The Morning Mix

There were a ton of great games last night. Thanks to a big night from the ACC, the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge ended in a 6-6 draw. Up next is the Big East/SEC Challenge which begins tonight. But let’s not rush to the couch just yet, we have a lot to cover before 7:00 p.m.

Let’s hit the links.

Thursday’s Top Games:
7:00 p.m. – New Hampshire @ Connecticut
7:30 p.m. – South Carolina @ St. John’s
8:00 p.m. – No. 8 Kentucky @ Notre Dame
8:00 p.m. – Tennessee-Martin @ Memphis
9:00 p.m. – Marquette @ No. 7 Florida
9:30 p.m. – Seton Hall @ LSU
10:00 p.m. – Long Beach State @ Loyola Marymount

Read of the Day:
Is it time to pull the plug on The Big East? Rumble In the Garden weighs the options in a read you need to make sure you get to. Read it. (Rumble In The Garden)

Read of the Day:
Eamonn Brennan looks back on the career of now “Former-UCLA Bruin” Josh Smith. Eamonn mixes in the expectations, comedy and sadness that made up the underwhelming career of the hefty big-man. Eamonn nailed this one, he really did. Read it. (ESPN)

Read of the Day:
Say hello to your newest D-I basketball program, Grand Canyon University. A Deadspin classic. Read it. (Deadspin)

Tweet of the Day:

@LMULions: Charlie Brown is a Lion. Go Lions! #LMULions pic.twitter.com/uxWgqYtr

Top Stories:
Duke’s comeback win adds to their resume, Plumlee becomes PoY candidate: The Blue Devils looks lethargic in the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Ohio State last night. But a dominant performance by Mason Plumlee and a big second half from Quinn Cook carried to Blue Devils to yet another impressive victory.

Ohio State’s lack of balance will be their downfall: Coming in to the season, the question regarding Ohio State was “who would step up other than Craft and Thomas?”. It became clear last night that a month in to the season and we still don’t have an answer.

Creighton’s porous defense showed up again as Bluejays fall to Boise State: In order for Creighton to be considered truly elite this season, they had to get tougher on the defensive end. On Wednesday night, they were unable to get enough stops and couldn’t keep up with a surprisingly good Broncos team.

North Carolina State to honor Jimmy-V by wearing special uniforms: In arguably one of best tributes of the young season, the Wolfpack will honor their late coach and inspirational sports icon by wearing special “Don’t ever give up” jerseys for their game against UConn next Tuesday as part of The Jimmy-V Classic.

Miami got a marquee statement win over Michigan State: The Hurricanes looked like one of the ACC’s top teams last night as their veteran leadership and talent took over in a resounding 67-59 win over the Spartans. The fans stormed the floor as Jim Larranaga got his biggest win as head coach of the ‘canes.

Conference-USA is making moves following Tulane and East Carolina’s departure: Having lost several key members to the Big East, C-USA has reportedly added Middle Tennesee and Florida Atlantic from the Sun Belt Conference. I’m seeing a trend here. Sun Belt to C-USA, C-USA to Big East, and Big East to ACC.

Just how good is Indiana? Erik Kuselias and Vin Parise from the NBC Sports Network discuss the Hoosiers potential for success this season.

Hoops Housekeeping:
- Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon will redshirt this season after to failing to recover in time from a foot injury. (Washington Post)

- South Carolina’s two-sport star Bruce Ellington will return to the basketball team until the football team resumes practices for their bowl game. (Garnet and Cocky)

- Stanford junior Anthony Brown will miss the rest of the season because of a hip injury. The guard has not played for the Cardinal since their game against Belmont on the 18th. (San Francisco Chronicle)

- Georgetown and Florida will not be making up their cancelled aircraft carrier game. (ESPN)

Observations & Insight:
- A lot of good quotes here from Kentucky point guard Ryan Harrow, who has missed the last four games because of illness and family issues. The Wildcats head to Notre Dame tonight to take on the Fighting Irish in the Big East/SEC Showdown. (Courier-Journal)

- A stock report from day two of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. (The Dagger)

- Could the ACC Tournament be headed to Brooklyn? Louisville legend Darrell Griffith thinks so. (SNY.tv)

- Is Louisville actually a better fit that Maryland? Andrew Jones thinks the Cardinals rate much, much higher than the Terrapins. (Fox Sports Carolinas)

- What does the Big-XII need to do in order not get lost in the realignment shuffle? (Burnt Orange Nation)

- Loyola doesn’t just want to rule the MAAC this year, they want to take over the city of Baltimore, and wins over Towson, UMBC and Coppin State have helped to give the Greyhounds the title as “Kings of the City”. (Baltimore Sun)

- Another excellent read on the demise of the WAC. (Mile High Mids)

- Raphielle Johnson provides everything you need to know about the west coast hoops scene for the rest of the week. (NBE Basketball Report)

Odds & Ends
- There are three teams out there that just might end up losing every single game they play. (Run The Floor)

- Kirk Herbstreit was in attendance for tOSU vs. Duke last night at Cameron Indoor. Unfortunately, it looks like he couldn’t get tickets for his two boys. (Busted Coverage)

- Worst.Timing.Ever. Josh Smith quits team, appears on game program. (@BaxterHolmes)

- Don’t worry UConn fans, just because you were left out of the ACC doesn’t mean the World is over. (The UConn Blog)

Dunk of the Day:
“Mason Plumlee has is tall and can jump very high.” – Eamonn Brennan (The Mock Session)

Video(s) of the Day:
Our very own @RobDauster got a shout out on Around The Horn yesterday. But just to be clear, it’s “Dawster” not “Dowster”. Trust me, I feel for him. The first day of school was always rough for me too.

Do you like the new Morning Mix? Hate it? Have a suggestion or wanted something featured? Troy Machir will take all your praise, insults and inquiries via Twitter (@TroyMachir)