News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – Monday, Nov 21st

Posted on November 21, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-We will be recording our HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast tonight, so keep an eye out for that.

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Gonzaga had what felt like a comfortable lead from pretty much tip to buzzer against Kentucky in their 80-64 win.  There were times Kentucky made a run at them, but Gonzaga would always respond with a run of their own.  I think it’s important to remind people that we’ve seen this from Kentucky before.  In fact there are very few years we don’t see it.  They are often a top ten caliber team by the end of December, but they are more of a top 35-40ish team in November.  In MANY years.  Don’t believe me??  Go back and check.

-Houston got the 66-56 win at Oregon, which will end up looking pretty good on paper, but it was a struggle for them on the offensive end.  They didn’t exactly blow Oregon off the court.

-Baylor and UCLA was another match-up between top ten teams, which was our second of the day, and it was a good one.  Baylor had a lead for most of the game, but it was close, and they ended up getting a huge 80-75 win over the Bruins.  It’s the second loss in a row for UCLA, but when you’re losing games that close to teams that good this early in the season, it may be frustrating, but it is by no means discouraging.  The Bruins will be fine.

-Virginia knocked off Illinois 70-61 in the championship game of the Main Event to cap off a huge weekend for the Hoos.  They should be moving way up in the rankings when they come out later today, and are making a solid early case that they are a protected seed caliber team.

-Michigan needed overtime to get by Ohio U 70-66.  This is the second time this season Michigan needed overtime to get by a team from the MAC, and it followed a blowout loss to Arizona State.  Perhaps Michigan isn’t a top 25 caliber team at the moment?

-Maryland has been a big surprise out of the Big Ten, and blew their way through the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip Off.  They ran over a pretty good Miami FL team yesterday 88-70 and other than Michigan State have looked as good as anyone in the Big Ten up until now.

-It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but Saint Louis did manage to come back and beat Providence 76-73 in the third place game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which is a game that the Billikens kind of needed.

-Drake picked up their best win of the year against Wyoming 61-56.  Most of Drake’s wins have not been impressive, but they have managed to win all their games.  Wyoming is a team with a very high ceiling that’s off to a very slow start.  They cannot afford to drop another game in this tournament, or else they are going to start their run for the bubble from about a hundred miles away.

-Penn State is off to a very respectable 5-1 start, and they beat a decent Colorado State team yesterday 68-56.  I don’t want to get carried away.  I don’t think they’re a top 25 team.  But a top 40 team??  Maybe!

-UCF is now off to a sneaky 4-1 start after knocking off what appears to be an at least decent Santa Clara team 57-50,  We may need to start keeping an eye on them.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-AKRON VS WESTERN KENTUCKY (Cayman Islands Classic).  These are two really good UTR teams, and doing well in an early season tournament like this is crucial when it comes to building a resume and making a case that they belong inside the bubble.

-TEXAS TECH VS CREIGHTON (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).   Both teams are in the rankings, and neither team has a loss.  This tournament, as it is every year, is a chance to rack up really big resume building wins, and to catapult a team into the national spotlight.  It wouldn’t surprise me if both these teams were in the rankings all year long.  Texas Tech’s defense against Creighton’s outside shooting!  Should be fun!

-LOUISVILLE VS ARKANSAS (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).  Louisville has lost three home buy games, each by just one point, so they haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire.  Arkansas is off to a 3-0 start and while they may not be all that tested today, they will be tested throughout this tournament.

-TULANE VS NEVADA (Cayman Islands Classic, George Town Cayman Islands).  Neither team has a loss, but neither team has been super tested yet either.  We think both have a lot of potential and are looking forward to see what they can do against each other, and what they can do throughout the tournament.

-DRAKE VS TARLETON STATE (Paradise Jam, Saint Thomas Virgin Islands).  Drake picked up a nice win yesterday against Wyoming, which was their best of the season so far, and shouldn’t have too much trouble today getting past a good, but yet seemingly overmatched, Tarleton State team.  Tarleton did beat Boston College yesterday, so they’ll be coming into this one with some confidence.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS MARQUETTE.  These are two teams that may be a little better than we thought coming in.  Mississippi State hasn’t passed any major tests yet, and Marquette did lose at Purdue, but they also gave Purdue a really good team.  Tonight is a bit of a litmus test for both of them, as well as an early season resume building opportunity.

