No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Purdue & No. 11 UNC Highlight Monday College Basketball Action

As November college basketball goes, last night’s Purdue-Tennessee matchup was about as close as you’ll get to perfect. A back-and-forth game, a great finish, and two very solid teams. What more can you ask for? Our Tennessee blog, Rocky Top Talk, offers some thoughts:

The lead story there and everywhere is, again, Wayne Chism: the senior went 7-7 at the line, 8-13 from the floor to finish with 24 points. Just as big was a sensational block he made just a few possessions earlier to keep Tennessee in the game, as the Vols almost rallied from down six in the final two minutes. Despite his missed three with five seconds left – and the debate will continue about whether he should’ve taken it or went to the hole – Chism played a great, great ballgame.

On the other end of the spectrum, we’d like to welcome back to the floor the questions about Scotty Hopson’s consistency. After averaging 22 per game in his first three, Hopson has gone 5 of 20 in the last 48 hours, missing from almost everywhere and turning the ball over too much. The competition level for Tennessee goes back down (home against College of Charleston Friday night, followed by ETSU, MTSU in Nashville, and Wyoming before traveling to LA to face USC on December 19), and Hopson needs to find his stroke again and maintain it. It was encouraging to see Tennessee go toe-to-toe with the #6 team in the country when Hopson played so poorly…we’d just all rather see him play well instead, and then we can start winning more of these.

In the end, this was an incredible game that felt like March in November. Hats off to Purdue for getting it done, and hopefully both of the teams we saw on the floor tonight are as good as we think they are – E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel certainly looked like major players. For the Vols, it’s the first teaching moment in a loss this season…but there was a lot to like as well. The Vols know they can play with some of the nation’s best…now it’s time to get better, so next time we’re on the right side of the final outcome.

The #3 ranked Longhorns improved to 3-0 and advanced to the championship game of the CBE Classic after a 85-60 runaway victory over Iowa (1-3). Texas will take on Pittsburgh (4-0) on Tuesday evening at approx. 9 pm (ESPN2).

The 25 point victory is impressive as was the play of the ’Horns for three-quarters of the game. Texas bolted to a 26-13 lead after the first 11 minutes behind hot outside shooting by Jordan Hamilton and solid half-court defense. Unfortunately, the Longhorns lost their defensive intensity, failed to find the Iowa three-point shooters, and coughed up the ball over and over again over the final nine minutes of the first half. A running three pointer by the Hawkeyes tied the game at 38 at the break.

Sean Mosley scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead 21st-ranked Maryland to a 79-51 victory over host Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational.

Eric Hayes added 12 points, while Landon Milbourne posted 10 for the Terrapins (4-0), who will play Cincinnati on Tuesday. The Bearcats beat Vanderbilt earlier Monday to also advance.

Jordan Williams had 10 rebounds and nine points in the victory.

Shane Hanson had 14 points to pace the Silverswords (0-1), who opened their season and will play Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Chaminade, which famously pulled off what’s considered the biggest upset in college basketball history by beating top-ranked Virginia in 1982, is the only Division II team in the field.

The game remained close for much of the first half, but in the final minute, Greivis Vasquez connected on a three and Milbourne followed with a layup to give Maryland a 36-26 lead at the break.

The Terps then opened the second half with a 12-4 burst, capped by a Hayes three-pointer for a 48-30 advantage.

Maryland continued to lead by double-digits, and a layup from Williams with 6:54 to play stretched the advantage over 20, at 60-39, and the Terps cruised to the win.

Chaminade made just 5-of-12 free throws…Maryland won the battle of the boards, 46-34…The Terps shot 47 percent, while the Silverswords made 33.3 percent of their shots.

Via Sports Network

E’Twaun Moore finished with 22 points, as sixth-ranked Purdue held on for a 73-72 win over No. 9 Tennessee in the title game of the Paradise Jam.

Robbie Hummel added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Boilermakers (4-0), who defeated South Dakota State and Saint Joseph’s before facing Tennessee. JaJuan Johnson totaled 11 points before fouling out.

Purdue freshman Kelsey Barlow missed two free throws with 16.9 seconds left but grabbed the rebound off a missed potential go-ahead three by Wayne Chism to help secure the victory.

Chism finished with a game-high 24 points, while Bobby Maze ended with 13 points for the Volunteers (4-1), who had beaten East Carolina and DePaul. Tyler Smith added 10 points in the loss.

In a tight-game throughout, Purdue went up 72-66 after Keaton Grant made two free throws with 2:13 to go.

But Smith sank two free throws moments later for the Vols, and Chism grabbed the rebound off a missed jumper by Hummel. Chism then made a left-handed layup with 1:15 to play to get Tennessee to within 72-70.

At the other end, Chism raced from behind to block a Chris Kramer layup, but with a chance to put the Vols ahead, Cameron Tatum missed a spot-up three from the right side.

