College Hoops Go-Round: December 10

by Chris Dobbertean on Dec 10, 2009 9:29 AM EST in College Hoops Go-Rounds Comment 0 comments

Kentucky's John Wall drives to the basket against Connecticut in the first half of a NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

3 months ago: Kentucky's John Wall drives to the basket against Connecticut in the first half of a NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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The crowd at Madison Square Garden was treated to a show on Wednesday night, as the SEC and Big East split the first night of their invitational.

Georgia tried to come back in the final moments at St. John's, but fell short, 66-56.
No. 4 Kentucky jumped out to a big lead in the first four minutes on No. 14 Connecticut, who crept back in over the next four minutes, with a back and forth thriller resulting. The Wildcats held off the Huskies, 64-61, with an amazing John Wall finish and subsequent foul shot giving the Cats the lead at the end.

In other Wednesday action

No. 5 Purdue hammered Valparaiso, 86-62.
No. 6 West Virginia doubled up Duquesne, 68-39.
Providence put on a show at George Washington, winning 110-97.
No. 1 Kansas routed Radford, 99-64.
Missouri fell at Oral Roberts, 60-59.
No. 3 Villanova won the Holy War, holding off St. Joseph's, 97-89, at the Palestra.
Michigan got smoked by Utah in Salt Lake City, 68-52.
Arizona had little trouble with Louisiana Tech, winning 83-67.
Washington State defeated neighbors Idaho, 76-64.
La Salle won at Rider, 69-60.
Buffalo beat local rival Niagara, 86-80.
Austin Peay upset Ohio in Athens, 68-66.
Harvard won at Boston College for the second straight season, 74-67. Jeremy Lin scored 25 for the Crimson. He hung 27 on the Eagles last season.
Virginia Tech pulled away from VMI, 98-73.
Notre Dame routed IUPUI, 93-70.
No. 20 Wisconsin fell at in-state rival Green Bay, 88-84 in OT.
California had no problem with Pacific, winning in Stockton 79-54.
New Mexico survived a trip to San Diego, prevailing 82-78.
Cal State Fullerton fell at San Diego State, 82-68.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links above. You'll find a rundown of all of Wednesday's game along the right side of the page.

It's a pretty quiet Thursday, meaning the focus of the college basketball world shifts to Tampa for night two of the SEC/Big East Invitational.

DePaul vs. Mississippi State (ESPN2, 6:30): This matchup is definitely the undercard (ESPN Regional Television is a smart group of schedulers). However, this one would have been something to see if 6-10 DePaul forward Mac Koshwal wasn't sidelined with a left foot injury. Now, Jarvis Varnado should dominate inside and lead the Bulldogs to a comfortable win.
No. 7 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Florida (ESPN, 9): I know I should probably be more neutral, but this is Dobber Bowl III -- as the team I grew up cheering for faces my alma mater. This one should be a good one, as the Orange and Gators are probably the two biggest surprises on the national scene so far. Wes Johnson has established himself as a serious Naismith candidate in Central New York, while in North Central Florida, Billy Donovan seems to have his first team since the beloved 2006-07 repeat national champs to completely buy into his system. This should be a five-star matchup. Expect a pro-Gator crowd, with a heavy dose of Orange. (The crowds at Cuse-USF hoops games at the Sun Dome tend lean Orange.)

Here's a list of the rest of tonight's televised action