7:09 - Going to do a little live blogging tonight. Not a great night of action by any stretch, but some interesting storylines: Tyler Hansbrough is now 5 points away from becoming North Carolina's all-time leading scorer, Cincy is dropping 3s on Miss. State, Andy Kennedy is coaching despite an assault charge, Western Kentucky tries to rebound from the loss to Evansville at a hard place to try to win on the rebound, Mobile.
7:10 - Hansbrough now just needs 3 points, as he has the Heels' first 6 points. Niagara-Drexel also on here.
7:11 - Lovely, the court and arena in Cincinnati are sponsored separately.
7:13 - Rick Stansbury is probably wishing he stayed home in bed right about now.
7:14 - Evansville just looks like another team in sleeveless jerseys.
7:15 - Shouldn't there be more people in the arena in Cincinnati for a Cincinnati game? They aren't Vandy!
7:18 - Cincy shooting 53%, 7 for 15 from 3. I guess they wanted to stay away from Varnado. However, their 2-point percentage isn't shabby.
7:19 - And the Bearcats close the half out with another three. Deonta Vaughn just took over at the end of the half. I never would've expected Miss. State to be this out of it at the half.
7:20 - Hansbrough's next bucket will put him past Phil Ford. Man, leading scorer's at historic programs don't change as often as you'd think.
7:22 - The Tennessee-ODU women's game is on CSN+. Add another thing to the "Totally Stupid Looking Thing" department: a court with the area between the key and 3-point line painted with two three-point lines.
7:27 - I'll be at Radford-Mason tomorrow night. The Highlanders were Sporting News' preseason pick in the Big South.
7:28 - However, the Highlanders have only 1 win against D1 competition. That win coming against Winthrop.
7:29 - And there's the record.
7:29 - For the record, the Eagles have NO wins against D1 competition.
7:30 - I would turn the channel now that the historical part of the evening is over; however, the Aces seem to be intent on making a game of this.
7:39 - Kyle Whelliston over at MidMajority is at North Florida-Furman tonight. Here's tonight's halftime entertainment. If the guy's twitter was more public, he'd be getting pounded right now.
7:40 - Cincy is up 20 now, so UNC-Evansville is going on the auxilliary TV. Niagara-Drexel on the main TV until WKU-USA starts in 20 minutes.
7:42 - If evening traffic didn't blow goats, I probably would've tried to make it up to Philly to see my hometown Purple Eagles take on the always interesting Dragons. I need a new, basketball-friendly job for Christmas.
7:43 - However, my ticket for St. Joe's at Penn on January 24th finally arrived in the mail today. I'm already amped for my first game at the Palestra.
7:44 - Drexel up 1 on Niagara with the Dragons getting foul shots after the timeout. Don't sell the Purple Eagles short in the MAAC, especially since Siena has displayed their vulnerabilities for the whole world to see.
7:45 - While in beautiful Lewiston, be sure to visit the Robert Moses Power Plant Museum, directly across the highway from the NU campus.
7:49 - Drexel's giant, inflatable dragon statue seems to be better behaved than GW's large, inflatable Colonial gateway.
7:51 - Watch out! Miss. State trying to make a comeback here. Down 11 now.
7:56 - Drexel up 30-28 on Niagara at half. Should be a good 2nd.
7:59 - Miss. State now has it down to 7. Not getting a field goal for 5 minutes will lead to that. Good job, Cincy.
8:02 - Hmm...what was that I said about Evansville making a game of it? If you have XM or Sirius, Zane Lowe v. Chris Moyles on right now.
8:03 - Varnado on the bench, let's see if Miss. State's lack of wing scoring hurts them.
8:05 - USA with the terrible reverse-key paint job.
8:06 - Damn you, Moyles and Zane for busting out AC/DC. Damn you to hell.
8:10 - Once again, Miss. State, DON'T FOUL THE JUMP SHOOTER. Must I make that the official motto of this site?
8:14 - Varnado seems destined to set his career scoring high tonight. It may not be enough to get Miss. State the win, though. Cincy isn't letting them completely get back in it.
8:16 - On FCS, Hilltoppers have to call a timeout, as their still hungover from Saturday and the Jags have jumped out to a 16-7 lead.
8:21 - You need to avoid taking ill-advised threes when down low-double digits with 3 minutes or so to go. Miss. State doesn't understand this and there's probably no way back with 1:57 left.
8:22 - The more I see of SEC teams this year (including UF), I suspect that it's going to be a subpar year for tourney bids.
8:23 - As of right now, Tennessee is the only lock.
8:24 - Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Miss. State, Ole Miss, Vandy, etc...you all have work to do. LOTS of work.
8:25 - Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina sure aren't going to help your RPIs.
