Teams of the Week: Guns Up at MSG

Bright lights. The best acoustics. The best audiences. The best reputation. The best history of great games and artists who have played there.

This is the Garden.

Famously known for the annual Big East Tournament and St. John's University's biggest home matchups. We are also delighted with showcase games and the NCAA East Regionals (a big congratulations to 2023 Florida Atlantic for winning there).

Going back to the Chris Beard days at Tech, there has been a strong motivation for the Red Raiders to play in MSG. This season, an opportunity to face Duke took any decision-making off the table. It was a must-play.

Luke Bamgboye (lower body) was missing in action and likely will be for a lengthy period of time. The TTU depth was already thin, especially compared to its national contending and Big 12 peers. From that Northern Colorado win on, Texas Tech is likely to become a slightly different mold without one of the top shot blockers you will see anywhere. In general, it's just an unfortunate break, as the VCU transfer has been fighting through some previous health issues in recent years.

Questions were documented in our Basket Under Review watchlist feature on the game. Luke's injury really highlighted concerns that went into the forecast for Texas Tech's ability to protect the rim and defend the loaded Blue Devils in general.

After all, this Texas Tech squad failed to slow down Arkansas and were eventually overwhelmed by the Hogs late. TTU had another showing vs. Purdue in which they were abused repeatedly in the post. And most recently, allowing 90 to Northern Colorado during a game that was very tight for most of that night.

Heading to the Half, the pregame expectations were mostly holding up. Texas Tech trailed Duke, 46-36.

Christian Anderson took over this game in the second half. His three steals were pivotal in the possession battle, and Anderson's 27 points were evenly distributed with four 2-pt. makes four foul shot makes and five triples.

"He's got such a good feel for the game, and he's such a good passer … but in this game, I challenged him at halftime, 'Dude, you're going to have to score. Like, no, you're going to have to be way more aggressive. You can't wait to see what — no, just go right at him and go get baskets.'" - Texas Tech HC Grant McCasland.

"It was electric," Anderson said. "We were so competitive, and all we wanted to do was win. We had a level of fight to win the game."

"Coach kept saying we were going to win the game, even down 17," JT Toppin added. "We just kept believing and playing together."

"The biggest thing I was thrilled about was just how competitive we were on the glass and defensively down the stretch because offense isn't going to be this team's problem. I mean, our problem's going to, and has been, just how physical can we be without fouling and can we rebound?" - TTU HC Grant McCasland.

The 17-point Red Raiders' comeback was the largest Duke has relinquished since 2007. It is the first Top 5 win for Texas Tech since knocking off No. 1 Baylor in 2022, and the second time it has happened now at Madison Square Garden with a win over No. 1 Louisville back on December 10, 2019.

What does it all mean?
Handing Duke its first loss of the season is a key resume statement; doing so in NYC is even more helpful. This should ultimately go down as an elite win for the Red Raiders. Better known on Bracketeer.Org as a "Piece of Gold."

This was the spot to get the Red Raiders vaulted up to a higher tier of non-conference results. Their best win was over LSU before this biggie over Duke. The frustrating performances against Purdue and Arkansas are much easier to digest now. A loaded Big 12 slate will help shape the story and provide more heavyweight opportunities. For now, the WAB has Texas Tech at 15th best, and that's a good measuring stick for the Red Raiders to build from as they seek a protected seed by March.

PURDUE FORT WAYNE

Corey Hadnot II has represented a blooming flower arrangement in his 2.5 years at PFW thus far. First, it's difficult to keep the same player at the Horizon League level for this long. Now in his third season, Hadnot is hitting the developmental sweet spot for this program.

After starting just twice before this season, Hadnot has been in there as a key starter and leader since opening night.

Receiving these Hadnot II POTW notices from the Horizon League on Mondays has occurred twice this year to date, with a third notice now expected this week.

Hadnot II has become much more valuable than an average starter. His usage is the highest in Horizon League play for any player; his offensive rating at 118 is superb, given the amount of involvement he has. At 6-3, 190 with quick hands, Hadnot II has been able to become a Top 50 steals rate player as well as be one of the primary ballhandlers for a higher-paced Mastodon offense.

