About last night - The heatwave edition

Last night's Ohio State-Purdue game showcased two of the best players in college hoops, not just the Big Ten. In the 1st half, Robbie Hummel was lights out, scoring 29 points, shooting 80% from 3-point range. But in the second half, the Buckeyes switched from a mostly zone defense to strictly man-to-man and Hummel was stopped from getting off good shots, missing all 3 3-balls in the second half and restricted to 6 points. Evan Turner, now back and fully healthy, took over scoring 32 himself, whilst proving himself in every other facet of the game. The result was a 70-66 win for the Buckeyes, their first on the road this season. The game will definitely boost the Buckeyes' chances of an at-large, while at the same time, the Boilermakers' chances for being a #1 seed took a hit.

In ACC play, NC State put Florida State in it's place at home, winning 88-81. Out in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest and fringe bubble rider Maryland had to play 45 minutes to settle the result in the form of an 85-83 win for the Demon Deacons. A loss and Wake would have been 0-2 in conference play and near the cut line in terms of at-large potential.

Speaking of at-large potential, Florida has less of it today, thanks in large part to Kentucky who behind John Wall(who else) took a 17-4 run at the end of the game to win 89-77. The Gators are now 0-2 in league play after falling to Vanderbilt in the opener. Northern Iowa almost fell in the same boat as the Gators, but in beating Bradley 52-50, the Panthers remained unbeaten in the Missouri Valley.