Last night

LaMarcus Aldridge had a rough game in a 101-92 Portland loss to Charlotte. L.A. struggled against a tough defense and battled foul trouble as well, playing only 20 minutes on the night. Aldridge finished with seven points and one rebound.

The Memphis Grizzlies defended their home court, taking out the Seattle Supersonics, 125-108. Kevin Durant had eleven points in 30 minutes on the floor and snagged two rebounds.

Tonight

If Royal Ivey snags some playing time, there will be a Longhorn backcourt battle when the Bucks take on Daniel Gibson and the Cavs. (6 PM CST, NBA League Pass)

Chris Mihm will likely see more playing time with Kwame Brown suffering another injury on Sunday, and Maurice Evans hopes to contribute from the bench as the Lakers travel to Indiana. (6 PM, NBALP)

T.J. Ford travels back to Texas as the Raptors face the Mavs in Big D. (7:30 PM, NBALP)

Baylor won a championship!! It may have only been the Paradise Jam down in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the Bears won three straight games, culminating with a 62-54 win over Winthrop in the finals. After knocking off Wichita State and Notre Dame in the first two rounds, one has to wonder if the Bears are going to be making some noise in the Big 12 this year. Let’s be honest — there’s Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Texas, and then a huge drop off. (And without Gary Johnson, Texas is not even in the conversation with the other three.) Baylor still has home games against Washington State and Arkansas and a shot to emerge from the pack of the Big 12, so perhaps we’ll be discussing their resumé come February and March.

The Longhorns flip-flopped with A&M in this week’s AP poll, moving up to 15th while staying put at 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. At the bottom, Davidson cracked the Coaches at #25 after nearly upsetting #1 North Carolina last week. The Wildcats still have a road game against #10 Duke left on the schedule…I’m just saying.

Okie State won their opening-round game in Maui, taking out LSU 83-77. Mizzou looked incredibly impressive in the CBE Classic semis, but fell just short against a quality Michigan State team, 86-83. They refused to quit despite falling significantly behind a couple of times, and Stefhon Hannah almost singlehandedly willed them to victory in the final few minutes. That January road game in Columbia might not be too much fun for the Horns.

Romeo Miller signed his LOI to attend USC yesterday with future teammate DeMar DeRozan beside him at a press conference in the ritzy Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. That’s right, folks. Lil Romeo is going to play for the Trojans. The LA Times article raises a very good question, namely whether or not the USC staff offered Lil Romeo a scholarship in order to earn points with DeRozan, the much more talented of the two friends.

Big, big game on tap tonight featuring two Texas opponents, when #1 UCLA takes on #11 Michigan State in the championship of the CBE Classic out in Kansas City (9 PM CST, ESPN2). The consolation game should also be good, with Maryland and Mizzou meeting at 6:45 CST on ESPNU. Second-round action out of Maui includes LSU/Chaminade (12:30, ESPNU), Princeton/Arizona State (3:00 CST, ESPNU), Marquette/Oklahoma State (6:00 CST, ESPN), and Duke/Illinois (8:30 CST, ESPN).

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.