It’s a late afternoon tipoff, but RTC Live is back in MSG for the consolation and finals of the 2kSports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Texas A&M will take on St. John’s first, followed by Arizona and a surprising Mississippi State team in the nightcap. Join the conversation from the Garden, after the jump.
Games 20-21: It’s another doubleheader from Madison Square Garden for the consolation and finals of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. The third place game features the hometown St. John’s Red Storm, a young team that suffered a tough loss against Arizona on Thursday, against Texas A&M, a ranked team missing its best player in Khris Middleton. The championship game features two teams stocked full of talent in Mississippi State and Arizona. The Bulldogs are led by Dee Bost and Sean Miller is still trying to mold his youngsters and veterans into a championship level team in Tucson. The games are all on ESPN2, so come join in the conversation.
Recaps:
St. John’s vs. Texas A&M — The Red Storm enjoyed a 38-3 advantage in free throw attempts against the Aggies, but it was two free throws at the end that Nurideen Lindsey couldn’t convert that cost St. John’s in the 58-57 defeat. After Elston Turner hit a jumper to give the Aggies the one-point lead, Lindsey drove to the hoop and was fouled but couldn’t convert on the two attempts. The inability to hit free throws was a common theme for the young Red Storm as they shot 22-38 (58%) from the line as a team. Ray Turner drove the Texas A&M offense with 16 points. Dash Harris went just 1-4 from the field, but he contributed six assists, four steals and some stifling defense. After the game Steve Lavin said that his team still needs to work on “correctable errors” and its obvious from the Red Storm’s two losses here at MSG that his young squad still has quite a bit of learning left to do. While Texas A&M is still adjusting to life under Billy Kennedy and without Khris Middleton, this game was a positive step in a new direction for the team.
Arizona vs. Mississippi State — The championship of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer pitted two talented teams against each other. It was the Bulldogs’ front court that eventually helped them take home the victory. Tournament MVP Arnett Moultrie, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, scored 19 points and grabbed 10 boards for MSU. But it was more than just him up front, Renardo Sidney and Wendell Smith combined for 14 points and nine boards. Playing against Arizona’s talented backcourt, Dee Bost had eight points, six assists and five boards. Solomon Hill scored 11 points to lead the Wildcats and Jesse Perry, who was named to the All-Tournament team, 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs were the only team that got to play in the semifinals after losing in a regional round, but they took advantage of the situation to defeat two Top 25 teams and showed the talent that made them a popular postseason pick from the SEC. If Rick Stansbury can continue to mold those pieces together, he’s going to have a heck of a team later in the season. The Wildcats are going to need to work on their front court depth and interior scoring when the legs get tired and the threes are harder to knock down. Both of these teams have the talent to go far this season.