Michigan Keeps Rolling, and Other Results From Tuesday

Michigan 70, Ohio State 60
The Big 10 remains a hot mess. Ohio State was finally in a groove entering this game, and Michigan had lost two out of three. Naturally, then, the Wolverines scored 44 points in the second half to win in Columbus for the first time in over a decade. Michigan may not be the best team in this conference, but thanks to some well-timed road wins, they've suddenly got the best chance of winning the regular season title. When was the last time any team won on the road against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State in the same season? For Ohio State, the story was the same as always: LaQuinton Ross (24 points) and Lenzelle Smith (13) are the only players on this roster capable of offense. Three 3-point makes in 20 attempts isn't going to cut it.

Texas 87, Oklahoma State 68
There was little hope of Oklahoma State winning this road game without the suspended Marcus Smart. As it turns out, some things in college basketball turn out exactly how you expect them to: Texas ran the Smart-less Cowboys out of the gym with a 54-point barrage in the first half. Oklahoma State is legitimately at risk of an epic collapse: once 15-2 and considered to be a Final Four possibility, they've lost five straight and still have to play two more games (vs Oklahoma, at Baylor) without Smart. Texas, meanwhile, continues to surprise, and is on pace to be that one random #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament that nobody ever even heard about once during the season.

Florida 67, Tennessee 58
Florida never wins at Tennessee. In the Gators' last eight games in Knoxville, their record was 1-7. Now it's 2-7, even though they shot just 36% from the field as a team (they did, however, unleash some of their beastly defense by holding Tennessee to just seven field goals on 24 attempts in the second half). So if it wasn't official before, it is now: Florida is out of the SEC's league. The only real obstacle between them and an undefeated conference record is this weekend's showdown at Kentucky. That game will feature the only locks for the NCAA Tournament in this entire conference. All the other SEC "contenders" -- Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, whoever -- will probably be squarely on the bubble when Selection Sunday rolls around. It would be quite an embarrassment if a major conference only got two teams into the field of 68.

Wichita State 78, Southern Illinois 67
Wichita State didn't even play that well. They still got double-digit scoring out of five different players and sleepwalked their way to a home win over yet another overmatched Missouri Valley opponent. That's 26 straight victories without a loss. Even with five games still go to, it would now qualify as a significant surprise if Wichita State didn't finish the regular season with an undefeated record.

Friday Power Rankings: Don't Mess With Michigan

1. ARIZONA (21-0): With ten minutes to play in Wednesday's game at Stanford, Arizona was trailing by a score of 53-49. They ended up winning 60-57. So over the final ten minutes, Arizona's defense only surrendered four total points and forced Stanford to miss all but one of its final 13 shots. That'll work.

2. KANSAS (16-4): Another week, another win over a ranked opponent. By completing a season sweep over Iowa State, the Jayhawks remained undefeated in the Big 12. More bad news for everybody else: in his last two games, Andrew Wiggins has scored a combined 46 points on 18-of-29 shooting from the field.

3. SYRACUSE (19-0): Just like Arizona, Syracuse used stifling defense to avoid a potential upset on the road. The Orange were losing to Miami with eight minutes remaining, but only surrendered one field goal the rest of the game to pull out the win.

4. FLORIDA (18-2): Now on a twelve-game winning streak. What's really impressive about this team is the fact that five different players are averaging at least ten points per game. And the Gators could add to that depth thanks to news that forward Chris Walker -- one of the many highly-touted members of this year's freshman class -- has finally been cleared to play.

5. WICHITA STATE (22-0): In lieu of a comment, a dunk is worth a thousand words:



6. MICHIGAN STATE (19-2): Down two starters, the Spartans still had a solid week by beating Iowa on the road after losing to Michigan. The NCAA Tournament will be significantly better if this team is fully healthy when the time comes.

7. SAN DIEGO STATE (18-1): Where did this come from? In the preseason, San Diego State was picked to finish fourth in a mediocre Mountain West conference. The Aztecs have now won seventeen straight games since losing to Arizona back on November 14th. They're single-handedly making the bland Mountain West Conference relevant.

8. DUKE (17-4): For much of the season, the Blue Devils have been a fairly awful defensive and rebounding team. But then they suddenly collected a whopping 27 offensive rebounds against Florida State, and unleashed an excellent defensive performance against a good Pittsburgh offense. If Duke has improved even marginally in those two areas, to go along with its already-elite offense ... look out.

9. MICHIGAN (16-4): Maybe the hottest team in sports right now. Over the past week, Michigan has beaten Wisconsin (then ranked #3 in the country), Iowa (#10), and Michigan State (#3). Two of those games were on the road. The Wolverines' offense has become unstoppable -- Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III are future pros, and Derrick Walton and Caris LeVert have emerged as reliable secondary options. After starting the season with a dubious 6-4 record and losing Mitch McGary to back surgery, Michigan has won ten straight and launched itself to the top of the Big 10 standings. An unbelievable turnaround.

10. CINCINNATI (20-2): On Thursday night, Cincinnati built a 17-point lead at Louisville, blew all of it, and then won anyway. That impressive 69-66 victory kept the Bearcats undefeated in league play and cements their status as the best team in the American Athletic Conference. Much like San Diego State, Cincinnati has vastly outperformed meager expectations behind dominant defensive play and an extended winning streak (no losses since early December). It's not pretty, but these guys are methodically grinding out wins.

Key Games to Watch This Weekend:

#24 Ohio State at #14 Wisconsin, 12:00 PM Saturday
Three weeks ago, Ohio State was the #3 team in the country, and Wisconsin was #4. Remarkably, they've combined to win just two of their last eleven games. On Wednesday, Ohio State lost at home to Penn State and Wisconsin lost at home to Northwestern. Not too long ago, those results would have been unthinkable. Both of these teams desperately need to stop the bleeding.

#17 Duke at #2 Syracuse, 6:30 PM Saturday
Obviously a huge and well-hyped game, one that will include multiple first-round draft picks, two Hall of Fame coaches, and an undefeated record on the line.

#1 Arizona at California, 10:30 PM Saturday
Arizona has been somewhat vulnerable recently and Cal has both the talent and the desperation to pull off the colossal upset. Maaaaybe.

Virginia at #18 Pittsburgh, 12:30 PM Sunday
It's shaping up to be a character-defining weekend in the ACC. If Duke-Syracuse features the two best teams in the conference, then Virginia-Pitt is a showdown between #3 and #4. Pitt needs this one badly -- after coming up short against Syracuse and Duke, the Panthers still haven't beaten a single team projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Their reputation is suddenly at stake here.

Kentucky Gets Mugged, And Other Results From Tuesday

LSU 87, Kentucky 82
The final score doesn't exactly reflect this, but here's what happened: LSU cornered Kentucky in a dark alley, kicked it in the groin, and stole its wallet. LSU got out to an early 22-6 lead and spent virtually the entire second half up double-digits. And furious late rally by Kentucky came up short when the Wildcats inexplicably let the final seconds run off the clock without committing a foul. They were woeful throughout the game though, with the Harrison twins being the main culprits -- they combined for such just two total assists. Two. LSU isn't even that good. With two SEC losses already on its record, and two games against Florida still ahead, Kentucky probably ceded the conference title to Florida on Tuesday night.

Michigan State 71, Iowa 69 (OT)
A huge blown opportunity for Iowa. The Hawkeyes were the better team for much of the game against short-handed Michigan State. They made 19 more free throws than their opponent and were up by six with six minutes to play. But somehow one of the best offenses in the country managed to make only one field goal over the final 14 minutes of the game, enabling the Spartans sneak away with a win. Big kudos to Michigan State for winning a difficult road game despite missing its two leading rebounders.

Virginia 68, Notre Dame 53
All Virginia does is completely smother inferior competition. This was the Cavaliers' seventh victory in the ACC and they've won all of those games by at least 12 points (four of them by at least 20). Heading into a key road showdown with Pittsburgh on Sunday, Virginia is actually emerging as a darkhorse candidate to win the entire ACC. After Pitt, their remaining schedule looks like this: Boston College, at Georgia Tech, Maryland, at Clemson, at Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Miami, Syracuse, at Maryland. Every single one of those games is winnable. If Virginia keeps taking care of business against weak opponents, the ACC title could come down to that home showdown against Syracuse on March 1st.

West Virginia 66, Baylor 64
How To Lose An NCAA Tournament Bid In Three Weeks: The Baylor Story. Entering conference play, Baylor was 12-1 overall, ranked as the seventh-best team in the country according to the AP poll, including a win over Kentucky on a neutral floor. Since then, they've completely fallen apart. Baylor has lost six of its seven Big 12 games, culminating in this embarrassing home loss to West Virginia. And its next three matchups are all against ranked opponents (the Oklahoma schools and Kansas). After that difficult stretch, Baylor could easily be 1-9 in the Big 12 and 13-10 overall. This collapse speaks to the impressive depth in the Big 12 conference, which could send six of its ten members to the NCAA Tournament. Baylor will not be among them.

