GAME OF THE NIGHT: Nebraska 70, Florida State 65
The Seminoles nearly erased an 18-point halftime lead, although, the hole they dug themselves in proved to be too steep as the Cornhuskers took a 70-65 win in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest. Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields outscored Florida State, 29-21, at half, but an improved defensive effort and better offensive execution helped Florida State cut the lead to a one-possession game under seven minutes to play, and five minutes later sliced the lead to just one, 62-61. However, a David Rivers bucket, followed by a Tarin Smith put the game away with 70 second to play.
THIS ONE WAS GOOD TOO
Weber State 62, Oral Roberts 61
The Wildcats trailed by six with 41 seconds left, but went on a 6-1 run to top Oral Roberts at home, 62-61. Jeremy Senglin hit a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left (watch it here). The Golden Eagles committed a violation while inbounding the ball on the ensuing possession. Weber State guard Richaud Gittens also hit a 40-foot buzzer-beater right before half:
STARRED
1) Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields, Nebraska: The high-scoring perimeter shot 11-of-21 in the first half for a combined 29 points, outscoring the entire Florida State team and giving the Cornhuskers a 37-21 lead. The Seminoles would fight back, but the early cushion helped Nebraska escape with a win. Petteway went for 25 points and five rebounds. Shields scored 21 and grabbed eight boards.
2) Rico Gathers, Baylor: The Baylor forward had a double-double by halftime in a lopsided win over Texas Southern. Gathers finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds (eight offensive) and four blocks.
3) Junior Etou, Rutgers: On Saturday night, Rutgers scored only 26 points in a loss to No. 8 Virginia. Etou was six points shy of tying that mark by himself with a career-high 20 points in a win over Clemson.
STRUGGLED
1) ACC: The ACC dropped the first two games of the 2014 ACC/Big Ten Challenge with Florida State and Clemson both losing on their home floors. On the bright side, Boston College took care of Marist, 79-61.
2) Siena: Take away the production of Marquise Wright, who scored 31 points off 12-of-15 (3-of-4 from three) shooting, and the Saints were 13-0f-45 (3-of-14 from three) in a narrow, 69-67 loss to Fordham.
3) Nebraska-Florida State officiating crew: The officiating crew in Tallahassee struggled with block/charge calls. The most egregious call happened with 3:53 remaining, Nebraska leading 62-57. David Rivers drove to the basket, but Boris Bojanovsky slide in to draw a charge. One official called charge, another called block. Following the TV timeout, the officials decided to give both Rivers and Bojanovsky with one personal foul and give the ball back to the Cornhuskers.Wow. A double foul on a block/charge. Wow. If that doesn’t signal college basketball is a hot mess, nothing will. What a joke.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) December 2, 2014Isn’t calling a double foul on a block-charge the equivalent of just shrugging your shoulders and admitting you have no idea?
— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) December 2, 2014That takes “BLARGE” (when one ref calls charge and the other calls block) to a whole new level
— Terrence Payne (@terrence_payne) December 2, 2014NOTABLES
- Boston College 79, Marist 61
- Fordham 69, Siena 67
- Bucknell 72, Fairfield 66 (OT)
- Eastern Michigan 83, Marygrove 52
- Rutgers 69, Clemson 64
- North Florida 97, Edward Waters 65
- USC Upstate 105, Barber-Scotia
- High Point 76, UNC Greensboro 68
- East Tennessee State 63, Morehead State 59
- Liberty 66, Furman 52
- Winthrop 68, Savannah State 47
- Detroit 109, Aquinas College 59
- Charleston Southern 72, Western Carolina 66
- South Carolina 77, Marshall 59
- Coppin State 103, Goldey-Beacom 50
- Arkansas State 67, Central Arkansas 49
- Green Bay 78, Minnoesota-Duluth 52
- Samford 76, Jacksonville 70 (OT)
- Baylor 75, Texas Southern 49
- Seattle 72, Pacific Lutheran 33
- Sacramento State 65, Utah Valley 56