The Great Alaska Shootout closed out a great run last night. Sadly, it did not get the final round of respects it deserved, but that didn’t stop it from delivering one final thriller for those who enjoyed so many over the years in this long-running event.
The 40th and final edition of the Shootout concluded Saturday, and the record will show that Central Michigan was its final champion after edging Cal State Bakersfield 75-72. Keno Davis joined Tom Davis as the first father and son to both win Great Alaska Shootout championships, with Keno following 31 years after Dr. Tom ‘s Iowa team won the tourney in 1986. It’s a wonderful historical accomplishment for an event that was rich in history, and deserved to be recognized nationally for it far more than it was in its last year.
There was not much of a final victory lap for the Great Alaska Shootout, at least not for national fans across the country who once (and a few of us still) watched it late at night and saw so many memorable games. With all the national sports networks out there now plus many regional cable options if you have satellite, none could find a place to show the final Shootout, not even CBS Sports Network, which had dutifully-and colorfully-shown it up until last year. And shame on every single one of them. Regardless of the quality of field, any of them could’ve guaranteed themselves some folks watching for nostalgia’s sake, to say goodbye to a great event even as it was so obviously no longer what it used to be.
Like most Shootouts in recent years, this year’s field was not awe-inspiring. Also like most recent years, though, the tourney-and in particular the final game-was much better than it got credit for. Even without big names, Anchorage furnished some excellent battles (last year’s Iona-Nevada title game was superb) and still regularly featured teams that ended up in the NCAA Tournament later in the season, and it’s unfortunate (even if also certainly understandable) that the natives did not support it as much in its final years. Both semifinal games this year had game-winning shots just before the buzzer, and in the final championship game Cal State Bakersfield came back from 12 down in the second half, even leading 72-71 with three minutes left before CMU fought back and became the first Mid-American Conference team to win the Shootout.
As we noted after the August announcement of this being the last Shootout, this is a sad moment for college basketball. ESPN dropping coverage of the tourney hurt, but college basketball’s ridiculously liberal exempt tourney rules hurt it more. The feeling here is a lot more could’ve been done by those in charge of the sport to protect a tourney like this, if these people really are looking for ways to make the sport more of a happening in the early season.
The heavy hitter matchups the Great Alaska Shootout used to regularly feature was a big part of its appeal, but it was always more than that. It was NCAA Division II Alaska-Anchorage regularly making life difficult for Division I schools-with a win over Santa Clara on Thursday, the Seawolves finished with 39 wins in the Shootout in 40 tourneys. UAA’s regular challenges to bigger-name competition will be badly missed for the spice they provided to college basketball’s typically underwhelming non-conference season.
It also was how the tourney introduced many of us to the uniqueness of Alaska. Nothing embodied that better than pictures of the College of Charleston team sledding as part of its trip this year. If you think that’s meaningless, consider that a number of members of the team had barely seen anything resembling winter in their lives.
Everybody loves sunshine and warm places, but life isn’t sun rays and beaches for everyone. It’s a good thing when college students get the opportunity to see such firsthand. Alaska wasn’t warm, but it was a terrific cultural experience for the participants, and there was and is no other tourney near like it anymore.
The Shootout is now gone, and the sport of college basketball has lost something significant and is poorer for it. In a right world, that loss ought to trigger some serious reflection and examination by all movers and shakers in the sport who have complained about the weakness of the sport’s early season, yet at the same time watched one of its jewel events fade and eventually closed up. Whether they realized it or not, the sport needed events like the Shootout. And still needs them.
Side Dishes:
- The most bizarre story of the day most all have heard about by now, as Minnesota outlasted Alabama 89-84 to win the Barclays Center Classic, but only after the Crimson Tide made a run late-with just three players. Alabama saw its entire bench ejected from the game after a tiff between the teams, and the Tide then lost two of their remaining players due to fouls and injuries, leaving them to play 3-on-5 the final 10:41. Alabama still made a run at Minnesota, cutting a sizable deficit to just three late as Collin Sexton erupted (40 points) before the Golden Gophers held on. The game demonstrates just what an odd situation this is for any team, even one in the lead (who prepares to play 5-on-3 in a game?), but also just how individual-oriented college basketball has become. In a lot of ways, its shouldn’t be surprising that Bama was able to stay in the game; it has a freshman who is a product of the modern sport, excelling in creating and making shots on his own, no matter how many defenders are on him, and when Minnesota didn’t do as much, it’s not such a big surprise the Tide hung in.
- TCU defeated St. Bonaventure 89-79 to win the Emerald Coast Classic. The Horned Frogs were just a little bit better, but this is a tourney where two teams come out as winners. The Frogs get the title, but the Bonnies played well even shorthanded and showed they have a lot of players capable of stepping up when needed.
