Del Valle HS grad and current Baylor Bear Curtis Jerrells was the difference last night as Baylor upset Notre Dame, 68-64. Jerrells scored 15 points in the second half, making up for the fact that star Aaron Bruce only managed one point in the same twenty minutes. With Notre Dame down three and trying to mount a last-minute comeback, Jerrells provided a huge blocked shot with only 30 seconds left to ice the victory. The Bears, who are now 3-0, advance to face Winthrop in the championship game of the Paradise Jam being played in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The early-season upset bug is getting passed around the bottom of the top 25 like the herp in a freshman dorm. Last night New Orleans knocked off #22 NC State, 65-63, likely opening a fourth slot in the new poll that will be unveiled today.

The best tournament not nicknamed March Madness kicks off today when the Maui Invitational begins in Hawaii. Games are on ESPN2 all day, starting with Chaminade/Marquette at 1:30 PM CST and continuing with LSU/Oklahoma State (4 PM CST), Princeton/Duke (8 PM CST), and ASU/Illinois (10:30 PM CST).

Other TV action includes the semis of the CBE Classic (formerly Guardian’s) with UCLA/Maryland at 6 PM CST on ESPN2 and Michigan State and Mizzou at 8:30 PM CST on ESPNU.

There will be a double-dip on game wraps in the evening, as we look back at the UC-Davis and Arkansas-Monticello beatdowns. In the words of Larry David, the Horns looked pretty, pretty, pretty good.

UAM was predicted by conference coaches to finish sixth in their eight team division, and they come into this game fresh off of two ass-kickings by D-1 schools. With a mascot as obscure as the Boll Weevil — unfortunately pictured to the left — maybe it should come as no shock that UAM has enjoyed the punching-bag role in this inaugural Legends Classic. Last Wednesday, they were crushed by Tennessee, 101-44 in Knoxville, before kicking kicked in the teeth by West Virginia on Friday night, 81-53. Today, the troika of torture is completed as they travel to Austin for an embarrassment at the hands of the Longhorns. Happy Thanksgiving, UAM!

For the second-straight game, the Longhorns face a severely undersized team, as the Boll Weevils list only two players at 6’9″. The short UAM squad was outrebounded 77-58 in the two losses to the Vols and Mountaineers, and fans can safely expect the Longhorns to control the glass again today.

Depth is certainly not a concern for UAM, as ten players saw the court in their most recent game against the Mountaineers, with guards Deron Brown and Giovanni Marchetti leading the way with 13 points apiece. What is a big concern is a lack of ball control, as the Boll Weevils turned it over 51 times in their first two games. Texas showcased an excellent transition game on Friday night, so look for a lot of points off turnovers and fast breaks in this one.

As for the Longhorns, keep your eyes on Damion James. His shot was a little off to start the game on Friday night, but he had a hell of a ballgame. Against an incredibly inferior UAM team, I see him with a double-double at the end of the game. As for the guards, we all know what to expect — a bunch of scoring, and some scrappy defensive play from Justin Mason. Here’s hoping that A.J. Abrams continues his ridiculously hot shooting.

Alexis Wangmene ate up a chunk of minutes in the post against UC-Davis, with Clint Chapman only playing for four. Will Texas still with this six man rotation, or will we see more of Chapman down low in meaningful minutes? And with the very real possibility that this one gets out of hand, fans will hopefully get a chance to see more from Harrison Smith, J.D. Lewis, and Ian Mooney. My fingers are crossed that this is the case for Dexter Pittman as well, considering he only played three minutes in mop-up duty on Friday night.

Tip is at 5, with a free autograph session to follow the game. Bring the family and a Sharpie, and we’ll see you at the Drum.

The Big 12 isn’t the only conference dropping early games in bunches. Stanford, ranked 20th, dropped a 79-65 decision to Siena, while 17th-ranked Arizona lost at home to Virginia, 75-72. I’ll give Arizona a free pass on their stumble, as UVA is quietly building a really solid program in Charlottesville. But Siena? There are no words.

Texas A&M freshman DeAndre Jordan is just 3-of-15 from the free-throw line this year. But did I mention he hasn’t missed a field goal in over three games? Jordan extended his consecutive-bucket streak to Big 12-record 16 straight as the Aggies knocked off D-2 Ouachita Baptist, 85-59.

