"GCS II - (The Great Conference Shuffle)" has redefined the college basketball landscape. Most teams traded up individually;
some conferences got stronger, but some got weaker. The strength of schedule in the
Big East is off the chart.
Florida knocked off Wake Forest and Syracuse to take the COACHES VS CANCER title. Washington
cruised at home three times to win the BCA CLASSIC. Likewise, N.C. State ran away with its three-game home showcase
in the HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND SOUTH bracket. Winthrop was an Unwelcome Guest winner over host Marquette in the
BLUE AND GOLD CLASSIC, as was UNC-Wilmington knocking off host Wyoming to win the BCA INVITATIONAL.
Denver needed OT to edge Illinois-Chicago to finish on TOP OF THE WORLD. Hawaii shocked
Michigan State at home, while UC-Irvine surprised Stanford on the road, and Memphis outran
Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
An action-packed week of preseason tournaments left no one without a squeaker victory. Connecticut, Gonzaga and
Michigan State went to the buzzer (and beyond) in MAUI while Arizona and Maryland came up short
in a couple of endplay losses. Texas had two comeback GUARDIANS wins while Iowa edged Kentucky with
West Virginia unable to finish. Duke had its hands full with Memphis and even Drexel winning
the NIT TIP-OFF. Boston College won the LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING bracket with endplay wins over Oklahoma State
and somehow Drake. Illinois won SOUTH PADRE ISLAND but not before escaping at the buzzer against
unheralded Rutgers. Wisconsin won PARADISE JAM with an endplay win over Old Dominion.
Marquette couldn't win its own home showcase last week but it claimed GREAT ALASKA with two down-to-wire wins.
Only surprising Iona was decisive in its Unwelcome Guest CYCLONE crown over host Iowa State,
and Oregon breezed past Pacific en route to winning the HISPANIC-WEST bracket. Elsewhere, Bucknell
(at Syracuse), LSU (at West Virginia) and Nevada (at UNLV) went on the road came away
with big wins.
The ACC won 6-5 in the ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE thanks to key wins by Wake Forest over Wisconsin at home
and Duke over Indiana on the road while Iowa beat North Carolina State at home and
Illinois won on the road at North Carolina. Elsewhere, Villanova bested Oklahoma at home while
Washington edged Gonzaga at home in another shootout (and another 43p-performance from fAdam Morrison).
Young UNC rebounded to win at Rupp Arena over Kentucky. Nevada won at Kansas and at
Pacific. Houston came back to edge LSU on the road and held off Arizona at home as well.
Alabama survived at home against Winthrop. Louisville, George Washington and California
welcomed back star players into the lineup.
Duke blew away Texas in the highest-profile matchup of the season so far, behind 41p from gJ.J. Redick.
Villanova went on the road and routed Bucknell. Gonzaga (without gDerek Raivio) survived against
Oklahoma State on fAdam Morrison's 3pt bank shot. Michigan State (in the JIMMY V CLASSIC) and Maryland
(at home in ACC play) took turns beating Boston College, while George Washington won its own showdown
with Maryland at the BB&T CLASSIC. UCLA's guardplay trumped Nevada's postplay in the JOHN WOODEN
CLASSIC. The "Iowa State Title" went to Iowa State after beating Iowa (playing without injured gJeff Horner),
which also fell to Northern Iowa in OT. Indiana lost a "State Title" game at Indiana State, but
rebounded with a decisive split-crowd win over "Bluegrass Quaternity" brother Kentucky. Temple confounded
Alabama with its matchup zone D and baby bull guard O in a home win.
Tennessee went on the road and routed Texas (minus two key starters). Kentucky's gRajon Rondo was a
one-man show against previously untested Louisville. gDerek Raivio is back on court for Gonzaga (and none
too soon). South Alabama edged Houston in front of the home crowd at the COORS CLASSIC. Ohio State
came back on the road to clip Iowa State in Des Moines.
