Baylor 79, Oklahoma State 71 – Oklahoma State lost their 15th-consecutive road game and possibly their leading scorer at the Ferrell Center in Waco. James Anderson left the game with an ankle injury midway through the second half and never returned, leaving Sean Sutton’s bunch in a lurch. The win for Baylor gave them their best start since the 1945-46 season, one in which the Bears finished with a solid 25-5 mark.

Colorado 55, Nebraska 51 – Doc Sadler’s Cornhuskers entered conference play looking to be on their way up in the conference, having logged wins against Arizona State and Oregon in the first half of the season. But Nebraska shot only 34% on the road in Boulder last night, losing to what will likely be the worst team in the conference when all is said and done. With their next three games against Baylor, Kansas, and Mizzou, things could get ugly in a hurry for the Cornhuskers if they can’t defend home court against the Bears.

#11 Michigan State 66, Ohio State 60 – The Spartans opened up a massive 21-point lead but let Ohio State crawl their way back into it as the game wore on. MSU shot only 39% and struggled without Raymar Morgan, who battled foul trouble all night and was limited to 19 minutes of play. It was a character-building victory for the Spartans, who badly needed a bounce-back win after the debacle at Iowa.

#17 Wisconsin 80, Penn State 55 – The Badgers stormed out to an 18-2 lead and dominated the Nittany Lions the whole way, moving to a perfect 4-0 in Big Televen play. Wisconsin hit 10-of-18 from behind the arc on a night where they couldn’t seem to miss, and Michael Flowers had a career-high 23 points in the win.

#23 Clemson 70, NC State 54 – Clemson’s nosedive hasn’t quite yet hit full speed, as the Tigers righted the ship with a convincing win on their home floor. Duke is next on the sked for Clemson, giving them a chance to silence all the critics with a meaningful January victory.

Boston College 76, #24 Miami (FL) 66 – The Golden Eagles won their 13th-straight game against Miami, knocking the Hurricanes from the polls as soon as they had arrived. Frank Haith’s squad was ranked 3rd in the ACC in three-point percentage heading into this one but shot a paltry 8-of-26 in the losing effort. In addition to dropping the ‘Canes to .500 in league play, the road loss prevented them from matching the best start in school history.

#4 Washington State 73, USC 58 – Wazzu remained perfect with their road win against USC on Thursday night, forcing 13 Trojan turnovers in the process. The Cougars were a scorching 10-of-19 on three-pointers, as their excellent ball movement constantly found the open man behind the arc. Washington State’s best-ever start was a 17-0 record back in the 1914-15 season, but they will now face their biggest test of the year in Pauley Pavilion against UCLA.

#5 UCLA 69, Washington 55 – The Bruins also took care of business to set up that great battle on Saturday atop the Pac-10, but their starters are going to be a little dinged up. Darren Collison injured his hip in a collision with Ryan Appleby, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is nursing a bruised right knee after a very physical contest. The Bruins might have home-court advantage over the Cougs on Saturday, but a pair of hobbled stars could make things incredibly difficult.

#14 Butler 75, Wisconsin-Green Bay 65 – The Bulldogs had an abnormally cold night from the floor, but repeatedly forced their way to the foul line to earn their 15th win of the season. Matt Howard was particularly effective in drawing the whistle, scoring 22 points while only taking six shots. His 12-of-15 free throw shooting made up the rest of his gaudy scoring numbers.

#21 Wisconsin 70, Illinois 60 – Things aren’t getting any easier for Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini, as they dropped a fourth-consecutive game for the first time in his tenure with Illinois. Wisconsin, meanwhile, continued to prove they are a contender in the three-team Big Ten race with their third conference win in as many tries.

#23 Stanford 66, Oregon State 46 – This one was embarrassing for the Beavers at home, as Stanford came out of the gates fired up after a poor shooting performance in their previous game against USC. The Cardinal built a double-digit lead within minutes, found themselves up by 19 at half, and cruised the rest of the way as their stifling defense denied any faint dreams of a Beaver comeback.

