Yesterday was a very busy day in college basketball. Seventeen teams in the AP top 25 played, as did Rutgers, which withstood a late comeback and beat Manhattan at the RAC.

Rider didn't play, but the Broncs practiced at Alumni Gym, and I went over there and talked to Tommy Dempsey, Jason Thompson, Harris Mansell and Justin Robinson.

I'll have a story in The Trentonian next week previewing the Broncs' game against Marist on Jan. 4 at the Broncs' Zoo.

I'll get to Rider in a few minutes, but first a thoughts on the top 25:

• What's up with Pitt? I had the Panthers pegged as the best team in the Big East after their impressive win over Duke at Madison Square Garden and Georgetown's lackluster performance against Memphis. But losing to Dayton -- by 25? The Flyers are very good -- maybe the best in the Atlantic 10 and a team that could win a few games in the NCAA tournament. But if you're the No. 6 team in the country, you cannot lose to an unranked team by 25, no matter where the game is.
• I don't have an AP ballot, but if I did, I'd have Memphis at No. 1, ahead of North Carolina. The Heels are good -- and seeing them in person earlier this month at the RAC reaffirmed by belief that they're a serious threat to win the national championship. But after drubbing Georgetown, John Calipari's team posted another impressive non-conference win, beating 18th-ranked Arizona by 13.
• Don't get two down on Texas, despite the Longhorns suffering their second loss of the year last night to Wisconsin. It took a miracle 3-pointer by Michael Flowers to win it, and don't forget that the Badgers were briefly ranked No. 1 in the country last year.
• So much for Miami. The Canes feasted on a weak non-conference schedule and got out to a 12-0 start, then lost by six to unranked Winthrop.

And one note on Rutgers: At least the Scarlet Knights finally won a game against the MAAC, finishing 1-2 after losing to Rider and lowly St. Peter's.

Lastly, a few thoughts on Rider:

• Mansell said he thinks the biggest difference between the Broncs this year and the Broncs last year is their defense. I asked Dempsey about that, and he pointed out that they've gone from ninth to first in the MAAC in field goal percentage defense.
• Dempsey told me that although everyone can get better, he thinks you won't find many college big men who can do the things Jason Thompson can do offensively: dominate the low post, clean up the offensive glass, run the floor, handle the ball and pass like a guard.
• Dempsey seems like he's getting sick of all the NBA talk regarding Thompson. He said he's sure he'll play in the NBA and isn't concerned about promoting him to NBA scouts. He also said he thinks Thompson -- much more than some other players with NBA potential -- is concerned about winning. In fact, Dempsey said, he thinks Thompson will think it's his fault if the Broncs don't win a lot this year and contend for an NCAA tournament bid.
• Mansell said that when the Broncs take on the Red Foxes, he'll miss playing against reigning MAAC player of the year Jared Jordan. Mansell said he gets up for games against big-time players, and Jordan was -- at least by mid-major standards -- the definition of a big-time player: He was the first player since Avery Johnson almost 20 years ago to lead the country in assists for two consecutive years.

And here's a question I need help with. I didn't do any research on it, so if anyone wants to do the research for me, I'd be interested to know:

How many MAAC schools have nicknames that no other team in the country has? And is the percentage of those teams the highest of any conference in the country?

Here's a rundown of the nicknames, moving from north to south on the MAAC map:

1. Niagara Purple Eagles -- don't know of any other "Purple Eagles"
2. Canisius Golden Griffins -- too unique a name for anyone else to have?
3. Siena Saints -- can't think of any other "Saints"
4. Marist Red Foxes -- pretty sure there aren't any other Foxes of any color
5. Fairfield Stags -- as an alumn, I know they're the only Stags
6. Iona Gaels -- not the only one; St. Mary's is also the Gaels
7. Manhattan Jaspers -- certain they're the only Jaspers
8. St. Peter's Peacocks -- any other school weird enough to name itself the Peacocks?
9. Rider Broncs -- Boise State is the Broncos, but are there any other Broncs?
10. Loyola Greyhounds -- not an incredibly unique name, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.