Devoe Joseph (AP)Christmas is coming about a week early for several programs around the country, as a wave of mid-year transfers from a year ago are set to become eligible around the holidays. Here are 10 of them — in no particular order — who could end up having major impacts moving forward.

Devoe Joseph — Senior guard, Oregon (by way of Minnesota)

Joseph's transfer from Minnesota last year puzzled many, as he sacrificed two-thirds of his junior season with the Gophers to basically gain two-thirds of his senior season at a new location. So far, though, it's paying off for both Joseph and Oregon. The 6-foot-4 guard became eligible in time for las Saturday's game against Fresno State, and in two games so far, he's played 58 minutes off of the bench, scoring 31 points and dishing 10 assists. Joseph is giving the Ducks — now 6-2 — the dangerous perimeter scoring threat they lost when highly-touted freshman Jabari Brown left the program after only two games. He'll also give them a better shot on the road in a crucial non-conference showdown on Sunday at Virginia.

Matt Carlino — Redshirt freshman guard, BYU (by way of UCLA)

It wasn't just Jimmer Fredette's 28.9 points per game that BYU lost after last season, but also Jackson Emery's 12.5 ppg and the general versatility that both brought. The Cougars are off to an 8-2 start, but Carlino will add a dimension that they haven't had in their first 10 games as a scoring point guard who has incredible range on his shot and will keep defenses honest. The Cougars have several capable scorers around him, but he could be able to tie everything together some and make it all flow a little smoother. It will likely take a few games for Carlino to get acclimated, and he probably won't have the same type of freedom that Fredette had on the offensive end at any point this season, but having him makes BYU that much more of a threat to win the WCC title. The timing of his debut couldn't be better, either, as he'll be available when the Cougars host sixth-ranked Baylor on Saturday afternoon. Scoring the upset would give BYU the signature non-conference win that could go a long way down the road.

SDSULast season, San Diego State's men's basketball program reached heights it could have only dreamt of when Steve Fisher took over in 1999.

He went from giving away tickets on campus to anyone who would take them to now having one of the most solid, respected programs on the West Coast.

Now, a year removed from a 34-win season and the school's first ever Sweet Sixteen berth, the program is taking a major risk. Last week, the Big East announced that San Diego State — along with Boise State, Houston, SMU and Central Florida — would join the league as a football-only member. The move gives SDSU an annual bump in TV revenue from just under $2 million annually to as much as $10 million.

To follow that up, the Big West announced officially on Monday that all of the Aztecs' other sports programs will join their league beginning in the 2013-14 season, including the department's jewel — Fisher's men's basketball program.

SDSU was one of the Mountain West's original members, but in the school's

DraymondGreenIf recent college basketball history has told us anything, it's that writing Michigan State off after opening the season with losses to North Carolina and Duke would have been grossly irresponsible.

Tom Izzo annually schedules aggressively during the non-conference season. By his team taking its lumps early against top competition and in tough environments, the wealth of lessons learned can be drawn from down the road by his battle-tested teams.

This year's group is responding to the early adversity better than almost any he's had, continuing its impressive run under the radar with a 74-67 upset of Gonzaga in Spokane on Saturday night.

Since stumbling out of the gates with those two gritty setbacks, Saturday's win was the Spartans' eighth in a row, and arguably their most impressive of the bunch.

The aspect of the win that stood out the most was the overall performance — and dominance — from senior forward Draymond Green.

Over the last three years, the 6-foot-7 Green has been a stellar

KevinYoungHe won't be able to fill the vacancy left by injured point guard Tyshawn Taylor over the next three weeks, but Kansas discovered a dangerous new weapon on Saturday in junior forward Kevin Young.

In KU's 78-67 home triumph over Jared Sullinger-less Ohio State, Bill Self threw the Buckeyes for a bit of a loop by expanding Young's role, which to this point in the season had been as a bit player mostly used in mop-up duty.

