A few scares in the Top 10 last night, but no upsets. Memphis survived USC in overtime, 62-58 by holding the Trojans to 28.8% shooting on the night. Michigan State trailed Bradley by nine in the second half, but stormed back for a 66-61 win. If you tuned in looking for the Spartans to be playing Butler…oops. That’s what I get for writing these at four in the morning.

If you’re one of the folks who likes to play the transitive game when it comes to early season non-conference games, you’ve got to be riding high on Baylor in the Big 12 right now. Baylor beat Notre Dame, who beat K-State, 68-59. You can’t put too much stock in comparing results, considering teams have off nights or play out of their minds, but the Wildcats sure looked like a one-trick pony with Michael Beasley struggling for much of last night’s game.

Bumped from yesterday’s comments, Damion James was tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week. DaMo logged a double-double in both of the wins over Texas Southern and UCLA, finishing with 38 points and 20 boards for the week.

On the tube tonight you’ve got your very own Longhorns against North Texas (7 PM CST, FSSW/ESPN Full Court). The big game of the evening is Washington State at Gonzaga (10 PM CST, ESPNU). The Kennel should be absolutely rocking for this one, so be sure to tune in if you get the U.

Leave town for a weekend to watch the biggest regular-season upset in your school’s history, and you miss all sorts of shit. It was a fun couple of days though, and I’ll eventually get over the fact that the DVR fried sometime on Saturday, leaving me with part of a Gonzaga/UConn game and none of the Big 12/Pac-10 games. Ouch.

We lead with the best news of all, which would be that Bill Walker pissed in a towel on the sidelines last Thursday. Yes, that’s right. Stuck a towel down his pants, drained the snake, and then soiled a second towel just for good measure. And all of this occurred in front of a sold-out arena and a rightfully disgusted equipment manager. Oh, did we mention that the Wildcats still lost?

Friday night, Baylor jumped out to a big halftime lead against #6 Washington State, but ultimately couldn’t hang on. The Cougars fought back behind a suddenly-hot Derrick Low, escaping Waco with a 67-64 win. Meanwhile, I was drinking alone in a DFW airport bar while waiting for a 10 P.M. flight to Los Angeles. Still want to do what I do?

Bob Knight continues to baffle with his scheduling, as the Red Raiders dropped another road game to a horrible team. This time, Tech lost to Centenary, 70-66. Knight left the game at halftime, returning to the team hotel because he was feeling ill. But that didn’t stop him from lecturing some students who made a joke about his recent hunting accident as he left the court. I can’t help but feel that these road games against Sam Houston State and Centenary were nothing but a cheap way to earn a little more RPI credit while beating the bottom-feeders, but it’s certainly not working out that way for the Techsters.

With the last Big 12/Pac-10 game coming on December 22nd, the current standings are 6-5 in favor of the Pac-10. That doesn’t include the Kansas win on Sunday over USC, which was scheduled separately from the challenge. Of course, this is for nothing more than bragging rights, as there are no official tallies for this showcase and no trophies awarded. It’s really a shame that Baylor and A&M let their games get away from them, as this was certainly a chance for the conference to change some perceptions. Regardless, the Big 12 is currently ranked 2nd in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations, which is a nice change of pace from the top-heavy league of years past.

Class of ’09 recruit John Henson was spotted enjoying himself at the UCLA/Texas game on Sunday night. And considering he was also seen at the Texas/Arkansas-Monticello game a few weeks back, I can’t help but think the talk of him not reciprocating Texas’ interest is nothing but white noise. The kid’s still looking at a lot of schools and he’s only a junior, but here’s to hoping that exciting upset win and the hometown draw keeps Texas high on the Round Rock Dragon’s list.

Beat #1 and #7, and people start to take notice. The Longhorns have climbed yet again in the polls, this time moving to #4 in the AP and fifth in the Coaches Poll. Texas actually snagged two first-place votes from the writers, as did Kansas. And if #9/10 Michigan State can get past tough games with Bradley and BYU this week, we’ll be looking at another top-ten battle when the Spartans and Horns face off on December 22nd.