Wichita State 57, Loyola 45
Twenty-two wins, zero losses, and the undefeated dream remains alive.

A Tour Through Tuesday's Box Scores

#7 Oklahoma State 101, #11 Memphis 80. The marquee matchup of a busy Tuesday night quickly turned into the Marcus Smart Show. After the first 11 minutes of this game, Oklahoma State had 29 points and Smart had 24 of them. By the end of the rout, he had 39 points on 11-of-21 shooting, five three-pointers, five steals and 16 trips to the free throw line. Considering that Smart's biggest weakness as a freshman was his shooting, this was not an insignificant performance. If this is who Smart is now, then Oklahoma State is a darkhorse national champion contender. Memphis, meanwhile, can't be taken seriously until further notice. The program probably hasn't beaten a notable team since John Calipari left.

#2 Kansas 86, Iona 66. On a roster with at least three future first-round draft picks, Perry Ellis is Kansas's best player right now. He's 21-for-29 from the field with 24 rebounds through three games, and his face kinda looks like Joakim Noah's. Oh, and Joel Embiid is a seven-foot freshman center who just made all seven of his shots from the field in his third-ever college game, so yeah, he might be someone to keep half an eye on.

(This is the same team that also has Andrew Wiggins. This is a good team.)

#3 Louisville 87, Hartford 48. Louisville's fourth blowout in four tries this season. It's clear that there are about five teams in the uppermost tier of college basketball, and the Cardinals are one of them, along with Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke. But because Louisville was the only team among those five that didn't participate in the Champions Classic, these guys are somehow flying under the radar despite their status as defending champions. It'll probably stay that way for a few more weeks until they travel to Kentucky on December 28th for what should be an epic, hyped-up showdown.

#6 Duke 83, East Carolina 74. Jabari Parker does literally everything for this team. He's the go-to scorer, the leading rebounder, the quarterback on fast breaks -- and down the stretch in this game, he played center, and blocked six shots. Playing in the same frontcourt as Rodney Hood, and surrounded by more shooters than you can count, Parker is leading this offense towards a nasty-good season.

#5 Arizona 87, Rhode Island 59. Arizona is on the cusp of becoming the sixth team on that upper tier. There are a lot of unknowns here, though. Out of the seven guys playing significant minutes, two are freshmen, three are sophomores coming off inconsistent freshman seasons, and one is a transfer from Duquesne. They've already beaten San Diego State on the road, but a potential match-up with Duke in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off would be a helpful gauge of how strong this team really is.

#12 Wisconsin 103, North Dakota 85. This game is a perfect indicator of how the new NCAA rules are improving scoring totals -- because it's the first time Wisconsin has scored 100 points since, amazingly, 1995. Somebody named Frank Kaminsky set a new Wisconsin school record for points with 43 on 16-of-19 shooting. And in case you were wondering: yes, the Wisconsin basketball player named "Frank Kaminsky" looks exactly like you imagine he would:

NCAA Notables: Mid-Week Chaos

The week is only three days old. And it's already been a bad one for some of the country's premier basketball programs, like Louisville, N.C. State, Duke, and Kentucky.

Louisville goes down ... twice
The Cardinals ascended to the country's #1 ranking last week, and then promptly lost at home to Syracuse. Then the real shocker came on Tuesday, when they lost to rebuilding Villanova on the road, 73-64. Louisville's half-court offense has been mostly atrocious, which is a problem because the Cardinals need to make baskets in order to set up their most effective weapon, the full-court press. This isn't exactly a new development. Louisville should be fine.

North Carolina State loses ... to Wake Forest (!!!)
On January 12, the Wolfpack capped off a ten-game winning streak with a home upset over #1 Duke. Since then, they've played three games, with the following results:
51-50 road loss at Maryland
66-62 home win vs Clemson
86-84 road loss at Wake Forest
Dropping a road game at Wake Forest? Really? Wake Forest is not a good basketball team; N.C. State let the Deacons score 84 points and shoot almost 50% from the field. Terrible. Plus, the Wolfpack only made 14 of their 25 free throw attempts, committed 23 fouls, and allowed Wake Forest to grab 16 offensive rebounds. Their problem isn't talent -- it's clearly focus, and energy, and effort. They're lacking in all three of those departments.

There's no better way to illustrate these facts than one particular play at the end of the Wake Forest game. Wolfpack star C.J. Leslie was clearly hit while going for the game-tying basket, but the foul wasn't called, and Leslie missed the shot. Instead of quickly fouling to extend the game, Leslie just stared incredulously at the official, yapping away, while precious seconds ticked off the clock. A teammate had to intervene and commit the foul, but not before time had basically expired. It was an incomprehensible mental error. It reflects poorly on Mark Gottfried. And it's episodes like this one that make the Wolfpack impossible to trust despite their All-American talent.

The Hurricanes take down #1 .. by 27 points
N.C. State and Miami have both defeated Duke when the Blue Devils were ranked #1 in the country. But that's where the similarities between those two teams end. The Hurricanes are the exact opposites of the Wolfpack: experienced, poised, well-coached, and fierce on defense. All of which certainly showed in their 90-63 obliteration of #1 Duke on Wednesday night. Miami at full-strength is the best team in the ACC. As for Duke: if Ryan Kelly is out indefinitely, the Blue Devils will be a fascinating test case for the Selection Committee. What seed should this version of the team be?

Kentucky is headed for the NCAA Tournament ... next year
The Wildcats would be fortunate to make the NIT field right now. They dropped their sixth game of the season on Tuesday by losing at Alabama 59-55. Their best win came all the way back in November against Maryland. They've done nothing else of note since then, except suffer the first two home defeats of the John Calipari era -- to Baylor and Texas A&M. Blah. Nerlens Noel has been the only bright spot; he's blocking over four shots per game. The rest of the team is playing exactly how you'd expect a bunch of freshmen-not-named-Anthony-Davis to play. Given how awful the SEC is this year, Kentucky probably needs to upset mighty Florida at least once to even be considered for an at-large bid in March.

NCAA Notables: The Butler Did It

News from the past week in college hoops, from the fall of #1 Indiana to a collapse in Arizona.

Butler stuns #1 Indiana 88-86 (OT)
Butler seemed to lose this game a few different times:
1) before the game even started. The Bulldogs were playing the #1-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Their in-state rival. The best team in the country. Butler was going to lose.
2) with ten minutes to go in the game. Butler's center Andrew Smith and top playmaker Roosevelt Jones both had four fouls, and Indiana surged ahead by seven. Butler was going to lose.
3) with two minutes to go in the game. Sure, Butler had regained the lead, but Roosevelt Jones fouled out. Indiana instantly trimmed the Butler lead from seven to two. Butler was going to lose.
4) with thirty seconds to go in the game. Indiana pounced with a layup, quick steal, and another layup to pull within one. Butler made its free throws, but Hoosier point guard Yogi Ferrell sunk a three to tie the game with ten seconds to go, forcing overtime. Indiana had all the momentum. Butler's stars were fouled out. Butler was going to lose.
5) with two minutes to go in overtime. Cody Zeller hit a layup to put Indiana up by four. The game was basically over. Butler was going to lose.
6) with twenty seconds to go in the game. Butler had clawed its way back to a lead with back-to-back three-pointers. But Zeller tied the game with a basket of his own. Butler couldn't close. Butler was going to lose.

Then all of a sudden, with three seconds to go, former walk-on Alex Barlow sunk a floater to put Butler up by two, and Jordan Hulls missed a desperation heave, and Butler had beaten the best team in the country in overtime despite looking dead in the water no less than six different times. It was an unbelievable performance by a team that has been a gift to the sports world for these last three years.

And the funny thing is, Butler is legitimately a really good basketball team. This win wasn't about fluky Butler magic. They're now 8-2 on the season, boasting wins over Marquette, Northwestern, North Carolina (ranked ninth at the time), and now Indiana. Their losses are forgivable: to still-undefeated Illinois in Maui, and at Xavier. The Bulldogs shouldn't even be thought of as an underrated Cinderella anymore. They've evolved into a legit powerhouse basketball program.

#8 Arizona topples #5 Florida, 65-64
This matchup of undefeated teams would've been a much bigger deal had Butler-Indiana not stolen the spotlight. And its ending was just as thrilling -- Arizona point guard Mark Lyons drove for the game-winning bucket with just seconds remaining. Because of the win, Arizona has jumped to fourth in the national AP poll, while Florida has dropped to ninth. 64 of the 65 voters ranked Arizona ahead of Florida. So apparently only one of those guys actually watched the game.

