The College Game of the Season (and more)

All eyes were on the mega-match of the night. Tennessee, the No. 2 team in the nation, on the road against instate rival and No.1 team in the nation, Memphis. Everybody was in the building (including Dick Vitale and his ACC lovefest). The two teams did not disappoint as both teams got hot early and Memphis' normally poor three point shooting turned into a strong point as almost every Memphis player made a three and kept the game tight early. The score finally settled down after Memphis took a 29-24 lead and then the Tigers took a 35-34 lead into the locker room.

(Anybody see Erin Andrews get freaked when Bruce Pearl put his arm around during the half time interview. The split second look on her face was priceless).

The second half belonged to the Volunteers and their Memphis-born guard J.P. Prince. He scored all 13 of his points in the second half and really provided a lift for the Volunteers. Tennessee fans would have expected a loss if all they knew was that Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith had a combined 16 points. Not the case when your team has depth, success, and lots of motivation. Wayne Chism's 13 points and Tyler Smith's 16 points and game winning basket help too. Memphis had a chance to run the table in the regular season like St. Joseph's in 2003-2004. This loss could be great for Memphis because it highlighted their problems: 47.1% from the line and even with that hot start from three, only 29.6% for the game. Tennessee is the new number one in the nation and have a a great chance of being the overall number one seed come March.

The rest of the day that was...

Michael Beasley has more records now. He eclipsed Carmelo Anthony's freshman record for double double's with his 23rd and he also set a Big 12 record with 44 points in Kansas State's 92-86 loss to Baylor

Kansas lost 61-60 on the road to Oklahoma State and the Jayhawks did not look like contenders should this late in the season against a team like OKST.

Hopefully some of the college basketball junkies out there caught Drake-Butler because that was a fantastic game. Drake walked into legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse and came away with a 71-64 victory that cements them as the "it" mid-major team of the year.

UCONN's luck with close games ran out after they lost 67-65 at Villanova. The Huskies could not overcome Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes combined 8-15 three point shooting. After some luck with close games in the past, the Huskies need to focus if they want to be considered one of the hottest teams going into March.

Very emotional game for the Indiana Hoosiers. They wrote K.S. on their sneakers for departed coach Kelvin Sampson and they snuck away from Northwestern with a 85-82 win.

Arizona is starting to cement its at large birth with a huge road win at Washington State last night. Chase Budinger came alive with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Freshman Jerryd Bayless added 20 points for the victory.