Three games on Thursday night went to overtime, and all three were prime matchups whose results will certainly matter. Two of them came late since they were out west, but all three were games that were as good as advertised.
We’ll start with the early one, which was in Ann Arbor. Purdue got a monster game from Trevion Williams, who had 36 points and 20 rebounds, going 16-28 from the field, and the Boilermakers had a chance to win at the end of regulation. Eric Hunter Jr. drove the right side and drew a defender, then dished off to Williams, who tried to go up and beat the buzzer (as the play developed slowly) but appeared to have the ball hit the rim on the way up; officially, it is recorded as a blocked shot for Michigan’s Franz Wagner, and that gave us overtime.
The teams were tied late in overtime, and both teams missed chances in the final seconds, which meant double overtime. Michigan then scored the first nine points, with a conventional three-point play followed by two three-pointers, and would hold on for an 84-78 win that is surely a tough one for the Boilermakers to take. A chance at a good road win was right there.
Of note, Purdue big man Matt Haarms was injured in the first half after an awkward fall, and he never returned. The injury and the extent of it is unknown.
In Pac-12 action, Arizona went to Oregon in a battle of two of the conference favorites. Arizona was up 66-60 with less than two minutes to go after scoring nine unanswered points, but Oregon scored the next six to send the game to overtime. There, a personal 5-0 run by Oregon’s Will Richardson (21 points) got the Ducks going, then he banked in a late shot to give them a 74-73 lead. Arizona then had two chances to go ahead in the finals seconds, rebounding both misses before a turnover trying to inbound the ball with one second left gave the Ducks the win.
Like Purdue, Arizona had a chance for a quality road win and will probably kick themselves for letting this one get away. Here, though, it might mean even more for the standings since unlike Purdue and Michigan, this was a matchup of contenders in their conference.
Finally, BYU and Saint Mary’s met in Moraga in the last game of the night. Both teams will chase Gonzaga, with this being part of a battle for second in the West Coast Conference as the Bulldogs look head and shoulders ahead of everyone else (and that was before they manhandled San Diego 94-50 on Thursday night). It was a close game throughout, with the biggest lead being a seven-point lead the Gaels had in the second half.
T.J. Haws tied the game in the final seconds of regulation on a drive and dunk, and Saint Mary’s had two chances to win it after that, but the Cougars blocked one and the second hit the front of the rim. Saint Mary’s managed to hang on in the extra session by making enough free throws before getting one last stop, eking out an 87-84 win.
It was a nice reversal of fortune for the Gaels after losing at Pacific in quadruple overtime on Saturday night. BYU, meanwhile, did well to get that far on the road without Yoeli Childs, who suffered a broken right index finger in practice on Tuesday.
All three games were as dramatic as the fact that they went to overtime would suggest. All three are likely to have a real impact on the final standings, especially in the case of the two later games.
Side Dishes
Saturday’s slate will feature an early first-place showdown in the CAA, and it will be a matchup of conference undefeateds. William & Mary handled UNCW 89-73 at home behind 17 points and 17 rebounds from Nathan Knight, and College of Charleston went to Elon and left with a 73-65 win behind 30 points from Grant Riller. For more on William & Mary, take a look at this story on their journey since the end of last season.
Other results of note: Hofstra blew a 16-point halftime lead at Northeastern, but got the game-winning basket on a drive by Eli Pemberton with less than a second to go as they edged the Huskies 74-72; Siena nipped visiting St. Peter’s 61-58 in a battle of teams who entered the night with one MAAC loss; Troy stopped Little Rock’s five-game winning streak to open Sun Belt play with a 76-71 win over the visiting Trojans; Georgia State routed Louisiana 90-52 to come within a game of Little Rock; UTSA got their first Conference USA win of the season by taking care of Louisiana Tech 89-73 behind 37 points and six assists from Jhivan Jackson; Murray State edged Jacksonville State 72-68; Montana got a statement win by blowing out Eastern Washington 90-63 on the road behind 20 points and 14 rebounds from Derrick Carter-Hollinger; and Arizona State got a much-needed 82-76 win at Oregon State behind 24 points from Remy Martin.
Washington suffered a big blow on Thursday as Stadium reported that Quade Green is academically ineligible. The Kentucky transfer, who was able to get a waiver to play right away instead of having to wait until December, might still get to play in the postseason because the school is on the quarter system and it ends in mid-March. The Pac-12 is much improved this year, and if the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is going to consider the Huskies with and without Green, it will be tough because it’s not a given he will be able to play, so the most important games for them are from this point on. They didn’t start out well, losing at Stanford 61-55 on Thursday night thanks to being outscored by the Cardinal 41-27 in the second half.
Tonight’s Menu
A very light night of action is ahead with just 11 games on tap, and this is how most Fridays will be going forward.
- It starts early with arch rivals meeting again in the Ivy League as Princeton hosts Penn, hoping to sweep the Quakers (5 p.m.)
- The big game in the early evening is Iowa hosting Maryland (7 p.m.), while the Big East takes over later as Butler visits Providence (9 p.m.)
- The two MAC games on tap are a study in contrasts, as a pair of 0-2 teams meet with Miami (Ohio) hosting Buffalo (7 p.m.) and a pair of 2-0 teams meet later as Akron hosts Ball State (9 p.m.)
- In MAAC action, Fairfield hosts Manhattan and Quinnipiac hosts Niagara, both tipping at 7 p.m.
- In the Horizon League, Wright State tries to stay undefeated as they go to IUPUI and UIC hosts Northern Kentucky (7 p.m.)
