Ok, so we may still be a little behind. But, I have decided to combine a whopping 3 days to catch up. This will be a slightly long one, but I am going to try to keep it concise so it’s not a pain for you all to read.

Saturday Games

On Saturday, we witnessed three double overtime games, and even a triple overtime thriller! However, there were no huge matchups like the ones that we saw on Friday night.

Bucknell beat Richmond 80-76 in double overtime, led by center Noah Williamson, who did it all with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 blocks. Forward Ruot Bijiek also got to 20 points, alongside 5 rebounds and 2 steals. For the Spiders, Albany transfer Josh Beagle scored 23 points and grabbed 8 boards, shooting 6/8 from the field and 10/10 from the free throw line. Their leading scorer was DeLonnie Hunt, with 26 points on 10/18 from the field.

In one of my most anticipated matchups of the day, Xavier got a statement win over Wake Forest, 75-60. Leading Xavier was Indiana State transfer Ryan Conwell, who had 21 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals, as well as big man Zach Freemantle, who missed last season with injury, scoring 11 points, grabbing 6 boards, and dishing 4 assists. Wake was led, as always, by Hunter Sallis, who scored 16 points and 5 assists, playing 39 of the 40 total minutes. Alabama transfer Davin Cosby had a nice game off the bench, with 13 points on 3/5 from three.

Another double overtime game occurred between Syracuse and Youngstown State. Yikes. Those are not words I expected to be saying. There is a LOT of concern for the Orange to start the year. The final was 104-95, and JJ Starling was the clear leader, scoring 38 points for Cuse on 61% from the field. Eddie Lampkin Jr. also played very well, scoring 20 on 8/10 shooting, grabbing 13 boards, and dishing 7 assists. For Youngstown State, guards EJ Farmer and Nico Gallete contributed 26 and 21 points, both on above 50% shooting.

The triple overtime game was between Missouri State and Tulsa, with Missouri State taking it 111-106. Both of these were team efforts with no unreal performances, and none of you know any of the players, so I’m not going to go into depth.

#16 Indiana beat South Carolina with authority, 87-71, with Washington State transfer Myles Rice playing fantastic, with 23 points on 7/10 from the field. MacKenzie Mgbako scored 17 along with 7 rebounds, continuing his strong sophomore season. For the Gamecocks, sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk came out of nowhere, scoring 18 points on 5/8 from the field, and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle also contributed with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The final double overtime game was an East Carolina defeat of George Mason, 78-77. Leading ECU was guard RJ Felton with 27 points and 8 rebounds, and forward CJ Walker with a 12 and 12 double double. For GMU, it was Virginia Tech transfer Dante Maddox who scored 20 points, and forward Giovanni Emejuru with 12 points and 9 boards.

Minnesota narrowly beat Yale, 59-56, with big man Dawson Garcia leading the way for them as always, with 24 points, and Oregon transfer Brennan Rigsby with 15 of his own. For Yale, it was guard John Poulakidas who scored 21 and grabbed 6 boards, carrying the Bulldogs.

One last game I feel I have to mention is Nevada’s demolition of a team I really liked coming into the year, Santa Clara, 85-59. For Nevada, forwards Nick Davidson and Tre Coleman are looking even better than last year in larger roles, with Davidson scoring 18 on 5/7 shooting while grabbing 8 boards, and Coleman scoring 21 on 6/7 shooting. For the Broncos, forward Elijah Mahi led with 22 points on 9/12 shooting, with many of their normal leaders having off nights, like Adama Alpha-Bal scoring 6 on 3/9 shooting.

Sunday Games

Sunday was slightly more active than usual, with some fun out of conference matchups.

The game that opened the slate was Richard Pitino vs. Rick Pitino, or New Mexico vs. St. Johns. Rick’s Red Storm took the win, 85-71, but both teams looked pretty good. RJ Luis Jr continued to play well, with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, doing it all from the wing. Zuby Ejiofor also had a great game, with a 13 point and 10 rebound double-double in 35 minutes. For the Lobos, Mustapha Amzil and Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 a piece, and CJ Noland added 15 of his own.

In another great non-con matchup, St. Mary’s beat Nebraska 67-64. This was a really solid win for the Gaels, with freshman Mikey Lewis playing really well, scoring 23 points and 4 steals, shooting 5/7 from three. Bigs Mitchell Saxen and Paulius Marauskas both made an impact, Saxen with a 12 and 12 double double, and Marauskas with 16 points and 6 boards. The Huskers were led by UCLA transfer Berke Buyuktuncel, who scored 15 points on 5/7 shooting, along with a great defensive impact with 3 blocks and 3 steals. Brice Williams was the true offensive leader per usual this year, scoring 28 points on 8/12 shooting.

Boise State picked up a huge win over Clemson, 84-71, led by stud forward Tyson Deganhart who scored 20 with 11 boards, and sophomore Andrew Meadow, who had 18 points and 9 boards. The clear offensive leader for Clemson this year is Chase Hunter, and he did not disappoint, scoring 30 points on 57% shooting with 6 assists and 3 steals. Also contributing for the Tigers was big man Ian Schieffelin, who had 8 points and 12 boards.

In a quite random matchup, Mississippi State beat Utah 78-73. The Bulldogs were led by forward KeShawn Murphy who had an 18 point and 14 board double-double, and star guard Josh Hubbard, who after struggling in the first half, ended with 23 points on 50% shooting. For the Utes, it was Rice transfer Keanu Dawes with 13 points and 12 boards and East Carolina transfer Ezra Ausar with 15 points who were the leaders.

The finale of the evening was a Cal upset of USC, 71-66. In the preseason, I seriously underestimated how dynamic of a player Jovan Blacksher Jr. would be for the Bears. He scored 19 in this one on 7/11 shooting, and has been great throughout the year. Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic was also really impressive, scoring 20 also on 7/11 shooting. For the Trojans, Xavier transfer Desmond Claude was quite good, with 20 points on 7/14 shooting, and Saint Thomas added 15 points of his own on 7/17 shooting.

Monday Games

OKAY! We’re almost done!

The best game of the night was the last one, with Gonzaga beating San Diego State 80-67. This was an encouraging win for the Zags, led by big Graham Ike who had 23 points and 9 boards on 7/9 from the field, and guard Ryan Nembhard, who was spectacular with 18 points and 10 assists. The Aztecs were missing some key pieces, such as sophomore Myles Byrd, which makes this not too concerning of a loss for them. In his absence, Florida Atlantic transfer Nick Boyd had a great 23 point and 9 rebound performance, shooting 6/10 from the field, alongside sophomore BJ Davis, who scored 15 of his own.

After a huge win over Arizona, Wisconsin barely beat UT Rio Grande Valley, 87-84. Sophomore guard John Blackwell had a huge game for the Badgers, scoring 30 points on 11/18 shooting, and John Tonje had another good game, as he has every game this season, scoring 19 points. For UTRGV, Hasan Abdul Hakim was impressive again, with 19 points and 8 boards on 50% shooting, and guard Trey Miller had 12 points and 6 assists to add on.

In a mid-major dogfight, McNeese State picked up a much needed win over North Texas, 68-61. Joe Charles and Sincere Parker led the way, with Charles putting up 10 points, 9 boards, and a whopping 5 steals, while Parker led the team in scoring with 18 points. For UNT, Longwood transfer John Massie had 10 points and 8 rebounds, and Florida Atlantic transfer Brenen Lorient scored 12 of his own.

WOOO! We have completed the recap. Goal is to be back as normal starting tomorrow, and as we get into conference play I should have more time and will be able to do even more than just daily updates!

(P.C. Syracuse MBB)