Corey Hadnot II ended the day with 29 points, three steals, and six rebounds. The Mastodon defense was able to do enough to force six turnovers out of heralded Irish freshman Jalen Haralson. PFW left South Bend with a 72-69 victory.

What does it all mean?
It all equals an unforgettable program win at Notre Dame for the first time in school history (now 1-7). A four-game Mastodon win streak and copious amounts of confidence moving back to league play following the holiday break. It also did major damage to Notre Dame's resume as they continue to try to adjust to life without Markus Burton. The Fighting Irish do have a road TCU and home Mizzou win to work with, but this home loss likely will balance out with one of those results now. A lot of quality work in the ACC is now required. For PFW, the Horizon League is there for the taking. They are off to a 2-1 start with a good test at Milwaukee coming on December 29th.

SAN DIEGO

The ACC community remembers Ty-Laur Johnson's name well. Johnson started nearly every league game for Wake Forest last season and was part of the failed 2023-24 experiment under Kenny Payne at Louisville.

The Torero program has been under scrutiny from several out here in the Western region because it is such a beautiful place to play. The last .500 team in WCC play was the 2017-18 squad under Lamont Smith. The last winning WCC record was all the way back in 2007-08 under Bill Grier, when USD won the WCC tournament, and later upset UConn in a memorable 13- 4 upset.

This version of Torero basketball in 2025-26 has been similar to those of yesteryear. A sluggish 3-6 start and riding a five-game skid entering last week, USD got off the mat by knocking off Northern Arizona, 78-69. Johnson played a clean game and provided the Toreros with his most efficient stat line of the season, highlighted by no turnovers in 30 minutes. He scored 23 points, gaining 10 points from the foul line and dishing out four assists.

Up next was the cross-town game vs. scorching-hot UC San Diego at their place in La Jolla. Many overlooked the contest, as the Tritons had been humming and were recently my top team in non-power basketball.

The UCSD Tritons entered the "Battle of Sun Diego" with a 10-1 record and looking to cap off a tremendous D1 non-conference slate with one last home win.

San Diego has dealt with various personnel/injury issues, and they have yet to show its full optimized version. Johnson and Dominique Ford missed the loss at Long Beach State. Emerging contributor, Alejandro Aviles, made his full debut against USC just this month. Presumed offseason star, KJay Bradley, is expected to redshirt and has not entered a game. And now, Assane Diop is out and missed this matchup.

The game evolved into the Ty-Laur Johnson show when USD had the rock. Johnson played 36 minutes and shot 19 attempts; he found Torero teammates seven times for assists, and corralled six rebounds.

The Toreros were in the fight late because of a terrific and surprising start. USD took a 40-31 lead into halftime. The UCSD run we were waiting for finally came at the near 10-minute mark of the second half, when the Tritons executed a 10-0 run to erase most of their 13-point deficit. From there, we witnessed a battle of key possessions for the final seven minutes of the cross-town rivalry.

It appeared that UCSD was going to escape with a sluggish home win until Ty-Laur delivered the bank shot that broke UC San Diego's back:

What does it all mean?
USD can be a threat to higher competition. Now at 5-6 with a Top 100 road win, this roster is clearly capable of doing damage. Health and motivation will be the biggest factors going forward. The Toreros open this week at Washington and host Pacific and Gonzaga to open up WCC play. Certainly not much time to celebrate, and ideally, USD can continue to build consistency with their lineup combinations. For now, we salute the Toreros on an incredible, unforeseen week of quality play.

VILLANOVA

In their two big national opportunities thus far, Nova played hard in an eventual loss to BYU on opening night in Vegas and got stomped at Michigan (to be expected). Outside of that, the Wildcats have been perfect. But what do all the wins add up to?

Pitt at home and seven Quad 4 wins. So, very little.

The jury is and was certainly out heading into a game played at the Milwaukee Bucks' FiServ Forum this past Friday. The Wisconsin Badgers were coming into this off a 30-point loss to Nebraska. Bad news for the Cats, who knew Greg Gard teams are usually stellar off a loss, 2-0 this season and 7-2 last season in such situations. It was also rematch of the 2017 NCAA Tournament 2nd Round, a narrow Badger win.

