Big East holding form – Thank you very much!
Holiday Tournament Week is in full swing. Some venues holding to form, others with upsets galore. The Big East is holding court for the most part, with excellent outings by member squads.
#5 Connecticut won the Empire Classic in NYC. The Huskies defeated #15 Texas by ten in the title tilt. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/uconn-is-ready-to-go-eager-to-close-and-again-has-the-look-of-a-team-capable-of-winning-the-national-title/
#4 Marquette defeated #1 Kansas enroute to the title match of the Maui Invitational. The Warriors/GEs fell just short in the title game, falling to #2 Purdue 78-75. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/purdue-vs-marquette-score-takeaways-no-2-boilermakers-down-no-4-golden-eagles-for-maui-invitational-title/live/
#8 lil Creighton beat Loyola-Chicago in the 1st round of the Hall of Fame Classic, but lost to Colorado St. 69-48 in the title game.
Villanova wins the Battle for Atlantis. The Cats beat Texas Tech in the 1st round, and beat #14 North Carolina 83-81 OT, in the semifinal. The Wildcats beat Memphis in the title Game. https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/college/memphis-tigers/2023/11/24/5-takeaways-from-memphis-loss-to-villanova-in-battle-4-atlantis-final/71074050007/
Butler lost to #19 FAU 91-86 in the ESPN Events Invitational (FL) 1st Round game. The Dawgs bounced back, defeating Penn in the 1st round counsolation bracket. Will meet Boise St. on Sunday, for 5th Place.
Seton Hall lost to #23 Southern Cal in the Rady’s Childrens Invitational, San Diego. The Pirates also lost to Iowa in tonight’s (24th) 3rd place game. Oklahoma beat #23 USC to win the tourney.
Providence lost a hotly contested 1st round game to K St 73-70 in the Baha Mar Bahamas Invitational. The friars took home 3rd place over Georgia 71-64. #10 Miami (FL) won the tourney.
Bluenotes 