Well, both those games referenced above influenced the polls, not surprisingly. As UK and OSU were pretty much "tied" in the voting, the Buckeye loss dropped them down out of the Top Five . . . which may be too much. Louisville dropped even more, but there's the excuse of back-to-back Ls to explain that. So to recap some more of the meaningful scores, on Saturday 12/31:
Indiana 74 - Ohio State 70 = I told you the Hoosiers had a shot at home against the Buckeyes. I'm still not totally convinced they are back to Knightly glory, but it is good to see them competing on a high level again.
Iowa 72 - Wisconsin 65 = But this one surprises me quite a bit. I didn't think the Hawkeyes had much of a chance in Madison against the Badgers . . . which shows you once again what little I know, and why they play the games.
Boise State 76 - Idaho 73 = This one was about what I did expect, however. I thought it would be a good game, and it certainly was.
N. C. State 82 - Western Carolina 55 = The victory by Jerry's 'Pack was pretty much expected, but the size of the margin was not, which may be a sign that this team is starting to play together better.
Georgetown 49 - Providence 40 = And though the Hoya win was expected, the crappy scoring by both sides makes that UK/Louisville score look like an old UNLV/Loyola Marymount romp.
Butler 54 - Wisc. Milwaukee 50 = Another low-scorer, but I'm sure the Bulldogs are happy they've stayed above .500, at least for now.
Michigan State 68 - Nebraska 55 = Nothing at all surprising here. In fact, what would be is if the Cornhuskers manage to win more that 2 or 3 games in conference play all season.
Mississippi State 66 - Utah State 64 = Some of you may have looked askance when I said this would be a good one. Well,
Purdue 75 - Illinois 60 = I missed this one, or maybe the Illini missed the bus. Although I figured it could go either way, so the Boilermaker win is no shock, the significant margin does shock me some.
Harvard 74 - St. Joseph's 69 = And you may think I missed this one too, as I pretty much called for St. Joe's to knock off the Crimson. But blame the Hawks for this, not me . . . they were up by 10 at the half, then didn't manage to make it out of the locker-room. Speaking of which . . .
Creighton 68 - Wichita State 61 = I gave the Shockers a shot here, and THEY were up 8 at the break. Looks like I'm the one who couldn't catch one . . . a break, I mean.
New Mexico 64 - Saint Louis 60 = I made no call here, save for a good game, and it was.
UNLV 74 - Hawaii 69 = But though the Rebels won, as I predicted, I never thought the Rainbows could hang so close.
Gonzaga 72 - Xavier 65 = Well, it wasn't all that ugly a loss for the Musketeers, but they continue to self-destruct. Maybe that crosstown win over the Bearcats was the worst thing that could have happened to the X-Men. This also means I have no clue if this was a good win for the 'Zags, or not. Furthermore, to contrast this . . .
On Sunday 1/1:
Cincinnati 66 - Pittsburgh 63 = Since that fight mentioned above, the one that seemingly ruined Xavier's momentum, the previously struggling Bearcats have won 6 in a row after that row. Meanwhile, Pitt slips deeper into the pits, which is unusual for them. They normally don't collapse until March.
South Florida 67 - Rutgers 65 = The Scarlet Knights follow up their stunning victory over the Gators by dropping this one to the Bulls. Who can figure this $#!+ out?
Marquette 81 - Villanova 77 = As I thought, Marquette rebounded from their loss with a win. But there's some hope for the Philly 'Cats here, since they made a pretty damn good showing of it, so maybe they can get better before the end of the year.
North Carolina 102 - Monmouth 65 = And as I thought, not much of a game. But also as I thought, and my sole (or is that "soul"?) reason for mentioning this at all was the 30-second standing ovation King Rice et. al. received during introductions. Some programs are just programs, but others are family.
Akron 67 - Marshall 51 = I'm a bit disappointed that the Herd didn't give the Zips all the game I predicted. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.
Michigan 61 - Minnesota 56 = Now this is more like it, and more of the contest I expected. A good win for the Wolverines, though I'm still concerned with their lack of scoring ability. So far this season they've only had 2 games when they've scored over 80 pionts, and 6 when they've tallied under 65. And they ain't exactly the Hoyas of the 80s either.
Today's action has already started in some places, but only one final so far has any real meaning:
Rhode Island 78 - Boston College 72 (2OT) = The Rams pretty much stink this year, and this is only their 3rd victory so far. Guess that means the Eagles won't be challenging for the ACC crown.
In other games:
ODU vs. James Madison = As I type it's at the half, with JM up 2. I think ODU will make a game of it before it's done.
Chattanooga vs. Tennessee = In most years, one would have to favor the Vols fairly heavily. I don't know if the Mocs can beat this present batch in Knoxville, but they may scare them a bit.
Virginia vs. LSU = It's in Baton Rouge, so despite my misgivings about SEC West teams I gotta give the Tigers a shot here, at least to challenge the Cavs. UVA's played much better than expected (and good for them), but not only am I not totally convinced they are for real, I also suspect they have some internat turmoil disturbing their chemistry. Hey, players don't leave in the middle of a season without some reason, be it good or bad.
Baylor vs. Texas A&M = And speaking of not being convinced someone's for real, I don't buy into the Bears all that much. If the Aggies can play up to their pre-season hype for a change, they could hang that first L around Baylor's neck.
Drexel vs. Georgia State = This is just one of those I get that feeling could be fun.
Wofford vs. Wake Forest = This one could be too, though I'm more interested to see how the Deacs play. After the abysmal last few years they've had down in Greensboro, they can use any W they can get.
Coastal Carolina vs. Campbell = Here's two pretty good mid-majors going head-to-head, so keep an eye on this.
Vanderbilt vs. Miami (OH) = And much like that Wake/Wofford game, my interest stems from my curiosity as to which group of Commodores will show up in Nashville tonight.
That's all for me today. See you later, and enjoy.