1. Get ready for DeeNardo! Mississippi State will soon have Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney on the court at the same time, which should make the Bulldogs a force in the weak SEC West, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com.
2. After Montana upset UCLA in early December, Montana coach Wayne Tinkle (hee hee…) wanted to make sure the Grizzlies kept the good times rolling with a home win against Oregon State, writes ESPN.com’s Diamond Leung. Tinkle turned to YouTube to urge Grizzly students to show up for what became the team’s second win against a Pac-10 school this season.
3. Kansas’ depth has taken a hit with the indefinite suspension of guard Mario Little after he was charged with battery, criminal damage and trespassing as a result of a fight with his girlfriend, according to CBSSports.com. Little contributes more than a little, with 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game
4. ESPN’s Jay Bilas gives props to several teams and players, especially Butler’s Ronald Nored, who is the scrappy leader of the Bulldogs.
5. Arizona coach Sean Miller was fired up after his team’s disappointing blowout loss to BYU, and Arizona Daily Star reporter Bruce Pascoe posted Miller’s comments from a press conference on Pascoe’s blog. One nugget: “We shot six airballs against BYU. You can go a season and not shoot six airballs.”
6. Oklahoma bids adieu to freshman T.J. Taylor, who didn’t log a single minute for the Sooners, according to the Associated Press. Taylor suffered a concussion during the preseason and intended to sit out this season as a medical redshirt.
7. Mississippi State isn’t the only team adding post-semester firepower. According the Associated Press, Tennessee will now have the services of sophomore forward Jeronne Maymon, who sat out the second semester of 2009-10 and the first semester of this season after transferring from Marquette in 2009.
8. Kudos to ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan for finding this Silent Night phenomenon at Taylor University. Yes, a gym full of silent people — until the home team’s 10th point.
9. More greatness from YouTube, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg, who finds the wonders of Colorado State’s Blues Brothers wanna-be.
10. ESPN’s Andy Katz reports that the SEC and Big East are expanding their interconference clash to include all 12 SEC teams. In addition, the games will move from quasi-neutral courts to the hostile confines of teams’ home arenas.

• Louisville 77, UNLV 69
• Santa Barbara 68, UNLV 62
• Tennessee 83, Pittsburgh 76
• Oakland 89, Tennessee 82
• Michigan State 77, Oakland 76
• Drexel 52, Louisville 46
• Coastal Carolina 78, LSU 69 OT
• UNC Wilmington 81, Wake Forest 69
• Fordham 84, St. John’s 81
• Texas A&M 63, Washington 62
• BYU 87, Arizona 65
• Villanova 84, La Salle 81
• Kent State 56, South Florida 51
• Boston College 79, Maryland 75
• Wisconsin 69, Marquette 64
• Richmond 72, VCU 60
• Florida State 75, Clemson 69
• Virginia Tech 79, Penn State 69

Phil Kasiecki chats with La Salle’s John Giannini, who wants you to know that the Explorers aren’t a surprisingly good team, they’re an expectedly good team.

Michael Protos serves up a buffet of articles on rankings, including Big 12 and SEC rankings and analysis of Vanderbilt’s wonder reserve. He also delivers a quick recap of the Big South season thus far.

12/18:

• South Carolina at Ohio State
• Kansas State vs. Florida
• Gonzaga vs. Baylor
• Texas vs. North Carolina
• Central Florida vs. Miami
• Virginia Tech vs. Mississippi State
• Western Kentucky at Murray State

12/21:

• UNLV at Kansas State
• BYU at Weber State
• IPFW at Purdue
• VCU at UAB
• Morehead State at Austin Peay

12/22:

• Missouri at Illinois
• Texas at Michigan State
• Harvard at Connecticut
• Drexel at Syracuse
• Xavier at Gonzaga
• Washington State vs. Mississippi State

12/23:

• Georgetown at Memphis
• UTEP at BYU

It’s no easy task to balance the rigors of a season that starts with practices in mid-October and, for the best teams, runs through the first weekend of April. That’s just about the entire academic year. So schools must do their best to provide these students with the resources and time necessary to hone their academic skills and perform at the highest level in the classroom in addition to on the court.

And if they don’t, there will be consequences.

The NCAA’s Academic Progress Report is not a perfect tool for measuring academic standards at athletic programs, but it’s a good start. As the first semester ends, now is a good time to take a peak at the APRs of the 26 teams in the AP or coaches top 25 polls — the coaches like Florida while the writers prefer Texas A&M.