Villanova's defense for most of the night made life rough on the Badgers. Nova produced a TO rate of 23.2% on Wisconsin possessions, a season-high for the Badgers. In total, Wisconsin coughed it up 16 times in a low 69-possession OT game.

The Wildcats allowed Wisconsin to storm back late, squandering a once 15-point lead, to eventually head to overtime. Nolan Winter's triples kept breathing life into the Badger hopes before Villanova finally seized control for good during the extra session.

Matt Hodge has had a lasting impact. The Belgian import was named Big East FOTW for his efforts in the OT win. Three big-time blocked shots and a highly efficient offense continue to earn Mr. Hodge a beefy role for Kevin Willard's squad.

What does it all mean?
Villanova picks up what is considered a neutral-court victory over Wisconsin. No matter how you slice it, it's Villanova's strongest win by a mile. Currently, the Badgers are just 75th in NET. Gard's track record - a Top 45 KP team in every season since 2016 except for two years (61st and 70th)- tells us this has an excellent chance to get to Quadrant 1 (Top 50 or better needed). Cats concluded non-conference play with a 9-2 clean record. The Big East needs this team to remain consistent to have a realistic hope at four or more bids. Nova is in position to be in position with 20 conference games left to go.

LIBERTY

The value of Zach Cleveland cannot be overstated. Liberty's polished backcourt tandem of Colin Porter and Kaden Metheny can only handle so much. Without Cleveland's special talents and pure size, the Flames can be rendered to a mediocre bunch.

This was evidenced further when Cleveland was taken out of rhythm against N.C. State. He committed six turnovers while shockingly not producing a single point.

Cleveland sat out Liberty's non-D1 game leading up to the road test at Dayton. When gameday arrived, Cleveland came more prepared to battle than we've seen all year. He went for 16 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, two steals, and 12 points to provide cover for the Flames to stun Dayton on the road.

Here is how it all unfolded in the quintessential Liberty-sponsored pack line rock fight triumph:

Liberty picked up its biggest win of the year, 64-61. It could not have been possible without Zach Cleveland being as extraordinary as he was. Liberty has played and will continue to play as one of the smaller lineup combination rosters in America. Losing Isaiah Ihnen, a 6-9 true frontcourt body with experience, has left HC Ritchie McKay searching for answers.

This win over highly-skilled and well-invested Dayton shows that the Flames can get it done regardless.

What does it all mean?
Flames enter Conference USA league play with an 8-3 record. Concerns set in when Liberty was not competitive with NC State and lost twice at the Orlando tournament. Now, with a road Dayton win in hand, confidence should be all the way back in the very difficult CUSA. Flames now are off until Sunday, when they open league season at much-improved FIU in another key test.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

SEATTLE U. - Beating Emerald City rivals, Washington, is a big, big deal. The Redhawks and Huskies had a putrid night shooting the ball, but the play and leadership of Brayden Maldonado helped SU execute in the key moments late to pull off this big-time win for the second straight season. Austin Maurer stepped up time and time again. Maurer made all four of his foul shots, had three key blocks, and ended with 19 points to lead the Redhawks in scoring.

The Redhawks also closed out a very difficult road win at UC Davis just a couple of nights earlier. Now Seattle is 10-2 with one more non-conference opportunity at UTSA on Monday. There isn't a lot of time to enjoy holidays for this group because the program's first-ever WCC action starts this Sunday against San Francisco.

VANDERBILT - The Commodores are built to destroy. If I have learned anything in seven weeks of basketball, it is this. Vandy went to Winston-Salem and handed Wake Forest a 31-point home loss. That's a little nutty, right? It goes down as the largest MOV home loss at Wake of the Steve Forbes era and the largest since a Danny Manning-led Deacs team lost to UNC at home by 38 in 2019.

This is the highest-rated SEC team in all three analytic ratings to date. The 12-0 start is its best since 2007-08.

