GAME OF THE DAY: Tulsa 90, Ohio 88
Call it the Wichita State hangover? The Golden Hurricane, fresh off of a win over No. 10 Wichita State back in Oklahoma, looked like they had spent too much time in the sun in their opener in the Paradise Jam, falling behind Ohio 54-37 at the half. They were down by 19 points with 11 minutes left, but Shaq Harrison sparked a comeback. He finished with 31 points, nine boards, five assists and five steals (!!!) to lead five players in double-figures. Jaaron Simmons had 30 points and eight assists for the Bobcats, but he also committed seven of Ohio’s 23 turnovers.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
Georgetown 71, Wisconsin 61: The Hoyas knocked off the Badgers at Madison Square Garden despite the fact that D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera struggled again. That’s a good thing, though. Read why here.
No. 3 Maryland 65, Rider 58: Maryland overcame a 14-point second half deficit (seriously) to beat Rider, using a 36-15 run to close the game. Robert Carter led five players in double-figures with 13 points. Maryland was down at the half and let Rider use a 12-0 run to open the second half. Was this just a hangover fro the excitement of the win over Georgetown, or was this a sign of deeper issues for the Terps?
Miami 90, No. 16 Utah 66:Sheldon McClellan led all scorers with 27 and Tonye Jekiri added 20 and 12 boards as Jim Larrañaga’s Hurricanes rolled in the Puerto Rico Tipoff semifinals. Read more here.
Xavier 86, No. 24 Michigan 70: Chris Mack’s Musketeers went on the road and won in impressive fashion, taking a nine-point lead into the half and knocking off the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Remy Abell, Trevon Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds scored 15 points apiece to lead the way for Xavier, which dominated the boards by posting an offensive rebounding percentage of 45 percent. Caris LeVert led all scorers with 29 points.
STARRED
Shevon Thompson, George Mason: The Patriots picked up a win over Oklahoma State on Friday afternoon to advance to the Charleston Classic a day after they beat Ole Miss in the quarterfinals. Thompson had 20 points and 17 boards on Friday, following up a 19-points, 16-board performance on Thursday.
Stefan Moody, Ole Miss: One of the nation’s most dynamic scorers, Moody popped off for 30 points and six assists as the Rebels knocked off Towson.
Kenny Gaines, Georgia: Gaines went off in the Bulldogs’ 63-52 win over Murray State, scoring 35 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field. No other Georgia player scored more than eight points.
Grayson Allen, Duke: Allen bounced back from a poor outing in the Blue Devils’ loss to Kentucky earlier this week, scoring 30 to lead the Blue Devils to a 79-71 win over VCU.
STRUGGLED
Florida State: The Seminoles, a team many picked as a sleeper in the ACC this season, lost their opener in the Paradise Jam to Hofstra. Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Dwayne Bacon combined to shoot 7-for-23 from the floor and 1-for-9 from three.
Michigan’s front court: While the guards produce most of the offense for the Wolverines, the big men are needed as defenders and rebounders. They struggled against Xavier, with starter Mark Donnal and reserves Moritz Wagner, D.J. Wilson and Ricky Doyle combining to grab four rebounds in their 86-70 loss. Xavier finished with an offensive rebounding percentage of 45 percent.
Wisconsin’s starting backcourt: Guards Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter struggled against Georgetown, shooting a combined 5-for-19 from the field and scoring 16 points in the ten-point loss.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- Tyler Lewis and Kellen Dunham both went for 16 points as No. 22 Butler knocked off Temple to advance to the finals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Jaylen Bond added 13 points and 13 boards for Temple.
- Grayson Allen scored 30 points to lead No. 5 Duke to a 79-71 win over VCU in New York.
- No. 2 Kentucky moved to 4-0 on the season with a 78-62 win over Wright State in Lexington. Tyler Ulis led five Wildcats in double figures with 21 points while also dishing out five assists.
- No. 6 Virginia advanced to the title game of the Charleston Classic with an 87-52 win over Long Beach State. Next up for the Cavaliers is a George Mason team that’s surprised many by reaching the final.
- No. 8 Oklahoma remained undefeated with a comfortable 85-56 win over McNeese State, with Buddy Hield scoring 24 points and Isaiah Cousins and Rashard Odomes 15 apiece.
- No. 11 Villanova beat East Tennessee State 86-51, with Kris Jenkins leading five double-digit scorers with 17 points. Daniel Ochefu grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds in the win.
- No. 13 Michigan State wasted little time taking care of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, racing out to a 19-4 lead in a game they went on to win 92-46.
- Leading by just five at the half No. 20 Baylor got things going and pulled away from Jackson State, winning 77-60 in Waco. Al Freeman led the way offensively for the Bears with 20 points.
- No. 25 Oregon established a comfortable lead against Savannah State in the first half, leading by 18 at the break and going on to win 77-59. Chris Boucher led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
- No. 15 California held off East Carolina 70-62 despite shooting 3-for-23 from beyond the arc. ECU played zone against the Golden Bears, with the home team settling for a few too many jump shots. Tyrone Wallace led the winners with 20 points, and freshmen Jaylen Brown (16 points, ten rebounds) and Ivan Rabb (14 and 13) posted double-doubles.
NOTABLES
- Joey King’s 18 points led Minnesota to a 74-69 win over Missouri State.
- UT-Arlington, picked to finish eighth in the Southland Conference preseason poll, went on the road and beat Ohio State by five in Columbus. The Buckeyes shot 13-for-27 from the foul line.
- West Virginia rolled to a 103-62 win over Stetson, forcing 19 turnovers and limiting the Hatters to 30.6 percent shooting from the field.
- Josh Fortune racked up 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as Colorado beat Portland 85-63 in Boulder. Tre’Shaun Fletcher also scored 17, and George King continued his solid play with a team-high 18.