Identity theft has been a major crisis for common citizens over recent years. There is a case to be made that the identities of certain college hoops resumes are, in fact, missing as well.

No clearer divide existed among bubble hopefuls entering last week than it did at the University of Indiana – current National Champs in football, btw.

Hoosier hysteria has led to nonstop celebrations on the football field and absolute hair-pulling on the court. IU had lost its seven hardest games of the season, and went 13-0 against the rest of its schedule. Leaving the resume in purgatory.

A visit from rival Purdue was on tap to open the week. IU was able to find early success early and often behind the wonderful vision and passing of Connor Enright. IU built an 11-point lead by halftime.

Tayton Conerway could not go at all in this key game. Nick Dorn was tasked again with additional responsibilities. Dorn delivered with four treys. En route to 18 points in 32 quality performance minutes.

Enright went all 40 minutes as a key catalyst and defender. Purdue's overwhelming size advantage was never seized; the Hoosiers brought energy and effort to ultimately secure a 72-67 victory, giving the Hoosiers their first win over an NCAA-bound program. A needed feather in the IU resume hat while climbing the bubble ladder.

The psychology of the schedule meant that the Hoosiers were right back to work the next day, prepping for a challenging, pivotal pair of road games at the LA schools.

A date in Pauley Pavilion delivered a wild double OT thriller. Hoosiers managed to squander a 71-61 lead with 1:50 to go, which was pretty incredible. Then UCLA missed its chances to steal the win during the opening OT. Ultimately, the Hoosiers prevailed for their second needle-moving win of the week.

Indiana now sits in a mostly healthy position for being selected. A marquee win over a very good Purdue team ranked 8th per NET, and a road win at an NCAA-bound team in UCLA, completely shifts the Indiana projection to a tournament team. What a difference a week makes. Playing .500 ball from here likely is enough to warrant an NCAA invitation.

Another team that wears the Crimson like Indiana is, of course, Harvard.

The Crimson have the nickname to back that up. The Ivy League dog days are here. The Crimson had gamedays six and seven (of 14 total league games) on a Friday/Saturday back-to-back at Brown and at 1st-place Yale.

Harvard went on to claim sole possession of second place through the first six conference games by knocking off Brown on Friday, 69-59. Splendid production from a trio of Harvard guards, Robert Hinton, Tey Barbour, and Chandler Pigge, neutralized a monster 30-point effort from Brown's Landon Lewis. This set the stage to take a swing at Yale on Saturday.

This will likely go down as the Ivy League game of the year. Harvard bested Yale, 67-65, on a 28-foot banked trey with under five seconds remaining by Harvard sophomore guard Tey Barbour before a raucous crowd. Bonkers! The Crimson being able to hang with Yale for 40 minutes is the most impressive takeaway. Allowed Harvard to even be in a position to win the game. The upset provides us with a true Ivy League race, perhaps even more intriguing with Harvard in the top spot for today. The all-important race to be in the top four remains the main focus for most. Here's a glance at where we are halfway through the battle:

NJIT

These Highlanders continue to pop up and beat teams when those who follow the America East closely least expect it. The past week meant road trips to Albany and Vermont.

NJIT brought a balanced effort to the road game with the Great Danes. A proverbial battle where the Highlanders really delivered late to escape Albany with a 72-65 road win. David Bolden came up big with three steals and was one of five NJIT players in double-figures.

Highlanders rode the momentum impressively into Burlington against mighty Vermont. They were the aggressors at Patrick Gymnasium on Saturday. NJIT built a 32-21 halftime lead, stunning many of the Catamount loyalists. Bolden was key once again in helping protect the NJIT lead as Vermont never led in the 2nd Half but made countless runs at the Highlanders. The freshman from Milwaukee, Bolden, added three more steals on the day, had just one turnover, and slashed 16/6/7 for his second Game MVP of the week. NJIT left town with an amazing 79-77 road win. Junior guard Sebastian Robinson was also producing on the regular. He averaged 19.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, and shot 15-29 FG (51.7%) for the week.

