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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Virginia slowly pulled away from Virginia Tech in the second half on the road Monday night, doing so in a most Virginia-like way, slowly and in a most satisfying way for the winners. Also, Kansas State takes care of business on the road, and TCU’s NCAA tourney chances running into trouble.
On a Big Monday with a some heavy hitters in action, the night also included one of the sport’s best conference rivalries of late with Bucknell and Lehigh squaring off in the Patriot League. Also, Virginia bounces back in a big way and Kansas still rules Monday nights.
A Big 12 team that has come back to earth in conference play almost suffered a devastating loss on Wednesday – almost. Plus a historic Big East start, road wins in the Big Ten, and a busy night of movement in the Atlantic 10.
Baylor has been one of the bigger surprises of conference play, and the Bears delivered one of the more eye-opening results of the entire season on Monday-on the road.
In the midst of conference play, a big set of non-conference games grabbed center stage for the day. It was a close series and home teams dominated, and as it turns out, we will have more of it in the future.
A Big East team went on the road really needing a win in a place they had never won and where few road teams do. Plus a close call in the SEC, road wins in the Big Ten, and a topsy-turvy night in one of the best mid-major conferences.
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.
It wasn’t a wild night in terms of results, so an ACC result stood out a little more than it might have otherwise. Plus a team wins with its star playing just three minutes, a Final Four team continues to turn a corner a year later, and a couple of first conference wins come a bit later than expected.
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.
In our latest podcast, we talk about Arizona State’s win over Kansas and how the Sun Devils have carried the flag for a struggling Pac-12, as well as a couple of hot seats out west, a great coaching job in Texas, and a wide-open race for a major honor.
