Syracuse Tops RPI Rankings At The Midway Point

So what is RPI? Well, it is the "Ratings Percentage Index", used by the NCAA to aide in selecting teams and seedings for the NCAA Tournament. RPI is made up of a team’s winning percentage (25%), its opponents’ winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents’ opponents (25%). In 2004 the RPI was modified to account for differences in home and away games. A home win counts as 0.6 win, while a road win counts as 1.4 wins. Conversely, a home loss equals 1.4 losses, while a road loss counts as 0.6 loss. Thank you StatSheet.com!

Arizona State Dismisses Leading Scorer, Keala King

The Arizona State Sun Devils have had a tough year and are off to a 5-10 start this season. To make matters worse, Herb Sendek decided to dismiss sophomore Keala King from the team following an earlier suspension for "unacceptable conduct". The 6’4 former Mater Dei product was leading the team in scoring with 13.7 ppg.

Ole Miss Dismisses Dundrecous Nelson

Dundrecous Nelson was dismissed from the Ole Miss basketball program on Thursday after being arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia less than 48 hours earlier. The 5’11 sophomore was leading the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg and was a big part of running the Rebels offense. Coach Andy Kennedy was searching for leadership even with Nelson on the team for the 10-5 Rebs. Looks like SEC play just got a lot tougher for this Ole Miss team.

Jeff Jordan Leaving UCF Basketball Team

Michael Jordan’s eldest son, Jeff, has decided to leave the University of Central Florida basketball team, citing personal reasons. Jeff Jordan had previously played on Illinois and transferred to UCF, playing with his younger brother Marcus. The younger Jordan leads UCF in scoring, averaging 17.2 ppg this year as a junior. Jeff had seen his role diminish slightly since the reinstatement of PG AJ Rompza into the Knights line-up. Nonetheless, the elder Jordan had been a key bench player for UCF and averaged 2.7 ppg in 21.2 mpg through 13 games.

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Drummond Dominant in Latest UConn Victory

After what many deemed as a disappointing start to his freshman season, Connecticut’s latest 77-40 victory showed why people have high expectations for Andre Drummond. Granted, the victory came against the now 4-7 Holy Cross Crusaders, but Drummond finally seems to be coming into his own and had his best game as a collegian. This was the second game Drummond has played without a protective mask he had to wear due to obtaining a broken nose, with his being a much more effective offense force in both Connecticut wins.

#6 Baylor Blocks BYU’s Win Attempt

With Baylor ahead of home team BYU by 3 points, PF Brandon Davies 6’9 lined up for a potential game tying long range shot. Unfortunately for Davies, 5’10 Pierre Jackson swooped in to block the attempt as Baylor left Utah with an 86-83 win to move to 9-0 on the season. Perry Jones III was the star of the contest with a career high 28 points, showing a lot more aggression this season as Baylor’s go-to offensive player. Brady Heslip also chipped in 18 points on 6-10 3PT while Jackson added 13 points, 7 assists and the monumentally clutch rejection.

Anthony Davis Developing in the Post For #3 Kentucky

Not to be outdone by Andre Drummond’s coming out game, Anthony Davis continued to impress during his freshman season at Kentucky. Davis scored 14 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and swatted 5 shots in an 87-62 win over Chattanooga. Doron Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 24 and 17 respectively, but Davis has been the Wildcat that people are dying to talk about.

Butler Scores Another Miracle Win on Andrew Smith’s Last Second Tip

The Crossroads Classic first contest was an incredible success as the inaugural showdown at Conseco Fieldhouse featured a down to the wire classic between Purdue and Butler. With the Boilermakers up 64-56 with 6:40 remaining in the game, they looked like they were thoroughly in control of the offensively challenged Bulldogs. However, with great defense and some smart play calling, Butler eventually took the lead 65-64.

Cody Zeller Keeps #18 Indiana Perfect

Indiana freshman Cody Zeller may not be the NBA prospect that some of his fellow first year big men are, but it is hard to say that any freshman has been more impactful on his team. Zeller had 21 points, 8 boards and a couple blocks to keep the Hoosiers a perfect 10-0 in their 69-58 victory over Notre Dame in the second match-up of the Crossroads Classic. While Notre Dame kept the game close, it seemed they had no answer for the freshman big man, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and field goal percentage.

