In a season with fewer elite teams than usual, home court advantage is as much a necessity as it is a luxury in league play. The first Saturday in January proved as much. Ten Top-25 teams hit the road. Seven – yes, SEVEN – of the 10 lost.
LOUISVILLE, KY. - Topping Deng Adel's happiness in hitting shots when Louisville needed them was his satisfaction making timely defensive contributions that helped the Cardinals earn another hard-fought victory.
Bayern Munich go 14 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with victory at Bayer Leverkusen, courtesy of goals by Javi Martinez, Franck Ribery and James Rodriguez. The result ends Leverkusen's 12-game unbeaten streak.
North Carolina State seemed headed for overtime, quite possibly destined for its first agonizing collapse under new coach Kevin Keatts.
Notre Dame’s victory at Syracuse Saturday – the squad’s third conference win in as many chances – marks the biggest (point spread) upset registered by Mike Brey’s squad in nearly two calendar years (Jan. 16, 2016 at Duke). In the opinion of this analyst, it was among the most impressive of the 18-year Brey Era considering the squad’s two best players were home in South Bend.