...grippin' your pillow tight." ~Metallica, "Enter Sandman" (1991)
Here is a list of surprise teams or low profile teams that are off to great starts. Butler does not count because they have even managed to crack the polls. I know that there are more undefeated teams, but most of these teams possess sterling records along with a big win or two. TBB will be keeping an eye on this group in the coming weeks.
Air Force (7-1). One bad half against Duke is the only thing keeping them from being undefeated. They outplayed K's boys in the 2nd half of that game. They also have chargrilled Stanford by 34 and Wake by 36. They currently have the highest offensive efficiency rating in the entire country, too.
Oklahoma State (8-0). They have not played a tough schedule, but they beat Missouri State on a neutral court. That's the Bears only loss so far.
San Diego State (6-0). Undefeated and handed Cal their only loss to date.
New Mexico (4-0). They have HAMMERED Colorado and Kansas State, but the Lobos have yet to leave The Pit.
Nebraska (3-0). Handed highly-regarded Creighton a double-digit loss, the Blue Jays' only blemish to this point.
Oregon (6-0). They took out G'town in DC last night. That probably will not happen many times this season.
Clemson (8-0). No huge wins yet, but the Tigers possess road wins at Old Dominion and Minnesota.
Purdue (6-1). The Boilers have already beaten Oklahoma, DePaul and Virginia. Their lone loss was to Georgia Tech.
Washington State (7-0). Lack a signature win, but has a road win and three neutral court wins in tow. The Cougars have a mammoth game on Tuesday when they host Gonzaga.
Western Kentucky (6-1). I am not just playing homer here. They were roasted by Florida, but have won at home over UAB and on the road at Georgia (the Dawgs only loss). Lots of meat left with SIU, Tennessee, and Nebraska still to come.
Last Night's GOI
--at Air Force 94, Wake Forest 58. Uh, AFA is good at basketball.
--at California 78, Kansas State 48. Bears are red hot, and let's cool the Huggy At-Large talk for now.
--Oregon 57, at Georgetown 50. Quack Attack is back! HUGE game at Nebraska on Dec 9.
--at Marist 84, Old Dominion 71. This is why you read TBB. Marist is a very good team that folks should follow. Plus, they are the Red Foxes. Who doesn't love a red fox?
--at Northern Iowa 70, Iowa State 57. The MVC looks to be quite deep (again) this year.
--at Oklahoma State 95, TAMU-CC 73. Sean Sutton is off to an 8-0 start in Stillwater.
--Butler 60, at Valparaiso 47. No letdown for the Dogs. There are not a lot of games on Butler's schedule that look like losses at this point.
ACC Big Ten Challenge
--at Boston College 65, Michigan State 58. This helps BC right the ship after a rocky start.
--Clemson 90, at Minnesota 68. Losing by 22 at home does not bode well for the season.
--at North Carolina 98, Ohio State 89. This one lived up to the hype. One cannot imaging these two being near the top of the seeding heap at season's end.
--at Purdue 61, Virginia 59. Purdue is quietly building a nice pre-conference resume.
Belt
--Colorado State 81, at Denver 73. It's going to be a long year for the Pioneers.
--at Memphis 86, Arkansas State 60. A-State hung in there for awhile, but it was all Memphis in the 2nd half.
--at Nebraska 76, North Texas 57. The Huskers could be the surprise of the Big XII this season.
--Nevada 86, at UL-Lafayette 74. Cajuns went 0-2 in their big games at home (Tennessee and Nevada).
Tonight's GOI
--Arkansas at Missouri. A combined record of 12-0 makes this a very meaningful game. Missouri has yet to be challenged and The Ark has exceeded expectations to this point.
Belt
--UL-Monroe at Auburn. ULM played 'Bama tough and Aubie is not nearly as good as 'Bama.
--UALR at Centenary. A road game that the Trojans and the Belt desperately need.
--Indiana State at Middle Tennessee. Trees are 3-1. This would be a nice win for MTSU.
--New Orleans at Mississippi. It will take more than Bo McCalebb to beat the Rebels.
