Missouri

While there are four games on Monday involving ranked teams it doesn't take much effort to realize which contest gets the main line on the marquee. Syracuse (18-0, 5-0) heads south to take on Pittsburgh (17-1, 5-0) in a matchup of the two 5-0 Big East teams, and the Orange have yet to lose at all this season. But the dynamic of this contest changed some when Syracuse wing Kris Joseph hit his head on the Carrier Dome floor in the first half of Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Many expected the matchup between #12 Missouri and #13 Texas A&M to be a thriller and it most certainly didn't disappoint, requiring an extra five minutes before rendering a verdict. Khris Middleton was outstanding for the Aggies, scoring 28 points and grabbing seven rebounds as Mark Turgeon's team remained undefeated in Big 12 play with a 91-89 overtime victory. Five A&M players reached double figures but it was Middleton who made the difference, scoring 11 points in the extra session to lead the way.

While Saturday brings about the standard fare in regards to a full schedule offering a host of enticing matchups, the game of the day may be #12 Missouri (15-2, 1-1) making the trek to College Station. There await Mark Turgeon's Texas A&M Aggies (15-1, 2-0), one of the hotter teams in America but they've flown a bit under the radar since going 2-1 in the Old Spice Classic. The meeting between the Tigers and Aggies promises to be a battle of tempo, with Mike Anderson's squad looking to ramp things up while A&M is better suited for half-court play.

Before the start of action on Saturday few had any idea that the day would end up being as wild as it was. Seven ranked teams fell to unranked opponents on a day that will have a drastic impact on Monday's polls, providing a reminder that the madness doesn't always wait until March to get going. Those results were as follows:

There should be little doubt as to what the game of the day is on Thursday with a Big 5 battle on the docket. Temple (9-2, 0-0 Big 5) makes the short trip to Villanova (10-1, 3-0 Big 5) with hopes of picking up their second win over a ranked Big East team this season, and they've got the horses to do so.

Thursday provided quite the test for Josh Pastner's Memphis Tigers, with the more experienced Georgetown Hoyas invading the FedEx Forum. While Memphis' competitive spirit can't be questioned their execution, especially on the defensive end, was of no match for the Hoyas who diced up the Tigers to the tune of an 86-69 win. Austin Freeman scored 24 points while Chris Wright added 19 and Julian Vaughn 15 points and 10 rebounds in arguably Georgetown's best showing this season in moving to 11-1.

Wednesday is the final big day on the schedule before Christmas and one of the better rivalry games in college basketball will be front and center. Missouri (10-1) takes on Illinois (10-2) in St. Louis, and the game is also the first meeting this season between teams with ten wins on the season. But the Tigers will go into the game shorthanded as freshman point guard Phil Pressey, who had 15 points and 11 assists in their win over Central Arkansas, is out with a fractured finger but the recently suspended Michael Dixon returns.

Coming off of a tough loss at North Carolina, which featured a somnambulant Terrence Jones failing to shake off the after-effects of a pregame nap, the Kentucky Wildcats needed to get back on the winning track. And after a slow start against Notre Dame in the second game of the SEC/Big East Invitational, John Calipari's team woke up late in the first half and carried that effort over after the break. The end result: a 72-58 win for the Wildcats at Freedom Hall to give the SEC a sweep of the first two games (another doubleheader will be played in Pittsburgh on Saturday).

While focus on the ACC/Big Ten Challenge relegated this game to the backchannel knows as ESPNU there was little doubt as to what would be the game of the night. And boy did Georgetown and Missouri live up the expectations, putting forth a classic that required overtime to render a verdict. And when the dust settled it was Georgetown, who was down four with 26.1 seconds left in regulation, leaving the Sprint Center in Kansas City with a valuable non-conference victory.

While Tuesday marks the second day of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the ACC leads 1-0 thanks to Virginia's win over Minnesota last night, the best game on the schedule may actually tip off in Kansas City. Two teams expected to contend for their respective league titles meet at the Spirit Center as Georgetown faces Missouri. The Hoyas are the more tested of the two teams to this point in the season, having won the Charleston Classic as well as beating Old Dominion on the road in their season opener.