Though the season is very young, some teams already have plenty to be thankful for.
Eastern Connecticut State can be thankful for its third victory by a double-digit margin in as many contests. The Warriors knocked off No. 21 Emmanuel 75-57. Little East Conference mate No. 17 Southern Maine also stayed unbeaten with a 76-57 win over Bates.
No. 13 Millikin and Carroll are thankful for All-American starters Lindsay Ippel and Crystal Hoewisch respectively, but only the Pioneers can celebrate tonight's 64-59 win over the Big Blue. Hoewisch's free throws fended off a late push by Millikin, who dropped to 1-2 despite 32 points from Ippel.
Several ranked women's teams feasted on opponents by large margins including bulges of 45 for No. 3 Messiah, 46 for No. 6 Washington U., and 50 for No. 15 Illinois Wesleyan.
Some teams are thankful that the game is exactly 40 minutes long. Chiresse Paradise made two three-pointers in the final five seconds, including one at the buzzer, to turn a 3-point deficit into a 3-point win for Baruch against Farmingdale State. Amanda LaPorta scored at the buzzer to lead Frostburg State past Villa Julie 58-56, while freshman Mindy Bennett scored with one second left to lift Lebanon Valley past McDaniel 59-57. More women's scores here.
On the men's side, No. 10 Capital bounced back from Saturday's loss to beat Wittenberg 79-75 on the road. Kevin Murray had 22 points in 24 minutes for the Tigers. Jon Onyiriuka and Uche Ndubizu were a mouthful and a handful as they combined for 42 points and 21 rebounds in No. 9 Rochester's 68-51 win over Nazareth 68-51.
North Central (Ill.) handed No. 13 Aurora a 78-70 loss, only the Spartans ninth defeat at home since 2000, but their second in three games this season. The CCIW also took two games from the IIAC. Wheaton (Ill.) tipped Loras 69-62 in Dubuque and No. 5 Augustana opened its season with an 80-65 win over Simpson. On Saturday the Vikings travel to No. 1 Washington U., whom you can read about in the Daily Dose.
MIT's Jimmy Bartolotta continued his hot early-season stretch, scoring 38 points and adding eight assists in a 101-77 win at Curry. More men's scores here.