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It was quite the Saturday in college basketball. Five games were played that included two teams ranked in the AP’s top 25. A sixth included a ranked team against the preseason No. 1. The games were a delight for viewers and provided elation for the winners, but for the losing teams — and especially the fan bases of said teams — losses of that magnitude can set off waves of worry.

How worried, exactly, should their fans be heading into the New Year and thus the start of full-scale conference play? Your resident Hoop Thinker has brought his trusty Panic Meter to ascertain the answers. Here’s what the meter revealed:

Virginia

Lost, 69-61, to Houston

It’s no fun losing at home, but the Cavaliers were playing with a clearly hobbled Reece Beekman. The 6-3 junior guard missed the previous game and most of the one before because of a pulled hamstring. If the Cavs weren’t playing a top-five team, I’m guessing he would have sat out again. Beekman only scored four points on 1 of 5 shooting, but even if he were at full strength, Virginia would have had a hard time beating a Houston squad that was all fired up from its loss at home to Alabama the previous Saturday. Virginia came in ranked No. 2, and though this is probably not the second-best team in the country, it can still be a very good one, especially once Beekman is fully healthy again.

Panic Meter (scale of 0 to 5): 1

Lost, 89-84, in overtime to North Carolina

If Pete Nance’s regulation buzzer-beater rims out, then we’re assessing the panic level in Chapel Hill instead of Columbus. Of course, the Buckeyes should never have been in that situation after building an 11-point lead with seven minutes to play, but I doubt they would have lost their composure if their starting point guard Isaac Likekele was playing. The super senior, who transferred from Oklahoma State, returned from a brief leave of absence to travel home for a funeral, but since he hadn’t practiced in over a week, Chris Holtmann didn’t think he was ready. Despite the loss, the way Ohio State played — and especially the way that 6-6 freshman guard Brice Sensabaugh played (22 points, eight rebounds, three assists) — is cause for optimism heading into Big Ten play.

Panic Meter: 1

BIG BODY BRICE 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/EOl5ZUW5NW

— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 17, 2022

Tennessee

Lost, 75-70, at Arizona

There’s no shame in losing in McKale Center, but there were a couple of worrisome signs for the Volunteers. In the first place, they got outscored 24-8 at the foul line, and while there is no question Arizona benefited from a home-court whistle, the Vols’ starters combined to shoot 5 of 20 from 3-point range. (Zakai Zeigler made 3 of 6 and scored 21 points in his usual sixth-man role.) Those kinds of offensive droughts were this team’s undoing last year. Even more concerning is the health of senior guard Josiah-Jordan James, who has now missed six of the last eight games because of inflammation in his left knee, which stems from offseason surgery. The Vols miss James’ versatility and leadership, but his chronically uncertain status is disruptive. How long, exactly, is this issue going to linger?

Panic Meter: 2

Alabama

Lost, 100-90, to Gonzaga

No team that has Brandon Miller should ever have reason to panic (the 6-9 freshman had 36 points in the loss), and Gonzaga is obviously a very good team. But the Crimson Tide were playing on a de facto home court in Birmingham, so I thought they would take care of business. The question moving forward is how much they will miss Nimari Burnett. The 6-4 sophomore guard is a starter and invaluable Glue Guy, but he has missed the last two games with a broken left wrist that required surgery, and won’t return for another month. Nate Oats moved 6-3 freshman guard Jaden Bradley into the starting lineup, and while he is very talented, the last thing this team needed to do was get younger.

Panic Meter: 2

Lost, 84-62, at Kansas

Again: no shame in losing in Allen Fieldhouse, especially under the circumstances. The Hoosiers lost veteran guard Xavier Johnson to an ankle injury early in the first half, and 6-6 freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was in no position to carry the load after missing the previous three games with a back injury. (He had 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting to go along with four assists and five turnovers.) Still, the margin of defeat (and the limited production from Trayce Jackson-Davis against an undersized Jayhawks squad) was demoralizing. The Hoosiers have now lost three of their last four games. The big concern moving forward is the status of Johnson. If he’s out for a while, then Indiana could be headed for a rough patch. It also makes you wonder if this team is snakebit when it comes to injuries. Not that fans tend to think that way.

