Saturday Highlights: Big South, Atlantic 10 & Beyond
From buzzer-beaters to defensive clinics, catch up on the most thrilling moments in college basketball from Mountain West to Big South.
We had another huge slate of games yesterday that led to an enormous amount of movement throughout the conferences. From Utah State’s incredible four point play to take down Boise State, to Duke Deen’s clutch three pointer to let Bradley squeak by UIC, there was a ton of action. Let’s recap the key results of yesterday’s matchups.
Mountain West
The Mountain West continues to deliver us some of the best action in college basketball. We started off our massive schedule with an incredible game between San Diego State and New Mexico at the Pit. New Mexico made San Diego State uncomfortable the whole game, finishing with a sound 62-48 victory over the Aztecs.
Donovan Dent led the Lobos with 16 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, and 3 steals, while Mustapha Amzil secured a 10 point and 11 rebound double-double. Despite shooting just 35.8% from the floor, 21.4% from 3pt, and an abysmal 8-20 from the free throw line, the Lobos held the Aztecs to just 48 shots compared to their 67. The Lobos smothered the Aztecs on the glass, securing 18 offensive rebounds compared to 3 and out rebounding them in general 51-35. Offensively, it was like watching paint dry, but the Lobos simply out hustled the Aztecs as they moved on to 14-3 on the season and remain undefeated in the Mountain West.
No. 25 Utah State took down Boise State 81-79 in what was an insane finish. I’ll link the video below (love Rich Waltz on the call), but Ian Martinez was fouled on a three point shot with just seven seconds left. You’ll have to see it for yourself, but the ball bounced around the rim as many times as possible before falling down. It was an incredible finish to an already incredible game, which has Utah State now 16-1 and 6-0 in the Mountain West.
The Aggies shot a ridiculous 61.2% overall and 52.4% from deep in this one. They were similar to New Mexico and abysmal from the free throw line, shooting just 10-22. My personal notable stat here is, the Aggies had 18 assists on 30 made shots. I love it when teams have excellent ball movement. Deyton Albury, Mason Falslev, Ian Martinez, Drake Allen, and Dexter Akanno all finished with double-digit points in a team effort. The Aggies will take on UNLV and Nevada this week.
For Boise State, the Broncos fall to 12-5 and 4-2 in conference. The Broncos have suffered some close losses on the season, including this two point loss, an eight point loss to San Diego State, five points to Washington State, two points to Boston College, and nine points to San Francisco. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier this week as they face off against Wyoming and travel to the Pit to take on New Mexico.
Colorado State has secretly rebounded in conference play after a disappointing non-conference record. The Rams are now 4-1 in the Mountain West after taking down UNLV 84-62. Nique Clifford has been unstoppable as he finished with 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals yesterday. In conference play, Clifford is averaging 18.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and two steals per game.
The Rams were stout defensively yesterday, holding the Rebels to just 41.7% shooting and 29.4% from deep. Meanwhile, Colorado State shot 56.6%, 50% from deep, 80% from the free though line and dished out 24 assists on 30 shots. It was a dominating performance for the Rams.
Rounding out the conference, Nevada picked up their first win in conference over Fresno State 77-66 in overtime. Fresno State is now 4-13 on the season and 0-6 in the Mountain West. San Jose State picked up a 69-62 win over Air Force. Air Force moves to 3-13 and 0-5 in conference, while the Spartans pick up their first win in the Mountain West.
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Big West
UC Irvine and UC San Diego went head to head last night on ESPNU in front of a sold out crowd in San Diego. This game was everything you could ask for between two defensively stout teams. The Anteaters picked up the victory 60-52 to move to 15-2 on the season and 5-0. This loss snapped the Tritons 12 game winning streak, but UC San Diego still remains with a solid 14-3 record and 4-1 in conference.
Bent Leuchten was unstoppable in the paint for the Anteaters. He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks. Myles Che and Justin Hohn provided some spark from outside, shooting a combined 6-14 from deep. As a team, they racked up 45 rebounds to UC San Diego’s 34. It wasn’t a great shooting performance for either team as the Tritons shot 31.1% and 17.1% from 3pt. The Anteaters shot 38.2% overall and 33.3% from deep.
UC Irvine moved up to 59th in KenPom, while UC San Diego stays at a respectable 65th. The Anteaters’ defensive now ranks 8th in the country after a dominating performance. The two will face off once again on Saturday, February 8th so pencil it in on your calendars.
