It’s very early in the season, but a busy week of tournament play provided some pleasant surprises. Here’s a quick look at what caught our eyes.

Big East depth: Last week we wrote about Wesley Johnson and Syracuse making a big splash. There were more solid performances from the middle of the Big East this week, giving us plenty of reason to reconsider our preseason impression of the conference.

Cincinnati and Marquette made major statements. They didn’t win their tournaments but they scored victories that will carry weight with the NCAA committee at the end of the season.

The Maui Invitational didn’t have its strongest field ever, but Cincinnati will look back on its run on the island with great satisfaction. The Bearcats, picked to finish seventh in the Big East, secured victories over Vanderbilt and Maryland — a pair of likely NCAA Tournament contenders. Then Cincinnati pushed a solid Gonzaga team to overtime before losing the championship game, 61-59. Yancy Gates, Deonta Vaughn and Lance Stephenson give Cincinnati a trio of talented scorers.

Marquette was even further down the Big East ladder when the coaches announced their preseason poll in October. The Golden Eagles are rebuilding after losing Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal and were picked 12th. But forward Lazar Hayward doesn’t get enough attention for what he brings to the floor. Hayward and guard David Cubilian are seniors with tremendous experience. Marquette beat Xavier and Michigan before losing to Florida State, 57-56, in the championship game of the Old Spice classic.

If the West Virginia Mountaineers are going to win the Big East and go deep in the NCAA Tournament it is an absolute certainty that Da’Sean Butler will be heavily involved. Butler rose to the occasion in Anaheim Sunday night, tying his season high with 26 points as West Virginia beat Portland for the 76 Classic championship. Butler hit 10 of 16 shots and pulled down six rebounds. Butler scored 30 points in the first two games of the tournament.

UConn and Louisville, picked third and fourth behind Villanova and West Virginia, have lost already. UConn was outworked and outrebounded in a loss to Duke. Coach Jim Calhoun continues to worry about his front line players. Louisville lost to UNLV for the second consecutive season.

But when you consider the strong starts by Syracuse, Marquette and Cincinnati, it’s clear every night will be a battle in the Big East. The conference may not send two teams to the Final Four, as it did last year, but there is plenty of depth.

Even DePaul, the unanimous choice to finish last in the Big East, is 4-1. The Blue Demons finished third in the Paradise Jam and beat Detroit in overtime. It appears coach Jerry Wainwright really wants to keep his job. Who can blame him?

Florida: When are the Gators going to return to the NCAA Tournament? Well, maybe this year. Coach Billy Donovan’s team has been absent the past two years after the amazing accomplishment of back-to-back NCAA championships. But the Gators are off to a 6-0 start, including a 68-52 pounding of Florida State and a 77-74 victory over No. 2 Michigan State at the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. Florida forced 22 turnovers against the Spartans. Who needs Nick Calathes?

Portland: If you didn’t hear, the Pilots defeated UCLA by 27 points. Yes, UCLA is struggling in its rebuilding season. But Portland has a talented team and became the big story of the 76 Classic in Anaheim. The Pilots advanced to the title game before losing to West Virginia. This is a team loaded with jump shooters, something that is rare these days. When March comes around, don’t forget about Portland. We warned you.

Texas A&M: Mark Turgeon’s team was impressive in Anaheim. Remember the name Derrick Roland. He’s a senior guard who could lift the Aggies into the race for third place in the Big 12, along with Iowa State and Oklahoma State, especially if Oklahoma continues to struggle without Blake Griffin.

Northwestern: No Kevin Coble means Northwestern can pack it in, right? Not exactly. Northwestern defeated Notre Dame and Iowa State on consecutive nights and John Shurna was named MVP of the Chicago Invitational. Could Northwestern be NCAA bound? That would be a first.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The Great Alaska Shootout doesn’t get the attention it once did. But late Saturday night Washington State’s Klay Thompson broke the tournament record with 43 points in a 93-56 title game victory over San Diego. Thompson was 16 of 24 from the field and 8-for-13 from three-point range. Purdue’s Glenn Robinson held the Shootout record with 41 points in 1993.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Gotta love what freshman guard Kenny Boynton is doing for Florida. He had 13 points in the big win over Florida State, six against Michigan State and 19 against Rutgers last week. He is averaging 15.8 points, 2.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the Gators.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Monday, Nov. 30

Penn State at Virginia
The opening game of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge is not the most exciting matchup, but it might be interesting in terms of setting a different tone in this series. The ACC has dominated this ESPN event, and this is a good opportunity for the Big Ten to improve its image.

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Wake Forest at Purdue
Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and the rest of the Boilermakers made a big statement against Tennessee in the championship game of the Paradise Jam. Purdue has all the ingredients for a Final Four run this season and Matt Painter’s squad can prove that again against Wake.

Michigan State at North Carolina
We’ve seen this one before. Roy Williams and the Tar Heels got the best of Tom Izzo’s Spartans twice last season, but it might be a different story this time around — even if the game is at Chapel Hill.

