Khyri Thomas named to the Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team
MBB Minute – Creighton, Marquette Fall In Tuesday Tourney Play
After solid victories in their respective tournaments on Monday, Creighton and Marquette lost games to ranked opponents on Tuesday. Usually strong shooting teams, the Bluejays and Golden Eagles both had trouble finding the range.
Creighton led most of the way, but was caught in the final three minutes by No. 22 Baylor in a 65-59 loss in the title game of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo. The Bluejays entered the contest averaging almost 98 points per game, but shot only 34.4 percent from the field and was 5-of-30 from 3-point range. Khyri Thomas scored 15 points and Marcus Foster finished with 12. Both were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Marquette got a combined 51 points from Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard, but not enough support from others in an 80-66 defeat to No. 6 Wichita State in the second round of the Maui Invitational. Rowsey had 26 points and Howard finished with 25.
Marquette completes play in Maui against LSU in the third-place game Wednesday on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET.
No. 5 Villanova begins play Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis against Western Kentucky on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. In the only previous meeting between the two teams, the Wildcats beat the Hilltoppers 92-89 in overtime in the 1971 Final Four.
After winning the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden last week, Providence is home for Thanksgiving. The Friars host Belmont, the preseason favorite in the OVC, at 7 p.m. on FS1. Coincidentally, both teams have defeated Houston Baptist this season. Providence won 84-55 and Belmont prevailed 93-88.
BIG EAST teams are a combined 31-7 this season going into Wednesday. Six BIG EAST squads will play in tournaments on Thanksgiving Day.