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Thursday, November 21, 2024
One of the sport’s best rivalries in recent years didn’t deliver what many expected, but Belmont’s win over Murray State was impressive nonetheless. Also, Hofstra keeps nation’s longest streak going, Wofford/Samford dandy, Michigan State shows it’s a top-level Final Four contender and Texas State among teams having quietly outstanding years.
North Carolina continues to defy common knowledge, this time raining threes to drill Virginia Tech. Kansas survives (again), Michigan State wins Big Ten showdown, plus Western Kentucky and Marshall play a dandy in Conference USA.
Cassius Winston showed why he’s a midseason All-American, leading Michigan State as it stopped Nebraska’s 20-game home winning streak. Hofstra also keeps its streak going, plenty of excitement in the OVC, WCC and Conference USA, another coach ejected and more.
The old guard isn’t going quietly or easily this season, as is often the case, and that shows up in a few places. Plus one team that didn’t play well in non-conference is playing much better, while home teams win out west as a talented young player is suspended.
Three games on Tuesday told us that the Big 12 should be fun to watch. Plus a not-so-surprising team is undefeated early, another conference in the Midwest looks like a fun race to watch, and a small surprise undefeated early on out west.
So much for any talk about one team possibly going undefeated, and given that their conference is better than some think despite its downward trend, there are teams capable of beating them anyway. Plus no surprises in one big conference, while it was a good day to be a road team in another, and a mild surprise in an academic league opener.
As conference play gets going, the Big 12 stands out on its opening night with some road wins. Plus an old Big East power starts off well while another has to rally, two undefeated teams carry on, and a Tar Heel is out for a little time.
After Saturday’s loss, what do we make of Kentucky at this point given that they have lost to their toughest opponents while beating up on worse teams? Plus lots of rivalry games were on tap, while one school couldn’t travel for their game and saw it canceled.
The defending Big South champions are grabbing the spotlight at a different time of the year than might usually happen, and doing so with defense. Plus Big Ten play gets underway with road wins, while a Big Ten team playing out of conference gets another double-double from its big man.
For the second time in three days, a big-time matchup for a tournament championship was at least as good as advertised. Plus several more tournament final matchups are set, a concerning development in Nashville, and a first loss of the season in a blowout.
