November 27 at Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA
espn3
Color commentator Grafton Young with a nice trio of phrases in American's 74-64 win:
"VMI is playing high-octane on the offensive side of the ledger"
"American? Give them credit, they studied the tape, they're playing the plays"
"The bank is open, past 5, on a Tuesday night!"
Games 630-631: A Sunday evening
631 - Oregon State at Long Beach State
November 25 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA
BigWestTV
630 - Little Rock women at LSU
November 25 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
SEC Network
November 25 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA
BigWestTV
630 - Little Rock women at LSU
November 25 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
SEC Network
Game 629 - Canisius vs. UAB
November 25 at HP Field House in Orlando, FL
ESPN
Zack Bryant had struggled through the first two games of the Advocare Invitational, combining for just 13 points and 25% shooting in UAB's losses to Florida State and Charleston. In Sunday's seventh-place game, Bryant came off the bench and scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and had seven steals in a 68-58 victory.
UAB got off to a really slow start and trailed by as much as 26-11 in the opening half. Things started to turn around for the Blazers with just under three minutes to play in the half. Bryant led the way during an 8-0 run, converting a transition lay-up and hitting a 3-pointer, then followed that with a steal that led to Jeremiah Bell's bucket, and Bryant's three-point play with a minute left got the Blazers to within 30-29.
UAB took its first lead of the night on Bryant's Jalen Perry-assisted 3-pointer with 18:07 to go in the game and never trailed again.
Bell added 15 points and Perry, 11 for UAB.
Takal Molson led Canisius with 15 points, but second-leading scorer Isaiah Reese wasn't much of a factor, scoring six points and hitting just 3-of-12 from the field.
Phrase of the year nominee
Mike Morgan:
"UAB marinating in momentum"
!
ESPN
Zack Bryant had struggled through the first two games of the Advocare Invitational, combining for just 13 points and 25% shooting in UAB's losses to Florida State and Charleston. In Sunday's seventh-place game, Bryant came off the bench and scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and had seven steals in a 68-58 victory.
UAB got off to a really slow start and trailed by as much as 26-11 in the opening half. Things started to turn around for the Blazers with just under three minutes to play in the half. Bryant led the way during an 8-0 run, converting a transition lay-up and hitting a 3-pointer, then followed that with a steal that led to Jeremiah Bell's bucket, and Bryant's three-point play with a minute left got the Blazers to within 30-29.
UAB took its first lead of the night on Bryant's Jalen Perry-assisted 3-pointer with 18:07 to go in the game and never trailed again.
Bell added 15 points and Perry, 11 for UAB.
Takal Molson led Canisius with 15 points, but second-leading scorer Isaiah Reese wasn't much of a factor, scoring six points and hitting just 3-of-12 from the field.
Phrase of the year nominee
Mike Morgan:
"UAB marinating in momentum"
!
Games 627-628 - A Saturday pair
628 - Marist at Buffalo
November 24 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY
espn3
This game was all about the benches - specifically how Marist got 34 of its 49 points from its reserves, which isn't good, and C.J. Massinburg's performance off the bench for the hosts, which was excellent.
Massinburg, the team's leading scorer who missed Buffalo's previous game against Dartmouth, showed little signs of that knee injury, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 21 points in a 76-49 win.
Buffalo (5-0), ranked for the first time in its history at No. 22, hit 16-of-32 as a team from three as starter Jayvon Graves knocked down four on his way to 16 points.
Marist's starters were a non-factor, including leading scorer Brian Parker, who was held without a field goal and scored just three points.
627 - Chicago State at Bradley
November 24 at Carver Arena in Peoria, IL
ESPN
In an 86-70 Bradley victory, we had a solid collection of nonsense from the broadcast team of Brian Bedo & Matt McClain:
"a player-led team"
"rhythm looks"
"high volume three-point shooter"
"Bradley trying to fight fire with fire"
"another stat stuffing afternoon"
"active hands"
November 24 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY
espn3
This game was all about the benches - specifically how Marist got 34 of its 49 points from its reserves, which isn't good, and C.J. Massinburg's performance off the bench for the hosts, which was excellent.
Massinburg, the team's leading scorer who missed Buffalo's previous game against Dartmouth, showed little signs of that knee injury, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 21 points in a 76-49 win.
Buffalo (5-0), ranked for the first time in its history at No. 22, hit 16-of-32 as a team from three as starter Jayvon Graves knocked down four on his way to 16 points.
Marist's starters were a non-factor, including leading scorer Brian Parker, who was held without a field goal and scored just three points.