Young came in having not played more than 14 minutes in a game this season, but played 16 minutes in the second half while scoring a season-high 14 points. He hit on his first six field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Young wasn't put in the game to score, though. After Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas scored 15 points in a variety of ways in a close first half, the 6-foot-8 young was inserted to stick to Thomas like glue. The rest of the way, Thomas scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

"Kevin probably had as much to do with us winning the game as anything,"

CraftSullingerEach Friday this season, The Dagger will set the table for college basketball's busiest day of the week, giving you a look at the games worthy of your attention while flipping through the channels.

THE MAIN CARD

No. 2 Ohio State (8-0) at No. 13 Kansas (6-2), 3:15 p.m. EST: Ohio State says it will be up to Jared Sullinger (back spasms) as to whether he plays. Kansas coach Bill Self thinks there's no way he doesn't. But the likely showdown between Sullinger and Robinson won't be the deciding factor this one. It's going to come down to how Kansas's struggling guards handle Ohio State's excellent perimeter defense, led by sophomore Aaron Craft. The Jayhawks are averaging 14.9 turnovers per game, with Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson struggling to change their reckless ways. Self, following a sloppy 88-80 win over Long Beach State on Tuesday night, appeared to be at a boiling point with his team's careless nature in valuing possessions. Ohio State is the more talented and deeper of the

AnthonyDrmicJust a few weeks into the college basketball season, a handful of mid-majors — Harvard, Creighton and Saint Louis — have already ascended from relative obscurity to crack the Top 25 polls.

Then there's another group — Kent State, Iona, Murray State, Long Beach State and others — who have already grabbed a bit of spotlight either with big wins, undefeated starts or by capitalizing on preseason buzz.

And there's a whole wave of them waiting in the wings.

Here's a look at the next group of fledgling mid-majors who, after hot starts to the 2011-2 season, could soon command your attention.

Boise State (8-1): The Broncos aren't just 8-1, but they're 8-1 with 11 fresh faces on their roster. After losing the top four scorers off of his first team at Boise State, Leon Rice's club has come together nicely so far. They're winning and scoring big, with those eight victories coming by an average margin of 29.6 points. The most exciting of the newcomers is 6-foot-6 freshman swingman Anthony Drmic.

BillSelfSay this about Bill Self: He's always has been — and still is — brutally honest when it comes to assessing his Kansas team's performances during post game press conferences.

He'll praise when they're good, and vent when they're not so good.

In his nine seasons at the helm in Lawrence, though, he may have never been as harsh as he was following Tuesday's ugly 88-80 victory over Long Beach State.

Star junior forward Thomas Robinson scored a career-high 26 points while showing off his rapidly-developing offensive arsenal. Junior center Jeff Withey finished one blocked shot shy of a rare triple-double. Senior guard Conner Teahan hit four 3-pointers after making his first career start.

But a series of turnovers and poorly executed plays helped Long Beach State close a 19-point second half deficit down to four, and made it a game for much longer than it should have been.

Cue Self (and if you want to hear the audio, click here) …

"We are the worst passing team I have ever seen," he started.

While North Carolina and Kentucky took up most of the national spotlight on Saturday, there was plenty left to highlight from the rest of the day's busy slate of games. The Dagger already spotlighted Illinois' big win over Gonzaga and Tulane's landmark victory over Georgia Tech. Here's the best — and not-so-great — of the rest.

UP: Xavier and Tu Holloway's heroics — After trailing Purdue by 19 points in the second half, the Xavier star capped an epic comeback at the Cintas Center with two absolutely deadly 3-pointers in the final minute. The second came with the game tied 61-61, when he forced isolation against Lewis Jackson, then ate him alive with a crossover before burying the shot from atop the key. The 66-63 win wrapped up a monster week, during which the Musketeers also went on the road and knocked off Vanderbilt in overtime. Holloway and Mark Lyons might be the most dangerous back-court duo in the nation right now, and Chris Mack's club is flat-out rolling.

DOWN: Purdue's