It’s never going to rival the Lions’ annual thumping in terms of national notoriety, but the all-day marathon of early season tournament hoops is quickly becoming a Thanksgiving tradition all its own. There may not have been the marquee matchups that highlighted the early part of the week, but there were several games competitive enough to make you feel less guilty about avoiding all contact with your extended family.
Mid-Majors Advance In Early Season Tournaments And Alex Oriakhi’s Twitter Faux Pas
First round action at the Old Spice Classic, Battle 4 Atlantis and 76 Classic highlighted a busy Thanksgiving day in college basketball.
Here’s what went down on Thursday.
SCORES
Battle 4 Atlantis
No. 4 Connecticut 73, UNC-Asheville 63
No. 20 Florida State 73, Massachusetts 53
Central Florida 74, Charleston 63
Harvard 75, Utah 47
Old Spice Classic
Dayton 80, Wake Forest 76
Minnesota 86, Dayton 85
Indiana State 60, Texas Tech 49
Fairfield 55, Arizona State 44
76 Classic
Santa Clara 79, New Mexico 76 (OT)
Oklahoma 74, Washington State 59
Saint Louis 62, Boston College 51
Villanova 71, UC-Riverside 46
GAME OF THE DAY: Santa Clara 79, New Mexico 76 (OT)
Also probably the upset of the day. We’re all about consolidation here during the holidays.
Santa Clara knocked down 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc to help spring the upset in the first round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim. The Broncos had three players in double figures, led by Evan Roquemore and Kevin Foster who each scored 26 points.
The loss was the second of the young season for a New Mexico squad that many believed had the potential to earn a solid seed in the NCAA Tournament. A second loss in Anaheim would be a major blow for the Lobos.
UPSET OF THE DAY:
I’m not sure if any qualifies as a true upset, but three different mid-major squads knocked off a BCS program in the first round of an early season tournament on Thursday. Indiana State bettered Billy Gillispie and Texas Tech (60-49) in the first round of the Old Spice Classic. Fairfield took care of Arizona State (55-44) in the same tournament. And Harvard absolutely embarrassed Utah (75-47) at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Crimson will have a key chance to make a statement on Friday against Florida State.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Keith Clanton, Central Florida
The junior forward tied a career-high with 28 points to go with 14 rebounds as the Knights knocked off Charleston by 11 in a first round game at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. He’ll get a chance to show out once more when UCF takes on No. 4 Connecticut at 2 p.m. on Friday.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY:
Minnesota’s Rodney Williams is well-versed in the art of the basketball dunk.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It was an avalanche." --UC-Riverside coach Jim Wooldridge on a 32-6 Villanova run over 13 minutes. The Wildcats won, 71-46.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Connecticut center Alex Oriakhi isn’t thrilled about his new role as a reserve.
Might be the last we see of Alex on Twitter for a while.
NOTABLE:
--Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb continue to establish themselves as the new Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb. Each member of the pair scored 23 points as the 4th-ranked Huskies beat UNC-Asheville by ten in the Bahamas.
--Chris Johnson’s tie-breaking three-pointer in the final minute was the dagger as Dayton earned a hard-fought 80-76 victory over Wake Forest at the Old Spice Classic. It’s the first notable win of the Archie Miller era at UD.
--There were three separate meetings between schools from the ACC and Atlantic-10 on Thursday. The A-10 took two of three.
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