Of those 26 teams, nearly half have APRs north of the average for all Division I sports: 967. Kansas, Michigan State and Texas lead the way with a perfect 1,000. Congratulations to Bill Self, Tom Izzo and Rick Barnes for keeping academics at the forefront of perennially successful programs.

Ten other teams fall below the Division I average but still have acceptable rankings, north of 925. Below that, the NCAA will be watching closely. So four teams — Kansas State, San Diego State, Purdue and Syracuse — had better start making academics a bigger priority. Syracuse already has faced a scholarship reduction because of its inability to meet NCAA academic standards.

It’s no easy task to keep students focused on academics when they routinely face physically exhausting games and practices. But it’s critically important to do so, especially because the vast majority of Division I players won’t be taking those skills beyond college.

1. Get ready for DeeNardo! Mississippi State will soon have Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney on the court at the same time, which should make the Bulldogs a force in the weak SEC West, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com.
2. After Montana upset UCLA in early December, Montana coach Wayne Tinkle (hee hee…) wanted to make sure the Grizzlies kept the good times rolling with a home win against Oregon State, writes ESPN.com’s Diamond Leung. Tinkle turned to YouTube to urge Grizzly students to show up for what became the team’s second win against a Pac-10 school this season.
3. Kansas’ depth has taken a hit with the indefinite suspension of guard Mario Little after he was charged with battery, criminal damage and trespassing as a result of a fight with his girlfriend, according to CBSSports.com. Little contributes more than a little, with 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game
4. ESPN’s Jay Bilas gives props to several teams and players, especially Butler’s Ronald Nored, who is the scrappy leader of the Bulldogs.
5. Arizona coach Sean Miller was fired up after his team’s disappointing blowout loss to BYU, and Arizona Daily Star reporter Bruce Pascoe posted Miller’s comments from a press conference on Pascoe’s blog. One nugget: “We shot six airballs against BYU. You can go a season and not shoot six airballs.”
6. Oklahoma bids adieu to freshman T.J. Taylor, who didn’t log a single minute for the Sooners, according to the Associated Press. Taylor suffered a concussion during the preseason and intended to sit out this season as a medical redshirt.
7. Mississippi State isn’t the only team adding post-semester firepower. According the Associated Press, Tennessee will now have the services of sophomore forward Jeronne Maymon, who sat out the second semester of 2009-10 and the first semester of this season after transferring from Marquette in 2009.
8. Kudos to ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan for finding this Silent Night phenomenon at Taylor University. Yes, a gym full of silent people — until the home team’s 10th point.
9. More greatness from YouTube, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg, who finds the wonders of Colorado State’s Blues Brothers wanna-be.
10. ESPN’s Andy Katz reports that the SEC and Big East are expanding their interconference clash to include all 12 SEC teams. In addition, the games will move from quasi-neutral courts to the hostile confines of teams’ home arenas.

• Louisville 77, UNLV 69
• Santa Barbara 68, UNLV 62
• Tennessee 83, Pittsburgh 76
• Oakland 89, Tennessee 82
• Michigan State 77, Oakland 76
• Drexel 52, Louisville 46
• Coastal Carolina 78, LSU 69 OT
• UNC Wilmington 81, Wake Forest 69
• Fordham 84, St. John’s 81
• Texas A&M 63, Washington 62
• BYU 87, Arizona 65
• Villanova 84, La Salle 81
• Kent State 56, South Florida 51
• Boston College 79, Maryland 75
• Wisconsin 69, Marquette 64
• Richmond 72, VCU 60
• Florida State 75, Clemson 69
• Virginia Tech 79, Penn State 69

Phil Kasiecki chats with La Salle’s John Giannini, who wants you to know that the Explorers aren’t a surprisingly good team, they’re an expectedly good team.

Michael Protos serves up a buffet of articles on rankings, including Big 12 and SEC rankings and analysis of Vanderbilt’s wonder reserve. He also delivers a quick recap of the Big South season thus far.

12/18:

• South Carolina at Ohio State
• Kansas State vs. Florida
• Gonzaga vs. Baylor
• Texas vs. North Carolina
• Central Florida vs. Miami
• Virginia Tech vs. Mississippi State
• Western Kentucky at Murray State

12/21:

• UNLV at Kansas State
• BYU at Weber State
• IPFW at Purdue
• VCU at UAB
• Morehead State at Austin Peay

12/22:

• Missouri at Illinois
• Texas at Michigan State
• Harvard at Connecticut
• Drexel at Syracuse
• Xavier at Gonzaga
• Washington State vs. Mississippi State

12/23:

• Georgetown at Memphis
• UTEP at BYU

It’s no easy task to balance the rigors of a season that starts with practices in mid-October and, for the best teams, runs through the first weekend of April. That’s just about the entire academic year. So schools must do their best to provide these students with the resources and time necessary to hone their academic skills and perform at the highest level in the classroom in addition to on the court.

