THE GAME OF THE DAY: No. 11 Wichita State 80, Hawaii 79 (OT)
Rashard Kelly grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a second-chance opportunity with 3.8 seconds left to give No. 11 Wichita State an 80-79 overtime victory, advancing to the Diamond Head Classic championship game on Christmas night against George Washington.
The Shockers opened up a seven-point lead with eight minutes remaining, but a hard-nosed Hawaii team fought back to reclaim the lead. Tied at 70-all, the Rainbow Warriors had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Ron Baker came up with a big block.
Up 77-74, Hawaii was inching closer and closer to the upset win. Darius Carter split 1-of-2 free throws, but the Shockers got the ball right back when Hawaii threw the in-bounds pass away. Fred VanVleet hit a 3-pointer to give Wichita State a lead, but Mike Thomas responded with a layup with 17.7 second left.
VanVleet took a high screen and missed a three from the wing. Hawaii forward Stefan Jankovic had already fouled out, giving the Shockers an edge on the boards.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
Stanford 74, No. 9 Texas 71 (OT)
Anthony Brown and Chasson Randle led the way for the Cardinal a marquee non-conference win on Tuesday night over No. 9 Texas in Austin. Brown gave Stanford a 71-70 led. Following a Javan Felix missed 3-pointer, Randle gave the Cardinal a three-point lead with a vicious step-back jumper from the right elbow. The Longhorns would have two opportunities in the final 10 seconds, however, both found iron.
Stanford needed this win, plain and simple. The Cardinal lost to Duke, an ugly upset to DePaul and missed out on another opportunity against BYU on Saturday. Rob Dauster has more on the importance of the win here.
The Runnin’ Rebels picked up a signature non-conference victory on Tuesday night at home. Christian Wood scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Rashad Vaughn added 21 points. UNLV caught a break with some costly Arizona misses with under 40 seconds left, but came away with a game-clinching steal and had Patrick McCaw secure the upset from the line.
UNLV is in the middle of stretch where they play three ranked teams in 16 days. On Saturday, No. 14 Utah took down the Rebels, 59-46. On Jan. 4, the Rebels go on the road to play Kansas
STARRED
Wayne Blackshear, Louisville: With Montrezl Harrell serving a one-game suspension, Blackshear scored a career-high 31 points, grabbed six boards and came away with four steals.
Javarez Willis, Ohio: The 5-foot-11 guard shot 11-of-18, including 7-of-14 from three for a career-high 31 points, as the Bobcats dominated DePaul, 99-78, in the Diamond Head Classic.
Christian Wood and Rashad Vaughn, UNLV: Wood went for 24 points and 10 boards. Vaughn had 21. The two shot a combined 50 percent from the field.
STRUGGLED
DePaul: The Blue Demons have lost five straight, allowing 99 points to Ohio in a three-touchdown loss on Tuesday afternoon. In the last five games, DePaul is allowing opponents to shoot a combined 51 percent from the field of an average of 86.0 points per game. Not the way to head into Big East Conference play.
Louisiana Tech: Michael White’s team held an 18-point lead with 14 minutes remaining, and let N.C. State comeback and steal an important non-conference game from the Bulldogs. It hasn’t been a good end to the out-of-conference slate for Louisiana Tech, losing three of four, including a two-point loss to Syracuse. Looks like Louisiana Tech will have to go through UTEP and Old Dominion to get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Stanley Johnson, Arizona: The heralded freshman scored 13 points and had 13 rebounds, but made some critical freshman mistakes down the stretch. He poked away an entry pass to the high post and on the ensuing 2-on-1, he casually went up for the layup -- which would have given Arizona the lead with 35 seconds to go. Moments later, he committed a turnover on the final possession for the Wildcats.
TOP 25
- UNLV 71, No. 3 Arizona 67
- No. 4 Louisville 80, Cal State Northridge 55
- No. 7 Villanova 92, N.J.I.T. 67
- Stanford 74, No. 9 Texas 71 (OT)
- No. 14 Utah 80, South Dakota State 66
NOTABLES
- Kyle Collinsworth scored 18 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and four assists in BYU’s overtime win over UMass
- Jordan Sibert had 24 points to lead Dayton over Georgia Tech
- In a top mid-major game, A.J. English scored 27 points, shooting 50 percent from the field and from three as Iona topped Florida Gulf Coast.
- Brekkott Chapman scored 22 off the bench and Delon Wright had 17 as No. Utah beat South Dakota State
- Kevin Larsen was 1-of-8 shooting, but sent George Washington to the Diamond Head Classic title game, blocking a potential game-tying three against Colorado.