-OHIO STATE VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).  Both teams are in the rankings, but this game (and tournament) probably means more to San Diego State simply because they won’t have as many chances at big wins as Ohio State will later on in the year, so if they want to make a case to the committee that they deserve a protected seed, this tournament is their chance to do it.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS TEMPLE (Empire Classic, Brooklyn NY).  Temple has been hot and cold this season, and Saint John’s comes in at 4-0, so it’s a big game as far as early season momentum is concerned.

-CINCINNATI VS ARIZONA (Maui Invitational, Maui HI) – This appears to be a bit of a mismatch, and Cincinnati is coming off a loss to Northern Kentucky, but if Cincinnati can somehow do well in this tournament it will change the entire complexion of how they’re viewed.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Toledo vs Kansas City (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Toledo looking to remain unbeaten
-Illinois State vs LS( (Cayman Islands Classic) – LSU is 3-0
-Northern Iowa vs San Francisco (Hall of Fame Classic) – San Francisco is 3-0
-East Carolina vs Indiana State (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Both teams come in at 3-0
-Wichita State vs Grand Canyon (Hall of Fame Classic) – GCU has shown some life early, but they need to do well in this tournament if they want to make a strong case for themselves
-Wyoming vs Boston College (Paradise Jam) – It is very important that Wyoming bounce back and not drop any more games in this event
-UAB vs South Florida (Sunshine Slam) – UAB’s only loss is to Toledo, and while they don’t have any big wins yet, they appear to have a good team.  They just need to hold serve in this event
-Georgia Tech vs Utah (Fort Meyer’s Tip Off).  I’m not particularly impressed with either team yet, but Utah has just one loss and Georgia Tech is unbeaten, so we will continue to keep an eye on them until we have a reason not to
-North Florida vs Duquesne – Duquesne is coming off a nice win against Colgate and can get to 4-1 on the season with a win today
-Syracuse vs Richmond (Empire Classic) – Both teams need to start stringing together wins to avoid falling completely off the radar
-Wright State vs Abilene Christian (Vegas 4) – both teams with just one loss
-Rhode Island vs Kansas State (Cayman Islands Classic) – K State looking to stay unbeaten
-Georgia vs Saint Joseph’s (Sunshine Slam)
-CA Baptist @ Minnesota – both teams 3-1

BUY GAMES:

-Loyola MD @ Clemson
-Omaha @ Iowa
-Bellarmine @ Duke
-Northern Arizona vs Texas – Game in Edinburg, TX
-Hampton @ UC Santa Barbara
-San Diego Christian (nonD1) @ San Diego
-Life Pacific (nonD1) @ UC Irvine

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | 1 Comment

Under The Radar Game of the Day – Monday, November 21st

Posted on November 21, 2022 by John Stalica

For Jon Teitel’s interview with SIU-Edwardsville legend Jason Holmes – CLICK HERE

For all of our bracketed In-Season Tournaments taking place – CLICK HERE

Drake (4-0) vs. Tarleton (3-1) – 8:00 PM ET (ESPN3)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day figures to be one of the unlikelier championship games for Feast Week, but we head to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam championship game between the Drake Bulldogs and the Tarleton Texans. Drake came in as one team who could possibly win this field, and so far have not disappointed with wins against Buffalo and Wyoming. Tucker DeVries had a career-high 29 points and needed every one of them as the Bulldogs held on for a 61-56 win after leading by 16 points at halftime.

Tarleton was not the team initially expected to make it to the championship game of this event, but Billy Gillispie’s team crashed the party thanks to wins against Belmont and Boston College. The win against BC was the first Power 5 win for the Texans; Freddy Hicks led Tarleton with 21 points. All in all, not a bad result (win or lose) for a Tarleton team that is in its 3rd transitional year of Division 1 play; they wil be eligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2024-25.

