Tonight's CuseAdelphia Games of Interest and nightly RPI update

Every night I'll give you the heads up of whats going on in NCAA basketball for the games that relate to Syracuse the most.

South Florida 68, Rutgers 45. I've been saying it for awhile, pay attention to the Bulls. That can and probably will shock some few people in the Big East. They've got a very solid team led by freshman guard Dominique Jones who had 24 points tonight and center Kentrell Gransberry. Nine or ten wins in the Big East for this team wouldn't shock me.

UMASS 95, Houston 89. Those up tempo Minutemen pull off another big win against the mid-major phenoms from Conference USA. The Cougars are considered the only team in that conference that can beat Memphis which means this is a great win for UMASS. This will only continue to help Syracuse's great RPI.

Pittsburgh 96, Lafayette 75. Despite the Panthers being down two of their top four scorers, my hometown Leopards didn't stand a chance in this one. Lafayette is one of the better teams in the Patriot league, but are no match for a Big East team like Pitt.

Rhode Island 94, Fairleigh Dickson 63. Nine in a row now for the Rams. They continue to bid their impressive resume that is helping boost Syracuse's RPI like UMASS is.

RPI Update for the night.
Every night I'll give you S.U.'s current RPI and a team that is surprisingly way below and one ahead of Syracuse.

Orange RPI: 10th in the country. They have the second highest RPI in the Big East Conference. Nine games against top 100 RPI schools helps them a bunch.

Team that's really ahead them:
Pitt at 5th. I know they are 11-1, but they only have four games against top 100 RPI schools. I'm surprised their strength of schedule is as high as it is at 37th. It shouldn't seem too surprising that they are ahead of Syracuse because I'm running out of schools to profile since S.U. so high.

Team that's so far behind them you should stick a fork in them:
Kentucky at 235. I'm not afraid to admit, I'm somewhat of a closet Kentucky fan. I'll always root for the Orange before the Big Blue, but if the Orange are done and the Wildcats are still in it, go Tubby Smith's former squad. Coach Gillespie has some 'splaining to do because their 6-6 record with home losses to UAB, San Diego, and Gardner Webb is pathetic. Their best win RPI wise is against 229th Texas Southern. Ouch. Up next for the Wildcats? Their former great coach Rick Pitino and the rival Louisville Cardinals.