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Late Night Snacks: Baylor beats Kentucky, UC Santa Barbara proves they are legit

Baylor Scott Drew

GAME OF THE NIGHT: Baylor 67, Kentucky 62

It didn’t have the atmosphere of a game that was one of the season’s biggest to date since it was played at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, but Baylor announced themselves to the country as a top team. They did it with Kenny Chery, a Junior College transfer in his first season with the program -- leading the way. As good as Baylor looked as a team, Kentucky revealed more flaws that need correcting. John Calipari knows this and sees this. It is why he continues to make mention of the work that needs to be done with this Kentucky team. He has his hands full, especially with the tough stretch of games upcoming.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES:

1) On the surface, many will think UC Santa Barbara beating California is an upset. When a team from the Big West knocks off a Pac-12 program, it almost always is one. But, make no mistake about it, this was an upset in name only. The Gauchos are really good, and they have one of the best forwards in the country you may have never heard of -- read more here.

2) Pittsburgh continues their dominant ways by handily beating Loyola Marymount, 85-68. The Panthers stay perfect on the season, moving to 9-0. Pittsburgh is good, but when will Jamie Dixon put together a competitive non-conference schedule? Until they face an opponent that truly challenges them -- either Stanford or Penn State has been their best opponent -- it’s hard to know just how good Pittsburgh is.

3) In an underrated good game of what was otherwise a quiet night, Stephen F. Austin beat Towson, 79-69. The Lumberjacks are now 7-2 on the season; they and Oral Roberts are looking like the two top teams in the Southland Conference.

STARRED

1) If not for Kenny Chery, Baylor loses to Kentucky. He tallied 18 points and five assists, along with hitting a critical shot in the final minute to make it a two-possession game.

2) Alan Williams for UC Santa Barbara missed consecutive games earlier this season due to back spasms. Tonight, against Cal, he was in his usual form beasting opposing frontcourts as he went off for 24 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

3) Conference play in the MAAC has officially begun, and Canisius’ center Jordan Heath had a big night against St. Peter’s totaling 28 point and 10 rebounds in an 82-67 victory.

4) Oklahoma State and Connecticut barely broke a sweat tonight as each cruised to wins over their opponents. The Huskies handled Maine, 95-68, and the Cowboys beat South Carolina, 79-52.

STRUGGLED

1) Jeff Bower hasn’t exactly gotten off to the best start in his second stint as a coach at Marist -- nine games and nine losses. The latest one tonight came against Manhattan as the Red Foxes lost 70-59.

2) Fresh off of their 93-81 win over Oregon State, DePaul came out and laid an egg against visiting Arizona State, losing 78-56. As a team, they shot worse than 30% from the field with Cleveland Melvin -- hands down their best player -- going 2-12.

3) Alex Poythress is an enigma. The 6-foot-8 sophomore received a lot of hype, but hasn’t lived up to it. Once projected to be a surefire lottery pick in the NBA Draft who would most likely leave Kentucky after a year or two, Poythress is no longer going down that road. In the loss to Baylor, he played just six minutes and committed three fouls, while going 0-1 from the field and 0-2 from the line.

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