Posted in CBB on TV, Daily Rundown, News and Notes, Under the Radar | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews SIUE legend Jason Holmes

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Jason Holmes played more than 100 games at SIUE and finished his career with a school-record 1949 career PTS…but it is his very 1st game that stands out the most. All he did that night was set his school’s single-game scoring record with 45 PTS in a win vs. Carthage. A couple of decades later in 2012 he was inducted into the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame and in 2018 he was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jason about being a great shooter and becoming an assistant coach. Today marks the 29th anniversary of his 45-PT debut on November 20, 1993, so we take this time to remember his awesome achievement.

In November of 1993 as a freshman at SIUE you set a school record with 45 PTS against Carthage: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I was fortunate to be playing with 4 seniors. Our coach Jack Margenthaler gave us the green light to shoot the ball when we were open…so I did. The seniors had no problem with a freshman shooting the ball and we won the game. I think that I was only the 2nd freshman in school history to ever start on opening night.

You scored 21.2 PPG as a freshman: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? My high school gym in New Castle, IN, was 1 of the biggest in the world and held about 10,000 people…but in D-2 we only had seating for about 1200! We played in the best conference in the state of Indiana: night in and night out we faced the best players in the state and our coach Sam Alford (father of Nevada coach Steve) had great confidence in us.

Your scoring average decreased during each of the next 3 years: how on earth did that happen?! Our team got better and made the transition from an Independent school to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is 1 of the best D-2 conferences in the country. I was 6’1” as a freshman and not all of our game film was accessible on the Internet back then so our opponents did not always put their best defender on me. I snuck up on people a little bit as a freshman.

You remain the all-time leading scorer in school history: what is the key to being a great scorer, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? I think that someone will break my record: it is just a matter of time because the team continues to get better every single year. In high school I was more of a shooter but developed a 1st and 2nd step in college so that I could beat people off of the dribble.

You also hold the school record for most 3PM: what is the key to making shots from behind the arc? Getting into the gym and dedicating yourself to being a “gym rat”. I was 9 years behind Coach Alford’s son Steve and idolized him and got to watch him work out. I spent every summer in the gym and found time to take 100 FTs every day. In this era of AAU ball and travel teams those skills deteriorate: if you are playing 100 games during the summer then it takes away from your individual skill development. Some kids do not even play for their high school teams any more because they prefer the AAU circuit.

You shot at least 85 FT% during each of your 4 years: what is your secret for making FTs? The key for all scorers is to get to the FT line, which was a result of me being able to drive to the basket rather than just being a spot-up shooter. Those 7-8 FT attempts every game while shooting 85% from the line gives you a chance to score 20 PPG on a regular basis. You just have to put the time in to become a pure shooter.

In addition to playing for Coach Alford you were an assistant to a pair of great coaches in Marty Simmons (2015 CIT champ at Evansville)/Jack Margenthaler (who won 200+ games at WIU): which of them had the greatest influence on your own decision to go into coaching? I would say all 3 because they each brought something different. Coach Alford instilled the motivation in me to go to the gym at 6:30AM. Coach Margenthaler taught me the key to having a great work ethic after I saw the amount of time that he spent on game prep. Marty has a high basketball IQ and his in-game adjustments are amazing: his motion offense/scouting reports are as good as it gets.

You are currently the principal at Dunlap Valley Middle School: how do you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love the job because it is very similar to coaching. The 1st year or 2 I was not as good at it because I needed time to connect with the students, but I eventually found some success and developed a passion for it. How you handle your players as a coach is the same way that you handle your students/faculty/parents: it is about leadership/communication/working together. I do miss coaching but filled that gap a bit recently by coaching my daughter’s 4th grade team…which was the hardest thing that I have ever done!