In the ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC double-header in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State's Replacement Players won solidly over
previously unbeaten Tennessee while West Virginia's spread offense picked apart Oklahoma. Unheralded
USC topped North Carolina at home. Northern Iowa (in Baton Rouge) and Cincinnati (in Las Vegas)
took turns edging LSU and shared the LAS VEGAS [CHRISTMAS] crown. N.C. State's own spread was enough to best
host Alabama. Washington, surging Indiana, and Boston College welcomed back key players;
Memphis played without one. Arizona squeaked by Western Kentucky in overtime to win its own showcase
FIESTA BOWL CLASSIC. Iowa State won the RAINBOW CLASSIC while undefeated Clemson won the SAN JUAN SHOOTOUT.
Arizona's double-OT thriller at Washington gave them an early lead in the Pac-10; likewise,
California upset UCLA on the road to start 2-0 in league play as well. The home crowd helped Memphis
come back to win against Gonzaga. N.C. State shellacked sluggish George Washington. Pittsburgh
validated its undefeated record with a solid win over Wisconsin; likewise, Ohio State used a 20-3 run to come
back and beat LSU. UAB whipped Oklahoma State. Santa Clara won its own CABLE CAR CLASSIC with
a win over Bucknell in the final. Oklahoma's big men outrebounded Alabama's 40-18 in their
win. St. Mary's knocked off Nevada. Air Force beat Georgia Tech.
Marquette routed Connecticut at home behind tSteve Novak's 41p/16r in its Big East debut,
but then lost at home to Cincinnati. Texas finally turned in an elite performance with a road win at
Memphis. Villanova won at Louisville and led West Virginia by 15 at home before losing by 4.
Wisconsin won big at home over Iowa and Michigan State; Illinois also beat Michigan State
at home but lost at Iowa; Indiana came back to edge Ohio State at home. Gonzaga sewed up the
WCC race before it even started with a road win at St. Mary's. Washington State surprised Washington
on the road; UCLA won at Arizona and escaped at the buzzer at Arizona State. North Carolina
won a big home game over N.C. State; Miami(Florida) surprised Maryland; Georgia Tech edged
Boston College. Kansas routed hapless Kentucky at home. Hawaii edged Nevada in OT at
home to take the early lead in the WAC. Manhattan won big at Iona to take control of the MAAC.
Duke and Connecticut welcomed back key players; Indiana said goodbye to one for the second time.
Duke kept on rolling, with a home rout of Maryland and a road win at Clemson. Texas won an ugly
game at home against Villanova. Michigan State won twice: at home against Indiana and on the road in
double-OT at Ohio State. Arizona lost twice, at Oregon and at Oregon State, to fall out of
the logjam atop the Pac-10. Meanwhile, Washington came back to win at UCLA to join five teams with
two losses. Miami(Florida)'s late surge yielded a road win at North Carolina. Pittsburgh remained
undefeated with a home win over DePaul and a road win at Louisville. N.C. State embarrassed
Boston College in front of its own home crowd. Cincinnati lost a key player and fell twice,
at Connecticut and at home in a rout loss to Syracuse. LSU's guards survived on the road
at Arkansas and at home against Tennessee. Xavier won at Charlotte to add some legitimacy
to its won-loss record. After 31-straight losses, Vanderbilt finally won at Kentucky, and Kansas State
finally won against Kansas. Southern Illinois is the only team left in the tough MVC without a
conference loss. UC-Irvine defeated Pacific to remain undefeated in the Big West. Valparaiso
routed Oral Roberts to tie for the lead in the Mid-Con. Duke and UCLA each lost returning
players to a second injury; Alabama lost its best player as well.
The last three unbeaten teams fell: Georgetown hung on to beat Duke; Tennessee came through at the end
against Florida (after losing at rival Memphis earlier); and St. John's knocked off Pittsburgh
(after doing the same to Louisville). Meanwhile, Connecticut won twice on the road, at Syracuse and
at double-loser Louisville. Provisional Division-I school North Dakota State pulled off the most shocking
win of the season with a road win at Wisconsin. West Virginia knocked off UCLA on the road.
Michigan State drubbed overachieving Iowa at home. Northern Iowa's OT win over Southern Illinois
regained a share of the MVC lead. Syracuse lost twice, at home to Connecticut and on the road at
Villanova. Maryland is losing players left and right.