Will we see a two-bid Big West? Probably not, but we deserve one.
Missouri Valley
Bradley stayed out in conference play with a narrow 61-60 victory over UIC. The Flames led almost the entire game, but Bradley retook the lead when it mattered most at the 2.2 second mark in the second half. Duke Deen with ice in his veins, drained a three point shot to give the Braves the win. Bradley moved to 14-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Missouri Valley.
As mentioned, it was all UIC for the majority of the game. They out rebounded the Braves 46-28. Sasa Ciani and Ahmad Henderson both finished with double-doubles, posting 11 points/11 rebounds and 13 points/10 rebounds respectively. The three point shot killed the Flames though, as they finished just 2-23 from beyond the arc.
For the Braves, it was a team effort to comeback in this one. Zek Montgomery finished with 15 points and three rebounds, while Christian Davis posted a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double, and Duke Deen hit the clutch shot late.
For the Flames, UIC is going to continue to shock people this season. They fall to 10-6 and 3-3 in the conference, but they are just a couple of possessions away from being 5-1 after a five point loss to Belmont and this one point loss to Bradley. They’ll look to bounce back against Murray State and Valparaiso this week.
Northern Iowa travelled to Illinois State and handed the Redbirds their fourth loss in the Missouri Valley. The Panthers picked up an 85-84 win to move to 10-7 and 4-2 in the MVC. Trey Campbell was a man on a mission, dropping 30 points on 8-13 shooting from deep. Ben Schwieger and Tytan Anderson both complimented Campbell with 14 points each.
For Illinois State, their inconsistency continues to hurt them. Chase Walker dropped 27 points and nine rebounds. Johnny Kinziger had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Jordan Davis had 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. This is a team that has the potential to play as a top four team in the conference, but they just haven’t been able to piece it together so far. It won’t get easier as they will try to snap a two game skid against Drake this week, but then take on a winless Missouri State in the MVC.
Belmont picked up a nice 84-79 win over Indiana State early on Saturday. This Bruins team has the potential to be very sneaky in the Valley. Carter Whitt finished with 25 points, six assists, and five rebounds. As a team, they shot 46.2% from deep and 51.7% overall. All five starters finished with double-digit points to move the Bruins to 12-5 on the season and 4-2 in the Missouri Valley. They look to move to 6-2 in the Valley as they take on Valpo and Evansville this week.
For Indiana State, the three point shot and missed free throws came back to haunt them. The Sycamores finished shooting just 27% from deep and missed nine free throws. Jaden Daughtry stayed hot, finishing with 23 points off the bench. Samage Teel has 20 points, six assists, and six rebounds, while Aaron Gray had a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds. It wasn’t enough to overcome Belmont’s elite shooting, despite racking up 19 assists and forcing 17 turnovers. ISU falls to 9-8 and 3-3 in the Valley as they have a tough week against the top dogs in Bradley and Drake.
Similar to their arch rival, Murray State is 4-2 in the Missouri Valley after scuffling a bit in the non-conference. The Racers have started to put it together, winning three in a row and four out of their last five. It seems like it’s a new guy leading the way every game and that’s how good teams win games. Nick Ellington finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in this one, while Terence Harcum and JaCobi Wood had been the stars in the last couple of games. Despite shooting just 4-16 from deep, the Racers’ defense held Valpo off. The Racers racked up 19 force turnovers and held one of the top free throw shooting teams at over 25 a game to just three free throw attempts, 34.5% shooting overall, and 29.2% shooting from deep. It was a defensive clinic.
Valpo moves to 10-7 and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley as they look to bounce back against Belmont and UIC. Murray State takes on UIC and Bradley this week in a good opportunity to show they can be right at the top.
In the other two games, Southern Illinois picked up their first Valley win over Missouri state 88-78. Missouri State remains winless in conference. Drake also pummeled Evansville 63-40. It was a defensive battle in the first half as the halftime score was 25-20 Drake, but the Bulldogs picked the offense back up in the second half to dominate. Drake moves to 14-2 and 4-2 in the MVC.
Atlantic 10
In one of the first games of the day, St. Bonaventure dropped a heartbreaker to La Salle 83-82. It was a back-and-forth game that led to overtime, but Deuce Jones opened the bank to nail a running three point shot to seal it for the Explorers.