And if they don’t, there will be consequences.

The NCAA’s Academic Progress Report is not a perfect tool for measuring academic standards at athletic programs, but it’s a good start. As the first semester ends, now is a good time to take a peak at the APRs of the 26 teams in the AP or coaches top 25 polls — the coaches like Florida while the writers prefer Texas A&M.

Of those 26 teams, nearly half have APRs north of the average for all Division I sports: 967. Kansas, Michigan State and Texas lead the way with a perfect 1,000. Congratulations to Bill Self, Tom Izzo and Rick Barnes for keeping academics at the forefront of perennially successful programs.

Ten other teams fall below the Division I average but still have acceptable rankings, north of 925. Below that, the NCAA will be watching closely. So four teams — Kansas State, San Diego State, Purdue and Syracuse — had better start making academics a bigger priority. Syracuse already has faced a scholarship reduction because of its inability to meet NCAA academic standards.

It’s no easy task to keep students focused on academics when they routinely face physically exhausting games and practices. But it’s critically important to do so, especially because the vast majority of Division I players won’t be taking those skills beyond college.

1. A foot injury has short-circuited Duke’s electric freshman guard, Kyrie Irving, according to a Uwire report. Coach Mike Krzyzewski says Irving might miss the entire season.
2. The hoop looked as big as the Red Sea for Marshall Moses, who hit all 12 of his shots in Oklahoma State’s 71-54 against Tulsa, writes the AP’s Jeff Latzke. That performance breaks a record held by Bryant “Big Country” Reeves — coincidentally also against Tulsa. Reeves had another 11-for-11 night against Oklahoma.
3. SI.com’s Seth Davis explains why you better start paying attention to the Pittsburgh Panthers.
4. JaMychal Green will roll into the Tide’s lineup Saturday, when Alabama visits Providence, after missing three games for conduct detrimental to the team, writes Christopher Walsh of BamaOnLine.com.
5. Villanova comes down hard on freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, suspending him for the season after he was charged with assault for his involvement in a fight, writes ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil.
6. ESPN blogger Diamond Leung spotlights Oregon’s throwbacks for the Ducks’ game against Division III Williamette — with a link to the craziest home court design in college basketball.
7. Several former Toledo players will likely accept a plea deal for a points-shaving scandal, writes Joe Vardon of the Toledo Blade.
8. Marquette’s Joe Fulce might apply for a medical redshirt rather than trying to return to the Golden Eagles this season after injuring his left knee against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, according to a CBSSports.com report.

• Kansas 81, Memphis 68
• Syracuse 72, Michigan State 58
• Montana 66, UCLA 57
• USC, 73, Texas 56
• San Diego State 77, California 57
• Missouri 85, Vanderbilt 82 OT
• Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61
• Washington State 81, Gonzaga 59
• Temple 64, Maryland 61
• Temple 68, Georgetown 65
• Kentucky 72, Notre Dame 58
• North Carolina 75, Kentucky 73
• Morehead State 75, Murray State 65

Michael Protos gives you player ratings for the ACC and Big Ten. Want to see just how important Kyrie Irving’s loss will be to Duke? Check out his rating, which might surprise you.

12/10:

• Iowa State at Iowa

12/11:

• UNLV at Louisville
• Tennessee at Pittsburgh
• Indiana at Kentucky
• Arizona at BYU
• VCU at Richmond

12/12:

• Boston College at Maryland
• Clemson at Florida State

Of the 31 conferences with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, 22 of them are entirely or largely located east of the Mississippi. Twelve of the 17 undefeated teams dwell in the same side of the country that is home to basketball hotbeds like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and the entire states of Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina.

That geographical disparity lends itself to a somewhat natural disproportionate amount of media coverage and attention for teams located in the eastern half of Hoops Nation. But that doesn’t make it right, especially this season, with so much talent residing in the Mountain West Conference.

How many people would correctly guess that the Mountain West has the second-most undefeated teams, behind only the Big East? The conference is home to a Preseason All-American in BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard and UNLV’s Chace Stanback would also be household names if they regularly tipped off at 7 p.m. EST instead of past the bedtimes for two-thirds of East Coasters.

