This time of the year is always fun since we get treated to a lot of great matchups and just a lot of games in a short time. It feels like there’s always a game on TV up through the end of the long holiday weekend. This time around, though, we’ve been treated especially well. We’ve had two great matchups in three days, both for championships, and neither disappointed.
Kansas and Tennessee delivered in much the same way Duke and Gonzaga did on Wednesday.
This was a close one throughout; it was never one where either team was on the verge of breaking away, although for a decent portion of overtime you had a feeling the outcome wasn’t in much doubt. It went back and forth, with Tennessee playing better later in the first half and at times in the second, then the lead kept changing in the final minutes before the game was tied at 69 at the end of regulation. With reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams (18 points, eight rebounds, six assists) having fouled out, however, the edge might have gone to Kansas.
That turned out to be the case, but the problem for Tennessee wasn’t offense as Admiral Schofield (21 points) hit one big shot after another to keep them within a possession. But they couldn’t get enough stops of Dedric Lawson (24 points, 13 rebounds) and others as the Jayhawks took home the NIT Season Tip-Off with an 87-81 win.
Tennessee certainly showed well, and they’re a good defensive team, but they couldn’t finish the game in the extra session. Kansas ended up shooting 50 percent from the field, although they turned it over 16 times. Kansas was able to get to the foul line more, however, aided by Tennessee hoisting 27 three-point shots, only seven of which fell.
Kansas is 5-0 and exits New York with two solid wins. Marquette will make noise in the Big East and Tennessee is a top 10 team for good reason. The Volunteers will be right there with Auburn and Kentucky in an SEC that looks deep once again. Kansas is also doing this with Silvio De Sousa out of action with concerns about his eligibility, although that is likely to pose a depth concern in the frontcourt at some point.
The big week is almost over, with a few more big games to come. College basketball needs big matchups like the ones we’ve had thus far, and for them to be good ones, too. Just like the final in the Maui Invitational, the final in the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday delivered in a big way for the sport.
Side Dishes
Tournament roundup:
- Marquette took third place in Brooklyn in another overtime game, topping Louisville 77-74 with Sam Hauser (22 points, seven rebounds) and Markus Howard (21) leading the charge.
- While we’re at it, let’s tip our hat in the early going to Tony Bennett and his staff at Virginia. Bennett basically went into a bunker during the off-season after the Cavaliers’ historic NCAA Tournament loss back in March, but thus far they aren’t missing a beat as they held off Wisconsin 53-45 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis and improve to 6-0. They have played the same dominating defense they usually do, and having De’Andre Hunter back certainly hasn’t hurt. Meanwhile, Oklahoma took third place with a 65-54 win over Dayton, Butler took over in the second half to overtake Florida 61-54 for fifth place, and Stanford salvaged seventh place with a 67-54 win over Middle Tennessee.
- The championship in the AdvoCare Invitational is set after one semifinal saw Villanova take care of Oklahoma State 77-58 and the other was an overtime thriller that Florida State won 79-76 on a three-pointer by Mfiondu Kabengle with 0.5 left in the extra session. In the consolation games, Memphis beat Canisius 71-63 behind a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double by Kyvon Davenport, and College of Charleston handled UAB 74-51 behind 33 points from Grant Riller.
- The Wooden Legacy championship is also set for Sunday after semifinal action on Friday. Miami got a last-second stickback dunk from Zach Johnson to edge Fresno State 78-76, then Seton Hall beat Hawaii 64-54 in a good late game. In the consolation bracket, Northwestern used big games from Ryan Taylor, Vic Law and A.J. Turner (62 points combined) to take care of La Salle 91-74, and Sedrick Barefield’s 26 points led Utah over Grand Canyon 75-66.
- Texas ran out to a 25-6 lead in the final of the Las Vegas Invitational and looked to be ready to come out of there with two big wins. Michigan State took over from there and shut down the Longhorns’ offense, dominating with defense to overcome 24 turnovers in a 78-68 win. North Carolina took third place with a 94-78 win over UCLA, sending the Bruins back to L.A. with two double-digit losses. How good is Nevada? The Wolfpack won the other bracket of the event 110-87 over UMass despite allowing the Minutemen to go 15-36 from long range, mainly by shooting 61.5 percent from the field and winning the possession battle. Southern Illinois used a big second half to beat Tulsa 79-69 in the consolation game.
- Cincinnati dumped George Mason 71-55 behind 21 points from Cane Broome off the bench in -the Emerald Coast Classic semifinals. They will take on Ole Miss, who got 28 points from Breein Tyree to beat Baylor 78-70.
Vanderbilt lost at home to Kent State 77-75, but that wasn’t the worst part of the evening. Star guard Darius Garland, who has made an instant impact, left the game with an apparent knee injury just two minutes into the game. The impact of not having him was clear, but now they hope the injury is not significant.
One other score of note: Maryland hammered Marshall 104-67, improving to 6-0 and handing the Thundering Herd their first loss of the season.
Tonight’s Menu
Football regains center stage with a lot of rivalry games after basketball took center stage most of the week, with a few tournaments taking a day off before finishing tomorrow. A few games on the hardwood highlight the slate.
- One tournament that does conclude is the Emerald Coast Classic, which starts with Southern against NC Central (11 a.m.), then Nicholls takes on Western Michigan (2 p.m.), George Mason takes on Baylor (4 p.m.) and the championship game closes it out as Cincinnati takes on Ole Miss (7 p.m.)
- In early afternoon action, DePaul heads east to visit Notre Dame (noon)
- A second meeting is on tap between two teams that just met in the Charleston Classic as Northeastern visits Davidson (1 p.m.)
- Stony Brook travels to Rhode Island for a good test for both teams (2 p.m.)
- Providence gets a good test as they host Iona (4 p.m.)
- Kansas State comes home from tournament action to take on Patriot League contender Lehigh (4:30 p.m.)
- Fresh off winning the Hall of Fame Classic, Texas Tech comes home to host fellow undefeated team Northern Colorado (5:30 p.m.)
- Brigham Young also hosts an undefeated team as Houston comes to town (6 p.m.)
- Old CAA rivals meet as Hofstra travels to Richmond to play VCU (7 p.m.)
