Tuesday, Nov. 24th in College Basketball

What a great night to be a Purdue fan! The Boilers and Vols were pretty much even in the stat sheet and the scoreboard. Purdue's mini 8-0 run late in the 2nd half gave them the lead, and they would hold on as Wayne Chism's game winning jumper missed right. Chism led the way in the paint for Tennessee with 24 points against a Purdue frontcourt that was in foul trouble all night long. E' Twaun Moore came up big for Purdue and took over offensively, putting in 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting. My Boilers found a way to win at the end and this will be a big confidence booster for the team going forward.

Meanwhile, Iowa held Texas close and actually led at one point in the 2nd half, but Pittman and the Texas guards were too much and the Longhorns blew Iowa out. Cincinnati took down a ranked Vanderbilt team. Vaughn struggled with foul trouble and Stephenson was okay, but Yancey Gates came through in a big way with 16 points as Cincy put together a big run early and never looked back. On the other side of the Maui bracket, Gonzaga staged a furious 2nd half comeback to edge Colorado, and Wisconsin grinded out a victory over Arizona. In other games, Northern Iowa got a much needed win over Boston College, and Pitt advanced, setting up this matchup for tonight:

Game of the Night:

CBE Classic Final:

Texas v. Pitt: There's a chance the Cincy/Maryland game will be closer, but I'm more intrigued by a game featuring a (somewhat) proven Texas squad and a very much unproven Pitt team. The Panthers have looked good this year. Ashton Gibbs has been the leader early. Pitt will look to slow the game down and grind out a victory, and unlike Iowa, they have some size inside to handle Dexter Pittman. The key to Texas' success, though, is the variety of offensive options they have. The Longhorns have a multitude of guards alongside James and Pittman in the frontcourt who can score. At the end of the day, there's just too much speed and talent for Pitt to handle.

Pick: Texas 81, Pitt 64

Others:

Maui Invitational:

Maryland v. Cincinnati: ACC power vs. Big East power. Gates could have another big day inside, but I think this will be won by whoever has superior guard play.

Wisconsin v. Gonzaga: The other semi-final. The Badgers probably lead the nation in "ugly wins" over the past 5 years or so.

Florida St. @ Florida: Annual rivalry has basketball significance as well.