Rodney Williams (US Presswire)

In the span of nine short minutes on Monday afternoon, Minnesota made believers out of anyone who doubted its status as one of the Big Ten's elite teams this season.

When Michigan State opened up a five-point lead at Minnesota with 9:24 remaining in the second half, the Gophers appeared to be in jeopardy of starting Big Ten play with a damaging home loss. Instead they regrouped and refocused, turning up the defensive intensity and unleashing a devastating 22-4 game-ending run to blow away the Spartans and seal an impressive 76-63 win.

Michigan State, which had dominated Minnesota during the Tubby Smith era, couldn't jumpstart its offense after Branden Dawson missed an ill-advised jumper that could have increased the lead to seven and the Gophers turned it into a dunk at the other end. In the final nine minutes, the Spartans missed 13 of 15 shots and committed five turnovers, short-circuiting their bid for a big road win.

Andre Hollins, Minnesota's emerging backcourt star, added to an already-fine season by delivering 22 points on only 10 shots and dishing out six assists. Trevor Mbakwe continued to show signs of regaining his explosiveness with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Rodney Williams and Austin Hollins chipped in 15 and 12 points, respectively.

[Related: The top five college basketball stories of 2012]

The victory was important psychologically for Minnesota because of the program's history of following strong non-conference performances by collapsing in Big Ten play.

Last season, Minnesota started 12-1 but dropped its first four Big Ten games en route to a 6-12 league record and an NIT berth. The year before, the Gophers spoiled an 11-1 start by dropping three of their first four league games en route to another 6-12 finish. Tubby Smith's job appeared to be in jeopardy this season if he couldn't reverse that trend and get his deepest Minnesota team into the NCAA tournament.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (Getty Images)

With conference play fast approaching, we'll reassess our preseason projections over the next week. Here's a look back at the Dagger's preseason Big Ten forecast and some updated predictions for the league season:

Conference RPI: 1

Record against Top 25 teams: 7-11

Preseason predictions I'd like to have back: Going with Wisconsin's Sam Dekker as my newcomer of the year over Michigan State's Gary Harris or one of Michigan's talented freshmen and underestimating Illinois and Minnesota. I may not be completely sold on Illinois as a Big Ten title contender, but the Illini certainly should finish in the upper half of the league and Minnesota has a great chance to end up a notch or two higher than sixth.

Preseason predictions I still feel good about: Projecting Indiana, Michigan State and Michigan to finish above Ohio State. Until more consistent scorers emerge around Deshaun Thomas, the Buckeyes may struggle against the best teams on their schedule, especially on the road. Also, I certainly wasn't alone in this prediction, but the Big Ten has lived up to its billing as the nation's best conference thus far.

Conference favorite: Choosing between co-favorites Michigan and Indiana is extremely difficult because both are national title contenders, but I'd give the slightest nod to the Wolverines because their stars have been as good as advertised and their freshmen have made an instant impact. Trey Burke has solidified himself as one of the nation's best point guards, Tim Hardaway Jr. has improved his decision-making, Nik Stauskas has provided torrid outside shooting and Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary have bolstered the frontcourt.

Talib Zanna and Pittsburgh will host Cincinnati on Monday (Getty Images)

Before the party hats come out, the champagne starts flowing and the countdown to midnight begins, there are a handful of marquee college basketball games on New Year's Eve that will help the day pass by quicker.

Here's a look at four questions we'll better be able to answer by the time the calendar turns to 2013:

1. Is Pittsburgh's 12-1 start legit or a scheduling mirage?

Skim through Pittsburgh's schedule, and it's easy to see why the Panthers are still on the fringes of the AP Top 25 despite their gaudy record. They've yet to play a true road game. Their best win came over either Lehigh or Detroit. And they've lost the sole game they played against a quality opponent, a respectable 67-62 setback at the hands of Michigan in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals. One game won't determine whether the Panthers are Big East contenders or not, but Monday's home game against Cincinnati (12-1) should at least provide a late-December barometer. Pittsburgh is No. 1 nationally in points per possession (1.26) and top 20 in points per possession allowed (0.86). If the Panthers even approach those statistics against a Cincinnati team with an elite backcourt and a stingy defense, they'll force the rest of the Big East to pay attention.

[Pat Forde: Reckless play pays off for Louisville against Kentucky]

UPDATE: A Kentucky spokesman denied that the Wildcats intentionally tricked referees and offered the following explanation via Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

"Our bench argued that Poythress was the shooter & the official notified the official scorer that #22 was the shooter," Kentucky executive associate athletic director for external operations DeWayne Peevy tweeted. "After seeing the tape, it might have been the wrong call but it wasn't a switch-a-roo. It was confirmed to the official scorer."

Even though Kentucky lost by three points at rival Louisville on Saturday, nobody can say the Wildcats didn't do everything possible to pull off the upset.

They even appear to have tried to reverse their poor free throw fortunes by switching foul shooters without referees noticing.

When referees whistled Louisville's Russ Smith for a foul with 1:05 to go before halftime for hooking the arm of Nerlens Noel on an attempted steal, the Kentucky center initially goes to the foul line as expected. Noel then wanders off the line to get instruction from the Kentucky bench, allowing wing Alex Poythress to slip in unnoticed and replace him.