Panic Meter: 4

Lost, 63-53, to UCLA

Hoo boy, it’s gonna be a glum Christmas in the Commonwealth. The Wildcats looked gawdawful against the Bruins for most of the game (18 turnovers, 6 of 21 3-point shooting), and even though they were within four points with two-and-a-half minutes to play, it never really felt like they were going to win. And so the worrisome pattern continues: The Wildcats are 7-3 this season but have lost all three games they played against KenPom top 50 teams, and they are now 4-13 in their last 17 games against ranked opponents. Not to mention that in their best win, they beat unranked Michigan by just four points in London even though the Wolverines lost their starting point guard to an injury with 8:40 to play. Any team that has the reigning national player of the year in Oscar Tshiebwe has a chance to do great things, and John Calipari has a history of getting his teams to play better as the season progresses. But the Wildcats’ disjointed, disorganized performances against quality teams do not bode well. Given the way last season ended in the first round to Saint Peter’s, the battered souls of Big Blue Nation are in full freakout mode. That’s nothing new, of course, but this time it feels justified.

Panic meter: 5

Other Hoop Thoughts

• I’m guessing it will be a while before we know how the Chris Beard situation at Texas is going to end. Considering the legal jeopardy Beard is in (he was arrested and charged with third-degree felony assault against a family member), he has larger concerns right now than whether he will keep his job. That said, if Beard has coached his last game in Austin, his associate head coach, Rodney Terry, will have every chance to claim the top job over the next three months. Terry, 54, is a well-respected veteran who has 10 years of head coaching experience at Fresno State and UTEP. Terry voluntarily left El Paso to join Beard’s staff at Texas, and he was directly involved in recruiting all their players. There is precedent for an interim coach winning the head job in similar circumstances — Michigan’s Steve Fisher, UCLA’s Steve Lavin, Wisconsin’s Greg Gard and Wichita State’s Isaac Brown come to mind.

• The only downside to Zach Edey’s incredible dominance (he had 29 points and 16 rebounds in Purdue’s 69-61 win over Davidson on Saturday) is that he is making a mockery of the national player of the year race. Hey, Zach, how about cooling off a little and letting us have some fun?

• The NCAA has begun issuing its NET rankings, and while there are still a lot of games to be played, most of the nonconference games are in the bank. And here’s a quick early take: The Atlantic 10 will almost certainly be a one-bid league. The A-10 is 12th in the conference NET rankings (behind Conference USA and the WAC), and the only top 100 teams are Saint Louis (87) and Fordham (96). If that holds, that means that no one in the league will play a Quad 1 game, because a team has to be ranked in the top 75 and be playing at home to qualify as a Quad 1 opponent. No team has earned an at-large bid with zero Quad 1 wins since the NCAA instituted the NET system before the 2018-19 season.

• I am a dedicated intermittent faster (and if you’re not, try making that your New Year’s resolution). So I was interested to learn that Illinois forward Matthew Mayer has been skipping his pregame meal the last three games and playing the best basketball of his career. The 6-8 super senior forward, who transferred from Baylor, was running late for practice right before the Illini’s game at Texas on Dec. 6. He felt great at practice that day so he fasted again before the game. Mayer scored 21 points in the win over the Longhorns, so he has stuck with the plan. He added 14 in a loss to Penn State on Dec. 10 and 21 again in Saturday’s win over Alabama A&M. Prior to this stretch, Mayer had scored in double figures just once. He says he will continue the practice as long as it keeps working.

• It’s always tough when a team loses an important player to a season-ending injury, but it’s also interesting to see which teams are able to find that proverbial Next Man Up. At Arkansas, the NMU is Jordan Walsh, a 6-7 freshman forward who has scored 30 points the last two games after scoring a total of 31 in the previous six combined. Walsh has been a starter since the second game, but his scoring has provided a much-needed lift since the team’s invaluable sixth man Trevon Brazile, a 6-10 sophomore forward who transferred from Missouri, was lost to a torn ACL he suffered during a Dec. 6 win over UNC Greensboro.

• I’ve also been impressed at how Michigan freshman point guard Dug McDaniel has played the last two games after he was moved into the starting lineup to replace Jaelin Llewellyn, who tore an ACL in that loss to Kentucky. McDaniel had a combined 10 assists to just three turnovers while averaging 11.0 points in the Wolverines’ last two games. He’ll get a much tougher test when Michigan plays North Carolina in Charlotte on Wednesday.

