of a test at all as Florida completely manhandled the Aggies early and often. It was a fun day for Thomas Haugh, who had 22 points and a pair of blocked shots. The Gators moved up to a projected 3-seed, and they took over the SEC regular-season race as a result.

SIU EDWARDSVILLE - The Cougars earned their way into the OVC race by winning key road tilts at Lindenwood and at Little Rock. SIUE is now shooting the three and defending the three better than any team in OVC-play. Jack Campion has been a great scorer and even better facilitator. He averaged 16.5 PPG and 7.5 APG for the week.

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

CAA: HAMPTON - A fantastic couple of home wins inside the Hampton Convocation Center have the Pirates at 6-6 in CAA play. The week started with a double OT triumph over Elon, 87-79. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt got to the foul line a bunch and finished with 23 points. The second win came vs. William & Mary, which had to feel great a quality regional win. The Pirates benefited from a 1-for-15 Tribe showing from deep, and Xzavier Long had 14 rebounds to go along with his 13 points to help generate a 37-29 rebounding edge.

MAC: MIAMI-OHIO - Road wins at Buffalo and Marshall last week demonstrated that this RedHawk team is not just perfect, but they are still improving as a group. Eian Elmer continues to shine; he had 18 points and nine boards at Marshall.

THE AMERICAN: MEMPHIS - Tigers earned a much-needed road win at UAB, then punished Charlotte by 23 in what was an encouraging week in an otherwise tough season. Sincere Parker's 40 points off the bench in Birmingham was a microwave performance for the ages. Rightfully, he's your AAC player of the week.

IVY LEAGUE: CORNELL - The Big Red and Columbia met in the Ivy opener, with the Lions eventually outlasting Cornell, 104-99. In the rematch last Saturday, Cornell was able to limit the relentless Columbia attack and hold them to 67. That gave Cornell's electric offense plenty of wiggle room to build a margin. Big Red with a key 88-67 win and now are in a logjam at 4-4 in the Ivy League, where every game is a playoff game.

BIG TEN: IOWA - The Hawkeyes handled business in Seattle over UW and back at home vs. Northwestern. This offense was really humming and was very efficient in the two wins. No surprise that Bennett Stirtz led the way with 22 points and five assists at Washington and then had 36! vs. Northwestern. Iowa has climbed into a projected 7-seed over at Bracketeer.Org

MEAC: NORFOLK STATE - The Spartans have had their fair share of shaky results throughout the season. It was time to rise to the occasion when first-place NC Central visited Echols Memorial Hall. Elijah Jamison saved his best for the Eagles, going for 28 points on just 11 shot attempts. The loss sent NC Central into second place, some sweet revenge for NSU.

CONFERENCE USA: JACKSONVILLE STATE - The great Ray Harper keeps dialing up new ways to win basketball games. Last week, CUSA's top defense was on display as Kennesaw State shot just 20% from distance (7-34) and made less than 20 FGs inside The Pete. Similar to what WKU did earlier in the week going 7-for-30 from deep and also just 19 made field goals. That game was at WKU and really helped JSU get in position to be 2nd Place in CUSA alone.

WAC: UTAH TECH - The conference is undergoing the unusual February distraction of Utah Valley not paying its exit fee. However, Utah Tech keeps collecting wins quietly. The Trailblazers had an outstanding double OT win over UT Arlington on Thursday. Chance Trujillo came off the bench to pour in 22 points in the key win. At 7-4, this squad is impressively just one game behind UVU and California Baptist for 1st Place.

ASUN: CENTRAL ARKANSAS - UCA has been owning this space for a couple of weeks. Add a road win at Lipscomb to the impressive list of wins these Bears have collected. The Camren Hunter experience was a thrill ride in Nashville, as he dropped 32 points on the Bison.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: BOSTON U. - With the Terriers starting Patriot play at 3-7, many had written them off. BU has turned things around somewhat with a win at Holy Cross and home vs. Loyola-MD to improve to 5-7 in league play. Ben Defty remains one of the biggest weapons in the league at 7-0, 255. Defty averaged 17.5 PPG and nine RPG in the two wins.

SOUTHLAND: UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY - One of the great stories in the country right now. Kahil Fennell has the Vaqueros rolling. Technically, seven straight wins as of the end of the week, but let's just say they are still hot even after this next week starts.

