Morning News: Iowa State Stuns BYU, NC Central Beats NC State, Dayton Wins Bubble Battle

Dean Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freeman yesterday. Tar Heels fans celebrated by rooting for NC Central

We're in that down time in between 24 Hours of Hoops and Thanksgiving week. Just not a ton of good games. Tonight will be a bit better, but in general we're in a holding pattern as we wait for some great Thanksgiving week tournaments. There were a few games worth getting into:

Iowa State Stuns BYU Iowa State is ranked and BYU isn't, but this was one of the more stunning upsets of the early part of this season. BYU was a 7 point favorite in Vegas, and that line probably should have been larger. Iowa State was coming off a huge win and was playing at altitude, which is the perfect formula for a letdown game. And then with a pair of foul outs and a flagrant ejection, they were down three starters for the final couple of minutes (though they did still have Georges Niang, their best player).

This is just a single loss, but there have to be worries in Provo about this BYU team. They're a fun team that can put up points in bunches, but that was also true of last year's team that went 10-6 in the WCC and played in the NIT. Defense and rebounding remain problems, and they settle for too many long two-point jumpers. They're going to need more than one quality win in non-conference play with the relatively soft SOS in WCC play, so count this as a big missed opportunity..

NC Central Deservedly Beats NC State It's hard to say that NC Central got lucky in their win over NC State. If these two teams switched uniforms, you probably really wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. There was no real difference in athleticism or skill. The only player who stood out was TJ Warren, and he fouled out with a few minutes left in regulation. NC Central was also money at the line, finishing 41-for-45. This is a big win for the MEAC, and puts NC Central firmly among the favorites there, But at the same time, it's not that big of a win. NC State is going to finish near the ACC basement.

Dayton Wins A Bubble Battle Over Georgia Tech Dayton and Georgia Tech both look like bubble teams in the early going, and so this was an important win for Dayton. This was a classic letdown game for Georgia Tech after their big rivalry win over Georgia. The Yellow Jackets were just terribly sloppy, allowing Dayton to force a staggering 17 steals. Daniel Miller had 20 points and 7 rebounds for Georgia Tech, but for the most part their size advantage was neutralized by the up-and-down nature of this game (73 possessions). Devin Oliver and Jordan Sibert had 20 points apiece for Dayton. The Flyers now head to Maui, where they'll get a chance to really build up an at-large resume. They open with Gonzaga on Monday.