Saturday’s
slate of basketball games featured upsets, buzzer beaters, and blowouts. Here
is a quick look back on a full day of action.
Game(s) of the Day:
College:
Butler 64 Gonzaga 63
Butler came
into their much anticipated Gameday match-up with Gonzaga as 2.5 point home underdogs
and also without their top player Rotnei Clarke. Butler was also down one point
with 4 seconds left while Gonzaga had a half court inbounds. As Butler has
proved time and time again, none of this mattered. Roosevelt Jones stole the
inbounds pass and hit a floater over 7 –foot center Kelly Olynyk to win the
game and set off a proper court storming. After a back and forth last minute,
Butler ended up with the final shot and took advantage in a packed Hinkle Field
house. Jones led the way for Butler with 20 points while Sam Dower and Elias Harris
each scored 20 for the Zags.
Syracuse 70 Louisville 68
Syracuse
came into their biggest game of the year in Louisville, KY without the services
of James Sunderland and as 6.5 point underdogs. Syracuse held strong throughout
and put together a strong final stand by holding Louisville scoreless for the
final 1:58. Sophomore Michael Carter-Williams made a key steal and raced the
length of the court for a rim rattling dunk with 25 seconds to give Cuse their
final lead. Brandon Triche led the way for the Orange with 23 points on 9-13
shooting while Russ Smith scored 25 points for Louisville. Star guard Peyton
Siva played 37 minutes but struggled mightily as he went 1-9 from the field.
High School:
Chester (PA) 63 Gonzaga (DC) 55
Chester
bounced back after suffering an upset loss in the Brandon Jennings Invitational
with a strong showing against senior forward Kris Jenkins and Gonzaga. Senior
forward Rondae Jefferson (Arizona) missed Chester’s loss last week but returned
with a vengeance and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and six steals. Senior
guard Darius Robinson took the game over in the final minutes and went on a
person 6-0 run to put the game out of reach. On the other side, Jenkins scored
a game high 23 points for Gonzaga while draining several three pointers and
using his big body down low.
Upsets of the Day
College:
Utah 74 Washington 65
In one of
the final games of the night, Utah pulled the biggest upset of the day. The
Utes came into Seattle as 11 point underdogs and winless in the PAC-12. On the
other side, Washington came into the game fresh off an easy win over Colorado
and a 4-0 PAC-12 record. Washington struggled from the field and the Utes
jumped on them early with a 14-4 run to start the game. The Utes led by eight
points at the half and held on during a high scoring 2nd half.
Center Jason Washburn and forward Jordan Loveridge led the way for the Utes
with 18 and 17 points respectively.
High School:
Paul VI (VA) Montverde (FL) 67
Montverde, the
top ranked team in the country suffered a stunning loss to Paul VI in the
Missouri Bass Pro Tournament of Champions only one day before their much
anticipated match-up with Findlay Prep. Paul VI battled back from a 10 point
deficit in the 3rd quarter to force overtime after two free throws
from sophomore Marcus Derrickson. One day after hitting a game winning jump
shot against St. John Boscoe, sophomore guard Kevin Dorsey delivered again with
another game winning jump shot. Both teams played in the City of Palms Classic
this past December but Paul VI suffered an opening night upset loss and the
teams never met up. The sophomore laden Paul VI squad has now knocked off Oak
Hill Academy and Montverde.
Blowout of the Day:
College:
Florida 83 Missouri 52
The Gators
gave Missouri a nice welcome to the SEC with a 31 point beat down on Saturday
afternoon. Point guard Scottie Wilbekin scored off the tip and Florida never
looked back starting off with an 11-0 run and a 40-23 halftime lead. Four
players scored in double figures for Florida led by forward Eric Murphy and his
three-point shooting. One of the top point guards in the country, Phil Pressey
struggled mightily as he went 1-7 from the floor and finished with 10
turnovers. Despite two losses, Florida served notice that they should be in the
conversation for top teams in the country.
High School:
Whitney Young (IL) 85 Long Beach
Poly (CA)52
Long Beach
Poly came in 3rd place at the City of Palms Classic while Whitney
Young placed 5th; however the match-up yesterday was not even close.
LB Poly started the game off with a 12-6 1st quarter run and then it
was all Whitney Young as they went on a quick 12-0 run to take the lead that
only increased throughout. Big man Jahlil Okafor dominated inside with 26
points and seven rebounds and continued his impressive junior campaign. While
Okafor led the way for Whitney Young it was the least talked about Whitney
Young starter that sparked the initial run. Senior point guard Ausar Madison is
often disrespected by defenders but made LB Poly pay with a 15 foot jump shot
and three-pointer on back to back possessions in the first quarter. After that,
the remaining Whitney Young starters in Paul White, L.J. Peak, and Miles
Reynolds took over. Whitney Young’s lone defeat came to Montverde in overtime
after a long day of travel in Florida and face off against the 3 time defending
state champion of Illinois in Simeon next Saturday.
Other Notes:
·
The Hangover
effect – Coming off big wins, both Maryland and Wisconsin suffered road
defeats. Maryland got blown out in Chapel Hill from the get-go and trailed by
22 points at the half. Junior guard Reggie Bullock scored 21 points in the 1st
half and Maryland committed 15 first half turnovers. UNC only scored 18 points
through the first 17 minutes of the 2nd half, but Maryland could not
capitalize. Wisconsin trailed from the get go in Ames and suffered through a
1-10 shooting performance from guard Traevon Jackson.
·
Marquette
got off to a slow start at Cincinnati with 13 first half points, but almost
pulled off the come from behind victory. Last week Marquette defeated
Pittsburgh in overtime as 11 point underdogs and this week they lost to a hot
shooting Sean Kilpatrick in overtime 71-69.
·
Florida
State only scored 36 points in a twenty point defeat to UVA while shooting 1-15
from three.
·
Oregon won
at Pauley Pavilion 76-67 and took possession of first place in the PAC-12 after
defeating both of the Southern California schools this past weekend.
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