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College Hoops Go-Round: January 29

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 Forest79-58, 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 Wisconsin60-57, 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, 76-68UCLA 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 USC51-45, 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.

Weber State extended their lead at the top of the Big Sky without even playing a game. That's because both Northern Colorado and Montana State fell. The Bears lost to at home Montana, by a 64-62 count, while Northern Arizona knocked off the Grizzlies, 71-58 in Flagstaff.

Coastal Carolina remains in charge of the Big South race, thanks to a 64-46 win at Presbyterian. Radford remains the Chanticleers' closest challengers. The Highlanders sit two games back after their 80-73 victory at Gardner-Webb. 

Pacific is still in charge of the Big West race. The Tigers are now 6-1 in the conference after a 61-50 victory at UC Irvine. UC Santa Barbara now has sole possession of first place, at 6-2, as they topped Cal Poly, 80-57. UC Davis moved to 4-3 in the league, as they defeated bottom-feeder UC Riverside, 60-50. Long Beach State picked up their third win, as they topped eighth-place Cal State Northridge, 69-68.

Old Dominion knocked off Georgia State, 56-40, meaning the Monarchs are now tied with George Mason for the CAA lead.

Detroit won their sixth Horizon League contest of the season, topping Loyola-Chicago, 83-63, so did Wright State, who crushed Illinois-Chicago, 79-43.

Siena is still perfect in the MAAC, but they had to gut out a 66-58 win over St. Peter's. Fairfield remains three games behind the Saints after they beat Loyola (MD), 73-69. Iona joins them, as they defeated Marist, 61-42.

MAC West leader Central Michigan fell at Miami (OH), 64-51. Meanwhile, Ball State sent Buffalo to their third straight loss with a 75-69 win at Alumni Arena.

Indiana State and Southern Illinois both sit at 4-6 in the MVC, as the Sycamores defeated the Salukis in Terre Haute, 68-65.

Quinnipiac knocked off Wagner, 66-57, and Robert Morris defeated Long Island, 66-58, to leave the Bobcats and Colonials tied atop the NEC. St. Francis (PA) stunned St. Francis (NY), 71-63, to push the Terriers two games behind the leaders, which is exactly where LIU finds itself.

Morehead State remains a game back (in the loss column) of Murray State in the OVC race as they had no trouble with Tennessee State, winning 65-50.

SoCon leaders College of Charleston dropped their second straight game, falling 86-71 at Davidson. Appalachian State and Western Carolina are now tied atop the North Division. The Mountaineers defeated Samford, 68-55, while the Catamounts fell at Chattanooga, 80-67

IUPUI pounded Oakland at home, winning 78-54 to tie the Golden Grizzlies for the Summit League lead. Oral Roberts beat North Dakota State, 71-57, and South Dakota State won at Centenary, 81-75, to leave both those teams two games behind the co-leaders.

Arkansas State moved their Sun Belt best record to 7-2 with a close 62-60 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic continue to lead in the East, as the Blue Raiders smashed New Orleans, 66-46, and the Owls won 70-59 at South Alabama.  Troy remains a game back as they handled Louisiana-Monroe, 75-56. Meanwhile, defending conference champion Western Kentucky fell to 4-5, as North Texas edged them 84-83 in Bowling Green. Denver lost their fourth straight road conference game, falling 69-57 at Arkansas-Little Rock.

San Jose State got themselves to 5-3 in the WAC with an 83-60 win over Hawai'i. Fresno State couldn't join them. The Bulldogs lost at Idaho, 74-59.

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 Thursday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.

It's a quiet Friday in terms of televised action.

Niagara at Canisius, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU): With the Purple Eagles struggling, there won't be much interest in this one outside of Western New York.

Jacksonville at North Florida, 7 p.m. ET (CSS/Full Court): The Dolphins look to stay in the thick of the Atlantic Sun race, but they'll have to beat their crosstown rivals to keep pace with ETSU and Campbell, who play the Nashville schools.

Butler at Green Bay, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Bulldogs look to sweep the Phoenix and extend their lead at the top of the Horizon League to four games.

 

TV information, as usual, is from Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.