The Bonnies did all they could, shooting 47.2% overall, 52.4% from 3pt, 21-27 from the line, but it just wasn’t enough as turnovers proved to be the determining factor. The Explorers forced 12 turnovers, while limiting their own to just six.
Lajae Jones finished with 24 points and eight rebounds as he has been on fire lately for the Bonnies. For the Explorers, they move to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the A-10. The Bonnies fall to 14-3 and 2-2 in the A-10.
Unfortunately, this will hurt the Bonnies at-large chances. They’ll need to finish out the rest of the conference play strong to help the A-10 move towards a two-bid status.
Saint Joesph’s continues to be all over the place after they destroyed Loyola Chicago 93-57. The Hawks shot 54.8% overall and 18-33 from deep. Xzayvier Brown had 20, Derek Simpson had 19, and Erik Reynolds finished with 18. For the Ramblers, things just continue to fall apart as they move to 10-6 and 1-2 in the A-10.
Saint Joesph’s has the potential to go on a run in conference and don’t count they out as they could be like Duquesne last season and sneakily win the tournament to get a bid to the big dance. The Hawks are 11-6 and 2-2 in conference so far, but if they can play even a fraction like they did yesterday, they are going to continue to be dangerous.
Rhode Island squeaked one out against Richmond in overtime, 67-64. Sebastian Thomas and Jaden House came up huge for the Rams. Thomas finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists, four steals, and two blocks. House poured in 18 off the bench. It was an ugly shooting game, as the Rams shot just 22.2% from deep and 13-22 from the line, but their defense came up big. They outrebounded the Spiders 42-32.
For Richmond, they had a rough non-conference, but they started off 2-0 in the A-10 over George Washington and UMass. However, they’ve lost their last two closely, dropping a six point game to George Mason and now a three point game to Rhode Island. The Spiders are 7-10 on the season and 2-2 in the A-10.
In other games, Davidson picked up a ten point win over Fordham, 74-64 to move to 12-4 and 2-1 in conference. George Mason continues to play well as they took down UMass 77-70 to move to 12-5 and 3-1 in the A-10.
Big South
The Big South has been one of the most underrated conferences so far this season. High Point was the most notable figure coming into the season, but a few other teams are going to be right their contending for the title and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Yesterday, Radford took down South Carolina Upstate 80-67. Five Highlanders finished with double digit points, including three off the bench. Truth Harris had 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals to lead the team. Radford held Upstate to just 7-24 from deep and forced 15 turnovers. They moved to 12-6 on the season and 2-1 in the Big South.
Winthrop took down Longwood 95-76, behind Paul Jones’ 24 points. Kelton Talford finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Nick Johnson had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Eagles shot 56.7% in this one and 14-29 from deep. They outrebounded the Lancers 38-29 and held them to just 41.4% shooting overall. The Eagles moved to 12-7 and 2-2 in conference.
UNC Asheville stayed hot after their win over High Point with a 96-87 victory over Presbyterian. Jordan Marsh dropped 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, and three steals to lead the Bulldogs. Toyaz Soloman had 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocks. Fletcher Abee and Josh Banks both finished with 16 as well. the Bulldogs shot lights out in this one, finishing with 56.4% overall and 10-14 from deep. Contrary to some of the other games we’ve talked about, there was no defense in this one, as they had just 23 rebounds. I love it.
High Point also picked up a 41 point victory over Gardner-Webb, 96-55. It was pure domination from the start in this one. The Panthers moved to 15-4 and 3-1 in conference and still remain the team to beat.
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Other Games
In some other games across the country, Louisiana Tech took down Liberty 79-74. The Bulldogs needed to bounce back after getting dominated by New Mexico State and they did so. Daniel Batcho finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Sean Newman Jr had 27 points and eight assists. They outrebounded Liberty 44-23 in the deciding factor of the game. The Bulldogs move to 13-4 and 2-2 in the Conference USA, while Liberty falls to 14-3 and 2-2 in conference.
Santa Clara has stayed hot after a tough start to the season. They dominated San Francisco 77-54 to move to 12-6 and 4-1 in the WCC. Carlos Stewart Jr finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Elijah Mahi had 17 off the bench. The Broncos dominated defensively, outrebounding the Dons 40-30 and holding them to just 35% shooting overall and 6-32 from deep. The Dons fall to 14-5 and 4-2 in the WCC. Hopefully, there’s still a possibility for a three bid WCC.
