Two championship games were played on Tuesday night. The winner of one needed it for one reason, while the loser of the other one could have used it for another reason. And in the latter case, a tip of the hat needs to go to the coaching staff of the winning team.
The Legends Classic championship game needed overtime, and in the extra session it all came down to the final play. Down one, St. John’s gave the ball to – who else? – Shamorie Ponds, who can score with the best of them in college. He drove toward the left side, put one up high off the glass and in, and the Red Storm appeared to get away with a foul on the final shot attempt by VCU guard Marcus Evans as they held on for an 87-86 victory. Ponds finished with 35 points, out-dueling VCU’s Isaac Vann, who had 30 along with 11 rebounds and five assists.
St. John’s needed this. It was a tournament in their backyard, in a season where much is expected of this team. Since Chris Mullin took over, the Red Storm have at least been worth paying attention to, and they have shown potential at times while looking ordinary at others. In the end, though, the desired result has not been there thus far. This time around, though, the Big East is wide open, and the Red Storm appear to have about as much talent and experience as anyone, especially after getting Mustapha Heron eligible immediately. This has to be the year, or Mullin’s seat at least gets very hot.
The Hall of Fame Classic had its championship game a little later in the evening. Nebraska was among the more notable teams left out of the NCAA Tournament given that they went 13-5 in the Big Ten, while Texas Tech lost a lot of production but has plenty of talent. Jarrett Culver capped a great couple of days in Kansas City with 26 points, going 3-4 from long range, and Texas Tech broke away from Nebraska in the second half for a 70-52 win.
The biggest reason Nebraska was left out of the NCAA Tournament last season was the lack of a signature win, whether in non-conference or in Big Ten play. While the Cornhuskers blew out Seton Hall last week, the value of that win remains to be seen given their personnel and the jury being out on the Big East as a whole. Fortunately, this missed opportunity is not the last one the Cornhuskers will have in non-conference play, as they have to play at Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, against Creighton and against Oklahoma State in Sioux City before Big Ten play. Even so, if you’re Nebraska, you don’t want to let an opportunity like this get away.
Meanwhile, let’s tip our hat to Chris Beard with the job he has done at Texas Tech. He built last year’s team in short order and coached them up to a run in the NCAA Tournament, and after losing guys like Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith (the latter an unexpected loss), he has this team regrouping behind the likes of Culver, Matt Mooney, Davide Moretti and Norense Odiase. Reloading is not easy to do there, but if the first couple of weeks are any indication, they are doing just that. The Red Raiders have won all five games by at least 15 points, are holding opponents to 33.3 percent shooting, out-rebounding opponents by over ten a game and forcing over 17 turnovers a game. Before coming to Kansas City, they had not played the toughest schedule, but they showed that they can beat a couple of big boys, too. They could be 8-1 or even 9-0 when they go to New York to take on Duke on December 20.
Side Dishes
Elsewhere in tournament play:
- Temple won the consolation game in the Legends Classic by breaking away from California 76-59.
- USC took home third place in the Hall of Fame Classic by running out to a 17-point halftime lead and coasting to a 99-80 win over Missouri State.
- The Maui Invitational had semifinal action on Tuesday, and both games were good ones. Duke got a big effort from Marques Bolden, a guy once thought to be a sure one-and-done player, and held off Auburn 78-72. Bolden was one of five Blue Devils who scored in double figures with 11 points, but it was his nine rebounds and seven blocked shots that were difference-makers. Later, Arizona led early and at the half, but Gonzaga took over the game in the second half to beat the Wildcats going away 91-74 in a game that was more entertaining than the final score would indicate. In earlier consolation games, San Diego State edged Xavier 79-74 behind 26 points and eight rebounds from Jalen McDaniels, and Iowa State took over in the second half to beat Illinois 84-68 behind 26 points and 14 rebounds from Talen Horton-Tucker.
- The second day of the Cayman Islands Classic saw Clemson control the glass in a big way to take care of Georgia 64-49 in one semifinal, then Creighton ran out to a 28-point halftime lead and never looked back in a 93-68 romp over a good Georgia State team. In consolation round action, Illinois State edged Akron 73-68 and Boise State pulled away from undermanned St. Bonaventure 72-52.
- The Cancun Challenge had its semifinals on Tuesday, with Jacksonville State blowing out Western Carolina 84-53 and North Florida handing Southern Miss its first loss of the season by a 64-48 margin in the Mayan Division. In the Riviera Division semifinals, Bradley pulled away from SMU 75-62 and Penn State took care of Wright State 77-59.
- Semifinal action in the Gulf Coast Showcase saw Toledo beat Louisiana 77-64 and UC Irvine move to 6-0 with a 67-55 win over Tulane. In consolation round action, Mike Daum broke the career scoring record at South Dakota State with 41 points and ten rebounds to lead the Jackrabbits over UTSA 99-79, and Colorado State beat Florida Gulf Coast 82-74.
In non-tournament action of note, Lipscomb beat TCU 73-64, San Diego beat Colorado 70-64, and Washington salvaged the day for the Pac-12 by hanging on for a 65-62 win over Texas A&M, who is now 1-4.
One of Notre Dame‘s captains is leaving the program, as senior Elijah Burns will graduate in December and look to go elsewhere, possibly a place where he can play right away as a graduate transfer. He redshirted his freshman season, so he has a year left. Aside from the intangibles that come with a captain, the loss is not a big one for the Fighting Irish as Burns has started just two of his 44 career games and has only once logged more than 20 minutes in a game.
Memphis scored another big win on the recruiting trail as James Wiseman, regarded by many as the top prospect in the class of 2019, committed to the school. New head coach Penny Hardaway had coached Wiseman on the travel circuit in high school, so there was plenty of familiarity there.
Tonight’s Menu
The great week of tournament play continues with a big championship game and more getting underway.
- It’s the final day of action at the Maui Invitational, and it starts with the fifth place matchup of San Diego State and Iowa State (2:30 p.m.), then moves on to what should be a dandy final between Gonzaga and Duke (5 p.m.) before Xavier battles Illinois for seventh place (9 p.m.) and Arizona meets Auburn for third place (11:30 p.m.)
- The Battle 4 Atlantis gets underway in the Bahamas, starting with Oklahoma taking on Florida (noon) and Wisconsin battling Stanford (2:30 p.m.) in the afternoon. In the evening, Dayton and Butler get things going (7 p.m.) before Middle Tennessee and Virginia close the day out (9:30 p.m.)
- In the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center, Louisville takes on Tennessee (5 p.m.) before Kansas and Marquette battle in the other semifinal (7:30 p.m.)
- The Cayman Islands Classic finishes up, and it begins with St. Bonaventure meeting Akron for seventh place (11 a.m.), then Boise State and Illinois State battle for fifth place (1:30 p.m.), Georgia State and Georgia meet with third place on the line (5 p.m.), and Clemson and Creighton will battle for the championship (7:30 p.m.)
- In the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Richmond and Wyoming meet in the consolation game (5 p.m.) before Boston College and Loyola-Chicago meet in the championship game (7:30 p.m.)
- The Cancun Challenge has its championship games, starting with Western Carolina taking on Southern Miss for third place (12:30 p.m.) and North Florida taking on Jacksonville State in the Mayan Division (3 p.m.) In the Riviera Division, the third place game will be between SMU and Wright State (6 p.m.) and the championship game will feature Bradley against Penn State (8:30 p.m.)
- It’s a full day of action at the MGM Resorts Main Event. The afternoon starts with Hartford battling Iona (2 p.m.) in the Middleweight Bracket consolation and ends with Utah Valley taking on Long Beach State in the championship game (5 p.m.) In the evening is the Heavyweight Bracket as Saint Mary’s and Mississippi State battle for third place (8:30 p.m.) before Arizona State and Utah State meet for the championship (11 p.m.)
- The final day of the Gulf Coast Showcase starts with the seventh place game featuring UTSA and Florida Gulf Coast (11 a.m.), then it’s a battle for fifth place between South Dakota State and Colorado State (1:30 p.m.) The evening begins with Louisiana taking on Tulane for third place (5 p.m.) and concludes with the championship game between Toledo and UC Irvine (7:30 p.m.)
- In the TCL Vancouver Showcase is a nice matchup between Washington and Minnesota (8 p.m.)