And the Cougars, Aztecs and Rebels have amassed 27 wins in impressive fashion thus far. All three rank in the top 31 for offensive and defensive efficiency, as measured by Ken Pomeroy. Only 12 other teams can make that claim.

For hoops fans with extensive cable packages, go find your Versus channel, if you don’t already have it listed among your favorites. The Mountain West has a contract with the channel, and you can check out some great action this season if you stay up a little later than usual — or DVR or Tivo it.

Let’s show love for great basketball from coast to coast.

1. A foot injury has short-circuited Duke’s electric freshman guard, Kyrie Irving, according to a Uwire report. Coach Mike Krzyzewski says Irving might miss the entire season.
2. The hoop looked as big as the Red Sea for Marshall Moses, who hit all 12 of his shots in Oklahoma State’s 71-54 against Tulsa, writes the AP’s Jeff Latzke. That performance breaks a record held by Bryant “Big Country” Reeves — coincidentally also against Tulsa. Reeves had another 11-for-11 night against Oklahoma.
3. SI.com’s Seth Davis explains why you better start paying attention to the Pittsburgh Panthers.
4. JaMychal Green will roll into the Tide’s lineup Saturday, when Alabama visits Providence, after missing three games for conduct detrimental to the team, writes Christopher Walsh of BamaOnLine.com.
5. Villanova comes down hard on freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, suspending him for the season after he was charged with assault for his involvement in a fight, writes ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil.
6. ESPN blogger Diamond Leung spotlights Oregon’s throwbacks for the Ducks’ game against Division III Williamette — with a link to the craziest home court design in college basketball.
7. Several former Toledo players will likely accept a plea deal for a points-shaving scandal, writes Joe Vardon of the Toledo Blade.
8. Marquette’s Joe Fulce might apply for a medical redshirt rather than trying to return to the Golden Eagles this season after injuring his left knee against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, according to a CBSSports.com report.

• Kansas 81, Memphis 68
• Syracuse 72, Michigan State 58
• Montana 66, UCLA 57
• USC, 73, Texas 56
• San Diego State 77, California 57
• Missouri 85, Vanderbilt 82 OT
• Illinois 73, Gonzaga 61
• Washington State 81, Gonzaga 59
• Temple 64, Maryland 61
• Temple 68, Georgetown 65
• Kentucky 72, Notre Dame 58
• North Carolina 75, Kentucky 73
• Morehead State 75, Murray State 65

Michael Protos gives you player ratings for the ACC and Big Ten. Want to see just how important Kyrie Irving’s loss will be to Duke? Check out his rating, which might surprise you.

12/10:

• Iowa State at Iowa

12/11:

• UNLV at Louisville
• Tennessee at Pittsburgh
• Indiana at Kentucky
• Arizona at BYU
• VCU at Richmond

12/12:

• Boston College at Maryland
• Clemson at Florida State

Of the 31 conferences with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, 22 of them are entirely or largely located east of the Mississippi. Twelve of the 17 undefeated teams dwell in the same side of the country that is home to basketball hotbeds like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and the entire states of Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina.

That geographical disparity lends itself to a somewhat natural disproportionate amount of media coverage and attention for teams located in the eastern half of Hoops Nation. But that doesn’t make it right, especially this season, with so much talent residing in the Mountain West Conference.

How many people would correctly guess that the Mountain West has the second-most undefeated teams, behind only the Big East? The conference is home to a Preseason All-American in BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard and UNLV’s Chace Stanback would also be household names if they regularly tipped off at 7 p.m. EST instead of past the bedtimes for two-thirds of East Coasters.

And the Cougars, Aztecs and Rebels have amassed 27 wins in impressive fashion thus far. All three rank in the top 31 for offensive and defensive efficiency, as measured by Ken Pomeroy. Only 12 other teams can make that claim.

For hoops fans with extensive cable packages, go find your Versus channel, if you don’t already have it listed among your favorites. The Mountain West has a contract with the channel, and you can check out some great action this season if you stay up a little later than usual — or DVR or Tivo it.

Let’s show love for great basketball from coast to coast.

