The insanity continues in college hoops, as Gardner-Webb upset Kentucky in Rupp Arena, 84-68. The Wildcats fell behind 14-0 to start the game and never really threatened, only closing the gap to nine points with seven minutes to play. Did we mention this happened on Billy Gillispie’s birthday? Oops.

Meanwhile, UConn survived their own upset scare in the opening round of the CvC tournament, besting Morgan State 69-65. Junior forward Jeff Adrien (from Brookline, Mass…holla!) had a hell of a night for the winning Huskies. Just check out this stat line: 37 minutes, twelve points, ten rebounds, seven blocked shots, three steals, and an assist. Sweet sassy molassy.

That win advances UConn to the only nationally televised game tonight, a regional final against the Buffalo Bulls at 8 PM CST on ESPNU. The winner heads to Madison Square Garden in New York and will play those Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs next Thursday night.

Back in Norman, the Sooners will get their season started in the same Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, but the games will not be televised. OU plays San Francisco in the Lloyd Noble Center at 7 PM CST.

The Big East voted to expand their conference tournament starting in 2009, opening the competition to all 16 teams. While this isn’t that crazy of an idea, the new format is a bit odd. The bottom half of the league plays itself on the first day, while the fifth through eighth seeded teams get a bye and the top four Big East teams automatically advance through the first two rounds. Bizarre.

It looks like D-II is getting used to beating the big boys. Findlay took down Ohio State 80-78 in an exhibition last night, less than a week after Michigan State lost in double overtime to Grand Valley State. D-II Tarleton State also beat Baylor by ten last week, and hung tough with the Aggies before dropping a nine-point decision on Monday night. What is going on?

The Memphis Tigers advanced to New York and the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, knocking off Richmond, 80-63. Calipari’s Tigers were actually trailing the upset-minded Spiders with less than 13 minutes left in the game, but used an 18-4 run in the game’s final 6:41 to ice it away.

Billy Gillispie’s defense-first mentality works just fine in blue and white, thank you. The Kentucky Wildcats absolutely shut down Central Arkansas in their season opener, cruising to a 67-40 victory. Joe Crawford led the way for the Cats, scoring 20 points off the bench.

ESPNU previews the season in the Big 12 Conference tonight at 10:30 CST, following another doubleheader from the CVC tourney. They’ve also got a look at the Big East airing at 5:30 CST.

Sandwiched between those conference previews is four-plus hours of hoops. UConn opens the season against Morgan State at 6 PM CST on ESPNU. If that’s not enough November basketball for you, then tune in to second-round action between Kentucky and Weber State on the U at 8 PM CST.

The Memphis Tigers got the season off to a roaring start with a 102-71 win over Tennessee-Martin in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. Freshman Derrick Rose was as impressive as promised, scoring 17 points to go with 6 boards and 5 assists.

The Kentucky Wildcats start their season with The Smug One at the helm when they host Central Arkansas at 6 PM Central on ESPNU. The game is the first half of a doubleheader which concludes with the second-round game from the Memphis regional. The Tigers will host the Richmond Spiders at 8 PM Central in a complete clash of styles. The high-pressure, up-tempo game of Memphis is completely at odds with the Spiders’ four-corners look, which led to a 44-42 win in their first round game.

In completely ridiculous news, the Horns check in at a 4-seed in Joe Lunardi’s first Bracketology of the year. I think we’ve officially reached the overkill point on the whole mock bracket craze.

ESPN.com is reporting that Arizona coach Lute Olson is taking a leave of absence. The announcement comes not as a result of a health scare, but in response to an unspecified personal matter. Assistant coach Kevin O’Neill will take over for Olson during the absence, but the 73-year old coach is expected to return to the bench soon. All the best wishes to Coach Olson from LRT. The Wildcats may have given Longhorn fans fits over the past decade or so, but their head coach has always been a class act.

The regular season kicks off tonight as the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament gets started in Memphis, Tennessee. The Tigers are one of four host schools, and will play in a televised contest against Tennessee-Martin at 6 PM on ESPNU. We’re all familiar with the returning stars who propelled Memphis to the Elite Eight, but the man to watch tonight is freshman phenom Derrick Rose at the point. This kid could be the Tigers’ ticket to a national title come March.

We mentioned that Jerry Rice danced to Soulja Boy at Georgetown’s Midnight Madness celebration (where Greg Monroe committed to the Hoyas.) And most Longhorn fans have seen the football team bouncing to the song during the rain delay of the UCF game in September. But this video comes to us from our friends in the frozen north, where Bo Ryan let loose on the video board during Wisconsin’s own Midnight Madness party. I know we’ll be playing the Badgers at the end of December, but I can’t help but love Bo and the tie-dyed fans of the Greatful Red.