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Score two wins for the Colonial Athletic Association, with VCU winning at Wichita State and Drexel defending their home floor with a win over Kent State in Friday's Sears BracketBusters contests. VCU needed a pair of Joey Rodriguez free throws with eight tenths of a second remaining to win a game they nearly handed over after leading by nine at the half. Rodriguez racked up 11 assists to go along with 15 points. Bradford Burgess scored 17 to lead the Rams, and Joe Ragland scored 15 to lead the Shockers.

If you haven't paid much attention to Jim Larranaga's George Mason Patriots it's about time you did. The Patriots made quite the statement on Tuesday night, going on the road to whip VCU 71-51 to wrap up at least a share of the CAA regular season title. A win in either of their last two conference games clinches the league outright, and this group is well on their way to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. Ryan Pearson led five players in double figures with 18 points and eight rebounds, and George Mason assisted on 17 of their 23 made baskets.

First place (or at least a share of it) is on the line in Richmond as a red-hot George Mason visits VCU. Jim Larranaga's Patriots have won 11 straight games with just one of those wins being by single digits (won by two at James Madison) and none of the other 10 games were decided by less than 14 points. A 12th straight win would clinch at least a share of the CAA regular season crown for the Patriots, and given their splits with both Hofstra and Old Dominion the top seed in next month's CAA Tournament is the likely reward.

There's just one game on Saturday matching ranked teams and surprisingly it comes in the SEC, where #11 Kentucky (16-5, 4-3) heads south to take on #23 Florida (17-5, 6-2). And while the SEC East has shown itself to be somewhat wide-open, John Calipari's young Wildcats would be well-served to win this one and avoid falling behind the Gators by two games in the loss column. But Kentucky also has just one road win in conference play (South Carolina) and they'll have their hands full with a talented group of Gators.

The great thing about early-season matchups the caliber of the semifinal doubleheader at Madison Square Garden is that it's a great litmus test for the teams in regards to where they are now in relation to where they'd like to be come March. All four teams in the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer showed off skills that should serve them well as the season wears on but they also displayed issues that must be rectified as well.

Overall Rank: #58

 

With four minutes left in regulation it looked as if North Carolina was on its way to surviving a treacherous trip to Charleston to take on the preseason favorites to win the Southern Conference. But the fun had yet to begin, with Andrew Goudelock helping to spark a 12-1 run that he completed with a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. In fact, Goudelock scored the Cougars' last eight points in regulation on his way to a 24-point night for him and an 82-79 win for his team.

With four teams legitimately battling for the CAA title, and top-notch players like Charles Jenkins and Chad Tomko on lesser teams, the CAA season should be one to remember.