Late Afternoon Snacks: Butler edges Indiana; Gators visit the desert

There’s too much going on on any given Saturday for us to wait for Late Night Snacks. We’ll take stock of what’s happened up to this point, and look ahead to the good stuff that’s still to come in Late Afternoon Snacks.

Game of the Day

Butler 88, No. 1 Indiana 86 (OT) – Like it could be anything else. For a top-ranked Big Ten team to fall to an A-10 challenger is big news any day. When it’s blue-blood Indiana losing to in-state little brother Butler, in overtime… well, that’s about as close to March Madness as you can get in December. The Bulldogs outshot Indiana, but appeared to be on the ropes, with Roosevelt Jones, Andrew Smith and Erik Fromm fouled out before the game ended. But Rotnei Clarke and Chase Stigall hit long bombs in the extra period to keep the team in it. Even then, a most unlikely hero iced the game for Butler. Alex Barlow, who came to Butler on a baseball scholly, backed down Jordan Hulls and hit all sides of the rim before his game-winner dropped in.

Meaningful Results

No. 6 Louisville 87, Memphis 78 – The Tigers led this game by 16 points at one time and still lost. Too many turnovers (24) gave too many chances to the Cards’ big three of Chane Behanan (22 points), Peyton Siva (19) and Russ smith (also 19). Joe Jackson of Memphis led all scorers with 23 points, but he also contributed eight of the turnovers.

No. 21 North Carolina 93, Western Carolina 87 – It’s not so much the result as the score that’s meaningful here. The Tar Heels held the Pirates to just 26 first-half points before engaging sieve mode in the second stanza. Western dropped sixty-one points after halftime and had a chance to upset their hosts. Reggie Bullock fouled out of the game and only managed 26 minutes of floor time.

Georgia Southern 78, Virginia Tech 73 – Maybe the Hokies didn’t like the pressure of being our team of the week earlier? After a huge upset of Oklahoma State, Tech has dropped two in a row. Losing at West Virginia was understandable, but a home loss to lightly regarded Georgia Southern (0-2 in the SoCon) is a real head-scratcher. Forward Cadarian Raines played just 14 minutes and scored zero points in the loss, while Erick Green scored 28 and tried like heck to put the team on his back, to no avail.

Tonight’s Best

Belmont at No. 9 Kansas, 7 PM – One of the nation’s most consistently dangerous mid-majors visits Allen Fieldhouse. KU should have no trouble inside, but will their perimeter defense hold up to the Bruins’ outside attack?

West Virginia at No. 3 Michigan, 8 PM – Our reigning team of the week will undergo a stiff test. Can they avoid the Dauster curse and pull off the big upset while still wearing the CBT bullseye?

Mississippi State at Loyola, 8 PM – Will it be a great matchup? Who knows? But we’ve established that it’s a very meaningful one, because of the historical implications.

Kansas State at No. 14 Gonzaga, 9 PM – This game is actually being played in Seattle, so it’s a home game in name only for the Bulldogs. Still, a perfect opportunity to show if they’re going to bounce back and be a force this season. Kansas State is 7-1 under Bruce Weber, whose Illinois recruits just topped off the Zags last weekend. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

No. 5 Florida at No. 8 Arizona, 10 PM - Clearly the marquee matchup of the evening. Our own Raphielle Johnson will be at the game, so we’ll get the eyewitness report of this blazing top-ten matchup that will tell us a great deal about both teams. An ideal nightcap for a big day of college hoops.

Eric Angevine is editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.