WCC

There is no doubt that the Xavier Musketeers have one of the best backcourt tandems in the country with Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons, and the duo combined on Monday night to provide more evidence in the affirmative. Despite shooting a combined 13-for-38 from the field Holloway and Lyons scored 43 points for the Musketeers, with Lyons knocking down the game-tying shot with 6.5 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. From there it was the "Tu Holloway Show:, with the All-American scoring ten of his team-high 24 points in the extra session.

The Big Ten/ACC Challenge is always good for a few marquee matchups throughout the two-day event, and that's definitely the case on Tuesday night as #4 Duke (7-0) heads north to take on #2 Ohio State (6-0) in Columbus. The last time Mike Krzyzewski's team was on the court in game action, Tyler Thornton knocked down a pair of huge three-pointers to beat Kansas in the title game of the Maui Invitational.

Atlantic 10

Conference USA

MVC

MWC

WCC

The championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational provides undefeated UNLV (6-0) with not only a great opportunity but also a great measuring stick, as they take on #1 North Carolina (5-0) at the Orleans Arena. The Rebels fought off a USC team that may not be long on talent but they do make you earn everything, and UNC wasn't challenged much by South Carolina in the nightcap. Whether or not Dave Rice's team can beat the Tar Heels likely depends on the play of their most recent UCLA transfer, forward Mike Moser (15.0 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 3.2 spg).

While people didn't necessarily give up on Santa Clara when it came to discussing who could win the West Coast Conference, there weren't a lot of outside believers in Kerry Keating's team once forward Marc Trasolini was lost for the season in the summer due to a knee injury. And there were even fewer folks left in the aftermath of their 89-56 loss at UCSB just over a week ago. But if their 79-76 overtime win over New Mexico in a 76 Classic quarterfinal showed anything it's that Santa Clara remains capable of being a factor in the WCC race. 

Happy Thanksgiving! And while football tends to take center stage on this day there are also four in-season tournaments playing games, with action spreading from the Bahamas to Alaska. There really isn't a marquee matchup so to speak but there are games that could become important once March arrives, with New Mexico's game against Santa Clara in the 76 Classic being one. The Lobos were the preseason pick to win the Mountain West, and with players such as Drew Gordon and Kendall Williams there's no doubt that they can win this event.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have some impressive offensive performers that Washington State likely made themselves very aware of in preparation for their game at midnight. Elias Harris and Robert Sacre are formidable frontcourt players while Marquise Carter is a jet-quick point guard who is more than willing to attack defenses. But if the Cougars had a plan for how to slow down freshman guard Kevin Pangos it sure didn't look like it.

In the latest installment in our 2011-12 preview series, CHN writer Jon Teitel took some time selecting his preseason all-conference selections for 31 conferences as well as the Independents. Below are the picks for the final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC
G: Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan)
G: Zach Filzen (Buffalo)
F: Justin Greene (Kent State)
F: Julian Mavunga (Miami-Ohio)

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC: Kris Brewer (Kent State)

With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues. In the final part of this series, the final eight conference champions are selected.