The result was unbelievable for this program. At 6-2, the Highlanders have already reached their highest conference win total since joining the America East, matching their conference high of six wins set in the 2021–22 season. That puts NJIT in a three-way tie at the top with UMBC and Vermont. It goes down as the first NJIT win at Vermont in front of fans. They squeaked out a one-point OT win during the chaotic covid season of 2020-21, in a back-to-back game scenario - splitting with the Catamounts.

FLORIDA

It was a week of pure dominance for these Gators. A welcome week indeed after falling short vs. Auburn just two Saturdays ago at Home.

An emphasis on attacking the paint at all levels 1-5 was clearly a focus. Saturday's trouncing of Alabama featured a 72-26 edge in the paint. You read that correctly – 72-26!!

The 100-77 bulldozing led to great rejoicing in Gainesville as the Gator faithful and community have embraced the movement to not be in support of Charles Bediako, who is playing under a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from a Tuscaloosa judge. Bediako is attempting to break ground after forgoing the last two years of NCAA eligibility to sign with an agent and enter the 2023 NBA draft process. There is a lot at stake in the case, and you'll hear more news on that soon, but Florida was so locked in for this one, and HC Todd Golden trusted the tape in preparation enough to say this publicly:

All of this action came on the heels of the Gators going to Columbia and handing the Gamecocks their worst home loss in school history, 95-48! This Gator team had no let-up in either win this week. Clearly emphasizing the importance of their power rankings, which improved from 11th to 7th per POM following the results.

It was not a major surprise to see Florida win both games; it was more about the way they dominated that warrants the awards and honors this week.

FORDHAM

New HC Mike Magpayo has continued to battle in his first season as Rose Hill's head man. The embattled Rams have been through some rough patches (losing to NJIT on opening night, in fact), but continue to stay the course.

Confidence was established on Wednesday of last week in a home win over La Salle. That night, nine Rams saw the floor and all nine scored points. It was a balanced approach highlighted by sharing the ball – 17 of 24 made baskets were assisted vs. the Explorers. Fordham's defense held La Salle to just four made triples. This got the Rams to 2-6 in the conference.

The momentum generated from the La Salle win led into its road trip at George Washington. The Revolutionaries made substantial investments to build one of the most expensive rosters in the Atlantic-10. GW was coming off a tough loss at the league's best on Tuesday night – Saint Louis. Which made this one seem like an ideal bounce-back win.

The Rams of Fordham had their own ideas, however. It started on the glass where the Rams became beasts in this one, outrebounding GW by an eye-popping 46-28 margin. Dejour Reaves was soaking in the extra possessions; he led the squad with 19 points on the night. Fordham left the nation's capital with a convincing 79-65 win. Arguably, the most surprising result of the league season to date.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

ILLINOIS - The Illini march is stronger than ever after a week that saw the Fighting Illini handle Washington during the mid-week, and earn revenge in Lincoln. Illinois was simply better than Nebraska during the key stretches of this road game, and it ultimately provided them with another signature road win (ILL also won at Purdue). Ben Humrichous impressed me with his improved defense in the win over UW, which I attended/covered. This squad is so enormous, leading the nation in average positional height, that it provides matchup size advantages organically. All of their weapons can step out and shoot, plus they attack the rim. The win at Nebraska makes Illinois the sure-fire second-best B1G team for seeding the field, and they still have yet to face Michigan. The sky is the limit for this group, which climbed to the 5th spot overall in Monday's Bracket Projection at Bracketeer.

APPALACHIAN STATE - The Mountaineers figured to match up well with Troy, but they needed to get past Southern Miss first. A tough road swing for any team, but these Mountaineers handled it essentially flawlessly. In the win at Southern Miss, Jalen Tot provided 19 key points, and App State closed out strong down the stretch in a 70-63 win. Tot, the heralded D2 player from Montana State-Billings, is really coming on lately. I liked the matchup with Troy because of the App State foundational principles in denying transition. After seeing the Trojans become much more offensive this season and capitalizing on holes in defenses in many of Sun Belt wins, I knew it would be a Mountaineer pride game. Sure enough, the schematics on paper were delivered on the floor. It was a Troy performance they would love to throw away – 4-for-27 from deep (14.8%) as the Mountaineers kept inviting them to launch from deep. App State was masterful in getting Troy to play in a season-low 59-possession contest. Kasen Jennings was scorching hot, scoring exactly half of the App State output for the day with 33 points in a 66-44 mauling of the Trojans.

