Nov. 21
Wacky, wacky, wacky! It's only November, and already Upset City is all over the map! Are you serious? Look at what has happened already.

OK, Arizona beating Maryland and Florida is one thing. But what about these shockers: Ball State over Kansas and UCLA, Hampton and Davidson over North Carolina (both in Chapel Hill), Eastern Washington over Saint Joseph's, Bowling Green over Mississippi, Western Kentucky over Kentucky.

These shockers serve as a major wake-up call. It's early, but these results are hard to believe.

While Ball State found upset success by hitting 3-pointers, North Carolina's shooting really suffered in its two home losses.

The Mid-American is one of the most underrated conferences in America. Ball State has certainly proved that by stunning both No. 4 UCLA and No. 3 Kansas in Maui. Tim Buckley's team has done a great job shooting 3-pointers, and as I've said before, the trifecta can change the game. Against UCLA, Ball State guard Patrick Jackson hit 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

It was Jackson's tough, driving layup that beat Kansas. The Jayhawks were hurt by injuries, as several players were bothered by leg cramps (Nick Collison sat the last several minutes).

Next up for Ball State: No. 1 Duke in the Maui title game (Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN).

While Ball State found upset success by hitting 3-pointers, North Carolina's shooting really suffered against Davidson and Hampton. In the two games, UNC converted just 12-of-54 from beyond the arc.

Bowling Green, meanwhile, is one of the top teams in the MAC. The Falcons surprised Mississippi in the Top of the World Classic in Alaska (the Rebels were one of the surprise teams in America last season). Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich, a Bob Knight disciple, got 33 points from Keith MacLeod. Bowling Green will contend with Central Michigan for the league title this season. The MAC has so much balance, so it's tough to predict.

OK, who can name the coach of Eastern Washington (Ray Giacoletti) or the star player (Chris Hester had 20 points in the upset)? The Eagles won 17 games a year ago and lost in the Big Sky championship game, falling one game short of the NCAA Tournament.

Everybody, including yours truly, has been praising Saint Joseph's. Jameer Nelson and Marvin O'Connor of the Hawks are supposed to be among the nation's best backcourts, but they were stymied big-time (Nelson shot 1-of-8 from the floor).

And what about Kentucky being shocked by Western Kentucky? I caught the game on TV. The Hilltoppers will be special this year; they won 24 games and made the NCAA Tournament last season.

Western Kentucky basically beat Kentucky wire-to-wire. Going into Lexington and beating the highly rated Wildcats is impressive. The Hilltoppers never let the crowd intimidate them, and they played with a great deal of intensity and emotion. I was impressed with their play, execution and hustle.

Former Clemson assistant Dennis Felton is one of the rising stars in the coaching profession. Tubby Smith's club struggled and the superstars -- Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans -- were average at best. Kentucky had a tough time shooting the J, hitting just 2-of-18 from 3-point range, and there were problems on the foul line.

Something tells me, just like last year, the Wildcats will rebound. Tubby and his kids will get it together and will be a force. They are flat-out too talented.

Western Kentucky is more than just 7-foot-1 center Chris Marcus. Yes, Marcus is so impressive with his body strength in the low post, but there are a lot of talented players. David Boyden up front played a super game. Patrick Sparks, Raynardo Curry and company came through.

It had to be special for senior guard Derek Robinson, who hails from the Lexington area. He put the final dagger through Kentucky by hitting a trifecta after the Wildcats had made a run and cut the lead to six. That was a crowd-silencer, baby!

Upset city, the beauty and magic of college basketball, is on the map already this season. As I have said so often, this is not like college football, where one loss can kill you. The talented teams will bounce back, as an early upset loss doesn't affect the chase for the national title. Imagine the stakes involved here if this were football?