Coast to Coast...like Tyus Edney against Mizzou

We will start with an old school photo after a classic KU meltdown NCAA tournament loss to Rhode Island. That was the last we saw of Paul Pierce in the Crimson and Blue. The saga of Alex Legion got even more convoluted just two days after Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie announced Legion was leaving. Now, he says he is reconsidering coming back. This kid is run by what his mother wants him to do. His recruitment was the same way. He changed leaders like he changes clothes before settling on UK. We will see what happens next week. In other news, Florida State's head football coach, unlike Penn State's has come up with a succession plan for when their old, past his prime coach finally retires. The Cavaliers got smoked again, this time by the Agent Zero-less Wizards. Lebron cannot come back fast enough. Good news from the Winter Meetings in Nashville; it looks like the Red Sox and Twins are at a standstill when it comes to Johan Santana and neither team will budge. Oh, and Bob Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders went on an unbelievable 42-1 run in their win over Louisiana Tech. Now to the games.

#4 Georgetown 70 Alabama 60 in Birmingham - In night one of the SEC/Big East series, The Crimson Tide had the #4 Hoyas on the ropes, then collapsed in the second half after holding a second half lead. Once again, it was Georgetown's superior post play that was the difference. They out rebounded Bama 43-28, Dajuan Summers had a huge night, scoring 18 and grabbing nine boards off the bench and hitting three big triples. Roy Hibbert added 14 and nine of his own. The best player on the floor however, was the Tide's Richard Hendrix. If Mark Gottfried had a legit point guard (aka a healthy Ronald "give em" Steele), they'd be a serious player in the SEC.

#9 Pittsburgh 73 Duquesne 68 - First off, props out to Duquesne for hanging with the #9 Panthers just a year after watching their program be decimated by the off campus shooting that robbed them of their season. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pittsburgh schedule is such a joke, nobody knows how good they really are. We will see what they are really made of over the next two weeks. Their next three games are at Washington, home to Oklahoma State, and against Duke. Sam Young continued his stellar play with 23 points. He came in averaging 18.

#17 Clemson 82 East Carolina 67 - Oliver Purnell's club moved to 8-0 with their road win over the Pirates. Five Tigers were in double figures led by Terrance Oglesby's career high 22 off the bench in 21 minutes. They played this game without their best player James Mays, who sat for the second straight game with an injured hip. This is an impressive start for the Tigers, who have already beaten Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Purdue.

#4 Kansas 85 Eastern Washington 47 - Rather an interesting tactic taken by Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine. He decided to play the much bigger Jayhawks man to man. Not a good idea. The Eagles were killed in the post and on the glass by Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur. D-Block and Shady combined for 32 points and 15 rebounds while playing 25 minutes each in this dominating performance by KU. An 18-2 second half run blew the game wide open. Mario Chalmers had eight assists to just one turnover. Freshman Cole Aldrich grabbed seven boards in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the garbage time king Conner Teahan buried his only three point attempt and is now 9-11 for the season.

#5 Texas 88 North Texas 72 - They say the college game usually comes down to good Guard play. I'd say Texas has this covered this year. DJ Augustine sliced and diced his way to a season high 29 while his partner in crime AJ Abrams hit three threes on his way to 23 points for a Longhorns team which showed no signs of a letdown after knocking off #1 UCLA on Sunday. Forwards Conner Atchley and Damion James both added 12.

#25 Vanderbilt 83 Wake Forest 80 - Good to see the Commodores and their crazy bench set-up back in the top 25. Shan Foster the remaining star from last year's Sweet 16 team, led all scorers with 26 while his teammate Andrew Oglivy had 23. Foster was all over the floor offensively, knocking down four three pointers and backing down the 6-8 Jamie Skeen in the post. Former McDonald's AA Harvey Hale led the Deacons with 18.

#20 Xavier 79 Creighton 66 - You know what the best thing about looking at this game was? Former KU wakon Nick Bahe is now starting at Creighton. The Jays came in 5-0 and were run out of the Cintas Center by a good looking Xavier team. Drew Lavender had an amazing night with 28 points and 10 assists. BJ Raymond added 15. You know it was a good night when Xavier best post option Josh Duncan was 0-6 from the field, scored only two points in 30 minutes, and it was still a double digit win.

#6 Washington State 51 #19 Gonzaga 47 - The Wazzu way won out in Spokane last night. The Cougars used their stifling half court defense and made timely shots as they knocked off the Bulldogs on the road. Gonzaga's best post player, Austin Daye was held to 1-11 from the field. Not that anyone watched this game, which started at 11 PM EST on ESPNU, but this was the best early season matchup nobody saw. Classic Micah Downs move: Before the game, the Kansas transfer and former whiner was quoted as saying Washington State said "They are the second best team in the state." After the game, WSU guard Taylor Rochestie said "Pretty good showing for the second-best team in the state, I think."