Unfortunately, real life has made the past couple of days and nights busier than normal for me, so I haven't really gotten to see too much. That means writing has had to take a backseat as well. So, if you want to read more about USF upset win at No. 7 Georgetown and No. 1 Kansas OT win at Colorado, head over to SB Nation (where the scoreboard at the top of the page will lead you to recaps and the nightly rundown) and Searching for Billy Edelin.

Normal service will resume tomorrow. In the meantime, here's the rundown of tonight's key games from a bracket perspective.

No. 21 Georgia Tech at No. 10 Duke, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Florida at Alabama, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Detroit at No. 23 Butler, 7 p.m. ET (FS Detroit/WNDY/FCS Central)
No. 8 Purdue at Indiana, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Cincinnati at Notre Dame, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN Plus/Full Court)
No.14 Tennessee at LSU, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Maryland at Florida State, 9 p.m. ET (Raycom/Full Court)
North Carolina at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. ET (Raycom/Full Court)
Arizona at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET (FSN/Comcast Sports Net)
Portland at No. 17 Gonzaga, 11 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

In Thursday night's other, televised action...

New Hampshire at Boston University, 7 p.m. ET (CSN New England/Full Court)
Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart, 7:30 p.m. ET (FCS Atlantic/Full Court)
Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Monroe, 8 p.m. ET (FCS Central)
Winthrop at Liberty, 8 p.m. ET (MASN/Full Court)
Youngstown State at Loyola-Chicago, 8 p.m. ET (Lakeshore/Full Court)
Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State, 11 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

For info on games that will be televised regionally, like Stanford at UCLA and Santa Clara at St. Mary's, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.

I didn't get to see much action last night, so I was surprised to see that the Big Ten race may have completely changed last night in Madison.

No. 5 Michigan State dropped their first Big Ten game of the season, 67-49 at  No. 16 Wisconsin, but they suffered a bigger loss when All-Big Ten point guard Kalin Lucas went down with an ankle injury. In the night's other game, Northwestern swept Michigan with a 67-52 win in Evanston. 

Elsewhere among the probable multi-bid leagues...

Wake Forest is 5-3 in the ACC, thanks to a 62-53 victory over Miami.

Rhode Island is 6-2 in the A-10 after they picked up a 90-83 win at La Salle.

No. 2 Villanova is now 9-0 in the Big East after an 81-71 home win over Seton Hall. No. 4 Syracuse crushed Providence, 85-68, to stay a game back of the Wildcats in the race. The Orange's 22-1 start is their best ever. In the night's other game, Rutgers won their second in a row, beating St. John's, 84-72.

No. 10 Kansas State shook off their loss to Kansas by pounding Nebraska in Lincoln, 76-57, in the lone Big 12game of the night.

It was a good night for favorites in the Mountain West. No. 12 BYU won at home over TCU, 76-56, and San Diego State did the same against Air Force, 70-48.

No. 25 Ole Miss dropped their second SEC game in 48 hours. The Rebels fell to third-ranked Kentucky, 85-75, and now sit at 4-4 in the conference.

In Tuesday's games outside of the major conferences...

Radford is a game and a half behind Coastal Carolina in the Big South. The Highlanders thumped VMI, 111-84.

Northeastern won easily at Delaware, 67-51, to stay in the thick of the CAA race. Drexel is now 8-4 after they blasted hapless Towson, 97-55.

Teams from outside C-USA's lead pack took center stage on Tuesday. UCF topped East Carolina, 67-56, while SMU couldn't build on their home win over Memphis. The Mustangs lost 56-53 at Southern Miss.

There was one MVC game Tuesday and it was a thriller. Bradley topped Drake, 67-65 in Peoria.

Southeast Missouri crushed , 68-49, in the only OVC contest to actually happen on Tuesday. Jacksonville State's game at Tennessee State was postponed.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a rundown of all of the night's scores on the right side of the page.

For more on Tuesday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.

After the jump, I'll take a look at what's ahead for Wednesday.

Continue reading this post »

The big news on Monday broke off the court, where talk about NCAA Tournament expansion heated up considerably, thanks to a Sports Business Journal report.

As you'd expect, I have pretty strong feelings about this. You can read those, along with my sensible proposal for a 96-team field over at SB Nation.

On the court, there was quite a bit of action, particularly among the mid-majors.

In the Big East two teams who sit on the bubble, but would probably make it in an expanded field met at Freedom Hall. That's where Louisville boosted their resume by damaging Connecticut's. The Cardinals claimed a 82-69 win over the Huskies at Freedom Hall.

