Purdue's overtime road win at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night gave its conference a second consecutive 6-5 victory in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. Here's a look at some of the winners and losers from three fun nights of action:
Winner: Kyrie Irving
How scary is it that Duke returns last year's Final Four MVP in Kyle Singler and a guard who made numerous preseason all-American teams in Nolan Smith and yet it's readily apparent that neither of them are the Blue Devils' best player? Irving became a freshman star on Wednesday night in the mold of Derrick Rose or John Wall, scoring 31 points on 8-of-12 shooting and showing an ability to get to the rim at will.
Loser: Point guards who wear a lighter shade of blue
It's gotten ugly enough for North Carolina's Larry Drew III that fans are clamoring for Kendall Marshall to replace him at point guard even though the freshman has averaged a whopping 2.5 points and 3.0 assists in the past four games. Of course, Drew has shown little improvement this season and doesn't have a field goal in 51 minutes in the Tar Heels' past two games, so North Carolina fans may have a valid point.
Winner: Coaches on the hot seat in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Big Ten is just too tough this season for Michigan to make much progress in the standings, but defeating Clemson 69-61 on Tuesday was nonetheless a big victory for coach John Beilein to show fans the program is moving in the right direction. The Wolverines shot 60 percent in the first half and didn't rely entirely on the 3-pointer, improving to 4-2 in what figures to be a rebuilding season.
Loser: Coaches on the hot seat in Raleigh, N.C.
Just because NC State is loaded with freshmen and played without senior Tracy Smith doesn't mean the Wolfpack should be excused for that pathetic showing in a 39-point loss at Wisconsin. Coach Sidney Lowe likely must make the NCAA tournament for the first time in his five-year tenure in order to keep his job, but NC State is an ugly 0-2 against marquee opponents thus far.
Winner: Northwestern
The film of Northwestern's 91-71 thrashing of Georgia Tech should be shown to youth basketball teams across the nation. The Wildcats shredded the defense with a combination of ball movement, dribble penetration and backdoor cuts, hitting 64.6 percent of their shots and 12-of-19 3-pointers to remain undefeated and stay on course for their first-ever NCAA tournament berth.
Loser: Penn State
If Northwestern's scoring barrage against Georgia Tech was a basketball symphony, Penn State's display of ineptitude against Maryland was more like a second-grade piano recital. In perhaps their biggest non-conference game in several years, the Nittany Lions hit just 14 of 68 shots and endured nearly six scoreless minutes to start the second half, suggesting once again that they're going to battle Iowa for last place in the league.
Winner: JaJuan Johnson's NBA stock
Purdue had to bus from Greensboro, N.C., to Blacksburg, Va., after its flight to Roanoke got diverted because of fog, but Johnson made sure the trip home to West Lafayette would be a lot more pleasant. The 6-foot-10 senior rescued Purdue from another stagnant offensive performance, scoring 29 points on 11-of-24 shooting including a sweet hook shot in the lane that forced overtime and paved the way for a much-needed win.
Loser: Malcolm Delaney's NBA stock
As if squandering a third chance at a marquee nonconference victory wasn't bad enough for Malcolm Delaney, the Virginia Tech senior also endured maybe the worst shooting night of his storied career. He was hampered all night by Purdue's Kelsey Barlow and Lewis Jackson and made just 2-of-18 shots, falling to 41 percent shooting on the season thus far.
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