The college basketball regular season is winding down. Believe it or not, only 11 sleeps separate us from the most magical month of the year for the sport. The upsets, the drama ... it will all be here before you know it.

Which means conference races are heating up, winding down and yo-yoing somewhere in between.

There are games left on the schedule, of course, so it’s not time to write any team off in conference races yet. But in the Big 12, Kansas secured a massive road win over Baylor to all but seal a 13th straight conference crown for Bill Self, fittingly on the same day he was named a finalist for the Hall of Fame.

Elsewhere, No. 1 Villanova clinched at least a share of the Big East title after a 20-point road victory over Seton Hall, while the ACC race only got muckier. Duke won its seventh straight and remains within striking distance of North Carolina; Louisville is in a similar position. And the Tar Heels have a tough task against Virgnia on Saturday night. 

Across the rest of the country, here are the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s action:

Winner: Kentucky’s free throws, resilience

If the Wildcats have an Achilles heel, it’s been free throws. Coming into Saturday they ranked 211th in the country from the line. That is playing with fire come tourney time. But in pulling out a hard-fought victory over Georgia, which played a phenomenal game led by J.J. Frazier’s 36 points, UK hit 18 of its 24 free throws including 17 straight down the stretch. 

That is amazing. 

This is a big-time win for the Cats. Again, Georgia was really good, and De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk had subpar games most of the way, and UK still found a way to win. The Dawgs made them answer shot for shot over pretty much the entire second half, and Fox was brilliant down the stretch. If you can answer the bell like that in crunch time, on the road, even when you’re not playing your best, and make 17 straight free throws in a close game in which every one of those makes matters, you can feel pretty confident going into a one-and-done tournament situation. 

WInner & Loser: Duke

OK, so the Blue Devils won their seventh straight, and for a team that was once 3-4 in ACC play and on the brink of losing control of its season, that’s a win in way you cut it.

But again, Duke played down to the competition. Wake isn’t a bad team. They might well end up in the Dance. But they don’t have near the talent that Duke does. Neither does Clemson, which almost clipped the Devils last weekend. Duke might well be a national title contender again, but it still feels like they can lose to anyone on the wrong day. Opposite of what we said about Kentucky, that does not bode well for tourney time. 

Winner: South Dakota State sharpshooter Mike Daum

It was a big night for non-Power 5 scorers, and South Dakota State star Mike Daum tops the whole list. He finished with seven 3-pointers, 16-of-17 from the free throw line, and 51 points to show for it.

The sophomore phenom is scoring 23.9 points and 7.9 rebounds, so it’s not like we shouldn’t have seen this coming. But his 51 (point) 15 (rebound) night puts him in the company of elite. Not only is it the season-high in the NCAA this season, but he’s the first to have 50 and 15 since Brion Rush, who did it way back in 2006 with Grambling State.

Loser: NC State

Mark Gottfried’s nightmare took another awful turn Saturday. Not only was he informed his contract would be terminated at the end of the season earlier this week, but his team is slumping like never before. Saturday’s 81-72 home loss to Notre Dame was the Wolfpack’s seventh straight defeat.

That slump, coupled with his awkward situation with the school, led to Gottfried before the game comparing his job status to a dog being hit by a car, begging his team to “bite the tire.”

It’s a capper on what has been a no good, awful week for Gottfriend and NC State. Both parties are in a lose-lose situation with the players likely in a strange position, and Gottfried in a no-win scenario.

Winner: Villanova’s chances to remain top overall seed

When the NCAA tournament selection committee rolled out its top 16 seeds last week, reigning national champion Villanova was on the top line as the No. 1 overall seed with a huge road game against Xavier looming.

Not only did the Wildcats take down Xavier in convincing fashion last Saturday, they followed it up this week with yet another road victory over Seton Hall -- a team with a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament -- in a 22-point rout. With only three regular-season games remaining, two of which are at home, Nova has a serious chance to enter the Big East tournament on a 10-game winning streak and keep its top-seed status.

Loser: Wake Forest’s bubble status

Danny Manning’s Wake Forest squad is facing a dangerously thin margin of error. Jerry Palm no longer has the Demon Deacons in his bracket after a tough 99-94 road loss to Duke.

Wake’s chances aren’t dead yet. But with two big tests against Virginia Tech and Louisville still on the slate before the conference tournament, there isn’t much cushion. A victory over Duke would have done wonders to lay a foundation for its résumé. So now the Demon Deacons might need to notch either a win over the Hokies or the Cardinals, or otherwise face pressure to make a deep run in the ACC tournament. 

Winner: Kansas’ chances to 13-peat in the Big 12

A wise man once said on Twitter: “Death, taxes, and Bill Self at Allen Fieldhouse.”

This same saying applies to Self in the Big 12 generally, no matter the venue.

With a 67-65 victory over Baylor, Self’s Jayhawks all but sealed the deal on a record 13th straight regular-season conference title. As Matt Norlander pointed out, KU is 8-2 in games decided by 10 points or less this season. That’s remarkable production in tight games and a stat that bodes well for the NCAA Tournament. 

Loser: Virginia Tech

Similar to Wake Forest, Virginia Tech is a tournament team right now, but it did itself no favors Saturday by missing a golden opportunity to cement its status. The Hokies had Louisville on the ropes, and had an excellent day on offense but couldn’t slow the Cards.

Virginia Tech has four games left on the regular-season slate, and will be favored (by KenPom) in all four. Right now, Jerry Palm has them as an No. 8 seed in the Midwest -- so this loss is no reason to panic. But consider it a missed opportunity for a team that hasn’t gone dancing since 2007.

Winner: Gonzaga’s undefeated bid

Gonzaga is by far the least talked about undefeated team in NCAA history, right? The Bulldogs aren’t just winning, either; their 82-61 victory over Pacific on Saturday is their 20th straight double-digit win.

The Zags improved to 28-0 --16-0 in WCC play -- and with two regular-season games left, Mark Few has his team in position to not only finish 30-0, but likely enter the NCAA Tournament a perfect 33-0 after probably winning its conference tournament. 

Loser: Florida State

No team in the country has been a tougher case to crack than the Seminoles, and their resume only got more complicated with a baffling road loss to Pitt that wasn’t even competitive. Jerry Palm now has them at a 3-seed. 

FSU’s resume now includes wins over Duke, Virginia and Louisville; it also has black marks with losses to Pitt, Georgia Tech and Syracuse. FSU has a chance to beat any team in March, while having an equally good chance of losing in the first round. 

Winner: Central Michigan super-scorer Marcus Keene

Is there anyone who can score better than Marcus Keene this season?

(Hint: No, there’s not.)

Keene dropped his sixth 40-point game of the season in an overtime loss to Ball State. He is the first to do that in a single season in the past 20 years. Stephen Curry, Jimmer Fredette and Adam Morrison all fell short of that. Keene is the nation’s leading scorer at a tick under 30 points per game, and could be on his way to achieving All-American status with his huge season.