Unranked St. Thomas made sure that Division II's preseason No. 1 wouldn't go too far without a blemish to its record, pulling off a huge upset of Winona State, 83-82 in overtime. The win snapped Winona State's 36-game home win streak and is being referred to as one of the greatest wins in Steve Fritz's 28 seasons as head coach of the Tommies. Last season, Division II's Winona State took an unbeaten record into the national championship game before falling on a last second rally. Freshman guard Tyler Nicolai scored 19 for the Tommies, including the game-winning points with nine seconds left in OT.
No. 5 Augustana also made it a doubly tough day for No. 1 teams, winning 66-60 over Washington University in the Washington University/Webster University Tournament. The Bears lost in their first game without junior point guard Sean Wallis, who may be lost for the year with a knee injury. Augustana led by 18 with 11 minutes left, but barely held on after a feisty Washington comeback. Brett Wessels scored 21 points in the win.
And St. Thomas wasn't the only team to win against a Division II squad. No. 19 Puget Sound thrashed Bemidji State, 91-68 in the Turkey Shootout at UW-Stout.
No. 3 UW-Stevens Point made a case for some more first-place votes. Already with a Division II win under their belt, the Pointers doubled up Lakeland, 76-38. No. 17 Calvin, which had beaten Wash U last weekend, lost its first game of the season, falling in a double-OT thriller to NAIA rival Aquinas, 90-88, despite 32 points for Caleb Veldhouse. Ohio Wesleyan handed No. 20 Baldwin-Wallace its second consecutive loss, winning big on a neutral court at Rochester, 98-68. They'll next get their No. 9 ranked tourney hosts, who easily topped Cortland State, 72-50.
More men's scores on the Scoreboard.
On the women's side, Carleton made it a doubly good day for the state of Minnesota, beating No. 12 Luther, 66-56 in the "other" game of Wash U's tournament (scroll down for Wash U/Kenyon). The Norse, who made the Sweet 16 last season, are 0-2 to start 2007-08.
Opinions have varied on how good Capital will be this season, but one thing the Crusaders will not be is undefeated. Ohio Wesleyan topped No. 20 Capital, 71-61. No. 5 DePauw is still unbeaten, at 3-0 after holding off Case Western Reserve. Cassie Pruzin scored 21 points for the defending national champs. Chicago won its 30th non-conference game in a row, perhaps playing itself into the Top 25 by winning at WIAC preseason favorite UW-Eau Claire, 56-49.
More women's scores on the Scoreboard.