Some interesting things from around the college basketball world…

• Former Rutgers head coach Mike Rice has been named as the interim head coach at the Patrick School (NJ).  Rice will take over for current head Chris Chavannes (who is also the principal) for the month of December so Chavannes can concentrate on other important projects.  Once Chavannes returns, Rice will remain on the staff as a special assistant.  More from ESPN here.
  

• UMass-Lowell, led by former Boston College assistant Pat Duquette, had a signature win last night vs. an ACC opponent as they downed BC 68-66. Interesting story now developing out of BC…..A handful of players missed the game yesterday due to illness, and now reports are that as many as ten Eagles are suffering from possible E.coli after eating at a nearby Chipotle.  Note to coaches around the country…beware of where you get your pre-game meals from!!  BCinterruption.com has more here.

• From the cool idea gone wrong department…San Diego played San Diego State yesterday outside at Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres).  The result was a 53-48 upset by San Diego – a nice win for first year head coach Lamont Smith.  Unfortunately, the game was a nightmare for the fans.  Here’s a pretty cool piece by CBSSports.com’s Sam Vecenie as he posts some irate tweets from upset fans. The headline says it all:  USD, SDSU play awful outdoor game at understaffed Petco Park

• HoopDirt.com‘s Coach of the Week award winners for week 3 of the college basketball season were announced today.  It’s a great group of coaches who have their teams ROLLING….To learn more about them, and to see who the previous winners were, head this way: WEEK 3: HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week.