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Friday Recap

In a Battle 4 Atlantis final that drew polarized opinions on Twitter, the Virginia Cavaliers (6-0) held off the Wisconsin Badgers (5-1), 53-46, to claim the title. At halftime, it looked like Tony Bennett’s team was going to prevail handily, thanks to a 33-18 lead. The Badgers actually held the Cavaliers to 20 points over the final 20 minutes, but the fact they only scored 28 over that span meant their chase fell a bit short. UVa’s first half defense was really something to behold, though.

Third place went to the Oklahoma Sooners (5-1) after a 65-54 victory over a pesky, improved Dayton Flyers (4-2) squad. Once again, Christian James led the Sooners with 21, but Jamuni McNeace (16 points, 8 boards) might have had OU’s top highlight of the afternoon.

The Butler Bulldogs (5-1) won their first of two meetings this season with the Florida Gators (3-3) to close the tournament with a 61-54 decision in the fifth-place contest. In the seventh-place game, the Stanford Cardinal (3-3) sent the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (3-4) back to the U.S. without a win, 67-54.

In the Las Vegas Invitational championship, the Michigan State Spartans (5-1) started slowly, trailing the Texas Longhorns (5-1) by eight at the halftime break. But the Spartans turned the defense on against a Longhorn team that simply ran out of gas over the final 20, to prevail 78-68. Joshua Langford led MSU with 29 and Cassius Winston scored 20, while again shooting well from three-point land.

In the third-place game, the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1) pulled away from the UCLA Bruins (4-2) to prevail comfortably, 94-78.

Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Coby White with 19, while UCLA’s Chris Wilkes led all scorers with 22. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Wilkes ended up leaving the game late in the second half with what appeared to be knee trouble following an awkward landing.

Both NIT Season Tip-Off games in Brooklyn went to overtime. In the nightcap, the Kansas Jayhawks (5-0) took the championship with an 87-81 win over the Tennessee Volunteers (4-1). Both the Vols’ Grant Williams (18 points, 8 rebounds) and the Jayhawks’ Udoka Azubuike (9 points, 4 rebounds) fouled out, altering the frontcourt picture for the latter stages. Dedric Lawson impressed for KU with 21, 10 boards, and 5 assists, while Admiral Schofield led the Vols with 21 points.

Earlier in the evening, the Marquette Golden Eagles (4-2) took down the Louisville Cardinals (3-2) in a physical contest, 77-74. Sam Hauser and Markus Howard combined for 43 of the Golden Eagles’ 77.

The Nevada Wolf Pack (6-0) cruised past the UMass Minutemen (4-3) in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational final, as Caleb Martin and Cody Martin combined for 47 points and Tre’Shawn Thurman added 22. Bronze went to the Southern Illinois Salukis (3-3), 79-69 victors over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-2) in the late game.

Turning our attention to the two tournaments taking today off for football. The Advocare Invitational final will feature a Villanova Wildcats (4-2) squad that seems to have found its stride in Florida, particularly from beyond the arc, and a Florida State Seminoles (5-0) club that’s building on last season’s Elite Eight berth.

The Wildcats won for the second day in a row in easy fashion, blasting the Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2), 77-58. Nova hit 16 treys on 40 attempts, with both Eric Paschall and Phil Booth hitting five or more threes. As for the Seminoles, they won one of the week’s most exciting games so far, stunning LSU Tigers (5-1) in the dying seconds of overtime, 79-76.

And that wasn’t the only drama Leonard Hamilton’s squad provided in Lake Buena Vista.

M.J. Walker led the Seminoles with 21, while Skylar Mays had 19 for the Tigers.

The Miami Hurricanes (5-0) advanced to the Wooden Legacy final in a nailbiter, 78-76, over the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-2). Zach Johnson’s put-back dunk with 0.6 seconds left won it for the Canes—mere seconds after Johnson fouled Fresno State’s Deshon Taylor on a three-point attempt. Taylor made all three free throws to tie the game at 76.

Miami will face former Big East rival Seton Hall Pirates (3-2) in a late Sunday night final (a 10:30 p.m. Eastern tip). The Pirates prevented the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (4-2) from securing a second straight upset win over a power conference squad, 64-54. And unlike Thanksgiving’s game against Grand Canyon Antelopes, the Hall didn’t even need Myles Powell to score 40 to escape—he only had 19 tonight while still topping the Pirates’ stat sheet. Coincidentally, the Fresno State-Hawai’i third-place game reunites a pair of former WAC rivals.

Tip Time Schedule

Emerald Coast Classic Finals

Hosts’ Bracket Finals

Consolation: George Mason Patriots (2-4) vs. Baylor Bears (3-2), approx. 4 p.m. (EmeraldCoastTV.com)
Championship: Cincinnati Bearcats (4-1) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (3-1), 7 p.m. (CBSSN)

It turns out that the fifth Emerald Coast Classic final will be a rematch of the first after all.

Cincinnati had relatively little trouble in dispatching George Mason in the first evening semifinal in Niceville, Fla., 71-55. Cane Broome led the Bearcats with 21 off the bench—one of four Cincy players to score 11 or more. In game two, Ole Miss picked up a surprising 78-70 victory over Baylor. Breein Tyree scored 28 for the Rebels, and the Bears probably should have not put him on the foul line as often as they did—he went 13 of 17 from the charity stripe.

Remember that Ole Miss defeated Cincinnati 66-54 in the 2014 title game.

Visitors’ Bracket Finals

Consolation: Southern Jaguars (0-5) vs. N.C. Central Eagles (1-5), 11 a.m. (EmeraldCoastTV.com)
Championship: Western Michigan Broncos (4-2) vs. Nicholls State Colonels (3-4), approx. 1:30 p.m. (EmeraldCoastTV.com)

In Friday’s first game, WMU opened up an 18-point halftime lead and didn’t look back, keeping Southern winless with an 85-70 decision. The Broncos will meet Nicholls State, 77-63 winners over MEAC Tournament champ N.C. Central, for the championship later this afternoon. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they won’t be able to repeat their inaugural 2014 visitors’ bracket title.

Las Vegas Holiday Invitational Visitors Finals

Consolation: Cal Baptist Lancers (2-3) vs. Howard Bison (4-2), 2 p.m. (no TV/streaming)
Championship: Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-4) at Little Rock Trojans (3-2), approx. 4:30 p.m. (Little Rock stream)

Arkansas Pine Bluff won the best game that the fewest people saw on Friday, topping D1 newcomer Cal Baptist 115-107 after three overtimes. The Golden Lions will take on in-state rival and host Little Rock, easy 97-76 winners over Howard, in the final.

Fort Myers Tip-Off Visitors’ Finals

Championship: IUPUI Jaguars (3-2) vs. Grambling State Tigers (3-2), 4 p.m. (Niagara stream)
Consolation: St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (3-2) at Niagara Purple Eagles (2-1), 7 p.m. (Niagara stream)

Grambling stunned host Niagara, 74-68, to earn a berth in tonight’s championship game. The Tigers will find themselves in an all-feline battle this evening, as IUPUI dominated St. Francis Brooklyn, 68-48, to advance to the decider.

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