The header says it all. I was Nebraskan enemy #1 when it came to their massive splits in home court play vs. the typically untrustworthy road Huskers.

I'll put it this way. Since Fred Hoiberg was hired at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers were 16-52 in true road contests entering this season. Furthermore, besides a really good road win at Oregon last yet and a pair of rivalry wins over local foe, Creighton, the other 13 road wins were against teams below the bubble.

Despite the outstanding execution in the 90-60 demolition against Wisconsin to begin the week, doubts of what this team can do away from Pinnacle in true road events permeated across my analysis.

That brought us to Saturday in Champaign. Interest was peaked on my end. After all, Nebraska sitting at 10-0 had to be taken seriously. But that one critical thing, road performances, had zero samples to date.

As you just saw, this game was electric. Nebraska's ability to draw first blood kept them in the fight long-term. The Jamarques Lawrence 27-footer defined the quintessential Husker result.

The Cornhuskers are rolling along at 11-0. Nothing carries the weight at this early stage quite like this away win in Champaign:

What it all means?
Only 20 more games remain. 11 wins already secured, with a proverbial piece of gold road win in hand. Nebraska is firmly a protected seed contender at this early stage. But with 18 more Big Ten games to go, this can still go a lot of different directions. Around the holidays, Nebraska gets two layups aginst North Dakota and New Hampshire. Then January begins with a Pinnacle Bank Arena bang! Hosting Michigan State. Nebraska is getting 40% of its points from downtown, that's the 27th-highest rate in America. Pryce Sandfort launches at the highest rate and continues to hit at a near-40% clip. Then layer Rienk Mast and Lawrence into the arsenal, who are both hovering near 43% and you've got an aerial attack that can seldomly be matched.

HOFSTRA

Pride. That's what this squad is so appropriately named. A pair of young talented starters, Preston Edmead and Joshua DeCady, are New Yorkers. They bring that traditional regional pride to this year's squad. The rest of the regulars are more representative of today's college basketball world.

Star G Cruz Davis has been in the NY Metro area for his entire college career, despite growing up in Plano, TX, and his moment has arrived in college basketball.

Cruz has been used in nearly 96% of Hofstra's game minutes, a ratio that only Delaware's Christian Bliss can top in the country. Davis's ability to score has been on full display, as he also maintains a supreme assist rate. In the 70-69 landmark win over Syracuse, Davis went for nine assists and added 22 points He was also the MVP the week before in the win at Pitt with a stat line of 36 points/seven assists.

Some of the other key regulars hail from Belarus (German Plotnikov), Spain (Victory Onuetu), and Ireland (Silas Sunday). An eclectic mix of style, skill, and basketball intelligence. Plotnikov was the hero late at Syracuse, ultimately delivering the game-winning triple with 34 seconds to go.

That eye-popping win at Syracuse over the weekend was the Pride's first over Syracuse in school history (prev. 0-3) and now has seven wins all-time over the ACC - two of them in this month alone.

What it all means?
After a difficult and unusual 15-18 season a year ago, it is clear that Hofstra Basketball is back to where the tradition has typically been, a tough-minded and contending squad in the CAA. After starting the season with two losses, this team is now 8-2 with four true road wins and a win over La Salle in the Palestra (Semi-Road). The CAA is quickly emerging as a rich mid-major conference in 2025-26. The emergence of Hofstra, William & Mary, Stony Brook, Elon and others have made this league deep in a hurry. Favorites Towson, UNCW, and Charleston are all still going to be tough. The Cougars expect to get a healthy Colby Duggan back by league play. Regardless, its going to be tough to match the confidence of Hofstra.

NEW MEXICO

Was it supposed to happen this fast? Many of us were enthralled with the Lobos hire of Eric Olen, who masterfully led UC San Diego to a Top 35 national ranking in the analytics, a double Big West Championship, and a near-win over Michigan in the NCAA Tournament.

We also knew that the roster, staff, etc. were 100% new to Albuquerque, and there were no obvious stars on the roster.

The balanced approach is paying off in just the second month of his Lobo coaching career. A steamroll of Santa Clara a week ago provided confidence and momentum heading into the trip to VCU.

Adversity set in when VCU charged hard late, but New Mexico was the better team that night due to 19-22 free throw execution and the bright light better known as Jake Hall. The blossoming freshman poured in 24 points, thanks to five triples on just seven attempts.