627 - Chicago State at Bradley
November 24 at Carver Arena in Peoria, IL
ESPN
In an 86-70 Bradley victory, we had a solid collection of nonsense from the broadcast team of Brian Bedo & Matt McClain:
"a player-led team"
"rhythm looks"
"high volume three-point shooter"
"Bradley trying to fight fire with fire"
"another stat stuffing afternoon"
"active hands"
Games 625-626: Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader
626 - Xavier women at Wake Forest
November 21 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
Play-by-play man Brian Rushing, late-second quarter:
" Xavier with a quick, 4-0 outburst."
625 - Georgia State vs. Georgia
November 21 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Considering they were blown out in the semi finals to eventual tournament champion Creighton, GSU's run in the Cayman Islands Classic was extremely successful.
Thanks to eight 3-pointers from 6-8 forward Malik Benlevi, the Panthers had no trouble with in-state rival Georgia, winning 91-67 to grab the third-place trophy.
It's the program's first win over an SEC team since December, 2003 (Auburn), and Benlevi was a huge reason why. The senior was 8-of-11 from behind the arc (GSU as a team was 14-of-25, 56%), and with all-tournament team performer D'Marcus Simonds adding 17 points and eight assists (he averaged 21 points in three tournament games), and Kane Williams contributing 14 points and seven assists (the sophomore point guard averaged 13.3 points & 4.6 assists in the tournament), the Panthers came up with one of their bigger regular season non-conference wins in a while.
November 21 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
Play-by-play man Brian Rushing, late-second quarter:
" Xavier with a quick, 4-0 outburst."
625 - Georgia State vs. Georgia
November 21 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Considering they were blown out in the semi finals to eventual tournament champion Creighton, GSU's run in the Cayman Islands Classic was extremely successful.
Thanks to eight 3-pointers from 6-8 forward Malik Benlevi, the Panthers had no trouble with in-state rival Georgia, winning 91-67 to grab the third-place trophy.
It's the program's first win over an SEC team since December, 2003 (Auburn), and Benlevi was a huge reason why. The senior was 8-of-11 from behind the arc (GSU as a team was 14-of-25, 56%), and with all-tournament team performer D'Marcus Simonds adding 17 points and eight assists (he averaged 21 points in three tournament games), and Kane Williams contributing 14 points and seven assists (the sophomore point guard averaged 13.3 points & 4.6 assists in the tournament), the Panthers came up with one of their bigger regular season non-conference wins in a while.
Game 624 - Moving on to the semis
Georgia State vs. St. Bonaventure
November 19 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Georgia State has had a pretty solid top 3 or 4 in its rotation in the past, but has lacked the depth that's necessary to not only win a conference (which they accomplished without depth a year ago), but be able to win non-league road/neutral games against NCAA-caliber teams (which they did not).
Each season, there's the hope that a second group emerges and allows the Panthers to dress a solid 8-9 players that can contribute. Perhaps this is the season.
Freshman Nelson Phillips had a great game, contributing 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 25 points as GSU won its quarterfinal game of the Cayman Islands Classic, 75-65.
Phillips nearly notched his first double-double, while senior Malik Benlevi (13 points on 5-of-10 shooting), sophomore point guard Kane Williams (six points, six assists, four steals, two blocks) and senior Jeff Thomas added nine and seven. Now Creighton awaits in the semifinals.
It's a huge opportunity for GSU, which beat a fellow 2018 NCAA team Monday, will play one again Tuesday, and with a victory, Sweet 16 Clemson or in-state rival Georgia awaits in the championship game.
The semis are Tuesday at 7:30. Can't wait.
Georgia State has had a pretty solid top 3 or 4 in its rotation in the past, but has lacked the depth that's necessary to not only win a conference (which they accomplished without depth a year ago), but be able to win non-league road/neutral games against NCAA-caliber teams (which they did not).
Each season, there's the hope that a second group emerges and allows the Panthers to dress a solid 8-9 players that can contribute. Perhaps this is the season.
Freshman Nelson Phillips had a great game, contributing 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 25 points as GSU won its quarterfinal game of the Cayman Islands Classic, 75-65.
Phillips nearly notched his first double-double, while senior Malik Benlevi (13 points on 5-of-10 shooting), sophomore point guard Kane Williams (six points, six assists, four steals, two blocks) and senior Jeff Thomas added nine and seven. Now Creighton awaits in the semifinals.
It's a huge opportunity for GSU, which beat a fellow 2018 NCAA team Monday, will play one again Tuesday, and with a victory, Sweet 16 Clemson or in-state rival Georgia awaits in the championship game.
The semis are Tuesday at 7:30. Can't wait.
Games 621-623: Weekend tripleheader
623 - Little Rock at Nevada
November 16 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, NV
ESPNU
622 - Alcorn State at Vanderbilt
November 16 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, TN
SEC Network
"extra buzz in the building"
"Memorial magic"
"a great NBA body"
"power conference team" (2)
"they had some teaching moments"
"he's really a player's coach"
"a good student of the game and a gym rat"
Commentator Shan Foster's top 3
"showing the strength, the athleticism...the yoyo!"
