How small a world is it in college hoops?

Small enough that you can tie No. 1 Tennessee's loss tonight to an NAIA school in five easy steps.

Tennessee was beaten by Vanderbilt, which lost to Kentucky, which lost to Gardner-Webb, which lost to USC Upstate, which lost to Bluefield (Va.).

(Actually, you could already tie it in four steps, since Tennessee lost to Kentucky. But the Vols weren't No. 1 at the time, so it takes a bit of the luster off the thread).

Bluefield, by the way, is 23-6 and owns two victories over Adam Kilgore favorite Montreat (which popped up on the ticker a few time earlier this season with losses to North Carolina A&T, William & Mary and UNC Asheville).

--- Patrick Stevens