I’m not certain there was a more meaningful win in the early season than Purdue’s victory against Tennessee.

This was the first matchup of legitimate Top 10 teams – both who have a shot to be in Indianapolis come April.

The Boilermakers depth – which was already in question – had taken two hits with the loss of starting point guard Lewis Jackson (potentially for the season) and freshman big man Sandi Marcius – who have both suffered foot injuries.

But Matt Painter’s team displayed it has enough to knock off elite and experienced teams such as Tennessee.

``I think it really showed something – not having Lewis and also being without JaJuan (Johnson) for most of the game,” Purdue star Robbie Hummel said after the 73-72 victory to win the Paradise Jam. ``We had some guys step up. To beat a team like Tennessee says a lot about our team.”

E’Twaun Moore and Hummel combined for 42 points in the win – one in which Johnson, a vastly improving big man, only played 18 minutes due to foul trouble.

Veteran guards Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant both played their roles, but it was guys like freshman Kelsey Barlow, who has been pressed into action as the team’s backup point guard, who was key even though he missed two free throws late in the game.

``He got a couple of monster rebounds,” Hummel said.

Hummel missed his first free throw with a 72-70 lead and 32 seconds left before Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl called two timeouts in an effort to fluster Hummel.

``I felt like a field goal kicker,” Hummel said.

Hummel sank the second free throw to go up 3, but Bobby Maze came back down the court and cut the lead to 73-72. After Barlow missed two at the line, Tennessee’s Wayne Chism took an ill-advised (but wide open) 3-pointer with six seconds left that would have won the game.

RANDOM NOTES: Boston College misses Rakim Sanders (ankle). The Eagles lost to Northern Iowa on Monday night and had also dropped a game to St. Joe’s. … Nice to see DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright, one of the whose team was winless last season in the Big East, get off to a 3-1 start with wins against St. Joe’s and Northern Iowa. ... Ohio State sophomore guard Walter Offutt is transferring out of the program. ... South Carolina's versatile forward Dominique Archie is out indefinitely with a sprained right knee. ... As if USC wasn't thin enough, Trojans coach Kevin O'Neill has lost Kasey Cunningham to a season-ending knee injury. ... Marquette has lost reserve big man Chris Otule for the year with a broken right foot suffered in practice yesterday. 

First of all, I miss the 85 degree weather in Puerto Rico already. Can’t someone convince the NCAA to build an arena down there and permanently place the Final Four in San Juan? I mean, seriously, Detroit or San Juan?  It’s a no-brainer.

Here are the nightly awards:

FOXSPORTS.COM STUD OF THE NIGHT: This belongs to Cincinnati big man Yancy Gates, who had 16 points and 10 boards and was one of the keys in the Bearcats victory against ranked Vanderbilt out in Hawaii.

FOXSPORTS.COM DUD OF THE NIGHT: OREGON – Even without big man Michael Dunigan, who sat out the second straight game with a hip injury, there’s no reason Ernie Kent and the Ducks shouldn’t be getting past Montana on their home court. The Ducks have now lost to Portland and Montana in successive games and need to get it together quickly.

FOXSPORTS.COM MID-MAJOR STUD: Saint Mary’s underrated big man Omar Samhan had a monster night with 33 points and a dozen rebounds. It may have been against Cal Poly, but Samhan did it the previous contest as well when he went for 25 & 18 in a loss to Vanderbilt.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: Texas’ freshman trio of Avery Bradley, J’Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton combined for 41 of the team’s 85 points in a rout over Iowa. Hamilton had 16, Brown finished with 14 and Bradley scored 11. The trio logged a total of 62 minutes on the night.

ON TAP: Here is my list, in order, of what I want to see tonight:

1) Florida State at Florida – There’s no love lost between these two programs. The winner could crack next week’s Top 25 (although Florida plays Michigan State on Friday in New Jersey).

2) Maryland vs. Cincinnati in Hawaii – This is a second-round matchup in Maui between two teams that will likely be on the bubble come March. This will likely be a nice resume victory for the winner.

