USC opened its season on Saturday with a 78-55 decision over UC Irvine and followed that effort with a 73-60 decision over New Mexico State on Tuesday. The Trojans will face several tests before the start of Pac-10 play, and may go head-to-head with Memphis tomorrow if things go well. A December 4th clash with Oklahoma will be one to watch as well, and a couple of key victories over strong non-conference competition will be tremendously valuable when selection time comes in mid-March.

Like USC, Seton Hall has won its first two games of the season, both at home. The Pirates dominated both contests, as they followed a 27-point romp over St. Francis-NY with a 71-50 decision over Columbia. With the exception of this tournament, the non-conference schedule is extremely soft for Seton Hall, which hopes to build a solid recor

Billy Donovan's Gators have looked impressive in the first two games, posting lopsided wins over both Toledo (80-58) and most recently, Bradley (81-58). With the victories, Florida moved to 52-6 all-time under Donovan in the month of November, including a stellar 28-2 record over the last five years.

The Thunderbirds would like to hand the Gators their third loss over that time period, but will be fighting an uphill battle this evening on the road. Southern Utah, out of the Summit League, won its season-opener last weekend, besting Division II's Mesa State, 85-73.

Ben Howland's Bruins were the host team for one of the Regionals in this event and as expected, advanced to New York City with wins over both Prairie View (82-58) and Miami-Ohio (64-59). UCLA has been a picture of consistency over the last few years, winning 30 or more games in each of the last three seasons and with a loaded lineup again, the team will try to make it four years in a row.

The Wolverines struggled last year in John Beilein's first season, but early indications are that Michigan will be much improved this year. The Wolverines also benefited from being the host team in the first two rounds of this tournament and took care of their bus

Chattanooga, which competes in the Southern Conference, has certainly challenged itself with a very difficult schedule to open this new season. The Mocs dropped a 114-75 decision at Tennessee on Saturday, and they followed that effort with a 103-75 setback at Missouri on Monday. Clearly, things won't get any easier today.

Memphis is fresh off Monday's 80-58 decision over UMass, and John Calipari is now the winningest coach in program history with 221 victories. The Tigers are 2-0 on the young season, as they also beat Fairfield on Saturday in convincing fashion. Last season, the Tigers reached the national title games, and while it can be argued that the three best players from that team are gone, there is still plenty of talent in place.

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils recorded routs in the first two rounds of this event, posting lopsided wins over both Presbyterian (80-49) and Georgia Southern (97-54) in Durham. However, things got a lot tougher on Sunday, as Duke welcomed a quality Rhode Island program to Cameron Indoor Stadium and escaped that matchup with an 82-79 decision.

Chris Lowery's Salukis also had the luxury being the host team in one of the four regions in this event. SIU was able to get past a scrappy California (Pa) squad in opening round action (66-52) and followed that with a nice win over Massachusetts (80-73).

Los Angeles won its first seven games of the season until suffering a 106-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons last Friday at home. The Lakers then rebounded with Tuesday's 116-109 triumph over the Chicago Bulls in the finale of a short two-game homestand, as Pau Gasol registered a season-high 34 points and reigning MVP Kobe Bryant added 21 in the win.

Andrew Bynum posted 18 points and nine rebounds to become the eighth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 boards in a career, doing it at 21 years and 22 days of age.

The Pistons have won four of their last five games, including victories over the Lakers, Suns and Cavaliers. In Wednesday's 96-89 win versus Cleveland at The Palace, Iverson finished with 23 points, four steals and four assists to help end the Cavs' eight-game winning streak.

Rasheed Wallace scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who will put their 5-2 road record on the line Thursday. Richard Hamilton chipped in 15 points and five assists in last night's win.

Boozer, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds, left the game in the fourth quarter.

He was hurt while going up for a rebound. Boozer's knee buckled, and he was lifted for Mehmet Okur. Boozer will have an MRI on Thursday.

Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but left the game in the fourth quarter with a strained left quad tendon. Ronnie Price and Andrei Kirilenko each had 16 points for the Jazz, who beat Milwaukee for the eighth straight time. Kirilenko also had seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks.

Ronnie Brewer ended with 12 points for the Jazz, winners of back-to-back games overall since a three-game skid. They are 33-1 at home since December 31, 2007.

"We've just come in every night focused on the game plan and focused on what we got to do to beat whatever team it is," Billups said. "We've played some tough teams, and we've been successful, so we just got to continue to build on what we've done." Carmelo Anthony poured in 21 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out seven helpers for the Nuggets, who have won four straight and seven of eight overall. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and Nene 16 in the win.

