Sunday is generally one of the slower days for college basketball, but there’s always some chaos! It wouldn’t be college basketball if there wasn’t! We had a nice share of mid major showdowns and a top tier matchup this Sunday.

Best Games

By far and away, the best game of the day was Wake Forest vs. Michigan in their inaugural showdown in Greensboro. The Demon Deacons pulled out the win 72-70 after being down much of the game. App. State transfer Tre’von Spillers led the way, with 16 points and 5 boards, shooting 6/7 from the field. All American candidate Hunter Sallis had a below average game for him, but still a very good game, finishing with 18 points on 6/13 shooting. The one surprise for Wake was freshman guard Juke Harris, who had a great 11 point and 5 rebound performance. For the Wolverines, guards Tre Donaldson and L.J. Cason ended in double digits, with 10 points a piece. Donaldson, the Auburn transfer, also had 9 boards and 4 assists, while the freshman Cason added on 4 assists of his own. Also in double digits was Roddy Gayle Jr., who had 11 points, but on 3/10 shooting and 1/5 from three.

North Florida upset ANOTHER high major team on the road, with a 105-93 victory over Georgia Tech. This was a shocker to me. I felt Georgia Tech could compete in the ACC this year, maybe being a sleeper team, but I’m not so sure, after giving up 100+ points to a mid major. For North Florida, they seem legit! South Carolina and Georgia Tech aren’t bad teams by any stretch of the imagination, so these are good wins for sure. Leading the way in this one was freshman Josh Harris, who scored 22 points along with 7 rebounds. Nate Lliteras also had a great game, with 18 points, including the poster dunk seen below. (V.C. North Florida MBB). Guard Jasai Miles also had a great game, with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, as well as Jaylen Smith, who 15, 6, and 5, both of them filling up the stat sheet. For Georgia Tech, Baye Ndongo was the bright spot, with 20 points and 10 boards. Kowacie Reeves Jr., Javian McCollum, and Luke O’Brien all had good games, with 17, 14, and 15 points.

#6 Gonzaga also suited up last night, facing off against an Arizona State team which has seemed unsteady thus far. The Sun Devils put up a good fight, coming up short 80-88. For the Zags, it wasn’t pretty, but Ryan Nembhard and big Braden Huff brought them to victory. Nembhard had 13 points in an efficient 3/6 from the field, while dropping 11 assists. A couple of those definitely went to Huff, who scored 21 points off the bench on 9/13 from the field. Khalif Battle played well too, with 19 points and 7 boards on 50% shooting. That type of performance from him is what will be key for the Bulldog’s success. For ASU, their fight was led by Missouri State transfer guard Alston Mason, who had 19 points on 8/13 from the field, and Ball State transfer forward Basheer Jihad, who dropped in 22 points and collected 10 boards on 50% shooting.

Other Top Performances

• UAB’s anchorman Yaxel Lendenborg had a great 22 point, 8 board, and 5 assist performance, shooting 9/10 from the field and adding 2 blocks on the defensive end. UAB prevailed over Southeast Louisiana 82-72.
• Wyoming guard Obi Agbim had 24 points on 10/13 shooting, including 4/4 from three. The JUCO transfer has 20+ points in the first two games to start the year. A definite player to watch this season. Wyoming beat Tennessee State 81-66.
• Ryan Kalkbrenner… Yes he’s back of course. He had a casual 24 point, 6 rebound, and 4 block performance on 9/10 from the field. Creighton whooped Fairleigh Dickinson 96-70.
• Vanderbilt forward Devin McGlockton transferred from Boston College, and has been great in the first two games. He dropped 14 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks in an 85-76 victory over SEMO.
• Georgia guard transfer from Mount St Marys, Dakota Leffew, had another strong performance to start the year, with 23 points on 5/10 from three, along with 3 boards and 3 assists.

Another late post- busy busy week in school, will not continue this way. I PROMISE!

(P.C. Wake MBB)