Check out Joe Jackson's breakdown for an overview on what is making this offensive formula possible:

The Commodores escaped hungry Memphis earlier in the week, which worked out to be its closest call of the season. The 77-70 win was full of big possessions and Vandy took Memphis's best shot to get the win. Jalen Washington was highly efficient off the bench with four Stocks, 14 points, and went 10-14 from the line - quality effort for the big man.

RECAP VIDEO:

HOWARD - Bison are quietly one of the hottest teams you can find. A road win at UNC Wilmington this past weekend showcased that statement. A pair of double-doubles from Bryce Harris (18/11) and Cedric Taylor (15/11/6) were pivotal efforts to hand UNCW the rare home loss, 67-66. Ose Okojie has been a rock-solid defender for quite some time and recently has given Howard some offensive juice. He was key with 14 points and six boards in addition to his great D.

Here is Ose talking about the team and giving some fun facts:

Howard began the week by rolling into Philadelphia and knocking off Drexel, 74-66. Ose Okojie had his turn in the double-double fun, with a 17/10 ballgame. The Bison annihilated the Dragons in the paint with a 36-22 rebound edge, an 18-12 two-point makes edge, and a 23-12 made free throw disparity. Howard is now 9-5 and looking like a strong contender with Norfolk State to win the MEAC.

TEMPLE - The Owls had a mostly disappointing start to the season at 4-5 with losses to Saint Joe's and convincing losses to Villanova, UC San Diego, and URI. Since then, a couple of home wins may have refocused this group. They entered the road game at Davidson at 6-5. Derrian Ford, who was a quality two-year guy at Arkansas State, has emerged as the go-to guy. Ford made nine of ten free throws in the Davidson upset road win and 23 points/nine rebounds to help close out the Wildcats. Defensively, holding Davidson to 5-for-22 shooting from deep was a clear key to the 68-63 win. The Wildcats' Sam Brown did not score.

BELMONT - Bruins had their work cut out for them entering the week with their second MVC game, going on the road to Evansville, followed by the cross-country visit to UC Irvine. For the Purple Aces, the game served as their Valley opener at home, and they brought a solid effort throughout. Belmont countered by involving the dependable Drew Scharnowski, who chipped in 14 points on just nine shot attempts. Tyler Lundblade drained all eight of his free throws en route to a Belmont 83-78 win and 21 points on the night. Belmont has established a 2-0 start to the conference season. Then the trip to UC Irvine came, and this team took off inside the Bren Events Center. A rare blowout of the Anteaters, 84-58. The Belmont D held UCI to under 30% shooting from deep and near-34% shooting overall. Belmont fully concluded non-conference play with just one loss and is 12-1 overall. The SOR resume tool has Belmont at 51st in the country, which is clearly the best in the Valley at this stage.

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

SWAC: GRAMBLING - Impressive winners of the Chris Paul HBCU Classic in Atlanta. Jamil Muttilib made seven buckets in the Title game victory over Hampton, 81-72, on his way to 19 points. Antonio Munoz drilled 10 free throws and led the Tigers with 23 points overall. Perhaps even more impressive was the Tigers win over Norfolk State in the opener, 80-68. Munoz, the electric freshman, had 22 points. Grambling looks rejuvenated after a 10-day layoff due to finals.

MAC: MIAMI–OHIO - Impressive is the many ways that the RedHawks will beat you. In the MAC opener road win at Ball State, a 26-point effort from Almar Atlason proved to be the difference. Atlason was highly efficient with only 14 shot attempts and zero turnovers. Brant Byers was the hero in the 83-76 win at Wright State. This team has been steady with five true road wins now and counting. RedHawks are a perfect 12-0.

BIG EAST EXTRA: CREIGHTON - Forget about what happened during non-conference action, this Blue Jays squad came to EAT in Big East play. A 98-57 record-setting road demolition inside the Cintas Center shredded Xavier to pieces. Then the now confident Jays came home and picked on Marquette to the tune of a 84-63 final. Jays are a +62 in two league games. Austin Swartz buried seven triples in the Xavier road win to help easily set his young career-high at 27.

