Tri-State Morning Tip-Off
A quick and easy daily recap of the night in area CBB and a look ahead to tonight's action.
Last night
Xavier 119 Morgan State 58
That’s not a typo. The 119 points is a new Cintas Center record and the 61-point victory is the largest margin of victory in school history. Zach Freemantle set the tone early: 27 points, 10 rebounds. Nice bounceback game for Marcus Foster: Career high 18 points, five rebounds and two assists after going scoreless vs TCU. XU (8-2) had just 6 turnovers and dropped 67 points on the Bears (5-8) in the second half. The Bears fall to 1-8 vs D1 opponents. 15 Musketeers played, 11 scored, including a three-pointer by walkon Brad Colbert that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Next up: The Crosstown Shootout.
—------------------
Tonight
NKU (3-6) hosting Cumberland (9-4)
Fresh off a buzzer beating win over IU Indy, the Norse look for back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Patriots 6’2 junior Anthony Johnson is Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Cumberlands ranks 9th in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Poll. This is considered an exhibition game for the Patriots.
—------------------
Colgate (2-8) at Kentucky (8-1)
First time meeting. The Wildcats are scoring a nation-leading 92.6 points per game. The Raiders were picked as the preseason favorite in the Patriot League. With Kerr Kriisa crossing the 1,000 career points mark vs.Gonzaga, UK now has five players (Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Kerr Kriisa and Amari Williams) who have all eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for their careers. Next up: Koby Brea 996, Jaxson Robinson 949. Krisla broke his foot in the game, an injury that will keep him out indefinitely. The Raiders are looking for their first win over a Top 25 team in school history.
—------------------
Wright State (6-5) home to Marshall (5-4)
Brandon Noel is coming off a 26 points performance for the Raiders. He moved to No. 30 all-time on the Raider scoring list with 1,101 points and is now 7th all-time in career rebounding with 620. The Raiders lead the Horizon League and are 28th in the country in FG% at 49.5 percent. Marshall’s Obinna Anochili-Killen had five blocks in his last game to become the all-time leader in program history (196).
—------------------
Louisville (5-4) host UTEP (6-2)
First meeting between the two programs. The Cards try to snap a three game skid. The Miners try to extend a three game win streak. Injuries have really hit the Cards. They lost 6-foot-10 senior forward Kasean Pryor, who was their second-leading scorer, along with forward Aboubacar Traore and guard Koren Johnson. The Miners rank fifth nationally in turnover margin, forcing turnovers and minimizing giveaways.
---------------------------