For better or for worse-we’d argue there are definite parts of both-the days before Thanksgiving mark the heart of college basketball’s non-conference tournament season.
With the unfortunate departure of the Great Alaska Shootout after last year, the Maui Invitational also is the last great preseason tournament standing, an event of history and consistent excellence that rises above the now-almost unending crop of mostly lightly attended, hard-to-distinguish affairs in tourist areas.
Maui lost a dose of its charm this year with the unfortunate-and inexcusable-sidelining of host school Chaminade, in the name of getting for some squad that’s always on TV still three more high-profile chances on the tube at the Silverswords’ expense. The tourney itself, though, continues to be virtually idiot-proof, always good for quality matchups from Day One.
Sure enough, Monday’s games included three contests that went right to the wire, including the first game going to overtime. Auburn’s 88-79 overtime win over Xavier just might end up being the game of the tournament, a game where the Musketeers seemed to be in perpetual pursuit, yet got the game to an extra session.
This one was prototypical Maui, two teams playing hard and at a high level. Xavier showed something after its ugly home loss to Wisconsin, owning the boards and continuing to come back every time it appeared the Tigers were ready to pull away. Auburn displayed some mettle, staying with it while the Musketeers continued to nip at their heels. And don’t be fooled by the final score, as this was a two-point game until Jared Harper’s bucket with 1:03 left made it 83-79.
The only blowout was, naturally, Duke handling San Diego State 90-64, holding the Aztecs to 35.8% shooting, but the final two games of the night also were quality. Arizona fought back after trailing much of the way against Iowa State, including by 10 in the second half. The Wildcats’ 71-66 victory came against an ISU team that continues to be shorthanded, with just eight scholarship players.
The final quarterfinal saw Gonzaga withstand 22 turnovers and a frantic rally by Illinois to finally advance with an 84-78 win. The Bulldogs shot 52.9% and had five in double figures, while the Fighting Illini are only going to become more and more of a pain to play against, as Brad Underwood is starting to get his players and his system firmly in place.
Side Dishes
- The Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals saw Clemson get challenged but holding off Akron 72-69. Georgia blew out Illinois State 80-68, the final score not indicating how badly the Redbirds got outplayed by the Bulldogs, whose members played as if their hair was on fire. This game also featured maybe our most absurd example of the awful hook-and-hold rule yet, as UGA started the game with a seven-point trip down the court, bouncing in a three-pointer, then getting two foul shots after a flagrant on ISU after players were routinely battling for a rebound, then scoring two points after getting possession of the ball again. The night games then saw Georgia State upend St. Bonaventure 75-65 and then Creighton toppling Boise State 94-82.
- The Gulf Coast Showcase got underway with what some might see as surprising results. The first came as Tulane scored the game’s final six points to top South Dakota State 84-80. The Green Wave is no slouch, though, and the Jackrabbits are not a deep team right now. In the night session, Toledo blew out Florida Gulf Coast 90-62 and Louisiana-Lafayette had little trouble in a 91-73 win over Colorado State. The sole result that had little surprise value was UC Irvine moving to 5-0, coasting past Texas-San Antonio 65-56 as the Anteaters’ bench scored 40 of their 65 points.
- Kansas State closed out the Paradise Jam as champion, in control against former Big 8/Big 12 conference rival Missouri 82-67. The Wildcats again got little from their bench, but that doesn’t matter a lick if a team is shooting 54.5% and draining 12 of 24 from long range. Also, Oregon State won the third-place game 74-58 over Pennsylvania, as Tres Tinkle scored a career-high 32.
- The MGM Main Event saw a couple surprises, including in its second semifinal where Arizona State held off Mississippi State 72-67. Nice win for ASU, while it looks like it will take us some time to figure out how much Miss. State has. The Sun Devils’ foe in the title game will be Utah State, which had a surprisingly easy time in drilling Saint Mary’s 80-63. The Gaels shot just 25%, but Neemias Queta scored 24 and added nine boards and five blocks for the Aggies, who are now 5-0. Keep an eye on USU this year; Craig Smith did a superb job coaching at South Dakota and runs a lot of really nice offense.
