I’m freaking loaded here, so read at your own discretion. I had to go with the big photo of CD-R dropping some tea in Lanny Smith’s mouth to start your day.

–UPSET–Southern Illinois 65, No. 14 Drake 62. On all that is good and holy I swear to you that I almost put up a “Will Drake Fall Tonight to Southern Illinois?” post yesterday. I decided not to due to the fact that I posted so much as it was, so I just got a little lazy (apologies). Leave it up to So. Ill., a team that has underachieved all year but still has the weapons to win the MVC conference tournament. Drake’s 21-game winning streak is now kaput.

–UPSET–Texas Tech 84, No. 18 Kansas State 75. Little Knight gets win No. 1 for his career. It’s incredible how much more likable he seems than Papa. This loss will probably be a non-factor for K-State in every sense except Big XII standings.

–No. 15 Wisconsin 68, No. 13 Indiana 66. Brian Butch with the huge 3 (off glass) to win the game for Wisky. I feel for the IU kids (like D.J. White) who had nothing to do with this garbage, but having (rightfully) to face these questions from the media. If I had been able to see this game (damn you, Big Ten Network) I’m not even sure I would’ve been able to tell which team is really better than the other. I do not think that you can’t plant this loss on IU due to the events from yesterday, for the record. Why? Because I saw the highlights and the box score and it seemed like the Hoosiers rallied, not retracted.

–No. 17 Connecticut 84, No. 20 Notre Dame 78. I couldn’t even watch this game in my own state. Good matchup between Harongody (32 and 16) and Thabeet (10 rebounds, six blocks). A.J. Price supplied career-best 26 points (and added nine dimes) to up UConn’s winning streak to eight. The Huskies only had eight turnovers to boot. Maybe they are really improving.

–No. 1 Memphis 68, Houston 59. To everyone who thought that Houston might’ve had a puncher’s chance…I redirect you to the picture above. A 32-to-2 advantage from the free throw line for the Tigers allows them to avoid their first digit in the loss column this season.

–No. 2 Duke 77, Maryland 65. Random trivia: Can you tell me who gave Duke their only loss of the season this year. (No, don’t look it up.) The answer’s at the bottom of this post. With Duke having five player average double figures, they could, much to your chagrin, make it to San Antonio this season.

–No. 4 Tennessee 93, Arkansas 71. JaJuan Smith (getting better every week) had 32 points and didn’t miss a 3 attempt (6-of-6). Arkansas has games like these, so I tend to get a little cloudy with my vision on how good they really are.; a 40 percent shooting night against Tennessee will likely end in a loss anyway. The Vols really had it going from behind the arc, and I think when they play like that, only Duke and Memphis are capable of beating them.

–No. 12 Xavier 62, Charlotte 60. The ’9ers needed this one, but they fail as Xavier gets another close win. It’s funny how they’re able to get these over and over. No, it’s not luck—they’re just that tight as a team. Josh Duncan hit a huge trey with 16 seconds to go to give the Muskies the lead and the win. After mauling opponents a few weeks back, Xavier has now defeated its past three opponents by four points or less.

Notable:

Alabama 76, Mississippi 67. I…I just don’t get it. The Rebels are 3-6 in the SEC and showing their Hyde side more and more.

La Salle 87, N.J.I.T 65. 0-26 for the Highlanders. (There can only be one!)

Temple 92, Rhode Island 89 (OT). The Rams are starting to slip a little here. Look for them in the Dancing on the Bubble post later today.

Oklahoma State 93, Baylor 83. I’d hate to see the Bears throw away their Tournament opportunities this year.

Louisiana State 85, Florida 73. The baby Gators come back down to earth here in the past two weeks. LSU shoots better than 60 percent. That’s especially impressive when you crack 80 points.

Duquesne 63, Dayton 61. The plot thickens.

Davidson 83, UNC-Greensboro 78. The plot thickens some more.

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*Duke was beaten by Pittsburgh 65-54 in an overtime game at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.

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