Todd Mayo Fills In Admirably For DJO in #11 Marquette Win

In yet another major weekend performance by a freshman, Todd "OJ’s Brother" Mayo scored a team high 22 points as the Marquette Golden Eagles crushed Northern Colorado, 93-72. The Golden Eagles were without leading scorer Darius Johnson-Odom, who was suspended one game for breaking team rules. Mayo has been a major spark plug off of the bench for Marquette and seems to be making a name for himself, beyond his famous older sibling. Golden Eagles senior PF Jae Crowder was his usual solid self with 19 and 11 in the win.

Kansas State Scores Upset Win Over #23 Alabama

The Kansas State Wildcats continued their solid early season play with a 71-58 victory over the ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama. NBADraft.net forum legend JNixon-Iggy9 is a notorious fan of Frank Martin’s team and had to be loving this victory in getting the Wildcats some credibility after losing some key players from last season. 7 foot junior Jordan Henriquez had a career performance with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while senior Jamar Samuels triggered a late run that helped K-State survive a tough shooting start.

#17 Mississippi State Now At 10 Straight Wins

After a disappointing early season loss to Akron, Mississippi State held on for their 10th win in a row over Detroit, 80-75. The Bulldogs imposing front court combination of junior Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney did damage, with 17/13 for the former and 16/7 for the latter. Bulldogs Freshman Rodney Hood made a key jumper near games end to put things out of reach. Mississippi State has some solid guards and athletes, but if they expect to compete with the nations best, their size with Moultrie and Sidney will be their greatest attribute.

#9 Mizzou Gets 30 Bench Points From Michael Dixon, Stay Undefeated

The Missouri Tigers have not played the toughest early season schedule, but they certainly seem to look the part of a national contender as they keep crushing the competition. Their latest 94-56 whupping of William & Mary had 6th man Michael Dixon scoring a career high 30 points for the nations 2nd leading scoring offense. In what was a slow day for usual scoring leader Marcus Denmon, Dixon stepped up, Kim English scored 17 points and Ricardo Ratliffe shot 5-6 for the Tigers. Other than Denmon’s slow day, this has become the norm for this team.

Steven Pledger Putting Up Numbers For Surprise Oklahoma

After a couple of down seasons in Norman after the departure of current NBA star Blake Griffin, the Sooners are coming back with a vengeance this season. Coach Lon Kruger is looking to turn the team around and his star thus far has been junior guard Steven Pledger. The 6’4, 220 pound Virginia native had 31 points on 10-13 FG, 4-5 3PT and 7-7 FT in a 79-74 win over Houston. He is averaging 19.5 ppg on the season for the 8-1 Sooners while shooting over 60% from the field and over 50% from long distance.

#8 Xavier Loses Suffers First Loss Without Suspended Stars

Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons and Dezmine Wells were all unavailable for Xavier’s tilt yesterday with Oral Roberts. Without the three starters, the Musketeers suffered an embarassing 64-42 loss to the Golden Eagles, their first of the season and their lowest point total in 11 years. The three starters were sidelined due to a brawl that took place in their game against rival Cincinnati. The return of star PG Holloway should help in Xavier’s next game, but Lyons and Wells still will be sidelined as Xavier takes on scrappy Long Beach State on Thursday.

Myck Kabongo Keeps Improving For Texas

The Texas Longhorns had a solid home victory over tough Atlantic-10 opponent Temple, winning 77-65. Junior guard J’Covan Brown scored 23 points to lead the team and they got another solid performance out of freshman PG Myck Kabongo. The 6’1 lightning fast Canadian import was seen as one of the top PG’s in last years HS Class, but struggled with turnovers and poor shooting to begin the season. In Texas’ last few games, however, Kabongo has been living up to expectations as a talented floor general. He had 18 points as the Longhorns are now 8-2.

Virginia Beats Oregon at Matt Knight Arena

Despite taking a lead into the half, the Oregon Ducks could not hold off the Virginia Cavaliers as they lost, 67-54. The loss was indeed reminiscent of the Ducks loss to the Cavaliers last season in Virginia, though this time hurt a bit more being at home. Mike Scott continues his strong senior season for coach Tony Bennett’s Cavs as he finished with a game high 17 points and 13 rebounds.

#9 Connecticut First Team To Defeat #25 Harvard

December 9, 2011 I know that everyone is hyped over the start of the NBA season and official trades, but David Stern put no hold on the NCAA Basketball action. We had some good games last night and a bunch of great match-ups set for this weekend. So, prepare to be "WoW"-ed (Sorry Chris Paul) as this is your NCAA Daily: