Click here for Jon Teitel’s interview with DePaul women’s head coach Doug Bruno where they discuss the impact of UConn head coach Geno Auriemma
While the Vegas 16 appeared on the surface to be more of a mirage than their advertised #BowlGame4Basketball, the championship game between Oakland and Old Dominion actually had some entertainment value, and even though Old Dominion led for most of this game, they were not quite able to put the Golden Grizzlies away completely. After ODU took a 66-58 lead with about 1:25 remaining and a missed 3-pointer by Oakland’s Kay Felder, it looked like the championship was in the bag for the Monarchs. However, ODU missed a pair of free throws, and a quick flurry of 3s by Oakland’s Dorsey-Walker and Felder suddenly shrunk their deficit to 2. After a successful defensive stop, Vegas 16-MVP Trey Freeman (who led ODU with 24 points and 6 rebounds) made the steal of the game and hit 2 free throws to give the Monarchs a 4-point lead. Kay Felder (24 points for Oakland) hit a 3 with 2 seconds remaining, but ODU was able to dribble out the remaining clock and claimed the inaugural Vegas 16 Championship with a 68-67 victory. Also named to the Vegas 16 All-Tournament team (besides Freeman) were ODU’s Aaron Bacote, Oakland’s Kay Felder and Max Hooper and East Tennessee State’s Ge’Laun Gwyn.
The CBI was also played within the friendly confines of the Silver State (up in Reno), and the Wolf Pack were able to withstand a Morehead State run midway through the 2nd half en route to a 77-68 win at home. D. J. Fenner led Nevada with 26 points; Cameron Oliver also chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles got as close as a 3-point deficit with 3:35 to play in the 2nd half, but they were unable to chip away any further at the deficit and will play a win-or-go-home Game 3 against Nevada on Friday night. DeJuan Marrero led Morehead with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
(1) VALPARAISO VS. (4) GEORGE WASHINGTON (7:00 PM, ESPN) – In a postseason that has ultimately not been kind to top-seeded teams, the Crusaders are alive and well and playing for their first postseason title of any sort; it would also be the first time a team from the Horizon League could claim an NIT title (and first for a team in Indiana since the Hoosiers defeated Purdue in the 1979 NIT Championship). Even critics that point out that GW got an extra home game because of Florida’s facility renovations were emphatically silenced on Tuesday night when they defeated San Diego State. This would be the first time since 2010 that the A-10 could claim an NIT title; it would also be the first one for GW and the first since Maryland in 1972 for a team in DC/The Beltway.
COACHING CAROUSEL – THE LATEST
- Travis Ford is now the head coach at Saint Louis; this marks his return to the Atlantic 10 since he left UMass to take over at Oklahoma State.
- Less than 24 hours after leading Columbia to the CIT Championship, Kyle Smith will leave Columbia and take over as head coach at San Francisco (replacing Rex Walters). He does have prior ties to the WCC with assistant coach gigs at both Saint Mary’s and San Diego.