Because the final score does not reflect how completely the Gators outplayed Arizona for roughly 38 of the 40 minutes. They just had two costly collapses -- during the final minute of the first half and the final minute of the second -- giving away a win they should've had in the bag. Arizona only led for maybe three total minutes in the entire game. And heck, the Gators were playing on the road, after all. Do the AP voters not acknowledge home court advantage? Sometimes the better team loses, which is why I still stubbornly rank Florida ahead of Arizona. Still, regardless of how it happened, it remains a massive win for both Arizona and the credibility of the entire Pac-12 Conference.

A Set of Subjective Power Rankings
1. Duke (9-0)
2. Indiana (9-1)
3. Michigan (11-0)
4. Louisville (9-1)
5. Syracuse (9-0)
6. Florida (7-1)
7. Kansas (8-1)
8. Arizona (8-0)
9. Ohio State (8-1)
10. Cincinnati (10-0)
11. Michigan State (9-2)
12. Illinois (12-0)
13. Gonzaga (10-1)
14. Butler (8-2)
15. Creighton (10-1)

IN: Butler
OUT: Kentucky

NCAA Notables: Florida Schools, Illinois, Baylor, Point Guards

Important news from the past week in college hoops, including two Florida schools headed in opposite directions and the state of point guard play at four programs.

#6 Florida obliterates Florida State...at Florida State
No team in college basketball has been as dominant as Florida in the first month of the season. The Gators' hot streak continued on Wednesday when they traveled to Florida State and pounded the Seminoles into submission, 72-47. They've now faced three teams that were four-seeds or better in last year's NCAA Tournament...and blown them all out. Next weekend's road meeting with #8 Arizona should be fantastic. Meanwhile, Florida State has been terribly disappointing. The loss to the Gators was their fourth home defeat already this season. Including losses to Mercer and South Alabama. Yuck.

Validation for the Fighting Illini
Entering the season, no one expected much from Illinois. Then they won the Maui Invitational by dismantling Butler, which turned some heads. Then they extended their undefeated start to 9-0, which got them a national ranking at thirteenth overall. And then on Saturday, they scored one of the most impressive wins of the season by beating a really, really good Gonzaga team on the road, 85-74. Brandon Paul, who first became a somebody almost a year ago when he dropped 43 points to beat Ohio State, is playing out of his mind once again. The Illini can beat anybody when their shots are falling, since they take more three-pointers than almost any other team in Division I. They should be taken seriously.

Riding Baylor's roller coaster
You can't find a more schizophrenic team than the Baylor Bears. Their most recent three-game stretch is truly baffling: a home loss to College of Charleston, followed by a road win at Kentucky, where John Calipari had previously been undefeated, followed by a home loss to Northwestern. Good luck deciphering that.

Examining some key point guard developments
A few programs entered the season with the most important position on the court -- point guard -- up in the air. Here's how things have solidified (or not) for those teams.
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse: He hardly even played last year as a freshman. Now, he might be the best point guard in the country, or at least headed that way. He's averaging a ridiculous 10.4 assists per game, which leads the nation; the next-closest player is at 8.6. Syracuse is undefeated so far, which isn't a surprise given how many of their baskets are easy layups or dunks thanks to Carter-Williams.
Quinn Cook, Duke: He was the Blue Devils' biggest question mark. And his clutch play down the stretch is a huge reason why his team already has six wins over likely NCAA Tournament teams. He's averaging 5.7 assists per game and making nearly half of his threes.
Mark Lyons, Arizona: Lyons transferred from Xavier to be the senior leader of a very young, very talented Arizona team. The results have been mixed. Arizona is undefeated and ranked #8 in the country, thanks in part to Lyons' 13.4 points per game. But he also has more turnovers (19) than assists (18). He's a two-guard at heart, not a pure point. This might come into play when #6 Florida comes to town next weekend.
Ryan Harrow, Kentucky: Harrow could be the most important player in the country. The NC State transfer is only now getting into the swing of things thanks to an illness, and he just had his first productive game on Saturday in a win over Portland. If John Calipari can mold Harrow into even an average point guard, then the players around him will all get better too, a scary thought for the rest of the country. If Harrow fails, Calipari will be forced into converting Archie Goodwin into a point guard, which isn't his natural position. The first scenario could equal a Final Four berth; the second one could equal an NIT showing.

A Set of Subjective Power Rankings
1. Indiana
2. Duke
3. Michigan
4. Florida
5. Louisville
6. Syracuse
7. Kansas
8. Ohio State
9. Arizona
10. Cincinnati
11. Michigan State
12. Illinois
13. Gonzaga
14. Kentucky
15. Creighton

IN: Illinois (because of that fantastic win at Gonzaga)
OUT: Missouri (because last year's sixth man Michael Dixon left the program)

NCAA Notables: The SEC, UCLA, Syracuse, Surprises

The most important goings-on from around college hoops over the past few days, from a shake-up in the SEC to a West Coast collapse.

#8 Kentucky hits a rough patch

In a span of three days, Kentucky lost as many games as last year's team did all season long. The Wildcats got their teeth kicked in by Notre Dame, 64-50, in their first true road game of the season. They followed that up by losing at home for the first time in the John Calipari era, 64-55 to Baylor. This week was a humbling reminder of how desperately inexperienced this team is. On Calipari's two Final Four squads at Kentucky, one-and-done freshmen like Brandon Knight and Anthony Davis got all the attention, but they had critical help from upperclassmen like Darius Miller. No such help exists for these Wildcats. Calipari has an uphill climb ahead.

#7 Florida marches on

With Kentucky struggling, the Gators are the new SEC favorites. It should've been that way all along. All six of Florida's core players are either juniors or seniors, most of whom have been to back-to-back Elite Eights. Kentucky's inexperience stands out like a sore thumb compared to these veterans. They're 7-0 on the season and haven't even been challenged yet, having won all their games by double-digit margins. They pounded Marquette on Saturday, 82-49. The only thing is: they haven't played a road game yet. That makes their next two games--road trips to Florida State and Arizona--somewhat critical. 

UCLA implodes

Good god, UCLA. A season that began with such high hopes has snowballed into a nightmare faster than you can say "Shabazz." Last Sunday, the Bruins blew a fourteen-point lead...at home...to Cal Poly...and lost 70-68. Then, talented wing Tyler Lamb and troubled forward Josh Smith both decided to transfer away from the program. To cap it all off, UCLA couldn't take advantage of an opportunity against a ranked foe on Saturday, falling to #23 San Diego State 78-69 on Saturday. A miserable week. The Bruins are awfully reminiscent of last year's dysfunctional Connecticut team. A full season like that one will cost coach Ben Howland his job.

#6 Syracuse finally hits the road

Last year, the Orange got off to a hot start and were ranked #1 in the country at one point. The problem with that was, at the time, the Orange hadn't played or beaten anybody on the road. It was tough to gauge how good they really were. But this year's team? On Friday they traveled to Arkansas, a deadly place to play, and won 91-82. Last year's reserves, like James Southerland (35 points and nine three-pointers in the win), are stepping into larger roles seamlessly. A road win like this one is huge for their credibility.

ACC Surprises: Hokies and Hurricanes

Duke has separated itself atop the ACC; after the Blue Devils, you can make a case for NC State, North Carolina, Florida State, or Maryland as the second-best team in the league. How about Virginia Tech or Miami? VT is off to a 7-0 start, and Saturday's 81-71 win over #15 Oklahoma State was their biggest performance yet. Miami looks even better. They backed up their massive home win over Michigan State by travelling to Massachusetts and winning 75-62. The Hurricanes' only loss in six games came without guard Durand Scott in the lineup; he's back, and scored 15 points with seven rebounds and four assists in the win. The ACC is bound to be a lot more competitive than last year's top-heavy version.

A Set of Subjective Power Rankings

1. Indiana

2. Duke

3. Michigan

4. Florida

5. Louisville

6. Syracuse

7. Kansas

8. Ohio State

9. Arizona

10. Gonzaga

11. Michigan State

12. Kentucky

13. Cincinnati

14. Creighton

15. Missouri

NCAA Notables: Big 10/ACC Challenge

By winning six out of twelve games against the Big 10 in their annual Challenge, the ACC established itself as the second-best conference in college basketball. However, several of the ACC's victories came from unexpected places.

The Heavyweights

#2 Duke 73, #4 Ohio State 68
The ACC's best win of the challenge. Playing on a hostile court, Ohio State had an answer for every Duke challenge...until the final six minutes, when the Blue Devils pulled away. Mason Plumlee continued his hot start (all against elite competition) by scoring 21 points with 17 rebounds. If the vote was held today, he would win the National Player of the Year award, which is a somewhat shocking development. He's the biggest reason why Duke has already beaten three of last year's Final Four participants. Ohio State, meanwhile, stands as a testament to the depth of the Big Ten. The one-loss Buckeyes came close to knocking off the #2 team in the country on the road, and yet they're only the third-best team in their own conference.

