The reverb from Kentucky’s mighty fall is resonating throughout the blog world, and it couldn’t be funnier. Perhaps the best comes from our friends at Rush the Court. (I wonder how often the SEC fines them?) They wonder if FireBillyGillipspie.com is up yet, while pointing out that the ‘Cats were 25.5 point favorites who trailed the entire game and finally lost by sixteen. Check out the link for all of the hilarious numbers. And, of course, everybody’s favorite mugshot of Wrong Way Billy.

UConn advanced to MSG for the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer tourney, knocking off Buffalo, 82-57. They will take on Gardner-Webb next week in New York City. In other first round action from the CvC, the Sooners took out San Francisco by a 71-55 tally. They will play Denver in a regional final tonight at 7 PM CST.

A bunch of other Big 12ers kick off play tonight, with Texas A&M hosting McNeese State at 7 PM CST, Sean Sutton and the Pokes taking on Prairie View A&M, Kansas playing ULM, K-State against Sacramento State, and the Cyclones welcoming Winston-Salem. But the highlight of the night comes when new coach Steve Alford takes his New Mexico Lobos to Colorado to face Jeff Bzdelick’s Buffs. Too bad we can’t see it on TV.

Work on a brand new look for Longhorn Road Trip has been going fast and furious this week. And while I’m not a techie guy who can explain all the crazy shit my web design folks are doing, I can safely say it’s an excellent upgrade. Of course, when changing from something designed in 1873, the quality can only increase. Look for the redesign to hit on Sunday or Monday, just in time for the new season.

Remember when I posted a bunch of games to be played on Friday, only it was really Tuesday? Oh, memories. Thankfully, Friday is finally here, and those games will now actually happen. It sure makes it easy to re-use the same preview blurbs…

Last night

No former Horns in action last night, but the Mavs did get some revenge in beating the Golden State Warriors by five on the road. It’s tough to decide which is bigger — monumental first-round upset or pointless November win? Mmmmmmmm, I’ll go with Nellie on this one.

Tonight

The Toronto Raptors and point guard T.J. Ford slide into Philly on a three-game losing streak. (6 PM Central)

Royal Ivey and the Bucks take on the Rockets in the first regular season meeting between Yao Ming and Yi Jialian. (7:30 PM Central)

It’s a battle of one-win teams as the Memphis Grizzlies travel to Portland to take on LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers. (9 PM Central)

Chris Mihm started the last game for the Lakers as Kwame Brown sat out with a bad case of suckitis. Will he come off of the bench with Maurice Evans tonight, or does he earn another start against the visiting Timberwolves? (9:30 PM Central)

D-Gib and the Cavs head west to tangle with Reggie Theus’ Sacramento Kings. I’m a big fan of “Hang Time,” coach. Quality acting job. (9:30 PM Central, ESPN)

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.

Last night

The Raptors lost their third straight game, falling to Orlando 105-96. T.J. Ford played 28 minutes at the point, scoring twelve to go with eight assists. T.J. also had three steals and three rebounds on the night.

Kevin Durant experienced a rite of passage, as he struggled through his first off night in the NBA. The Supersonics lost 105-98 to the Grizzlies, with KD shooting 3-of-17 from the floor. He played very intelligently in the 4th quarter, though, getting himself to the line to eke out points one at a time. K-Smoove finished a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe, giving him 17 points on a night where he pulled down two rebounds.

The Cavaliers lost to the Utah Jazz on a Derron Williams layup with less than two seconds left, falling by a final score of 103-101. Daniel Gibson had twelve points, three assists, and three boards and was a solid 3-for-4 from behind the arc. His hot shooting from long range puts him at 60% on threes for the year, which is tops in the league for all players taking at least five three-point attempts per game.

The Trail Blazers earned their first win on the year while handing the Hornets their first lost, securing a 93-90 victory in Portland last night. LaMarcus Aldridge dealt with foul trouble all night, limiting him to only 22 minutes. He provided 12 points to the winning cause while corralling eight rebounds for the Blazers.

Tonight

There’s a doubleheader on TNT starting at 7 PM CST, but there are no former Horns on the NBA sked tonight.

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.