Why We Watch

We watch college hoops for a reason, and last night provided us with more than a few ...

No. 8 Notre Dame topped No. 7 Texas in a thriller, 81-80.

No. 17 Florida escaped with a win against Washington, 86-84.

And No. 22 Kansas lost to Syracuse, 89-81, in overtime.

Let's break these games down ...

-- Notre Dame cemented its status as a Final Four contender with a gritty, exciting win against Texas. The Longhorns didn't really lose much in terms of reputation or respect, just dropped the game.

-- Jon Brockman had a chance to tie the game for Washington in the waning moments, but his shot rimmed out off the glass. This would have been a huge win for Washington; instead, it's another disappointing loss. It's hard to come away with positives from KC after two really rough losses.

-- And the Syracuse-Kansas game was the game of the night. We had Sherron Collins and Jonny Flynn going toe to toe, runs catapulting one team into the lead before the other team roared back, and an extra five minutes to enjoy the competition. The CBE Classic turned out to be a pretty good tournament, and these guys have a lot to do with that.

Quote of the day: "I had a few too many Wheaties on it." -- Washington's Jon Brockman, after missing the would-be tying putback with less than five seconds to play in Washington's 86-84 loss to Florida.