Feast Week Day 5 Viewing Guide

Seven teams claimed some sort of tournament title on Sunday:

• The most shocking result of the day was the Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0) 85-49 demolition of the Northwestern Wildcats (3-2) in the Hall of Fame Tip Off’s Naismith Bracket final.
• The South Alabama Jaguars (3-1) claimed that event’s Springfield Bracket title with a 54-49 victory over the Saint Peter’s Peacocks (1-3).
• The very last Division I team to start play this season, the Temple Owls (3-0), won their third game in a span of four days, 67-60, over the Clemson Tigers (4-1), to take the Gildan Charleston Classic championship.
• The Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach crown went to the Iowa State Cyclones (3-2), who held off a late Boise State Broncos (4-1) rally to win 75-64.
• The championship of the other early season tournament relocated to the U.S. mainland, the Paradise Jam, belongs to the Colorado Buffaloes (5-0), 79-70 victors over the Mercer Bears (4-2).
• For the second time in three days, the Vermont Catamounts (3-1) won a thriller in which they held their opponent to 64 points. However, UVM’s 66-64 victory over the Northern Kentucky Norse (4-1), gave it the first-ever Islands of the Bahamas Showcase crown.
• In the finale of the 2K Classic’s subregional, the host Belmont Bruins (4-1) took out the Seattle Redhawks (2-3), 90-77.

Both the Florida State Seminoles (3-0) and Tulane Green Wave (4-0) picked up victories in their second showcase games at the Jamaica Classic—FSU dropped the Colorado State Rams (2-2), while Tulane knocked off the Fordham Rams (1-3), 63-55. The Noles and Wave will meet in Tampa on December 10th to settle things once and for all, even if that game isn’t part of the exempt tourney. In the visitors’ round-robin, the Hartford Hawks (3-2) 68-58 victory over the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (3-1) ensured all three participants will leave Montego Bay with a win and loss.

Now on to Monday’s busy tournament schedule...

For a full lineup of non-tournament games, check out MattSarzSports.com’s Daily Schedule.

*Cayman Islands Classic games are also streaming on CollegeSportsLive.com ($).

Gulf Coast Showcase Quarterfinals (Primer)

FloHoops.com ($) will stream all four games.

UMKC Kangaroos (1-3) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (2-0), 11 a.m.
Georgia Southern Eagles (3-0) vs. Missouri State Bears (2-1), approx. 1:30 p.m.
Penn Quakers (2-2) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (1-0), 5 p.m.
Towson Tigers (2-1) vs. FAU Owls (1-1), approx. 7:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern, which won at Wake Forest on Opening Night, owns the most impressive victory of the 14 earned by this field so far. However, as I wrote in the primer, the Eagles also have the most difficult quarterfinal draw of the group, as Missouri State is very much a threat to claim the Missouri Valley title.

Cayman Islands Classic Quarterfinals (Primer)

FloHoops.com ($) and CollegeSportsLive.com ($) will stream all four games.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (2-1) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0), 12 p.m.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (3-1) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (2-0), approx. 2:30 p.m.
Richmond Spiders (0-2) vs. UAB Blazers (3-0), approx. 5 p.m.
Buffalo Bulls (2-0) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0), approx. 7:30 p.m.

Both Iowa (which has played the 341st, 342nd, and 344th-ranked teams in KenPom) and Cincinnati (330, 275, 347) face their first real tests of the seasons today on Grand Cayman. Wyoming has already won at Oregon State, while Richmond was embarrassed in its on-campus game, losing to Jacksonville State, 94-61, one week ago.

Cayman Islands Classic Mainland Semifinals

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2-1) vs. Savannah State Tigers (1-3), 5 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Alabama State Hornets (0-4) at Chattanooga Mocs (1-3), approx. 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Out of these four teams, only the Gamecocks have record a win over Division I opposition (Richmond). Expect JSU and the host Mocs to meet in tomorrow night’s final.

Maui Jim Maui Invitational Quarterfinals (Primer)

Marquette Golden Eagles (1-1) vs. VCU Rams (2-1), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Wichita State Shockers (2-0) vs. California Golden Bears (2-1), approx. 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (2-0, DII), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
Michigan Wolverines (3-0) vs. LSU Tigers (2-0), approx. 11:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

The pressure will be on both Marquette and VCU in the opening quarterfinal in Lahaina, and to a lesser extend on Wichita State, Notre Dame, and Michigan as the day unfolds. That’s because there’s a serious gap in quality between this field’s top five and bottom three. A quarterfinal loss for either Golden Eagles and VCU, in particular, might dent their respective at-large hopes a bit.

Progressive Legends Classic Championship Semifinals (Primer)

Texas A&M Aggies (2-0) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (1-2), approx. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Thanks to the Nittany Lions’ 4-0 start, the Aggies could find themselves in a challenging final tomorrow night in Brooklyn—provided both squads take care of business tonight. A&M should get a better test than PSU will, considering how Pitt has already lost to both Navy and Montana, with the latter defeat coming at home.

Progressive Legends Classic Subregional Semifinals

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (1-2) vs. Montana Grizzlies (2-1), 8 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-2) at Pepperdine Waves (1-2), approx. 10:30 p.m. (TheW.tv)

Those Grizzlies head to Malibu as the favorites to claim the title—both Montana’s opponent tonight, ORU, and the host Waves have failed to claim a D1 win so far this season.

MGM Resorts Main Event Semifinals (Primer)

Middleweight Bracket

FloHoops.com ($) will stream both games.

Prairie View A&M Panthers (0-3) vs. Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2-1), 2 p.m.
Georgia State Panthers (2-1) vs. Eastern Washington Eagles (2-2), approx. 4:30 p.m.

Both EKU and Georgia State managed to win at Rice during the on-campus rounds, while EWU picked up an impressive 67-61 win at Stanford on November 14th.

Heavyweight Bracket

AT&T Sportsnet Southwest/Rocky Mtn./Root Sports Northwest will air both games.

Rice Owls (1-2) vs. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (3-0), 10 p.m.
Utah Utes (3-0) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0), approx. 12:30 a.m. 11/21

Expect the Owls, who are already 0-2 in this event, to be overwhelmed in playing a semi-road game against the Runnin’ Rebels, while the Utes-Rebels showdown could be an intriguing reason to stay up late in the Eastern and Central Time Zones—provided you have access to one of the three regional sports networks that will air the game.

Hall Of Fame Classic Semifinals (Primer)

UCLA Bruins (3-0) vs. Creighton Bluejays (3-0), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Baylor Bears (3-0) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1), approx. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Talk about “saving the best for last.” Remember that all four of these teams reached last season’s NCAAs and could return this March. Of the quartet, Creighton owns perhaps the most impressive early season win of the 11 claimed by the group—the Bluejays took down Northwestern in Rosemont in the Gavitt series on Wednesday. But after the Wildcats were trounced by Texas Tech yesterday, maybe that’s not really the case.

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