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Bullets from Friday

I will be headed out to Fairfax, VA, today to check out George Mason and Harvard, but I wanted to be sure to catch you up on the action from the First Friday (trademark pending) of the season.

The Biggest Winner: Georgetown

Four the fourth straight time in their series with Old Dominion, the road team won, with the Hoyas taking a 62-59 win last night. But the Monarchs didn’t go down without an impressive fight. ODU used their typical scrappy defense to frustrate the Hoyas offensively, opening up a 49-41 lead midway through the second half. But then Georgetown caught fire. Austin Freeman drilled threes on back-to-back possessions (one of them a four point play) before Chris Wright hit consecutive threes. A few possessions later, Jason Clark buried one to open up a 59-55 Hoya lead, which ODU was unable to recover from. Of note -- Georgetown got 54 of their 62 points from Freeman, Wright, and Clark.

Other Notable Winners:

  • Temple 62, Seton Hall 56: The Owls are a terrific basketball team, and nothing that they did last night changed our opinion of them. They were tough defensively and balanced offensively. The best sign for the Owls? They beat a good Seton Hall team (and don’t let this loss fool you, Seton Hall will be good) when Juan Fernandez and Lavoy Allen didn’t play their best. Ramone Brown and Rahlir Jefferson will both be names you hear quite a bit this season. Seton Hall is still a work in progess. They are learning to be more patient offensively and waiting for Herb Pope to be back to 100%, and while that’s a disappointing loss, there is reason to be optimistic.
  • Morgan State 81, Loyola Marymount 79: Perhaps the most underrated great matchup of the day, MEAC favorite Morgan State got 31 points and seven triples from DeWayne Jackson and 17 points and 11 boards from Kevin Thompson as they overcame a 15 point deficit on the road in the second half. LMU had high expectations this season, but this kind of loss -- even in MSU makes the tournament -- is killer considering the weak non-conference schedule the Lions have. Drew Viney went for 27 points to lead LMU.
  • Virginia 76, William & Mary 52: An ACC team beating a CAA team at home by 24 shouldn’t be cause for celebration, but Virginia is a very young team that whipped up on a good William & Mary team in the second half last night. Freshmen Billy Baron and KT Harrell combined for 32 points, Mike Scott had 18 and 9 boards, and Jontel Evans aded seven assists and one turnover in place of Sammy Zeglinski.
  • BYU 83, Fresno State 56: The big win isn’t what’s important. Neither is Jimmer Fredette’s stat line. What I care about? Noah Hartsock out played Greg Smith, Fresno’s sophomore center and a NBA prospect at center. Hartsock had 21 points and 5 boards. Smith had more turnovers (three) than FGA’s (two).
  • Minnesota 69, Wofford 55: Don’t be fooled, Wofford is a good basketball team and potentially a tournament team, but Minnesota was in control much of this game. The best sign for the Gophers? Their front line of Ralph Sampson, Colton Iverson, and Trevor Mbakwe looks like it could be one of the best in the Big Ten. Those three combined for 42 points and 32 boards.
  • Southern Miss 60, South Florida 53: The Golden Eagles, who don’t exactly have a loaded non-conference schedule, picked up an important win in Tampa. Gary Flowers had 15 points and USM closed the game on a 16-1 run. Southern Miss is likelt the second best team in Conference USA.
  • Western Kentucky 98, St. Joseph’s 70: Look, Western Kentucky is a good basketball team, and a 28 point win at St. Joe’s is always impressive, but this likely says more about the state of the Hawks than the Hilltoppers (who are a favorite to win the Sun Belt).

The Biggest Loser: Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons lost to Stetson. I’m sorry, let me rephrase that. The Demon Deacons got smacked by Stetson at home, 89-79. And the second half wasn’t even that close. Stetson, at one point, was up 75-56. Its gets worse. Point guard Tony Chennault will shelved for two months after breaking his foot.

Other notable losers:

  • Princeton 78, Rutgers 73 OT: Mike Rice’s debut as Rutgers new head coach did not go as well as time on the recruiting circuit has. The Scarlet Knights went into Jadwin Gym last night and got “punched in the mouth”, as Rice put it, finding themselves in a 14 point hole early. They fought back and forced overtime, but the Ivy favorites -- led by 26 points from Dan Mavraides -- were able to pull out the win in OT.
  • UNC-Asheville 70, Auburn 69 OT: No one expected Tony Barbee’s first season to be easy, not with the injuries, ineligible freshmen, and overall lack of talent in his program. But could anyone have expected the Tigers to blow a 16 point half time lead in the first game in their new arena? Allowing 10 offensive rebounds in the second half is an easy way to do that. Asheville chipped away, eventually forcing overtime, before taking control in the extra frame.
  • Pacific 66, UTEP 61: People picked UTEP to win Conference USA this season. Those people must feel silly after seeing the Miners blow a 36-25 halftime lead and lose to Pacific at home in their debut this season. The Tigers made 8-13 second half threes while UTEP took quick shots and broke down defensively. Randy Culpepper was 6-9 with 13 points at the half, but went scoreless and missed all six of his field goals in the second half.
  • Appalachian State 89, Tulsa 86: There is some good basketball being played in the Southern Conference. Wofford and College of Charleston are known entities, but Appalachian State proved to a threat as they went into Tulsa and beat the Golden Hurricane. Led by 35 points from Omar Carter, a Charleston Southern transfer, the Mountaineers got Tulsa into foul trouble and used a late 11-0 run to take control of the game.
  • Gardner-Webb 78, Charlotte 70: In Alan Major’s debut as head coach, the 49ers began the game without starters An’Juan Wilderness and Shamari Spears (suspension) and finished it with just six players (including two walk-ons) due to players fouling out and injuries. Jon Moore went for 24 points and 9 boards as the Runnin’ Bulldogs gave Chris Holtmann a nice road win in his own coaching debut. Finally, someone won in a coaching debut!

Debutante’s Ball:

  • Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and Kendell Marshall - UNC: All three played well, as Barnes had 14 points and 4 boards, Bullock had 12 points and 4 boards off the bench, and Marshall looked like the team’s best back court player, contributing 10 points and 4 assists in 11 minutes.
  • Jared Sullinger, DeShaun Thomas, and Aaron Craft - Ohio State: OSU won in a blowout against NC A&T, but Sully went for 19 and 14 and Thomas dropped 24 and 8 boards in 20 minutes. Craft was the most important, however, finishing the game with 9 assists and 0 turnovers.
  • Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, and Doron Lamb - Kentucky: Knight and Lamb combined for 37, but Jones went for 25 and 12 in an 88-65 win over ETSU.
  • Scottie Wilbekin - Florida: He impressed much more than Patric Young and Casey Prather.
  • Fab Melo - Syracuse: Melo played just 18 minutes, finishing with more fouls (five) than points (four) or rebounds (three) in a win over Northern Iowa.
  • Perry Jones - Baylor: Jones had 11 points and 8 boards against Grambling State, but also 7 turnovers.
  • Tobias Harris - Tennessee: Harris led the Vols with 18 points in a blowout win over Chattanooga.
  • Memphis Freshmen: The score doesn’t count. They beat a team transitioning to D-III next season by 64.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.