What to watch tonight? Bill Walker brings his Depends to New York City when Kansas State and Notre Dame face off in the Jimmy V Classic (6 PM CST, ESPN). Later, the senior-laden Butler Bulldogs host Drew Neitzel and Michigan State (8 PM, ESPNU) while Memphis shows USC frosh O.J. Mayo how its done (8:30 PM, ESPN).

The Pac-10 reclaimed the lead in the showdown with the Big 12, as USC downed Oklahoma, 66-55 and Oregon used a second-half comeback and overtime to topple K-State, 80-77.

That wasn’t the only OT road victory for a ranked team, as #19 Gonzaga topped St. Joe’s, 70-65. Elsewhere, Wake Forest suffered its first loss, going down on the road in Charlotte, 63-59.

More from the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Showdown Classic Showcase Tournament Extravaganza tonight. The one LRT is most interested in will be #6 Washington State at Baylor (8 PM CST, ESPNU). Baylor has some solid wins so far this year, but this is a massive test. We will soon know how legit the Bears are when we see how well they hang with Tony Bennett’s excellent Wazzu squad. Also, Iowa State heads to Corvallis to face Oregon State in the nightcap (10 PM CST, FSN).

Today is yet another travel day, and there’s still 12 hours of work and school to squeeze in before the flight to L.A. So, there may not be a Horns in the League update tonight, and the three-part trip log from shitty beautiful Newark won’t start running until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the hell out of that Washington State/Baylor tilt, as I’ll be stuck watching CNNAirport in DFW at the time. Faaaantastic!

The ACC won their lopsided “challenge” with the Big 10 for the ninth straight year, grabbing eight of the eleven games. In Columbus, Ohio State didn’t make a field goal for over ten minutes in the second half, and North Carolina escaped with a road win, 66-55. Michigan State was one of few bright spots for the Big 10, thumping NC State, 81-58.

In the Big 12, Texas A&M moved to 7-0 on the year with a 76-63 win over Alabama and Kansas stayed perfect by blowing out FAU, 87-49. Mizzou was led by Stefhon Hannah’s 28 points, fell just short against the Razorbacks, 94-91. In Lubbock, Texas Tech needed a second-half comeback to overcome a thirteen-point deficit, but ultimately the Red Raiders topped TCU, 71-58.

Darren Collison is back for UCLA just in time for Sunday’s showdown against the Horns. The junior guard returned in an 83-60 shellacking of George Washington, finishing with fourteen points and five assists. He wasn’t the only injured Bruin back on the court, as Alfred Aboya was sporting garish yellow goggles to protect his shattered orbital bone. Any hopes that we’d see a depleted UCLA team on Saturday can now be trashed along with your Michael Olawakandi poster.

The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series continues tonight, with one of the higher-profile matchups taking place in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats host Oregon (8 PM CST, ESPN2), while USC hosts the Sooners in Westwood (10 PM, FSN). The Big 12 starts play tonight holding a 1-0 lead in the challenge thanks a Jayhawk victory over Arizona on Sunday night.

The Wisconsin/Duke matchup left a lot to be desired, as Duke crotch-punched the Badgers, 82-58. At Assembly Hall, Indiana grabbed the sole win for their conference, edging Georgia Tech, 83-79. After two days of play, the ACC is on top by a 5-1 count and will coast to their ninth win in the nine-year history of the “challenge.” That’s compelling television.

In Big 12 action, Iowa State lost at home to Northern Iowa, 61-48, while Colorado took care of business against Denver.

In recruiting news, Syracuse signed two Rivals Top 50 players in Mookie Jones and Kris Joseph and added some third scrub to the mix.

Old news for many, but Luke Winn was all up on Texas’ jock after the pasting of Tennessee this weekend. And with good reason. That was perhaps the single most impressive Longhorn victory since — dare I say it? — the Final Four season.

Remember the solid student crowd that drove up to Austin to support the UTSA Turtles in the season opener? I’m guessing the four girls in the video below were a part of that group, and apparently were hopped up on some speed. We love the enthusiasm for college hoops, but for some reason I think more “Blue Danube” than DMX when I watch UTSA basketball. Regardless, I’d like to have these girls put together a new intro for UT basketball. The thing we’ve got now is more worn out than Teri Hatcher. (HT goes to March to Madness on the video.)