1. Gabe DeArmond of InsideSTL.com loves college basketball, especially the version played by the Missouri Tigers, who earned more of DeArmond’s respect despite a heart-breaking loss to Georgetown in an overtime thriller.
2. ESPNChicago.com’s Scott Powers reports that Bradley senior guard Sam Maniscalo will miss the rest of the season after struggling to shake off pain in his ankle from off-season surgery to remove bone spurs. Because Maniscalo played only six games this season, he has a decent chance at receiving a medical redshirt to preserve his final year of eligibility.
3. Old Dominion’s Kent Bazemore gets nasty on Richmond.
4. Jay Bilas weights in with his early season observations, including good commentary on the increased emphasis on enforcing the elbow rule, which produces an automatic intentional foul and maybe a flagrant when a player’s elbow makes contact with an opponent above the shoulders.
5. ESPN.com’s Andy Katz breaks down the upcoming demise of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, which benefited some teams more than others.
6. Seton Hall must adjust to life without Jeremy Hazell, who averages 24.0 points per game, after the scoring machine had surgery to fix a broken bone in his left wrist, according to a school news release.
7. Indiana joins Kentucky among teams this season that won’t have the services of an international big man of mystery after the NCAA ruled that Guy-Marc Michel played five games as a pro in France a few years ago.
8. Think the Big East is a beast with 16 teams? Wait until 2012-13, when the behemoth adds TCU to the mix. Never mind the fact the Horned Frogs are more than 750 miles away from the closest Big East school.
9. R.I.P. to John Calipari’s mom and Louisiana College woman’s basketball coach Janice Joseph-Richard, 46. Both died of cancer. Relatedly, this week is Jimmy V Week for Cancer Research, which ESPN supports to raise funds for cancer research. The foundation honors legendary North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.

• Duke 84, Michigan State 79
• Old Dominion 77, Richmond 70
• San Diego State 69, St. Mary’s 55
• Purdue 58, Virginia Tech 55 OT
• Ohio State 58, Florida State 44
• Georgetown 111, Missouri 102 OT
• Florida 55, Florida State 51
• UNLV 71, Virginia Tech 59
• Notre Dame 58, Wisconsin 51
• BYU 74, St. Mary’s 73
• Kansas 87, Arizona 79

In addition to those results, seven teams delivered some surprising signature upsets.

• East Tennessee State 73, Dayton 68
• Utah Valley State 70, Oregon State 68
• Central Florida 57, Florida 54
• Florida Atlantic 61, Mississippi State 59
• Virginia 87, Minnesota 79
• Harvard 82, Colorado 66
• Richmond 65, Purdue 54

Michael Protos releases the updated player ratings, known to you as the Total Impact Quotient (TIQ), for the Big East and Pac-10. Yes, Kemba Walker is playing at an utterly insane level.

12/3:

• Kansas State at Washington State

12/4:

• Utah State at Georgetown
• Kentucky at North Carolina
• Butler vs. Duke
• Illinois at Gonzaga
• Boston College at Massachusetts

12/5:

• Temple at Maryland

12/7:

• Memphis vs. Kansas in New York City
• Michigan State vs. Syracuse in New York City

12/8:

• Vanderbilt at Missouri
• Notre Dame at Kentucky
• Boise State at UNLV
• Gonzaga at Washington State

For the first 10 years, the ACC made a mockery of this event, winning 62 of 97 games. But for the second consecutive season, the Big Ten has captured the bragging rights. More importantly, there’s little doubt that the Big Ten is the better, deeper conference.

Although Minnesota’s home loss to Virginia was disappointing, the Golden Gophers played without two starters and ran into a hot shooting Cavaliers team. The preseason favorite, Michigan State, failed to take out its counterpart, Duke. But there’s no shame in losing a nail-biter at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Illinois drew match ups against teams predicted to finish in the ACC’s top tier. All four won. The tide might finally be turning after a decade of ACC dominance. Despite the back-to-back wins in the challenge, not a single Big Ten has a winning record in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Based on the trajectories of several teams, that could change soon.

The BIg Ten has witnessed an influx of great coaches who can recruit as well as their ACC peers can, if not better. Thad Matta at Ohio State, Bruce Pearl at Illinois, Matt Painter at Purdue and Tom Crean at Indiana have those squads on the rise. Michigan State, led by Tom Izzo, and Wisconsin, with Bo Ryan at the helm, are already perennial contenders in the conference.

Now it’s the ACC’s turn to go on the defensive. In coming seasons, the middle-of-the-pack ACC teams will face much tougher tests. This year’s results portend an increasingly heated rivalry between these two power conferences, with plenty of great match ups coming in future seasons.

