The Big Ten/ACC Challenge got underway on Monday night, with Big Ten teams hosting both games on the slate. The conferences split, but both games were quite different as the stage gets set for the bigger matchups to come.
The opener was Miami traveling to Illinois to face an Illini team from whom much is expected. It was the visiting Hurricanes who came out in a big way, running out to a 25-9 lead and later leading 45-18 before a late Illinois run made it 50-31 at halftime. Miami shot 20-30 in the first half. A half is a lot of time, though, especially since the Hurricanes are not the deepest team (although depth was a bigger issue last season, as the Hurricanes were routinely gassed later in games, especially if they had a quick turnaround from the prior game).
A 12-0 run just past the halfway point of the second half got Illinois in business, but Miami had enough answers to keep the lead. But there were anxious moments late, as Illinois got within 80-79 and then had a chance after Chris Lykes missed a layup. A big defensive stand that ended with an offensive foul and then one more free throw made for the final margin, but Illinois still had one last chance that didn’t go as Miami escaped.
Lykes had 28 points on 11-17 shooting in just 27 minutes due to foul trouble, as the Hurricanes shot over 59 percent from the field on the night, including 10-18 from long range. Although Kofi Cockburn had a good night with 23 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting, the Hurricanes didn’t let Illini star Ayo Dosunmu get going as he was just 5-14 from the field.
The second game also featured a big lead, but in this one, once host Minnesota opened up their lead they never let Clemson get all that close in handling the Tigers 78-60. The Golden Gophers went 8-22 from long range and held the Tigers to 2-11 from there, with Marcus Carr nearly posting a double-double with 24 points and nine assists while Daniel Otoru had 21 points on 9-11 shooting. Defensively, Minnesota shut down Tevin Mack as he scored just two points and never seemed like a factor.
Minnesota seems to have recovered from their three-game losing streak earlier this season, with none of those losses coming to bad teams. This was their best win, though, so they could use a win against Oklahoma State in less than three weeks as that is their only remaining chance for a quality non-conference win.
Bigger matchups are ahead starting on Tuesday night, after Monday night got things going with two different games.
Side Dishes
Just when you thought Georgetown was back and ready to go to the NCAA Tournament again, Monday came. The school announced that James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc are no longer with the team, which is a big blow, and later reports indicate both are in the transfer portal. This means either something is amiss inside the program, or the two were disciplined or left to avoid that, and for much of the afternoon and evening, speculation was rampant as to what might have happened. Late in the evening, ESPN.com reported that LeBlanc and Galen Alexander received restraining orders last month due to accusations of harassment and burglary, and freshman Myron Gardner was accused of sexual harassment and assault by the same student. Nothing is known about the futures of Alexander and Gardner. Akinjo, who was not named in any complaints, was the Big East Freshman of the Year last season and second-leading scorer this time around, while LeBlanc was a reserve big man. The effects of this are likely to be big, and not in a good way.
Miami will be without Deng Gak for the rest of the season after he sustained a right knee injury in practice. The redshirt sophomore forward has largely been a bit player in his career, but had been in all seven games this season and appeared ready to work his way into a bigger role over time, so this is not likely to be a small loss in the long run.
Other results of note: Delaware improved to 9-0 by holding off Columbia 84-76, while South Florida took out Furman 65-55 and Washington handled South Dakota 75-55 behind 16 points and 15 rebounds from Isaiah Stewart.
Tonight’s Menu
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge has bigger matchups in store as part of a busier overall slate on the night.
- The Big Ten/ACC Challenge has Northwestern visiting Boston College and Iowa at Syracuse to start (7 p.m.), then the first big one as Michigan goes to Louisville (7:30 p.m.) Later, Rutgers visits Pittsburgh and Indiana hosts Florida State (9 p.m.), then Duke goes to Michigan State in the headliner (9:30 p.m.)
- Two teams that reached a championship game of a tournament will meet as Hall of Fame Classic champ Butler travels to NIT Season Tip-Off runner-up Ole Miss (7 p.m.)
- A solid mid-major matchup to watch is Western Kentucky traveling to Wright State (7 p.m.)
- Cincinnati will be the latest team to get a test from visiting Vermont (7 p.m.)
- Another in the Battle of the Boulevard is on tap as Belmont hosts Lipscomb (7:30 p.m.)
- Omaha travels to Arkansas State for a matchup of mid-majors off to a good start, while Murray State’s trip to Missouri State should be a good one as well (8 p.m.)
- Three challenges for the home team that tip simultaneously will be UAB at Texas, Arkansas hosting Austin Peay and Buffalo going to Vanderbilt (8 p.m.)
- Creighton gets a challenge at home from visiting Oral Roberts (8:30 p.m.)
- A good one to watch is Bradley hitting the road to visit Memphis (9 p.m.)
- Southland favorite New Orleans makes the trip to Baton Rouge to play at LSU, while TCU should get a good test from visiting Illinois State (9 p.m.)
- The best game out west is the last one as Arizona State visits San Francisco (11 p.m.)