No. 9 Texas recovered from Saturday's loss at home to Baylor by picking up a key Big 12 road win. The Longhorns pulled away from Oklahoma State to claim a 72-60 win.

Belmont handed ETSU their fifth conference loss, 74-67. The Bruins and Bucs both now sit two games back of leader Jacksonville in the loss column in the A-Sun race. Lipscomb, however, is the only team to be a game back, as they beat Campbell, 60-59.

Iona topped Canisius, 72-53, to remain three games behind Siena in the MAAC race.

Kent State sits alone atop the MAC East after Monday. The Golden Flashes blew out Northern Illinois, 76-46, while Akron fell at home to Eastern Michigan, 62-59. Western Michigan and Buffalo both sit at 4-4. The Broncos beat the Bulls on their home court, 85-70.

Morgan State won their second MEAC game in as many nights to move to 8-0. The Bears won 74-65 at North Carolina A&T. Wouldn't it be neat if both they and Murray State were unbeaten in their respective leagues when they meet in a BracketBuster game on February 20. Second place Delaware State moved to 6-2 with a 54-45 home win over Howard. Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State are tied for third. The Wildcats defeated Winston-Salem State, 74-48, while the Bulldogs topped Florida A&M, 77-62. 

Jackson State remains in the top spot in the SWAC. The Tigers picked up a 72-67 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, moving the Lions into a tie for third. Texas Southern remains in second, a game back, after a 67-62 win at Alabama A&M. Prairie View joined UAPB at 6-3 in the conference by knocking Alabama State down to that same record. The Panthers topped the Hornets, 56-55.

Finally, in one of the more embarassing losses suffered by a Division I team this season, Appalachian State lost at home to King College, 87-76. The Tennessee school is transitioning into Division II.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a rundown of all of the night's scores on the right side of the page.

For more on Monday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.

After the jump, I'll take a look at what's ahead for Tuesday.

Continue reading this post »

Sunday was a bit busier than expected, thanks to several rescheduled games from Saturday. 

Maryland fell at Clemson, 62-53, meaning the Terps no longer have sole possession of first in the ACC. Virginia handed North Carolina their third straight loss in Chapel Hill, dominating the Heels, 75-60. That's a loss that severely damaged UNC's tourney chances. MIami (FL) built a big lead against Virginia Tech, and while the Hokies came back, they couldn't dig themselves out of the hole. The Hurricanes won 82-75.

Xavier leads the A-10 by a half game over Charlotte and Temple. The Musketeers claimed their seventh conference win by hammering Fordham, 108-60.

Break up the USF Bulls. They won their third straight Big East game. claiming an impressive 70-61 victory over No. 17 Pitt.

No. 10 Purdue had no trouble with Penn State in Big Ten action, winning 66-46. Minnesota couldn't sweep No. 20 Ohio State. The Buckeyes blew out the Golden Gophers in Columbus, 85-63.

In the Pac-10, California couldn't complete their first-ever sweep of the Arizona schools, as they fell to Arizona, 76-72. That means those two teams are tied for the conference lead.

There were two SEC games on the Sunday slate, double the number originally scheduled. No. 14 Tennessee snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Florida in a thriller, 61-60. Meanwhile, No. 18 Mississippi fell to Arkansas, 80-73 in Oxford, in a game moved from Saturday because of weather.

Elsewhere around the country...

Jacksonville is a game up on Lipscomb in the Atlantic Sun. The Dolphins beat USC Upstate, 79-63. 

Montana State at Northern Colorado broke the tie for second in the Big Sky by defeating Montana State, 74-68.

Radford fell at UNC Asheville, 92-84. That loss puts the Highlanders in a tie for second in the Big South with Winthrop. They sit two games behind leaders Coastal Carolina.

In a CAA game that was postponed yesterday because of weather, William & Mary beat Drexel, 54-51, to snap a three-game losing streak.

Butler won again in the Horizon, but Milwaukee gave them a game. The Bulldogs prevailed by a 73-66 score. Valparaiso upset Green Bay, 84-79, to knock the Phoenix out of the group tied for second.

St. Peter's crushed Manhattan, 72-44, to stay four games behind Siena in the MAAC. Niagara also beat Loyola (MD), 86-77, in Sunday action.

Ball State stunned Ohio, 67-66, in the lone MAC game of the day.

Morgan State moved to 7-0 in the MEAC as they beat Norfolk State, 100-94, in a game that was originally supposed to be held yesterday.

Wichita State remains two games behind Northern Iowa in the MVC. The Shockers survived their visit to Southern Illinois, 55-54. Also, Indiana State topped Evansville, 63-56.