1. Gabe DeArmond of InsideSTL.com loves college basketball, especially the version played by the Missouri Tigers, who earned more of DeArmond’s respect despite a heart-breaking loss to Georgetown in an overtime thriller.
2. ESPNChicago.com’s Scott Powers reports that Bradley senior guard Sam Maniscalo will miss the rest of the season after struggling to shake off pain in his ankle from off-season surgery to remove bone spurs. Because Maniscalo played only six games this season, he has a decent chance at receiving a medical redshirt to preserve his final year of eligibility.
3. Old Dominion’s Kent Bazemore gets nasty on Richmond.
4. Jay Bilas weights in with his early season observations, including good commentary on the increased emphasis on enforcing the elbow rule, which produces an automatic intentional foul and maybe a flagrant when a player’s elbow makes contact with an opponent above the shoulders.
5. ESPN.com’s Andy Katz breaks down the upcoming demise of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, which benefited some teams more than others.
6. Seton Hall must adjust to life without Jeremy Hazell, who averages 24.0 points per game, after the scoring machine had surgery to fix a broken bone in his left wrist, according to a school news release.
7. Indiana joins Kentucky among teams this season that won’t have the services of an international big man of mystery after the NCAA ruled that Guy-Marc Michel played five games as a pro in France a few years ago.
8. Think the Big East is a beast with 16 teams? Wait until 2012-13, when the behemoth adds TCU to the mix. Never mind the fact the Horned Frogs are more than 750 miles away from the closest Big East school.
9. R.I.P. to John Calipari’s mom and Louisiana College woman’s basketball coach Janice Joseph-Richard, 46. Both died of cancer. Relatedly, this week is Jimmy V Week for Cancer Research, which ESPN supports to raise funds for cancer research. The foundation honors legendary North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.

• Duke 84, Michigan State 79
• Old Dominion 77, Richmond 70
• San Diego State 69, St. Mary’s 55
• Purdue 58, Virginia Tech 55 OT
• Ohio State 58, Florida State 44
• Georgetown 111, Missouri 102 OT
• Florida 55, Florida State 51
• UNLV 71, Virginia Tech 59
• Notre Dame 58, Wisconsin 51
• BYU 74, St. Mary’s 73
• Kansas 87, Arizona 79

In addition to those results, seven teams delivered some surprising signature upsets.

• East Tennessee State 73, Dayton 68
• Utah Valley State 70, Oregon State 68
• Central Florida 57, Florida 54
• Florida Atlantic 61, Mississippi State 59
• Virginia 87, Minnesota 79
• Harvard 82, Colorado 66
• Richmond 65, Purdue 54

Michael Protos releases the updated player ratings, known to you as the Total Impact Quotient (TIQ), for the Big East and Pac-10. Yes, Kemba Walker is playing at an utterly insane level.

12/3:

• Kansas State at Washington State

12/4:

• Utah State at Georgetown
• Kentucky at North Carolina
• Butler vs. Duke
• Illinois at Gonzaga
• Boston College at Massachusetts

12/5:

• Temple at Maryland

12/7:

• Memphis vs. Kansas in New York City
• Michigan State vs. Syracuse in New York City

12/8:

• Vanderbilt at Missouri
• Notre Dame at Kentucky
• Boise State at UNLV
• Gonzaga at Washington State

For the first 10 years, the ACC made a mockery of this event, winning 62 of 97 games. But for the second consecutive season, the Big Ten has captured the bragging rights. More importantly, there’s little doubt that the Big Ten is the better, deeper conference.

Although Minnesota’s home loss to Virginia was disappointing, the Golden Gophers played without two starters and ran into a hot shooting Cavaliers team. The preseason favorite, Michigan State, failed to take out its counterpart, Duke. But there’s no shame in losing a nail-biter at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Illinois drew match ups against teams predicted to finish in the ACC’s top tier. All four won. The tide might finally be turning after a decade of ACC dominance. Despite the back-to-back wins in the challenge, not a single Big Ten has a winning record in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Based on the trajectories of several teams, that could change soon.

The BIg Ten has witnessed an influx of great coaches who can recruit as well as their ACC peers can, if not better. Thad Matta at Ohio State, Bruce Pearl at Illinois, Matt Painter at Purdue and Tom Crean at Indiana have those squads on the rise. Michigan State, led by Tom Izzo, and Wisconsin, with Bo Ryan at the helm, are already perennial contenders in the conference.

Now it’s the ACC’s turn to go on the defensive. In coming seasons, the middle-of-the-pack ACC teams will face much tougher tests. This year’s results portend an increasingly heated rivalry between these two power conferences, with plenty of great match ups coming in future seasons.