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.