Top 25 Capsules for Thursday.
November 28th, 2008 Posted in NCAA basketball news, NCAA college basketballTop 25 Capsules for Thursday.
MARYLAND 80, (6) MICHIGAN STATE 62
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida From the looks of things, one would think Maryland was the national contender and Michigan State was the unranked challenger. In fact, the opposite was true – but that didnt stop the Terrapins from pounding the Spartans in the first round of the Old Spice Classic.
Dave Neal and Greivis Vasquez scored 17 points apiece and helped spearhead a furious second-half rally as Maryland upended sixth-ranked Michigan State, 80-62.
The game was a tight battle for more than a full half – but the Terrapins found an extra gear early in the second half. After blowing a slim halftime lead to fall behind, 43-39, Maryland staged a 16-2 run to take control.
Neal tied the game with a layup at the 14:44 mark and Eric Hayes put the Terrapins on top with a 3-pointer a minute later. Vasquez and Hayes kept the pressure on inside, dropping in easy lay-ins on back-to-back possessions before Vasquez capped the run by burying a jumper from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 55-45.
The Spartans could not recover. An eight-point deficit was as close as they got the rest of the way.
Maryland, on the other hand, made a point not to let up – instead remaining aggressive for the duration of the game. As the last 10 minutes rolled by, the Terrapins continued to push the ball inside and draw contact. They went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line over the last six minutes.
It was the second straight disappointing effort for the high-powered Spartans, who faced a stiff test one night earlier against little-known IPFW. They finally outlasted the Mastodons, 70-59, but it didnt come easily.
Thanksgiving was even tougher. In stark contrast to Marylands strong effort at the foul line, Michigan State went just 12-for-27. If that werent enough, the Spartans couldnt stop anything from the perimeter, either. Maryland went 9-for-20 from the arc and hit 51 percent (27-of-53) from the field overall.
Hayes and Adrian Bowie chipped in with 13 for Maryland, while Vasquez added six assists.
The only player that made much of an impact for Michigan State was senior guard Travis Walton, who finished with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
(14) ARIZONA STATE 84, CHARLOTTE 56
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Jeff Pendergraph scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead 14th-ranked Arizona State over Charlotte, 84-56, in the opening round of the 76 Classic.
Pendergraph entered having scored 23 points in his previous three games and his breakout enabled the Sun Devils to await their next opponent in the tournament – Thursdays winner between Providence and Baylor – for Fridays semifinal.
Ty Abbott had 14 points and four assists, while James Harden contributed 15 points and six rebounds for the Sun Devils (4-0), who opened a season with four consecutive wins in a season for the first time in three years.
Rashad Coleman had 14 points to pace Charlotte (1-4), which failed to avoid its first four-game losing streak since it dropped its final four of the 2004-05 season.
Since their season-opening 77-59 win against UNC Greensboro, the 49ers entered having dropped three in a row by a combined five points. However, the Sun Devils shot 62.5 percent from the floor en route to outscoring them, 49-33 in the second half.
In the teams only previous meeting on December 30, 2000, Arizona State defeated Charlotte, 91-78, in the consolation game of the ASU Holiday Classic.
(12) TENNESSEE 78, SIENA 64
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida Wayne Chism scored 15 points Thursday as 12th-ranked Tennessee cruised to a 78-64 victory over Siena in a first-round game of the Old Spice Classic.
Chism was 6-of-10 from the floor and added six rebounds and three assists for the Volunteers (4-0), who took control of the contest with an 18-0 run late in the first half.
Renaldo Woolridge and Tyler Smith added 14 points for Tennessee,who also got 11 from J. P. Prince off the bench.
The Volunteers held a 17-15 edge with 10:04 left in the first half before opening their run with a 3-pointer by freshman Scotty Hopson. Woolridge drained a pair of 3-pointers during the spurt, which was capped off with a layup by Cameron Tatum.
Siena (2-1) ended its five-minute scoring drought with a jumper by Ronald Moore, but Chism responded with a resounding dunk as the Volunteers closed the first half with a 47-27 cushion.
The Saints opened the second half with an 11-0 run, keyed by six points from Alex Franklin, but could not get their deficit under nine points the rest of the way.
Franklin led Siena with 16 points while Edwin Ubiles added 14 and Ryan Rossiter finished with 12.
(24) WAKE FOREST 75, CAL STATE-FULLERTON 69
ANAHEIM, California For the first time this season, 24th-ranked Wake Forest was put to the test. The Demon Deacons survived it, remaining unbeaten with a 75-69 victory over Cal State-Fullerton in the opening round of the 76 Classic.
Wake Forest had put together three straight blowouts to open the season, but the Titans wouldnt go away quietly. Freshman guard Jacques Streeter buried back-to-back 3-pointers late in the second half and Marcio Lassiter followed with a layup to cut the deficit to 64-61 with just over three minutes remaining.
After two free throws by junior center Chas McFarland pushed Wake Forests lead back to five, Josh Akognon buried an 18-footer to pull Fullerton back to within three at 66-63. But thats as close as the Titans could get the rest of the way.
Jeff Teague led the Demon Deacons with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting – including 4-of-7 from 3-point range – and Al-Farouq Aminu added 14.
Akognon paced the Titans with 24, while Streeter added 14 and 11 rebounds.
The Demon Deacons won their first three games of the season by an average margin of 36.3 points.
(16) GEORGETOWN 58, WICHITA STATE 50
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida DaJuan Summers scored all 14 of his points in the second half as 16th-ranked Georgetown held off Wichita State for a 58-50 victory Thursday in the first round of the Old Spice Classic.
With the Hoyas (3-0) clinging to a 43-42 lead with 5:20 remaining, Summers scored five of Georgetowns next seven points as they took control of the game late.
Austin Freeman put the Hoyas ahead, 45-42, with a layup, and Summers followed with a 3-pointer and a short jumper to give Georgetown a 50-44 lead with 2:45 left in the contest.
The Hoyas then hit all eight of their free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
Freeman led the Hoyas with 18 points and freshman Greg Monroe added 11.
David Kyles led the Shockers (2-2) with 11 points, and Ramon Clemente added 10.
(10) GONZAGA 83, OKLAHOMA STATE 71
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida Gonzaga placed five players in double figures and downed Oklahoma State, 83-71, in the Old Spice Classic.
The seesaw game was tied at 60-60 in the second half before Gonzaga went on a 13-5 run to take control.
The Zags will next face Maryland, which upset Michigan State earlier in the afternoon.
Micah Downs led Gonzaga with 17 points. Jeremy Pargo added 15.
The Cowboys were paced by Obi Muonelo, who had 19 points.