TEXAS A&M - A program that continues to play with great confidence and belief in the Buckyball system is really humming in College Station. Another key win on the road at Georgia goes a long way toward securing an NCAA Tournament berth, and this squad is pacing the SEC at the top of the leaderboard. Aggies also held home court last week against South Carolina in a convincing 23-point win. Rashaun Agee really is thriving in Buckyball's system in particular. Agee had an absurd performance in Athens – 15 rebounds, seven assists, and 18 points. He is a constant stat-sheet stuffer and has seven KP Game MVPs under his belt on the season.

NORTH DAKOTA - The steal and bucket by Eli King that shocked the Summit! Is this the year of Paul Sather and the Fighting Hawks? Some special vibes are permeating in Grand Forks as UND continued to be the surprise contender in the league race. This road win at St. Thomas snapped the nation's best 27 home win streak and handed the Tommies their first loss in the brand new and beautiful Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The 81-80 road stunner means that UND is tied with St. Thomas for 2nd place in the Summit League race.

FLORIDA STATE - A ton of credit to new HC Luke Loucks and the FSU coaching staff for making adjustments lately. This FSU squad had a rough stretch where they were allowing relentless amounts of buckets with little focus on the defensive end. The Loucks offense-minded system has clearly added some disciplinary elements to its repertoire and FSU players are making better decisions as a result. From recent results, the defensive transition denial has markedly improved as well. Last week, both California and Stanford entered with bubbly resumes. The Seminoles beat them both. A much improved week for this program, who could continue to be a tough out as they look to improve during the final five weeks of the ACC season.

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

Due to time, we will give these folks brief, but well-deserved praise this week.

MOUNTAIN WEST: UTAH STATE - Won a pivotal home game over San Diego State to tilt the Last Rodeo race into the Aggies favor. A lot of basketball left, but the Aggies have the inside track in the MW for now.

MISSOURI VALLEY: BELMONT - Bruins are humming along. They fought off a very feisty Valparaiso program on the road, in a game I covered last week. Belmont returned home and routed Murray State in Round 1 of that showdown series. Outstanding week.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: LAFAYETTE - Road win at American and the Leopards took down Bucknell. Terrific week. American U. has been in the mix for the league title, and the Leopards put some poison into AU's dreams.

BIG 12: UCF - Maybe a turning point for this program as UCF cooled off a previously hot and Final Four contender in Texas Tech. Following the win, the two fan bases went after each other online. UCF was also able to rally and beat Arizona State early in the week. That was a game where it appeared UCF's first subpar loss was inevitable, but they pulled off a thrilling comeback. The Knights are getting to a point where the resume is too ironclad for a collapse, not quite ready to fully say that, though.

WCC: GONZAGA - The Kennel was rockin' and the Bulldogs delivered against Saint Mary's. I thought GU did a nice job defensively to keep the Gaels on their heels. Graham Ike was incredibly dependent for GU, dropping 30 points on 20 attempts.

NEC: STONEHILL - Win at Le Moyne, beat CCSU, and another win vs. FDU. Heck of a Skyhawk week, and they are in the mix for 2nd Place now! Do not forget: the Skyhawks are postseason eligible for the first time come next month.

THE AMERICAN: CHARLOTTE - The 49ers are quietly rising to the top of the American. The AAC has notoriously split its schedule strength up by perceived preseason top-half and bottom-half scheduling for home-and-away consideration. So the 49ers are benefiting somewhat from the schedule. However, this team was picked dead last to begin the season! Aaron Fearne is doing yeoman's work in the Queen City. Last week, they beat

BIG SKY: SACRAMENTO STATE - Wins over both Montana schools raised awareness of the potential sting of the Hornets across the Big Sky. Sac State has proven to be a quality home team in the league. Last week establishes that reputation for the rest of the season. They host league-leading Portland State this coming Saturday, which should be a fascinating battle.

