Bounce-back performances emerged as one of the top themes of the day on a loaded Saturday of college basketball action. After dropping two games in a row for the first time this season, No. 4 Alabama entered its showdown with No. 17 Kentucky in need of a reset. The Crimson Tide got it in a 96-83 win over the Wildcats, as Mark Sears turned in another monster performance to lead Bama.

The fifth-year guard followed his 35-point outing in Wednesday’s loss at Missouri with a 30-point showing against Kentucky. He wasn’t the only star to come up huge in a redemptive effort for a big-time program. No. 9 Texas Tech got another huge performance from JT Toppin in a 73-51 win over West Virginia as the Red Raiders bounced back from a Tuesday loss at TCU.

Toppin, a sophomore forward, continued to make his case for Big 12 Player of the Year as the Red Raiders cruised to an easy victory. Elsewhere in the Big 12, No. 23 Kansas responded to an embarrassing midweek loss at BYU by shellacking Oklahoma State 96-64. Leading the way was Hunter Dickinson, who needed just 21 minutes to post 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Winner: BYU benefits from phantom foul to upset Arizona

One of the biggest winners of the entire weekend has to be BYU. After a controversial foul was called on Arizona, Cougars guard Richie Saunders calmly drilled two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining to give his team a 96-95 upset win over the No. 19 Wildcats. BYU has beaten ranked opponents in back-to-back games for the first time since 1988. BYU has been one of the hottest teams in the Big 12. The Cougars have won eight of their last 10 and four consecutive games. BYU also avenged a loss earlier this month to the same Arizona team. First-year coach Kevin Young should feel good about where his team is heading into March. – Cameron Salerno

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Winner: Chaz Lanier has career day for Vols

Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier scored a season-high 30 points and drained a career-high eight 3-pointers in a 77-69 road win over the No. 7 Texas A&M. Lanier’s career day was a personal bounce back in the state of Texas after being held to 10 points on 11 shots last month vs. Texas in a game where he was benched early for not being aggressive enough. It’s the 11th time this season he’s scored 20 or more points in a game for the No. 6 Vols, all of which they they’ve gone on to win. – Kyle Boone

Loser: Hobbled Kentucky gets outrun

Playing once again without injured guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, No. 17 Kentucky couldn’t keep up with No. 4 Alabama. The Crimson Tide used a 23-6 edge in fast-break points to pull away for a 96-83 win and regular-season sweep of UK. Four of Kentucky’s five starters reached double figures, but it was the one who didn’t that stood out. After scoring 10+ points in UK’s first 26 games, shooting guard Otega Oweh finished with two points on 1-of-9 shooting and fouled out in just 22 minutes. On a day when the Wildcats were missing Butler and Robinson, UK needed Oweh at his best to have any hope of taking down a top-five foe on the road. – David Cobb

Winner: Jeremiah Fears fuels Oklahoma in desperate spot No. 5 Oklahoma might have squandered a 16-point second half lead against shorthanded No. 8 Iowa State if not for an offensive barrage from Jeremiah Fears. The fifth-year guard poured in 12 points over a span of less than six minutes as the Sooners held off the pesky Cyclones for a 68-59 win. Fears’ 28-point total was two off a career-high and included a 5 of 7 clip from beyond the arc. Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC) needed Fears’ best to withstand a 16-point second half finish from Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic, who kept ISU close down the stretch as the Cyclones navigated a hostile environment without leading scorers Curtis Jones (illness) and Keshon Gilbert (muscle strain). – Cobb

Loser: Nation’s longest winning streak reverts to zip

The owner of the nation’s longest winning streak transferred hands from the Akron Zips to the Yale Bulldogs after the Zips – winners of 14-straight – fell 84-67 at Ohio. Yale defeated Columbia 90-64 for its 12th consecutive win and in the process clinched the outright Ivy League regular-season championship for the second time in three seasons and seventh time under coach James Jones. – Boone