"Alcorn State running their offense...religiously"
"they're not running offense right now, they're just playing basketball"
621 - Alabama vs. Northeastern
November 15 at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
ESPN
November 16 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, NV
ESPNU
622 - Alcorn State at Vanderbilt
November 16 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, TN
SEC Network
"extra buzz in the building"
"Memorial magic"
"a great NBA body"
"power conference team" (2)
"they had some teaching moments"
"he's really a player's coach"
"a good student of the game and a gym rat"
Commentator Shan Foster's top 3
"showing the strength, the athleticism...the yoyo!"
"Alcorn State running their offense...religiously"
"they're not running offense right now, they're just playing basketball"
621 - Alabama vs. Northeastern
November 15 at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
ESPN
Game 620 - UT-San Antonio at Oklahoma State
November 14 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, OK
FS1
OSU actually trailed 9-0 in this game, but got it together midway through the first half and shot 50% from the field in winning 82-60.
But I really just wanted to talk about one phrase that I hear a lot, and not just in sports. Early in the second half, Oklahoma State's Cameron McGriff (20 points, 10 rebounds) took a charge and commentator Bryndon Manzer said he "read that like a book".
This doesn't make any sense.
If I'm reading a book, I don't have any idea what's going to happen (which is why I'm READING THE BOOK). How could he have read that pass like a book?
Do you mean he read that like a book he had already read?
FS1
OSU actually trailed 9-0 in this game, but got it together midway through the first half and shot 50% from the field in winning 82-60.
But I really just wanted to talk about one phrase that I hear a lot, and not just in sports. Early in the second half, Oklahoma State's Cameron McGriff (20 points, 10 rebounds) took a charge and commentator Bryndon Manzer said he "read that like a book".
This doesn't make any sense.
If I'm reading a book, I don't have any idea what's going to happen (which is why I'm READING THE BOOK). How could he have read that pass like a book?
Do you mean he read that like a book he had already read?
Game 619 - Mercer at Georgia State
November 13 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
A week ago, I watched Jeff Thomas set a career-high with 26 points in a season-opening win over East Tennessee State. Another Tuesday, another career-high for the senior.
Thomas was fantastic, scoring 30 points, including eight 3-pointers as GSU hung on for a 62-60 victory.
Thomas, who bounced back from a two-point game in a loss to Montana last Friday, needed to be that good because
1. No one else shot the ball particularly well (Thomas was 11-of-17 from the field and 8-of-13 from three, the rest of the team was just 12-of-37 and 7-of-22).
2. The Panthers' top three-point shooter, Devin Mitchell, is still out with a knee injury.
3. Mercer nearly erased a 19-point deficit and inexplicably had the last possession with a chance to win. The Bears missed a three with a couple seconds to play.
After a 2-1 first week of the season, things get tougher in a hurry for GSU. November 19, the Panthers play St. Bonaventure, a 26-win, NCAA team a year ago, in the Cayman Islands Classic. Either Boise State or Creighton follows a day later.
A week ago, I watched Jeff Thomas set a career-high with 26 points in a season-opening win over East Tennessee State. Another Tuesday, another career-high for the senior.
Thomas was fantastic, scoring 30 points, including eight 3-pointers as GSU hung on for a 62-60 victory.
Thomas, who bounced back from a two-point game in a loss to Montana last Friday, needed to be that good because
1. No one else shot the ball particularly well (Thomas was 11-of-17 from the field and 8-of-13 from three, the rest of the team was just 12-of-37 and 7-of-22).
2. The Panthers' top three-point shooter, Devin Mitchell, is still out with a knee injury.
3. Mercer nearly erased a 19-point deficit and inexplicably had the last possession with a chance to win. The Bears missed a three with a couple seconds to play.
After a 2-1 first week of the season, things get tougher in a hurry for GSU. November 19, the Panthers play St. Bonaventure, a 26-win, NCAA team a year ago, in the Cayman Islands Classic. Either Boise State or Creighton follows a day later.
Game 618 - Morgan State at DePaul
November 12 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL
FS1
Nice night for DePaul, which overwhelmed the visitors from Baltimore in a 91-63 victory.
The Blue Demons (2-0), looking for their first winning season (and first with more than 12 wins) since 2006-07, have a pair of really good players in Max Strus and Eli Cain. Strus scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, while Cain added 21 on 7-of-14 from the field. The pair combined for a 10-for-17 night from three-point range.
DePaul doubled up the MEAC school on the glass (52-26 rebounding edge), and after Morgan State got to within 22-16 on a jumper by Martez Cameron with about seven minutes to play in the first half DePaul went on a 10-1 run and cruised for the rest of the night.
