Sunday Spotlight: 5 Big Takeaways
College basketball is back in action! This weekend marks the beginning of “Feast Week,” in which non-conference tournaments pit strong schools against each other in exciting games. Even now, some of what will be the biggest games of the season have already been played. While the season started on the slower side, the past week of college basketball brought plenty of incredible games! From Downtown is here to illuminate the 5 greatest games of the past week, plus a bonus underrated story from last week!
5) Wake Forest Inches Past Utah Valley
There were plenty of exciting matchups entering week 2 of the season, but few people could have predicted an ACC contender taking on an ostensibly irrelevant program would have ended up as one of the greatest games. Wake Forest won 68-65 in an incredibly close affair, needing to go the length of the field and nail a 3-pointer to eke out an overtime win against the Wolverines. The shot came from Tyree Appleby, and credit goes out to head coach Steve Forbes for designing an incredible play to seal the deal. Notably, Utah Valley guard Trey Woodbury had an atrocious game. He took 17 shots, but only made 3 of them, including going 0/9 from 3. Wake Forest should simultaneously be happy and concerned by this result. Forbes coached a win from the jaws of defeat in an incredibly tense game, and getting experience in close games can only help a team succeed in the future. However, if Woodbury got just a few of his many misses to land, the outcome of this game would have been completely different. This was not a game Wake Forest should have struggled in, and perhaps the Demon Deacons have some questions to answer in their future endeavors. Nonetheless, exciting basketball is exciting basketball, and the last second shot to win the game is a must-see highlight on YouTube!
4) Michigan State Bounces Back in a Massive Way
After losing a thriller to Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier, Michigan State took matters into their own hands by beating 2 more strongly rated teams throughout the week. Unfortunately, their close win against Villanova is not as big as Spartans fans would have hoped, as Villanova took a loss to Temple the week prior. However, their double overtime win against Kentucky in the Champions Classic is one of the strongest victories of the season thus far. This was, most likely, the most exciting game of basketball played of the season to date. If the aforementioned Wake Forest game winner was a must-see, simply imagine Michigan State doing something similar 2 times in 1 game. Mady Sissoko was the most electric player for Michigan State, and he proved that head coach Tom Izzo can squeeze water from stone. Sissoko was not projected to be a top 100 player in the sport heading into the season, but has absolutely looked hte part so far. The game taking so long ended up benefitting the Spartans, as superstar Wildcat Oscar Tshiebwe fouled out the game. Tshiebwe was great as usual, but freshman Cason Wallace recorded an astonishing 8 steals in his losing effort. The Wildcats should hope to bounce back with a win against Gonzaga, but considering Gonzaga defeated Michigan State, the Wildcats are underdogs heading into a game where 2 strong teams hope to avoid an even rockier start than what they have currently. Michigan State will continue to have an incredibly aggressive non-conference schedule, but considering they can hang with the best of the best, perhaps their opponents need to be afraid of them instead.
3) Michigan Loses: Hunter Dickinson Embarassed
Michigan’s star player, Hunter Dickinson, boldly stated that Michigan would defeat Arizona State “by 20 points.” In truth, the opposite happened: the Sun Devils trounced the Wolverines 87-62, and Hunter Dickinson ate his words. The intrigue into this game comes not from the players, however, but the coaches behind the teams. Bobby Hurley and Juwan Howard faced off against each other many times when they were in college, but Hurley always got the best of him. It seems that the coaching level was no different. ASU’s defense stunned Michigan; the Wolverines shot a disappointing 18.2% from 3, and their shooting inside the arc was not much better. Kobe Bufkin went 1 for 9, and Jaelin Llewelyn and Jett Howard were not much better. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils were hot (pun intended), and shot north of 50% from 3. Desmond Cambridge scored 20 points, and bench players Austin Nunez and Luther Muhammad scored scored 15 and 13 points respectively. The preseason concern with the Sun Devils was that their offense would be inefficient, as they had a highly ranked defense on KenPom entering the season. Although they took an ugly loss to SWAC team Texas Southern, if Arizona State can play like they did on Thursday against anybody, they can beat anybody. Hopefully, Arizona State continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12, and Michigan can turn it around for their plethora of tough games as the season progresses.
2) 2 recent NCAA Tournament Champions Battle
Tony Bennett’s Virginia and Scott Drew’s Baylor programs faced off in the Main Event tournament on Friday night. These 2 programs looked to be title contenders to start the season, but the Cavaliers made the Bears look like an NIT team at the start of the 2nd half. The Cavs went on a 15-2 run, and never trailed after that. Armaan Franklin is the name to know here, as he scored a career high 26 points including going 9/10 on free throws and 3/6 on 3-pointers. Reece Beekman also played well, but where Virginia really excelled was in their strong defense and team basketball. Fortunately for Baylor fans, Keyonte George and Adam Flagler played well for the Bears. George netted 20 points, and Flagler managed to create a lot of scoring through both his shooting and 7 assists. LJ Cryer also had a great night, as he went 8/12. However, Baylor’s team defense really fell apart in this game. Virginia was able to score 56 points in the second half, and Baylor’s longevity on the defensive side of the game could prove to be a major concern if this trend continues. Baylor should be able to bounce back, but this is nonetheless an impressive win for a Virginia squad that struggled in the 21-22 season.
Texas’ Showstopper Against Gonzaga
Texas opened a new basketball stadium this year, and they welcomed their 11,313 fans with a trouncing of #2 ranked Gonzaga. The Longhorns rebooted their roster this year, most notably welcoming in Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter. Hunter was fantastic for the Cyclones last year, and a notably great defender. His primary concern - and the only reason he is not in an NBA jersey this year - is his lack of a perimeter shot. Considering he shot 62.5% from 3 on 8 attempts, that concern seems to have evaporated. The star guard scored 26 points as he led the Longhorns to beat the Bulldogs by 19. Drew Timme, as usual, was fantastic, and the rest of the team shot the ball well too. However, Gonzaga gave up a whopping 20 turnovers, and by halftime, they already were down by double digits. To be candid, Gonzaga playing at this level would have bested most teams in college basketball. That is merely a testament to how fantastic Texas played. Considering Baylor’s loss, a new hierarchy has formed in the Big 12, and the Longhorns sit at the top of the throne.
Bonus Segment!
B) Andy Enfield Dunked by his Former Program
On opening day, USC was one of the few Power 5 programs to lose their debut game against Florida Gulf Coast. This was a shocking loss. Andy Enfield is a veteran coach for the Trojans, including his Elite Eight run in 2021. However, when one looks at his coaching roots, they find that this game’s result is a lot more interesting than it appeared on the surface. Enfield coached FGCU prior to his job with the Trojans, and notably coached the first ever 15 seed into the Sweet Sixteen. FGCU was known at that time as “Dunk City,” and would be the most memorable 15 seed of all time if it were not for Saint Peter’s. FGCU recently signed head coach Pat Chambers, and, for his 1st win with the Eagles, he decided to defeat his predecessor with a 13 point routing of USC. Of course, USC really beat themselves in this game, with abysmal shooting, and they went 3/19 from 3. Drew Peterson notably went 0/3 from the arc, and the Trojans started the season off on the wrong. USC will likely still contend for an NCAA tournament berth, and FGCU will likely not gain the auto-bid from a competitive Atlantic Sun Conference. However, this was an intriguing development for a storied, fan-favorite low-major team, and FGCU will be a team to periodically check in with in the subsequent seasons.
