College hoops recap (Nov. 27)

November 28, 1:42 AMCollege Basketball ExaminerDave Ryan

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(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Fresh off the most bountiful feast of the year, 110 college basketball teams suited up for action on Black Friday. Here's a look at some of the notable games around the country:

#1 Kansas over Tennessee Tech 112-75
(Cole Aldrich: 14 pts, 10 rebs, 4 blks)

Three Things
1.) Cole Aldrich played 22 minutes tonight and still improved his averages in virtually every offensive category. His three assists were the most he's had in a game since November 28th of last season.
2.) The Golden Eagles were down just 12 points with about three minutes left in the opening half, but somehow managed to allow Kansas to expand the lead to 24 at the break. After that, the Jayhawks put the game on cruise control.
3.) Kansas freshman Xavier Henry had another solid game, and his five assists and four steals represented season highs. He's already playing at the level of a third or fourth-year player.

Florida over #2 Michigan State 77-74
(John Wall: 16 pts, 6 asts, 4 rebs)

Three Things
1.) Easily the upset of the season thus far. The Gators should receive plenty of love by the media in next week's AP poll.
2.) Neither school managed to put anything together from behind the arc (combined to shoot 19.4%), but the Gators made the Spartans pay by hitting 88% of their free throws.
3.) Florida's starting five missed 32 shots. Without the strong play of Chandler Parson and Ray Shipman off the bench, I think the Gators lose this game by double digits.

#7 Duke over #13 Connecticut 68-59
(Jon Scheyer: 19 pts, 5 asts, 3 stls)

Three Things
1.) Duke's big three, Singler, Scheyer and Smith, combined to shoot just 13-51 (25.5%) from the floor and the Blue Devils still found a way to grind out a victory.
2.) Connecticut guard Jerome Dyson entered the day as an 85% free throw shooter, but finished it at only 74%. Today's 3-9 performance from the line was the single worst free throw shooting game of his collegiate career.
3.) Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski "We missed 53 shots and we had 56 rebounds, you know? It's a very unusual game."

#8 West Virginia over Texas A&M 73-66
(Da'Sean Butler: 17 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts)

Three Things
1.) The Aggies dominated the game on the glass (13-5 offensive rebounds), but managed to shoot below 60% from the line for a second straight game.
2.) West Virginia's Devin Ebanks made his 09-10 debut in this one, and he quickly gave the Mountaineers a spark on both ends of the floor. The sophomore forward finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes of action.
3.) Texas A&M's sixth man sensation, B.J. Holmes, turned in another impressive game off the bench with 18 points. Holmes was the guy who led the way with 20 points in 20 minutes against Clemson yesterday, and he is certainly in line for more minutes if he keeps on shooting this well.

#9 Tennessee over Charleston 86-69
(Scotty Hopson: 21 pts, 6 rebs, 3-3 3Ps)

Three Things
1.) The Vols really didn't dominate this game like you'd expect. The Cougars were down only three points with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second half, and the Vols eventually pulled away.
2.) Sophomore Scotty Hopson is really blossoming into a star. Tyler Smith might get the publicity as an NBA prospect, but I think Hopson will end up being the better pro.
3.) Charleston's Andrew Goudelock turned in a very disappointing performance, missing on eight of his 11 shot attempts. He also set season lows with 11 points and one rebound.

#10 Syracuse over Columbia 85-60
(Wesley Johnson: 26 pts, 3 asts, 4-5 3Ps)

Three Things
1.) Junior Brian Grimes, Columbia's top rebounder and second leading scorer, was held scoreless on 0-8 shooting. He finished the game with only three rebounds in 19 minutes.
2.) Try to wrap your head around the fact that Syracuse guard Andy Rautins now has 24 combined shot attempts (FG+FT) and 24 total steals after six games.
3.) It's now safe to say that Wesley Johnson is on the short list of early season Big East Player of the Year contenders.

#12 Butler vs. UCLA
(In Progress Here)

Marquette over #15 Michigan 79-65
(Jimmy Butler: 17 pts, 9 rebs, 2 stls)

Three Things
1.) The Wolverines are capable of being upset like this from time to time because of their reliance on the three ball. They shot 3-20 from downtown today, so it makes perfect sense that an upstart Marquette team got the better of them.
2.) Marquette's Lazar Hayward is now averaging 23 points a game over his past three. This is a guy who only hit 20 points eight times last season in the shadow of Matthews, James and McNeal.
3.) The statistical competition between Michigan's Manny Harris and Ohio State's Evan Turner should be a treat to watch all season long in the Big Ten. Harris had 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a losing effort.

#19 Clemson over Long Beach State 87-79
(Tanner Smith: 17 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts)

Three Things
1.) A day after a tough loss to Texas A&M, Clemson needed five players to score in double figures to outlast Long Beach State this afternoon.
2.) The 49ers shot more than four times as many free throws as the Tigers (34-8), but failed to capitalize on their opportunities, hitting just 58.8%.
3.) Clemson point guard Demontez Stitt had his most productive game of the year. The junior set season highs in points (16), field goals made (7), three pointers (2) and minutes (34), and tied his season low with only one turnover.

Utah over #20 Illinois 60-58
(Luka Drca: 16 pts, 3 rebs, 2-5 3Ps)

Three Things
1.) The Utes were down 16 at the half, and stormed back before Shawn Glover hit game-winning shot at the buzzer.
2.) Other than Demetri McCamey and Mike Tisdale, the Fighting Illini had virtually nothing going offensively. The foursome of D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul, Mike Davis and Alex Legion combined to shoot just 4-23 from the floor.
3.) Utah is now set to face Oklahoma State, a very dangerous squad, in the Las Vegas Invitational title game on Saturday night. This win over Illinois helped to avenge frustrating early losses to Seattle and Idaho.

Portland over #22 Minnesota 61-56
(T.J. Campbell: 23 pts, 5 rebs, 4-8 3Ps)

Three Things
1.) The fourth ranked Big Ten school to fall today, Minnesota never got going offensively in a game where they never held the lead. The Gophers shot just 15.8% from behind the arc and 59.1% from the charity stripe.
2.) Tonight's game now gives Portland victories over Minnesota, UCLA and Oregon in their past three contests. National recognition in the polls might not be too far off.
3.) Do-it-all scorer Nik Raivio struggled through his worst shooting game of the year (4-15 FGs), and the Pilots still came away with a win. That speaks volumes about Portland's depth.

Northwestern over #23 Notre Dame 72-58
(John Schurna: 25 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts)

Three Things
1.) This is a monumental victory for the Wildcats. On a day where the rest of the Big Ten took a step backwards, it was Northwestern who stepped up and spared the conference's reputation.
2.) Notre Dame fans probably need to worry about this 14 point loss, but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with Luke Harangody, ND's POY candidate. The senior forward had another productive outing, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
3.) Northwestern's ability to protect the ball in this game was a huge key to their victory. The Wildcats finished with 17 assists as a team compared to only four turnovers. Unbelievably, forward Drew Crawford was the only player on Northwestern's roster under 6'8" to turn the ball over tonight.

Other Games of Interest
Florida State 60, Alabama 51 (Boxscore)
Georgia Tech 85, Mercer 74 (Boxscore)
Xavier 80, Creighton 67 (Boxscore)
Arizona State 71, LSU 52 (Boxscore)
St. John's 77, Siena 68 (Boxscore)
Richmond 63, Mississippi State 62 (Boxscore)
Temple 61, Virginia Tech 50 (Boxscore)
Missouri 66, Old Dominion 61 (Boxscore)