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.

Last night

There were no Longhorns playing last night, but Kevin Durant did drop by the NBA on TNT studios to chat with the guys. I know that they’ve been using YouTube to have questions submitted for the crew, so I was hoping that maybe the video would be posted there this morning. No dice, but I did find this little gem…

Tonight

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers head to the City of Brotherly Love to face the 76ers. (6 PM CST)

The Toronto Raptors and T.J. Ford host the Indiana Pacers. (6 PM CST)

It’s the first NBA meeting between Kevin Durant and Acie Law IVLCXMI when the Sonics travel to Atlanta and take on the Hawks. (6:30 PM CST)

The Cavs and Daniel Gibson host the Utah Jazz. (6:30 PM CST)

Chris Mihm and Maurice Evans get some more national airtime when the Lakers and Pistons tangle from Staples. (9:30 PM CST, ESPN)

Orangebloods broke the news yesterday that J’Covan Brown has committed to Texas ($$ article). That’d be all fine and dandy if the kid had actually signed on the dotted line. But with the pressures from his parents and coach still trying to push him elsewhere, we’ll have to see if he ever ends up putting his Herbie Hancock on this thing and playing on the 40 Acres. Fingers are crossed very, very tightly that this one works out.

In 2KSports Classic semifinal action, UConn dispatched Gardner-Webb and will take on Memphis in the finals after the Tigers held off OU. In the nightcap, Derrick Rose finished with 17 points, five boards, and three assists, while OU’s Blake Griffin finished with an 8/8 night. Longar Longar was only able to log three eye-socket shatterings with his flailing elbows.

That UConn/Memphis championship game from Madison Square Garden highlights the NCAA hoops on TV today, airing at 8 PM CST on ESPN2. There’s also games all day long from the Puerto Rico Tip Off, starting at 11 AM CST on ESPNU. And if you’re into a little Gardner-Webb/OU action, that one is on the Duece at 5:30 PM CST.

This “College Basketball Invitational” is probably the worst thing to happen since Wayne Newyon first discovered plastic surgery. Why exactly is there a need to crown the 97th-best team in NCAA hoops? And who will even play in this train wreck of toxic waste? Rush the Court pulled a sample bracket from the Gazelle Group’s website, and it leaves…a lot to be desired. But then again, when I think about the god-awful fields they’ve put together for the Guardian’s Classic, 2KSports Classic, and especially this year’s Legends Classic, I don’t know why I’m really surprised. Classic.