Lucky (and good?)

After Monday's massive slate, there were just 10 college basketball games on Tuesday. Made things a bit more manageable here, even if there were still some dramatic finishes.

Let's get to it.

1. 'This had disaster written all over it'

Providence won 27 games last season, its first Big East title and made the Sweet 16. Yet it also won close game after close game, and not coincidently, finished No. 1 in Luck at KenPom.com. The definitive lucky and good team.

We might have a sequel.

Some context: The Friars trailed until early in the second half. With five new starters, a slow start wasn't a surprise, but Rider was the more physical, confident team to start. But Providence's defensive pressure increased, forced some turnovers and opened up a 10-point lead of its own with just under 8 minutes remaining. Rider made a push, and had a chance for a game-winner, but, well, you watched the video.

More context: Point guard Jared Bynum couldn't hit a shot (1-9), and the Friars made just 36 percent of their field-goal attempts. But they hit 26 free throws (11 from Bryce Hopkins), took care of the ball and got the W.

And if this is what's in store for Ed Cooley's team again, he's OK with that.

"Where do you begin? First, I've never heard of a bad win in my life," he said afterward (via Bill Koch). "This had disaster written all over it." He went on: "We practice close games. It's something my entire career that I've thrived on. My whole staff. I'd rather have a game like this where we're learning, growing and developing."

In that case, might I suggest some new gear?

Providence wasn't the only power conference school toying with fate, either. South Carolina beat South Carolina State 80-77 (GG Jackson had 18 and 10 in his college debut) and Georgetown beat Coppin State 99-89, but it also had its share of drama.

It wasn't every team. Purdue hammered Milwaukee (Zach Edey was just 4-13 from the field, but did finish with 12 points, 17 boards and 6 blocks; no Boiler shot well), and Duquesne took care of Montana as Dae Dae Grant scored 25 points and did something nobody's done in the last 25 years.

2. A new hope

Know who didn't mind the glut of games on Monday? All the teams just hoping to start the season on the right foot.

Pitt's a perfect example.

During Jeff Capel's tenure, the Panthers have never finished above .500., going 51-69 overall. They've never logged a top 10 ACC finish and aren't expected to this year, especially after talented freshman Dior Johnson was suspended indefinitely after being charged with assault.

But none of that mattered during Monday's 80-58 win against UT-Martin. Not with big man Blake Hinson going for 27 and 13. Not with Pitt shrugging off a poor shooting night. And especially not with a lineup that didn't feature injured big John Hugley IV, or reserve forward William Jeffress. This was a Pitt team that was unencumbered by doubt.

Or consider Iowa State, expected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12. With a host of transfers and adjusting to the absence of point guard Jeremiah Williams (done for the season due to an Achilles injury), the Cyclones might have struggled against IUPUI.

Nope. They thrived and did it with returning starter Gabe Kalscheur coming off the bench. He'll still play close to 30 minutes a night, but coach T.J. Otzelberger says it's a move that helps the team.

"He came in, was aggressive scoring the ball," Otzelberger told the Des Moines Register. "That’s what we wanted from him. Guys setting screens, him coming off and shooting with confidence. He had great confidence again out there tonight, and really pleased with how he’s responded to it.

"It’s important to look at your lineups and combinations, and Gabe is somebody we have a lot of trust in. He can come off the bench and make us better."

All it takes is a couple of breaks. It could be an unexpected stat — Maryland was the only D-I team whose opponent didn't make a 3 on Monday — or a monster comeback that might stave off another rotten season. And man, could Oregon State use that.

That's what early November is for.

3. Good teams win, great teams cover

That headline probably gets uttered dozens of times daily by The Field of 68 betting experts (looks at Rob and Greg), so it's ingrained in my head. When the Big Ten and Big East logged perfect records on Monday night, those records certainly looked nice.

But it was more telling to see this from Jim Root.

Suddenly, the Big East isn't so impressive. Same with the Big 12. And the Big Ten? Might be a sign of good things to come for Indiana, Michigan, Rutgers, Penn State, Ohio State, Maryland, Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin. (Illinois just missed covering its 32-point spread.)

Granted, most of the spreads on Monday were by 25-30 points, which doesn't necessarily imply a team that struggled. Still, as we go through the rest of the week without any games between ranked teams, this becomes valuable info.

Need more betting insights? Don't miss our Best Bets show, streamed every day at 1 pm.

4. Stop me if you've heard this before

Gonzaga's pipeline for international players — Killian Tillie, Rui Hachimura, Domantas Sabonis, Kelly Olynyk, to name a few — was essential to building it into its current Top 5 standing among college hoops programs.