#1 Indiana 83, #14 North Carolina 59
So Indiana is one of the reasons why Ohio State isn't the Big 10 favorite. At one point this game was tied at 31-all. Indiana eventually stretched its lead to 32. Thirty-two. Over a Roy Williams team. It's almost like the Hoosiers have stolen Carolina's blueprint for success--dominant transition offense led by a Zeller brother. Duke has the better wins on its record, but Indiana is easily the best team in the country. It looks like beating them on their home court is going to be an impossible task this year. North Carolina, meanwhile, looked like a team of role players, and not like one of the ACC's best teams. A down year is coming. At least we were prepared for that.

#3 Michigan 79, #18 N.C. State 72
And here's the other reason why Ohio State is the Big 10's third wheel. I wasn't a big believer in Michigan entering the season thanks to their lackluster one-and-done appearance in last year's tournament. Yet after their last three games, it's tough not to be a believer in the Wolverines. They took down Kansas State and Pittsburgh on a neutral court, and then picked apart N.C. State at home. The game wasn't even as close as the final score indicates. Point guard Trey Burke didn't score in the first half, instead dishing out nine assists--only to score 18 in the second half. That's how it's done.

The Middle Tier

#21 Minnesota 77, Florida State 68
Duke, Indiana, and Michigan all held serve at home. Minnesota delivered the big-time win on the road, at Florida State, not exactly an easy place to play. The Golden Gophers have only lost once, to Duke, in eight games, and have already beaten Memphis and Stanford. Just another quality Big Ten team to worry about. Florida State isn't defending as well as it did in recent years, and as usual, the offense hasn't been good enough to compensate.

Miami 67, #13 Michigan State 59
Maryland 77, Northwestern 57
Virginia 60, Wisconsin 54
So North Carolina, N.C. State, and Florida State were all disappointing. The ACC picked up that slack in these three wins. Miami's victory at home over the Spartans was the most impressive. The Hurricanes were in control from start to finish. If only their fans hadn't rushed the court...poor form. Maryland is a lot like Miami--another very solid ACC team not so far away from the likes of, say, North Carolina. The Terrapins, who have only lost to Kentucky, had no trouble winning on the road against previously-unbeaten Northwestern. And finally, Virginia winning at Wisconsin was the biggest upset of the entire cross-conference battle. It's possible that, with the preseason loss of point guard Josh Gasser to injury, Wisconsin isn't going to be as rock-solid as usual.

#22 Illinois 75, Georgia Tech 62
Illinois is 8-0. It might be time to start paying attention.

The Dregs

Iowa 79, Virginia Tech 95
There were rumblings that Iowa was going to be a tournament contender this year. Here's the thing: in the unforgiving meat-grinder that is the Big 10, there's no room for teams that lose at Virginia Tech.

Purdue 73, Clemson 61
In case anyone was under the misguided impression that Clemson is good at basketball.

Boston College 73, Penn State 61
The basketball equivalent of Chiefs/Jaguars. No relevancy whatsoever.

Nebraska 79, Wake Forest 63
Nebraska's in the Big 10?

NCAA Notables: Weekend Tournaments

Battle 4 Atlantis
Big winner: Duke. By beating Minnesota, VCU, and Louisville in three consecutive days, the Blue Devils have added three excellent nonconference wins to a ledger that already includes Kentucky. Improved play from point guard Quinn Cook and near-perfect free throw shooting helped the Devils hold on to late leads. While you can't include Duke among the most talented teams in the country, they've already assembled the resumé of a top seed and have to be considered ACC favorites. Oh, and they have a decent coach, I guess.
Don't forget about: Well, everyone else in this strong field. But for a team that went 1-2 in Atlantis, VCU was particularly impressive. They didn't have trouble beating a nationally-ranked Memphis team and hung with Duke and Missouri until the final minute, all thanks to their trademark pressure defense. VCU is easily the best 3-3 team in the country. Another thing to keep track of, this one from Louisville: Gorgui Dieng's broken wrist. His timetable for a return is unknown, a big blow to the Cardinals.

NIT Season Tip-Off
Big winner: Michigan. The fourth-ranked Wolverines have justified their lofty national ranking. Wins over IUPUI and Cleveland State didn't mean much, but beating Pittsburgh and Kansas State for the NIT title was impressive. The Trey Burke/Tim Hardaway backcourt has been unstoppable early. Michigan has clearly stepped up its game from last year.
Don't forget about: Pittsburgh. Last year was a fluke; the Panthers are going to be a solid Big East team yet again. They gave Michigan everything they could handle in the NIT semifinals, crushed Delaware 85-59 in their consolation game, and are off to a 5-1 start. Unfortunately, with a weak nonconference schedule, beating Michigan was the only way Pitt could've garnered some attention. The Panthers are going to have to do serious damage during Big East play to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Global Sports Classic
Big winner: Cincinnati. One of the country's top scoring offenses beat Iowa State and Oregon in Las Vegas to win this tournament. The Bearcats don't have a signature nonconference win, but they're 6-0 and still have chances against Alabama, Xavier, and New Mexico. They're quietly one of the three best teams in the Big East.
Don't forget about: Oregon. The Ducks pulled off the tournament's notable upset by beating nationally-ranked UNLV on their home court, 83-79, before losing a close affair with Cincinnati. That's a big deal for the Pac-12's credibility. And the Ducks aren't the only ones from the conference who have improved upon last year. Teams like Arizona, UCLA, Colorado, and Stanford are all vying for an NCAA Tournament berth. Perhaps there's hope for the West Coast after all.

Continental Tire Classic
Big winner: Creighton. Good defense is supposed to beat good offense. Apparently that doesn't apply to Creighton. The high-scoring mid-major dropped 84 points on stingy Wisconsin in the semifinals and easily beat Arizona State to win the whole thing. Tourney MVP Doug McDermott continues to score at an impossible rate, and he's surrounded by a solid supporting cast. Creighton actually looks even better than last year.
Don't forget about: Wisconsin. They lost. It happens. They're still a lock to play in March.

Old Spice Classic
Big winner: Gonzaga. It's often tough to get an accurate read on the Zags because of their dominant home field advantage. So it's a great sign to see them win a preseason tournament on a neutral floor across the country, in Orlando. Led by versatile forward Elias Harris, they ran through Clemson, Oklahoma, and Davidson without much trouble. Still on the nonconference docket: Illinois, Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. Love seeing Gonzaga challenge itself.
Don't forget about: Davidson. That team remains the class of the Southern Conference and a perpetual threat to win a game or two in March. It's just disappointing to see them miss a chance for a big-time win against Gonzaga, as that was their last chance for a signature nonconference win until a matchup with Duke in February.

NCAA Notables: Preseason Tournaments

Paradise Jam
Big winner: New Mexico. This was a small tournament in the Virgin Islands but an important one for the Lobos. They won the whole thing by beating a hot Connecticut team ranked #21 in the country 66-60, making all 21 of their free throws. It's a vital victory because the rest of New Mexico's nonconference schedule is weak. They don't even play another tough game for until late December. Beating UConn will validate their eventual body of work.
Don't forget about: Connecticut. No one really knew what to expect from the Huskies this season, given their new head coach and postseason ban. Well, so far they're 4-1, with an upset of Michigan State and a strong showing in this tournament. Clearly they aren't going to lie down for their Big East opponents.

Maui Invitational
Big winner: Illinois. New head coach John Groce, who took Ohio to the Sweet Sixteen last year, has suddenly made the Illini unexpectedly relevant. Because Chaminade beat Texas (and Texas was supposed to be a tournament team...ouch), Illinois only had to beat USC and Chaminade to reach the finals while Butler did the hard work for them, eliminating Marquette and North Carolina. Then the Illini had no trouble dispatching Butler in the title game, 78-61. If they're really this good, the Big 10 will be a ridiculously deep conference this year.
Don't forget about: Butler. What a strange tournament they had. They needed an insane buzzer-beater to top Marquette, then blew out a top-ten team in North Carolina, then got beat easily by Illinois in the final. Despite the ups and downs, you have to consider this a very successful few days for Brad Stevens' team. Their 3-2 record doesn't do the Bulldogs justice.

