Mississippi State The First Ranked Team To Lose

Rider 88, #19 Mississippi State 74
The first upset of a ranked team isn't a huge upset, although the large margin of victory might be something of a surprise. For one thing, Mississippi State was only considered a Top 25 team because of star recruit Renardo Sidney, yet he is still fighting to get himself eligible to play, and was not suited up for this one. Jarvis Varnado is the best player on the team, and he played well (22 points, 14 rebounds, 7 blocks), but he can't do it by himself. If Sidney is unable to get eligible then Mississippi State is a bubble team. Speaking of bubble teams, is it possible that Rider can be one? They were overshadowed by Siena and Niagara last season, but Rider was the third best team in the MAAC with a 12-6 conference record (19-12 overall), and an RPI of 133rd. I don't want to put too much stock in a win where a team shoots 10-for-16 from behind the arc, but it's a quality win regardless. I thought that the MAAC had a real chance to be a multiple Tournament bid league this season, but maybe that second bid will be Rider rather than Niagara?

Texas A&M CC 67, Oregon State 43
Like the Rider/Mississippi State game, this was not a huge upset, but it was the margin of victory that was something of a surprise. This game was never close, with Oregon State down 12 at halftime before letting the game get blown open during the opening minutes of the second half. I said back in April that I thought this Texas A&M CC team was a darkhorse in the Southland, with a ton of physical talent (by Southland standards) but probably a year away from really having a great chance to win the conference title. But with this win they're announcing themselves a serious contender to win the conference in 2010. As for Oregon State, they might have gotten just a little bit too much hype during the preseason. They did go 7-11 in the Pac-10 last season, but they still were never that good. They haven't been able to recruit elite talent, and so the idea that Oregon State was going to be one of the better teams in the Pac-10 might have been a little bit far-fetched. They're going to prove this game was a fluke or they might not even get on the bubble this season.

Auburn 69, Niagara 65
This win was something of a mini-miracle for an Auburn team that trailed almost the entire game. Niagara led by 7 with 90 second left in the game, and then went ice cold from the floor just as Auburn got red hot. I talked just last week about how important this game would be for these teams, both of whom I believe have a decent shot of working their way onto the bubble. For Niagara, they're not going to get a lot of chances at a BCS scalp in the MAAC, and this is a huge missed opportunity. For Auburn, it's going to be an uphill battle in the SEC all season, and they absolutely could not afford a loss to a MAAC team in the season opener at home.