Well, here's another one.

Alex Toohey is a 6-8 wing from Australia. He was part of the NBA Global Academy in Canberra and chose the Zags over the likes of Michigan, Villanova and Davidson. You can guess the reason.

“For me, it was the amount of experience in Gonzaga’s program as a whole,” Toohey told On3.com. “Obviously an incredible coach in Mark Few that has a proven history, not only with international players but big guards/wings. Their international play style is one I’m used to at the NBA Global Academy/COE so being able to fit into the system. Also the winning culture in the program, you could just feel that guys wanted to get better from being around them and I can’t wait to immerse myself that.”

Toohey is Gonzaga's second 2023 recruit, joining 4-star wing Dusty Stromer.

Also in recruiting news:

• Tennessee added yet another Top 100 recruit to its 2023 class in 6-4 combo guard Cameron Carr. That will likely cement the Vols as a Top 10 class.

• William and Mary added Jayden Lemond, a 3-star guard in the class of '23.

5. One last preview: The All-Name team

Back when Rob Dauster and Troy Machir first started creating Ballin' Is a Habit, one of their most popular features was their All-Name team. Troy was good enough to work up yet another BIAH All-Name Team, the 13th edition. Enjoy!

All-Name First Team

• Churchill Bounds (So.), Central Arkansas

• Doctor Bradley (Fr.), New Mexico State

• Supreme Cook (Jr.), Fairfield

• Mysta Goodloe (Sr.), South Carolina Upstate

• Legend Stamps (Sr.), Florida A&M

All-Name Second Team

• Kimo Ferrari (Jr.), Brown

• Oakland Fort (Fr.), Northern Arizona

• Primo Spears (So.), Georgetown

• Flo Thamba (Sr.), Baylor

• Bash Wieland (Sr.), Bellarmine

All-Name Third Team

• Quest Aldridge (Jr.), Gardner-Webb

• Love Bettis (So.), North Carolina A&T

• Kidd Brizek (Fr.), Tennessee

• Japannah Kellogg III (R-So.), Green Bay

• Foster Wonders (R-Fr.), Southern Illinois

Honorable Mention

• Tyger Campbell (R-Sr.), UCLA

• Nighael Ceaser (Grad.), Texas State

• Honor Huff (So.), VMI

• Creighton Lebo (Jr.), North Carolina

• Zocko Littleton Jr. (Fr.), Appalachian State

• Courvoisier McCauley (Sr.), DePaul

• Armani Mighty (Fr.), Boston College

• Tucson Redding (So.), Morehead State

• Justice Sueing (R-Sr.), Ohio State

• Steele Venters (R-So.), Eastern Washington

Louisville bragging rights

Few expected Louisville to be an ACC contender this season. But I'm not sure how many predicted the Cardinals would struggle like this: a loss to Lenoir-Rhyne, and an 80-73 win against Chaminade, both D-II schools. Will things be different Wednesday night (9 pm ET on ACC Network) during their opener against Bellarmine? Louisville is a double-digit favorite but ... Bellarmine won't be a pushover.

The Knights (a D-II power, transitioning to D-I), won the 2022 Atlantic Sun Tournament and will primarily feature 3-4 guards on the court at once, which is twice as many as Louisville has on its roster. (Fun fact: Bellarmine plays its home games at Freedom Hall, Louisville's home until 2010.)

Other games to monitor (All times ET):

• Monmouth (0-0) at Seton Hall (0-0), 8 pm (FS1)

• Davidson (1-0) at Wright State (0-0), 7 pm (ESPN+)

• South Dakota State (0-1) at Boise State (0-0), 9 pm

Heart-warming return

Kansas State gave new coach Jerome Tang a celebration shower after its win Monday night. But it wasn't the best part of their night. That would be watching guard Keyontae George make his first basket in nearly two years due to a medical emergency suffered while still at Florida.

Mostly cool? Listening to George tell Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman how it felt.

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Links as your parse election results.

• Hartford named assistant Tom Devitt the interim head coach.

• We missed that Monday was Kelvin Sampson's 700th career win. Here's a video tribute.

• Junior Jaylen Clark had an historic night in UCLA's win on Monday. He's now atop a fairly impressive list.

• What's ailing DePaul hoops? It's money. Simple as that.

• Athletes used to not practice or play on Election Day. Here's why that changed.

• In 2023, hit the road.

Correction: In Monday's Daily, we said Mikey Williams committed to Memphis on an official visit. It was an unofficial visit.

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