There were two OVC games today that were rescheduled. Morehead State fell at Austin Peay, 56-55, meaning the Eagles are now two games back of Murray State in the loss column. The Governors remain tied with Eastern Kentucky for third, as the Colonels beat Tennessee State, 75-58.

Lehigh joins Lafayette at the top of the Patriot League, thanks to their 78-60 win over Holy Cross.

In the Southland, Stephen F. Austin defeated McNeese State, 70-55.

IUPUI followed up their big win over Oakland with a 62-60 loss at home to IPFW, keeping them from staying in a first-place tie in the Summit.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a rundown of all of Sunday's scores on the right side of the page.

For more on Sunday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.

Monday's schedule features several teams who really need to start winning some games.

Connecticut at Louisville, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN): Big game for two teams who expected to be closer to Tournament safety.

Prairie View A&M at Alabama State, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Hornets are part of the group chasing Jackson State in the SWAC, while the visiting Panthers are another game back in the standings.

Eastern Michigan at Akron, 7 p.m. ET (FSN Regional/Full Court): The Zips, currently tied for the MAC lead, look for another conference win.

Texas at Oklahoma State, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN): The reeling Longhorns need a win to get back on track.

Other viewing options include...

Canisius at Iona, 7:30 p.m. ET (MAAC/FCS Atlantic/Full Court)
South Carolina State at Florida A&M, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Florida Gulf Coast at Mercer, 9 p.m. ET (CSS/Full Court)
Eastern Washington at Seattle, 10 p.m. ET (FS Northwest/FCS Pacific)

TV information is courtesy Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.

The highlight of Saturday's schedule was a game in Washington, D.C. where No. 7 Georgetown and No. 8 Duke stepped out of conference and played in front of President Barack Obama (who stepped in and helped out with CBS' broadcast), Vice President Joe Biden, and thousands of others. The Hoyas dominated inside and shot nearly 72 percent from the floor to claim a dominating 89-77 win. 

Just about everyone else was involved in conference action, at least where the weather was decent.

Florida State held off Boston College, 61-57, to move to 4-3 in the ACC.  No. 22 Georgia Tech hammered Division II Kentucky State, 98-50. NC State also stepped out of the league, as they crushed North Carolina Central, 77-42. 

No. 15 Temple moved to 6-1 in the A-10 with a 64-52 win over La Salle in a Big 5 game. Charlotte joins the Owls and Xavier in a three-way tie atop the league, as they beating UMass, 72-58. Rhode Island defeated George Washington, 72-66, to stay a game behind in the loss column. Richmond also has just two losses as they demolished St. Louis, 62-36, at the Robins Center. Dayton moved back over .500 in the league, as they beat St. Bonaventure, 75-58.

It was an extremely busy day in the Big East. Louisville fell to No. 9 West Virginia by a 77-74 score, thanks in part to a controversial possession call at the end of the game.  No. 19 Connecticut looks to be headed out of the poll again, as they fell to Marquette in Hartford by a 70-68 score. No. 4 Syracuse survived a mighty scare at DePaul. The Orange came back from 18 down to win, 59-57. Elsewhere, Providence couldn't build on their win over the Huskies. They fell to Cincinnati, 92-88; and Notre Dame's tourney hopes took a bit of a hit as they fell at Rutgers, 74-73.

No. 5 Michigan State pulled away from Northwestern in the second half to win 79-70, keeping their perfect Big Tenrecord intact. Illinois beat Indiana, 72-70, thanks to a Demetri McCamey shot at the buzzer to move to 6-3 in the conference. Michigan had little trouble with Iowa, winning 60-46 in Ann Arbor.

No. 2 Kansas will likely move up to number 1 on Monday. The Jayhawks remained unbeaten in the Big 12 thanks to a thrilling 81-79 overtime win over No. 11 Kansas State in Manhattan. No. 24 Baylor sent No. 6 Texas to their third loss in four games, triumphing 80-77 in overtime. Missouri pounded Oklahoma State, 95-80, to jump them in the league standings. In other games, Nebraska won their first Big 12 game of the year, topping Oklahoma in Lincoln, 63-46; Iowa State won a 64-63 thriller over Colorado in Ames; and Texas A&M pounded Texas Tech, 85-70.

No. 12 BYU got back on track and stayed a game up on No. 23 New Mexico in the MWC with a 82-69 win over archrival Utah, in a game marred by an ugly incident where Utah's Marshall Henderson smacked Jackson Emery and was ejected. The Lobos, meanwhile, followed up their big win over the Cougars with a 73-57 victory at TCU. , San Diego State moved to 4-3 in the conference with a 64-52 win at Colorado State, Air Force won their first conference game, topping Wyoming, 70-63.

