First off, that was a great win for the Cats (apart from that stupid running out the clock strategy, which doesn't work). Barring some unforeseen catastrophe when Central Connecticut State comes to Evanston on Tuesday, we will be 10-1 (and likely ranked) heading into the Big Ten opener at Illinois. With that in mind, here's what happened to the rest of the hoops world (and what it means for the Cats).

Butler's last second win over Xavier was huge on two levels. It means Butler will still be ranked this week, which is good for Northwestern (since our only loss was to the Bulldogs). It also means that Xavier may struggle to get an at-large bid if they don't win the A-10, which opens up another potential spot for our Wildcats. This one was huge.

Notre Dame beating UCLA, though everyone expected it, was huge. We need the Irish to play well in the Big East as well.

We've also got a couple of big games today. Iowa State takes on Bradley, and NC State plays Wake Forest. Everyone here should be pulling for the Wolfpack and Cyclones.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten had a fairly lousy Saturday (apart from the Cats). Michigan State and Purdue both won, as expected. Iowa barely beat Drake, which is good. Indiana and Ohio State also beat weak opponents.

But Michigan lost to Kansas (not surprising). And Illinois suffered a crushing loss to Georgia. That one hurts, folks. If Illinois continues to struggle, we have to beat them at least once (which won't be easy).

So it was a mixed bag this week (like most weeks). Let's pull for Iowa State and North Carolina State. And let's hope the Cats continue to play well.