"I think this team is really starting to feel good about what they are doing on the basketball court," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "I really feel like we got things done as a team tonight. I really enjoyed the defensive intensity in almost every possession." George Hill scored 20 points f

The game marked the first meeting between the top pick in the 2008 and 2007 drafts.

Oden, who was playing his first regular season home game one year and 144 days after he was picked in 2007, scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 17 1/2 minutes of action. Chicago's Derrick Rose was picked first in the most recent draft and shot just 1-of-8 for six points on the night.

Blake dove for a loose ball out of bounds but banged his head on a photographer's camera.

He was seen holding his head as he was taken to the locker room and did not return.

Stepheson, who transferred this fall from North Carolina, will not be eligible for competition for the Trojans this season.

Stepheson played the last two seasons at UNC, where he appeared in 75 games. Last season, he averaged 4.3 points and 4.5 rebounds while leading the Tar Heels in rebounds six times.

With a combined record of 2-19 coming into the contest, the Clippers and Thunder had the two worst winning percentages in the NBA.

Cuttino Mobley added 23 points and seven steals for Los Angeles, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Al Thornton added 20 points and seven rebounds in the win. Marcus Camby and Baron Davis each had 14 points for the Clippers.

Teague posted a career-high 31 points, Johnson netted 25, and McFarland contributed 19 for the Demon Deacons (2-0), who opened their season with a blowout win over NC Central and finish off a three-game homestand against Winston-Salem State on Monday.

Johnson and McFarland also grabbed nine and eight rebounds, respectively, in the win.

Rasheed Wallace added 21 points and hauled in 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won four of five overall. Richard Hamilton chipped in 15 points and five helpers in the win.

LeBron James had 25 points, six assists, six boards and four steals for the Cavaliers. Mo Williams also had 25 points, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 13. Anderson Varejao ended with 11 boards.

Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal both posted double-doubles, with Bosh recording 15 points and 11 rebounds while O'Neal had 16 points and 17 rebounds. Anthony Parker was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc for 19 points for the Raptors, who have won two of three.

The Raptors shot 9-of-13 from three-point range in the game, including an 8-for-8 mark to finish the game.

Williams, who hit the go-ahead shot with 26.5 seconds left, scored 21 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds.

Mike Bibby had 25 points to pace the Hawks, who snapped a four-game skid.

Kalin Lucas added 17 points and doled out three assists for the Spartans (2-0), who began their season on Sunday with a 100-62 romp over Idaho. Chris Allen chipped in seven points and three boards in the win.

Ben Botts poured in 22 points for the Mastodons (0-2), who were handled easily, 71-43, by Xavier in last Friday's season opener. David Carson gave 17 points in defeat.

Zeller went up for a dunk late in the game and was fouled, then came down on his left wrist. He broke both the radius and ulna.

Dr.

Yao left in the fourth quarter of Monday's 100-89 win over Oklahoma City because of soreness in his left foot, and underwent diagnostic tests Tuesday that revealed no structural damage.

He is being held out for precautionary reasons and is listed as day-to-day.

New Orleans, Atlanta, Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth, Indianapolis and Houston have been chosen as the host cities.

The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans will be the site for the 2012 Final Four.

Wednesday's showdown between the Cavs and Pistons is the first of four meetings during the regular season. Cleveland enters this series having won eight straight games and improved to 9-2 on the season following Tuesday's 106-82 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the Meadowlands.

Superstar LeBron James led the way with 31 points and eight rebounds while Delonte West had 16 points for the Cavs, who buried 10-of-17 from beyond the arc. Mo Williams added 16 points and six assists in a winning cause. James is averaging 33.8 points per game during the eight-game streak.

Dallas is 2-0 so far on the trip after a five-game slide and handed the Charlotte Bobcats a 100-83 loss on Tuesday. Dirk Nowitzki poured in 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds to keep Dallas perfect against the Bobcats (9-0). Josh Howard scored 21 points and Jason Terry added 15 points off the bench for the Mavericks.

Jason Kidd had 10 assists and two points in a winning effort.

Michigan State began its season on Sunday with a 100-62 romp over Idaho. The non-conference schedule gets much tougher in the coming weeks for the Spartans, who will take part in the Old Spice Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. Some of the teams involved in that tournament are Maryland, Gonzaga, Oklahoma State and Tennessee. Tom Izzo's team will also do battle with top- ranked North Carolina just a few days later, and the club will face the Texas Longhorns in Houston on December 20th.

As for IPFW, it was handled easily by Xavier in last Friday's season opener, as that game ended in a 71-43 defeat. Only two starters are back in place for the Mastodons, but both were double-digit scorers in 2007-08.