ACC: STANFORD - The Cardinal got rolling with another productive week by handling UT Arlington, 76-60, in a game without star freshman Ebuka Okorie. Okorie was able to fully go in a pivotal resume matchup vs. Colorado in Phoenix over the weekend, however. And fully go he did. Okorie dropped 32 points, including 18-21 from the FT line, against the Buffs and added two steals defensively. The Cardinal trailed by two at halftime, then came out flying to open the second half on a 32-14 run to start the half. Eventually, the Cardinal closed things out at the line for a 77-68 victory. This squad at 10-2 has a chance at an at-large bid run still. Great story.

SUN BELT: ARKANSAS STATE - A pair of road wins in a wide-open conference will always get my attention. A terrific start to the Ryan Pannone era in league play. Red Wolves got the job done at Texas State, 89-70, and a couple of days later went to Southern Miss for a 93-86 win. Tough travel didn't faze this offense, which, early on, is grading out as the Sun Belt's finest eFG% O and second in overall offensive efficiency. Ark State went 12-22 from downtown in San Marcos. Then owned the foul line in Hattiesburg, making 27 of 33.

BIG 12 EXTRA: HOUSTON - The Cougars are emerging beasts. Kelvin Sampson said it throughout the preseason and following a few early struggles. "This is going to be a work in progress." The progress showed up emphatically last weekend in Newark. A 94-85 handling of already established Arkansas. Uncharacteristically, this sucker got up to 73-possessions. Easily the highest of the season for the Cougars, but they handled it in stride. A 34-19 start helped establish the tone. Kingston Flemings was a dynamite recruit and is roaring up draft boards. He leads the country with eight game MVP awards per KenPom. Flemings finished with 21 points and five assists, with just one turnover.

MISSOURI VALLEY: ILLINOIS STATE - The Redbirds are off to their best 13-game start since the 2009-10 season at 10-3. More importantly, ISUred is now 2-0 and off to a great start in the ever-important Valley race. The key road win last week came in Carbondale, a rally to beat the tough Salukis following a five-point halftime deficit. In the win over Indiana State, the Redbirds had a freakishly low four turnovers for the entire game. This team is currently clicking on all cylinders, and it's refreshing to witness.

MOUNTAIN WEST: UTAH STATE - A dominant Saturday afternoon dismantling of Colorado State in front of a sold-out Spectrum crowd, handing CSU its third loss of the season with a 100-58 victory to improve to 10-1 on the year. It goes down as the largest victory ever in the 110th all-time meeting. Six different Aggies finished in double figures, led by Mason Falslev's 18 points. USU remains the pick in the Mountain West.

MAAC: FAIRFIELD - A rare visit to the NEC for the Stags and they took on one of the league's finest in Central Connecticut. Brandon Benjamin won MAAC rookie of the week honors by scoring 19 points on just 10 shot attempts. Fairfield is now 7-5 and emerging as a potential threat in the league following its 84-70 statement road victory.

BIG SOUTH: HIGH POINT - The get-right train has left the HPU station as we near Big South play. This past weekend, it was an 84-72 cruise control win over La Salle of the A-10. HPU was led by five three-pointers from Conrad Martinez off the bench, who finished with 24 points.

BIG TEN: UCLA - A mostly bland week for the conference hands the honors to the Bruins, who did win twice against Arizona State and Cal Poly. The wild pace of the Mustangs was no issue for Mick Cronin's crew, as they went on to slap 108 points on the scoreboard after a competitive first half. UCLA's win over ASU featured a clean game from Skyy Clark: 18 points, five assists, five rebounds, no turnovers.

ASUN: BELLARMINE - Bellarmine had arguably its best brand name win in a few years after some hard times, beating Chattanooga last week. Jack Karasinski continues to spearhead this program. He contributed 12 boards and 20 points to keep the Mocs at bay in a 79-64 statement win.

IVY LEAGUE: CORNELL - The Big Red's Cooper Noard has consistently been an elite scorer and once again was named Ivy POTW for his 25-point effort at Albany. Jake Fiegen added 15 points and the team had terrific ball movement - creating 23 assists on 28 made buckets.

