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Sunday, December 22, 2024
The first two NCAA Tournament bids went out after dramatic finishes in championship games to set the stage. Plus a long day of tournaments ends with a thrilling back-and-forth between two star guards, a surprise champion in the ACC and a three-way tie atop the Big East.
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge had a couple of its headline games on tap, and both were convincing wins for the ACC school though the series is all tied up. That, and a few other notes from Tuesday night.
The first day of action in the Maui Invitational didn’t quite start off as expected, but that might help in a year where it may be surpassed in terms of having the best field. Plus more tournament action includes one championship, a program first in Richmond, and a Hawkeye is done for the season.
The Big East appears to have met its match in the early going in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, narrowly avoiding a sweep on the evening. Plus a good win in Richmond, another stinker in Tampa, and a good road win for a Big 12 team.
The Michigan schools and Purdue continued their excellence in the Big Ten, which was again one of the top conferences in the land and sent a league-record number of teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Villanova still hasn’t lost a Big East game and looks more like the Villanova we have come to know of late. Plus a light night of action saw two road wins in the same conference, more NCAA issues, and an arrest in the Ivy League.
Two teams entered the day undefeated and remain that way, and both are led by great coaches and there is some irony in who they are. Plus a busy day for the Big Ten, another conference seems tough to figure out right now, and an important big man is done for the year.
There was plenty of drama and a lot of good basketball, and in the end the ACC/Big Ten Challenge ended up even. Plus Big East teams add wins, a Bonnie is finally back in action, and a couple of monster games with teams on opposite ends of the bottom line.
As the fun of in-season tournaments largely comes to an end, it’s a great day for one particular conference. Plus one team that beat the champs keeps winning, as does a team that has had some potential and might be ready to turn a corner again.
For the second time in three days, a big-time matchup for a tournament championship was at least as good as advertised. Plus several more tournament final matchups are set, a concerning development in Nashville, and a first loss of the season in a blowout.