In 2012 you were named to your alma mater’s Hall of Fame and in 2018 you were named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team (along with guys like Indiana State associate head coach Matthew Graves/7-time MLB All-Star Scott Rolen): what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It meant a lot because both honors were unexpected…but it also signifies that you are getting a little older! Nobody at age 20 is focused on making a Silver Anniversary team: you just love to play. You lose track of your opponents over the years but to see those names again and reflect a bit is super-cool. You get to go back into the scrapbook and reflect on all of the great things that you did when you were growing up. Life moves quickly so it is nice to slow down for a moment.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I hope I am remembered as a great teammate who played hard every day, which is what I ask of my daughter’s team. You can be a great principal/father/whatever you want…but if you are a great teammate who works hard every day then that will supersede anything else you do.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – Sunday, Nov 20th

Posted on November 20, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Yesterday’s New Mexico State vs New Mexico game was postponed due to yet another senseless campus shooting death.  Our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are with those victims.

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE 

-JON TEITEL IS AT THE MAIN EVENT!!!  For his coverage – CLICK HERE

-The most surprising result of the day was Maryland’s blowout win over Saint Louis.  Not much was expected of Maryland, and while they came in without a loss, they hadn’t really played anybody either.  Well, now they have, and they looked DAMN good doing it!

-Miami FL also picked up a really nice win against Providence in that same event, which means they will face Maryland today in the championship game (more on that below).

-Seattle is a team to watch for.  They improved to 4-0 yesterday and picked up their second road win 0f the season as they pulled away from what looks to be an at least decent Portland team 80-68.

-UC Irvine, who had won big at Oregon earlier this year, suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Pepperdine 64-55.  The  Eaters did not shoot the ball well  (much of that is credit to Pepperdine’s defense), and Pepperdine now has us starting to glance their way as they are now 4-0 on the season.

-Hofstra had a big opportunity to get a really nice win at Saint Mary’s yesterday.  Well, they fell 76-48 and at no point were they really in the game.  I still think Hofstra will have a big year, but yesterday was certainly a struggle for them.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-KENTUCKY AT GONZAGA (***SPOTLIGHT GAME***).  This game is not on Gonzaga’s campus, but it is in Spokane and is both technically and practically a home game (at least presumably) since Gonzaga is likely handling the event management.  Both teams are ranked super high, but both have already suffered a loss.  Kentucky fell in overtime to Michigan State (a team that also nearly beat Gonzaga), and the Zags lost pretty handily to Texas last week.  Still, both teams are likely protected seeds and both could still end up as high as the #1 line.  To get on the #1 line, this is the kind of game they need to be able to win though.  But more than anything else, it is just a really good early season showcase game.

-JAMES MADISON AT NORTH CAROLINA.  I really like the way this James Madison team has looked so far, whereas North Carolina has kind of played with their food in most of their games this season.  I’m not going to go so far as to predict an upset, but this game has some intrigue to it and UNC does not want to overlook them.

-UMASS VS CHARLOTTE (Myrtle Beach Invitational, Conway SC).  UMass has gone on a nice little run in this tournament and can cap it off by winning it today if they can get by Charlotte.  Charlotte comes in unbeaten and did get by a good Boise State game in their first game of this event, but other than that none of their wins really pop out so picking this one up would be nice for them.

-MIAMI FL VS MARYLAND (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Uncasville CT).  Both teams looked really impressive yesterday, particularly Maryland who absolutely blew out Saint Louis.  It’s hard to not sit up and take notice of that.  Miami FL got here by beating Providence, and both have another shot at what should be a resume building win this afternoon.

-ILLINOIS VS VIRGINIA (Main Event, Las Vegas NV).  Both teams picked up really nice wins to get here as Illinois had a big second half to beat UCLA, and Virginia ran away from Baylor.  Neither team has a loss, and both teams already have a big win, and both are moving up the rankings, so it’s a big resume boosting opportunity for both of them.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT CHARLESTON (Charleston Classic, Charleston SC).  Charleston has looked really good this season.  Their only loss on the year was a game at North Carolina where they were very competitive, and they’ve gone on a nice looking run in this tournament to get to the final.  Virginia Tech has picked up some decent wins as well, and a Charleston team that has played well and could end up having a big year would get them some credit with the committee.  I’m really looking forward to this one today.

