Thursday night featured three games from the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series, and a whole slew of mid-major conference matchups. Let's start by taking a look at what ended up being a clean sweep for the Heartland league in the challenge event.
- No. 12 Washington fell at Texas Tech, 99-92. The game looked to be over at the end of regulation thanks to an amazing buzzer beater from Mike Singletary. Unfortunately, the ball didn't leave his hand until after the clock hit triple zeros, so the game went to OT. The fans, who had rushed the court thinking the shot good, had to return to their seats for overtime. The Red Raiders didn't let this occurrence phase them, and the fans rushed the court again once true victory was assured. Keep in mind that I picked the Red Raiders 10th in the Big 12 and the Huskies to win the Pac 10.
- USC gave No. 2 Texas a battle for about 30 minutes before falling 69-50. Damion James scored 19 for the Longhorns. The Trojans lost both their games in this season's Hardwood Series, after losing at home to Nebraska Sunday.
- Baylor won the night's second thriller, beating Arizona State 64-61, thanks to 27 from Tweety Carter.
That means the Big 12 has a 4-0 series lead so far with several games on tap over the weekend. After the jump, I'll take a look at some of Thursday's other action.
Outside of the major conferences, the focus was on league openers.
- In the Atlantic Sun, the two Nashville powers both won on the road, Belmont 75-70 over Kennesaw State and Lipscomb 98-89 over Mercer.
- In the Big South, Radford opened up their title defense by beating Winthrop, 61-59.
- Cliff Ellis' Coastal Carolina Chanticleers played at VMI's pace and prevailed, 111-97.
- In the Horizon, Wright State had an easy time with defending tournament champ Cleveland State, winning 73-64.
- Milwaukee opened their league campaign with a 57-52 win over Illinois-Chicago.
- The rematch of last year's NEC final ended with a similar result. Defending champ Robert Morris knocked off preseason league favorite Mount St. Mary's, 63-57, meaning the Colonials aren't quite ready to give up their crown yet.
- In the Ohio Valley, defending tourney champion Morehead State knocked off defending regular season champ Tennessee-Martin, 74-66. (Though the Skyhawks shouldn't be so high-flying this year without Lester "Done Ruthless" Hudson.
- Murray State, another perennial OVC contender, knocked off challenger Eastern Kentucky, 62-60. The Racers rallied in the last two minutes, picking up a crucial victory, especially with Morehead visiting Saturday.
- Southeast Missouri, a program that's faced a lot of turmoil over the past year, gave OVC power Austin Peay a fight before falling, 76-71.
- In the Southern Conference, the College of Charleston defeated visiting Georgia Southern, 68-59.
- Davidson won for only the second time this season, but they're 1-0 in the league. The Wildcats won at the Citadel, 74-63.
- Furman upset Buzz Peterson's Appalachian State Mountaineers in Boone, 85-82.
- Oral Roberts started their Summit League campaign with a home win over UMKC, 68-57.
- Defending Summit champ North Dakota State won at Western Illinois, 60-55.
- IUPUI, who is a strong contender for this season's crown took out South Dakota State in the Jungle, 77-57.
- In one non-conference matchup of note from the West Coast, Kenny Daniels had 39 to lead Cal State Northridge to another big win for the Big West. The Matadors beat Idaho, 95-93.
If you don't see your team's score, just click any of the score links. The full rundown will be on the right side of the page. For more on last night's action, visit Searching For Billy Edelin and the main SB Nation site.
Friday is a pretty quiet night in terms of nationally televised action
- Penn at Navy (CBS CS, 7 p.m. ET)
- Wofford at No. 9 Michigan State (Big Ten, 7 p.m. ET)
- Colorado at Oregon State (FSN, 11 p.m. ET)
For other games that are only going to be telecast locally, including games involving No. 13 Florida and No. 19 Texas A&M, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.