Progressive Legends Classic
Big winner: Georgetown. The Hoyas didn't actually win the tournament -- they lost to Indiana in the title game, 82-72 in overtime. Still, they have to be proud of what they accomplished. Up against a more-hyped UCLA team, which was ranked eleventh in the country and finally playing with Shabazz Muhammad, Georgetown won with surprising ease. And they pushed the number-one-ranked Indiana Hoosiers to overtime before losing 82-72. Hoyas sophomore Otto Porter used the tournament's stage to emerge as a thrilling do-it-all star in the mold of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Georgetown is must-see TV whenever they're on, just because of Porter.
Don't forget about: UCLA. Specifically, how bad the Bruins were. Muhammad deserves time to adjust because he's just a freshman, but he isn't the only problem. The absence of a good point guard showed when the Bruins were completely stifled by Georgetown's zone defense. Plus their own defense looks awful. It wasn't a good sign that they struggled to beat Georgia in the consolation game. Arizona is the best team in the Pac-12, not UCLA.

NCAA Notables: Preseason Tournaments

They say you can learn a lot about a man based on how he performs in a preseason college basketball tournament.

Charleston Classic
Big winner: Colorado. HUGE winner. Over the course of four days, Colorado accumulated almost as many quality non-conference wins as the entire Pac-12 Conference did all of last year. The Buffaloes beat a solid Dayton team 67-57, then upset #16 Baylor 60-58 in the semifinals. And they sealed the deal in the championship game against Murray State, winning 81-74. The inside-outside combination of fierce rebounder Andre Roberson and leading scorer Askia Booker looks formidable. All the attention in the Pac-12 is focused on UCLA and Arizona; Colorado might sneak up on some people.
Don't forget about: Everyone else in this field. Murray State beat two teams from major conferences and went to the finals. Baylor might drop in the polls because of its loss to Colorado, but there's no shame in that, and they showed resiliency by topping St. John's in the consolation game. And speaking of St. John's, they acquitted themselves well in their two losses, so well that Jay Williams called them the most athletic team in the country. Very strong showings all-around.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off
Big winner: Oklahoma State. Along with Colorado, the Cowboys are the biggest winners of the early tournament results. They won two games against quality opponents, Akron and Tennessee, before stunning #6 N.C. State in the championship game, 76-56. Freshman point guard Marcus Smart has already emerged as the leader of this team after putting up a monster stat line in the upset victory: 20 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, four steals, and four blocks.
As for N.C. State? In the immortal words of Dennis Green, "they are who we thought they were." They're terrifyingly good when they're on, as shown by their blowouts of Penn State and Massachusetts. But in the final, they were disjointed, totaling only seven assists and failing to shoot 30% from the floor. C.J. Leslie drifted and fouled out of the game on a technical. Jekyll, meet Hyde. The Wolfpack will be one of this season's biggest enigmas.
Don't forget about: Tennessee. Like St. John's in the Charleston Classic, the Volunteers didn't do anything flashy, but they were solid enough to suggest that they should be contenders in the middle tier of their conference. Their offense stalled against Oklahoma State but they hit their stride in a 83-69 consolation win against Massachusetts.

2K Sports Classic
Big winner: Alabama. Playing in Madison Square Garden, the Crimson Tide topped Oregon State 65-62 and then pummeled Villanova the next night, 77-55, to win the tournament. Trevor Releford (brother of Travis, who plays for Kansas) sunk all five of his three-pointers en route to 25 points. 'Bama was a tournament team last year and seems headed that way again. Along with Tennessee, they'll compose that decent middle tier in the SEC behind Kentucky, Florida, and Missouri.
Don't forget about: Villanova. The Wildcats shouldn't be shouldn't be too disheartened by the blowout loss to Alabama. They're off to a 3-1 start and should be much more of a factor in the Big East than they were last year, just like St. John's.

Coaches vs Cancer Classic
Big winner: Florida State. They shockingly lost their home opener to South Alabama but used this two-game tournament to get back on track. They beat BYU and Saint Joseph's on back-to-back nights in Brooklyn's new Barclays Center, and both of those opponents are quality teams. Most importantly, FSU found its notoriously-elusive offense. In the championship game, four Seminoles had at least four assists, a rather impressive feat.
Don't forget about: Saint Joseph's. It went unnoticed, but Florida State was "supposed" to play #20 Notre Dame in the final. They didn't, because Saint Joseph's upset the Fighting Irish in overtime in their semifinal, 79-70. A great under-the-radar win for the team picked to win the Atlantic 10 over well-known quantities like Temple, VCU, and Butler.

Paradise Jam
This one's still in progress, from all the way in the Virgin Islands, and it certainly hasn't lacked for drama. The favorites, #23 Connecticut and New Mexico, both ran into resistance in the semis. New Mexico was down by five to George Mason with 18 seconds remaining, but they sunk a three, stole an inbounds pass, and sunk another three with two seconds left to win. UConn had even more of a scare against little Quinnipiac, needing double overtime to advance to the finals.

If UConn can win this tournament, coupled with that earlier upset of Michigan State, the Huskies will have shattered everyone's wildest preseason expectations. New Mexico won't be a pushover; the Lobos are trying to remind everyone that the Mountain West isn't just a two-team race between San Diego State and UNLV.

Maui Invitational
One of the big-time tournaments, the Invitational has yet to start (it gets underway on Monday in Hawaii). Last year's Duke-Kansas final was the highlight of the preseason tournament slate. This year's bracket looks like this:

#11 North Carolina vs. Mississippi State
Butler vs. Marquette
Texas vs. Chaminade
USC vs. Illinois

While the winner of the Butler-Marquette game won't be a pushover, this is North Carolina's tournament to win. The bottom half of the bracket is less interesting, but both USC and Texas have their sights set on making some noise.

Progressive Legends Classic
Another tournament that starts on Monday, although this one is a simple four-team deathmatch. #1 Indiana should have no problem dispatching Georgia, but there's plenty of intrigue in the other game: #13 UCLA taking on Georgetown. UCLA's star freshman Shabazz Muhammad has been cleared to play, which makes rebuilding Georgetown a serious underdog. If UCLA advances to face Indiana on Tuesday in the Barclays Center, that would be one of the more highly-anticipated matchups of the early season. Especially since it could feature the top two picks of the 2013 NBA Draft, Muhammad and Cody Zeller. Much like the Kentucky-Indiana classic signaled the start of last year's college basketball season, UCLA-Indiana could do the same in 2012.

NCAA Notables: Marathon Madness

Between Monday night and Tuesday night, college basketball was on TV for 24 straight hours (the brave souls at schools like Stony Brook and Valparaiso took the early morning shifts). Matchups ranged from mid-major Cinderellas (Butler-Xavier) to elite blue-blood programs (Duke-Kentucky). What did we learn from college basketball's opening week marathon?

Small-conference giants show off their potential

Just because UNLV, Memphis, and Gonzaga don't play in a major conference, that doesn't mean they should be ignored as legitimate Final Four contenders. The early returns are very good. UNLV stomped Northern Arizona 92-54; stud freshman recruit Anthony Bennett scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting...in just 20 minutes. Memphis is brimming with talent, which was on display in an 81-66 win over North Florida. Should be interesting to see the Tigers tested in the "Battle 4 Atlantis" tournament where they'll be matched up with VCU and potentially Duke. Gonzaga put together the scariest performance of them all, dismantling West Virginia 80-54 with an overwhelming shooting performance. And West Virginia is a decent team! In the Big 12! Coached by Bob Huggins! Yet they were blown out of the gym by the incredibly balanced and selfless Zags. High-quality stuff from these three programs.

Tough goings for Atlantic 10 newcomers

The Atlantic 10 Conference is welcoming Butler and VCU to its ranks, but neither could pull off a victory in its Tuesday matchup. Butler lost 62-47 at Xavier, its long-standing offensive woes unsolved. No one on that team can create a shot; it's ugly at times. Xavier wasn't even supposed to be good this year. VCU, meanwhile, lost a tight 53-51 affair to a sneaky-good opponent, Wichita State. Juvonte Reddic had a chance to tie in the final seconds but couldn't sink his free throws. The Rams should be fine moving forward. Despite these losses, the A-10 Conference is a lot more interesting with Butler and VCU in tow.

Keith Appling leads #21 Michigan State over #7 Kansas

Because the Spartans lost to unranked Connecticut in Germany, the voters dropped Michigan State out of the top 20 in this week's poll. This proved to be an overreaction after the Spartans topped seventh-ranked Kansas on a neutral floor, 67-64. With both teams trying to figure out how to move on without their respective leaders, Thomas Robinson and Draymond Green, Michigan State held the advantage. Experienced point guard Keith Appling was willing and able to take over in the final minutes (though his freshman partner in the backcourt, Gary Harris, was stellar too). Kansas lacks that go-to guy, but that should work itself out. These are definitely top-ten teams that are only getting better.