8:27 - Niagara and Drexel are still on a bit of a see-saw. Eagles 41-39 with under 14 minutes left.
8:28 - I know scheduling for the SEC-Big East event is problematic, but how do you have games in Cincy without UK there?
8:33 - Helluva trivia question on the Niagara Sports Network: How many Purple Eagles are playing professional basketball?
8:35 - Checking in on the action in Mobile, Western has woken up. Toppers are now up 29-25.
8:36 - On the topic of the name "Hilltoppers," did you realize that three Big East schools had that nickname (at least informally) at one point during their histories?
8:37 - Georgetown, Marquette, and Syracuse. I can attest to all three, especially since GU is roughly across the river from my apartment.
8:38 - Our non-BCS games tonight are far more entertaining than our BCS ones. Of course, this is true for most nights.
8:44 - Your trivia answer: 16! And they're literally all over the world, with only 1 based in the USA.
8:53 - ESPN has broken out the footage of Obama talking about playing against the UNC players. Yep, they're desperate.
8:59 - Evansville takes advantage of playing against UNC's scrubs in the last few minutes. The Aces close the final margin to 18.
9:00 - It's now time for what has turned out to be tonight's main event: Ole Miss-Louisville.
9:04 - Niagara 63, Drexel 60 with 90 seconds left.
9:09 - Purple Eagles couldn't get the open layup or tip-in to go, but there's a travel by Neisler. Shot clock is off.
9:10 - Tyrone Lewis, a Levittown, PA kid, hits two FTs to make it a three-point Niagara lead.
9:13 - Benson Egemonye going to the line to try to clinch it for Niagara with :05.9 left. He hits both and that's it. 67-62 Final.
9:14 - Back in Mobile, the Jaguars are up 41-40 on WKU early in the second.
9:19 - How can you name something the "Bank Shot of the Game" when there's 14 minutes left?
9:20 - Earl Clark is en fuego.
9:22 - ESPN channeling NBA Jam with that last graphic.
9:23 - Domonic Tilford on South Alabama is also making a case for player of the night with 27 so far against WKU.
9:27 - It appears the rights to WKU's shooting shirts have been purchased by a popular Buffalo-area grocery chain.
9:30 - Mendez-Valdez with a very long 3 to give WKU the lead.
9:36 - Ole Miss's backcourt hasn't shown up so far tonight.
9:41 - The Rebels are only in this because the Cards have gotten sloppy over the past few minutes.
9:44 - Tilford's on the sideline having his back worked on. WKU is up 5 with 4 minutes to go.
9:49 - A.J. Slaughter has the touch tonight. Sweet shot that should've never gone in on a old-fashioned three-point play a few minutes ago. That last floating layup was just as sweet. 65-61 WKU
9:50 - Louisville has gone cold. Ole Miss within 7 as the first half enters its final minute.
9:51 - Slaughter again, 7 points in a row for him. Hilltoppers up 6 with 1:44 left.
9:52 - Damn, Louisville! How do you go from shooting 10-19 to 12-32?
9:54 - 30-footer by Chris Warren to end the half for Ole Miss. They're only down 4 at the interval.
9:56 - Tilford hits a 3. That's 30 on the night forhim. Jags now down 1 with 17 seconds left.
9:57 - Gonzaga taking out their frustrations on Texas Southern, up 53-20.
9:58 - The SWAC has 5 wins against Division 1 this season, one of those to transitional Houston Baptist.
10:00 - Besides the Huskies, the other wins are against Morehead State, NC Central, Tennessee State, and SMU.
10:02 - Jaguars have a shot...down 3 with 13 ticks to go. Tilford airballed a three, but smart rebounding led to another possession, which resulted in a three off the front of the rim. 69-66 WKU Final.
10:33 - Cardinals pulling back ahead again, as they've opened up an 8-point advantage.
10:39 - Louisville...see my comment to Miss. State at 8:10.
10:44 - Ex-Gator David Huertas doing a great job of getting to the line.
10:48 - Ole Miss now ahead. Stunning.
10:50 - A 3 and a long 2 give the Cards a 4-point lead with 6 minutes to go. Earl Clark is carrying them.
10:52 - Chris Warren's first three since that long one at the buzzer ties it up. Clark promptly gives the Cards the lead back.
11:01 - Did I see that right? Savannah State 47, Texas A&M-CC 42?
11:02 - I did. Tigers are 7-4. Horace Broadnax for National Coach of the Year.
11:03 - Cardinals are now up 7 with 1:30 to go. Time is running out on the Rebels.
11:05 - This one is just about over, so I will bid you good night (barring a miracle comeback). I'll be tweeting from Radford-GMU tomorrow evening. Night all and don't foul the jump shooter.