So what happened last night, you ask? Lemme tell you:
Purdue 60 - Ohio State 57 = What did I tell you? Two pretty good teams, and a real battle.
Duke 81 - Miami 74 = And what else did I tell you? Dook came out icy, hitting only 31% in the first half, and found themselves in a 12-point hole. If not for their D, and 22 'Cane turnovers, this would have been a loss for the Devils.
Florida State 69 - Virginia 50 = And what else? The Cavs are heading in the wrong direction, losing 6 of their last 8 games. I doesn't get any easier for them as they wind up the regular season . . . what with Clemson, Miami, Dook, BC, and Maryland left, they may get one of these.
Louisville 91 - Notre Dame 89 (2OT) = And did I not say these two matched up closely. Hell, if they matched any closer they might still be playing!
Marshall 64 - Tulsa 58 = And did I not tell you that the Thundering Herd was not completely out of CUSA contention? Well, to be honest, they have no shot of leapfrogging all 4 teams above them, yet they have tightened up the race for second place.
Missouri 82 - Texas 77 = And did I not say that the Longhorns had the press, but Missou would bring them game? After winning their first 17 games and reaching No. 1 for the first time in school history, the 'Horns continue to get hooked, now going 3 & 6 in their last 9.
Kansas State 91 - Nebraska 87 = And while we're talking about the over-ranked Big 12, what about this one? The boys from that other Manhattan reached their highest ranking at #7 since 1962, then promptly tried their damndest to drop one to the worst team in the conference. Sheesh.
As for tonight's action, we have several notable contests:
Syracuse vs. Georgetown = Both teams are coming off conference upsets. I predict one of them will bounce back tonight, while the other will continue to slide.
Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi = If the Commodores can take both this game and their next one, they will give Kentucky a serious challenge for the SEC East. However, Vandy plays like that other Southern Ivy team at times (i.e., Dook), plus Ole Miss is not half-bad themselves, plus that next game is in Rupp Arena, so it won't be a cakewalk.
South Alabama vs. Western Kentucky = OK, I don't care much, and you likely don't care at all, but this is an important game in the Sun Belt East between two fairly even squads.
Pittsburgh vs. Marquette = And neither of these teams are likely to get in the way of 'Cuse and 'Nova in the Big Mouth conference, but it does promise to be a good fight.
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota = The Badgers are better than the Golden Gophers, yet with these two you can never tell. Hell, this could be one of those 43-36 games!
California vs. Oregon State = Cal has the slimmest edge in the Pac-10 over Arizona State and USC, so need this one to maintain it . . . as if it really matters.
OK, there you have the highlights. Enjoy.