#13 Connecticut 65, DePaul 60 – The Huskies nearly fell asleep on the job against the streaky Blue Demons, but put on a late run to dig out of a 13-point hole. Hasheem Thabeet was thisclose to a triple-double in the ballgame, scoring 16 points, grabbing 13 boards, and blocking a ridiculous eight shots. It was the 10th-consecutive win for UConn, who pulled within a half-game of Big East leaders Georgetown and Louisville.

#14 Indiana 77, #15 Purdue 68 – It may have been the last game at the helm for a beleaguered Kelvin Sampson, but the Hoosiers came up with a second-consecutive home win over the best that the Big 10 has to offer. Assembly Hall was absolutely rocking for the rekindling of this time-tested rivalry, and the Hoosier faithful were treated to a yeoman’s effort from senior D.J. White, who posted a sick 19/15 line with an injured knee. The win pushes IU into a three-way tie with both the Boilermakers and Wisconsin atop the league standings.

Bradley 72, #18 Drake 71 – Jeremy Crouch’s jumper put Bradley ahead with 11 seconds to go, and the Braves withstood three last-gasp shots from the homestanding Bulldogs to escape Des Moines with a huge road win. Perhaps Drake was looking ahead to this weekend’s Bracket Busters match-up with Butler, or maybe this was a letdown game after clinching the league title on Saturday. But the uncomfortable fact is that this the second loss in only eight days for the Bulldogs, who had dropped only one of their first 23 games. Should fans start to worry?

Oklahoma 92, Baylor 91 (OT) – For the second-straight game, the Sooners needed an improbable play from behind the arc to stun their opponents. But on a night filled with a bunch of crazy moments, it really didn’t seem that surprising. Tony Crocker was fouled by Aaron Bruce on a made three-pointer with only 7.3 seconds left in overtime, and the ensuing free throw put the Sooners up by a point. But Curtis Jerrells got to the line for Baylor with just over a second remaining…and missed both attempts. A Kevin Rogers putback was no good at the buzzer, and OU earned their third-straight win heading into the game with Texas on Saturday.

Arizona State 72, #7 Stanford 68 (OT) – It was a seesaw game out west last night, with both Stanford and Arizona State overcoming double-digit deficits in the second half. James Harden led the way for the Sun Devils down the stretch, tying the game with six seconds left in regulation and carrying his team to an overtime victory in front of the home crowd. A huge rebound from little-used Duke transfer Eric Boateng helped ASU milk the clock at the end of OT, and he sealed things up at the line with two seconds to go. The loss drops the Trees a half-game behind UCLA heading into this weekend’s action.

#10 Butler 89, Youngstown State 73 – The Bulldogs just keep marching on, this time cruising to a victory against the over-matched Penguins. A.J. Graves scored 15 points in the contest — all coming from the field— and grabbed five boards in the winning effort. This now marks the second-straight year that Butler has started the season 23-2, and with only five games left in Horizon League play, the Bulldogs could sew up the conference title by next weekend.

#20 Washington State 70, Oregon State 57 – There’s bad, there’s abysmal, and then there’s Oregon State. Wazzu ran all over the homestanding Beavers, who have lost 14 straight games, including all 12 of their Pac-10 contests. The Beavers’ quest for conference imperfection continues on Saturday against Washington before asskicking appointments with USC and UCLA next weekend. It’s safe to say at this point that the fans are ready for college baseball season in Corvallis.

#5 Kansas 90, Missouri 71 – Four of the five suspended Mizzou players returned for the Border War and foul trouble plagued the Kansas big men, but that still wasn’t enough to give the Tigers a chance in this one. Sasha Kaun had four personals while Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich each picked up three, but a twelve-point halftime lead was more than enough for Kansas to cruise. The Jayhawks won their fifth-straight game against Mizzou, led by Brandon Rush’s 19 points on the night.

Louisville 71, #16 Marquette 57 – Louisville overcame its recent road woes and put a stop to Marquette’s own home cooking with an easy win at the Bradley Center. The Cards held the Golden Eagles to only 32% shooting on the night and led by a comfortable margin the whole way, snapping a 14-game home winning streak in front of 17,736 Marquette faithful. The win puts the Cards firmly in third place in the Big East, just months after discipline problems and injuries appeared to leave the team rudderless.

#23 Saint Mary’s 89, Gonzaga 85 (OT) – The Game of the Night certainly lived up to its billing, as the fans in Moraga were treated to an extra five minutes of basketball before their hometown Gaels finally put away Gonzaga. It was the third home win over the Bulldogs in the last four years for the Gaels and moved their mark in the McKeon Pavilion to 13-0 on the year. Now the Zags, Gaels, and University of San Diego are all tied for first in the WCC, with each team getting one more crack at the other two before the regular season is complete.

