Payin' attention to those "Surprise" teams.

1) Picked in the preseason poll to finish eight in the Big 12, Nebraska showed signs of... pressure? mental exhaustion? target-on-your-back syndrome? against lowly Colorado. The Buffs rained threes (15) but the Huskers put together a strong second-half run to emerge victorious, 89-73.

Playing in front of their fifth straight 10K+ crowd, Griffin had a pedestrian game: 25 Pts, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Next up: Feb. 24th at Oklahoma. (On TV)

2) Picked in the preseason poll to finish 8th in the Big East, Georgetown is ranked #14 in the country -- their highest ranking ever. Even so, coach Terri Williams-Flournoy started her seniors against #3 Notre Dame -- which explains why her bench scored 54pts.

What explains the Irish's 76-66 loss is turnovers and a still-hobbled Lindsay Schrader.

And the fact that, after years of a "who-gives-a-flying-fark-about-women's-basketball" attitude from the Athletic Department higher-ups, the Hoyas are turning into a team to be reckoned with. Said coach (and BEast COY candidate) Williams-Flournoy:

It's not only a big game because it's a ranked opponent, because we've never beaten Notre Dame before. We're supposed to beat opponents who are supposed to be better than us."

Next (almost) up for Georgetown: UConn on THEIR senior night.

3) Picked in the preseason poll to finish 12th in the Big East, West Virginia is now ranked #8 in the country. They struggled early against South Florida that was missing two of their top scorers (suspended because of team rules violations), but pulled away for a 54-45 win. Coach ain't happy:

"We're just not playing well right now," Carey said. "We're going through a stretch here where we struggle to score, and we've got to get it fixed. It seems like we're just doing enough to win, and that's not good enough if you want to go far in the tournament, so we've got to get some things corrected."

Next up:11-14 Cincinnati

In the "Non-Surprise" ranks:

#1 UConn defeated Providence, 85-53.

#2 Stanford defeated Oregon State, 82-48, as Appel became only the third Cardinal to reach 2000pts and 1000rebs.

#6 Xavier overwhelmed UMass, 75-41, and is now 12-0 in the A-10.

#12 Iowa State took down Missouri, 55-42.

#22 Gonzaga took care of Pepperdine, 87-45, as NCAA assist leader Courtney Vandersloot added 9 assists and 23 points.

In the "Toss Up" team ranks:

#15 Texas A&M took down #14 Texas (missing Erika Arriaran) 58-44, sweeping the series this season and snapping a 6-game Longhorn winning streak. Did I mention it's harder and harder to find stuff on the ESPN site? Who else missed Mechelle's piece"Horns riding six-game win streak"

Yadda, yadda, yadda Riley scored 38pts (on 9-30 shooting). But five #19 Baylor players hit double figures, and the Bears wiped out #17 Oklahoma State, 69-80.