#9 Duke holds off #3 Kentucky

It's obvious what Duke's gameplan is going to be this season: feed Mason Plumlee inside, and use his presence to create open three-pointers for Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, and Rasheed Sulaimon. Even with Plumlee in foul trouble, that strategy worked against Kentucky on a neutral floor in a tight 75-68 win. Though the Wildcats lost, there was plenty to like from their side. Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress were unstoppable at times. They just need time to work out the kinks. Comparing them to last year's juggernaut is neither fair nor realistic.

A few embarrassing results

With some exceptions (like Duke and Kentucky), most teams are trying to start the season off with easy wins against creampuff opponents from weak conferences. Very few contenders are actually losing those games. Except for, apparently, Miami, which lost 63-51 to Florida Gulf Coast. The Hurricanes are expected to be real contenders in the ACC, so this is...a little awkward. They also lost an exhibition to a Division II school (oops). More ugliness: Washington, supposed to have its usual decent year in the Pac-12, fell at home to Albany 63-62. That's bad. To make matters worse, #13 UCLA, a league-mate of Washington's, nearly lost to UC-Irvine at home before squeaking out an 80-79 overtime win on Tuesday night. These phenomena are not exactly a ringing endorsement of the Pac-12's return to basketball relevancy.

NCAA Notables: Weekend Recap

Some stuff you should care about from college basketball's first weekend.

SATURDAY

#15 Missouri's new frontcourt (83-69 win vs SIU-Edwardsville)
The Missouri Tigers had to go uber-small last year, often playing four guards at once, thanks to a preseason knee injury suffered by skilled forward Laurence Bowers. He's healthy now, and in his first game, he put up 20 points to lead the Tigers to an easy victory. Also back from the dead: Alex Oriakhi, who won a championship with UConn two years ago and has transferred to Missouri for his senior season. He added eight points and 15 rebounds. Looks like Mizzou actually has a real frontcourt this year.

The usual from #22 Notre Dame (58-49 win vs Evansville)
Notre Dame doing Notre Dame things: playing good defense, getting to the free throw line, controlling the pace. The Irish will rarely blow anyone out, but they'll usually be competitive no matter the opponent.

SUNDAY

The fresh faces of #9 Syracuse (62-49 win vs #19 San Diego State)
Easily the most significant game of the young season (and it just so happened to be played on the USS Midway in San Diego). The Orange hardly missed a beat despite losing most of last season's core players, holding SDSU to just 27% shooting. They did however get away with committing too many fouls, because the Aztecs made just 14 of their 33 free throw attempts. With a lot of inexperience in the lineup, Syracuse is going to have its fair share of off nights.

#19 Baylor not missing a beat (78-47 win vs Jackson State)
While Syracuse might suffer from all of its defections to the NBA, Baylor looks as strong as ever despite losing its entire frontcourt to the draft. Pierre Jackson is starting his campaign to be recognized as one of the best point guards in the country by dropping 25 points and seven assists. Baylor's 7-foot-1 freshman center Isaiah Austin didn't even play in this game after spraining his ankle in a 22-point effort in the opener. The Bears are dangerous.

#2 Louisville borrowing its gameplan from the Chicago Bears (79-51 win vs Manhattan)
Louisville is all about the defense. The Cardinals held Manhattan to 36% shooting, forced 26 turnovers, and cobbled together enough points to win. They only hit eight of their 30 three-point attempts, but also took 20 more shots than their opponent. Quantity over quality.

#23 Wisconsin just doing its thing (87-47 domination of SE Louisiana)
Different personnel, same system, same result for the Wisconsin Badgers. They'll always play stifling defense, control the boards, and wear down opponents on the offensive end. Which is exactly what they did here, collecting a whopping 47 rebounds (including 18 on offense), only turning the ball over eight times, and scoring at a 53% clip compared to their opponents' 35% mark. They were like Louisville with offense. Which is scary.

#4 Ohio State finding a new identity (82-60 win vs Albany)
The Buckeyes' big question is who replaces the scoring punch once provided by Jared Sullinger and William Buford. For one game at least, that question was answered: point guard Aaron Craft unleashed a three-point barrage to put up 20 points, Deshaun Thomas scored 19, and Lenzelle Smith Jr. put up 18. That trio will be vital to Ohio State's success. Until we know more about them, it's tough to consider the Buckeyes as the fourth-best team in the country.

#11 North Carolina's one-man show (80-56 win vs Florida Atlantic)
If the first two games are any indication, Carolina forward James Michael McAdoo is in store for a monster season. Without many other weapons to turn to, the Tar Heels are leaning heavily on McAdoo and he responded again, this time with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He took 17 shots; no other teammate had double-digit attempts. This is McAdoo's team.

#12 Arizona failing to inspire much confidence (82-73 squeaker over Charleston Southern)
Everyone else in the top 15 is pretty much pounding inferior competition right out of the gym. Arizona, on the other hand, had a little bit more trouble handling a team from the Big South Conference than you'd like to see. Not exactly good news for the prospects of a rebound season from the miserable Pac-12.

Kenny Boynton steps up for #10 Florida (84-35 win vs Alabama State)
Okay, these results have to be taken with many grains of salt, because Alabama State was good enough to score exactly nine points in the first half. But Florida was without its starting point guard due to suspension. So the notoriously trigger-happy Kenny Boynton was asked to run the point, which is like asking Josh Hamilton to draw walks. Except Boynton was great, scoring 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. Florida's tide will often rise and fall with Boynton's shot.

The quiet success of #24 Cincinnati (80-57 win vs Tennessee-Martin)
Cincinnati is criminally underrated. Despite a hard-earned Sweet Sixteen berth last year, the Bearcats have been shunned to the bottom of the Coaches Poll thanks to the graduation of Yancy Gates. But this team already proved last year that they can win without Gates while he was serving a suspension. Cincy's three upperclassmen guards--Cashmere Wright, Sean Kilpatrick, and JaQuon Parker--are a formidable trio; they combined for 38 points on efficient shooting in limited minutes to create this blowout. With the Big East so wide open after Louisville, the Bearcats have just as good a shot as anybody to win the league.

NCAA Notables: Opening Day

Recapping some of the key takeaways from the first big night of college basketball.

#1 Indiana 97, Bryant 54
#5 Michigan 100, Slippery Rock 62
Yeah, their opposition was Bryant and Slippery Rock. But the point is Indiana and Michigan had no trouble putting up huge offensive numbers. And they share a league with Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. The Big 10 is going to be a vicious dogfight, with plenty of casualties.

#3 Kentucky 72, Maryland 69
Kentucky got the hard-fought win in Brooklyn's new Barclays Center. Still, the game meant more to the Terrapins. Down by 13 at halftime, they clawed their way back into it and briefly held the lead. Their 7-footer Alex Len finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds (7 offensive) against Kentucky's vaunted front line. Len is being talked about as a potential NBA lottery pick; if he plays up to that standard, Maryland will be a top-four team in the ACC. Meanwhile, Kentucky needs a point guard.

#6 N.C. State 97, Miami (OH) 59
#8 Duke 74, Georgia State 55
#11 North Carolina 76, Gardner-Webb 59
No problems for the top echelon of the ACC playing at home against inferior competition. Both Duke and UNC relied very heavily on their big man inside (Mason Plumlee and James McAdoo, respectively) while N.C. State was far more balanced. Which is why the Wolfpack are favored to win this conference.

South Alabama 76, #25 Florida State 71
While the rest of the ACC took care of business...this happened. Ouch. A home loss to South Alabama? Not pretty for Florida State, whose annual role of "ACC sleeper" is being stolen by Maryland. Of course, the Seminoles did lose to two (two!) Ivy League teams early last season before winning the ACC tournament, so we'll see.

Connecticut 66, #14 Michigan State 62
Here's your statement win of the day. UConn lost a ton of talent from last year, Jim Calhoun has retired, his replacement Kevin Ollie is on a lame-duck seven-month contract, and the Huskies are ineligible for postseason play. All of that together sounds like the recipe for a disastrous noncompetitive season. Instead, the undersized Huskies took advantage of early Michigan State sloppiness and held on for dear life until the final buzzer sounded to get Ollie his first upset victory. So UConn might be relevant despite the postseason ban. At least the Spartans saw very encouraging things from forward Branden Dawson, who's expected to fill some of the massive hole left behind by Draymond Green's graduation.

#7 Kansas 74, SE Missouri State 55
#19 Baylor 99, Lehigh 77
The two best teams in the Big 12 took care of business. Nothing to see here.

#13 UCLA 86, Indiana State 59
UCLA won the game, but lost in the big picture. The Bruins' prized recruit Shabazz Muhammad was ruled ineligible by the NCAA on Friday and it's unclear when (or if) he'll be on the court for the team. Without Muhammad, UCLA gets bumped down from title contender to just another team trying to make the tournament.

#16 Creighton 71, North Texas 51
Two of the country's best players, neither of whom happen to play in a major conference, went head-to-head in this one: Doug McDermott against Tony Mitchell. McDermott scored 21 on just 11 shots and led his team to victory. Because Mitchell and North Texas are a legitimately good small-conference team, this win may end up being one of Creighton's best when the Selection Committee is deciding where to seed the Bluejays.

#21 Gonzaga 103, Southern Utah 65
Important to note that this game featured one of this season's biggest wild cards: Gonzaga freshman Przemek Karnowski. He's over seven feet tall, but being from Poland, not much is known about him. He's supposed to be awesome. Who really knows? In his first game, Karnowski led his team in scoring with 22 points, so he's off to a good start.

Condensation 3, College Basketball 0
Three more marquee games were supposed to take place on aircraft carrier decks on Friday night. It wasn't meant to be. San Diego State vs Syracuse had already been postponed to Sunday because of weather. Then Ohio State vs Marquette was cancelled because of condensation on the outdoor court. Florida and Georgetown then played a half of basketball before their game was called off too, for the same reason. As it turns out, boats can get wet sometimes.

NCAA Notables - 3/11

The final round of conference championship games featured some shockers.

KUDOS

Vanderbilt
The Commodores finally delivered. After an up-and-down season, Vanderbilt ended up with the last laugh by winning its first SEC championship in basically forever. They downed #1 Kentucky 71-64 by ending the game on a 16-2 run. Festus Ezeli (17 points) kept Anthony Davis under control and Jeffrey Taylor and John Jenkins combined for 35 points. Vandy's defense held Kentucky to 36% shooting and just 6-of-28 from three-point range. An impressive performance for the experienced and talented Commodores.

#17 Florida State
The Seminoles used a stellar shooting performance to build up a big lead on the John Henson-less Tar Heels, and then held on down the stretch to win their first ACC championship, 85-82. Seven FSU players scored at least 9 points in a balanced offensive effort led by Michael Snaer (18 points on 7-of-13 shooting) and Luke Loucks (13 assists). And their physical defense limited UNC to sub-40% shooting. The Seminoles beat both North Carolina and Duke twice this season and enter the NCAA tournament as a very dangerous team capable of making a run.

St. Bonaventure
The topsy-turvy Atlantic 10 season ended appropriately, with St. Bonaventure capturing the tourney championship by beating Xavier 67-56. Conference player of the year Andrew Nicholson had 26 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks. The Bonnies will make their first NCAA tournament appearance in 12 years, stealing a bid from a potential bubble team hours before the brackets were unveiled.

#8 Michigan State
The Spartans didn't win the Big 10 title outright, but made up for it by winning the conference championship game over #7 Ohio State 68-64. Draymond Green was only 4-of-14 from the field, but his first basket of the second half was a killer three-pointer with a minute and a half remaining to put the Spartans up five. Tom Izzo's team has kept itself in consideration for a #1 seed.

NCAA Notables - 3/10

Missouri made its case for a top seed, Kentucky and North Carolina survived feisty challenges, and Colorado's run through its first-ever Pac-12 tourney earned the Buffaloes one of the twelve automatic bids handed out on Saturday.

KUDOS

#5 Missouri
The Tigers are the Big 12 tourney champs in their final year in the conference. Phil Pressey, Marcus Denmon, and Ricardo Ratliffe each scored 15 points, Big 12 tourney MVP Kim English had 19, and Missouri topped #11 Baylor 90-75. Mizzou also made a play for a top seed in the NCAA tournament, now armed with a Big 12 tourney crown to go with a split against Kansas and three wins over Baylor. As for the Bears--they've been much more impressive in this tournament, especially considering how uncompetitive they were for long stretches against Kansas and Missouri earlier this season.

Louisville
The Cardinals entered the Big East tournament as the 7-seed, having lost four of their past six. But they won four straight games against NCAA tournament-caliber teams (Seton Hall, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Cincinnati) to win the Big East championship over the upstart Bearcats 50-44. Louisville's stifling defense and strong rebounding continue to make up for its offensive sluggishness. Cincinnati, meanwhile, was haunted by poor shooting from the charity stripe and beyond the arc. Both teams made a big statement in this tournament, though.

#1 Kentucky
Four Wildcats scored at least 15 points as Kentucky advanced to the SEC championship game. John Calipari's team got Florida's best shot--the Gators shot 50% from behind the arc--but survived by dominating the glass and hitting late free throws. Kentucky has been challenged in each of its postseason games so far and that trend will likely continue in the finals against Vanderbilt.

#4 North Carolina and N.C. State
The two North Carolina schools fought a controversial back-and-forth affair that the Tar Heels eventually won 69-67 on Kendall Marshall's basket with 10 seconds remaining. UNC advanced to the ACC finals without John Henson, who missed the game with a wrist injury. N.C. State deserves a lot of credit too--C.J. Leslie fouled out with eight minutes to go (having already scored 22 points) but the Wolfpack were in this one until the end. N.C. State has really played its way into the field of 68 during this ACC tournament.

#17 Florida State
On the other side of the ACC bracket, the Seminoles outplayed #6 Duke for much of their semifinal contest but couldn't exhale until the final buzzer sounded. When it finally did, FSU had its victory over the Blue Devils, 62-59. Tenacious defense held Duke to poor shooting percentages and forced a bunch of turnovers. UNC will have its hands full in the ACC championship game--Florida State's experience, toughness, defense, and depth make it one of the country's most dangerously underrated teams.

#7 Ohio State and #8 Michigan State
The Big 10's top programs showcased their impressive talent on Saturday by handily beating some really, really good teams. The Buckeyes exposed #13 Michigan's lack of interior size, with Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas combining for 46 points in a 77-55 beatdown. The Spartans took care of business against #12 Wisconsin, with Draymond Green's 14 points and 16 rebounds leading Michigan State to the 62-55 victory. The two powerhouses will face off in the Big 10 championship game, with the winner staying in the running for a #1 seed.

New Mexico
The Mountain West has been topsy-turvy all year long, but New Mexico may have finally established some order to the league. The Lobos beat both UNLV and San Diego State (their second wins against both teams) en route to the MWC tourney championship. Tournament MVP Drew Gordon's double-double in the finals helps New Mexico establish itself as the conference's best team.

Memphis
The Tigers bludgeoned Marshall 83-57 in the Conference USA championship game, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Future NBA draft pick Will Barton had 18 points and 13 rebounds, but wasn't even the tournament's MVP--that honor went to Joe Jackson (16 points, 6 assists) for the second year in a row. Memphis has always been uber-talented, and has now won seven games in a row. This could be a scary team next week.

Colorado
If your at-large profile isn't good enough to warrant inclusion in the field of 68, you have to take matters into your own hands. Colorado did just that by winning the Pac-12's automatic bid over Arizona in the Buffaloes' first season in the conference. The 53-51 victory caps a triumphant four-day run for Colorado, snubbed by the Selection Committee last year and picked to finish second-to-last in its new conference this year. The other Pac-12 bubble teams--Arizona and Washington--will be forced to sweat it out on Sunday.

St. Bonaventure and Xavier
St. Bonaventure continued its unlikely run to the Atlantic 10 finals by beating Massachusetts 84-80. The Bonnies will face the Musketeers, who earned their best win in months by beating Saint Louis 71-64 in their semifinal matchup. Xavier essentially clinched its at-large bid with that win, so bubble teams everywhere will be rooting for the Musketeers in the championship game--a St. Bonaventure win will result in one less spot for those at-large hopefuls.

Long Beach State
The 49ers finished the job this year, winning their conference tournament and ensuring an NCAA tournament bid. This veteran LBSU team has played in some difficult venues already this season and will be a tough out in the first round. Bubble teams everywhere were thrilled with the 49ers' 77-64 victory over UC Santa Barbara, as Long Beach State's body of work might have been strong enough to steal an at-large bid from someone else had they lost the game.

New Mexico State, Ohio, Mississippi Valley State, Lamar, Norfolk State, Vermont
These five teams all earned bids to the NCAA tournament, too, by winning their conference tournaments on Saturday. Lamar's victory was perhaps the most intriguing. Two weeks ago, the Cardinals lost to Stephen F. Austin and coach Pat Knight, son of former coach Bob Knight, publicly called out his seniors in a well-publicized postgame rant. His players then reeled off six straight wins, capped off by a 70-49 dismantling of McNeese State in the Southland championship game, to send the team to the NCAA tourney.

NCAA Notables - 3/9

Two potential #1 seeds lost, Xavier and N.C. State were the bubble winners, and the pairings for the Big East and Pac-12 championship games end up being more unexpected than anyone could have predicted.

