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
- Oakland at No. 12 Michigan State (Big Ten, 7)
- Chicago State at Nebraska (Full Court, 8)
- Miami (OH) at No. 19 Cincinnati (ESPN2, 8:30)
- Colorado at Colorado State (the mtn., 9:30)
For a full list of televised games, including contests that are only going to be televised regionally, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.