WAC: UTAH TECH - Road Sweep of Tarleton and Abilene Christian - big time for the Trailblazers. I should not need to tell you how hard this trip is, You fly in and then bus for hours. There is only one day of rest between games. Kudos to Coach Judkins on an outstanding week.

SOCON: THE CITADEL - Two SoCon wins in the same week! Tons of momentum currently for the Bulldogs. This has been so unexpected, and now The Citadel is playing with confidence. Have not seen that in years. After beating VMI and UNCG, they are an unbelievable 5-5 in SoCon play.

CAA: CHARLESTON - Wins at Hofstra and at Northeastern made a splash in the CAA race. Cougars continue to be a healthier, more connected, and best version of themselves here in CAA play. We still haven't seen them match up with UNCW yet, that will be must-watch TV, per usual. Two meetings are still on tap between the two recent CAA powerhouses, including the season finale in Wilmington on March 1st.

BIG WEST: UC SANTA BARBARA - The Gauchos have been the toast of the Big West lately. A key road win at UC San Diego has UCSB firmly as the third contender for the league title, along with UC Irvine and Hawai'i. Since the return of Miro Little, the Gauchos look so much more put together and are executing at a high level.

ASUN: CENTRAL ARKANSAS- Road Win at Queens, came home and beat EKU. UCA is now 7-2 and a real ASUN contender. Boomerang-er or Marfo-man if you prefer, Camren Hunter, keeps racking up massive performances and is a legit contender for ASUN player of the year.

SOUTHLAND: UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY - Road wins at TAMUCC and Incarnate Word. Suddenly, the Vaqueros are 7-6 in Southland play. They have newfound confidence following the win over McNeese a couple of weeks back. Sneaky dark horse in this league.

BIG EAST: GEORGETOWN - The Hoyas were able to knock off Butler on the road convincingly. Effectively pops the Bulldogs bubble for the time being. Georgetown cooled off DePaul earlier in the week, and suddenly have ripped off three wins in a row to get to 4-7 in Big East action.

CONFERENCE USA: SAM HOUSTON - Bearkats got rolling last week with a key road win at Missouri State, the other surprise squad in CUSA. Freshman Jacob Walker was a great spark off the bench with 16 points and three steals. Walker backed that up in the home win over Louisiana Tech, 83-67. Walker had 20 points and continues to be an intriguing piece for Chris Mudge to use. SHSU is up to 7-4 in the league, which is a wide-open race for the 2-seed spot.

MEAC: MORGAN STATE - A pair of road wins for the Bears last week. I guess this is the season to get a piece of typically dominant Norfolk State. The Bears went into Norfolk and snipped the Spartans, 79-78. The great week was complete with a road win at Coppin State. Morgan State is now a surprising 5-2 in MEAC play.

OVC: TENNESSEE TECH - TTU entered the Little Rock home game with a poor 2-8 home record. For one night, they rallied and played well. In the 87-77 win over the Trojans, Brandon Muntu impressed with 26 points on just 11 shot attempts.

BIG SOUTH: RADFORD - Highlanders are now the clear 3rd place team in the league. It was a bumpy ride for most of the season, but now Radford is 6-3 on the year. Last week featured a double OT road win at Presbyterian and a win at Charleston Southern. Should go a long way toward seeding in the Big South bracket.

SWAC: ALABAMA A&M - Koron Davis led the way with 22 points in the important win over FAMU. Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs traveled to Prairie View A&M and handed the Panthers a 20-point shellacking. Leader and go-to guy, Kintavious Dozier, had 19 to lead the way. AAMU is now 5-3 and not done yet in the regular season SWAC race.

MAC: CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Baby steps for the Chippewas. CMU delivered a pair of MAC wins during the same week in the young Andy Bronkema era.

HORIZON LEAGUE: CLEVELAND STATE - CSU also has a first-year head man in Rob Summers. The Vikings are finally starting to gel. A pair of road wins at the Wisconsin schools (Milwaukee and Green Bay) surprised people across the Badger State.

MAAC: SIENA - Saints capitalized on the Buffalo based roadtrip by beating Canisius handily and squeaking past Niagara. Those two opponents have given Siena four of its nine conference wins. The preseason pick to win the league, Siena, is right in the mix now at 9-3.