When you read this, the Tip-Off Marathon will be at least halfway over, but things really pick up after 5 p.m. Eastern. After the jump, I'll take a look at the evening matchups, and list the night's other games of importance. Starting around 5 p.m. ET, I'll have updates in this spot. For a recap of the day and overnight games, head here.
UPDATES
5:36 p.m. ET: Villanova has an early 3-2 lead on Marist and Jeff Allen just picked up his 4th foul for Virginia Tech. The Hokies lead that game 40-39 with 13:07 left.
6:05 p.m. ET: Kansas State is on a 25-9 run since this game was last tied with 11:58 left in regulation. In Philly, Villanova is up 26-14 on Marist. Ohio State-Florida is about to tip, as is the Baylor-UConn women's game.
6:19 p.m. ET: And Kansas State ends up winning 73-57. I'm going to guess Seth Greenberg (and Frank Martin for that matter) won't be happy with the officiating. In Gainesville, Ohio State is up 9-7 on Florida with 15 minutes left in the 1st.
6:58 p.m.: Now this is what we've been waiting for all day. Florida up on Ohio State, 41-38, at halftime. Both teams are looking great offensively--UF shot 60 percent from the field and the Buckeyes 53 percent--however, the Gators have a surprising 17 to 7 advantage on the boards, and 5 of OSU's are Jared Sullinger's. In Philadelphia, it's looking like Villanova will, not surprisingly, make the NIT North Region final tomorrow night, as they lead Marist 52-33 at the under 12 timeout.
It's almost tip time for Detroit-Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
7:28 p.m.: Villanova just advanced in the NIT Season Tip-Off with an 84-47 win over Marist. In the East Region Final, VCU is up 25-14 on Wake with 8:34 to go in the 1st.
7:52 p.m.: Ohio State has taken over defensively, inside, and on the boards in the 2nd half, opening up a 82-67 lead on Florida with 4:27 left in regulation. Syracuse is still struggling with Detroit, down 28-25 at the half. Wake is coming back on VCU, as the Rams only lead 43-40 at the half.
Colorado is down 32-25 at Georgia, while Indiana leads Mississippi Valley State, who gave the Bulldogs a fight Friday, 27-23 at halftime.
8:05 p.m.: Florida collapsed in the second half, and Ohio State leaves Gainesville as a team to be taken very, very seriously. The final: Buckeyes 93-75. In the marquee women's game, No. 2 Baylor is giving top-ranked UConn a huge fight. The Huskies lead 65-64 with 8.1 seconds left.
VCU still leads Wake, 43-40 at the half. Colorado has tied Georgia up at 33, also at the break.
Coastal Carolina has a 40-28 halftime lead at College of Charleston.
8:07 p.m. UConn survives and runs their win streak to 80 with a 65-64 win.
8:08 p.m.: Syracuse has just taken a 30-28 lead on Detroit with 18:56 left in the 2nd. Duke is crushing Miami (OH) so far in their CBE Classic game, 25-11 with less than 6 minutes to go in the 1st.
8:51 p.m. ET: Teams are starting to open up leads. Syracuse has pulled away from Detroit, leading 62-51 with 1:31 left, thanks to some interior domination. Louisville leads Butler, 27-17, mostly because the Bulldogs are struggling from the field, and Matt Howard is on the bench with foul issues.
Duke is crushing Miami (OH), 44-22 at the under 16.
VCU has one foot in the NIT semifinals, as they're up 78-66 on Wake with a little more than 4 minutes left.
College of Charleston has gone on a 42-19 run in the 2nd half to open up an 11-point lead on Coastal Carolina with 5 minutes left.
On the other hand, Colorado is hanging with Georgia. The Bulldogs lead 59-57 at the under 8.
9:00 p.m. ET: VCU is headed to New York, as they absolutely crushed Wake Forest, 90-69. Bradford Burgess scored 25 for the Rams, while Joey Rodriguez scored 18 and dished out 6 assists.
Scoop Jardine scored 27 for Syracuse, who finally got by Detroit, 66-55. Rick Jackson grabbed an incredible 22 rebounds for the Orange.
9:05 p.m. ET: College of Charleston left Coastal Carolina in the dust. Andrew Goudelock put 27 on the board and added 9 assists as the Cougars prevailed 83-67. Chanticleers stay in Charleston to play Georgetown in the first round of the Classic on Thursday afternoon.
9:08 p.m. ET: Butler is being blown out at Louisville, 41-23 at the half. The good for the Bulldogs: Shelvin Mack has 17. The bad: Howard now has three fouls and just two points. Cards are very balanced tonight with Terrence Jennings, Rakeem Buckles, and Preston Knowles on 8 points, and Mike Marra on 7.
9:16 p.m. ET: Wake now owns a transitive loss to Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats beat Stetson, 78-66, in the Volusia County Derby. Xavier is currently pulling away from IPFW, in overtime, at home, 69-63. There are still almost three minutes left for the Mastodons to mount a comeback.
9:18 p.m. ET: Gerald Robinson just put in his 19th and 20th point for Georgia tonight on a nice recovery after slipping. The Bulldogs are up 80-74 on Colorado with 9.9 seconds left.
