About last night-After a Pro Game

Yes, let it be said for the record that the most exciting game I saw yesterday was the 76ers-Timberwolves game at Target Center. The Wolves trailed 57-37 late in the 2nd quarter before rallying in the 3rd, ultimately leading to a 108-103 overtime win.

Now on the college scene, Kansas State helped reinforce the notion that it's hard for Big 12 teams to win on the road. The Wildcats took down unbeaten and top ranked Texas 71-62 in a game that was very chippy near the end. There was an incident near the end of the game where punches were nearly exchanged. Fortunately, the situation was diffused quickly and the rest of the game went on without incident. As far as seeding goes, the Longhorns are still, for the moment, on the top line, but this Saturday they head to UConn where they will face a desperate Huskies squad looking for one last OOC scalp to their resume.

In the other game that involved a prospective top seed, Syracuse received a test courtesy of Notre Dame, but l'Orange passed with top marks in recording an 84-71 grade. The 'cuse shot 49% from the floor, but an impressive 47% beyond the arc. Numbers like those should give Syracuse a boost should Texas, or most likely, Villanova slip up. (Yes, I still have Nova as a top seed of the Orange, but that's because I prefer to give top seeds to actual conference leaders, rather than give the team with the best resume. Unless of course, the team leading the conference does not have a stellar resume.

That last statement can apply to Virginia, the lone unbeaten in the ACC. Last night was a significant example of what can happen to a team looking to build momentum. It can continue to ratchet up it's strength, or it can loose it all at once, and it almost happened to the Cavaliers. They beat UNC Wilmington, but it was only 69-67, and the Seahawks were in it throughout. On the Rivals RPI, Virginia moved up to 100th in those ratings. Imagine how low it would have fallen had they lost.

Virginia Tech can certainly feel what the Cavs almost went through. Although the Hokies crushed North Carolina Central 72-30, the RPI was creamed in the process.

Elsewhere, Western Kentucky got edged by Middle Tennessee, damaging the Hilltoppers' at-large candidacy to the point where another loss and it's Sun Belt championship or bust; Texas Southern topped Jackson State and helped to create a 4-way tie at the top the SWAC; Siena beat Manhattan to stay 2 games ahead of Fairfield, a 2-point winner over Canisius, in MAAC play; and Morgan State waltzed over Winston-Salem State outside of MEAC competition.