Southern Illinois Edwardsville picked up a nice 67-59 victory over Tennessee Tech. The Cougars have come out to play in conference play and Ray’Sean Taylor has been a man on a mission. Taylor finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and four steals yesterday. He’s averaging 19.8 points, six rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in the Ohio Valley so far. Ring Malith has also been a big contributor as he finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. The Cougars held Tenn Tech to just 32.1% shooting and 6-27 from deep in this one to move to 11-6 and 4-2 in the OVC.
Also in the OVC, Morehead took down SEMO to move to 5-1 in conference. The Eagles blasted the Redhawks on the boards, outrebounding them 41-18. SEMO shot just 5-18 from deep, while Morehead State shot 48.1% overall. Anouar Mellouk finished with an 18 point and 10 rebound double-double for Morehead State.
Queens is silently 4-0 in the Atlantic Sun after taking down Austin Peay 67-60. The Royals are now 11-6 on the season after racking up a ridiculous 53-23 rebound differential. Leo Colimerio had 14 points and seven rebounds, Jaxon Pollard had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Maban Jabriel had nine points and 11 rebounds off the bench as well. It was a masterful performance on the glass for the royals.
Arkansas State picked up a much needed win over Troy 84-78. Taryn Todd poured in 21 points and seven rebounds for the Red Wolves. It was an equal battle for both teams, but Arkansas State hit a couple of three point shots late to complete the comeback after being down nine at halftime. For Troy, Tayton Conerway had 32 points on 8-12 shooting and seven assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Theo Seng had 18 points off the bench. Unfortunately, no other player had more than six points for the Trojans. Arkansas State moves to 12-5 and 3-2 in the Sun Belt, while Troy falls to 10-6 and 3-2 in conference.
Cleveland State took down Youngstown State to move to 12-6 and 6-1 in conference after a mediocre non-conference performance. Tahj Staveskie finished with 21 points, while Dylan Arnett had a 15 points and 12 rebound double-double. Their bench outscored the Penguins 28-17 to help elevate the Vikings for the win. Youngstown State falls to 11-7 and 6-2 in the Horizon.
Princeton picked up a four point victory over Harvard 68-64 in their first Ivy League game of the season. Xaivian Lee came up huge with 22 points to help cover for Dalen Davis’ disappoint 2-12 shooting. It was a bit of an ugly game, but good times find ways to win ugly games and that’s exactly what the Tigers did in this one. They move to 12-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference.
Samford took down UNC Greensboro 76-69 to remain undefeated in the SoCon. Mississippi State transfer Trey Fort has been incredible for the Bulldogs as he poured in 21 points yesterday. The Bulldogs shot 48.14% overall in a back-and-forth battle. Samford moves to 14-3 and 4-0 in conference, while UNC Greensboro falls to 10-7 and 3-1 in conference.
North Dakota State picked up a needed win over Denver 69-50. The Bison are one of the best offensive teams in the country and that continued as they shot 41.7% from deep. The notable factor was their ball control as they racked up 13 assists, compared to the Pioneers’ four. Jacksen Moni led the way with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The Bison move to 13-6 and 2-2 in the Summit.
In the CAA, Hofstra took down UNC Wilmington 66-63. Donovan Newby did everything he could for the Seahawks, scoring 30 points with five rebounds and five assists, but no one else finished with double-digits. They shot just 37.9% overall, 33.3% from deep, and 50% from the line. Jean Aranguren had 20 points, three rebounds, and four assists for the Pride, while Michael Graham finished with an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double off the bench. Hofstra moves to 10-7 and 2-2 in conference, while UNCW falls to 12-5 and 2-2 in conference.
Lastly, Charleston fell to 4-13 Monmouth 84-73. Monmouth shot lights out in this one, shooting 50.8% overall and 40% from deep. Abdi Bashir finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Jack Collins had a ten point, 12 rebound double-double for the Hawks. For Charleston, the Cougars shot just 33.8% overall and 31.7% from deep. Ante Brzovic was held to just 11 points. When he scores 11 points or less, the Cougars are now 0-4. Charleston falls to 13-4 and 3-1 in the CAA while Monmouth is secretly 2-2 in conference after a tough non-conference performance.