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Late Night Snacks: Champions Classic caps 2014 Tip-Off Marathon

State Farm Champions Classic

Jahlil Okafor (Getty Images)

Getty Images

GAME OF THE DAY: UMass 77, Manhatta 68 (OT)

Overtime was forced by this play. The Minutemen were set to close out a victory in regulation until a miscue on the in-bound pass gave Manhattan the ball under the hood. Steve Masiello, who had drawn up had baseline out-of-bounds that baffled the UMass defense, caught a break when the officials had to check the monitor for the correct time, giving him time to draw up a play that left Rich Williams streaking down the middle for a two-handed alley-oop. Although, UMass’ inside presence was too much, as Cady Lalanne finished with his third double-double: 23 points and 16 rebounds.

OTHER GAME OF THE DAY: Northern Iowa 79, Stephen F. Austin (OT)

Another early morning game had a fantastic finish with 11 ties and 23 lead changes, with five of those coming in the final four minutes of overtime. Demetrius Floyd had is layup attempt roll off the rim, which would have forced a second overtime. Not only does Northern Iowa score a quality non-conference road victory, the Panthers snap Stephen F. Austin’s 34 home game-winning streak.

OTHER OTHER GAME OF THE DAY: Boise State 72, Montana 67 (2OT)

Derrick Marks missed a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation. Anthony Drmic played hero in the first overtime with a 3-pointer for Boise State to tie the score at 59 with under 30 seconds. Marks and Drmic accounted for nine of the Broncos’ 13 second overtime points to pull out the win.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

No. 1 Kentucky 72, No. 5 Kansas 40

A statement win for the top-ranked team, two days after struggling to put away Buffalo. The Kentucky frontline was too much for the Kansas big men, as the Wildcats collected 11 blocks as a team. To put that in perspective, the Jayhawks had 11 field goals on the night. The Kentucky defense held the Kansas starting five to 8-of-36 and the entire team to under 20 percent shooting. Kentucky’s depth was on display, which was a scary glimpse of what could be a season-long trend.

No. 4 Duke 81, No. 19 Michigan State 71

The Duke freshmen showed up in their first real test as the Blue Devils never trailed in a win over No. 19 Michigan State. Jahlil Okafor, picked as the preseason player of the year, proved to be a load down while Coach K got contributions from Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. Michigan State struggled with Navy on Friday night, and clearly cut the lead down enough to make a real threat at Duke on Tuesday. The good news: outside of Notre Dame, Tom Izzo will have some time to get his team ready for Big Ten play.

No. 11 Wichita State 71, Memphis 56: Gregg Marshall lost the scoring prowess of Cleanthony Early but Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton led the charge, proving to be one of the best perimeter attacks in the country. Wichita State hasn’t lost a regular season game in 33 tries. Memphis, on the other hand, has a lot of work to do. The guards were shaky and the frontline, which needs to steady the ship, still has its questions to solve.

No. 16 San Diego State 63, No. 25 Utah 59: The Aztecs offense was great. But it’s defense was, holding Utah’s star wing, Delon Wright, to only five points (all of which came with 40 seconds left) and forced 18 turnovers. Defense will carry San Diego State as it figures out how to get more pop offensively.

No. 15 VCU 87, Toledo 78

Briante Weber had a dazzling season debut with 18 points, eight boards, seven assists to no turnovers and nine, yes, nine steals. He was the spark plug for the Rams to pull away. He was the definition of Havoc, single-handedly ending multiple fastbreak opportunities for Toledo and he set up teammates for good looks while hitting 3-of-4 threes. If he can play like this, Shaka Smart has a dangerous team in front of him.

STARRED

1) Duke freshmen: Jahlil Okafor made his presence felt early. Justise Winslow ended up doing this. And Tyus Jones scored all of his points after halftime. In all, the three freshmen starters combined for 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

2) Briante Weber, VCU: The senior guard made his season debut with 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists (no turnovers) and nine steals. He was the game-changer in VCU’s 87-78 win over MAC favorite Toledo.

3) Ron Baker, Wichita State: Didn’t score his first four points until the final minute of the first half, but it got the ball rolling as he scored 19 of game-high 21 points. He also stuffed the stat sheet with six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block.

STRUGGLED

1) Memphis guards: We knew the new-look Memphis perimeter would take its lumps, but in a neutral site contest against one of the premier back courts in the country, the Tigers looked far from a tournament team. Kedren Johnson, Markel Crawford and Pookie Powell combined for 1-for-9 shooting, three points, only one assists to 10 turnovers.

2) Delon Wright, Utah: The talented wing didn’t score until 40 seconds remaining, ended with five points off 2-of-13 shooting in Utah’s loss to San Diego State. He wasn’t the only one to have struggle scoring in this rock fight.

3) Kansas frontline: The length of both Kentucky platoons forced the Kansas big men into a dismal night. Perry Ellis, Cliff Alexander and Jamari Traylor accounted for 14 points (4-of-19 shooting), 17 rebounds. They also accounted for several Kentucky blocks.

TOP 25


  • No. 4 Duke 81, No. 19 Michigan State 71
  • No. 9 Virginia 75, South Carolina State 55
  • No. 11 Wichita State 71, Memphis 56
  • No. 15 VCU 87, Toledo 78
  • No. 16 San Diego State 63, No. 25 Utah 59
  • No. 20 Ohio State 74, Marquette 63
  • No. 21 Nebraska 82, Central Arkansas 56

NOTABLES


  • Northeastern, the favorite in the CAA, upset Florida State, 76-73. After dropping 23 in a win over Boston University on Sunday, David Walker went for 22 points against the Seminoles. Aaron Thomas led all scorers with 24.
  • Four Buckeyes scored in double figures -- Kam Williams (15), Amir Williams (12), Sam Thompson and Marc Loving (10) -- in Ohio State’s 74-63 win over Marquette.
  • Texas Tech missed its final seven shots of regulation, made an errant pass to Tim Quarterman, who tied the score, Robert Turner had 13 second and settled for a step-back three despite missing all five shots in the second half. LSU prevailed, 69-64, in overtime.
  • Cady Lalanne now has three double-doubles in three games for UMass; went for 23 points and 16 boards against Manhattan.
  • Dennis Mavin’s layup with five seconds left pushed FIU past Stetson, 53-52.
  • Wofford, the Southern Conference favorite beat MAAC favorite Iona in the 7 a.m. game.
  • Xavier defeated Long Beach State, 97-74. The 49ers have the most difficult non-conference schedule.
  • Kenny Chery had 20 in Baylor’s 69-65 win over South Carolina.
  • Craig Ponder led all scorers with 26 as UNC Wilmington topped in-state foe UNC Greensboro.
  • While you were sleeping:

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