GAME OF THE DAY: No. 7 Texas 55, No. 24 UConn 54
Despite not having the injured Isaiah Taylor, Rick Barnes’ Longhorns managed to leave Storrs with a victory as Jonathan Holmes knocked down a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining. Holmes scored 13 points to lead the way for Texas, which moved to 6-0 on the season. As for UConn, the bigger concern moving forward is the status of senior point guard Ryan Boatright, who rolled his ankle as the Huskies looked to score a game-winner.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
1. No. 11 Kansas 61, No. 20 Michigan State 56
Bill Self’s Jayhawks capped a good weekend in Orlando with an Orlando Classic title, as Frank Mason III accounted for ten points, ten rebounds and five assists and tournament MVP Perry Ellis scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The problem for Michigan State: the struggles of seniors Branden Dawson (4-for-15 FG) and Travis Trice (3-for-14 FG). As a team the Spartans shot just 32.2% from the field against Kansas.
2. No. 1 Kentucky 58, Providence 38
Ed Cooley’s Friars made seven of their first ten field goal attempts...and then went ice cold for the remainder of the afternoon. Kentucky limited Providence to 4-for-24 shooting in the second half, with LaDontae Henton and Kris Dunn (ten turnovers) combining for nine points on 2-for-15 shooting. Kentucky had its own issues offensively, but they were able to fall back on some stifling defense to move to 7-0 on the season.
3. No. 25 Arkansas 94, Iona 77
The Razorbacks pulled away thanks to a 17-4 second half run, resulting in a final margin that isn’t truly indicative of how the game went for most of the afternoon. Michael Qualls and Anthlon Bell scored 20 points apiece for Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks, who are now 6-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. How good is Arkansas? We’ll learn a lot more about this team Thursday night when they visit No. 13 Iowa State.
STARRED
1. Ousmane Drame (Quinnipiac)
In 26 minutes of action in the Bobcats’ 89-73 win over Vermont, Drame shot 10-for-14 from the field and amassed 33 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
2. Josh Scott (Colorado)
Scott accounted for 29 points (10-for-12 FG), 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the Buffaloes’ 84-75 win over Lipscomb.
3. Myke Henry (DePaul)
The Blue Demons rebounded from their loss to Lehigh in surprising fashion, beating Stanford 87-72, and Henry was a big reason why. The Illinois transfer finished the game with a career-high 29 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
STRUGGLED
1. Providence
After making seven of their first ten field goal attempts, Providence made just four of their final 29 shots and committed 18 turnovers in their 58-38 loss at No. 1 Kentucky.
2. Branden Dawson and Travis Trice (Michigan State)
While Dawson was dealing with the flu, the Spartans can’t afford to have these two struggling offensively when playing top-level competition. In their 61-56 loss to No. 11 Kansas, Dawson and Trice combined to shoot 7-for-29 from the field.
3. Hugh Greenwood (New Mexico)
How important is the currently injured Cullen Neal to New Mexico? His absence has placed even more scoring responsibility on the shoulders of Greenwood, and the senior guard struggled mightily in the Lobos’ 66-54 home loss to USC. Greenwood failed to score, shooting 0-for-11 from the field.
NOTABLES
- Mike Krzyzewski won his 990th game as a head coach Sunday, as No. 4 Duke beat Army (Krzyzewski’s alma mater) 93-73. Jahlil Okafor scored 21 points and Tyus Jones added 16 along with ten assists.
- While Marquette didn’t win the Orlando Classic, their 2-1 weekend should be seen as a success. Steve Wojciechowski’s Golden Eagles beat Tennessee 67-59 in the third place game.
- Northern Iowa moved to 7-0 win a 55-50 win over Richmond. Ben Jacobson has the pieces needed, led by all-conference forward Seth Tuttle, to give Wichita State a run for their money in the Valley.
- A.J. Hess banked in a 40-footer as time expired to give Southern Utah a 93-92 win at UTSA. The win is Southern Utah’s first road victory since February 7, 2013.
- Trailing Air Force 46-27 with 13 minutes remaining, Texas Tech went on a 36-16 run to beat the Falcons 63-62 in Lubbock. Devaunghtah Williams scored 21 points off the bench to lead the way for the Red Raiders.
- Valparaiso moved to 7-1 with a 70-55 win over previously undefeated Portland, with Alec Peter scoring a team-high 20 points.
- Long Beach State won third place at the Wooden Legacy tournament, beating Xavier 73-70 with Michael Caffey scoring 24 points to lead the way.
- Tyrone Wallace scored 21 points and grabbed ten rebounds in California’s 64-57 win over Fresno State.
- Richaud Pack scored 22 points to lead five Maryland players in double figures as the Terrapins moved to 7-0 with a 95-77 win over VMI.
- Kris Jenkins led five players in double figures with 13 points as No. 12 Villanova took care of Delaware, 78-47.
- Entering Sunday averaging 2.0 points per game, Justin McBride scored a career-high 31 in UCF’s 75-67 win over Bethune-Cookman.
- Andrew Andrews scored 20 points and Nigel Williams-Goss added 16 and six assists as Washington moved to 6-0 with a 68-65 win over UTEP in the title game of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy.