Saturday had quite a bit going on among the 143 Division I games that were played. It continued a wild week that saw a number of ranked teams get knocked off and a few conference races get a little more interesting early on.
A few thoughts on some of the games and what has been happening around the country:
- We always hear that high-major teams “beat each other up” in conference play. While that often gets a little over-played, I think it’s fair to say that’s happening in the Big East this year because no one is going to run away with that conference, though it’s not the juggernaut it was a few years ago. Did anyone imagine Louisville losing three straight? I sure didn’t. Villanova beating two highly-ranked teams a week after losing at Providence?
- Notre Dame got a much-needed win at South Florida. The Fighting Irish had been reeling, having lost three of four.
- Just when it looked like UCLA might start to become more like the UCLA of the early Ben Howland years, they have a poor showing in a 78-60 loss at Arizona State. They’re instead looking a bit like the team many thought they would be: just good overall, great some nights and lousy some other nights.
- Arizona rebounded from their loss to UCLA with a blowout of USC.
- North Carolina State has knocked off both Duke and North Carolina for the first time in ten seasons. That’s big, but let’s see if they can avoid a letdown at Virginia on Tuesday. That will tell us something about this team, as they have had trouble avoiding a letdown the game after a big win.
- Georgia Tech had run quite the gauntlet to begin ACC play but finally got their first ACC win in blasting Wake Forest at home.
- Iowa State is quietly 4-2 in the Big 12 after a big win over Kansas State, which is also 4-2.
- Texas is finally on the board in the Big 12 after taking care of Texas Tech in Austin.
- Ole Miss’ run continues as they reach 6-0 in the SEC by pulling one out at Auburn 63-61.
- Texas A&M still hasn’t been the same team since beating Kentucky. The Aggies lost at home to Georgia, who like them is 2-4 in SEC play.
- La Salle finished up quite a week by winning at VCU 69-61 behind Ramon Galloway’s 31 points. The Explorers beat Butler on Wednesday, so they have two very significant wins in short order. They have plenty of work to do, but this week will be big if they can put up a good record and make a run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
- Temple is 2-3 in Atlantic 10 play after losing at Butler. No shame in losing at Hinkle, but did anyone see the Owls being below .500 a few games in?
- Charlotte is now 4-2 in Atlantic 10 play, but both losses have been blowouts on the road. There was a question about just how good this team was since they ran up their non-conference record against a rather soft schedule.
- Towson has come back to earth after a 5-1 start in CAA play. With their 63-56 loss at William & Mary, the Tigers have lost three straight. That’s still a hefty improvement over last year already.
- Old Dominion continues to have a rough season, as they are 2-17 after losing at James Madison. The Dukes, meanwhile, have had some ups and downs but are quietly 5-3 in CAA play.
- Murray State looks very vulnerable in the Ohio Valley. Jacksonville State beat the Racers by one on Saturday, and Belmont improved to 8-0 in OVC play by handing Eastern Kentucky their first home loss of the season.
- The comeback of the day probably goes to Harvard, who rallied from a seven-point deficit with 70 seconds left to force overtime and then knock off Dartmouth to go to 2-0 in Ivy League play. The back-to-back weekends start next week.
- The Northeast Conference got a little tighter with LIU winning at Bryant and Robert Morris and Sacred Heart both winning to join the Bulldogs at 6-2. Bryant has been the feel-good story and had a sellout crowd on Saturday. LIU and Wagner are right behind at 5-3.
- Louisiana Tech scored a big win by holding off Utah State in Logan to go to 9-0 in the WAC.
- Stony Brook and Vermont both won on Saturday to stay neck-and-neck with each other in America East play. Vermont’s win came at Albany, who is right behind them at 5-3.
- New Hampshire broke a nine-game losing streak by winning at Binghamton, their first conference win of the season.
- Ugly halftime scores continued, but none were worse than Eastern Michigan leading Northern Illinois 18-4. The final wasn’t much better, with Eastern Michigan winning 42-25.