Washington snapped their two-game Pac-10 losing streak with an emphatic 92-64 win over archrival Washington State. Arizona State recovered from Thursday's loss to Cal, as they handled Stanford. 88-70. In other action, UCLA got back on track with a 62-52 win at Oregon State, while Oregon won their second straight, topping USC, 67-57.

No. 21 Vanderbilt is no longer unbeaten in the SEC. As you'd expect, No. 1 Kentucky was in no mood to lose two straight, so they handled the Commodores, 85-72. Mississippi State beat LSU, 67-51, meaning the Tigers are now 0-7 in the SEC. Alabama fell Auburn, 58-57. South Carolina very nearly followed up their win over Kentucky with a loss, but they managed to beat Georgia, 78-77. Arkansas' game at No. 18 Ole Miss was postponed to Sunday because of snow.

No. 13 Gonzaga lost their first WCC game. San Francisco upset them, 81-77. That means the Zags are now tied with St. Mary's, 85-67 winners over Loyola Marymount, at the top of the league standings. Portland is just a game behind the Bulldogs and Gaels. The Pilots handled Santa Clara, 74-52. San Diego also defeated Pepperdine, 66-44.

After the jump, I'll take a look at what happened elsewhere in the country.

Continue reading this post »

Friday was a quiet night nationally, but there were some key matchups in one bid leagues.

Jacksonville took temporary possession of first in the A-Sun. The Dolphins are a half-game up on Campbell and ETSU after they claimed a 73-61 win over North Florida.

Weber State owns a two game lead in the Big Sky after they crushed Sacramento State, 81-59.

Butler is four games up in the loss column on Green Bay  in the Horizon League, as they dominated the Phoenix, 75-57. In the other Horizon game of the night, Milwaukee held off Valparaiso, 85-82.

It was a full night of action in the Ivy. Cornell slammed Dartmouth, 71-37, and Harvard crushed Columbia, 74-45, to set up a huge game tomorrow in Ithaca.  In the night's other two games, Yale beat Penn, 61-48, and Princeton topped Brown, 63-46. 

Canisius defeated Niagara in the lone MAAC game of the night by a 73-70 score.

After the jump, I'll take a look at what's coming up on the final Saturday of January.

Continue reading this post »

Thursday night delivered more clarity to several conference races, though there's still plenty of room for shuffling during February.

Maryland now sits alone atop the league standings, as Virginia Tech won at Virginia in OT by a score of 76 to 71. No. 22 Georgia Tech slammed Wake Forest, 79-58, meaning both teams are now 4-3 in the ACC. 

Xavier moved to 6-1 in the A-10, as they obliterated Duquesne, 86-50. That means the Musketeers own a temporary half-game lead over both Temple and Charlotte.

In the Big Ten, No. 10 Purdue held off No. 16 Wisconsin, 60-57, preventing the Badgers from sweeping the season series. Both teams sit three games behind unbeaten Michigan State in the loss column.

No. 17 Pittsburgh got away from St. John's in the second half, winning 63-53, to stay two games behind Villanova in the Big East race. Seton Hall fell at USF in OT, 76-74, a win that gave the Bulls their first ever back-to-back Big East wins.

California is now in control of the Pac-10 race as they picked up a 78-70 win at Arizona State.  Arizona moved up to second after they defeated Stanford, 76-68. UCLA could have joined the Wildcats, but they fell 71-66 at Oregon. That victory ended the Ducks' five-game conference losing streak. Oregon State topped USC, 51-45, to keep the Trojans out of second.

Arkansas upset Mississippi State, 67-62, to split the season series and drop the Bulldogs to 3-2 in the SEC. That means MSU Is now tied with their in-state rival, No. 18 Mississippi, at the top of the West Division. The Rebels pulled away to win at Auburn, 84-74.

No. 13 Gonzaga got Santa Clara's best shot, but the Bulldogs are still unbeaten in the WCC, as they grabbed a 71-64 win away from home. St. Mary's remains a game behind the Bulldogs, as they won 88-71 at Pepperdine. Portland is in third, two games back, as they also won on the road, beating San Francisco by a 74-58 score. Loyola Marymount beat San Diego, 68-65, to send the Toreros into a tie for seventh with the Broncos.

More on what happened in the traditional one-bid leagues after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Wednesday night was featured quite a few key conference clashes, particularly outside of the six major conferences.

There was only one ACC game on the Thursday schedule. No. 8 Duke picked up a relatively easy 70-56 home win over Florida State to keep pace with Maryland and Virginia in the ACC race. 

