Friday

The Raptors grabbed another win, besting the Pacers 110-101 at the Air Canada Centre. T.J. Ford had 15 points on a 50% shooting night and added seven assists.

Portland fell just short of a road victory in Philly, as the 76ers won by a 92-88 count. LaMarcus Aldridge continued to quietly impress, logging 25 points and six boards in 38 minutes on the court.

Kevin Durant hit the game-winning three over the outstretched arms of Al Horford, and the Sonics grabbed a double-overtime victory in Atlanta, 126-123. KD had 21 on the night, along with three blocks, steals, and rebounds as Seattle put together a second consecutive win.

Daniel Gibson scored six, grabbed six boards, and dished out five assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Jazz, 99-94. D-Gib was abnormally cold from behind the arc, missing on all three of his attempts.

The Lakers took out the Pistons, 103-91 at the Staples Center. Maurice Evans provided eleven minutes off the bench, scoring five points while logging three assists, two boards, and a steal. Chris Mihm did not play in the game.

Saturday

LaMarcus Aldridge had yet another double-double, but the Trail Blazers fell short against the Wizards, 109-90. L.A. had 19 points and ten rebounds in his 39 minutes on the court, adding a pair of assists and a block.

The mini winning streak came to a close when the Sonics lost to the Bobcats, 100-84. K-Smoove was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line en route to a 16 point night, but grabbed only one rebound.

Royal Ivey played 13 minutes as the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Hawks, 105-96. Ivey had two points, assists, and steals in the winning effort.

Sunday

The Raptors dropped a home game to the Warriors, 106-100. But T.J. Ford certainly did his part for Toronto, scoring 29 points, dropping nine dimes, and grabbing five rebounds in 33 minutes of play.

The Lakers beat up on the pitiful Bulls, logging a 106-78 victory. Chris Mihm scored eleven points in thirteen minutes of play by getting himself to the foul line, where he was 7-of-8. Mihm also had eight rebounds in a game where Maurice Evans added seven points and a board.

Tonight

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers head to the opposite coast to take on the Charlotte Bobcats. (6 PM CST)

The Seattle Supersonics and Kevin Durant look for another win against the hapless Grizzlies in Memphis. (7 PM CST, NBATV)

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.