Iowa State's Chris Babb (AP)Baylor has the most talent, Missouri has the most momentum, Kansas has the championship pedigree and Kansas State has all the makings of a gritty contender as the race for a Big 12 regular season title gets underway.

But Wednesday night proved that Iowa State shouldn't be ignored as a dark horse, either.

In their league opener, second-year coach Fred Hoiberg's club consistently held a talented-yet-young Texas squad at arm's length in a 77-71 triumph.

The victory improved Iowa State to 11-3 overall and ran its current win streak to six games. It also made a statement in helping establish the Cyclones as a legitimate force to be aware of in the Big 12.

Coming into this season, ISU and its wave of eligible transfers were expected to take a step forward, with the effort being headlined by former McDonald's All-American forward Royce White, whose career at Minnesota crashed before it ever took off.

But Wednesday's win showed that White doesn't need to be on his A-game for the Cyclones to be dangerous against strong competition.

VanderbiltRutgers' thrilling double-overtime upset at home over No. 10 Florida obviously stole the show on Thursday night, but here are three other observations from the busy slate of games.

1. Vanderbilt is still very relevant.

Hey, remember when Vanderbilt started the season ranked seventh in the nation? That was four losses ago, but on Thursday, the Commodores reminded the nation why they were up on that pedestal in the first place. In a stunning 74-57 road blowout of No. 14 Marquette, Kevin Stallings' club secured its most impressive win this season, improving to 9-4. On the night, they were an impressive 10-of-22 from 3-point range and forced Marquette into a sloppy offensive showing, as the Golden Eagles had 14 turnovers and 12 assists on only 19 made field goals. It's not necessarily time to pronounce Vanderbilt as being 'back' just yet, but Thursday showed that the team with Final Four potential is still in there somewhere. They do, however, have a chance to get some momentum rolling until they hit the meat of their SEC schedule. They'll host Miami (Ohio) on Monday before opening up their conference schedule against Auburn, South Carolina and Georgia. If they get hot, the remaining sting from home losses to Cleveland State and Indiana State could soon completely disappear.

2. The WCC is going to be a ton of fun over the next three months.

It's hard to say that anyone really lost in Moraga, Calif., on Thursday. Sure, Saint Mary's outlasted BYU in a 98-82 victory in what was the Cougars' first ever league game as a WCC member. But both teams had the look of conference title contenders. Saint Mary's simply stayed hotter longer from the floor, shooting 55.4 percent from the floor and hitting 12 of 25 3-point tries on the night. BYU, meanwhile, looks like a different team now with UCLA transfer Matt Carlino eligible, giving them a true point guard who is a perfect fit for its uptempo system. He went just 5-of-15 in 27 minutes, but he's making several guys around him look much more confident on the offensive end. Mix in Gonzaga, and the race atop the league — along with a couple of dark horses, including Santa Clara — is definitely worth keeping tabs on.

LBSUDan Monson isn't shy about the motivation behind his Long Beach State program's aggressive non-conference scheduling this season.

"I wanted us to get in the conversation for an (NCAA tournament) at-large bid with it — That was our No. 1 goal," he said Sunday over the phone from Honolulu.

The 49ers' gauntlet of a pre-Big West schedule came to a close in the title game of the Diamond Head Classic, where they were dropped by Kansas State, 77-60.

With a win, they could have further solidified that standing as a legitimate at-large contender. Without it, you could argue that Monson's club should still be in that conversation here in late December.

Quick recap …

The 49ers started off the fireworks with a shocking 86-76 win at No. 9 Pitt on Nov. 16. They would lose five of their next seven, but four of those came at San Diego State, at Louisville, at Kansas and at North Carolina — to four likely NCAA tournament teams. Peppered in between were a few gimme home wins over Idaho, Boise State, BYU-Hawaii and Eastern New Mexico. They started this weekend in Hawaii with a 68-58 victory over shorthanded-yet-14th-ranked Xavier, then blitzed through Auburn en route to Sunday's championship game.

They now take a much-deserved week off before opening Big West play at UC Irvine on Jan. 2.

The 49ers only played four of their 13 non-conference games at home, but came away from the brutal stretch with plenty to show for it.

Kansas State celebrates Diamond Head Classic title (AP)While the rest of the college basketball world was taking Christmas off on Sunday, Kansas State was continuing one of the nation's more impressive under-the-radar non-conference runs.

With a 77-60 slashing of Long Beach State in Honolulu in the Diamond Head Classic title game, K-State improved to 10-1 on the year. It's a start few predicted after the program lost its top player and unquestioned heart and soul — Jacob Pullen — to graduation after last season and was left with a roster full of newcomers and guys who had never been more than complimentary pieces.

[Related: Should Long Beach State hoops be in the at-large conversation?]

Instead of just one of those guys emerging and filling Pullen's shoes, it's been a successful collaborative effort, as this may be the most cohesive group Frank Martin has had in his five seasons at the helm in Manhattan.

So far, including Sunday's triumph, the Wildcats own quality wins over Alabama and on the road against Virginia Tech. Their lone loss came in double overtime against West Virginia — hardly a setback to be ashamed of. They'll get a much-needed rest now before closing non-conference play at home against Howard on Dec. 31, then open Big 12 play with a brutal three-game stretch that starts at rival Kansas on Jan. 4, then is followed up by home games against Missouri and Baylor.

[Related: Who are the favorites to win Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 hoops titles?]

