Last week provided that unusual lull in the season when many teams take a week to 10 days off for final exams. The end of the first semester also brings some notable changes to the roster as teams add players who have gained academic eligibility, transfers and other players who were suspended or injured.

For many teams, the weekend provided the opportunity to open an early Christmas present. That certainly was the case at USC, where Mike Gerrity was granted a progress towards degree waiver on Friday. On Saturday, he contributed 12 points and 10 assists as the Trojans stunned No 9 Tennessee 77-55.

It was Tennessee’s worst loss under coach Bruce Pearl, who took over at the start of the 2005-06 season. Gerrity helped USC (5-4) build a 24-point lead in the second half.

“They’re a completely different team with him running the show,” Pearl told reporters. “We knew he could become eligible, but we hadn’t seen him on any tape. … His play was a huge factor in their dominating us.”

Gerrity, a senior guard, has quite a few stamps on his college basketball passport. He transferred from Charlotte after the first semester of the 2008-09 season. He had averaged 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 26 games the previous season. Gerrity began his career at Pepperdine, where he played 21 games as a freshman. He played one game with the Waves in 2006-07 and then transferred to Charlotte.

Gerrity called the experience against Tennessee “incredible.” He said he felt his comfort level early and “it was just unbelievable the rest of the game.”

Here’s a look at some other key players who began play last week.

Brady Morningstar, Kansas: Morningstar, a key player for the Jayhawks last season, sat out the first semester because of a DUI charge on Oct. 3. He played 22 minutes, had two points, two rebounds and three assists in a 75-64 win over Michigan. Coach Bill Self has so much depth it might seem that Morningstar isn’t vital to the top-ranked Jayhawks. Not true. Morningstar will be expected to play tough defense (he did that against Michigan’s Manny Harris) and help with ball movement on offense.

Ater Majok, Connecticut: Perhaps the most hyped player of the semester break additions, the 6-foot-11 forward got off to a rocky start for the Huskies. He started in UConn’s unimpressive 60-51 win over Central Florida, scored one points, had three rebounds and missed the two shots he took from the field. It wasn’t the type of debut coach Jim Calhoun had expected from the Sudan native. “He didn’t look like he was ready to play and was very hesitant about everything he did,” Calhoun said. “He’s a shot blocker who didn’t block shots. He’s a rebound who didn’t rebound.”

Jai Lucas, Texas: Lucas transferred in from Florida and finds himself surrounded by backcourt depth on the deepest team in the nation. Coach Rick Barnes only used for six minutes against North Carolina. Lucas will have to work hard to get critical minutes with the Longhorns.

Reggie Redding, Villanova: Redding came back from his suspension for being arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, was in the starting lineup against Fordham, played 27 minutes and scored 15 points.

Keon Lawrence and Jeff Robinson, Seton Hall: The Pirates lost for the first time this season Saturday but that likely had more to do with facing a hot Temple team. Lawrence, suspended since a Nov. 9 car accident, had 11 points and Robinson, a transfer from Memphis, five.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says Jon Scheyer “doesn’t have a position.” Coach K simply refers to the Blue Devil star as a “good, smart basketball player” and that might be better than any position. Scheyer is leaving it all on the floor this season and last week was truly special. In a 113-68 win over Gardner-Webb, Scheyer was two rebounds and an assist short of a triple-double. He finished with career highs of 36 points and nine assists. Scheyer followed that with 20 points and eight assists in a 76-41 win over Gonzaga. Scheyer and Nolan Smith (24 points) combined for three more points than the entire Gonzaga team. Not a bad week of work.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Avery Bradley of Texas has to be on any list of the top five freshmen in the country. He arrived with a terrific reputation as a defensive player and he has not disappointed there. But he is averaging 17.5 points over his last four games, giving coach Rick Barnes and the No. 2 Longhorns even more to be excited about. Texas made a statement with a 103-90 victory over North Carolina Saturday. Bradley had 20 points and teamed with fellow rookie J’Covan Brown for 41 points.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Monday, Dec. 21

Drexel at Kentucky
Kentucky will be shooting for victory No. 2,000 in program history.  I wonder how many of those wins Ashley Judd attended?

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Michigan State at Texas
The Longhorns looked very good defeating North Carolina in Jerry Jones’ palace. Now Texas gets a different type of challenge against Tom Izzo’s squad.

California at Kansas
Cal has lost to Syracuse, Ohio State and New Mexico. The Bears could use a big win but the Jayhawks have won 48 consecutive games at Allen Fieldhouse and Cal can match KU inside.

Wednesday, Dec. 23

Illinois vs. Missouri
This is the Braggin’ Rights contest, played in St. Louis, and felt throughout both states. Each team already has three blemishes in the loss column. If the Big 12 is the best conference in the country, Missouri should win this one.

