FanHouse WesleyClemmons

Forgive me if you're already pregaming for the Emerald Bowl or have been waiting since May to see if heavyweight also-ran Dominick Guinn can recover from his loss to Eddie Chambers but I do believe ESPN's programming whiz kids are making a mistake tonight. Those are your programming options in prime time on ESPN and the deuce while the considerably smaller ESPNU gets one of the biggest early season college basketball games. The Butler Bulldogs are bringing their nationally ranked show to Carbondale for a mid major bonanza of hoopy goodness.

Southern Illinois was the preseason darling of the mids but their horrific shooting has them at 5-5 entering tonight's game with the 16th-ranked Bulldogs. Their offense has always been problematic but their rebounding has taken a hit this season, which may explain why they can't win as often.

Butler and new coach Brad Stevens are poised for a return trip to the Sweet 16, maybe further. A.J. Graves and Mike Green are a splendid backcourt and the freshman Matt Howard has given them inside balance. They can shoot and score in bunches but have struggled a bit with the turnovers. Can SIU exploit that and pick up a big win to propel them into conference play?

When Maryland beat Morgan State on December 6, it was Gary Williams' 131st nonconference home win in 134 tries. When Maryland hosts Delaware on Friday, he'll take his third whack at number 132. After losing to Ohio, Williams and the Terps got beat in College Park again yesterday by their neighbors from American. That's a pretty rare occurance in the 80 year history between the two schools. The only other Eagles win was in their first meeting, sometime in the 1926-27 season. The exact date has escaped memory, something that's unlikely to happen with yesterday's 67-59 win.

Derrick Mercer won't soon forget his 18 points, for example, and Bryce Simon will always remember his career-high 17. None of the Eagles will forget holding the Terps to five first half baskets nor will they need reminders of the way they outhustled, outrebounded and outdefended their more heralded opponents. For a team that's lost to Fairfield and Loyola (MD), this win came out of left field and will have Williams pulling out his hair in search of answers.

Greivis Vasquez had 28 points and the other guard Eric Hayes had 16 but the rest of the Terps only made four baskets. Maryland was so flat and lifeless, though, that its pretty clear the problems go well beyond shooting. Williams benched Braxton Dupree and Landon Milbourne in the second half, probably the first of many changes in what's looking like a long season.

Elsewhere on the mid major hardcourts: