1. With 2:37 left in the game, Alabama trailed Georgetown 54-45. In the span of five possession Alabama eliminated the lead (JaMychal Green layup, JaMychal Green tip-in, Tony Mitchell three, Tony Mitchell FT, pair of FTs by Trevor Releford), but then on the game final possession Georgetown got the ball to Hollis Thompson on a simple ball-screen in the corner, Bama’s Trevor Lacey got lazy and went underneath the screen, and Thompson buried the three. Game over and Bama took their first loss of the year. With that made shot Georgetown became the first team this season to score more than a point per possession on the vaunted Tide defense (1.04), and they did so by connecting on 7-17 (41.2%) from long range. If you’re Bama you just need to tip your hat and move on.
2. Central Connecticut State’s Ken Horton is no stranger to filling up the statsheet. Last night versus Bryant (in each team’s Northeast Conference opener) the senior made 7-9 2s, 6-10 3s and scored 32 points without the help of free throws. He also added 9 rebounds for the fourth time this season, making him one of the national leaders in almost-double-doubles. It was his sixth career 30+ point game, and the most shots he’s ever needed for that score is 20. Other big scorers on Thursday were Nate Wolters (S Dakota St) with 32, and Darrell Lampley (E Michigan) with 37, and they both took 26 shots. For them to win the Conference they’ll most likely have to go through Sacred Heart and Long Island, and they get their first shot on Saturday vs Sacred Heart.
3. It wasn’t pretty, but Harvard took on a very solid Vermont team and won 55-48 (60 possession game), stretching their record to 7-0. In their past three wins Harvard has only averaged 0.89 points per possession, but their defense has been ridiculous, holding opponents to 0.77. At some point their inability to score will catch up to them, but for now it’s looking like Harvard will be ranked for the first time ever. Left on the ooc schedule are UConn and St Joe’s, which will be the two best offenses they face before Ivy League play.
4. Vanderbilt is appreciative of Cleveland State’s effort at keeping them from becoming a bad loss for the Commodores on Selection Sunday. Since that season opening win Cleveland State has gone 6-1 (5-1 vs Division I teams) which includes four wins by four points or less. In a grueling, ugly, 45-43 win over Wright State on Thursday the Vikings got a tip-in from D’Aundray Brown as the clock expired. All that matters in the RPI is win or loss. They could have won 100-43 and wouldn’t have mattered. With the Horizon League wide open, beginning 1-0 is the only thing that matters.
5. In a 68-68 tie with 13 seconds left, Pat Kennedy’s Depaul Blue Demons coughed up the ball and allowed Mississippi’s Murphy Holloway to go the lengh of the court for a lay up. On the ensuing possession Depaul inbounded the ball to Ole Miss, and the Rebels escaped a game they once led by 16 with less than 16 minutes to go. This is coming off a game where Ole Miss gave up a 15 point lead versus Miami, missed two free throws in the final minute, and then avoided a Malcolm Grant three that would have won it at the final buzzer in regulation, and a Malcolm Grant three that would have tied it at the end of overtime. Ole Miss is 6-1 on the season and their only stiff challenges left before conference play are Middle Tennessee and Dayton.
