Villanova

With the first matchup between Belmont and Middle Tennessee going to double overtime the rematch on Tuesday was expected to be just as tight. Sure enough the game didn't disappoint, with the Blue Raiders locking up the 65-62 win with a pair of blocked shots in the final 22 seconds. LaRon Dendy led the way for Middle Tennessee with 20 points, and the Blue Raiders haven't reached the ten-win mark in a season this fast since 1990-91.

In the days leading up to Indiana's game against#1 Kentucky at Assembly Hall there weren't too many people who thought that the Hoosiers could knock off the Wildcats. There were a few outside of the Indiana fan base who picked Tom Crean's team to win, but the majority of the predictions ranged anywhere from a close loss to a Kentucky blowout with IU's schedule to date being the main reason why.

The lone matchup between ranked teams on Saturday has a rather prominent question that needs to be answered: will Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger (back spasms) be able to play? The sophomore sat out the Buckeyes' win over Texas-Pan American due to the issue, which flared up in #2 Ohio State's (8-0) win over Duke, and it hasn't been decided whether or not he'll go at #13 Kansas (6-2) on Saturday afternoon. If he can't go Boston College transfer Evan Ravenel (5.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) moves into the starting lineup, and he accounted for 11 points and seven rebounds against UTPA.

The Jimmy V Classic doubleheader at Madison Square Garden annually provides soe outstanding basketball, with all of it being for a good cause. Tuesday night was no exception, and in the second half of the doubleheader Marquette and Washington put forth a thrilling display of basketball.

Tuesday night features one of the most important events in college basketball: the Jimmy V Classic from Madison Square Garden. While the doubleheader constantly provided high-quality non-conference match ups, the night held in honor of the late Jim Valvano is also big in regards to fundraising for cancer research. The second game of this year's slate matches two teams with recent NCAA Tournament (2010) history in Washington (4-2) and #11 Marquette (7-0), with the Huskies winning that contest in the final seconds.

Junior Cadougan (Marquette)

Aaron Craft (Ohio St)

Tu Holloway (Xavier)

Scott Machado (Iona)

Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)

Shabazz Napier (UCONN)

Austin Rivers (Duke)

Peyton Siva (Louisville)

Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin)

Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)

Marquis Teague (Kentucky)

Erving Walker (Florida)

Maalik Wayns (Villanova)

Travon Woodall (Pittsburgh)

Tommy Amaker's Harvard Crimson came into this season loaded, with all five starters and many of their key reserves back looking get to the NCAA Tournament. After blowing out Utah on Thursday night the Crimson will take on a far stiffer challenge on Friday afternoon, as Florida State is one of the best half-court defensive teams in the country. This will offer an interesting contrast, as Harvard is one of the better teams in the country when it comes to points per possession.

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Louisville

Marquette

Notre Dame

Pittsburgh

Syracuse

West Virginia

Other (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, USF, Villanova)

As part of our 5-Year Ranking series, here's how the Big East teams stack up according to conference wins. There's a huge gap between the upper half of the Big East and the bottom 7 teams, but both Cincinnati and St. John's seem like they'll be closing ground over the next few years.

First Tier
 

East Region
Cleveland, OH
2:10 PM (8) George Mason vs. (9) Villanova (TNT)