Early season's memorable moments (Pt. 1)

By Alan Rubenstein Sports Central Columnist

The advent of New Year's is the traditional halfway point of the college basketball season. There have been some shocking upsets, amazing tournament runs, and outstanding performances so far, while UNC, Indiana, and Notre Dame have shown they will all be teams that bear watching this season.

1. North Carolina Wins Preseason NIT

When the brackets were announced for the preseason NIT, the matchup between Florida and Kansas was eagerly anticipated. The pairing of the two top-10 teams materialized, but in the third-place game. Stanford and North Carolina spoiled the party.

Not much was expected from North Carolina this season after stumbling to the school's worst season ever last year in an 8-20 debacle. Led by freshmen Rashad McCants, Sean May, and Raymond Felton, the Heels surprised then second-ranked Kansas and dominated Stanford to capture the championship. The Heels' three heralded freshman combined for 48 points in a 74-57 victory.

2. Notre Dame Defeats Three Top-10 Teams in Same Week

After losing Ryan Humphrey, Harold Swanagan, and David Graves, the Fighting Irish were an unknown commodity entering the 2002-03 season. Chris Thomas, Maryland transfer Danny Miller, and freshman power forward Torin Francis have boosted Notre Dame to a 14-3 record this season. In December, the Irish secured their place in the national consciousness with victories over Marquette, Maryland, and Texas. All three were ranked in the top-10 at the time.

The Irish received outstanding performances in the three games from Thomas, Miller, Francis and shooting guard Matt Carroll. They each averaged at least 17 points in the three victories. Head coach Mike Brey's message for the country was that Irish will stand up and be noticed, "We came into Washington (D.C.) off the radar screen. We are going to be all over the radar screen now."

3. Indiana Defeats Maryland in Epic Rematch

The Hoosiers played inspired before a partisan crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In a game that had all the elements for an epic, the Hoosiers posted an 80-74 overtime victory. The game required the extra session after Maryland's Steve Blake hit an apparent half-court buzzer-beater that replays showed occurred after the horn. IU came back from 14 and 11 point deficits to send the game to the extra session. Tom Coverdale, who was outstanding during the Hoosiers' run to the Final Four last March, scored a career-high 30 points.

4. College of Charleston Wins Great Alaska Shootout

Succeeding a legend is never easy, but first-year Cougar coach Tom Herrion proved his worth by leading Charleston to the title in Anchorage. Herrion has stepped into the head role on the Cougar sidelines after John Kresse retired. Victories over Wyoming, Oklahoma State, and Villanova landed the Cougars in the top-25. Thomas Mobley and Zeke Johnson landed on the All-Tournament Team and Troy Wheless was the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

5. Anthony Electrifies Madison Square Garden Crowd

Playing in his first game, Syracuse freshman forward Carmelo Anthony almost single-handedly led the Orangemen back from a 17-point first half deficit against Memphis. 'Cuse would eventually take a six-point lead before running out of gas in a 70-63 loss. Anthony exploded for 21 first half points on his way to a 27-point exhilarating performance.

Stay tuned for the next five memorable moments in the part two.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.