3) Texas vs. Pittsburgh – I’d be shocked if Jamie Dixon and the Panthers gave the deepest team in the nation a legitimate run, but Dixon is a heck of a coach so you never know.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – I'll have more in this space later today and tomorrow on what I saw in my travels the last six days in St. Louis, New York and Puerto Rico – where I caught 16 overall and potentially 13 NCAA teams.

One of the most fascinating aspects of my job is watching some of these kids grow from the first time I see them as high school sophomores on the summer circuit.

A good example is Scoop Jardine at Syracuse, who played with more poise and maturity the other night in Madison Square Garden than I had seen from him in all my years of watching the Philly native.

Another was Taylor King, who burst onto the scene at ABCD Camp prior to ever playing a high school game at Mater Dei. King played on one of the most stacked teams ever in the summer, the SoCal All-Stars club that had Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings and Daniel Hackett.

"They were a winning machine," Scout.com's Dave Telep said of that group.

Here's my story after last night's Villanova victory over Ole Miss on King and how far he's come – and how he got to the Main Line:

msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/10416828/Kin...

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - George Mason coach Jim Larranaga has won some big games.

The Patriots beat Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn en route to their improbable Final Four appearance in 2006.

"To win today was very significant for us," Larranaga said.

Obviously, there wasn't nearly as much on the line for George Mason in its game against Indiana in Puerto Rico, but both teams came into the contest having lost their first two games in the event.

This is a young, inexperienced George Mason team that is well ahead of schedule after a near-miss against Villanova and then a victory over Indiana.

Sure, Indiana isn't the Indiana of old or the Indiana of the future. But they remain a BCS team.

George Mason starts three sophomores and played four other freshmen in the 56-53 victory.

The best news besides the victory concerned junior guard Cam Long, who banked the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. Long, who finished with 18 points and logged 30 minutes, was unable to play in the second half of the Villlanova game after cramping up.

It's been a major concern for Larranga and the staff since it's been an issue for much of the preseason.

However, Long has played the last two games – a loss to Georgia Tech in which he went 29 minutes and Sunday's win – without any issues.

Sophomore big man Mike Morrison was the best player on the floor against the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-8 ½ Morrison dominated in the paint and finished with 17 points, 13 boards and seven blocks.

While it was Long who sank the game-winner, freshman Luke Hancock connected on a huge trifecta in the final minute and finished with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

"We're not a finished product," Larranaga said.

With this many young guys, they aren't supposed to be.

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.

STUD: It was a tough call between Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine, Kentucky freshman big man DeMarcus Cousins and Villanova frosh Isiah Armwood, but I'm going with the guy whose first basket of the season was a game-winning 3-pointer that beat George Mason. Armwood was only in the game because four players had already fouled out. 'Nova coach Jay Wright admitted after the game that he was "The last one I wanted to take the shot."

DUD: Going with Richmond here because I have high expectations for Chris Mooney and the Spiders. They lost to William & Mary, 78-71, largely because they didn't get enough production from Dan Geriot and Justin Harper, who combined for just 12 points.

MID-MAJOR STUD: Seattle University's Charles Garcia – The former Washington signee followed ex-Huskies assistant Cameron Dollar to Seattle U. and put up 21 points and a dozen boards in a 85-84 victory against Fresno State. It was Dollar's first career victory as a head coach.

STAT OF THE DAY: Evan Turner collected another triple-double, although it wasn't exactly the way he would have liked. The Ohio State point guard struggled in the loss to North Carolina and had 10 turnovers to go along with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

ON TAP: Here are my four most interesting games for the night:

1. North Carolina vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m. ET: The length of the Tar Heels against the 2-3 zone with the Coaches vs. Cancer title on the line.

2. Mississippi vs. Kansas State, 8:30 p.m. ET: The two guys who were left to hold it together at Cincinnati, Andy Kennedy and Frank Martin, after Bob Huggins was fired will go up against one another in San Juan.

3. Dayton vs. Villanova, 3 p.m. ET: This is the other semifinal matchup in San Juan. The Flyers have the toughness that Jay Wright is hoping his 'Nova team can exhibit.

4. Seton Hall at Cornell, 7 p.m. ET: Talk about two coaches on the opposite end of the spectrum. Bobby Gonzalez of Seton Hall vs. Cornell's Steve Donahue. The Big Red have already beaten Alabama and UMass on the road .

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.