Black Friday Feast Week Viewing Guide

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

AdvoCare Invitational Semifinals

Championship

Missouri Tigers (4-1) vs. St. John’s Red Storm (5-0), 11 a.m. (ESPNews)
West Virginia Mountaineers (4-1) vs. UCF Knights (4-0), 5 p.m. (ESPN2)

Consolation

Long Beach State 49ers (2-3) vs. Oregon State Beavers (2-2), approx. 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-2) vs. Marist Red Foxes (0-4), approx. 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

All four favorites made it through the quarterfinals, with the Mountaineers—this event’s de facto top seed—having the most difficult time. West Virginia only defeated Marist, ranked in KenPom’s bottom 50 going into Thanksgiving, by an 84-78 count. Mizzou looked impressive in dispatching Long Beach State—five Tigers hit double figures in scoring, while St. John’s did well to defeat Oregon State on a poor shooting afternoon. UCF held off Nebraska in a game that became quite sluggish in the second half.

Note that Oregon State already defeated Long Beach State, 89-81, in Corvallis on Saturday.

Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Finals

Championship: Villanova Wildcats (5-0) vs. UNI Panthers (5-1), (ESPN2)
3rd/4th Place: Tennessee Volunteers (3-1) vs. N.C. State Wolfpack (5-1), (ESPN2)
5th/6th Place: SMU Mustangs (5-1) vs. WKU Hilltoppers (3-2), (ESPN3)
7th/8th Place: Purdue Boilermakers (4-2) vs. Arizona Wildcats (3-2), (ESPN3)

For the second season in a row, UNI will face a Big East power in the title game of an exempt tournament—the Panthers lost to Xavier, 67-59, in the relocated Puerto Rico Tip-Off finale last November. Even though Nova struggled to get past Tennessee in its semifinal, it’s not hard to see the Wildcats winning this title. However, prognostications like that have been worthless at the Atlantis Resort—just look at the seventh-place game featuring two ranked teams in the #Battle2AvoidOh4Atlantis.

Barclays Center Classic Presented by Continental Tire Hosts’ Day 1 (Primer)

Stadium on Facebook Watch will stream both games.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-0) vs. UMass Minutemen (3-1), 12 p.m.
BYU Cougars (3-1) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0), approx. 2:30 p.m.

Remember that day one of this event would best be called the “Steinberg Center Classic,” as LIU’s on-campus facility will be the site, thanks to a Nets home game at the Barclays early this afternoon. Tomorrow’s matchups, highlighted by a Minnesota-Alabama showdown of ranked teams, are more enticing than today’s.

Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland Finals

Consolation: Chicago State Cougars (2-5) vs. Presbyterian Blue Hose (1-5), 12 p.m.
Championship: Nicholls State Colonels (3-2) at UMBC Retrievers (2-3) , approx. 2:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

A meeting of Southland and America East hopefuls is the finale this mini-bracket really needed.

Emerald Coast Classic Semifinals (Primer)

Visitors’ Bracket

Emerald Coast TV on YouTube will stream both games.

Omaha Mavericks (0-5) vs. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (4-1), 12 p.m.
Jackson State Tigers (1-3) vs. Maryland Eastern Shore Fighting Hawks (1-3), approx. 2:30 p.m.

Hosts’ Bracket

New Mexico Lobos (2-2) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (4-0), 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
Maryland Terrapins (5-0) vs. St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2-1), approx. 9:30 p.m. (CBSSN)

A semifinal matchup with St. Bonaventure starts a difficult for game stretch for Maryland, who visits the Syracuse Orange for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Monday and then hosts Purdue to open Big Ten play. An expected final showdown with TCU and the trip to the Carrier Dome would represent the Terps’ most difficult non-conference matchups, displacing the Bucknell Bison.

Wooden Legacy Semifinals

Championship

Saint Mary's Gaels (5-0) vs. Washington State Cougars (4-0), 1:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
Georgia Bulldogs (4-0) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (4-1) , 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Consolation

Harvard Crimson (2-3) vs. Saint Joseph's Hawks (2-2), approx. 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sacramento State Hornets (1-4) at Cal State Fullerton Titans (1-3), approx. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Gaels and Aztecs won their quarterfinals over the Crimson and Hornets, respectively, rather handily. On the flip side, the Cougars needed to rally to stun the Hawks, while the Bulldogs actually trailed the host Titans at the half.

Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational Finals

Hosts’ Bracket

Championship: Xavier Musketeers (5-0) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-0), 5:30 p.m. (Fox)
Consolation: George Washington Colonials (2-3) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (4-1), approx. 8 p.m. (FS1)

Visitors’ Bracket

Championship: Hampton Pirates (2-4) vs. Rider Broncs (4-1), approx. 10:30 p.m.
Consolation: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0-5) vs. UC Irvine Anteaters (2-4), 2 p.m.

