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Late Night Snacks: Four ranked teams fall on first Saturday of 2014

brey

GAME OF THE DAY: Notre Dame 79, No. 9 Duke 77

In their ACC debut Notre Dame knocked off Duke in South Bend, with guard Eric Atkins playing an important role in the outcome. Atkins finished the game with 19 points and 11 assists, and with Jerian Grant done for the season he’ll need to continue to do so. For Duke, Rodney Hood scored 27 points and Quinn Cook added 22, but a struggling Jabari Parker didn’t play for the final three-plus minutes. With Notre Dame having lost home games to Indiana State and North Dakota State, Saturday’s result was a much-needed one from a resume standpoint.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) Kansas State 74, No. 6 Oklahoma State 71

Marcus Foster scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Nino Williams added 15 off the bench as the Wildcats beat Oklahoma State in Manhattan. Le’Bryan Nash led the Cowboys with 20 points and nine rebounds, but with Markel Brown and Marcus Smart combining to shoot 8-for-22 Oklahoma State was unable to win their Big 12 opener. And looking forward, the Cowboys’ lack of interior depth in the aftermath of Michael Cobbins’ season-ending injury is a concern.

2) SMU 74, No. 17 UConn 65

The two-game trip to Texas wasn’t a good one for the Huskies, as they lost to both Houston and SMU. While UConn has some serious issues to address in regards to their front court production and offensive execution, Saturday’s win is a big one for Larry Brown’s program. In the first game at the new Moody Coliseum, the Mustangs put on a nice show for the sold-out crowd.

3) No. 2 Syracuse 49, Miami 44

Syracuse played its first conference game as an ACC member against the reigning ACC champions and it certainly wasn’t easy, as the Hurricanes did a good job of limiting the Orange’s fast break opportunities. But the Orange found a way to win anyway, with C.J. Fair scoring 15 points and Tyler Ennis adding ten points and seven assists.

STARRED

1) Elfrid Payton (Louisiana)

The Ragin’ Cajuns fell to UL Monroe 103-98 in double overtime but Payton was highly productive, racking up 34 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. And we have to mention UL Monroe’s Tylor Ongwae, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

2) Doug McDermott (Creighton)

One day after his birthday McDermott dropped 3o points, ten rebounds and five assists in the Bluejays’ 79-66 win at Seton Hall.

3) Cameron Bairstow (New Mexico)

Bairstow racked up 29 points and 14 rebounds in New Mexico’s 80-73 win over Colorado State. And according to Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal, Bairstow drew 14 fouls on the day.

STRUGGLED

1) Memphis guards

Memphis’ four-guard attack struggled offensive in the Tigers’ 69-53 loss to Cincinnati, combining to shoot 14-for-49 (28.6%) from the field and 2-for-17 from three.

2) Florida State

The Seminoles shot 30.8% from the field and had as many turnovers as made field goals (16) in their 62-50 home loss to Virginia.

3) Milwaukee

The Panthers missed all 16 of their three-point attempts (and shot 27.9% from the field overall) in a 77-49 home loss to Cleveland State.

THE REST OF THE TOP 25

NOTABLES


  • After getting off to a slow start and trailing 17-2, Pittsburgh rebounded to win 74-62 at N.C. State with Lamar Patterson scoring 17 of his 22 points in the second half.
  • In the 100th meeting between the two teams Georgetown blew out St. John’s 77-60. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 31 and grabbed six rebounds to lead the way.
  • Iona shot 64.5% from the field and 14-for-26 from three in their 118-92 beating of Niagara, setting school records for points in a regulation game and assists (34).
  • Maryland shot 10-for-19 from three and turned the ball over just six times in their 77-61 win over Georgia Tech.
  • Utah bounced back from a tough loss to No. 10 Oregon Saturday, beating Oregon State 80-69 with Brandon Taylor accounting for 23 points and eight assists.
  • Iona wasn’t the only team to set a school record for points in a game, as Louisiana Tech scored 126 in their 126-52 pasting of Longwood. The Bulldogs shot 17-for-35 from deep.
  • E.C. Matthews tallied 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Gilvydas Biruta added 19 points and 14 boards in Rhode Island’s 74-70 win at LSU.
  • Dayton was the other Atlantic 10 team to beat an SEC team, as Devin Oliver banked in a three with three tenths of a second remaining to give the Flyers an 83-80 overtime win at Ole Miss.
  • Can’t say that too many people expected Air Force to be 2-0 in Mountain West play (tied with Nevada), but they are after winning 75-68 at UNLV.
  • Buddy Hield led five Oklahoma players in double figures with 22 points as the Sooners beat rival Texas 88-85 in Austin.
  • Skyler Halford took full advantage of his first career start at BYU, scoring 28 points (11-for-16 FG) in the Cougars’ 87-53 win over San Diego.

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