Welcome Josh Selby

#3 Kansas 70, USC 68
It's hard to think of another player in recent memory who played this well in this large of a situation in his first career collegiate game. He led all players with 21 points (including 5-for-8 behind the arc), but more than that was his presence. He was so clutch and cool that when he had his chance for the game winner with under 30 seconds remaining I had no doubt that he'd hit it. He might already the team's go-to scorer. If there's any caution to throw out here it's that Selby has to prove that he can do this again - anybody heard from Pe'Shon Howard since his remarkable debut? But Josh Selby is not Pe'Shon Howard, and I don't think Kansas fans are worried. Kansas was a little bit disjointed offensively in this one, but it's hard not to expect that when you're trying to incorporate a new key cog. Kansas will be fine, and as long as Duke is without Kyrie Irving I think Kansas has the title of best team in the nation. As for USC, this game could have paired very nicely with their win over Texas two weeks ago, but in reality even a win here wouldn't have gotten them all the way back to the bubble. They have no other wins over likely RPI Top 100 teams, and they have losses to Rider, Bradley, TCU and Nebraska. They are improving, and they'll have the ability on any given night to challenge any team in the relatively weak Pac-10, but they're still at least a year away from being back on the bubble.

Central Florida 84, Miami (Fl) 78
Despite having the son of Michael Jordan as arguably their best player, UCF has been remarkably far under the radar as an undefeated team out of Conference USA. The fact that they have no history of success is the reason, of course. But those that follow the computer numbers have known for some time that this UCF team is for real. Both Sagarin and Pomeroy had them as a Top 40 team in the nation even before playing this game. They're now 10-0 with wins over Florida State and South Florida to go with this win. The big worry now is Marcus Jordan, who hobbled out of this game late with an apparent ankle injury. We probably won't know for a few days how long he'll be out. They can't really afford to lose him for any time at all as they've got a tough game just four days from now (on the road at UMass). As for Miami, they continue to disappoint me. Their perimeter defense is poor, their rebounding is poor, and they seem disjointed offensively. I expected more out of them this season than what they've been: 7-3 with wins over West Virginia and Ole Miss, and a loss to Rutgers. Even if they avoid bad losses between now and the beginning of ACC play, a 9-7 ACC record still may actually not be enough to assure them a Tournament bid because of the perceived weakness of the conference.

Illinois-Chicago 57, #14 Illinois 54
I've talked recently about how many upsets we see this time of year, after the early season tournaments and before conference play, and while the players on glamor teams tend to be thinking more about finals and Christmas than anything else. But even by those standards this was a shocking upset. UIC came into this game 4-7, and arguably the worst team in the entire Horizon League. Pomeroy's ratings game Illinois a 98% chance of winning. Illini fans can blame this one on being at the United Center, instead of at Assembly Hall where Illinois has a tremendous homecourt advantage. But there's no excuse for the game even being close. The Illini don't have long to lick their wounds as they're off to play Missouri on Wednesday night, a team that I do think they're better than. They will get off to a difficult start in Big Ten play as well, getting Wisconsin (twice), Michigan State, Ohio State and Northwestern all in the month of January. As for UIC, this victory is a lot more about the future than the now. This team will not finish near the top of the Horizon League - this game was a fluke. But this is an encouraging sign under first year head coach Howard Moore, and will help with recruiting.