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Challenge 11: Final Four Memories

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Challenge 9: Shock The Neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA -- Drexel hosts Penn today at 10 a.m. as part of ESPN's Mega Mammoth Opening Day Explosion. This'll be the last morning game we attend, at least until the next NAIA tournament or summer AAU spectacubash. For that reason, we'll be short with this (MMBOW and G!O!T!N! will be forthcoming later). Just a reminder, though, that I will be anchoring ESPN.com's SportsNation college hoops chat block from 3 to 5 this afternoon, so please stop by.

First, though, a couple of things happened last night that we have to get to.

Loyola (Ill.) 74, Georgia 53 -- The Ramblers' season started off in bizarre fashion on Friday. Senior guard J.R. Blount established himself as the nation's leading scorer for a moment, scoring a gigantic 41 points on 12-for-22 shooting. However, Loyola dropped that opener by seven points... to Division II Rockhurst, also known as Kansas City's Jesuit University. But when the team moved on to the NIT Season Tip-Off pod in West Lafayette, Ind., the Ramblers came alive. Breaking open a 29-all tie at halftime, Loyola destroyed the SEC tourney champions. It was the school's first win over a team from that conference since a 1964 NCAA upset of Kentucky in a regional third place game, back when they did things like that.

Now, we promised a weekly contest for a stuffed Bally, and here's the first one. The first person to send in another example of a mid-major school losing to a lower-division school, then beating a power-conference champion within the same season, will win the ultimate prize. We couldn't find anything like that after a quick scan of the database, and it may not have ever happened. Because of that, there's a hedge clause. If you can name a school from this level that lost to a D-II and went on to the NCAA tournament, you'll be entered into a drawing in case nobody can finish the original task. That's an easy one if you've been reading the site for a few years.

Contest closes Friday, use the form.

Oakland 82, at Oregon 79 (OT) -- Last night's other Red Line upset wasn't too much of a shock; after all, the Golden Grizzlies did this exact same thing last season in Auburn Hills. Oakland got 32 big points from Johnathon Jones (sic), and overcame disadvantages in rebounds and shooting percentage (as well as two Duck double-doubles, and the loss of star Derek Nelson the day before) with superior ball control. Greg Kampe's bunch only turned the ball over 12 times in 45 minutes.

And now, are you ready for some basketball with your breakfast?