SOCON: UNC GREENSBORO - UNCG made a splash on Sunday by winning the SoCon spotlight game on linear ESPN at Furman. That capped off a great week because the Spartans also beat Western Carolina at home. The x-factor that is Justin Neely continues to make UNCG a dangerous squad. Neely had a pair of double-doubles, in a completely dominant week – 24 Points and 13 boards at Furman and a 25/11 vs. WCU.

BIG WEST: UC DAVIS - The Aggies remain a model of consistency for the Big West Conference. Jim Les earned yet another win over UC Santa Barbara last week, right when it appeared the Gauchos were cooking. Aggies followed up that solid effort by holding the electric Cal Poly Mustangs to 58 points on just 69 possessions. That win avenged an earlier loss in San Luis Obispo. Redshirt Freshman and Washington State transfer, Marcus Wilson, continues to blossom. Wilson had 24 points in both games. Nobody gets to the foul line more often than UC Davis in league play, and they are pests defensively.

HORIZON LEAGUE: GREEN BAY - The Phoenix are on an ever-windy rollercoaster ride across the Horizon League. Last week was a fun one. Green Bay won at Northern Kentucky in an OT bonanza and handled Detroit Mercy at home to land in 3rd place by the end of the week. CJ O'Hara went for 23 points and three key steals in the win at NKU. Green Bay leads the Horizon League in eFG% and free-throw percentage. There is legitimate hope at this point for a postseason run.

BIG SOUTH: WINTHROP - Eagles continue to soar in the Big South. The consistency has been impressive as Winthrop is keeping pace with High Point and not slipping up. Now, sitting at 10-1 in league play following gritty wins over Radford on the road and Longwood. Logan Duncomb continues to be the most important player to any team in the conference. Duncomb made 11 of his 15 FGAs and added 12 rebounds and five assists at Radford.

MISSOURI VALLEY: NORTHERN IOWA - Panthers have a healthy Tristan Smith again and that has everyone in Cedar Falls sleeping better at night. UNI's home win over Bradley was a crippling defensive effort, holding the Braves to 49 points. Similar to what we saw in non-conference games with defensive prowess. UNI is alive and well for an Arch Madness run.

MAAC: FAIRFIELD - The Stags have fully recovered from a 0-4 league start and are now 8-7 in league play. Last week was the inner-Fairfield road win at Sacred Heart and a nice home victory over Marist. Superb Freshman Brandon Benjamin had a 26-point, 15-rebound game against the Pioneers and added another 13 and 12 vs. Marist.

SWAC: TEXAS SOUTHERN - Tigers have struggled this season to return to the level we expect from this historically good program. That may be shifting as the Tigers were able to win at Florida A&M last week, 62-57. It was only the second home loss of the year for FAMU. TSU did not win a single D1 non-conference game, but has shot the ball fairly well in league games, 36.2% from deep is second-best currently in SWAC play.

AMERICA EAST: NJIT - The Highlanders did not get enough love last week. NJIT is an amazing 8-2 in America East play and is in position to win a league championship. The excitement around Newark should be off the charts. Melvyn Ebonkoli had a scintillating day vs. UMass-Lowell, going 10-for-10 from the field for all 20 of his points. He's a load at 6-7, 240 pounds.

SUN BELT: LOUISIANA CAJUNS - The once-trying season for new head coach Quannas White is becoming fruitful. Cajuns have snuck up on the league after beginning the season 5-16 and dealing with multiple personnel issues. Last week was arguably the most impressive week of the year – winning at JMU and then beating Central Michigan in the SBC-MAC Challenge contest. Cajuns are suddenly 6-6 in a wide-open Sun Belt and winners of four in a row. Sam Houston transfer Dorian Finister continues to be a key bright spot and stat-sheet stuffer.

NEC: FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON - First-time NEC Player of the Week Award winner, Taeshaud Jackson, put up double-doubles in back-to-back FDU victories this past week. The Northern Colorado transfer helped lead the Knights to a pair of wins over Mercyhurst and Stonehill. FDU has now evened its NEC record at 6-6, with a mad race for second-place going on, why not the Knights?