There were lots of potential upsets going into Monday’s slate of games, but sadly, none of them came to fruition. In spite of that, there were still some interesting results and impressive performances that occured last night.
Best Games
In a game I was looking forward to, McNeese State put up a strong fight against #2 Alabama, falling 72-64 in Tuscaloosa. For the Tide, Grant Nelson had a strong 22 point, 8 board, and 3 assist performance, shooting 6/9 from the field. Alongside Nelson was Mark Sears, with a casual 15 points and 5 assists on 50% shooting. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. also poured in 15 on 5/9 from behind the arc, coming up with important buckets to secure the win. The Cowboys were led by St. Louis transfer Sincere Parker, who scored 19 on 7/16 shooting. Also in double digits with 17 points was Providence transfer Alyn Breed, on 7/14 shooting, and forward Christian Shumate, who finished with 10. McNeese is a top mid major for most, if not all, college basketball fans, and their 1-2 start is slightly concerning, but a single digit loss against Bama does keep my hope alive.
#13 Purdue also played in a tight matchup last night, outlasting Yale 92-84. Braden Smith led the way for the Boilermakers, as he likely will in every game this year, with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assits, and 5 steals. Big man Trey Kaufman-Renn had an efficient 17 points on 5/8 from the field, as well as Fletcher Loyer, who had 14 points on 5/7. One performance I have to highlight is the freshman from my hometown, Lexington, Mass, CJ Cox. Cox scored 12 points in this one, and after being an underrated recruit, is already making his presence felt on the high major level. He is a bucket getter! For the Bulldogs, center Samson Aletan had a great game, scoring 14 while grabbing 7 boards and dishing 3 assists. John Poulakidas with 22 points, Bez Mbeng with 12, 5, and 5, and Nick Townsend with 12 points and 4 assists, all were major contributors for Yale as well.
Rutgers remained ranked in week 2, sitting at #24, and pulled out a 75-65 win over St. Peters last night. One of the two star freshmen, Ace Bailey, is still out with an injury, but the other, Dylan Harper, put up another big performance, dropping 24 points and 6 boards. Their third freshman, big man Lathan Sommerville, has been impressive to start the year as well, scoring 14 points in this one along with 3 blocks. For the Peacocks, this one stayed close due to the play of senior guard Marcus Randolph, who had 22 points and 3 boards on 7/12 from the field, including 4/8 from three.
The most competitive game of the day, surprisingly, was Eastern Washington at Missouri. Despite EWU’s early lead, Missouri was able to come back and win 84-77. In this one we saw a classic Caleb Grill performance. Despite all that has gone on with him off the court, he can really shoot, finishing with 33 points and 9 boards in this one, shooting 10/13 from the field, including 8/10 from three. Joining him in double digits for the Tigers was Duke transfer Mark Mitchell, who dropped 13 on 6/10 shooting. For the Eagles, it was senior guard Andrew Cook with 24 points, 3 assists, and 4 steals on 11/13 shooting, and sophomore guard Mason Williams with 20 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals on 7/13 shooting, who carried the load on both ends, giving them a chance to steal this one.
The final game I have to mention is Virginia vs. Coppin State, of course. In a 62-45 win for my Cavaliers, freshman Jacob Cofie shined again, with an 11 point, 11 rebound double double, along with 4 steals and 3 blocks! He has fit very well in the UVA system thus far. Isaac McKneely did his thing, with 14 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals, shooting 4/8 from three. The other two players in double figures were point guard Dai Dai Ames, who got to start finally due to an Andrew Rohde back injury, and scored 13 points on 5/8 shooting, and Elijah Saunders, who led the team with 15 points and 5 boards on 5/9 shooting. For the Eagles of CSU, Derrius Ward put up 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Jonathan Dunn joined him in double figures with 11 points.
Other Top Performances
- Sadraque NgaNga had a spectacular 29 point and 12 board performance, where he shot 12/14 from the field, and San Jose State demolished Life Pacific 93-56.
- Indiana transfer Kaleb Banks led Tulane to an 84-51 win over Alcorn State with 25 points and 7 rebounds, shooting 9/13 from the field, including 5/8 from three.
- Iowa State guard Curtis Jones had 20, 5, and 5 in a 82-56 win for the #7 team over Kansas City, where he shot 7/11 from the field.
- Pitt’s 82-63 win over Gardner Webb, Ishmael Leggett had 21 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists, shooting a very effective 7/9 from the field and 3/4 from three.
- Notre Dame played a close one against Buffalo, winning 86-77, with two top performances. Forward Tae Davis had a career high 27 points and 6 rebounds, including the big dunk seen below, and guard Markus Burton had a great performance as usual, with a near triple double of 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Although he did shoot 8/21 from the field… (M.C. Notre Dame MBB)
Jake’s Best Bets (Current Record, 3-4)
So my last two picks weren’t great. But! I feel much better about todays picks.
- Cornell +3.5 vs. La Salle
Cornell is facing up against La Salle tonight, and coming off of a win over Samford, I think the efficiency that the Big Red play with will maybe even bring them a win tonight.
- Kansas -5.5 vs. Michigan State
I just don’t think Michigan State is all that good. They were overrated last year, and they have yet to prove to me that they have some sort of difference this season. Yes, I know Izzo shows up in the big games, but I find it hard to believe Kansas doesn’t win this one by double digits.
- Hunter Dickinson o17.5 points, o10.5 rebounds
Michigan State’s bigs are not good. Hunter Dickinson should score over 18 points most games, and against a team like the Spartans, he should easily reach that. He also had multiple 20 board games last year, so I don’t see why, against a team like MSU, he doesn’t get to 11 rebounds.
We are back with the on time posts! As always, let me know if theres something you want me to highlight or do differently that I currently am!
(P.C. Purdue MBB)
That College Basketball Guy 
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