While last year's team dealt with waves of adversity before the Big 12 season began — such as unsightly losses, transfers and suspensions — this one has gone in a different direction, simply getting stronger from the start.

Myck Kabongo fought through some persistent lower back pain to play 15 minutes for Texas on Wednesday night in an 82-63 loss at North Carolina.

Afterwards, though, it was a different type of pain that Kabongo and fellow Longorn freshman guard Julien Lewis shared.

Both were victimized by poster-worthy transition dunks as the Tar Heels raced out to an early lead, then held Texas at arm's length the rest of the night.

Kabongo was thrown on by Dexter Strickland, while Lewis got put on the deck by P.J. Hairston. Both were equally impressive, molding into a combined nominee for the Dunk of the Year.

The reason for the shared nomination? Aside from the fact that they came in the same game — heck, the same half — it's simply too tough to decide whose throw-down was better.

Poor Kabongo was in a no-win situation when it came to Strickland's dunk, as he was stuck as the lone defender in a dangerous 2-on-1 situation. On the one side, the ball was being brought up by 6-foot-8 Harrison Barnes, who normally finishes in similar situations. On the left was Strickland, who has a history of slamming on opponents' heads without giving it a second thought. By the time Barnes released the ball, Strickland had a full head of steam.

BYU sophomore guard Matt Carlino (US Presswire)Though no one expected him to be another Jimmer Fredette, BYU freshman point guard Matt Carlino in the last week has filled a void left when last season's National Player of the Year graduated and moved on to the NBA ranks.

The UCLA transfer became eligible for the Cougars in time for last Saturday's highly-anticipated home date against Baylor, giving coach Dave Rose a scoring-minded point guard who can fill up the stat sheet in several ways. BYU has a healthy amount of talent around Carlino, but he could be the final piece that helps tie it all together.

In the narrow 86-83 loss to Baylor, Carlino scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers, but also committed four turnovers, including a crucial giveaway in the game's final minute with BYU trailing by just a point. Then, in a 93-78 victory over Buffalo on Wednesday night, he scored 10 points, gave out 11 assists and almost rounded out a triple-double, finishing with seven rebounds in his first collegiate start.

Carlino's presence on the floor is coming at just the right time for BYU, who now has the look of a team that could dominate in its first year as a West Coast Conference member. League play starts on Dec. 29 with a marquee showdown on the road with perennial WCC power Saint Mary's.

On Thursday, The Dagger caught up with Carlino just as the real fun is beginning for him at BYU.

The Dagger: The three schools you looked at the closest after deciding to transfer were BYU, UNLV and Butler. What was it that ultimately led you to BYU? How much did seeing what Jimmer Fredette was doing and maybe picturing yourself in that role have to do with your final decision?

Matt Carlino: It had a lot to do with it, watching Jimmer and just the whole team last year. Coach Rose had a ton to do with it because of how he lets people plays and how good of a coach I think he is. Now that I've had a chance to play for him, I know even more how good of a coach he is. In the recruiting process, you just have to listen to what they have to say. Jimmer had a lot to do with it. Coach Rose had a ton to do with it. It's just been a good fit for me.

TD: You had a year to sit out and not play as a redshirt after not getting to play much at UCLA. Looking back on what you did over the last year, what was the key to making sure you were this ready to play and contribute right away starting last Saturday? How do you keep your game sharp?

MC: Just working hard and trying to take everything I could get from everyone — like Jimmer, when I had to play against him. At UCLA, I had to guard Malcolm Lee, who was also drafted this year. I was playing against two NBA draft picks last year every day in practice, so just learning from guys like that, learning from the coaches, and especially just learning from coach Rose and what he wants. It was big for me, because it gave me a year to just get prepared instead of just being from high school and going.

Tu Holloway, left, and Mark Lyons (AP)As Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons go, so goes Xavier.

The eighth-ranked Musketeers learned that the hard way Sunday, suffering their first loss of the season at home to Oral Roberts with their entire starting backcourt suspended. A solid ORU team came to town and ran away with a 64-42 win, controlling things from start to finish.

Holloway (17.6 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.9 rpg, 2.4 spg) and Lyons (17.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg) have combined to form arguably the nation's best backcourt to this point in the season, and 6-foot-4 freshman wing Dez Wells has been a strong contributor so far, averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. All three sat on Sunday as punishment for their roles in — and cryptic comments after — the team's ugly brawl with Cincinnati last Saturday. And Xavier's lack of reliable depth on the perimeter behind them showed.

Holloway, an All-American candidate and one of college basketball's true clutch performers, will be back in uniform on Thursday when Xavier takes on Long Beach State. Lyons will have to sit another game while Wells and little-used reserve Landon Amos still have to sit three more.

Without its entire starting perimeter, Xavier was relatively punchless, shooting just 32.7 percent from the floor, hitting only 1 of 11 3-point attempts and committing 17 turnovers across from 11 assists.

Junior Brad Redford and freshman Dee Davis started in the backcourt, with neither having played 22 minutes in a game all season. On Sunday, they combined to play 69. Monmouth transfer Travis Taylor deserved a bit of praise for his performance in place of Wells, with 11 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes, but he was also responsible for five of the team's giveaways.

It was a team that played with no rhythm and, when it fell down 36-19 after the half, clearly didn't have enough firepower to mount a comeback like the dramatic charge it had two weeks ago against Purdue in a 66-63 home win.