-PROVIDENCE VS SAINT LOUIS (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Uncasville CT).  Saint Louis had looked good in their first few games this season, but they looked terrible yesterday.  Providence didn’t exactly set the world on fire either.  The fact that this is a third place game means absolutely nothing.  It’s still a neutral floor game and a chance for each team to add a quality win to their resumes.

-DEPAUL VS OKLAHOMA STATE (Bahamas Championship, Nassau Bahamas).  Oklahoma State has been slow out of the gate this season and is just 2-2 on the year.  DePaul is a modest 3-1 with a win over Minnesota, but they need to bounce  back after losing to Santa Clara the other day.

-VCU AT MEMPHIS.  Both teams have the potential to be good, and Memphis already has a win at Vanderbilt, but both still need to build up their resumes and today is a chance to add at least a notable win to their profiles.

-UCLA VS BAYLOR (Main Event, Las Vegas NV).  Both these teams are top ten teams  and both are potential protected seeds.  This is also technically the third place game as both teams are coming off losses in this event, but that doesn’t matter as far as the committee is concerned.  This is a very big early season showcase game and an opportunity to  pick up a likely Quad 1 win.

-DRAKE VS WYOMING (Paradise Jam, Saint Thomas Virgin Islands).  The storyline of this game should be that it’s two teams that are top 25 caliber, and that it’s a great early season match-up for both of them.  That could still turn out to be true, but neither team has looked anything like a top 25 team this year.  Drake is unbeaten, but they’ve had to sweat out several weak opponents, and Wyoming has a loss to SELA and nearly lost to Howard in their last game.  I still think both teams can really get rolling before the end of the year, and that this will still be considered a really important game, but for now both teams really need to pick things up.

-PENN STATE VS COLORADO STATE (Charleston Classic, Charleston SC).  An intriguing match-up between two teams that are off to fairly decent starts and who could both end up having big years.

-SANTA CLARA VS UCF (Bahamas Championship).  This is an intriguing match-up between two teams that are off to good starts and who have already picked up a few notable wins.  A win today will keep the early season momentum going for whoever pulls it off.

-COLORADO VS BOISE STATE (Myrtle Beach Invitational, Conway SC).  It’s early, but this game still has a pivotal feel to it.  Colorado has been very schizophrenic this year and picking up a win against Boise State in a game like this could help stabilize things.  Boise State just needs notable wins on their resume, and picking up a neutral floor win like this would certainly qualify.

-HOUSTON AT OREGON .  This is one of Houston’s bigger tests of the entire year.  At least it appears that way.  Oregon did fall all over themselves in an early season loss to UC Irvine, but may be bouncing back.  Houston is, quite simply, looking like the best team in the country and may not just win, but win big.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-Furman Vs South Carolina (Charleston Classic, Charleston SC) – After two losses, Furman can still pick up at least one win for their resume today
-Old Dominion vs Davidson (Charleston Classic, Charleston SC) – This would be a notable OOC win
-Wake Forest vs LMU (Jamaica Classic).  Wake trying to get to 5-0
-Texas Southern @ Samford – Samford is unbeaten
-Prairie View @ UT Martin – Prairie View is unbeaten
-Wagner @ Seton Hall – Wagner already has one nice win against Temple, and Seton Hall’s only loss was to Iowa
-Texas A&M vs Loyola Chicago (Myrtle Beach Invitational) – having lost two games, TAMU does not want  to make it three losses in this event
-Indiana vs Miami OH (Hoosier Tip-Off Classic, Indianapolis IN) – Indiana looking to remain unbeaten

BUY GAMES:

-Delaware State @ UConn
-Milwuakee @ Iowa State
-Ohio U @ Michigan
-Mississippi Valley State @ Missouri
-Tarleton @ Boston College

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Sunday, November 20th

Posted on November 20, 2022 by John Stalica

For Jon Teitel’s coverage of Day 1 of the Continental Tire Classic in Las Vegas – CLICK HERE

Boston University (3-1) at New Hampshire (2-1) – 1:00 PM ET (ESPN+)

We get off to a traditionally early start with today’s UTR Game of the Day, and the Terriers of Boston University travel up north to visit the New Hampshire Wildcats. Both teams were once conference companions – I don’t use the word rivals since this is a pretty lopsided series in favor of BU (101-39). The Terriers are coming off of a home win against Hartford; this will be the first of seven straight games away from home and away from The Roof.