9:22 p.m. ET: The final in Athens, GA: 83-74 in favor of the hosts. Duke is all over Miami (OH) still, 77-36 with under 3 minutes left. The second half just started in Louisville, where the Cardinals lead Butler 43-23.
9:26 p.m. ET: In NIT action, Boston U is up 59-44 on George Washington with 13 minutes to go. If that holds, the Terriers will face Villanova tomorrow. The Colonials would then face Marist in the 3rd place game. In the South Region, Missouri State knocked off Arkansas State. 81-71. The Bears will face either Tennessee or Belmont tomorrow with the Red Wolves taking on the loser.
Xavier ended up defeating IPFW, 76-66 in OT.
9:29 p.m. ET: In case you were wondering, Indiana pulled away from Mississippi Valley State in the 2nd, prevailing 51-74. Duke's final score over Miami (OH), 79-54.
9:33 p.m. ET: Don't look now, but LSU is losing at home to Nicholls State, 42-40 with 6:29 left.
9:48 p.m. ET: Quite a few upsets in various stages. Nicholls is still up on LSU, 54-47, with 1:16 remaining. In Chicago, Western Carolina has opened up a 41-25 lead early in the 2nd. Northern Colorado is up 25 on Wyoming in the 1st, 35-10.
10:00 p.m. ET: And down go the Bayou Bengals. Anatoly Bose lit them up for 28, as Nicholls prevailed 62-53.
In the NIT, Villanova will indeed meet Boston U tomorrow, as the Terriers held off GW, 76-67.
Butler's trying to get back in it in Louisville, but the Cardinals aren;t having any of it, as they remain up 61-43 at the under 8.
Texas Tech is tied with North Texas at 72 with 1:17 left in regulation in Denton. Northern Colorado is up 37-13 on Wyoming with 2:38 left in the 1st. Western Carolina still leads DePaul 48-33 with 11 minutes left.
10:14 p.m. ET: In Louisville, the Bulldogs have cut the Cardinals lead to 64-53 with 5 minutes left, so Butler still has a chance. North Texas is getting closer to grabbing a home upset win over Texas Tech. The Mean Green are up 84-77 with under 3 minutes to go in overtime. Western Carolina continues to lead DePaul, 54-40, at the under 8.
10:25 p.m. ET: North Texas scored the first 8 points in OT on their way to a 92-83 victory. DePaul is trying to come back on Western Carolina, but the Catamounts still lead 58-49 at the under 4.
10:32 p.m. ET: Tennessee is having a tough time with Belmont in their NIT game in Knoxville. The Vols lead 41-35 at the break. Michigan State is up 18-13 on South Carolina in the 10 p.m. tip in East Lansing.
10:41 p.m. ET: After a whole load of late Butler fouls, Louisville opens their new arena with an 88-73 victory. Western Carolina held on to win at DePaul, 67-62.
South Carolina is giving Michigan State a game early. The Spartans own a 22-21 lead at the 1st half under 8 timeout. And in a non-marathon game, New Mexico has a 31-18 lead on Arizona State with 4 minutes to go in the 1st half.
11:03 p.m. ET: Arizona State has pulled to within 6 of New Mexico at half. The Lobos are up 35-29 at the break. Michigan State has taken control against South Carolina. The Spartans lead 42-25 at halftime, but it should really be more, thanks to some poor foul shooting in the final moments of the half by Sparty. Tennessee is trying to pull away from Belmont, but the Bruins remain down by just 8, 52-44, with under 15 minutes to go.
Northern Colorado finished off Wyoming in Greeley, 67-53.
11:31 p.m. ET: We're heading into the homestretch now. Tennessee leads Belmont 71-61, but this game may never end. The two teams have so far combined for 49 fouls and 33 turnovers (21 by the Vols). There are still about 5 minutes left in regulation. UCLA meets Pacific for the NIT West Region title soon, and San Diego State has started well against Gonzaga, in a game still not on TV because of a long MAC football game. Aztecs are up 15-8 with just under 13 minutes to go in the 1st.
11:55 p.m. ET: Belmont was down 18 with 7:07 to go, but managed to cut Tennessee's lead to 2 in the final seconds before falling 85-76. The Vols will face Missouri State tomorrow night for the right to advance to New York.
Michigan State remains well ahead of South Carolina, in a game I've paid little attention to, 62-46, with under 10 minutes to go. New Mexico has wrested control back from Arizona State, as they lead by a 66-52 margin with under 4 minutes remaining.
San Diego State's been ahead of Gonzaga for the entire first half. Right now, it's 36-29 Aztecs at the under 4.
In the NIT West Final, UCLA leads Pacific 15-12 at the under 12.
12:08 a.m. ET: At the break, it's San Diego State 42, Gonzaga 37. New Mexico closed out Arizona State, 76-62, thanks to 18 from Dairese Gary and 15 from Kendall Williams. Michigan State is still up on South Carolina, 68-54, with 5:40 left.
UCLA is building a lead on Pacific, 27-18 with 6:14 to go in the 1st.
