Basketball Roundup:

Top 20 Teams Survive Scares:  With the exception of (19) Vanderbilt who lost to (2) Kentucky, every top 20 team that was playing yesterday put another win on their resume. As for the rest of the top 25, (22) Baylor and (25) ranked Wake Forrest both lost to unranked opponents likely knocking them out of the poll. While the top 20 teams won, many of them had some tough scares, highlighted by Vanderbilt almost knocking off Kentucky. (4) Purdue, (8) WVU and (18) Tennessee had much closer games than they should have. And 15th ranked New Mexico almost lost to the worst team in their conference, Air Force. (17) Texas survived a close rivalry game against Texas Tech as well. Overall the top 25 won’t look much different based on yesterday’s games, but at a time when teams need to play their best basketball there were some pretty underwhelming performances.

Grizzlies Suffer A Big Loss:  Just 12 minutes into his Memphis Grizzlies career, Ronnie Brewer went down with torn hamstring. Brewer was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Utah Jazz on Thursday afternoon, in the hopes of bolstering their playoff chances. This injury is a major setback for the Grizzlies, one of the more young and exciting teams in the NBA. Brewer is expected to miss between 3-4 weeks with the injury, and his absence could put a major dent in the Grizzlies playoff hopes.

Jamison Struggles In Debut With Cavs:  One of the biggest named players to be moved at the deadline was the Wizards Antawn Jamison, who was traded to the Cavs. Jamison’s first game for Cleveland was one that I’m sure he will wish to forget. Not only did the Cavs lose by 17 points, but Jamison went 0-12 from the field and scored just 2 points. Overall one game doesn’t mean much, as the deal was a steal for Cleveland. But the pressure will remain on Jamison, until he assimilates into the roster.

McGrady Puts On A Show For First Game In 2010:  Tracy McGrady put up 26 points and almost got the Knicks a victory in his first game since the 3-team trade that brought him to New York. McGrady, who hadn’t been playing with the Rockets, due to a team dispute had only played in 7 games prior to last night this season, and none in the New Year. It was an impressive performance for McGrady and somewhat hopeful for Knicks fans, who watched New York give up a lot of talent to bring McGrady and his expiring contract to the team.