College basketball’s best from the month of November

The 2015-16 college basketball season is less than a full month old, but the calendar flipping for the first time still provides us with the perfect excuse to do a little bit of reflecting.

With games being played at seemingly (and sometimes literally) all hours of the day, it was easy for you to miss something at some point over the past two and a half weeks. We’ve got you covered.

It certainly wasn’t the prettiest game of the month, but no team has notched a more important victory (or one likely to sparkle more come March) than Kentucky’s neutral court defeat of Duke in the Champions Classic. The Blue Devils’ young talent proved to be unready for a game of that magnitude that early in the season, but they’ve given no indication since that they won’t be right in the mix to defend their national title once tournament time rolls around.

With some of the other teams on Kentucky’s non-conference slate -- UCLA, Ohio State, Arizona State -- suffering horrific early season losses, the Cats’ win over Duke now appears to be even more important than it was at the time.

Honorable Mention: Michigan State over Kansas, Providence over Arizona

Honorable Mention: Michigan State 79, Kansas 73; Syracuse 79, Connecticut 76

No one has made more of an early case for national Player of the Year than Denzel Valentine, who is averaging an unreal 19.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.6 assists through seven games. He’s already posted a pair of triple-doubles, the first coming in the season’s best individual performance against Kansas, and the second coming against Boston College.

They might not be ranked in the top 10, but nobody ran through November more impressively than Syracuse, which captured the Battle 4 Atlantis title by knocking off back-to-back ranked foes in Connecticut and Texas A&M. The last three champions of the Feast Week event have gone on to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. While that may be setting the bar a tad high for the Orange, it’s pretty clear that Boeheim’s bunch is going to be formidable in the ACC than most predicted heading into the season.

Honorable Mention: Michigan State, Xavier, Purdue

Yes, Wichita State is the only team of the history of the AP Top 25 to begin the season ranked and then go on to lose four games before the end of November, but the Shockers are getting a pass (at least enough of a pass to keep them from receiving this honor) because of the lingering hamstring injury that has kept Fred VanVleet sidelined.

The Bayou Bengals have now played themselves into quite the unenviable situation. The SEC isn’t exactly loaded with world-beaters, and the only chance for a quality non-conference win left on their schedule will come on Jan. 30 against Oklahoma. Unless they pull that win off, it’s going to take some serious work against the likes of Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M for LSU to feel comfortable about its situation come Selection Sunday.

It would be a shame for one of college basketball’s brightest stars to miss the NCAA Tournament, but that’s already a very real possibility thanks to LSU’s horrendous opening three weeks.

Honorable Mention: Wichita State, Indiana, California

But you already knew this.

With a resume that already includes wins over Notre Dame, UCLA and USC, the Hawks are more than just a sideshow. Don’t be surprised to see their bench antics make more national news come March.

Honorable Mention: None

Western Illinois, which finished 3-13 in the Summit League last season and just 8-20 overall, entered the opening night game as a 25.5-point underdog. The Leathernecks were picked to finish dead last in their nine-team conference before the start of the season.

It was the first season-opening loss for Wisconsin since Bo Ryan’s first season of 2000-01, and the first loss for the Badgers in their home opener in 17 years. The victory also marked the first victory for Western Illinois over a Big Ten opponent since 1994.

Honorable Mention: Northern Iowa over North Carolina, Radford over Georgetown, Northeastern over Miami

The Musketeers typically like to lay low until reminding the college basketball world that they’re a perennially tough out come March, but this year it’s a fast start against a tough slate that has captured the nation’s attention. Chris Mack’s club is 7-0 after having easily taken down likes of Michigan (86-70), Alabama (64-45), USC (87-77) and arch-rival Dayton (90-61). The only game Xavier has won by single-digits was an 81-72 victory over Miami (OH) on opening night, and that was a game that the Musketeers trailed for a grand total of one minute midway through the second half.

Honorable Mention: Syracuse, Providence, George Washington

Honorable Mention: Northeastern over Miami, East Tennessee State over Georgia Tech

This won’t be the last monster highlight you see from the freshman this season.

Honorable Mention: Mamadou Ndiaye, UC-Irvine

Because it came by the most points.

Honorable Mention: South Carolina 76, DePaul 61; Penn State 68, DePaul 62