A ton of Top 25 action last night, but no huge surprises along the way. The Tennessee/Ole Miss game was everything we wanted it to be — and how! — while there were a few upsets near the bottom of the rankings. The Big 12 had the night off, as all teams prepare for their league openers on Saturday. On to the scores…

#1 North Carolina 93, UNC-Asheville 81 – Not even a 7-foot, 7-inch giant could stop Tyler Hansbrough from throwing it down on Wednesday night — supposedly the first dunk on Kenny George in three years — and the rest of the Bulldogs were just as ineffective against the Heels. The win wraps up UNC’s non-conf slate at a perfect 15-0 to go along with their one ACC win over Clemson this past Sunday.

#2 Memphis 99, East Carolina 58 – The domination of C-USA began with a complete demolition at FedEx Forum last night, as the Tigers held ECU under 40% shooting and boasted a +21 rebounding margin. The game was so frustrating for the Pirates that coach Mack McCarthy earned two technical fouls in the second half and missed the last twelve minutes of the game.

#7 Duke 74, Temple 64 – Coach K earned his 787th victory in defeating the Owls, putting him only eleven wins behind Eddie Sutton. As well as things are going over at USF for Bitter Beer Face, Coach K could pass him up sometime this season. His first chance for #788 comes in Duke’s ACC opener against Virginia on Sunday night.

#9 Tennessee 85, #15 Ole Miss 83 – The Game of the Night certainly lived up to its billing, as the final minute was a flurry of action leading up to Tyler Smith’s game-winning layup with 4.2 seconds to go. The Rebs missed a ton of shots in their last possession, but constantly grabbed the offensive boards to keep hope alive. Kenny Williams even worked his way to the line with 31 seconds to go, but missed the front end, setting up the Vols’ game-winning possession.

I’ve been in Thompson-Boling Arena as a visiting fan, and I can attest that the Vols have one of the most overlooked home-court advantages in the country. Mississippi may have lost their perfect season, but hanging tough in this arena — particularly the fight they showed in clawing back from a 12-point second-half deficit — exhibits a ton of poise that is going to be huge when the calendar turns to March.

#12 Vanderbilt 80, South Carolina 73 – While Ole Miss couldn’t keep their perfect season alive, the SEC still has one representative among the unbeatens after the Commodores took care of business. Shan Foster struggled through his worst offensive game of the year, scoring only 13 points for Vandy, but A.J. Ogilvy picked up the slack with 25 of his own. Vandy has a monumental showdown with Tennessee next week, but they can’t overlook a road game in Rupp against Kentucky on Saturday.

#18 Pittsburgh 79, South Florida 66 – Pitt withstood a test on the road, holding off a hot South Florida team to earn their first win in Big East play. The Panthers led by as many as 17 with only four minutes left on the clock, proving that they still plan on contending in a topsy-turvy conference. Sam Young paced Pitt with 22 points on the night, while freshman Gary McGhee saw his first action in six weeks.

Charlotte 82, #19 Clemson 72 – Is this it? Has the Clemson collapse finally begun? They looked good in pushing UNC to the wire on Sunday night, but this result was far from expected. Is this a letdown loss after the tough game against the Heels, or are the Tigers about to jumpstart their annual January nosedive? A salty Florida State team visits Clemson on Saturday, so Oliver Purnell needs to right his team’s ship immediately.

#22 Dayton 92, #20 Rhode Island 83 – The Rams put on a second-half surge, but the Dayton Flyers defended their home court to earn a victory in the A-10 opener for both teams. Rhode Island was down thirteen in the second half, but whittled the Flyer lead to only three before Dayton shut the door. As long as the Flyers take care of business against SLU and UMass over the next week, the January 24th showdown with Xavier will be epic.

Arizona State 64, #24 Arizona 59 (OT) – A win over a team barely in the Top 25 isn’t usually worth of a court rush, but I’ll forgive Sun Devil students for this one. ASU’s victory was their first in 13 tries against the Wildcats, and it even took an extra five minutes to find a winner. It’s tough enough to have that much futility against a school, but it’s ten times worse when it’s a rival (see: OU/Texas football, 2000-04). The kids were surely partying late last night in Dirty Scottsdale.

#25 Xavier 83, St. Bonaventure 68 – The X-Men won their fifth-straight game, but coach Sean Miller was frustrated with the win. The Muskies allowed St. Bonaventure to hit eleven threes against their vaunted defense, enough to give them a scorching 61% mark behind the arc. Xavier was led by B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson, who both chipped in 21 points on a night where the offense actually had to carry the load. I have a feeling that the pitiful Fordham Rams are going to have a very tough game against an angry Musketeer squad on Saturday.