Michigan St

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:

It's been quite some time since St. John's was able to enjoy a true home court advantage at Madison Square Garden, as more successful programs with hearty fan bases in the area (Connecticut and Syracuse come to mind) would take over the building when playing the Red Storm. But Monday night may have been as close to a beginning to the end of that as Steve Lavin's troops beat Georgetown 61-58 to move to 3-0 in Big East play. The win, their fifth straight, also ended a 14-game losing streak to ranked teams for the Red Storm who have to deal with ranked teams in their next seven games as well.

Given their soft non-conference schedule, Northwestern (9-2) entered Big Ten play on Friday with a decent amount of work to do resume-wise in order to have a chance at making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. And conference play didn't get off to the best of starts for Bill Carmody's team, who fell 82-69 at Purdue and have lost two of their last three. But the good thing about being in a conference like the Big Ten is that another opportunity for a quality win is usually right around the corner, and that's the case tonight as they host Michigan State (9-4).

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.

Many will say that Michigan State is the best three-loss team in America, and you're unlikely to find many arguments to the contrary as all three of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the Top 10. Connecticut, Duke and now Syracuse have all had the Spartans' number, with the Orange beating Michigan State 72-58 in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Rick Jackson posted yet another double-double, this time scoring 17 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while Scoop Jardine led all scorers with 19.

Tuesday night features one of the best in-season events in terms of both the caliber of play on the court and the larger purpose it serves off of it: the Jimmy V Classic. The doubleheader at Madison Square Garden may feature four ranked teams but they're at different stages in terms of finding out who they are and what they can potentially be. The first game matches a young Memphis squad that's gotten away with inconsistent play of late and a team in Kansas that right now isn't what they'll be in three weeks much less three months.

Sometimes freshmen tread lightly at the start of their collegiate careers, so as not to upset the balance and tick off the upperclassmen. But Duke point guard Kyrie Irving isn't your typical freshman point guard and the many reasons why were on full display in the Blue Devils' 84-79 win over Michigan State on Wednesday night. Irving scored 31 points while also grabbing six rebounds, handing out four assists as well as blocking two shots and making two steals.

Wednesday is the final day of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and with a 4-2 lead following Tuesday's action all the Big Ten needs in order to win the competition for a second consecutive season is two victories. Will one of those two wins come at Cameron Indoor Stadium? That's the question that the Michigan State Spartans hope to answer in the affirmative in the marquee game of the event. Tom Izzo's team won two of three at the Maui Invitational (losing to eventual champion Connecticut), returning home to beat Tennessee Tech with an effort that left the coach less than pleased.

Overall Rank: #2