After Hummel made 1-of-2 foul shots, Maze raced for a layup to get the Vols to within a point, and a foul put Barlow at the line with 16.9 seconds remaining. Barlow missed both, but Chism’s try from the top of the arc hit off the square and bounced to the right side of the court. Barlow was there to grab the ball and held on until time ran out.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half, and that advantage came after a Smith dunk made it a 7-1 Vols lead just under three minutes into the game. But six straight Purdue points evened the contest, and the teams continued to stay within a possession or two.

A Moore layup in the final seconds gave the Boilermakers a 42-41 edge at the break.

Neither team led by more than three in the second half until Moore sank a pull-up jumper by the foul line to give Purdue a 64-59 advantage with just over six minutes to play.

Tennessee shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52), while Purdue made 44.6 percent (25- of-56) of its shots…Purdue sank 19-of-26 foul shots, while UT made 23- of-28…Chism pulled down six rebounds.

Via Sports Network

Trevor Booker posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, as Clemson rolled to a 102-66 win over Winthrop at Littlejohn Coliseum.

David Potter, Noel Johnson and Andre Young all had 12 points for the Tigers (4-0), who host Texas A&M on Thursday. Jerai Grant added 11 points and Tanner Smith contributed 10 for the winning effort.

Justin Burton led the way with 13 points for the Eagles (2-2), who have dropped two of three. Matt Morgan added 10 points and Chris Malcolm posted eight in defeat.

Via Sports Network

Deon Thompson shot 9-of-11 from the field to total 22 points, leading the 11th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in a 93-72 rout over Gardner-Webb at the Smith Center.

Thompson also hauled in 10 rebounds, and Ed Davis was a dominant presence inside with 15 points and 13 boards for North Carolina (5-1), which bounced back from its loss to Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. Tyler Zeller added 16 points in the win.

Grayson Flittner made nine three-pointers and had a game-high 32 points for the Bulldogs (3-1), who suffered their first loss of the season. Brian McNair was the next highest scorer for the team with nine points, and Josh Henley had 10 rebounds in the setback.

Flittner hit a three-pointer for Gardner-Webb just past the four-minute mark to pull the Bulldogs to within 8-7, but UNC responded with a 9-2 run to go in front by eight.

Zeller had four points on the stretch, and John Henson’s three-point play made it 17-9.

Leading by six, 23-17, a bit later, the Tar Heels ripped off 12 straight points to take control. Thompson scored the first four points, and Davis’ dunk with eight minutes left gave the hosts a 35-17 advantage.

North Carolina led, 53-38, at halftime.

UNC quickly pushed its lead to 21 early in the second half on another Davis dunk, but Gardner-Webb made it a 14-point game, 62-48, on a layup from McNair 5 1/2 minutes into the half.

That would be as close as the Bulldogs got, as the Tar Heels made it a 20- point game again on David Wear’s layup. Gardner-Webb got back-to-back three- pointers just past the midway point of the period from Flittner and Anton Silver to make it 75-60, but Thompson’s slam with six minutes left pushed UNC’s lead to 84-65, and the Tar Heels cruised down the stretch.

North Carolina leads the all-time series, 3-0…The Tar Heels dominated the boards, 50-32…The Bulldogs shot just 37.7 percent, while UNC made 56.1 percent.

Via Sports Network

Samardo Samuels led four Cardinals in double-figures with 16 points, and 16th-ranked Louisville rolled over Appalachian State, 80-53, to remain perfect on the young season.

Preston Knowles and Edgar Sosa added 11 points apiece for the Cardinals (4-0), who have won each of their games by an average of nearly 20 points. Jared Swopshire added 10 points and nine boards, while Rakeem Buckles pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.

Donald Sims led all scorers with 19 points for the Mountaineers (2-3), who have lost three of four. Jeremi Booth came off the bench to add 14 points, while Ryann Abraham netted nine points in defeat.

Appalachian State kept the game close early, as Abraham’s three tied it, 11-11, five minutes into the contest.

Louisville, though, subsequently went on a 12-0 run to take control. Jerry Smith began the burst with a layup, Sosa added a three-point play, and Terrence Jennings’ dunk with 11 minutes left finished it off.

The Mountaineers got within 25-23 on the heels of a 10-0 run capped by an Isaac Butts layup with six minutes left, but the Cardinals finished the half on an 8-2 surge to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room after Samuels’ free throw.

Louisville scored the first six points of the second half to increase its lead to 45-30 on Samuels’ jumper, and Appalachian State was unable to make a dent in its deficit. It became 66-44 with eight minutes left on a Swopshire three, and the outcome was never in doubt from there.

Louisville dominated the boards, 37-26…The Cardinals shot 53.7 percent, while the Mountaineers shot just 34.0 percent…Buckles had six points.

Via Sports Network