Two Unbeatens Fall, While One Rises to the Occasion

Three previously unbeaten teams entered play tonight, only one survived to remain as one of the final four unbeatens left.

As many of the top Big East teams found out, conference play is just as much of a battleground as ever. Pittsburgh got upset, Syracuse rolled in an easy game, and UConn survived a scare, but all eyes were really on the nationally televised matchup featuring the unbeaten Louisville Cardinals playing host to the Georgetown Hoyas. Louisville came in the favorites riding a 20 game home win streak. The Cardinals built a lead early, but a young Georgetown squad refused to get rattled by a frenzied hometown crowd. The Hoyas' roster features 10 freshman and sophomores. They took the lead in the second half and built it to as much as 11 points at one point. Louisville tried to rally, but Georgetown stood firm in a gritty three point win. The Hoyas were led by sophomore Markel Starks, who scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, and freshman Otto Porter, who was clutch down the stretch. The Cardinals were led by senior Kyle Kuric, who made five three pointers, and junior Peyton Siva, who added 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Louisville will need to bounce back from their first loss quickly though, as they play their in-state rival Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

A resurrected Indiana program came into the night as the only unbeaten Big Ten team left. The Hoosiers had a tough task though as they had to survive a trip to the Izzone to face Michigan State. The Spartans came out strong (18 point first half lead at one point) with the hometown crowd roaring, but Indiana answered with a run of their own (a 25-2 run) building a considerable second half lead (up to 9 points). Ultimately, this was a game of runs, as Michigan State closed out this one in convincing fashion. Spartan sophomore Keith Appling scored a career high 25 points. Junior Christian Watford had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers. Indiana will need to bounce back quickly from their first loss as well, as they face Jared Sullinger and the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday.

Baylor and Mississippi State met at a neutral location matchup in what was supposed to be a matchup of two premier post players, the Bears' Perry Jones III and the Bulldogs' Arnett Moultrie. The two players' defensive efforts against each other helped to limit both players to eight points each. However, the real matchup to watch turned out to be between these very similarly talented teams. Baylor led by one at halftime, and the second half tuned out to be much the same, as neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way. As time ran down, the game was tied at 52. Baylor junior Pierre Jackson had made many notable mistakes during the course of the game, but he made up for it when we came around Quincy Acy's screen and finished his layup with 28 seconds left. That proved to be the difference as the Bears remained undefeated, despite getting all they could handle and then some from the Mississippi State Bulldogs.