Over the weekend the Lobos also handled Florida Gulf Coast, 75-59. Giving them a major statement of a week to celebrate. The Lobo defense held FGCU to 20-for-57 (35%) shooting, which stabilized game flow.

What it all means?
Per the great Geoff Grammer, Eric Olen now owns the best start to a Lobo coaching era, at least in nonconference play, than any Lobo team since the 1972-73 season with a 9-2 record. The actual resume meaning is a Quad 1B (currently VCU is #62 in NET) win. You'd also like to believe the neutral-court win over Mississippi State will age better at some point, currently MSU is a disappointing 132nd in NET. This team is playing like a contender in the Mountain West and Coach Olen continues to harp on getting much better on a per possession basis. The immediate future is very exciting in Albuquerque. An

UMASS

The "Minutemen" term is selling this term short. They are more like the Second-men with how fast they are playing. This could not be more evident than a 103-95 regulation victory over Florida State as part of the 2026 Orange Bowl Classic.

A quartet of 18+-point scorers was only attainable due to the rapid pace of play. Daniel Hankins-Sanford (24), K'Jei Parker (24), Leonardo Bettiol (20), and of course Marcus Banks (18) provided a 86-point effort alone. UMass has clearly hit a mature point with this group where the offensive firepower has been established.

All told, UMass punched back hard after trailing slightly at the half and owned the first ten minutes of the period to gain control over FSU. Then a 17-3 run down the stretch made the lead balloon and at one point the Minutemen were ahead, 98-80.

Earlier in the week, Frank Martin's squad was in Springfield. This was was a little extra dramatic:

Marcus Banks two free throws with five seconds and change remaining were just enough, as the Minutemen outlasted its in-state rivals, Boston College, for the fourth consecutive time. It was sadly the first meeting since 2014, but UMass took full advantage. Banks ended with a game-high 29 points.

What it all means?
UMass is suddenly a player in the coming MAC race. At 8-3 and the upside ability to beat two ACC level programs on neutral courts in the same week, should be plenty enough to raise some MACtion eyebrows. In hindsight, UMass has a total of three losses by a combined 14 points. They play at the 14th-fastest pace in America. One of the primary contenders in the MAC figures to be Kent State. Golden Flashes visit Amherst on Saturday to open league play, that's another big opportunity ahead. UMass may need to be wary of some 3-point defensive progression as they have benefited from poor opponent shooting at 26.6%. Akron, Miami-Ohio, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Toledo, and now UMass all appear to be legit MAC hopefuls with upside at Ohio U. and Eastern Michigan also looming. This is a vastly improved conference.

ARIZONA

Our first repeat winners of the season, Bear Down! This squad just continues to impress. This past week the Wildcats took on the task of playing against Alabama in Birmingham in a de facto road game. U of A was wildly successful at playing its track meet style, while also bullying the Tide. It was clear from watching this one that Arizona was just vastly bigger in the middle and there wasn't much Alabama could do to stop the Cats from owning the rim.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS:
Arizona 22
Alabama 3

Just complete domination. Motiejus Krivas had nine offensive rebounds by himself. Brayden Burries played the best game of his young college career. He knocked down five triples, scored 28 points, snagged seven boards, and had no turnovers!

What it all means?
Arizona three elite wins. At UConn, Florida, Alabama all count towards Quad 1A as of today. Throw in the UCLA win (which rests in Quad 1B for now). The Cats are sitting pretty with the #1 Strength of Resume (SOR) in the nation. With Koa Peat, Krivas, and Tobe Awaka controlling the paint area it has lead to a top 20 2-pt% defense, seventh-best eFG% defense, and the 8th-best offensive rebounding unit in all of the land. Wildcats still have four non-conference games to go, but none besides San Diego State should be much of a test. This team is cruising along as a projected 1-seed right now.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

APPALACHIAN STATE - The Mountaineers took a much needed eight-day break heading into East Carolina last Thursday. The rejuvenated and always defensive-minded App State tortured ECU on its own floor in a 67-54 shutdown. The defense limited the Pirates to 20% (4-20) shooting from deep and just 12 free throw attempts on its own floor. Luke Wilson swatted four shots to go along with 14 points. Then Sunday happened. A shot at High Point with new-found confidence. App State's D induced 44 three-point attempts from the Panthers. High Point managed to hit 11 of them on the day, but it was not enough. The Mountaineers were the stronger side in OT, knocking off HPU in a 86-78 key win. Alonzo Dodd was the key cog, pouring in 25 points, including 10 made foul shots. The once 4-5 men of App State will now enter Sun Belt play at 7-5 and looking like the contender they originally expected to be in the wide-open SBC race.

