Games of the Day
1. Washington 74, Cal State Fullerton 72
The Huskies escaped at home after trailing by as many as 14 points. Washington made five free throws in the final 30 seconds, but here’s the thing: four of those free throws came as a result of Fullerton committing a foul after tying the game. First there was Alex Harris, who in his exuberance over tying the game at 69 fouled Andrew Andrews. And after D.J. Seeley hit a corner three to tie the game at 72, he fouled C.J. Wilcox who made both free throws to provide the final score. Oh what could have been for the Titans, who were coming off of a loss at Eastern Washington on Friday night.
2. Wichita State 72, Air Force 69
Gregg Marshall’s team hung on in Colorado Springs, beating the Falcons by three as a Michael Lyons missed a three-pointer in the final seconds. Carl Hall led the way for the Shockers, who are now 8-0 on the season, with 21 points and ten rebounds while Mike Fitzgerald (18 points) and Taylor Broekhuis (17 points) paced the Falcons.
3. Georgia State 67, Liberty 66
A Rashaad Richardson three-pointer in the final seconds gave the Panthers the win on the road. Manny Atkins and Devonta White led Georgia State with 17 points apiece, and Librty’s Davon Marshall hit six three-pointers and scored 25 points to lead the now 0-8 Flames.
Important Outcomes
1. Maryland 69, George Mason 62
The Terrapins made things a little more difficult on themselves than necessary but Mark Turgeon’s team held on for the win at the BB&T Classic. Dez Wells put up 25 points and six rebounds, which covered up Maryland’s 19 turnovers and 23-of-39 performance from the foul line. Can this group contend in the ACC? Maybe they can.
2. Wisconsin 81, California 56
On the heels of their 60-54 loss to Virginia the Badgers needed to bounce back, and it’s safe to say that they did in throttling the Golden Bears. Justin Cobbs was limited to 3-of-10 shooting (11 points) and Ben Brust led four Badgers in double figures with 22 points.
3. Akron 82, Middle Tennessee 77 (OT)
Two quality teams met at the JAR and the Zips came out on top, with point guard Alex Abreu leading five players in double figures with 19 points (in addition to seven assists, four rebounds and four steals). Ray Cintron, who hit three free throws to force overtime, led the Blue Raiders with a game-high 22 points. But Middle Tennessee had just two players in double figures (Marcos Knight scored 21), and the lack of balance hurt them in the end.
Starred
1. F Isaiah Armwood (George Washington)
Armwood led the Colonials to 67-55 win over Manhattan in the first game of the BB&T Classic with 23 points (8-of-12 FG), nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
2. F Carl Hall (Wichita State)
21 points (9-of-10 FG) and ten rebounds in the Shockers’ 72-69 win at Air Force.
3. F Desmond Simmons (Washington)
14 points, 18 rebounds (seven offensive) and three steals in the Huskies’ 74-72 win over Cal State Fullerton.
Struggled
1. Florida State guards
Guards Michael Snaer, Montay Brandon, Terry Whisnant II and Ian Miller combined to shoot 5-of-19 from the field in the Seminoles’ 61-56 loss to Mercer, Florida State’s third home loss of the season.
2. G Justin Cobbs (California)
3-of-10 from the field (11 points) and seven turnovers in Cal’s 81-56 loss to Wisconsin.
3. South Carolina starters
If not for reserves Bruce Ellington and Brenton Williams things could have been even worse for the Gamecocks in their 64-55 loss to rival Clemson. Frank Martin’s starters combined to shoot 5-of-22 from the field and score 14 points.
Three Facts
1. Washington’s win over Cal State Fullerton is their 924th at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the most by a college team in its home arena in the history of the sport.
2. Over the last two seasons Wichita State has been the most successful road team in the country, posting a 21-3 record.
Over the past two seasons (2011-12 / 2012-13), Wichita State has the nation's best road record. (Now 21-3) http://t.co/QXfNYpvh
— Derrick Docket (@ddocket) December 3, 2012
3. Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder snapped out of his two-game shooting slump on Sunday, scoring 22 points (8-of-16 FG) and grabbing seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ 72-53 win over USC Upstate. McGruder has shot 50% or better in three of Kansas State’s seven games.
Other Notable Scores
1. Mercer 61, Florida State 56
2. Saint Louis 62, Valparaiso 49
3. Stanford 71, Denver 58
Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.