Worth a Second Look

We chronicled the litany of fantastic games on slate last night, and ran out of room before even tackling the late block. Here's a quick rundown on some of last night's interesting and impactful results.

There is real trouble brewing in Berkley. Cal's MSG losses to Ohio State and Syracuse were unimpressive, yet still understandable. Both of those teams are among the best in the country. ast night's 86-78 loss to New Mexico is cause for concern. New Mexico is 7-0 and a solid MWC team, but the Pac-10 has really struggled in the early going and this is yet another ding to the reputation and Cal's post-season resume. Could we be looking at this year's Notre Dame??

Gonzaga is tough. They trailed most of the way against in-state rival Washington State (6-0), but Matt Boldin and Co. fought back for the 74-69 win. First year coach Kevin Bone's Cougars almost did what his Portland State team did last year; knock off the Zags IN the Kennel.

Speaking of Portland State, what an enormous win for the Vikings last night, clipping newly ranked in-state rival Portland. Portland's coach said he wanted to see how they responded to the newly earned attention and acclaim... Um, might want to close your eyes for this one. They got dropped by the 2-4 Vikings by 18 points.

Lastly, the two best games of the night that nearly no one saw - Duquesne closed down the "Igloo" in memorable; if not gut-wrenching, fashion. The Dukes had the ball in a tie game with 9 seconds to go, and fumbled the ball out of bounds unguarded. They held on to force overtime...then a second one...but Pitt finally prevailed by nine in double OT. The Maniac wonders why they got so scared to attack the hoop once overtime arrived...it is a game they should have won.

The other, another double OT thriller with UNLV clipping Arizona 74-72. UNLV is a likely tourney team, and Arizona could have really used the win, especially with their brutal schedule continuing to churn on. The Cats are only 4-3, but anyone who has seen them play has to be impresses with the jobs Nic Wise and new coach Sean Miller are doing in Tuscon.

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