Among many early season tournaments and challenge events, the Gavitt Tipoff Games seem to fly under the radar more than any others. The tournaments are about to begin in earnest, while the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Big 12/SEC Challenge and Mountain West/Missouri Valley are still to come.
On Tuesday night, road teams had a good night, and it was a mixed bag for the teams from the Big East.
Wisconsin snapped Xavier’s 41-game non-conference winning streak as they pulled away from the Musketeers 77-68. They got a big game from their big-time player, as Ethan Happ had 30 points on 15-23 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, and they were 9-16 from long range while out-rebounding Xavier 40-32. They got Tyrique Jones in foul trouble, limiting him to just 12 minutes during which he scored four points and grabbed just one rebound.
This Xavier team needs to develop some depth behind Naji Marshall (24 points on 10-15 shooting, 13 rebounds), Jones. and Quentin Goodin, their most talented and experienced players. Goodin had a tough night, going 5-18 from the field including just 1-8 from long range.
In the second game, it was another road win and in an entertaining game. Georgetown visited Illinois for just the sixth meeting between the schools, and the game went back and forth in the second half. Both teams had their moments, but Georgetown simply had more of them in an 88-80 win led by three freshmen, though a couple of veterans played no small role as well.
James Akinjo had 19 points and seven assists, with three of those points coming on a big conventional three-point play in the final minute as the Hoyas sealed the game. Josh LeBlanc had 14 points on 7-9 shooting and seven rebounds and Mac McClung had 12 points including a highlight reel dunk off a steal as well. Jesse Govan, Jamorko Pickett, Trey Mourning and Jagan Mosely all made key plays and helped the Hoyas out-rebound the Illini 39-26, which helped them overcome 22 turnovers. All ten Hoyas who got into the game had at least one rebound, and no one had more than LeBlanc’s seven.
You saw the promise of the Hoyas and how much Patrick Ewing has the program heading in the right direction. Last year, little was expected of the Hoyas and for good reason, but they were more competitive than expected in Big East play. No one expects them to win it this year, but there is reason to believe they can influence the race and be a team no one wants to play in February.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games continue, and they have quietly become a solid early season event. Tuesday night was a good one for road teams and a mixed bag for the Big East, the conference the event’s namesake founded.
Side Dishes
Georgia lost at Temple 81-77 on Tuesday, but that was the least of their concerns. The night before, the team had to bus to Anderson, South Carolina to fly to Philadelphia for the game, but their plane became stuck in some mud while taxiing. A couple of hours later, the plane needed inspections, and that delayed the team flight to Tuesday morning.
In high-profile matchups whose end result was not surprising, Tennessee beat Georgia Tech 66-53 and LSU beat Memphis 85-76. A result that might surprise some was College of Charleston beating Rhode Island 66-55 to go to 3-0 on the season, but this game was in Charleston, the Cougars have a veteran team that will contend in the CAA again and Rhode Island has a new coach and has players trying to come into new roles.
Ivy League contenders Harvard and Penn both won, with the Crimson heading west to edge UMass 74-71 and the Quakers improving to 3-0 with a 91-61 blowout of Lafayette. The Ivy League should be led by these two again, although Yale can’t be counted out.
For a player who had a great night, try Raiquan Clark of LIU Brooklyn. The senior guard capped a 33-point night with a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Blackbirds an 89-87 win at Fairfield. Clark was 14-22 from the field on the night and is shooting just under 61 percent from the field in the first three games of the season.
Preseason CAA favorite Northeastern got a boost on Tuesday in the form of an immediately eligible transfer. Shaquille Walters had transferred from Santa Clara and was expected to sit out this season before having three seasons left. The NCAA has ruled that he is eligible to play immediately, giving the Huskies one more option.
Tonight’s Menu
A number of early tournaments will get going soon, but we do have more of the Gavitt Tipoff Games headlining the action today.
- The first of those games has Michigan visiting Villanova in a rematch of last season’s national championship game (6:30 p.m.)
- Eastern Michigan is off to a 3-0 start, but they get a very stiff test at Duke (7 p.m.)
- In a campus game as part of the Gotham Classic, defending Big South champion and favorite Radford visits Notre Dame (7 p.m.)
- Boston University hits the road to take on another former America East foe, this time to Albany (7:30 p.m.)
- The second Gavitt Tipoff Game of the night is Nebraska hosting Seton Hall (7:30 p.m.), with Indiana hosting Marquette (8:30 p.m.) right behind it.
- A nice mid-major matchup later has Saint Mary’s visiting New Mexico State (9 p.m.)