12:23 a.m. ET: UCLA is up 40-22 on Pacific at halftime.
While South Carolina cut Michigan State's lead to six with 2:02 left, the Spartans hit some big shots in response to go back up 11 with under a minute to go.
12:30 a.m. ET: Michigan State just wrapped up an 82-73 win over the Gamecocks. In Spokane, Gonzaga just took their first lead of the night before San Diego State took it right back. Right now, it's tied at 45 with 17 minutes to go.
1:07 a.m. ET: It's really quiet in Spokane, as the Aztecs have taken a 77-69 lead with under 3 minutes to go. Billy White has scored 30 already for SDSU and just needs a rebound for a double-double. UCLA up 13 on Pacific with under 10 minutes left.
1:23 a.m. ET: The Tip-Off Marathon saved the best for last, as San Diego State looked to be on their way to a somewhat comfortable win, until they committed a couple of ill-timed fouls, which let Gonzaga right back in at the end. But Kwahi Leonard hit two big foul shots with 22 seconds left to bring the lead back up to 3. Steven Gray missed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, giving the Aztecs a big win. The Bulldogs move on to Kansas City to play Kansas State Monday night regardless, while SDSU heads on to a subregional round in Oxford, Ohio.
UCLA leads Pacific by 13 with 2:22 left, so the Bruins look to be on their way to New York for the NIT semifinals next week.
I'm off to bed. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!
Marist at Villanova (NIT Season Tip-Off North Semifinal), 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The Wildcats are heavy favorites to win this bracket and advance to next week's semifinals in New York.
Ohio State at Florida, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN): These two played for the 2007 National Championship, and both would like to be considered contenders for this year's crown.
Detroit at Syracuse (Legends Classic Regional Round), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN3): The Orange are looking for their third straight win, but want to avoid a third consecutive slow start. This game sort of marks the national debut of Titan guard Ray McCallum.
Colorado at Georgia, 7 p.m. ET (FS South/Sun Sports/FSN Rocky Mountain/FS Midwest/ESPN3): I have both of these teams in the Play-in Round of my Preseason Bracket, though each has a higher ceiling. It's unlikely that Trey Thompkins will see time for the Bulldogs tonight.
St. Joseph's at Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3): Even though the Hawks were slammed by Western Kentucky on Friday, they could pull an upset in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions struggled with Lehigh in their opener.
Miami (Ohio) at Duke (CBE Classic Regional Round), 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU): The top-ranked Blue Devils look to rout a second straight opponent on the way to Kansas City. (Not that they aren't headed there anyway.)
Butler at Louisville, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN): The Bulldogs help the Cardinals officially open their new hilariously named riverfront arena.
North Dakota at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN3): This would be an amazing hockey game. Basketball? You have other choices.
Belmont at Tennessee (NIT Season Tip-Off South Semifinal), 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU): Rick Byrd's Bruins will look to stun the Volunteers and move one step closer to a surprise trip to the Big Apple.
South Carolina at Michigan State, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN): It's too bad Devan Downey graduated. He would've provided a nice test for Kalin Lucas. Without him, the Gamecocks don't stand much of a chance.
San Diego State at Gonzaga, 11 p.m. ET (ESPN2): The game of the night in my estimation. Remember, even if the Aztecs pull the upset, their next stop is Oxford, Ohio for a "subregional" instead of Kansas City for the semifinals.
Pacific at UCLA (NIT Season Tip-Off West Final/Consolation), 11:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU):The Bruins pulled away from Pepperdine in the second half last night, but will have to play without Malcolm Lee (ankle) against a Tiger team who dispatched Nevada by 11. I may not stay up for all of this one, unless it's exceptionally close, which is possible.
Even with the marathon wrapping up, there are still other viewing options available.
- Mississippi Valley State at Indiana, 7 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
- SMU at TCU, 8 p.m. ET (The Mtn.)
- Northern Illinois at Bradley, 8 p.m. ET (WTVP/ESPN3)
- Arizona State at New Mexico, 10 p.m. ET (Versus)
- Eastern Washington at Washington, 10 p.m. ET (FSN Northwest/FCS Pacific)
For info on games that are only available regionally, like IPFW at Xavier, Gardner-Webb at Florida State, and Akron at Dayton, visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site.
The following games this evening won't be on TV, but are still worth a follow online or via Twitter.
- Coastal Carolina at College of Charleston, 7 p.m. ET: Not only does this game matchup the defending Big South regular season champs with an early-season darling, it marks the first of four straight the Chanticleers will play on the Cougars' home floor, as they play in the Charleston Classic on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
- Arkansas State vs. Missouri State (NIT Season Tip-Off South Semifinal), 7 p.m. ET
- Boston University vs. George Washington (NIT Season Tip-Off North Semifinal), 8:30 p.m. ET
- Texas Tech at North Texas, 8 p.m. ET
- Western Carolina at DePaul, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Wyoming at Northern Colorado, 9 p.m. ET
Back to reality (and a regular posting schedule) on Wednesday. Please use the comments to discuss the night's goings-on.
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