Wash U's unbeaten reign lasted all of one night, as four players scored in double figures to lead homestanding No. 17 Calvin past the No. 1 Bears 87-82.
“It's a huge win,” said tournament MVP Derek Griffin who led Calvin with 21 points. “The thing that made it so special is that we've been planning for this game all summer and fall. We want to be at our best at the beginning of the year so that we are peaking at the end of the year and can be the best team in the nation.”
The first Saturday of the 2007-2008 season included four more match-ups of playoff teams from last season. No. 3 UW-Stevens Point rolled past Carroll 105-72, Maryville (Tenn.) beat Averett on the road 74-60 and No. 4 Guilford roughed up Villa Julie 87-52. No. 8 Wooster defeated St. Thomas 85-79 behind Marty Bidwell's 19 points and six assists.
Two Top 10 teams had rocky starts to their new season as Mt. St. Joseph defeated No. 10 Capital 94-80 and Rowan dropped No. 7 Brockport State 97-93 in Greg Dunne's coaching debut. The Golden Eagles will have to try to survive the fall without preseason All-American Sherod Harris who has only has one semester of athletic eligibility remaining.
In women's action, Rochester made sure it didn't lose two straight to Bowdoin. After the Polar Bears eliminated the Yellow Jackets in last year's NCAA tournament, Rochester defended its home court with relative ease in beating No. 11 Bowdoin 76-56. Defending champs No. 5 DePauw moved to 2-0 with a 77-66 victory over No. 15 Illinois Wesleyan. The Tigers doubled up the Titans in rebounding (42-21).