Western Kentucky

To understand the funk that Pittsburgh and Villanova are currently mired in, it may take this fact about the two teams they lost to on Thursday night. This is the first time as members of the Big East (since 2005-06 for both) that DePaul and USF have won conference games on the same night. Yes, allowing that to sink in underlines the gravity of the situation for both the Panthers and Wildcats, as both teams are in need of some answers at this point in time. 

Overall Rank: #90

While much of the country was caught up in the hoopla that was the BCS Championship Game, an amazing comeback was taking place at Penn State. The Nittany Lions looked to be well on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season, leading a cold-shooting Michigan at the half 31-16. But if you're familiar with John Beilein-coached teams you know that at the snap of a finger they can heat up from the field. And that's exactly what happened in the second half, as the Wolverines outscored their opponents 48-24 in the final twenty minutes on their way to a 64-55 victory.

Game of the Night: Western Kentucky at South Alabama

The first full week of conference play has been loaded so far, but the schedule hits something of a lull on Thursday. With the BCS title game occurring, most eyes won’t be watching college basketball anyway. As a result, there aren’t too many marquee games on the docket. There is Penn State vs. Michigan, but neither of those teams is going anywhere; the most exciting one could be a Sun Belt showdown between Western Kentucky and South Alabama.

With four minutes left in regulation it looked as if North Carolina was on its way to surviving a treacherous trip to Charleston to take on the preseason favorites to win the Southern Conference. But the fun had yet to begin, with Andrew Goudelock helping to spark a 12-1 run that he completed with a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. In fact, Goudelock scored the Cougars' last eight points in regulation on his way to a 24-point night for him and an 82-79 win for his team.

 Western Kentucky is once again the favorite after last year's impressive 25-win season. Up and coming teams like Troy, Denver, and North Texas hope to make some noise as well.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky University head men's basketball coach Ken McDonald has announced the signing of two incoming freshmen to National Letters of Intent (NLI's) on Friday.  Stephon Drane and Kene Anyigbo will enter WKU in the fall of 2010 and have four years of eligibility. 

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team is led by one of the few underclassmen on the list, Butler's Gordon Hayward. Hayward is joined on the First Team by teammate Matt Howard. Boston U, Butler, Cornell, Gonzaga are the only teams with multiple players.

 

Middle Tennesee State

North Texas

South Alabama

Troy

UALR

Western Kentucky

Other (Denver, FIU, ULL, etc)

 

Overall Rank: #53

Conference Rank: #1 Sun Belt Conference