Not a lot of action around the country yesterday as most of the sports world was focused on NFL action. North Carolina crushed Rutgers 93-71, but the real story was Tyler Hansbrough leaving the game after suffering a mild concussion. The Aggies whipped Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a 64-37 count, although hook-nosed Mark Turgeon was irritated by his team’s inability to close out the patsies when they should’ve.

New polls are due out today, but there won’t be much action near the top. In the bottom half, Oregon, Xavier, Lousville, and Saint Mary’s all suffered losses and should slide down the rankings — if not completely disappear from them. With everybody staying put in the top of the ranks, it sets up three huge top-ten match-ups this week, with Duke and Pitt meeting on Thursday and the Michigan State/Texas and Georgetown/Memphis games slated for Saturday.

Chatter on the court at Saturday’s game with Texas State revealed that the new hardwood in the Frank Erwin Center is a little slippery, particularly down in the blocks. It’s also kind of ugly to be honest, with the orange more “bright” than “burnt,” and the Big 12 logo in the lane being replaced by a new one that reads as “Texas 12” rather than the conference name. Interesting.

With Monday Night Football on the “family of networks,” tonight’s TV slate is again a little weak. Duke hosts Albany at 6 PM CST (ESPN2), with a handful of games on the ESPN Full Court package. Big 12 fans who ponied up for ESPNFC can check out Bethune-Cookman at Iowa State (7 PM) and North Carolina A&T at Mizzou (7 PM).