- The finish of the night came in Williamsburg, Va., where Oliver Tot hit a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to give William & Mary a 79-77 win over Old Dominion. What a game-the two teams swapped the lead seven times in the last two minutes, and the Tribe continue to be a frightfully tough out at home, as they are now 40-6 at Kaplan Arena the last 3+ seasons.
- Two MVC schools improving to 7-0 were Loyola (Ill.) and Valparaiso, as the Ramblers rolled over Kent State 75-60 and Valpo rallied back to top UNC Wilmington 79-70. On the other hand for the Valley, Illinois State lost to Charleston Southern at home in overtime 64-62. Barclay Radebaugh seems to have the Buccaneers put a scare into someone at least once every year, and what a great win for CSU. For the Redbirds, it’s clear that at least early on this is going to be a roller coaster of a year, with glimpses of greatness as well as stretches that make one scratch their head.
- San Diego is now 5-0 after a win that will carry some weight. The Toreros won a battle of unbeaten at Grand Canyon, posting a 72-62 win at the notably tough GCU Arena, where another overflow crowd above the 7,200-seat capacity was on hand. The Toreros are becoming a team worth following in the WCC.
- Two other teams remaining undefeated were UNLV and Albany, both who are now 6-0. The Runnin’ Rebels rumbled by Southern Utah 101-82 with UW-Milwaukee transfer totaling 24 points and 14 assists, while Albany went on the road and handled Holy Cross 78-62. Joe Cremo scored 30 for the Great Danes and topped 1,000 points for his career, and this is UAlbany’s best start in 32 years.
- Some teams that bear watching over the next month to see if they keep rolling in non-conference play: New Mexico State is now 4-1 after handling Texas-El Paso 72-63, Murray State defeated Southern Illinois 81-73 with Jonathan Stark scoring another 27 points, Bradley moved to 6-1 after grinding out a 62-57 win over Georgia Southern, and Bowling Green is now 5-1 after winning at Campbell 78-72.
- Finally, in one of the longest games of the season so far, Pennsylvania defeated shorthanded Monmouth 101-96 in four overtimes, withstanding a pair of buzzer-beaters by the Hawks’ Austin Tilghman. This was the Quakers’ second 4-OT game in school history and first since 1920, when Penn edged Princeton 26-23. Yes.
Today’s Menu:
- Thanksgiving weekend tournaments wrap up with championship games in the AdvoCare Invitational, Wooden Legacy and Phil Knight Invitational. Missouri takes on West Virginia in Orlando (9:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2), while Washington State is a surprise finalist in the Wooden event against San Diego State (Midnight, ESPN2). The PK80 has a pair of titanic showdowns featuring four teams that would surprise nobody if they’re in the Final Four, with North Carolina against Michigan State (8:30 p.m., ESPN) and Duke facing Florida (10:30 p.m., ESPN).
- Besides the championship games, among the good matchups in those tourneys are St. John’s against Central Florida for third in the AdvoCare Invitational (Noon, ESPNU), Texas facing Gonzaga and Oklahoma against Oregon in the PK80 (1 p.m. starts on ESPN and ESPN2, respectively), and Saint Mary’s vs. Georgia in Anaheim for the Wooden Legacy third-place game (5 p.m., ESPNU). Also, Arkansas meets Connecticut in another PK80 game for third (3 p.m., ESPN).
- A heavy-hitting non-conference game has Texas A&M against USC. Both are loaded with NBA prospects, and both are ranked inside the top 20.
- An otherwise innocuous matchup takes on a little more heft with Tulane being 5-0 as it heads to face Georgia State.
- Jacksonville State is at Mississippi State, and the Gamecocks certainly have the size and ability to win in an SEC house.
- Montana State was a preseason favorite in the Big Sky. The Bobcats have been somewhat quiet early but can make a splash if they can win at Fresno State.
- Philadelphia Big 5 games always get a mention on this list, and we have one Sunday as undefeated Temple is at La Salle (5 p.m., NBCSN).
- Kentucky continues its version of rigorous travel for a non-conference schedule, because you just never know how taxing it can be taking five-minute rides from campus to Rupp Arena. The Wildcats host Illinois-Chicago, another solid team that will give UK some trouble, but likely not enough to put in danger of a loss.
- UCLA has been shaky enough that it wouldn’t be a stunner if UC Irvine gives the Bruins some trouble. Another Big West/Pac-12 matchup has UC Davis at Washington, and the Aggies are very capable of pulling off the win.
Have an enjoyable Sunday to wrap up the holiday weekend.