KUDOS

#11 Baylor
No one had a more season-defining win on Friday than the Baylor Bears, who knocked off #3 Kansas in the Big 12 semifinals 81-72. Six Bears scored in double figures, led by Perry Jones' 18. Baylor has always had Final Four-caliber talent, but hadn't yet knocked off an elite opponent. That all changes now. Improbably, Baylor can win the Big 12 tournament by beating Missouri on Saturday.

Cincinnati
The Bearcats don't have Baylor's ceiling, but they beat an even better team on Friday night. Cincy never trailed in handing #2 Syracuse only its second loss of the season, 71-68. Yancy Gates had 18 points; Sean Kilpatrick matched him with 6-of-9 shooting from long range a day after Cincy missed 19 three-pointers. The Bearcats, after being a bubble squad merely two weeks ago, are in the Big East finals.

Louisville
The Cardinals are the other team in the Big East championship game after cruising past #23 Notre Dame 64-50 in the semis. Peyton Siva had another excellent game, scoring 13 with 9 assists and 8 rebounds. Gorgui Dieng didn't miss a shot in scoring 16 points and Louisville's defense held the Irish to 36% shooting. Rick Pitino's squad will face off against Cincinnati in the Big East final that no one saw coming.

#12 Wisconsin
The Badgers beat #15 Indiana at its own game, knocking down 13 three-pointers to top the Hoosiers 79-71 in the Big 10 quarterfinals. Rob Wilson had 7 of those threes, en route to 30 points, despite averaging only 11 minutes a game entering Friday's contest. Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan each won too, setting up some excellent matchups for Saturday's semifinals.

N.C. State
The Wolfpack had one of the best bubble wins of the day by beating Virginia in the ACC quarterfinals, 67-64. C.J. Leslie had 19 points and 14 rebounds. And with Miami's loss to Florida State, things couldn't have worked out better for the Wolfpack on Friday. N.C. State in the tournament is no sure thing, but their chances look a whole lot better now. The Tar Heels await in the semifinals.

Arizona and Colorado
Without the body of work to justify at-large bids, Arizona and Colorado are taking matters into their own hands. The Wildcats' 72-61 win over Oregon State, keyed by Kyle Fogg's 22 points, send them into the Pac-12 championship game. They'll meet Colorado there, as the Buffaloes downed California 70-59. Likely neither team will get an at-large bid, so the final will be win-and-you're-in, lose-and-you're-history for both. To the dismay of other bubble teams, the Pac-12 may officially be a stolen bid league now.

#21 San Diego State and New Mexico
The Aztecs beat bubble hopeful Colorado State 79-69 behind Chase Tapley's 17 points to advance to the Mountain West championship game. And New Mexico did the same by beating #20 UNLV behind their leader Drew Gordon's 19 points and 13 boards. Colorado State, meanwhile, needs to await the decision of the Selection Committee on Sunday; the Rams look pretty good, but anything can happen.

Xavier
On a day when Temple and Saint Joseph's stumbled in the Atlantic 10 tournament, Xavier may have finally clinched its at-large bid. Tu Holloway's 21 points and Mark Lyons' game-winning layup with 17 seconds remaining sunk Dayton's slim tournament hopes in the 70-69 quarterfinal result. The Musketeers advance to the semifinals to play Saint Louis.

Marshall
As Saint Joseph's, Northwestern, Tennessee, and other bubble teams fall out of consideration, others take their place--Marshall is one of those teams. The Thundering Herd advanced to the Conference USA championship game by beating Southern Miss 73-62 behind Damier Pitts. Marshall getting an at-large bid is highly unlikely. But hey, if they beat Memphis in the C-USA finals, their mediocre profile won't matter.

HEAD-SCRATCHERS

Miami
With their season on the line, the Hurricanes failed to continue their run in the ACC tournament, falling to #17 Florida State 82-71. With N.C. State's win over Virginia in their quarterfinal matchup, it would be a surprise to see Miami in the NCAA tournament come Sunday.

#24 Temple
The Owls were shocked in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinal. Chaz Williams' 20 points and 10 assists led 8-seed Massachusetts to the 77-71 upset. Temple's seeding will take a hit, and the A-10 tournament is even more wide open than it was at the start.

Saint Joseph's
Like Temple, the Hawks suffered an early exit from the A-10 tournament. But for Saint Joseph's, the defeat will cost them a shot at an NCAA tournament bid. Losing to St. Bonaventure 71-68 eliminates the Hawks from at-large consideration.

Tennessee
The Volunteers' late charge at an unlikely tournament bid came to an end on Friday with a 77-72 overtime loss to Ole Miss. The Rebels take Tennessee's place as the fringe SEC bubble team--they'll have to beat Vanderbilt in the semifinals to even get some consideration, though.

Nevada
Nevada joins the likes of Iona, Drexel, Middle Tennessee, and Oral Roberts--schools that were clearly the best teams in their conferences, but might miss the NCAA tournament because of a conference tourney upset. Nevada fell to Louisiana Tech in the WAC semifinals, 78-73, so welcome to the bubble, Wolf Pack.

NCAA Notables - 3/7

Three more at-large bids were awarded, and bubble teams took the court in Madison Square Garden.

KUDOS

Connecticut
The Huskies rallied to top the Mountaineers in overtime in the Big East tournament, 71-67. Shabazz Napier's 26 points and key late steals punctuated UConn's 13th straight postseason victory. With its coach back on the sidelines, this team has played much better of late, and will try to continue their run against Syracuse on Thursday. Neither UConn nor West Virginia needs to worry much about getting an at-large bid.

South FloridaThe Bulls took care of business by beating Villanova 56-47 and advancing to the Big East quarterfinals. USF's offense is often stagnant and turnover-prone, but its defense held 'Nova to 34% shooting and 3-of-16 from long range. Over the past nine games, USF has held each of its opponents to fewer than 60 points and at least 19 points below its season average. Even if the Bulls don't beat Notre Dame in the next round, they've done a lot over the past two weeks to warrant inclusion in the NCAA tournament.

Lehigh
Playing on top-seeded Bucknell's home floor, Lehigh won the Patriot League championship 82-77. C.J. McCollum, conference player of the year, scored 29 for the Mountain Hawks, who will make an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Long Island Brooklyn
With Spike Lee on hand to watch, LIU Brooklyn secured an automatic bid by beating Robert Morris in the Northeast championship game 90-73. Three players scored at least 18 points for the Blackbirds' high-powered offense.

Montana
The third team to earn its conference's auto-bid, Montana defeated Damian Lillard and Weber State for the second time in three games. Weber State's NBA prospect won't make an appearance in the NCAA tournament, but Montana will.

HEAD-SCRATCHER

Seton Hall
The Pirates couldn't knock off a struggling Louisville team and were eliminated from the Big East tournament 61-55. They have lost ten of their last fifteen games and could get left out of the field of 68 on Selection Sunday. Seton Hall would be much safer had they beaten Rutgers and DePaul last week.

NCAA Notables - 3/6

At-large hopefuls got the job done, and four more teams won automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

KUDOS

Connecticut and Seton Hall
For Seton Hall, a first round loss in the Big East tournament to Providence (after consecutive losses to Rutgers and DePaul) would have been catastrophic. And UConn would've loathed to end its season on a loss to DePaul. Neither team had to live its nightmare scenario. The Pirates easily quieted Providence 79-47 and Jeremy Lamb's shooting pushed the Huskies past DePaul 81-67. UConn now faces West Virginia, but Jim Calhoun's revitalized team has probably re-secured its bid already; Seton Hall, however, is still competing with South Florida and can end much of the drama by beating Louisville on Wednesday.

Dayton and Saint Joseph's
Unlike UConn and Seton Hall, these two Atlantic 10 teams are on the wrong side of the bubble. At least neither was tripped up in the first round of the A-10 tournament, though. Dayton advances to a do-or-die game against Xavier by beating George Washington, and Saint Joseph's win over Charlotte pits them against St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.

Western Kentucky
Two months ago, the Hilltoppers lost to a team that used six players on its final possession, then proceeded to fire their coach. Now they're in the NCAA tournament. Despite all the turmoil that the season brought, the seventh-seeded Hilltoppers (with only a 15-18 record) won the Sun Belt championship game over North Texas 74-70.

Harvard
The Crimson didn't even play on Tuesday, but Penn's loss at Princeton was all they needed to seal the Ivy League championship and avoid a one-game playoff with the Quakers. Harvard will make its first NCAA touranament appearance since 1946.

Detroit
The Titans entered the season expected to play for the Horizon title, only went 11-7, then swept the conference tournament to lock up an automatic bid. Detroit doubled up Valparaiso in the second half to take the 70-50 championship win over Valparaiso.

South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits were the fourth team to earn an NCAA tourney bid on Tuesday. Star guard Nate Wolters only made 5 of 22 shots from the field, but led South Dakota State with 14 points in their 52-50 overtime victory against Western Illinois in the Summit League finals.