[Related: The top five college basketball stories of 2012]

Even though Poythress was only a mediocre 68.1 percent free throw shooter entering play on Saturday, that's still significantly better than Noel's 53.3 percent prior to the Louisville game. Poythress made the first and missed the second, a point that ultimately made no difference as the Cardinals held off a late Kentucky rally and won 80-77.

It's possible Poythress took the foul shots because he thought he drew a blocking foul on Montrezl Harrell as he drove baseline before dishing to Noel, but the majority of the evidence suggests that wasn't the call that was made. The referee who blew his whistle did so after Smith's foul and pointed directly at Smith. Plus, the play-by-play in the box score attributes the foul to Smith.

(USA Today Sports Images)

South Florida point guard Anthony Collins was taken off the court on a stretcher midway through the second half against George Mason after taking a knee in the head during a scramble for the ball.

South Florida coach Stan Heath told reporters after the game that Collins had neck pain which led to paramedics stabilizing his head and neck and taking him to a local hospital. Heath said Collins had sensation in his extremities when he was taken off the court. Collins had left the game earlier after being poked in the eye.

[Related: Reckless play pays off for Louisville against Kentucky]

The Bulls went on to win the game 61-57 and it remained uncertain Saturday evening how much time Collins might miss. If he is out for any significant period, it would be a big blow for the Bulls. Collins has produced double-digit assist totals three times this season. He was off to a strong start before the injury with six points, six assists and five rebounds in 27 minutes.

"AC does have sensation in his

Marcus Paige (Getty Images)

Even though the Louisville-Kentucky showdown was Saturday's game of the day, there was plenty of other action in college hoops. Here's a look at whose stock rose during the afternoon slate:

Stock rising: North Carolina

In dire need of a confidence-boosting marquee win before the start of ACC play next week, North Carolina delivered its best performance of the season Saturday in a  79-73 victory over No. 20 UNLV. The Tar Heels overcame the absence of Reggie Bullock (concussion) thanks to improved defense, balanced scoring and surprising success getting to the foul line 33 times. UNLV rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to take a 49-48 lead on a Katin Reinhardt 3-pointer midway through the second half, but North Carolina responded with an 8-2 run keyed by James Michael-McAdoo to regain control. The win is North Carolina's first notable win after double-digit losses to Butler, Texas and Indiana. Erratic play by UNLV certainly helped the Tar Heels achieve it, but their perseverance and effort suggests it may be too soon to write them off as an ACC contender.

Stock falling: Murray State

Unlike last season when Murray State built at-large credentials in non-conference play, the Racers are probably going to have to win the OVC's automatic bid to return to the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years. They have the talent to accomplish that feat, but the past two games have certainly made it seem like no guarantee. Murray State followed up an excusable 77-68 loss at Dayton with a more perplexing 66-64 home loss to Horizon League contender Valparaiso. The Racers squandered an 11-point first-half lead and again failed to find enough scoring to complement Isaiah Canaan and Ed Daniel. The common thread in both losses? Not enough production from wing Stacy Wilson. The senior is averaging 15 points a game, but shot 3 of 12 against Dayton and 2 of 10 against Valparaiso to finish with six points in both games.

Momar Dieng and Seynabou Diagne (via @RickBozich)

When Gorgui Dieng's parents traveled from Senegal to Louisville this week to see their son play on U.S. soil for the first time, they probably didn't realize their visit would receive so much attention.

Not only did CBS TV cameras repeatedly pan to them in their seats in the lower bowl, they also received cheers from the Louisville crowd after they appeared on the Yum! Center video board at the start of the second half.

Momar Dieng and Seynabou Diagne didn't have to wait long to get their first taste of how much the Louisville crowd appreciates their son either.

Forty-five seconds into Louisville's 80-77 victory over rival Kentucky, Dieng received a long, loud standing ovation when he checked into the game for the first time since fracturing his wrist last month. The Louisville crowd also cheered wildly for Dieng in the opening minutes of the game when he swatted away an Alex Poythress shot and delivered a two-handed put-back dunk.

Unfortunately for Dieng, he didn't play as much as he might have liked. Two quick fouls forced him to sit for the final 12 minutes of the first half and foul trouble continued to plague him the entirety of the second half, leading to him finishing with just six points and seven rebounds and two blocks.

It's a shame Dieng didn't have one of his best performances in front of his parents because it required a lot of work getting them here.

Tyler Haws (AP)Brigham Young sophomore Tyler Haws convinced anyone who needed convincing that he was back to form following his two-year Mormon mission with the way he played in his first six games this season.

Haws scored at least 20 points in each contest and had his best game against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 24 when he scored 32 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

But Haws raised his game another level Saturday in a decisive win in Salt Lake City over Virginia Tech with a Jimmer Fredette-like performance. Haws scored 42 points – a single-game high for any player in Division I this season – one-upping his father Marty Haws, who scored 40 points in a 1989 game when he played guard for the Cougars. Marty Haws played at BYU from 1986 to 1990.