It wasn't a headline-grabber like the recent Saturday when the last three undefeated teams in Division I all lost, but the remaining winless teams finally knocked the ” from the left side of their record this week.
Morgan State, coached by former NBA player Butch Beard, beat Howard University 79-75 on Monday to improve to 1-18. On Wednesday night, Baylor beat Kansas State 72-70 in overtime to end a 20-game losing streak, including six this season.
Because of NCAA sanctions from violations under former coach Dave Bliss, the Bears' schedule was limited to only Big 12 games. The win improved the Wildcats to 1-6.
Freshman Curtis Jerrells hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in overtime to put Baylor ahead, but the win wasn't locked up until Henry Dugat grabbed a rebound of a miss by Kansas State's Cartier Martin as time expired.
“It was a great feeling,” said Dugat, who had a career-high 23 points. “I want to share that a lot more times.”
Last season, Savannah State finished 0-28 last season.
The last of the undefeated teams - Duke, Florida and Pittsburgh - all lost on Jan. 21.
BIG FIVE-O: Grab a cheesesteak hoagie and slap some mustard on your pretzel, the Big 5 is going to cap its 50th season in style next Tuesday.
Philadelphia's city war will be decided that day when No. 4 Villanova and Saint Joseph's meet for the title. Both have 3-0 records in the city series, just the fourth time it has come down to two teams with that mark facing in the final game of the season.
The game will be played at The Palestra, the hallowed college basketball arena on the University of Pennsylvania's campus and although no official title will be at stake, bragging rights will be on the line.
As part of the celebration of the Big 5's 50th anniversary, school officials agreed last week to veto a current rule for one night.
When Penn and Saint Joe's played at The Palestra, the student sections were allowed to throw streamers onto the court after their team's first basket, a Philadelphia tradition that was banned in 1985.
BIG STREAK: One of the most interesting streaks in the country came to an end Wednesday night when Saint Louis beat Rhode Island 58-53.
The win gave the Billikens an 11-9 record, nothing to go wild over, but it also ended their season-long run of win one game and lose the next.
Saint Louis opened the season with a 69-45 victory over Eastern Illinois, and for the next 18 games it was lose one, win one.
After a 64-54 victory over Fordham kept the up-and-down streak alive, Billikens coach Brad Soderberg called it “the craziest thing I've ever been around.”
“I've never been on a team, coach or player, where this has happened,” he said. I just hope we can take the positives to Rhode Island and see if we can play good basketball again.“
Soderberg had one possible explanation for the inconsistency. Two of his best players, Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell, are freshmen and a third starting spot has been rotated all season. Plus, Saint Louis was 9-21 last season.
“You cannot put a price on experience,” Soderberg said.
BENNETT REBUILDS: Washington State's Dick Bennett is one of those coaches who doesn't put a lot of stock into who starts, but he sure is getting a lot of questions about his first five this season.
That's because it changes nightly.
Bennett used his seventh different starting lineup in as many games in last Saturday's 55-53 loss at California. He's been forced to mix and match during his team's stretch without Derrick Low, who broke his foot in practice Jan. 4. Washington State had 15 starting lineups in its first 18 games, which it split for a .500 record.
The Cougars shocked rival Washington 78-71 in Seattle on Jan. 7, but had lost six straight since then heading into Saturday's home game and rematch with the Huskies.
Bennett, a defensive guru in his third season in Pullman, is still in the rebuilding process. He had success at Wisconsin from 1995-2000.
“It's a long reach for us,” Bennett said. “We knew that coming in. I said before the season this would be by far the toughest of the three years because we have all first- and second-year players. My concern was not the bottom line, it was the process and the quality of play, which I think has been coming.
“If indeed we're doing the right things, it's going to show up. You don't rebuild a program like Washington State in less than three years. We don't get the McDonald's All-Americans.”
The Cougars won 13 games, their most since 1996-97, in Bennett's first year at the school in 2003-04. They won 12 games last season.
“The big picture is what has to be viewed in this process,” Bennett said. “As long as our administration understands it, we'll be fine.”
Because of NCAA sanctions from violations under former coach Dave Bliss, the Bears' schedule was limited to only Big 12 games. The win improved the Wildcats to 1-6.
Freshman Curtis Jerrells hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in overtime to put Baylor ahead, but the win wasn't locked up until Henry Dugat grabbed a rebound of a miss by Kansas State's Cartier Martin as time expired.
“It was a great feeling,” said Dugat, who had a career-high 23 points. “I want to share that a lot more times.”
Last season, Savannah State finished 0-28 last season.
The last of the undefeated teams - Duke, Florida and Pittsburgh - all lost on Jan. 21.
BIG FIVE-O: Grab a cheesesteak hoagie and slap some mustard on your pretzel, the Big 5 is going to cap its 50th season in style next Tuesday.
Philadelphia's city war will be decided that day when No. 4 Villanova and Saint Joseph's meet for the title. Both have 3-0 records in the city series, just the fourth time it has come down to two teams with that mark facing in the final game of the season.
The game will be played at The Palestra, the hallowed college basketball arena on the University of Pennsylvania's campus and although no official title will be at stake, bragging rights will be on the line.
As part of the celebration of the Big 5's 50th anniversary, school officials agreed last week to veto a current rule for one night.
When Penn and Saint Joe's played at The Palestra, the student sections were allowed to throw streamers onto the court after their team's first basket, a Philadelphia tradition that was banned in 1985.
BIG STREAK: One of the most interesting streaks in the country came to an end Wednesday night when Saint Louis beat Rhode Island 58-53.
The win gave the Billikens an 11-9 record, nothing to go wild over, but it also ended their season-long run of win one game and lose the next.
Saint Louis opened the season with a 69-45 victory over Eastern Illinois, and for the next 18 games it was lose one, win one.
After a 64-54 victory over Fordham kept the up-and-down streak alive, Billikens coach Brad Soderberg called it “the craziest thing I've ever been around.”
“I've never been on a team, coach or player, where this has happened,” he said. I just hope we can take the positives to Rhode Island and see if we can play good basketball again.“
Soderberg had one possible explanation for the inconsistency. Two of his best players, Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell, are freshmen and a third starting spot has been rotated all season. Plus, Saint Louis was 9-21 last season.
“You cannot put a price on experience,” Soderberg said.
BENNETT REBUILDS: Washington State's Dick Bennett is one of those coaches who doesn't put a lot of stock into who starts, but he sure is getting a lot of questions about his first five this season.
That's because it changes nightly.
Bennett used his seventh different starting lineup in as many games in last Saturday's 55-53 loss at California. He's been forced to mix and match during his team's stretch without Derrick Low, who broke his foot in practice Jan. 4. Washington State had 15 starting lineups in its first 18 games, which it split for a .500 record.
The Cougars shocked rival Washington 78-71 in Seattle on Jan. 7, but had lost six straight since then heading into Saturday's home game and rematch with the Huskies.
Bennett, a defensive guru in his third season in Pullman, is still in the rebuilding process. He had success at Wisconsin from 1995-2000.
“It's a long reach for us,” Bennett said. “We knew that coming in. I said before the season this would be by far the toughest of the three years because we have all first- and second-year players. My concern was not the bottom line, it was the process and the quality of play, which I think has been coming.
“If indeed we're doing the right things, it's going to show up. You don't rebuild a program like Washington State in less than three years. We don't get the McDonald's All-Americans.”
The Cougars won 13 games, their most since 1996-97, in Bennett's first year at the school in 2003-04. They won 12 games last season.
“The big picture is what has to be viewed in this process,” Bennett said. “As long as our administration understands it, we'll be fine.”