Category: NCAA Basketball

Graham Couch gives his thoughts on Michigan State basketball's performance in a 72-56 win over Colorado on Monday at the Maui Invitational.

Michigan basketball missed eight straight 3s at one point in the first half, but found its rhythm in the second half to pull away from Virginia Tech.

Coleman Hawkins totaled 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead Kansas State to an 80-64 victory over Longwood in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam on Monday night. Hawkins, who transferred in after four seasons at Illinois, made 7 of 10 shots with five 3-pointers on the way to his first double-double with the Wildcats (5-2). Brendan Hausen sank three 3-pointers and scored 16 for K-State.

Jase Richardson came off the bench to score 13 points as Michigan State beat Colorado 72-56 Monday in its first appearance in the Maui Invitational since 2019. The Spartans (5-1) are playing in their sixth Maui Invitational, the fifth under coach Tom Izzo. Colorado (4-1), playing its first game away from home in Boulder, got off to a strong start, taking an early lead, 16-13, with a 6-2 run, capped by a dunk from Bangot Dak with under 14 minutes left in the first half.

Payton Verhulst had 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and No. 8 Oklahoma defeated DePaul 85-62 on Monday afternoon in the second semifinal of the Ball Dawgs Classic. The Sooners (6-0) led wire-to-wire as they continued their dominant start to the season. Oklahoma has won all six games by at least 23 points and has outscored the opposition by an average of 37.5 points per game.

Senior Nick Kern Jr. came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 13 rebounds for the first double-double of his career, leading Penn State to an 85-66 victory over Fordham in a Sunshine Slam Beach Division semifinal on Monday. The Nittany Lions have opened a season with six straight victories for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Kern made 9 of 12 shots from the floor and 2 of 5 at the free-throw line for Penn State.

Tyrese Hunter scored 17 of his 26 points after halftime to lead Memphis to a 99-97 overtime win against two-time defending national champion and second-ranked UConn on Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational.

Tyrese Hunter scored 17 of his 26 points after halftime to lead Memphis to a 99-97 overtime win against two-time defending national champion and second-ranked UConn on Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Hunter shot 7 of 10 from 3-point range for the Tigers (5-0), who were 12 of 22 from beyond at the arc as a team. PJ Haggerty had 22 points and five assists, Colby Rogers had 19 points and Dain Dainja scored 14.

Ashlon Jackson scored a career-high 30 points and No. 13 Duke defeated No. 9 Kansas State, 73-62 on Monday, in the semifinals of the Ball Dawgs Classic. The Blue Devils (6-1) overcame an early 11-point deficit behind Jackson’s shooting to advance to Wednesday’s championship game against No. 8 Oklahoma, an 85-62 winner against DePaul. Jackson, who has scored in double figures in all six of Duke’s games, shot 12 of 19 (63.1%) from the floor, including 6 of 9 (66.7%) from 3-point range.

Two-time defending champion Connecticut was knocked off by Memphis in the first round of the Maui Invitational in a wild game that went overtime.

Social media reacts to No. 2 UConn basketball's loss to Memphis in The Maui Invitational quarterfinal in Maui, Hawaii:

Solo Ball drilled a last-second 3-pointer to force overtime on Monday morning in Maui, but it wasn't enough to lift UConn to the win.

Rasheed Bello had 20 points in Purdue Fort Wayne's 87-81 victory over Drexel on Monday. Bello added eight assists for the Mastodons (4-2). Corey Hadnot II went 6 of 7 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) to add 15 points.

Christian Coleman had 16 points and shot 7 of 13 from the field. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil led the way for the Ragin' Cajuns (1-6) with 19 points. Christian Wright added 15 points and six assists for Louisiana.

Bryce Johnson scored 28 points as UMBC beat Howard 95-77 on Monday. Johnson shot 10 for 15 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Retrievers (4-4). Marcus Banks scored 17 points while going 5 of 13 from the floor, including 3 for 7 from 3-point range, and 4 for 4 from the line and added six rebounds and three steals.