HC Dustin Kerns celebrates with Eren Banks after knocking off High Point in Hickory, NC by a score of 86-78 in OT.

ARKANSAS - A Saturday Showdown in Dallas and Sweet 16 rematch vs. Texas Tech lived up to all of the pregame hype. Texas Tech gained control heading into halftime, but the Hogs charged hard to even things up before eventually taking over down the stretch. Billy Richmond continues to do the little things for this team, typically off the ball or defensively. His two steals both came during pivotal moments and he also dished out four assists. The scoring was led by an effective three-headed-monster of Trevon Brazile (24), Darius Acuff (20), and Karter Knox (20) in the 93-86 victory. The game was a high-level battle and continues to reinforce that Arkansas has a ton of upside projecting forward.

TENNESSEE STATE - We hyped up the Jack Jones Classic all week in Henderson. The one game that was supposed to be predictable was TSU vs. UNLV. Especially since the Rebels just got Emanuel Stephen back and healthy (beating Stanford on the road in his first game back). Tigers came with a purpose. Both teams were cold most of the night, which increased the possessional pressure. Stunned Rebels fans left the venue quickly, that is the second loss for UNLV to an OVC team (UT Martin). TSU has now essentially won road games against UNLV, Chattanooga, and UNC Asheville. Super impressive work for young HC Nolan Smith, especially getting the job so late in the hiring cycle.

https://x.com/joey_dwy/status/2000068688209195414/video/1

CHICAGO STATE - A massive inner-city win for this program over Loyola-Chicago. These two programs have been light years apart, but for this one day the Cougars were better. Despite the Ramblers poor record this season, they had won two straight to start their course-correction. That Loyola rebuilding process came to a screeching halt this past Sunday. Doyel Cockrill was getting to the foul line often and made the Ramblers pay, going 12-14 from the charity stripe. Cockrill went for 22 points. Not bad for the NAIA transfer from Fisk. This went down as Chicago State's first D1 win of the season, but they've played a brutal schedule.

UCONN - The Huskies continue to trend towards one of the elites on the season and a saving grace for the badly struggling Big East. UConn avenged its Round of 32 loss to Florida by knocking off the Gators, 77-73, at the Jimmy V Classic. The game was a tight finish, a late five second call denied the Gators a chance to tie. Solo Ball played well that night, delivering 19 points. UConn followed that great effort by getting past another SEC foe, Texas. The 71-63 triumph was highlighted by Tarris Reed's four blocks, five assists, six rebounds, and 12 points. UConn's D held the Longhorns to just four made threes on the evening.

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

MOUNTAIN WEST EXTRA: BOISE STATE - It happened again! The Broncos narrowly knocked off Saint Mary's in Idaho Falls for the third straight year. BSU continues to ride the comeback trail after a rocky November. A pair of headline wins by winning this and at Butler the week before gets the Broncos firmly in the resume area to be substantially interesting again. Another key game awaits as Boise State opens MWC play at Nevada this Saturday.

MISSOURI VALLEY: MURRAY STATE - Another Jack Jones Classic key result. The Racers raced hard to a 115-100 regulation win over Akron. This one was not for lovers of defense, but man was it electric. It goes down as a very meaningful win at this stage, Murray State jumped from 111 to 95 in POM due to the result. Racers were absurdly wet from distance, going 18-32 from downtown. Eye-popping stuff there. Layne Taylor dropped six of them, while leading the squad with 23 points. Seven different Racers scored in double-figures in this shootout. Murray State is a tough defensive cover for any future opponent.

BIG EAST: DEPAUL - The Blue Demons closed out non-conference action by earning a quality road victory at Wichita State, 61-58, Saturday afternoon. The DePaul defense held its second-straight opponent to under 60 points, marking a season low for the Shockers (6-5) offense. DePaul is now 6-0 when holding opponents to less than 65 points. This all comes at a time when Wichita State was feeling great about its own road win a week ago at Northern Iowa. At 8-3, this DePaul team still has fight in their resume hopes. The Big East needs them to continue producing. They'll open league play at St. John's Tuesday and host UConn on Sunday - what a start!

MAC EXTRA: OHIO U. - The Bobcats have played a murderers row of a schedule. At a certain point that tends to make you better, barring setbacks. The 270-pound Frank Mitchell was not backing down from St. Bonaventure, that much is certain. Mitchell was a workhorse, logging 44 minutes and taking 20 shots inside. He finished with 27 points and 14 important rebounds. The Bobcats were an excellent 28-41 from inside the arc, and Mitchell's presence was a key factor. This game was played in Cleveland at the Cavs Arena, so an extra special win for the program.

THE AMERICAN: NORTH TEXAS - A trip to Mobile was a tall task for this new squad from Denton. But UNT survived the 40 minutes of Richie Riley zone defense in a game where both offenses struggled to establish a rhythm. Je'Shawn Stevenson stepped up with 22 points and the game winning free throw in the 58-57 road victory. UNT is now 8-3 and emerging as a viable candidate in the open AAC race.

SUMMIT LEAGUE: NORTH DAKOTA STATE - Its hard enough to win back-to-back road games, but to do it at Drake two days after winning at Cal State Bakersfield is really a tough task. NDSU continues to impress in what has materialized into a great non-conference. This team can really shoot it as evidenced in the wild 99-94 win at Drake - making 19 treys. Trevian Carson was burying jumpers from everywhere in his 29-point barrage. The Bison will get an intriguing opener this weekend at the Sun Bowl Invitational vs. UC Irvine.

BIG WEST: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE - CSUN had an adventurous week. Matadors knocked off Fresno State in a thriller in the final seconds, then flew cross-country to play a Delaware team who had just stunned George Washington. Did you catch all that? Good. CSUN then pounded the Blue Hens on the road to make this a vastly impressive week. Here is a look at the Onions produced by Josiah Davis in the game winner to beat Fresno State:

BIG 12 EXTRA: KANSAS - The Jayhawks got the road win at NC State, which should be pretty significant long-term for the resume purpose. Darryn Peterson unfortunately left again with hamstring issues, but Melvin Council, Jr. has been the absolute truth. He dropped 36 points, had seven boards, four assists, and no turnovers! Just outstanding stuff from Mr. Council. KU outlasted NC State in OT, 77-76.

SEC EXTRA: OKLAHOMA - Sooners became the first team to knock off rival Oklahoma State. As important as the Bedlam Game is, this win was arguably even more important for the Sooners non-conference resume as they had flopped against Arizona State and Gonzaga, plus fell short against Nebraska. Now, OU has a road win over Wake Forest and a neutral court win over the Pokes. Former St. Joe's Hawk, Xzayvier Brown, had a great night with 21 points and five dimes. Sooners accelerated down the stretch to close out the 85-76 victory inside OKC's Paycom Center.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: ARMY - The Black Knights did a terrific defensive job to slow UMBC down in a true road win, 63-60. That's a UMBC squad who has been highlighted in this weekly column on multiple occasions. Army also benefited from extremely poor UMBC foul shooting (6-for-16) and outrebounded the Retrievers, 43-37. All in all, it's their best win of the year and a good sign as we approach league play.

SOUTHLAND: MCNEESE - The Cowboys mixed in a road swing to Rhode Island amongst a slew of Southland Conference games, and it was a war with the Rams. Tyshawn Archie drilled a fade-away jumper with 1.2 seconds to break a tie in a dramatic road moment. Then, Javohn Garcia's blocked shot with under a second left gave the Cowboys the win over their second A-10 opponent of the season. Cowboys continued to win in Southland action as well, knocking off

MEAC: HOWARD - A 2-0 week for Kenny Blakeney's Bison is certainly cause for celebration. In the 61-57 win over Hampton, they held the Pirates to an amazing 1-21 shooting from distance. They also picked up a second win inside Cameron Indoor over North Carolina A&T. How many squads can win two games at Cameron in the same season not named Duke? Incredible.

