Good morning. Hoping all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.
For all its regular talent and athleticism in recent years, Texas has struggled mightily shooting from the perimeter. It’s among the roadblocks that have slowed down the build in Shaka Smart’s tenure there, and in fact has still been an issue early in the season, even through an undefeated start.
If the Longhorns start hitting something like 11 of 24 three-pointers on a regular basis and are getting 32 points from Kerwin Roach, though? They’re going to be very, very tough to beat.
That’s exactly what Texas did on Thanksgiving Day in posting a 92-89 signature non-conference win over North Carolina in the semifinals of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational. The Longhorns advanced to face Michigan State in the tourney final on Friday, after the Spartans drilled UCLA 87-67 in the second semi later Thursday night.
Texas played an outstanding game, shooting 52.5% from the field and connecting on nearly half its attempts from three-point range, too. The Horns fell behind UNC by 13 early on and trailed almost all of the first half, but shot 62.5% in the second half to stay a step ahead of the Heels over the final 20 minutes.
Roach scored a career-high 32, making 12 of 15 from the field, all three of his three-point tries, and also added six assists, seven rebounds and four steals in a simply dominant performance. He wasn’t the only individual star, either, as Matt Coleman (16 points) made 2 of 3 from long range and Jaxson Hayes hit all five of his shots and added 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Texas still has concerns (North Carolina won the rebounding battle easily, 41-32), and there’s no guarantee the shooting will stay that hot. There also was the Tar Heels’ Coby White going wild with 33 points of his own, including seven three-pointers.
The Longhorns showed last year, though, that even with their flaws that they’re capable of snapping up and biting top-notch competition. If they start doing so consistently-and they’ll get a chance Friday against Spartans to prove they can-then this becomes more than just a solid top-50 program, and graduates to a team to watch among the national elite.
Side Dishes
- The Battle 4 Atlantis final is set. Wisconsin got to the title game by taking over against Oklahoma in the second half for a 78-58 win, as D’Mitrik Trice scored a career-high 25 and hit seven three-pointers. Virginia has a date with the Badgers next after fighting hard before toppling Dayton 66-59. De’Andre Hunter tied a career high with 23 points.
- The Wooden Legacy quarterfinals saw a major surprise as Fresno State not just got by Northwestern, it kicked the Wildcats’ tails by a 78-59 score with all five starters scoring in double figures. Later, Seton Hall outlasted Grand Canyon 82-75 as Myles Powell delivered a virtuoso performance, scoring a massive career-high 40. The day ended with Hawaii surprising Utah 90-79, with 5-foot-9 Brocke Stepteau-a former walk-on and really fun player to watch-scoring a career-best 24 for the Rainbow Warriors.
- The AdvoCare Invitational had no surprises on its opening day, which included Villanova blowing away Canisius in the final minutes. The Wildcats finished the game on a 20-4 run over the final four minutes, turning a comfortable lead into an 83-56 blowout. Also winning were Oklahoma State (84-64 over Memphis), LSU (67-55 over College of Charleston) and Florida State, an 81-63 victor over Alabama-Birmingham.
- Nevada had three 20-point scorers (Jordan Caroline, Caleb Martin and Jazz Johnson) but continued to let opponents hang around in a 96-86 win over Tulsa in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. The Wolf Pack keep winning and have oodles of firepower, but there’s still work to do. Also winning in this event was Massachusetts, which blew out Southern Illinois 84-62 in a game not that close most of the way, with the Minutemen hitting 15 three-pointers.
Today’s Menu:
- TV networks scheduling around sports like college football and the NBA as they do again leads to ridiculous start times for some tourneys’ showcase games. The day starts in the morning with Villanova taking on Oklahoma State in a semifinal in the AdvoCare Invitational (11:30 a.m. Eastern, ESPN), while its Dayton against Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game (11:30 a.m., ESPN2). The Atlantic championship game will follow with Virginia against Wisconsin (2 p.m., ESPN), while the second semi in Orlando with Florida State and LSU will wait until
- The Wooden Legacy semifinals will feature Miami (Fla.) as a heavy favorite over Fresno State (2 p.m., ESPN2), and to win the tourney now too. Later, Seton Hall/the Myles Powell Show will take on Hawaii (11:30 p.m., ESPN2).
- The NIT Season Tip-Off title game promises to be a good one with Tennessee against Kansas (9:30 p.m., ESPN2), with a pair of top-five teams. We’re not sure the Volunteers are quite that level, but they could certainly show otherwise with a win here. Former Big East and (before that) Conference USA rivals Louisville and Marquette meet in the consolation game (7 p.m., ESPN2).
- The Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational has Texas against Michigan State in the final (6:30 p.m., FOX). The third-place game will feature titans North Carolina and UCLA (4 p.m., FOX).
- The Las Vegas Holiday Invitational finishes with Nevada taking on Massachusetts in the title game (10 p.m., FS1), with the consolation dual between former MVC rivals Tulsa and Southern Illinois coming after (12:30 p.m., FS1).
- The Emerald Coast Classic is another of the many early season tourneys in Florida and holds its semifinals with George Mason against Cincinnati first (7 p.m., CBSSN) followed by Baylor taking on Mississippi (9:30 p.m., CBSSN).
- Among the non-tournament offerings, the best game of the night is Marshall at Maryland (6 p.m., Big Ten Network), with the Thundering Herd taking on their three-point bombing against the unbeaten Terrapins, who have had some scares at home.
- Kent State is at Vanderbilt, a game that the Commodores ought to win, especially as the Golden Flashes have been shorthanded all season so far, but a MAC team is never a slouch.
- Texas-Arlington gave Indiana a push on the road earlier this week, and now the Mavericks will take on another daunting trip going to Arkansas.
Have a terrific Friday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
