College Basketball 2010-11: Top 10 Barn-Burners and Buzzer-Beaters

In the opening weeks of the 2010-11 college basketball season, there has already been an exciting collection of amazing "down-to-the-wire" games...some real rack-your-nerves and make-you-bite-your-nails clashes.

In some of those battles, the favored team was simply glad to get out with a "W."

In other contests, the underdog came out victoriously on top.

The following is a look at the top 10 early season games in college basketball.

(21) Georgetown 62, Old Dominion 59

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PROVIDENCE, RI - MARCH 18: Chris Wright #4 of the Georgetown Hoyas heads for the net as D.J. Cooper #5 and Tommy Freeman #24 of the Ohio Bobcats defend during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament on March 18, 2010 at the Dunkin Do

The Georgetown Hoyas needed a late rally to beat the Old Dominion Monarchs in Norfolk, Virginia, 62-59. ODU went into halftime ahead 25-19.

The Hoyas needed strong second half performances from Chris Wright (19 points), Jason Clark (18) and Austin Freeman (17) to pull out the victory.

By losing to Georgetown, the Monarchs had their 23-game home winning streak (fourth-longest in the nation—dating to January 2009) snapped.

San Diego State 79, (12) Gonzaga 76

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PROVIDENCE, RI - MARCH 18: Billy White #32 of the San Diego State Aztecs heads down the court in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament on March 18, 2010 at the Dunkin Donuts Ar

Senior forward Billy White scored a career-high 30 points, and Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and 12 rebounds as San Diego State beat Gonzaga on its home floor, 79-76.

Gonzaga pulled to within one point with 23 seconds to play before Leonard hit two free throws to finish out the game.

This was only the Zags' fifth home loss (77-5) at the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in 2004.

The win put San Diego State into the Top 25 for the first time in school history.

(4) Pittsburgh 68, (22) Texas 66

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MILWAUKEE - MARCH 21: Ashton Gibbs #12 of the Pittsburgh Panthers shoots against the Xavier Musketeers during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Bradley Center on March 21, 2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonath

Ashton Gibbs scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half as Pitt did everything possible to hold off Texas, beating the Longhorns 68-66 in Madison Square Garden.

Pitt used good three-point shooting (7-of-14, .500) to win the 2K Sports Classic title.

The Panthers have won 14 of their last 19 games at the Garden, most of them coming in the Big East tournament.

Jordan Hamilton finished the night with a career-high 28 points for Texas.

(14) Georgetown 111, (8) Missouri 102 OT

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ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 12: Austin Freeman #15 of the Georgetown Hoyas celebrates during the game with the Washington Huskies in the John Wooden Classic on December 12, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Georgetown won 74-66. (Photo by Stephe

Hoya guard Austin Freeman hit six of 11 shots from three, scoring 31 points to pace Georgetown in defeating the Missouri Tigers in overtime, in what could be one of the highest scoring D-I games of the season, 111-102.

Georgetown led 54-47 at half, but Missouri came roaring back in the the second half.

But it was all Georgetown in the extra period.

The Hoyas were 4-of-6 from the field in overtime, including three three-pointers.

Marcus Denmon led the Tigers by scoring 27. Missouri had five players score in double figures.

Vanderbilt 72, (8) North Carolina 65

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COLUMBIA, MO - DECEMBER 08: Festus Ezeli #3 of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots over Laurence Bowers #21 of the Missouri Tigers during the game on December 8, 2010 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The tradition of Vanderbilt hoops pales in comparison to the legacy of North Carolina basketball.

But the Commodores used a first half fury to take down the Tar Heels 72-65 in Puerto Rico.

Led by Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins (17 points), Kevin Stallings' Commodores shot 64 percent (14-of-22) in the first half.

Tyler Zeller had 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, and freshman Harrison Barnes added 11 points.

Connecticut 70, (2) Michigan State 67

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NEW YORK - DECEMBER 09: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies shoots a free throw against the Kentucky Wildcats during the SEC Big East Invitational at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty

Coming off a disappointing 2009-10 season, Connecticut was looking to get on track early this season in the Maui Invitational.

