Late Night Snacks: Coach K drinks Pitino’s milkshake. Again.

It’s been an exhausting week for the Duke Blue Devils. They’re 6-0 the hard way, following up a win over then-No. 3 Kentucky with a three-games-in-three-days marathon that saw them conquer Minnesota, VCU and No. 2 Louisville on their way to the Battle 4 Atlantis title. When a weary-looking Coach K was asked if he and his kids would hit the white-sand beaches to celebrate, he answered with a rueful shake of his head.  His team was leaving the island on the redeye, with just four short days to prepare for now-No. 3 Ohio State.

Hope Coach K made the most of his summer tour with Team USA, because this is going to be one looooong season.

Games of the Night

No. 5 Duke 79, No. 2 Louisville 71 - Even without Gorgui Dieng in the middle, Louisville made a good game of it. But the night belonged to Coach K and his cool-headed Blue Devils. The guard triumvirate of Quinn Cook, Seth Curry and Rasheed Sulaimon scored every which way and kept the ball in motion, while big men Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly did the dirty work inside. It’s another machine in Durham.

College of Charleston 63, No. 24 Baylor 59 - Pierre Jackson was his usual brilliant self, and Isaiah Austin is rounding into a nice young player, but the Bears were dead in the water without sharpshooter Brady Heslip, who was unavailable after having his appendix removed on Tuesday. Charleston’s Willis Hall was the hero, making buckets down the stretch to finalize a huge road win for the Cougars.

No. 13 Missouri 68, VCU 65 - You knew Shaka Smart would make a game of this. Throughout much of the game, the Rams were unable to make Havoc pay off, but they clawed back into it in the second half before Phil Pressey slammed the door, splitting two VCU defenders to loft in a shot that sent Mizzou home victorious.

Important Outcomes

No. 19 Memphis 52, Northern Iowa 47  - There was little doubt that Memphis was going to fall out of the Top 25 after losses to Minnesota and VCU in the Battle 4 Atlantis. But a loss to Northern Iowa in the seventh-place game might have even pushed the Tigers out of the “Also Receiving Votes” basement. The Panthers led this game for a good long while, but Josh Pastner eventually put the pieces together and got the face-saving win.

Minnesota 66, Stanford 63 - The Gophers gutted out a close win, keeping their heads while those around them lost theirs. More on that later. Tubby’s boys saw some signs of life out of Trevor Mbakwe, which they’ll need if they’re going to survive the rugged Big Ten.

Northwestern 72, Illinois State 69 (OT) - Northwestern beat an in-state foe in a small gymnasium on South Padre Island, Texas. It matters because the Wildcats have these huge claws and teeth, but they so often can’t figure out how to kill the bunny. This 6-0 doesn’t really mean much, but it’ll look great if the purple and white can pair it with a victory over Maryland next week.

Starred

Stan Okoye (VMI) - Sure, the Keydets are the kind of team that caused tempo-free statistics to be invented in the first place. They run and gun and throw the rock up with abandon sometimes. But it’s a thing of beauty when it works. Stan Okoye, favored for Big South POY honors, put up an amazing line of 30 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks against a rather good Elon team. And then he goes home to sleep in a barracks. That’s man-style.

Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota) - The Gophers big man has been in a funk of inconsistency so far this season. He scored just 5 points in the Atlantean win over Memphis. Mbakwe seemed to come alive vs. Stanford, however, putting up 19 points and grabbing 12 boards. Tubby Smith would like to see a lot more of this guy.

The Ohio Bobcats - The dangerous MAC contender swamped a well-coached Richmond team, winning by a score of 73-48. The Bobcats, with just one sophomore and no freshmen, are going to be incredibly dangerous this season.

Struggled

Chasson Randle (Stanford) - Randle’s Stanford teammate coolly swished two free throws to tie Minnesota with :14 left in a consolation game in the Bahamas. As Andre Hollins brought the ball up the floor to attempt a desperation heave from mid-court, Randle unaccountably contested the shot, fouling Hollins and sending him to the free throw line with one second remaining. Hollins sunk all three, and the game was over. The Gophers went home with a 6-1 mark, and Stanford fell to 4-3.

Wagner and North Carolina Central - The two schools combined for a grand total of 74 points in an absolute brick-fest set in Durham, NC. Wagner’s 28.6% from the field was enough to give them a 38-36 win over the homestanding Eagles, who shot 22.6% from the floor and a putrid 57.1% from the charity stripe.

Eric Angevine is the editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.