No. 15 Temple is no longer unbeaten in the A-10. The Owls fell at Charlotte, 74-64, and now the 49ers are tied with them and Xavier for the conference lead. St. Louis couldn't stay among the leaders, as they dropped their second league game, 67-62 at George Washington. La Salle got to .500 in the league with an 80-73 win at Fordham. UMass won at St. Joseph's, 87-80. 

No. 3 Villanova defeated Notre Dame, 90-72, to stay unbeaten in the Big East. Providence upended No. 19. Connecticut, 81-66, as the Huskies had a bit of a letdown after their big win over Texas on Saturday.

Illinois kept Penn State winless in the Big Ten with a 77-67 victory, while 20th-ranked Ohio State won 65-57 at Iowa to move to 5-3 in the conference.

In the Big 12, No. 6 Texas snapped their two-game losing streak by pulling away from Texas Tech to grab a 95-83 win. Oklahoma State moved to 4-2 with a 76-69 win over Texas A&M. Oklahoma joined the Aggies at .500 by beating Iowa State, 89-84 in Norman. Colorado sent Nebraska to 0-5 in the conference by beating the Huskers, 72-60.

No. 23 New Mexico picked up a big Mountain West win, beating 12th-ranked BYU, 76-72. That's the second loss for the Cougars on the year and their first in the league. It's a setback that cuts their lead over the Lobos and UNLV to a single game in the loss column. Wyoming picked up a 75-69 win over Utah to send the Utes to .500 in the league. Colorado State is also back to even after they beat TCU, 63-57.

No. 21 Vanderbilt remains the only team with a perfect SEC record. The Commodores beat No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville, 85-76, setting up a big game in Lexington on Saturday. Florida won their fourth straight, beating Georgia, 87-71.  LSU still hasn't won a conference game yet, as they struggled at Alabama, falling 57-38.

Outside of the likely multi-bid leagues...

Maine remains atop the America East after picking up a 56-54 win over Boston University. What is going on with Vermont? The Catamounts dropped their third straight, 75-56, at New Hampshire.

ETSU created a three-way tie atop the A-Sun. They beat Campbell, 72-57, to create a logjam between themselves, the Camels, and Jacksonville. Mercer fell to .500 in the conference after they fell to Kennesaw State at home, 71-69.

George Mason ran past Delaware, 77-66. The Patriots sit alone atop the CAA for the day at 9-1, as Drexel knocked off Northeastern, 61-48, to send the Huskies to 8-2. Old Dominion can join GMU Thursday if they beat Georgia State. William & Mary is now three games behind the leaders, as they lost 65-63 at James Madison. Hofstra snapped a five-game losing streak by demolishing UNCW, 93-54; and VCU also grabbed a huge win, pounding Towson, 112-53.

Memphis stays a game behind UAB in C-USA, as they handed Marshall their second straight conference loss by a 75-72 score. UTEP is also a game behind heading into Saturday's big game with the Blazers, after they defeated Tulane, 84-71. SMU won their second conference game, 65-43, over UCF.

Akron moved to 4-2 in the MAC by winning at Western Michigan, 79-70. Ohio is on a bit of mini-roll. The Bobcats won their second straight, 99-84, at then-West co-leader Northern Illinois.

Northern Iowa stands at 9-1 in the MVC after they topped in-state rival Drake, 67-51. Wichita State remains two games behind the Panthers, as they defeated reeling Illinois State, 74-66. Creighton moved to 6-4 with a 73-68 win at Bradley. Missouri State joins the Braves at 5-5, however, after they beat Evansville, 76-66.

Murray State picked up yet another OVC win, as they beat transitional member, SIU Edwardsville, 86-49.

Lafayette has sole possession of first in the Patriot League again, as they beat Army, 77-68, and Bucknell upended previous co-leader Lehigh, 81-76.  Don't look now, but American is back at .500 in the league after they topped Navy, 69-59. Also, Colgate defeated Holy Cross, 69-68, to win their second conference game. 

Sam Houston State moved to 5-0 in the Southland as they defeated Lamar, 90-63. Texas State moved to 4-2 after a 76-62 home victory over Texas San Antonio. Stephen F. Austin sits atop the East Division at 4-2 thanks to a 66-56 triumph over archrival Northwestern State. Southeastern Louisiana got back to .500 with a 60-53 win over Central Arkansas, so did Nicholls State, 63-61 winners over McNeese State. 

Jackson State is now tied atop the SWAC with Texas Southern. The Tigers defeated Alcorn State, who's still winless in the conference, 63-51.

If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a listing of all of the night's scores on the right side of the page.

For more on Wednesday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.

After the jump I'll take a look at a busy Thursday.

Continue reading this post »