K-State knocked off Western Illinois, 77-64, while Michael Beasley finished 28 points and 22 rebounds. And all this after it took him over seven minutes to sink his first bucket. He is now averaging — averaging — 30 points and 20 boards in his first three games. Let’s hope KD’s records can stand for more than one season…

More hoops all day from Puerto Rico, with Providence taking on Miami in the championship (6:30 PM CST, ESPN2). Earlier games are all on ESPNU, starting with Temple and Marist (10 AM CST), then the College of Charleston and Houston (12:30 PM CST), and finishing with the third-place game between Arkansas and VCU (4 PM CST). Oh, and if you’re into cruel and unusual punishment, UNC will beat the shit out of Iona at 5 PM on ESPNU.

Memphis took home the 2KSports College Hoops Classic trophy last night, knocking off UConn, 81-70. The Sooners took consolation in a third-place prize, besting Gardner-Webb, 69-55.

Pig soooooooie! Eighteenth-ranked Arkansas turned the ball over about 97 times in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, and Providence pulled off the convincing 67-51 upset. The music has stopped in Fayetteville, and Bubba Hog no longer dances…or jiggles.

An excellent link courtesy of the fine posters over at HornFans this morning, where “ghost” uncovered the Gabe Muoneke comeback blog at HoopsHype. It’s a really good read, and has me hoping we’ll see a Paulino/Muoneke contest for bragging rights in the D-League this fall.

Did Aggie stupidity rub off on good ol’ BCG while in College Station? Rush the Court points out that apparently Coach Gillispie still hasn’t signed a formal contract at Kentucky. And even if I were illiterate, I can still tell this thing is from Lexington and not College Station, because there aren’t Bill Byrne’s Crayola scribblings across the page. Dollar Bill, much like Harold, really digs the purple crayon.

Horns in the League and the post-game writeup will be late-afternoon updates today. In the meantime, you’ve got wall-to-wall football to hold your attention, while PB and crew over at Burnt Orange Nation have you more than covered in the pigskin department.

The UC-Davis Aggies come into the game having split their first two contests. The lone win came over Division III school La Verne, while the loss was only two days ago in a road game against New Mexico State. They finished last season at 5-23, just missing an at-large bid to the NCAAs.

The Aggies were outrebounded by the other aggies of NMSU by a 47-20 count. While the tallest UC-Davis players check in at 6’9″, their guards will have a few inches over the Longhorn backcourt. But even with that in mind, one can’t help but think that a team outboarded by 27 — albeit by a very lengthy NMSU squad — may have a few problems with their fundamentals on the glass. Redshirt freshman Mark Payne is their top board man, although he is averaging only 5.5 per game so far.

Davis runs nine men deep on the bench, with Kyle Brucculeri and C.J. Portz alternating as fifth starter and sixth man. Ryan Silva is the only reserve that serves as a huge scoring threat for the Aggies, averaging 11 per game in the first two contests.

Nearly half of the shots for UC-Davis come from behind the arc, and with the team hitting at 44%, the Longhorns will want to prevent open looks. Sophomore Shane Hanson has been particularly deadly so far this year, sinking 7-of-11 treys. Silva is also a threat, going 6-of-11 from three-point range in the first two games.

Despite that, the Aggies have been middle-of-the-road thus far. Their offensive efficiency checks in at only 99.2 according to Ken Pomeroy, meaning that they average about a point per possession. For comparison, the 2006-07 Longhorns finished the year with a 114.3 efficiency. Defensively, the Aggies’ efficiency falls in the bottom third of all NCAA squads.

For Texas, this is a chance to see what the offense can do at something that is a bit closer to full speed. Will Damion James still be anchored to the three-point line, or will he embrace the attacking wing role that P.J. Tucker held just two seasons ago? Can the freshmen big men and Dexter Pittman get themselves into the mix offensively, or is this going to be another guard show from our talented top three?

Injuries are still going to be a problem for Texas, as Gary Johnson has still not been publicly cleared. And of course, Dogus Balbay and Matt Hill will be watching in street clothes, as they will likely be all season. Pittman is still available to play, but after his rough outing on Monday night, one can’t help but wonder if the foot is still bothering him a bit.

If the Horns can dominate the rebounding battle and limit the three pointers from Davis, they will win this one running away. Fail to do those things, and they still likely win — it’ll just be a close, ugly one. I’ll refrain from saying what nightmare scenarios could cause the Aggies to come out victorious, considering the last time someone did that — I’m looking at you, Flutie — things ended…badly.

Tonight’s game isn’t on TV, so head out to the Drum for the 7 P.M. tip. It’s early enough to squeeze in before your Friday night plans and not too late for those with little ones. Come orange, wear early, stay loud, be late, yada yada yada. We’ll see you there.