There were a lot of key conference matchups on a Thursday night where most of the really key action wasn't shown on mainstream television.
- In the lone Big East game of the night, Seton Hall topped Louisville, 80-77, to further dent the Cardinals' at-large hopes. The game featured a missed call on a Seton Hall inbound pass with .7 seconds left that could have given the Cardinals, then down just 2, a new possession to tie or win.
- Tom Crean picked up his first Big Ten road win as Indiana won at Penn State, 67-61. The Nittany Lions are now 0-6 in the conference.
- The Pac-10 is now even messier after Thursday night. Stanford got to .500 in the conference by beating Oregon State, 59-35. The Beavers are now in a tie for last in the league with in-state rival Oregon, who were pounded, 89-57, at California. UCLA is now 3-3 as they defeated Washington, 62-61. Washington State rose above the .500 logjam by defeating USC, 67-60.
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Florida is now at 2-2 in the SEC, thanks to a 71-66 victory at Arkansas.
Maine is now tied in the loss column with Vermont atop the America East. The Black Bears won 63-54 at Albany, while the Catamounts fell at home to now 5-2 Stony Brook, 65-60. Vermont has played one more conference game than Maine, however.
Campbell fell out of sole possession of first in the A-Sun after a 66-55 loss at Belmont. The Bruins moved to 5-4 in the conference with the win. The Camels are now tied with ETSU atop the league at 6-2, as the Bucs defeated Lipscomb, 71-69. The Bison could have taken a half-game lead on the Camels had they won.
Radford remains a game behind Coastal Carolina in the Big South after picking up a 109-91 win at VMI. High Point handled Liberty, 81-53, to move to 5-3. Winthrop and UNC Asheville are both at .500 in the conference now, after the Bulldogs topped the Eagles 66-53.
Pacific defeated Cal State Fullerton, 80-73, to stay atop the Big West as the only one-loss team in the conference. Cal Poly is now 4-2 after surviving a visit from last-place UC Riverside, 67-65. UC Irvine defeated Long Beach State, 71-60, to send the preseason favorites to 2-4 in the conference.
Butler moved to 8-0 in the Horizon League, but it wasn't easy. Loyola-Chicago had a shot to win at the end, one that ultimately failed, as the Bulldogs escaped with a 48-47 win. Valparaiso got to 4-4 in the conference with a 64-58 win over UIC.
Siena stands at 9-0 in the MAAC after they survived a visit their league's own Loyola, 67-61. Fairfield stays two games behind, as they won at Marist, 70-50.
Quinnipiac pounded Bryant, 84-59, to remain in the lead pack in the NEC. Robert Morris is still there as well, as they won 65-50 at Fairleigh Dickinson. However, Long Island fell out of the tie for first, as they fell 65-59 at home to Wagner, giving the Seahawks their first NEC win. St. Francis (NY) and Monmouth join the Blackbirds at the top of the chase pack. The Terriers are 5-2 after grabbing a 63-60 win at Mt. St. Mary's and the Hawks topped St. Francis (PA), 69-40. Sacred Heart is all alone at two games behind the leaders, as they defeated Central Connecticut State, 71-53.
Murray State picked up their 10th straight win to start the OVC season, winning 60-51 at Eastern Illinois.
College of Charleston is now 7-0 in the SoCon, thanks to a 92-80 win over Furman. Wofford remains two games behind the Cougars in the South Division, as they won 44-42 at The Citadel. In the North Division, Chattanooga has been knocked back to 3-3 and two games behind Western Carolina in the loss column. The Mocs fell 62-49 at UNC Greensboro.
Oakland continues to roll in the Summit League. The Golden Grizzlies won at last season's champions, North Dakota State, 85-79, to move to 8-0. IUPUI remains a game back, thanks to a 75-60 victory at Southern Utah. South Dakota State is two games behind after a 65-64 home win over IPFW. The Jackrabbits host the Grizzlies Saturday.
Arkansas State remains the only one-loss team in the Sun Belt. The Red Wolves won at FIU, 76-61. Meanwhile, the Golden Panthers are the only East Division out of the East Division race. Western Kentucky went into the night looking to move to 5-2, but they fell at Troy, 77-69, in the only divisional game of the night. Middle Tennessee won at UL Monroe, 69-60, to pick up their fifth league win. Florida Atlantic joined the 5-3 group by defeating Arkansas-Little Rock, 77-44. South Alabama is a game back, as they topped North Texas, 77-69. Back in the West Division, UL Lafayette is two games behind Arkansas State, after a 70-53 win over New Orleans, a team playing their first game after announcing they were leaving the conference to head to D-III.
No. 15 Gonzaga, not surprisingly, sits all alone at the top of the WCC. The Bulldogs defeated Pepperdine, who was previously also unbeaten in the conference, 91-84. St.Mary's remains a game behind in the loss column, after winning 71-56, at home against San Diego. Portland got to 2-2 by obliterating Loyola Marymount, 79-39.
San Jose State handed Louisiana Tech their first WAC loss, 87-76, to move to 3-3 in the conference. That loss coupled with New Mexico State's thrilling 71-69 win in Hawai'i, means the Bulldogs and Aggies are now tied for the conference lead. Utah State joins Nevada in a tie at 4-2, right behind the leaders. The Aggies picked up an easy 69-43 win at Fresno State.
Since I focused more on matchups involving conference contenders in this post, if you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a list of all the night's scores along the right side of the page.
For more on Thursday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.
It's a typically light Friday night in terms of TV action.
- Wofford at College of Charleston, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2): The Cougars look to go to 8-0 in the Southern Conference, but they'll have to beat a tough Terrier team in the second of a rare back-to-back pair. Wofford already owns win over Georgia and South Carolina.
- Milwaukee at Youngstown State, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Panthers need a win against the 2-6 Penguins to get back to .500 in the Horizon.
- Mercer at Stetson, 7 p.m. ET (CSS/Full Court): The Bears can join ETSU and Campbell in a first-place tie at the top of the Atlantic Sun with a win in DeLand.
- Iona at Manhattan, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Gaels look to grab third place in MAAC all for themselves.
For more on games that will only be telecast regionally, like Green Bay at Cleveland State, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.