• Yes, Creighton has dropped six straight games, but I’m amazed at how many people are saying the Bluejays, who were ranked No. 7 in the AP poll three weeks ago, were overrated. In the first place, only one of Creighton’s losses, at home to Nebraska, was remotely “bad.” The previous two were to Arizona in Maui and Texas in Austin, and those came by a combined seven points. The last three losses were played without Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is dealing with a non-COVID-19 illness. This isn’t just a matter of a team not having a good player. We’re talking about a 7-foot center and reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year who was shooting 37.5 percent from 3 while averaging 15.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Without Kalkbrenner, the Jays were outscored 42-24 in the paint during a three-point loss to BYU; led a very good Arizona State team by 10 points midway through the second half before losing by two; and were unable to exploit Marquette’s lack of interior size during a 69-58 loss in Milwaukee on Saturday. The other Bluejays (especially 6-10 freshman center Fredrick King) are benefiting from the extra minutes and added responsibilities, but clearly, Creighton needs Kalkbrenner, who is still being listed as day-to-day. When and if his return happens, there is every reason to expect that Creighton will fulfill its considerable preseason hype.

• Oregon has quietly won five of its last six games to improve to 7-5. Although none of those wins came over top-50 KenPom teams (the loss was at UCLA), the Ducks, who have been battered and bruised all season, have benefited from the addition of Brennan Rigsby, a 6-4 junior college transfer who missed the first seven games because of a high ankle sprain and averaged 16.5 points on 68.8 percent shooting last week in home wins over UC Riverside and Portland. Alas, just 4,738 fans showed up for the Ducks’ win over UC Riverside, which was the second-smallest crowd to watch a game in Matthew Knight Arena (not counting COVID-19 games) since it opened 12 years ago. That’s some serious apathy, but it’s nothing a long win streak can’t fix.

• Finally, there was no better performance on Saturday than the one turned in by Furman guard Mike Bothwell. The 6-3 senior, who ranks 15th in the country in scoring at 21.1 points per game, scored 21 of his career-high 36 points in the second half, including the Paladins’ last 17, and buried a baseline jumper with 0.1 seconds to play to deliver Furman to a 72-70 home win over Stephen F. Austin. The coolest part of the game was that it was the first livestream broadcast produced by the hoops-loving gang over at The Field of 68. The company’s founder, Rob Dauster, told me that The Field of 68 hopes to broadcast more live games in the future, but I’m not sure anything can top what Bothwell did on Saturday. Maybe The Field of 68 should pull a Costanza, drop the mic, and make that their one and only game.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME MIKE BOTHWELL?!?!?!?

Furman takes the lead in the final seconds of the game!!

WATCH HERE: pic.twitter.com/DYHQ8NyTL1

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) December 17, 2022

Mid-major Top 10

1. New Mexico (11-0). The Lobos vaulted to the top spot courtesy of a pair of impressive wins, beating San Francisco on a neutral court in Las Vegas and then fending off Iona, 67-64, in The Pit. That gave Richard Pitino his first win over his father in three tries as a head coach, but more importantly, it kept this team undefeated. Last week: 5

2. Saint Mary’s (9-4). The Gaels beat New Mexico State but then lost at home on Sunday to Colorado State, 62-60. They have another sneaky tough game coming up on New Years Eve at Santa Clara. LW: 1

3. San Diego State (8-3). In their only game last week, the Aztecs blew out Kennesaw State at home, 88-54. Their only game this week is at home against UC San Diego on Tuesday. LW: 2

4. Boise State (10-2). The Broncos had a couple of easy ones at home over New Orleans and Oakland, but things will get tougher in their next two games as they hit the road to play Santa Clara and Nevada. LW: 3

5. Utah State (9-0). The Aggies didn’t play a Division I opponent last week, so they remained one of five unbeaten teams in America. They will probably still be perfect going into their Jan. 7 game at Boise State. LW: 4

6. UAB (9-2). The Blazers are the third-fastest team in the country, rank sixth nationally in scoring, and have the nation’s leading scorer in 5-11 senior guard Jordan “Jelly” Walker. Find their games on TV. You will be entertained. LW: 7

7. Florida Atlantic (10-1). The Owls opened Conference USA play with a 79-53 win at home over Florida International on Saturday. It was their eighth straight win. They’ll be a lot more challenged when they play at North Texas on Dec. 29 and host UAB on Jan. 5. LW: 8

8. Iona (7-3). The Gaels had all kinds of travel issues getting to Albuquerque, and though they could not quite pull off the comeback after trailing by 17 points late in the first half, they put up a good fight against New Mexico before losing. They will play SMU on Thursday in Honolulu. LW: 9

9. Saint Louis (8-4). The Billikens bounced back from a two-game losing streak to beat Drake at home, 83-75, on Saturday. However, they are 0-3 in Quad 1 games and don’t have another one the rest of the season, so they have probably played themselves out of contention for an at-large bid. LW: 10