Michigan claimed a spot in the (now) "Big Seven" with two home wins over Wisconsin and undermanned
Michigan State. Oklahoma pulled Texas back to the pack with a home win. West Virginia fell to
Marshall in the "State Title" game. South Carolina beat Florida at home, but was routed on the road
at Tennessee. Seton Hall came up with two big road wins: a drubbing of N.C. State and a tight win at
Syracuse.
Iowa got healthy and took over the top spot in the Big 10 with a road win at Purdue and a home rout of
Michigan. North Carolina won big at Maryland while Kansas came from way down at home to edge
Oklahoma. Indiana State stopped its own 11-game losing streak and ended Southern Illinois' 33-game
home winning streak in the process. Penn State followed suit by squeaking past Illinois on the road to end
the Illini's own 33-game home streak as well. Kent State took over the top spot in the competitive MAC.
Gonzaga keeps squeaking by at home, this time over St. Mary's and Stanford. Ohio State posted
two more solid wins, at Michigan and in a rout over suddenly shaky Illinois. Duke won its two toughest
remaining road games and could still sweep the ACC. Villanova edged St. Joseph's to take the
Big 5 title. Pittsburgh edged West Virginia (as cKevin Pittsnogle was held scoreless);
Florida beat LSU; Iowa won at plummeting Indiana (which lost even worse to Wisconsin);
Washington edged UCLA. UTEP routed UAB to remain a contender in Conference USA;
San Diego State beat Air Force to solidify its lead in the Mountain West; IUPUI beat
Oral Roberts to take control in the Mid-Con.
(PotY-1A) gJ.J. Redick set the NCAA record for career three-pointers made and then became Duke's all-time leading
scorer while (PotT-1B) fAdam Morrison tossed in 44p for Gonzaga. Villanova took over first place in the
Big East with a Pod-worthy win over Connecticut. Oklahoma State couldn't beat Kansas at home,
but the Cowboys were able to thump Texas (leaving UTx and KU in a tie atop the Big 12).
West Virginia fell to Seton Hall and Connecticut as both teams exploited the paint. Depleted
UCLA stumbled at USC to fall back into a tie with California atop the Pac-10. Marquette
won twice at home over Georgetown and Pittsburgh. Nevada (in a rout over Akron),
George Mason (at the buzzer at Wichita State), Louisiana Tech (in an endplay at
Southern Illinois), New Mexico State (in OT at Pacific) and Northern Iowa (in a double-OT gift
from Bucknell) were the most notable winners in the near 100-team BRACKET BUSTER folly.
Connecticut earned a split with Villanova in their home rematch, tying UConn and VU atop the Big East.
Duke's gJ.J. Redick [aka "(PotY-1A)"] became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the ACC.
Texas drubbed Kansas at home to reassert its hold on the Big 12. Ohio State won at
Michigan State and beat Michigan at home to take over the lead in the Big 10 (after Illinois
beat Iowa). George Washington lost its center to injury (hopefully, only for a couple of weeks).
North Carolina emphatically pasted N.C. State in Raleigh (to stake its claim on the coveted second pod slot in
Greensboro). Florida lost a second endplay game to Tennessee (this time at home) and then fell on the road at
suddenly tough Alabama; but along came Arkansas, which edged Alabama at home and then went on the road
to beat Tennessee. George Mason and UNC-Wilmington tied for the title in the scrappy Colonial.
Wichita State emerged as the winner of the tight MVC. Bucknell became the first to go undefeated in
the Patriot League. Manhattan edged Iona at home to claim the Metro Atlantic title.
Georgia Southern finished its title run in the Southern Conference by edging Davidson at home.
North Carolina won at Duke, claiming the biggest victory of the season. Connecticut held off
Louisville at home (and shared to Big East title with Villanova); Texas stumbled at
Texas A&M but trounced Oklahoma (to share the Big 12 title with Kansas); Memphis fell at
UAB; Pittsburgh lost twice (at West Virginia and at home against Seton Hall). Ohio State
won twice to claim the Big 10 title; George Washington won on a putback at the buzzer to edge Charlotte
in OT (and finish undefeated in the A-10); UCLA claimed the Pac-10 title; LSU won the SEC
outright; Southern Illinois emerged with the MVC crown (beating rival Northern Iowa in OT along the
way).