Mississippi at West Virginia
The Mountaineers have a perfect record. But after slipping past Cleveland State 80-78 on Saturday, coach Bob Huggins said, “We are awful, just God awful.” Question for Huggins: Why schedule a road game against a team like Cleveland State at this point in the season?

Saturday, Dec. 26

West Virginia at Seton Hall
West Virginia plays a tough non-conference game on Dec. 23, followed by a conference game on Dec. 26. That’s like a lump of coal in the Mountaineers’ stockings.

THEY SAID IT:

“I’m not being big-headed, but I’ve been working on that shot. It just went down.” – Florida State’s Ryan Reid on his 15-foot basket that opened the scoring in overtime as the Semionoles defeated No. 15 Georgia Tech 66-59. Reid finished with a career-high 17 points.

“We knew we had to come today and send a message to the nation that we’re not playing around, that we can also go against good competition. We showed that.” – Dexter Pittman, commenting on the mission that motivated No. 2 Texas in a 103-90 victory over No. 10 North Carolina. Pittman scored 23 points and added a season-high 15 rebounds.

“It’s not one of my favorite places, because I just got my tail kicked.” – North Carolina coach Roy Williams, commenting on the first basketball game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“We got throttled in every aspect of basketball. Their physical play bothered us as far as finishing shots around the rim. They outrebounded us. We turned the ball over more and they took more free throws. They beat us in every aspect. It was an old-fashioned ‘take you out to the woodshed and beat you down.’ ” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few on his team’s 76-41 loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden. It was the lowest point total for Gonzaga in 25 years.

“It’s a very big win for our team. Florida is going to end up being a top 10 or top 15 team, and when you beat them, that just says how good you are.” – Richmond coach Chris Mooney, after the Spiders upset No. 13 Florida 56-53.

“They scored 62 points in the second half. That has to be a record against one of my teams.” – Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, whose team still defeated No. 16 Texas Tech 85-83. Wichita State is a team to watch.

NOTES:

The hottest player in the nation might be Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen. The 6-foot junior hit six three-pointers and scored a season-high 30 points as the No. 17 Wildcats posted an impressive 87-74 win at Alabama Saturday night. Pullen had scored 28 points, including seven threes, in a big win at UNLV but the break for final exams didn’t slow him down at all. At one stage of the game Pullen and Alabama were tied at 20-all. Kansas State is emerging as the third best team in the Big 12, behind top-ranked Kansas and No. 2 Texas. The Wildcats (10-1) play Arkansas-Pine Bluff Monday night before another eight-day break. Circle Jan. 18 on your calendar. That’s when Texas plays at Manhattan.

Keep your eye on Indiana freshman guard Maurice Creek. All he has done in his last two outings is score 60 points (31 against Kentucky on Dec. 12 and 29 against North Carolina Central on Dec. 19). He was 21 of 31 from the field in those two games.

UConn and coach Jim Calhoun may be close to finalizing a new five-year contract. But Calhoun, 67, denied a report by ESPN.com that he had agreed to the new deal. “It’s right on the horizon, but once again, I haven’t signed anything,” Calhoun said after the Huskies defeated Central Florida in Hartford Sunday. “Maybe somebody else has. My wife signs all of my checks, maybe she did that.” Calhoun is in the final year of a six-year contract that pays $1.6 million in 2009-10.

An early national coach of the year candidate has to be Steve Alford of New Mexico. The No. 19 Lobos defeated Creighton 66-61 Saturday to improve their record to 12-0. The name to remember off the New Mexico squad is Darington Hobson, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds against Creighton. The junior swingman is averaging 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and is shooting 35.7 percent from three-point range.

When Georgetown moves back to cozy McDonough Arena about once a year, the result is supposed to be a guaranteed victory. Since 1982, Old Dominion is the only team to defeat the Hoyas at their on-campus facility. And now the Monarchs have done it twice. The first time was three years ago. Saturday, Old Dominion took advantage of a slow start by the No. 11 Hoyas and held on for a 61-57 victory. “Lightning struck twice,” Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor said.

Teams from the Atlantic-10 continue to make noise, highlighted by Richmond’s win over Florida and Temple’s win over previously undefeated Seton Hall on Saturday. The A-10 is the fifth-ranked conference in the RPI and 34 of the conference’s wins have come on the road or on neutral courts. In addition, A-10 teams have 15 victories over teams from BCS conferences and five wins over ranked opponents. Charlotte has won seven straight and is off to a 9-1 start, its best since an 11-1 opening in 1991-92. Rhode Island is 9-1 also with wins over Boston College, Providence and Davidson.

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