10. UNLV (10-1). The Runnin’ Rebels fell at home, 75-73, to San Francisco on Saturday to suffer their first loss of the season. They do have two wins over KenPom top 100 teams, and they will play five straight top 100 opponents beginning on New Year’s Eve at home against San Diego State. LW: 6

Eight games I’m psyched to see the next two weeks

Note: Hoop Thoughts will be taking next Monday off for the Christmas holiday, although I hope you all will join me for my annual “It’s A Wonderful Life” live tweet on Christmas Eve. So instead of previewing games for this week, I’m looking at the final two weeks of 2022.

Virginia at Miami, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. The Hurricanes have quietly played their way into the Top 25, thanks to a bevy of scoring wings. That includes Wooga Poplar, a 6-5 sophomore guard who had a career-high 20 points in Saturday’s win over St. Francis (Pa.). The Canes lost by 18 points to Maryland on a neutral court and their best win came at home over Rutgers, so a win over a Virginia squad that just suffered its first loss of the season at home to Houston would be a huge boost to Miami’s resume.

Michigan vs. North Carolina in Charlotte, Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN. While the Tar Heels were staging a stirring comeback to beat Ohio State in overtime Saturday in Madison Square Garden, the Wolverines were in Ann Arbor fighting off a scrappy Lipscomb squad to pull out an 83-75 win. Hunter Dickinson should do his usual work inside against UNC forward Armando Bacot, but it was a good sign for Michigan that 6-4 sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin poured in a career-high 22 points.

Missouri vs. Illinois in St. Louis, Thursday, 9 p.m., SEC Network. We think about Missouri being on hard times of late, but the Tigers have won three of the last four Braggin’ Rights games, and on Saturday they got a buzzer-beating bank shot from 6-5 junior guard DeAndre Gholston to beat a pretty good UCF squad in Sunrise, Fla. First-year coach Dennis Gates has ratcheted up the tempo as expected, and he has Missouri leading the nation in steals percentage, per KenPom. That could present a challenge for Illinois, which ranks 283rd in the country in turnover percentage and relies heavily on four freshman guards.

Alabama at Mississippi State, Dec. 28, 9 p.m., SEC Network. The Bulldogs have to play Drake on Tuesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, but if they win that they will go into their SEC opener undefeated. First-year coach Chris Jans has this team playing hard, defending well, grinding the tempo, hitting the glass, and winning ugly. That’s exactly the opposite of how the Crimson Tide like to play, so the contrast will be entertaining.

UConn at Xavier, Dec. 31, Noon, Fox. Purdue may be No. 1 in the rankings (and on my AP ballot), but no team has been more dominant than UConn, which is No. 1 in the NET and on KenPom, and blitzed Butler in Hinkle Fieldhouse behind 27 points and 14 rebounds from Adama Sanogo. The Musketeers aren’t the toughest defensive team, but they’re ranked ninth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and second in 3-point percentage (42.3).

Arizona at Arizona State, Dec. 31, 2 p.m., Fox. There’s a lot of juice in this rivalry thanks to the Sun Devils’ impressive 11-1 start. That includes multiple second-half comebacks, so the Wildcats can’t be complacent if they build up a lead. Arizona did not get a single point from its reserves in Saturday’s win over Tennessee. That could be problematic against a deep, aggressive ASU squad that loves to apply pressure.

Baylor at Iowa State, Dec. 31, 2 p.m., ESPNU. Are the Cyclones going to experience déjà vu all over again? Last year they started 12-0 but then lost to Baylor, 77-72, at home en route to a 7-11 record in the Big 12. They were outmatched when they lost, 75-56, at Iowa on Dec. 8, so they need to be much more locked in defensively against Baylor’s high-scoring perimeter trio of L.J. Cryer, Adam Flagler and Keyonte George.

Marquette at Villanova, Dec. 31, 2 p.m., FS1. Since coming to Marquette last year, Shaka Smart has gone back to the up-tempo style that characterized his teams at VCU. The Golden Eagles have lost three games by a total of 11 points (including one in overtime to Wisconsin), and they opened up Big East play by knocking off Creighton, 69-58, at home on Friday. Marquette has to play Providence (road) and Seton Hall (home) before heading to Philly to a face a Wildcats squad that has won four games in a row after dropping five of its previous six.

(Top photo of Indiana’s Race Thompson, left, and Mike Woodson: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)