Tuesday's Shootaround: Purdue wins a dogfight, Cinci knocks off Vandy, and the Pac-10 struggles some more

Purdue 73, Tennessee 72: The Boilermakers won a great game in the finals of the Paradise Jam as Wayne Chism, who had 24 points and 6 boards, missed a wide-open three from the top of the key as time expired. E'Twuan Moore had 22 to lead the Boilermakers. A back-and-forth game throughout, Purdue used a 8-0 sparked by Moore to take a 64-59 lead, eventually pushing it to 72-66 with 2:13 left. But Tennessee would get back into it by getting a couple stops, a couple easy baskets, and catching a break as Purdue missed three of four free throws, setting up the final possession.

Tennessee's final shot was a bit questionable. Sure, Chism can knock down a three, but is that really the shot you want when you are down one point on the final possession? And why doesn't Tyler Smith touch the ball on the final possession? This poor decision making is just one example of why people don't have a ton of faith in this Tennessee team.

E'Twuan Moore scored 22 points to lead Purdue.
(photo credit: AP/Brennan Linsley)

As I said, this was a dogfight between two teams that rely on their defense. Where the Vols use a full court press to try and force turnovers, the Boilermakers play an extended man-to-man defense in the half court. It really was a pleasure watching the contrast of styles, as both teams left everything they had on the floor.

Purdue really battled foul trouble in the first half, which resulted in Robbie Hummell having to play some time at the five spot. It also forced a lot of minutes to be played by Barlow, who was helping to fill in for the injured Lewis Jackson. Barlow, who is not a point guard, played a valiant 16 minutes, with a couple of really pretty assists while playing excellent defense on Bobby Maze and Melvin Goins.


Maui Invitational:

• Gonzaga 76, Colorado 72: The Zags found themselves down 36-21 midway through the first half of this one as the Buffaloes caught fire from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting seven of their first nine from deep. But the second half was a different story as Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray, who combined for 48 points, took this game over. Gray had 27 points on the night but it was Bouldin who took this thing over. He finished with 21 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists, but down the stretch he made so many big baskets and free throws while protecting the ball and setting up teammates. He proved last night why I think he is one of the best guards in the country. Cory Higgins had 19 points for Colorado.
• Cincinnati 67, Vanderbilt 58: Well, at least you saw what this Cinci team is going to be. They are not the most talented team, and far from the prettiest. What the Bearcats are going to do is wear you out with tough, physical defense while crashing the glass on the offensive end (they had three tip dunks yesterday). And with talents like Deonta Vaughn, Lance Stephenson, and Cashmere Wright on the perimeter, Cincinnati is going to be able to score enough to win quite a few games. Vandy looked unimpressive. Jeff Taylor is still not much more than an athlete, AJ Ogilvy is soft and gets pushed around by more physical big men, and the Commodores just looked lost offensively. They were just 14-51 from the field (27.5%) and had only five assists. John Jenkins, their freshman shooter, looks like he will be a star, however, once Vandy figures out how to use him more effectively.
• Maryland 79, Chaminade 51: Greivis Vasquez struggled once again, finishing with just 6 points on 2-7 shooting, but Sean Mosley and Eric Hayes picked up the slack. Mosley had 19 points and 8 boards, while Hayes aded 12 and 5 assists. The Terps advance to face Cinci.
• Wisconsin 65, Arizona 61: Trevon Hughes led the Badgers with 24 points, 7 boards, 5 steals, and 3 assists as the Badgers held on against a young Arizona team. Wisconsin was up 31-23 at the half, but the Cats were able to battle back and tie the game at 55. After two Hughes free throws with 2 minutes left, Keaton Nankivil had two dunks sandwiched around a Jamelle Horne three pointer. Arizona would come away empty on their next possession, and the Badgers made four of six free throws down the stretch to ice it. Nic Wise had 13 points, but was just 3-12 from the field. Freshman Derrick Williams scored 25 points, but could have had more as he was just 13-21 from the line.
  

Paradise Jam

• Northern Iowa 81, Boston College 69: Kwadzo Ahlegbe scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half as the Panthers outscored the Eagles 43-28 after halftime. On the night, the Panthers were 35-54 from the floor, shooting 65%. Ahlegbe was 14-17.
  
• DePaul 58, St. Joe's 51: The Blue Demons played without big man Mac Kowshal, their leading scorer and rebounder, but still managed to beat St. Joe's while holding their fourth straight opponent under 60 points. Will Walker had 25 points and 7 boards.
  

CBE Classic

• Texas 85, Iowa 60: The Hawkeyes scored the first basket of the second half, taking a 41-38 lead, but managed just 19 points the rest of the way. The Longhorns would go on a 16-0 run and never look back. Freshman Jordan Hamilton had 16 points to lead five players in double figures.
• Pitt 68, Wichita State 55: Travon Woodall had 19 points, 6 boards,and 5 assists as the Panthers held the Shockers to 37% shooting while forcing 24 turnovers.
  

Other notable games

• Louisville 80, Appalachian State 53: Up 39-30 at halftime, Louisville used a 17-7 run to open up a 68-44 lead midway through the second half. Samardo Samuels led the Cardinals with 16 points as they won their third game in ust over 48 hours.
• North Carolina 93, Gardner-Webb 72: Deon Thompson led the Heels with 22 points and 10 boards while Ed Davis added 15 and 13. Roy Williams spent much of the game experimenting with different line-ups, trying out Dexter Strickland and Larry Drew in the back court together.
• Clemson 102, Winthrop 66: Trevor Booker had 15 and 11 to lead six Tigers in double figures as Clemson own their 30th straight November game.
  
• Virginia Tech 71, Campbell 60: Malcolm Delaney had 15 points and 5 assists shaking off a poor shooting night while JT Thompson added 17 as Tech pulled away down the stretch.
• VCU 63, Hampton 52: Bradford Burgess had 18 and 10 to lead the Rams to a win in their first game since the Oklahoma upset.
• Western Kentucky 68, Cal St Northridge 67: Anthony Sally hit 1-2 free throws with 4.7 seconds left as WKU didn't take their first lead in the second half until there was a minute left.
• St. Mary's 92, Cal Poly 67: Omar Samhan had 33 points and 12 boards to lead the Gaels to another big win.
• Montana 68, Oregon 55: For the second time this week, Oregon lost to a mid-major as the Grizzlies dominated the second half. The only time it was close was after a 9-1 run by the Ducks, but Montana responded by scoring the next eight points.
  
• UCLA 71, Pepperdine 52: Drew Gordon had 18 points and 9 boards, Michael Roll added 17, and Malcolm Lee scored 13 points as the Bruins used a 16-4 second half run to beat the Waves.