ACC: LOUISVILLE - It wasn't a great week for the league, so we can salivate over the Cardinals' demolition of Memphis over the weekend. It was over early, folks. Six players finished in double-figures, and the squad buried 18 of 35 three-point hoists. The Ville is now 9-1 and looking dangerous.

WAC: UTAH VALLEY - These Wolverines are rapidly ascending. Feels like we are discussing UVU every week. They pasted UC Santa Barbara in Salt Lake City over the weekend in a defensive lockdown, 68-53. Hayden Welling had 18 off the bench in that one. Earlier in the week, the Wolverines took care of a sneaky good Idaho State team, 73-69. Hitting 14 of 17 free throws proved to be key as a team and Trevan Leonhardt had a day with eight assists and 11 rebounds.

AMERICA EAST: VERMONT - Catamounts took care of the pesky Merrimack Warriors, 66-59. HC John Becker had a lot of praise for Noah Barnett, calling it his "best game as a Catamount." Barnett played a career high 32 minutes and earned a career high 16 points, making four of his six shots from the field and making a career high eight of his 10 free throw opportunities.

BIG SKY: WEBER STATE - The Wildcats picked up a needed road win at Kansas City, 64-60. Malek Gomma (6-8, 245) continues to be an emerging force in the Big Sky. He owned the paint in this one, going for 19 points and 13 boards. The Wildcats head to Utah Valley this week in an interesting Beehive State battle.

MAAC: CANISIUS - We don't get to celebrate Canisius Basketball as much as we'd like to around here, so now is our chance! What a performance by the Golden Griffiths at Maine, destroying the Black Bears by 27! Junior transfer (via Holy Cross) Kahlil Singleton has shown he can go off, did it again with 20 points on six three-point makes.

CONFERENCE USA: LOUISIANA TECH - The Bulldogs put the clamps down against in-state foe, the Louisiana Cajuns, in a 65-44 stranglehold victory. The Bulldogs only allowed 15 field goals in the entire game. That could go down as one of the lowest totals you'll find anywhere in D1 this year. HC Talvin Hester has a terrific defensive reputation and if they can get consistent stops, they'll have a great shot to make a move in the CUSA pecking order.

WCC: PORTLAND - Pilots were able to beat a real good Kent State team by getting an efficiently balanced attack to produce. Five different players finished in double-figures led by Cameron Williams' 20 points. Freshman Joel Foxwell is becoming a serious player to watch, he dished out 15 assists in this game. Foxwell has already won WCC FOTW three times. The Aussie native tied a school record with the 15 assists vs. Kent State.

ASUN: AUSTIN PEAY - The Governors have earned ASUN honors once again thanks to a 76-75 nail-biting win over East Tennessee State. Freshman Zyree Collins was magnificent with 25 points against the SoCon's best defensive team.

ATLANTIC-10: SAINT LOUIS - Billikens were able to withstand an early push from San Francisco and avenge last year's loss to the Dons, 85-75. SLU continues to be a squad on a mission this year. Ball movement and quick pace continues to throw defenses fits. SLU is now only using 14.2 seconds on average into the shot clock, good for fourth-quickest in the country.

SOCON: VMI - The Keydets were the only squad to win a game last week due to many of the league members having some extra time off for exams. VMI's 86-70 win over Loyola-MD was quite convincing. Sophomore Linus Holmstrom has become an aerial threat of late, he went for 23 points on seven makes from downtown.

HORIZON LEAGUE: PURDUE FORT WAYNE - Corey Hadnot II averaged 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in two key wins over rising EMU in non-conference and previously 2-0 Detroit Mercy in league play. The Mastodons are now 2-1 in the league and own a three-game win streak.

IVY LEAGUE: PENN - The Quakers are now a respectable 6-4 in season one of the Fran McCaffrey experience. A 74-72 tight win over Lafayette was the extent of last week's progress. Freshman Dalton Scantlebury made a difference off the bench with 14 points.

BIG SOUTH: RADFORD - Former NC State player, Dennis Parker Jr., had a college game for the ages in the Highlanders' 107-77 win over Coppin State. His 53 points are the most by an individual player at any level of D1 basketball since 2019. He drilled 10 treys, what a weapon he is at this level.

No Awards due to no D1 wins during the week: SWAC

Let's have another great week, cheers!