Games of the Day
1. Florida State 73, Saint Joseph’s 66 - Carl Jones made his return for the Hawks but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Seminoles from winning the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn. Terrence Shannon went for 15 points and ten rebounds, with 11 of his points coming in the final 13:45, to lead Florida State.
2. Nevada 71, Green Bay 69 - A Deonte Burton three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime pushed the Wolf Pack past Green Bay in Reno. Burton, who now has exactly 1,000 points for his career, led Nevada with 19 points. Alec Brown, whose three gave Green Bay a 69-68 lead with 11 seconds to go, was one of four Phoenix to reach double figures.
3. Pittsburgh 72, Oakland 62 (OT) - Oakland led by as many as 18 points in regulation but they couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Panthers, who forced overtime and then took over in the extra session. J.J. Moore scored 16 points to lead Pittsburgh, which remained undefeated ahead of its meeting with No. 5 Michigan in the Preseason NIT semis on Wednesday.
Important Outcomes
1. No. 20 Notre Dame 78, BYU 68 - Someone was leaving the Barclays Center with two losses, and the Fighting Irish made sure it wasn’t them. Jack Cooley posted a double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds) and Jerian Grant added 19 and five assists to lead Notre Dame.
2. Washington 84, Seton Hall 73 (OT) - The Huskies nearly blew this one in regulation but key three-pointers in overtime from Scott Suggs (he hit two) and Andrew Andrews provided the boost the Huskies needed. Lorenzo Romar’s squad gets No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday, and that’s an opportunity for a big non-conference win for a team that missed the NCAA tournament due to a meager non-conference resume.
3. No. 25 San Diego State 60, Missouri State 44 - It wasn’t pretty but the Aztecs found a way to leave JQH Arena with a non-conference road victory. Jamaal Franklin tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds as SDSU survived shooting 32.2% from the field and 4-of-18 from three.
Starred
1. G Josh Greene (Cal State Northridge) - Greene was a major factor in the Matadors’ 92-76 win over Tulsa, accounting for 28 points, seven assists and five steals. Northridge is now 5-0 for the first time since the 1981-82 season, when they won their first nine games to start the season.
2. G Sean Armand (Iona) - Iona beat Wake Forest like they stole something in the consolation bracket of the Paradise Jam and the sharpshooting Armand was a big reason why. Armand shot 10-of-14 from the field (7-0f-10 3PT), scoring 28 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds.
3. G D.J. Seeley (Cal State Fullerton) - 32 points (10-of-13 FG), seven assists and seven steals in the Titans’ 112-69 whipping of Southern Utah.
Struggled
1. Wake Forest - Losing a game 94-68 as the Demon Deacons did is bad. But did you know that Wake Forest at one point trailed 41-5?
2. G Sterling Carter and F Clarence Trent (Seattle) - You can’t place all of the blame on these two for the Redhawks’ 83-43 loss at Virginia, but they combined to shoot 4-of-20 from the field and commit ten turnovers.
3. Players other than Daniel Mullings and Tyrone Watson (New Mexico State) - Those two combined to shoot 11-of-27 in the Aggies’ 62-49 loss to Bucknell. The rest of the team: 3-of-21.
Three Facts
1. SMU wins again - SMU is now 3-0 thanks to a 78-75 win at Texas State. Nick Russell (25 points) and Jalen Jones (24) led the way for Larry Brown’s squad, and this is the first time in 12 years that SMU has started a season 3-0.
2. Eastern Kentucky 3-0 for first time since 2004-05 - The Colonels moved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season with a 71-69 win over Towson. Deverin Muff made four free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the victory.
3. Chris Fouch goes down - The negative that came out of Drexel’s 61-59 win over Penn was the ankle injury suffered by shooting guard Chris Fouch. No word as to how long he’ll be out of the lineup, but the Dragons can’t afford to be without him for too long.
Other Notable Outcomes
1. No. 17 Memphis 65, Samford 54 - It wasn’t pretty but the Tigers’ work at the foul line down the stretch locked up the win. But while Samford wanted to play at a deliberate pace, Memphis’ next opponent (VCU) will do anything but.
2. Montana 66, Idaho 63 - Montana trailed by as many as 15 in the second half but stormed back with a 24-7 run to take a 59-57 lead with 4:12 remaining.
3. No. 4 Ohio State 69, Rhode Island 58 - Deshaun Thomas led the Buckeyes with 25 points and ten rebounds, and while Dan Hurley’s Rams fell better days lie ahead for Rhody.
Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.