UCONN

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.

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:

Conference play is in full swing on the second Saturday in January, but the biggest game is of the non-conference variety as #9 Connecticut (11-2) hits the road to take on #12 Texas (12-2) in their first meeting since the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns, then led by point guard T.J. Ford, won that Sweet 16 matchup in San Antonio on their way to the Final Four and while they don't have a point guard in the mold of Ford they've got plenty of talent. At the top of that list would be sophomore wing Jordan Hamilton, who leads the Longhorns in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game.

Notre Dame knew that they had to make Kemba Walker work for his points if they were going to beat Connecticut on Tuesday. And thanks in large part to Ben Hansbrough, who also scored 21 points they were able to do just that in beating the Huskies 73-70 to move to 2-1 in Big East play. Walker scored 19 points but had to attempt 23 field goals to do that, making just eight while outside of Shabazz Napier (4-6 FG, 18 points) and Roscoe Smith (11 points) his teammates struggled offensively.

Notre Dame (12-2) arrives at the final game of a three-game stretch of Top 10 (in last week's rankings) teams to open Big East play, and the fact that Mike Brey's team has the opportunity to win two say a little about the quality of his club. Tuesday night brings Connecticut (11-1) to Purcell Pavilion, and the Huskies are looking to put forth a better performance than they did in a loss at Pittsburgh as well as an overtime home win over USF.

Despite making the quick climb through the rankings, from not being ranked in anyone's Top 25 to finding themselves in the Top 5, there were still questions about Jim Calhoun's Connecticut squad. Biggest question: how would they handle playing in a hostile environment like the Petersen Events Center? That question obviously didn't stand for the experienced Kemba Walker but the team as a whole received quite the lesson from Big East preseason favorite Pittsburgh.

While the overall schedule for Monday is a light one Big East play opens up with a heavyweight battle in Pittsburgh. Undefeated Connecticut (10-0) plays their first true road game of the season, leaving the friendly confines of home to take on sixth-ranked Pittsburgh (12-1) in what should be a physical battle. Junior point guard Kemba Walker (26.5 ppg, 4.0 apg) has been one of the best players in America to this point in the season and no one's found the right answer in terms of how to slow him down.

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.

Wednesday night marks the end of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, with surprising Connecticut taking on young but talented Kentucky in the title game. Junior point guard Kemba Walker has been a house afire for the Huskies, having scored 30 or more points in each of his last three games. With impressive shot-making ability, handle and the skill to also set up his young teammates the junior from the Bronx has arguably been the best player in America to this point in the season.

Looking at the semifinals of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on paper many expected Duke and Kansas State to advance to Tuesday's title game, and they took care of business at the Spirit Center in Kansas City. But while the Wildcats had some perimeter shooters other than the explosive Jacob Pullen step up in their 81-64 whipping of Gonzaga, Duke had to rely on a change from last season's title team to get past Marquette.