On the biggest night of college hoops in weeks, the Top 25 collectively romped, suggesting that this grouping has separated itself from the rest of the field. AP No-1 UNC and No-2 Memphis both topped lesser foes by 10 with the expected excellence from Tyler Hansbrough (27 points, 11 boards) and Derrick Rose (26 points, 6 assists).

The most noteworthy performance of the night was Texas A&M’s 79-39 win over Detroit. Though the Titans are only 4-7, the Aggies suffocating defense allowed them only 14 baskets all game (24.1% FG). TAMU also outrebounded Detroit 40-24. 7-0 C DeAndre Jordan (14 points, 8 boards) challenged every shot in the paint as Texas A&M held their second straight opponent to under 40 points.

The end of finals is always reason to celebrate, but Stanford should be especially excited because it signals the end of Brook Lopez’s academic suspension. He returned last night for the first time this season, breaking off 20 points, 6 boards and a block in just 19 minutes of Stanford’s 74-48 downing of Santa Clara. You’ll be hearing a lot more of this: “We did not convert on a lot of those opportunities down low and that hurt us,” said Broncos coach Kerry Keating. “With the Lopez twins in there, it makes it difficult to score down low.”

Chris Lofton (24 points) surpassed Allan Houston’s mark of 346 treys last night to become Tennessee’s all-time leading 3-point shooter during Tennessee’s 86-73 win over UNC-Asheville. The Bulldogs boast 7-6 360 lbs. C Kenny George, who played 22 minutes and tallied 7 points and 13 boards.

Durrell Summers had his best collegiate game with 16 points in MSU’s 85-45 win last night.

Arizona’s Jordan Hill was the top rebounder across the nation with 19 boards, eight of which came on the offensive glass. His 16 points offset the shooting woes suffered by both Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless (combined 4-20 FG) in a narrow win for the Wildcats, 52-49 against UNLV, led by Wink Adams’ 19 points. But it was Jawann McClellan’s triple with 24 seconds left that gave Arizona a four-point lead that sealed the deal. With Coach O out for the season, it became official that Kevin O’Neill is the Wildcats coach for ’07 and down the road. But O’Neill might want to rethink spreading his team too thinly with Memphis just around the corner (12/29). He played eight men, two of whom saw less than five minutes respectively.