OVC: MOREHEAD STATE - A surprising 2-0 start to league play after winning just one D1 game in non-conference play. A home win over shorthanded Little Rock, 78-64, was one level. But also going to Southern Indiana and toughing out a 64-60 road win in OT was impressive. The Eagles' George Marshall stepped up to be the leading scorer in each win, averaging 18 ppg for the week.

SOUTHLAND: UTRGV - The Vaqueros are starting to turn the corner after a mostly brutal D1 schedule for the first six weeks of the season (played at Baylor, Illinois, Boise State, Missouri State, and SFA for league opener). That gauntlet arguably go the squad ready for last week's road test at Lamar. Vaqueros lit it up in Beaumont, going 14 of 25 from distance. Marvin McGhee hit six of them for all 18 of his points.

BIG SKY: MONTANA STATE - This Bobcat program keeps fighting and fighting. MSU broke through last week with a win at Cal Poly, 83-80. Patrick McMahon is a player to watch in the Big Sky. He had 26 points and five assists in the fast-paced road win.

CAA: NORTH CAROLINA A&T - Aggies are quietly 7-4 right now and 5-4 vs. D1. They gave UNC Greensboro the rare inner-Greensboro stunner last week, beating UNCG at their place, 71-65. Freshman Lewis Walker has done an amazingly efficient job for the Aggies, let's hope his health is okay as he did sit out for the Non-D1 game last Saturday.

AMERICA EAST: ALBANY - The Great Danes did fall to Cornell on Sunday, or else Albany would've been much higher in the pecking order here. That's because Albany solved the Stony Brook puzzle, suplexing them, 71-55, on the road. Great Danes' D held the Seawolves to 24% from deep and 20-for-61 shooting overall. Meanwhile, dangerous Sophomore Amir Lindsey went for 24 to spark the Albany offense.

SUMMIT LEAGUE: DENVER - Pioneers were thirsty for more awards; we've seen them before, and they continue to impress. Zane Nelson was a perfect five for five from distance and went 11-15 on the night for an explosive 32 points. Denver got a lot of these baskets from Zane via the final stretch when the Pioneers stormed back to stun Northern Colorado, 86-79, after trailing by as many as 11 with under nine minutes to go.

ATLANTIC-10: SAINT LOUIS - Just another week of two dynamite performances for the ever dangerous Billikens. Bethune-Cookman has had some fun outings and was picked to win the SWAC in preseason, so SLU pounded them by a score of 112-53. They followed that up with a 93-79 victory over New Hampshire. As you can tell, the A-10 lost most of its bigger opportunities of the week, so the default was to give it to SLU here.

SOCON: FURMAN - The Paladins continue to stack December wins. Add two more in D1 to the list after knocking off Manhattan on the road, 75-68, and handling previously hot Charleston Southern, 84-76. Paladins have done a nice job of not fouling opponents while remaining proficient at defensive rebounding.

BIG WEST: UC DAVIS - A tough home loss by one point to Seattle U, was followed by an impressive road win in Pocatello over Idaho State, which has quietly been playing really good ball themselves. Connor Sevilla has impressed me numerous times this season. He led the way with 18 at ISU. The squad only turned the ball over six times in the victory over the Bengals.

NEC: WAGNER - Welcome back, Seahawks. The only league member to go unbeaten last week did so by knocking off Maryland-Eastern Shore, 78-64. Bineal Basil had 19 points off the bench to ignite the Seahawks' attack.

WAC: UTAH TECH - Trailblazers got into the road win column by earning a Beehive State battle at Weber State, 82-80. Ethan Potter is an underrated player. He took a good chunk of volume in this win, but landed with 23 points, eight boards, and no turnovers. Utah Tech was 20 for 31 inside the arc, which was a healthy success rate.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: BOSTON U. - A three-game Terrier skid is no longer a thing because BU got right against UMass-Lowell, 88-76, on Sunday. BU was an impeccable 25-33 from two, and 47% from three. Torching the Riverhawks from all angles for a 1.35 PPP (Points Per Possession) ratio.

Every league had at least one winner last week. We love that.

Happy Holidays, cheers!