Sunday was like many Sundays throughout the season – not the busiest of slates, although plenty of games were on tap at all levels of Division I. But it was as wild a day as we’ve seen thus far, with the only ranked teams in action going down and a few other results that might be described as upsets. (I am loathe to use that word only because it’s used far too liberally nowadays, often describing results that frankly are not cases of the better team losing.)
It was one thing for Wofford to beat North Carolina two years ago, when they were ruling the Southern Conference with Mike Young running the program. But for the Terriers to come to Chapel Hill with a new-look team featuring a brand new head coach and beat the Tar Heels 68-64 was a little different, although the Tar Heels were far from whole for this one. North Carolina has had trouble scoring with Cole Anthony, but the star freshman did not play on Sunday due to a right knee injury whose severity is not known. They also didn’t have Leaky Black due to a sprained right foot, and Armando Bacot played 29 minutes but was probably not fully healthy; he was 2-14 from the field but had 13 rebounds. The Tar Heels had a 51-34 rebounding edge but forced only five Wofford turnovers.
North Carolina has now lost three in a row, and it doesn’t get easier as they head clear across the country to visit Gonzaga on Wednesday night. Sunday’s game was their first regular season game at Carmichael Arena in almost 34 years. If Anthony can’t play in that one, it could get ugly based on how Gonzaga has been playing.
The Big Ten saw two teams of note go down, with Purdue losing at rebuilding Nebraska 70-56 and the big one, Ohio State losing for the first time on the season as Minnesota beat the visiting Buckeyes 84-71. That meant both ranked teams went down on the day, although North Carolina likely won’t be ranked when the new polls come out.
Cam Mack had the first triple-double in Nebraska history with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and Purdue shot just 30.4 percent from the field including 6-35 from long range. The Boilermakers’ starting perimeter trio shot a combined 7-31 from the floor including 3-17 from deep.
In Minneapolis, the Golden Gophers made a nine-point halftime lead stand up behind a career day from Marcus Carr, who had 35 points on 12-17 shooting and handed out seven assists. Minnesota broke through Ohio State’s defense, which has been terrific, to shoot 54.4 percent from the field, and they also out-rebounded the Buckeyes 40-28.
It didn’t end there, though. NC State needed a buzzer-beater from Markell Johnson to knock off UNC Greensboro 80-77. Texas A&M, rebuilding though they are, needed to rally to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 63-60. And South Carolina went to Clemson and knocked off their arch rival 67-54, dropping Clemson to just 5-5.
It might have been a Sunday like most others in terms of game activity, but this one had quite the results. It may be a sign of things to come as this week will be busier than last week.
Side Dishes
Last year, Houston was unbeatable in their new arena, but the Cougars lost on Sunday for the second time this season, this time a 61-55 loss to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys made a 35-19 halftime lead stand up, although the Cougars rallied before falling short.
Other results of note: Loyola-Chicago pulled away from Norfolk State 64-45; Tyler Sharpe’s 30 points helped Northern Kentucky knock off visiting Illinois State 79-64; Bradley blew out Georgia Southern 81-51; USC beat Long Beach State 87-76 behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from Onyeka Okongwu; and VCU won a good mid-major matchup over visiting Missouri State 61-51
One piece of news that flew under our radar a day earlier: Miami was without head coach Jim Larranaga in Saturday’s 88-74 win over Alabama A&M due to back spasms. Associate head coach Chris Caputo served as acting head coach.
Tonight’s Menu
It’s a relatively light night with 20 Division I games on tap, but it will pick up after this. It’s also highlighted by a doubleheader.
- That doubleheader, the Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, starts with Kent State taking on UC Irvine (4 p.m.) and concludes with North Carolina A&T taking on host UTEP (9 p.m.)
- In-state rivals battle as Delaware takes on Delaware State in Wilmington, while Rider hosts Marist in an early MAAC game (7 p.m.)
- Montana State travels to North Dakota State for a nice matchup (8 p.m.)
- Evansville heads south to visit a Jacksonville State team that is off to a tough start (8:30 p.m.)
- The better of two late games out west looks to be UC Davis hosting Loyola Marymount (10 p.m.)
