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Saturday Recap

In the Emerald Coast Classic championship game, the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-1) pulled away from the Ole Miss Rebels (3-2) in the latter stages of the second half, 71-57—preventing the Rebels from winning a second title in the event’s five year history.

A halftime buzzer-beater ultimately didn’t mean much to this one’s result.

In the third-place game, King McClure (27 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals) helped push the Baylor Bears (4-2) past the George Mason Patriots (2-5), 72-61.

The visitors’ crown went to the Nicholls State Colonels (4-4), 62-61 victors over the Western Michigan Broncos (4-3) in a game that Gavin Peppers won in overtime.

The 2014 visitors’ bracket champs, the N.C. Central Eagles (2-5), ended up claiming third this time with an 83-71 decision over the Southern Jaguars (0-6).

In Little Rock, the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (2-4) topped the host Trojans (3-3), 75-66, to win the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational visitors’ bracket. Charles Jackson led the Golden Lions with 21, including a half-dozen threes, while SWAC Player of the Year Martaveous McKnight had 20 and 8 assists. In the consolation game, the Howard Bison (5-2) edged the Cal Baptist Lancers (2-4), 86-84, thanks to 31 from RJ Cole.

The Fort Myers Tip-Off visitors’ crown went to the IUPUI Jaguars (4-2), who happened to beat tournament champ Boston College in the on-campus rounds, by an 80-69 score over the Grambling State Tigers (3-3). Camron Justice led the Jaguars with 23, while Ahmed Ismail recorded a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds). The St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (4-2) defeated the host Niagara Purple Eagles (2-2), 75-63, in the consolation game later in the evening.

Tip Time Schedule

AdvoCare Invitational Finals

7th/8th Place: UAB Blazers (3-2) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins (1-4), 10:30 a.m. (ESPNU)
Championship: Villanova Wildcats (4-2) vs. Florida State Seminoles (5-0), approx. 1 p.m. (ESPN)
3rd/4th Place: Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2) vs. LSU Tigers (5-1), 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
5th/6th Place: Memphis Tigers (3-2) vs. College of Charleston Cougars (4-2), approx. 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Downloadable bracket

The highlight of the final day of the AdvoCare Invitational is the afternoon championship game, pitting the defending national champs from Villanova—a team still trying to find its way—with last season’s West Regional runner-up from Florida State, a squad that is certainly looking capable of exceeding last March’s result. The Seminoles’ size should definitely give the Wildcats major issues, so Jay Wright’s team might need to shoot its way to victory.

In the late doubleheader, LSU’s third-place contest against Oklahoma State will be intriguing, simply because it will be interesting to see how the Tigers respond after Friday’s overtime loss to FSU. Meanwhile, Charleston will provide an interesting test for Penny Hardaway’s Memphis squad that’s yet to string consecutive wins together.

Wooden Legacy Finals

5th/6th Place: Northwestern Wildcats (4-1) vs. Utah Utes (3-2), 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
3rd/4th Place: Fresno State Bulldogs (2-2) vs. Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (4-2), approx. 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
7th/8th Place: La Salle Explorers (0-6) vs. Grand Canyon Antelopes (3-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
Championship: Miami Hurricanes (5-0) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (3-2), approx. 10:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Downloadable bracket

The Wooden final features a Miami squad that’s on the edge of KenPom’s top 20 and a Seton Hall outfit that’s barely in the top 60. And both teams are fairly consistent on both sides of the floor in terms of their efficiency, though the Hurricanes’ defense might be just a bit ahead of its offense at this point. In short, the Pirates might need another 40-point night from Myles Powell to have a chance at bringing the trophy back east.

While Grand Canyon and La Salle will attempt to avoid the disappointment of going 0-for-Fullerton in the first game of the evening doubleheader, the afternoon matchups have their own intrigue. The loser of Northwestern-Utah will be extremely disappointed to claim only one win over the weekend, particularly with both teams dealing with certain expectations this year—an NCAA bid in Utah’s case and improvement upon last season’s fall after 2017’s first-ever NCAA appearance. As for the WAC reunion between Fresno State and Hawai’i, the winner will have a nice little confidence boost for conference play, where both look to be a factor, even if an at-large bid might not be in the cards.

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