Being matched against Michigan State in the semifinal game, the Huskies got the college basketball world's attention by beating the Spartans 70-67.

Kemba Walker scored a game-high 30 points to lead Jim Calhoun's Huskies.

Connecticut almost gave the game away by missing five free throws in the final 1:11.

Draymond Green led Michigan State with an outstanding all-around performance, scoring 22 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, handing out five assists and blocking three shots.

Central Florida 57, (16) Florida 54

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OKLAHOMA CITY - MARCH 18: Head coach Billy Donovan of the Florida Gators looks on as he coaches against the BYU Cougars during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men�s basketball tournament at Ford Center on March 18, 2010 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Pho

If you would have told me that the Central Florida Knights could shoot 38.2 percent from the floor and still be in the game against the Florida Gators, I would have thought you were crazy.

The UCF Knights wanted to get their first-year coach, Donnie Jones, a signature win over his former boss, Billy Donovan (Jones spent more than a decade on Donovan's staff).

Their wish came true.

Marcus Jordan scored 18 points, Keith Clanton hit two free throws in the final seconds and Central Florida upset the Gators in Orlando, 57-54, in the biggest win in UCF school history.

The Knights led most of the game but let Florida stay close by missing 14 consecutive shots in a seven-and-a-half-minute span in the second half.

(1) Duke 84, (6) Michigan State 79

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DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 01: Kyrie Irving #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game against the Michigan State Spartans at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 1, 2010 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Freshman point guard Kyrie Irving had been playing well since the very first game of his Duke playing career.

But the game against Tom Izzo's always tough Michigan State Spartans was billed as his first major challenge.

Squaring off against the Spartans and their highly regarded senior point guard, Kalin Lucas, was supposed to provide a chance to see how good he really is.

Irving scored a season-high 31 points and led No. 1 Duke past No. 6 Michigan State at home 84-79 in the marquee matchup of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Irving, whose previous scoring high was 17 points, had 18 in the first half.

Nolan Smith added 17 points, and Kyle Singler scored 15 for Mike Krzyzewski's undefeated Blue Devils, who shot 47 percent and turned 20 Michigan State turnovers into 28 points.

Korie Lucious scored 20 points, and Draymond Green added 10 of his 16 in the final minute for Michigan State (5-2). Lucas added 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

North Carolina 75, (11) Kentucky 73

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NEW YORK - MARCH 30: Tyler Zeller #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dunks the ball against Rhode Island Rams at Madison Square Garden on March 30, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

It's hard to think of an early December game being a "must win."

Because of early season inconsistency, when North Carolina squared off at home against Kentucky on Dec. 4, the Tar Heels really needed a victory.

Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 27 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 47 seconds left, helping North Carolina edge Kentucky 75-73 on Saturday in a matchup of two of college basketball's winningest programs.

The Tar Heels didn't make a field goal in the final six-and-a-half minutes but helped themselves by going 26-of-37 from the free-throw line for the game.

Kentucky's high-flying freshman forward, Terrence Jones, finished with nine points and six rebounds on 3-of-17 shooting—including 0-of-7 after halftime—before fouling out with 3:04 left.

(13) Tennessee 83, (3) Pittsburgh 76

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PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 11: Scotty Hopson #32 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives to the hoop against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational at Consol Energy Center on December 11, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justi

Talk about an early season slugfest, pitting two undefeated teams similar in size and physical style of play at both ends of the court.

Tennessee traveled to Pitt, where the Panthers had not lost a non-conference home contest in 58 games, or since a Jan. 2, 2005 loss to Bucknell.

But the Volunteers used great shooting (.563 from the field, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc) to pull off an impressive win against Pitt, 83-76.

Scotty Hopson led Tennessee with 27 points.

The Volunteers built a 21-point lead early in the second half, but Jamie Dixon's Panthers didn't give up.

Brad Wanamaker scored 21 points, while Melvin Goins added 19 points and Cameron Tatum hit a succession of big shots while scoring 14 points for Pitt.