#4 North Carolina 84, Florida State 73 (OT) – The Seminoles tied the game on a three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left in regulation, but the Tar Heels cruised in overtime to defeat upset-minded FSU on the road. The big story of the day, though, was the ankle injury to point guard Ty Lawson. Today his x-rays came back negative, but Coach Williams doesn’t think he’ll be ready for the huge showdown with Duke on Wednesday.

#11 Indiana 75, Northwestern 63 – Eric Gordon’s wrist injury doesn’t seem to be slowing him down any more, as he dropped in 29 points for IU at home. The Wildcats played remarkably well in Assembly Hall, staying within two points of the Hoosiers until the 10:32 mark of the second half. Good defense carried IU the rest of the way, keeping them just a half-game back of Purdue and Wisconsin in the Big Televen.

#13 Wisconsin 63, Minnesota 47 – The Badgers raced out of the gates on the road, never allowing Tubby Smith’s team a chance in this one. Wisconsin turned the tables on Minnesota and their pressure D, forcing 18 Golden Gopher turnovers that led to 20 points. It was Wisconsin’s third road win in the first half of conference play and their fifth overall.

It was an exciting night in college basketball, with a bunch of upsets and a few close calls for top teams. When all was said and done, Bobby Knight earned his 900th win, the Big 12 was a bigger mess than before, the A-10 saw a little bit of a shake-up, and the top of the ACC was able to hang on for dear life.

#1 North Carolina 83, Georgia Tech 82 – Georgia Tech came into this game as the worst defensive team in the ACC, but their offense proved enough to hang with the Heels all night long in Atlanta. The game came down to the final possession, but Zack Peacock had a shot blocked and missed a jumper from the elbow, allowing UNC to escape with perfection intact.

#2 Memphis 77, Rice 50 – Memphis kept its own perfect season intact, although they did it with much less drama than the Tar Heels. The Tigers’ stifling defense forced 29 turnovers in this one, allowing them to easily roll to victory despite a season-low 37% shooting performance. CDR finished the night with 16 points, while Joey Dorsey led the glass-crashing with 14 boards.

#5 Duke 70, Florida State 57 – The Seminoles kept up with Duke for most of the night, but the Blue Devils’ poise proved too much in the final minutes. Duke iced away the road win with solid free throw shooting as the clock wound down, allowing Coach K to overcome a poor start from his starters, who combined for only eight points in the first half.

Texas Tech 68, #9 Texas A&M 53 – Lubbock is clearly a House of Horrors for the Aggies, regardless of sport. The Red Raiders worked their way to a 15-point halftime lead and even expanded it out to 23 points midway through the second half, completely dominating the Aggies all night long. The win was #900 for legendary Coach Bob Knight, who took the mic after the game just long enough to give a backhanded compliment to the fans for finally attending a game. The stat that tells the story for the sloppy Aggies is this — they made only 18 field goals on the night while turning it over 20 times.

#15 Mississippi 89, Florida 87 – Ole Miss twice squandered big leads at home against the two-time defending champs, including a meltdown situation with a frustration technical. But the Rebs were able to hang on for dear life despite missing eleven free throws, keeping them within striking distance of Mississippi State in the SEC West.

Massachusetts 82, #18 Dayton 71 – The Minutemen shook things up in the A-10, taking out the Flyers and leaving the door open for Charlotte to slip into first place. UMass wasn’t rattled on the road, earning their first victory over a Top 25 team in nearly two years.

Temple 78, #20 Xavier 59 – Temple took a two-point lead with twelve minutes left and expanded it into a lopsided 19-point victory over the 20th-ranked Musketeers. The Owls shot 13-of-27 from three-point range and were led by Dionte Christmas, who scored 23 points in the upset win.

#21 Villanova 76, DePaul 69 – The Wildcats withstood a barrage of first-half threes from DePaul before making a steady comeback in front of a packed house at The Pavilion. Villanova had a ridiculous 43-20 rebounding advantage in this one, forcing the Blue Demons into one-and-done possessions nearly every time their threes didn’t fall. Now back at .500 in the Big East, Villanova faces a real test in a road game with Syracuse on Saturday.

Virginia Tech 70, Virginia 69 (OT) – This one isn’t Top 25 or Big 12, but it was an exciting enough game to warrant a mention. The interstate rivalry was so hard-fought that they needed an extra five minutes to sort it out before a crazy last possession finally anointed the Hokies with a victory. First there was an offensive rebound for Virginia Tech but after the ensuing missed shot the ‘Hoos fumbled a rebound which rolled out of bounds and gave V-Tech the ball back. Deron Washington took advantage and drove in for a tricky layup, giving the Hokies a buzzer-beating overtime win on the road.

Iowa State 72, Missouri 67 – Does anyone in the Big 12 want to win a game away from home? The two Kansas teams are the only squads to record a road victory in the league’s first 11 games, with Iowa State’s victory over Mizzou being the 9th win for a homestanding team. Missouri clawed back from huge deficits in this one and had the game within their grasp in a crazy final minute, but the ‘Clones held them off for their first league victory.