Wednesday, Dec. 2

Florida State at Ohio State
The Buckeyes scored 110 points and won by 63 in their last outing against St. Francis. Playing the Seminoles at home won’t be as easy. Ohio State’s only loss is to North Carolina. FSU was upset by Florida.

Missouri at Vanderbilt
The Commodores settled for fifth-place in the Maui Invitational last week but A.J. Ogilvy, John Jenkins and Jermaine Beal can carry Vandy to some big wins this season. Missouri is coming off a loss to Richmond in the South Padre Island Invitational.

Thursday, Dec. 3

USC at Texas
The Longhorns have lost guard Varez Ward for the season with a ruptured quadriceps suffered in the layup line before the Pittsburgh game. But Texas may have the deepest team in the country and shouldn’t miss a beat in the backcourt.

Saturday, Dec. 5

North Carolina at Kentucky
The two programs with the most victories in the history of college basketball get together for a big early-season test. It will be very interesting to see how North Carolina comes through back-to-back challenges against Michigan State and Kentucky in the same week. This could determine which program gets to 2,000 wins first.

Wake Forest at Gonzaga
It’s a big week for both teams. Wake closes out a two-game road trip that began with Purdue. Gonzaga is home but will be coming off a rivalry game against Washington State on Wednesday.

Sunday, Dec. 6

Villanova at Maryland
Can the Terps make a stand at the Verizon Center against Villanova? Maryland is under pressure again after finishing fourth in the Maui Invitational.

Kansas at UCLA
This one looked good for the planners of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. But who knew the Bruins would be struggling so much with their youth and injuries? The No. 1 Jayhawks will be heavily favored. Will the Bruins be inspired?

THEY SAID IT:

“We missed 53 shots and we had 56 rebounds, you know?” — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after the Blue Devils defeated 68-59 to win the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.

“We got shellacked. I feel like I went through a 15-round street fight with an 18-wheeler.” — St. Francis coach Don Friday after watching his team lose 110-47 at Ohio State on Saturday.

“He’s a load. He’s a big, hard matchup for a lot of teams.” — Rice coach Ben Braun, commenting on Texas’ Dexter Pittman, who has slimmed down to 6-foot-10 and 290 pounds. Pittman was 7-for-8 from the field and scored 21 points in a 77-59 win over Rice.

“We know UCLA is in a rebuilding year, but we also know that it’s UCLA. When you’re a Long Beach State living down the street, it means a lot to our guys.” — Long Beach coach Dan Monson, after the 49ers defeated the Bruins 79-68.

NOTES:

Duke’s Krzyzewski and UConn coach Jim Calhoun were honored before the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York. The Hall of Fame coaches set the record for combined career victories in one game. Calhoun has 809 and Krzyzewski upped his total to 839 with the victory over the Huskies. It marked the first time two coaches with 800 wins or more had met in the same game.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams became the 33rd coach in Division I history to reach 600 wins when the Tar Heels defeated Nevada Sunday. More importantly, Williams is the third-fastest to 600, reaching the milestone in 739 games. Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp got there in 707 games. Jerry Tarkanian needed 720 games. Another note: Williams won his first game with a sling on is left arm. He had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum and will be wearing the sling for the next four weeks.

You would think Kentucky coach John Calipari might tell his players to be on their best behavior during a trip to Louisville — but evidently not. The Wildcats play North Carolina-Asheville Monday night at Freedom Hall. During an open practice Sunday night, several Kentucky players stomped on the University of Louisville Cardinal logo at midcourt, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. “I heard one [fan] yell, ‘Patrick, jump on the Cardinal,’ ” forward Patrick Patterson said. A large group of Kentucky fans showed up for the practice. Josh Harrellson and DeMarcus Cousins also stomped on the logo before assistant coach Orlando Antigua put an end to the fun. “Like I said, we do dumb things,” Calipari said.

We watch so many teams that constantly struggle from the free throw line, it’s only fitting to honor a team that obviously places an emphasis on this important part of the game. William & Mary knocked off Wake Forest, 78-68, Saturday night in Winston-Salem and the Tribe did so by scoring their final 18 points the foul line. David Schneider had 16 points, including seven free throws in the final 35 seconds. William & Mary has won four straight since opening with losses at UConn (75-66) and Harvard (87-85, OT).

Richmond is off to a 6-1 start including wins over Mississippi State and Missouri to capture the South Padre Island Invitational. Junior guard Kevin Anderson was named MVP of that tournament with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the two games. He also hit the game winner against Mississippi State.

Stat line of the week: Duke defeated UConn even though the Blue Devils shot 28.4 percent (21 of 74) from the floor. It was the first time Duke won while shooting under 30 percent since a 68-53 victory over Navy on Feb. 4, 1950. The Blue Devils hit 27.3 percent in that game.

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