- The Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic saw some prolific individual and team performances. It started with the first semifinal when Loyola Chicago bounced back from a halftime deficit to roll comfortably to an 82-66 win over Richmond. Loyola shot 62% and Lucas Williamson was outstanding with 23 points, hitting 9 of 11 from the field. The Ramblers now will face Boston College, which outran Wyoming 88-76, building a big lead early in the second half and then withstanding a late run by the Cowboys. Ky Bowman scored 38 points, including seven three-pointers, and he more than offset the 27 for Justin James.
- Nebraska handled Missouri State as expected, 85-62, in the Hall of Fame Classic. Texas Tech then rebounded from a nine-point halftime deficit to surpass USC 78-63.
- In still yet another tourney, the Legends Classic in Brooklyn saw St. John’s get by California 82-79 behind 32 from Shamorie Ponds. The Johnnies now face VCU, which won a battle of unbeatens by squeezing by Temple 57-51.
- Outside the mass of tournaments, North Carolina got a push from St. Francis (Pa.) for a while, finally prevailing 101-76. Nassir Little scored 19 off the bench and hit 8 of 9 from the field.
- Buzzer-beater at BG: Bowling Green’s Demajeo Wiggins scored a tip-in at the buzzer to give the Falcons an 81-79 win over Hampton.
- Buzzer-beater, Vegas-style: Long Beach State guard Ron Freeman went coast-to-coast in the final five seconds and banked in a wild, off-balance game-winner as time expired for an 86-85 win over Iona as part of the MGM Main Event undercard games.
- This next result is brought to you by Mr. Yuk…Eastern Michigan scored four points in the first half against Rutgers, tying an NCAA Division I record low for a half. The Eagles fell behind 31-4 at the break and lost 63-36 in what should’ve been a very competitive game. Another tiny problem for EMU here? The free throw line, where it hit just 3 of 17 shots. Mercy.
- Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland scored a career-best 33, and the Commodores needed just about all of them to hold off Liberty 79-70.
- UNC Charlotte held off Longwood 42-39, and that was a final score, not halftime. Something tells us we’re going to love watching Ron Sanchez impose UVA Ball at Charlotte. Nothing wrong with a low-scoring grinder to provide a little variety to the sport. The shooting was awful by both teams and turnovers were aplenty (a combined 38), but every single possession mattered, and the 49ers are finding ways to win, something that one couldn’t say about UNCC much in recent years. Also, this was the first loss for the Lancers in five games.
Today’s Menu:
- The second day at Maui is highlighted by the always anticipated semifinals. The first matches two top-10 teams with Auburn against Duke (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). The second is merely two of the biggest names on the West Coast with Arizona meeting Gonzaga (10:30 p.m., ESPN).
- The Cayman Islands tourney semifinals has a regional pairing of Clemson against Georgia (1:30 p.m.). The second semi lines up Georgia State against Creighton (7:30 p.m.). All games of this tourney are being broadcast by the Stadium network on Facebook Live.
- The Gulf Coast Showcase semis include Tulane meeting UC Irvine followed by Louisiana-Lafayette against Toledo.
- The Cancun Challenge showcases once again the foolishness of predetermined semifinals for an event. Southern Mississippi already won at SMU this year, yet the Golden Eagles are relegated to the proverbial kiddie table (against North Florida) while the Mustangs get Bradley in a semifinal (6 p.m., CBSSN). The second semifinal in Cancun features Wright State against Penn State (8:30 p.m., CBSSN).
- The Vancouver Showcase round-robin continues with Santa Clara against Minnesota (9 p.m., Big Ten Network) and then Texas A&M vs. Washington (11:30 p.m.).
- Samford is a surprising 5-0, but the Bulldogs step up in class when they go to Ohio State.
- For entertainment value, one could do a lot worse tonight than Radford at William & Mary.
- Notre Dame has a lot of work to do this year, but the Fighting Irish are always a name opponent, meaning Duquesne has a chance for an attention-getting win when it goes to South Bend.
- Texas-Arlington already has decent wins over Northern Iowa and UC Davis, and now goes to Indiana (7 p.m., Big Ten Network).
- Lipscomb tries for a metroplex double, as the Bisons already have a win at SMU and now try to knock off TCU. Size will be an issue for Lipscomb, but the Horned Frogs have been shaky early on.
- Maybe the most underrated game of the day will be Colorado at San Diego (10 p.m., ESPNU). Love seeing this one on TV, first for the Buffaloes playing USD in a home-and-home, and also because it’s a worthy series as the Toreros won the first meeting last year in Boulder.
Enjoy your Tuesday.