Cameron led the Morgan State with 11 points.
FS1
Nice night for DePaul, which overwhelmed the visitors from Baltimore in a 91-63 victory.
The Blue Demons (2-0), looking for their first winning season (and first with more than 12 wins) since 2006-07, have a pair of really good players in Max Strus and Eli Cain. Strus scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, while Cain added 21 on 7-of-14 from the field. The pair combined for a 10-for-17 night from three-point range.
DePaul doubled up the MEAC school on the glass (52-26 rebounding edge), and after Morgan State got to within 22-16 on a jumper by Martez Cameron with about seven minutes to play in the first half DePaul went on a 10-1 run and cruised for the rest of the night.
Cameron led the Morgan State with 11 points.
Game 616 - North Alabama at Samford
November 6 at Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, AL
espn3
The trio of Josh Sharkey (18 points, seven assists), Myron Gordon (19 points) and Ruben Guerrero (17 points, four blocks) combined to shoot 72% (23-of-32) from the field, more than enough for Samford in its season opener, a 91-74 win.
It was North Alabama's first game as a Division 1 member as the Lions are making the transition from Division II to the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The visitors from Florence, Alabama trailed just 14-12 after a 3-pointer from Jamari Blackmon at the 15:47 mark of the first half, but Samford put together a 22-6 run over the next six minutes and were never threatened again.
North Alabama was good from the outside - 14-of-26 - but struggled on 2-pointers (27%). Meanwhile, Sharkey was excellent in the opening half (Samford led 49-30 at the break after shooting 70% from the field) and the visitors couldn't recover.
espn3
The trio of Josh Sharkey (18 points, seven assists), Myron Gordon (19 points) and Ruben Guerrero (17 points, four blocks) combined to shoot 72% (23-of-32) from the field, more than enough for Samford in its season opener, a 91-74 win.
It was North Alabama's first game as a Division 1 member as the Lions are making the transition from Division II to the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The visitors from Florence, Alabama trailed just 14-12 after a 3-pointer from Jamari Blackmon at the 15:47 mark of the first half, but Samford put together a 22-6 run over the next six minutes and were never threatened again.
North Alabama was good from the outside - 14-of-26 - but struggled on 2-pointers (27%). Meanwhile, Sharkey was excellent in the opening half (Samford led 49-30 at the break after shooting 70% from the field) and the visitors couldn't recover.
Game 615 - Season opener
East Tennessee State at Georgia State
November 6 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
If Tuesday was any indication, Jeff Thomas is about to have a fantastic senior season.
Thomas scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting, added four blocks and played his usual excellent defense in a 74-68 win.
GSU, coming off a Sun Belt championship and NCAA appearance, gave up a horrific 27 offensive rebounds, so that huge problem did not go away at least in game No. 1 of the new season. Also, Devin Mitchell didn't play for an unknown reason.
But reigning league player of the year D'Marcus Simonds shook off some early rust to score 21 points (4-of-8 from three) and Pittsburgh transfer Damon Wilson, playing in his first game as a Panther, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and hit the biggest shot of the night, corralling a missed Simonds' 3-pointer and hitting one of his own with 50 seconds to play that put the Panthers in front 72-68.
The visitors had pulled to within 69-68 on a dunk from Armus Mladen at the 1:37 mark.
ETSU, a 25-win team and Southern Conference runner-up a year ago, built a 56-52 lead with just under eight minutes to play. GSU followed with a 10-0 run - Thomas nailed an ahead-for-good three with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
Nice double-double for Malik Benlevi, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds, including several put backs when GSU was struggling to find offense.
November 6 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
If Tuesday was any indication, Jeff Thomas is about to have a fantastic senior season.
Thomas scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting, added four blocks and played his usual excellent defense in a 74-68 win.
GSU, coming off a Sun Belt championship and NCAA appearance, gave up a horrific 27 offensive rebounds, so that huge problem did not go away at least in game No. 1 of the new season. Also, Devin Mitchell didn't play for an unknown reason.
But reigning league player of the year D'Marcus Simonds shook off some early rust to score 21 points (4-of-8 from three) and Pittsburgh transfer Damon Wilson, playing in his first game as a Panther, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and hit the biggest shot of the night, corralling a missed Simonds' 3-pointer and hitting one of his own with 50 seconds to play that put the Panthers in front 72-68.
The visitors had pulled to within 69-68 on a dunk from Armus Mladen at the 1:37 mark.
ETSU, a 25-win team and Southern Conference runner-up a year ago, built a 56-52 lead with just under eight minutes to play. GSU followed with a 10-0 run - Thomas nailed an ahead-for-good three with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
Nice double-double for Malik Benlevi, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds, including several put backs when GSU was struggling to find offense.
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