The Sun Devils, who won a 92-90 thriller over the Wildcats in Thursday’s second semifinal, will look to speed things up to stun the Musketeers. Xavier struggled for a bit with the Colonials before pulling away for a 19-point win in the first of the hosts’ semifinals yesterday afternoon.

In the visitors’ bracket championship, the Pirates will look to avenge a 90-75 Opening Night loss to the Broncs.

Savannah Invitational Day 1 (Primer)

Visitors’ Round-Robin at Birmingham, Ala.

Southeastern Louisiana Lions (2-3) at Samford Bulldogs (1-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)

Hosts’ Showcase

Loyola of Chicago Ramblers (5-0) vs. UNCW Seahawks (2-1), 5 p.m.
Valparaiso Crusaders (5-0) vs. Kent State Golden Flashes (3-1), approx. 7:30 p.m.

Yes, since the visitors’ event is on Samford’s campus, ESPN3 will stream the Bulldogs’ games, while both today’s and tomorrow’s doubleheaders from Savannah will go without TV coverage.

Look for both MVC teams to sweep their matchups. Both had little trouble in their on-campus matchups, while UNCW only played non-D1 North Carolina Wesleyan on Opening Night and Kent State lost at home to SELA on Tuesday.

Phil Knight Invitational Semifinals

Victory - Championship

North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-0), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
UConn Huskies (4-0) vs. Michigan State Spartans (3-1), approx. 12 a.m. 11/25 (ESPN)

Victory - Consolation

Oklahoma Sooners (2-1) vs. Portland Pilots (2-2), approx. 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
DePaul Blue Demons (1-3) vs. Oregon Ducks (4-1), 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

As expected, UNC and Sparty had little trouble in their quarterfinals, while both Arkansas’ win over Oklahoma (92-83) and UConn’s over Oregon (71-63) were far more tense affairs. In today’s championship semifinals, the Hogs are aiming to avenge last season’s NCAA Second Round loss to the Tar Heels, while the Spartans would like to end the Huskies’ three-game win streak in their series.

Motion - Championship

Duke Blue Devils (6-0) vs. Texas Longhorns (4-0), approx. 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Florida Gators (4-0) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-0), approx. 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Motion - Consolation

Butler Bulldogs (3-2) vs. Portland State Vikings (4-1), 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1) vs. Stanford Cardinal (3-3), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

Two teams will suffer their first losses of the season in today’s Motion semifinals. Even though Duke entered this event as the nation’s top-ranked team, it was Florida (108-87 victors over Stanford) and Gonzaga (who dispatched Ohio State by 27) who looked the most impressive in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Blue Devils struggled with Portland State—trailing at halftime, while Texas needed to gut out a 61-48 victory over Butler. That game was scoreless for its first 3:33 and didn’t get much better after that.

Note that Gonzaga knocked Florida off in the AdvoCare semifinals last Black Friday.

Barclays Center Classic Presented by Continental Tire Visitors’ Semifinals (Primer)

Alabama A&M Bulldogs (0-4) at Niagara Purple Eagles (1-3), 4 p.m. (Niagara stream ($))
Western Carolina Catamounts (1-4) vs. UT Arlington Mavericks (2-1), 7 p.m.

If UT Arlington, which defeated BYU and gave Alabama a scare during its two on-campus road games, doesn’t win this event, it will be one of the bigger shocks of the entire week. The rest of this field is just that weak.

NIT Season Tip-Off Finals

Championship: Virginia Cavaliers (5-0) vs. Rhode Island Rams (3-1), 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Consolation: Vanderbilt Commodores (2-3) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (4-1), approx. 10 p.m. (ESPNews)

Most expected a Virginia-Seton Hall championship showdown at the Barclays, but Rhode Island had other ideas. Jared Terrell scored 32 for the Rams in their 75-74 victory over the Pirates—an impressive result for a team that will be without E.C. Matthews for a few weeks. He might have trouble repeating that performance, however, as Virginia held Vandy to 23 percent shooting from the floor in a 68-42 win in Thanksgiving afternoon’s first game in Brooklyn.

GCI Great Alaska Shootout Semifinals

FloHoops.com ($) will stream and GCI channel 907 (Alaska only) will air all four games.

Cal Poly Mustangs (3-2) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (3-1), 9:30 p.m.
Idaho Vandals (3-1) vs. Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (3-2), approx. 12 a.m. 11/25

Wednesday’s four winners got to enjoy Thanksgiving off and will play to set up the final Great Alaska Shootout championship game this evening.

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