The Wildcats are 1-1 against D1 competition so far this year; they beat Fairfield at home but lost their first road game of the season at Fordham 79-61 last Tuesday. Ridvan Tutic led the Wildcats with 18 points and 8 rebounds against the Rams.

 

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What Happened in Vegas: All-Access with HoopsHD at the Continental Tire Main Event

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Jon Teitel

A lot of in-season tournaments around Thanksgiving feature a couple of big-time schools and a couple of not-so-big-time schools…but this year’s Continental Tire Main Event is not 1 of them. We have 2 of the past 3 NCAA champs (Baylor & Virginia), the school with the most titles in NCAA history (UCLA), and another school that ranks top-25 all-time in winning percentage (Illinois). HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel accepted the tough assignment of traveling west to Las Vegas to see a quartet of top-25 teams battling it out and prepared the following photo essay from the 1st day of games on Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

GAME #1: Baylor-Virginia
Not much of a pre-game meal to fill up before back-to-back games: chips/peanuts/pretzels/water. You know that this is a premier event because there were more than FORTY scouts who requested credentials for this weekend. My 1st sighting of the weekend: 1998 NCAA championship coach Tubby Smith (looking resplendent in purple!):

This was Virginia’s 1st basketball game since the murder of 3 UVA football players last Sunday so there was a moment of silence to remember the victims:

It is hard to believe that it is 4PM local time on a Friday in November and I am about to witness 2 of the past 3 NCAA champs going at it in Baylor (2021) and Virginia (2019):

The crowd is MUCH louder for the Hoos, and when combined with the Illini fans who showed up early it is basically a sea of orange in the stands. The crowd did not need much pumping up, but for those who do then look no further than…DJ Prenup!?

Let’s tip it off:

The 1st half was nip-and-tuck throughout with neither team building a double-digit lead. The Baylor backcourt of Adam Flagler (left)/LJ Cryer (right) was unstoppable from behind the arc as they combined to make 5 threes:

Virginia guard Armaan Franklin turned 22 on Thursday and decided to milk his birthday by showing out in the 1st half: fadeaway jumpers and steals on defense that were converted into layups on offense allowed his team to hang around as the Cavaliers only trailed 33-30 at halftime.

BYU transfer Caleb Lohner was sensational off the bench in the 2nd half while going 4-4 from the field including a 3 from the top of key, but the best new face for the Bears was 2022 McDonald’s All-American Keyonte George: the super-frosh simply does not make any unspectacular plays. While he certainly needs some work on both his decision-making (5 TO) and defensive positioning (5 fouls in 27 minutes), he does a little bit of everything on offense. He made a couple of runners in the lane, a tough lefty bank shot that resulted in an and-1, and a 3 from the top of key en route to a team-high 20 PTS:

However, this game was decided during the 1st 10 minutes after halftime as UVA went on an incredible 30-5 run against a Baylor team that was 98-8 over the past 6 years when holding a lead entering the 2nd half. Franklin showed that he was not just an inside scorer by making a trio of trifectas and Reece Beekman kept running the offense to perfection, finishing with 10 AST (1 short of his career-high). Big man Kadin Shedrick ended up fouling out but not before scoring 17 PTS/6-6 FG plus a pair of STL/BLK as Virginia hung on to win 86-79:

In the postgame press conference I asked Virginia coach Tony Bennett how well he knew his opposing coach. He said that he has known Scott Drew for many years and cares for his family because they are about character/faith. He spoke to his father Dick earlier today, who mentioned that he could not believe that 40 years ago he was coaching against Homer Drew and today his son Tony was coaching against Scott:

I decided to see what Coach Drew thought about his team’s 35-14 disadvantage at the free throw line. He smiled and stated that he would have to look at the tape because it does not lie! He admitted that his team needed to do a better job of keeping the Cavaliers off of the FT line but was at least happy that his guys made their shots when they did get to the line (12-14):


GAME #2: UCLA-Illinois
The nightcap might also serve as a sneak preview of a future conference game, as the University of California regents announced that they will decide next month whether UCLA can indeed leave the Pac-12 for the Big 10. I though the UVA fans were loud but the Illini fans took it to another (decibel) level. They were screaming out “DEFENSE” and remained standing until the Bruins made their 1st basket (which took over 2 minutes) so it both felt/sounded like a home game in Champaign. In contrast, this UCLA fan was escorted out after the under-8 timeout, to the delight of the surrounding orange-clad fans:

My 2nd A-list sighting of the night was CBS studio analyst Seth Davis, although I guess I am still not 100% sure it is him because I have never seen him not wearing a suit jacket:

Texas Tech transfer/Chicago native Terrence Shannon had a double-double in the 1st half…but you will hear a LOT more from him in the 2nd half! The Bruins have a pair of 1st-team all-Pac-12 preseason picks who both lived up to the hype. PG Tyger Campbell scored from all over the court in the 1st half, making layups and pull-up jumpers and 3-PT shots, oh my:

His teammate Jaime Jaquez Jr. (why does nobody call him Triple-J?!) was also making a ton of shots, including his signature turnaround/fadeaway jumper that seems to go in a majority of the time:

Illinois trailed 37-28 at halftime thanks to a sloppy 13-turnover performance, and when UCLA kept pouring it on to go up 44-29 early in the 2nd half it seemed like it might turn into a blowout, but Coach Brad Underwood called a timeout just 47 seconds after halftime to calm his team down…and it worked. Bruins SG David Singleton made a bunch of threes down the stretch but not as many as Shannon, who tied a school record by making 8-9 3PM (compared to the entire UCLA team who made 9-22 from behind the arc). By the time he was done the Illini had not just tied it up but concluded a 42-17 run to take a double-digit lead of its own:

The other noteworthy performance came from Illinois big man Dain Dainja (“Dainja Zone” anyone?). He made all 6 of his FG attempts and is now a ridiculous 30-35 from the field this season. The best part is that they are not just dunks: he made a gorgeous spin/reverse lefty layup/&1 as well as a turnaround jump hook, and while I do not think he is Kofi Cockburn 2.0 he is pretty freaking unstoppable once he gets the ball in the paint, as he helped his team pull off an amazing 79-70 comeback win:

In the postgame press conference I almost did not pose a question to UCLA coach Mick Cronin because frankly…he scares me, and he was in a pretty bad mood after getting outscored 51-33 in the 2nd half. I regained my courage and meekly whispered what he can do when a guy like Shannon is making a ton of threes: he interrupted me and said that they needed to stop him from shooting. He then proceeded to call out his entire team (and in fairness, he shouldered some of the blame himself), accusing them of not hearing defensive adjustments/scouting reports because they were only focused on their offense. He closed with a quote: “Show me a guy who is not humble and I will show you a guy who is ready to be humbled”:

On a happier note, I tried to see if Coach Underwood had an inkling to place Dainja Zone in the starting lineup. He admitted that he worries just as much about who comes off the bench as who starts and that they are in a really good place with where they are at. However, he did give props to his big man for being big in the 2nd half and that even if he does not start him he should at least consider getting him some more shots:

Since the dream matchup on Sunday of Illinois guard Matthew Mayer facing his old Baylor team (with whom he won an NCAA title in 2021) did not come to fruition, I settled for seeing if he would give his former teammates some tips about what to expect from UCLA this weekend. He said he still keeps in touch with them because “those are my boys” and that whenever he is not playing against them he is rooting for them. Since there was a chance that he might face them on Sunday they had not been talking a lot this week but now they can pick it back up again:

That is a wrap for Day 1, check back in the days ahead for a recap of Sunday’s consolation/championship!
P.S. I got to interview Adam Fleischer of the Illini Guardians NIL Collective back in September and he invited me to come join a game-watch at Aria for the Illinois-Michigan game on Saturday morning at 9AM Vegas time. I was not sure what to expect so early in the day…but as you can see by all of the orange in the photos below, this school travels as well as any program that I have ever seen:

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