Another Maui classic

Today's the day when people typically travel to their Thanksgiving destination or spend time preparing to cook all day on Thursday. And there are still plenty of folks (like me), who have to work. All of that stuff is important.

But if there's ever a day to sneak in a game (or three), today's the day. We've got more than 12 hours of college hoops today, so plan accordingly because the must-see games start at noon ET (to say nothing of people glued to the World Cup).

But first, let's get to Tuesday's news.

1. Defenses finally arrived in Maui

The Maui Invitational has produced its share of high-level, incredible games through the years. Add Creighton's 90-87 win over Arkansas on Tuesday night to that list.

And it wasn't because of soft rims, either. There wasn't anything soft about it.

The No. 10 Bluejays (6-0) showcased impressive shotmaking, opening up a 12-point lead in the first half. But once the No. 9 Razorbacks (4-1) turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, things got really good.

They forced 17 turnovers — 15 in the second half — that led to quick baskets and lead changes. The Hogs also started hitting shots, going 12-of-24 over the first 13 minutes in the second half. They might have run away with the game (a scary thought given their relative youth and playing without 5-star freshman Nick Smith) if not for Creighton's consistent offense from different players.

The Bluejays opened the second half hitting 8-of-11 shots, including a bomb from Baylor Scheierman, and looked to be in control after a 7-0 run gave them a 70-64 lead. But Arkansas hung around thanks to Ricky Council IV (24 points) and Anthony Black (26 points), and it consistently pressured Creighton into difficult shots or turnovers. Turns out the answer was to be just as aggressive. Cue the Andrew Nembhard highlight.

“Last year at this time he struggled with some turnovers,” coach Greg McDermott said. “So I think he's got a better feel for what we're asking him to do, and that's been good to see.

“But he plays with a lot of confidence. I think his teammates really respect him, so they look him in the eye in the huddle and listen to what he has to say.”

Nembhard finished with a team-high 25 points, while Scheierman (20) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (21 points on 12 shots) provided other options. Creighton hit 58% of its field-goal attempts, 7 of 14 from deep and made 21 free throws. It just consistently made shots.

They'll play No. 14 Arizona in Wednesday's championship game, which beat No. 17 San Diego State, 87-70, in the last game. Not that it was easy.

The Wildcats (5-0) played fast and moved the ball quickly, opening up a 33-19 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half. Big man Azuolas Tubelis was getting open looks on the break, or short jumpers inside, and it looked like they might breeze into the final. But they had more turnovers (3) than made shots (2) in the final minutes, and the Aztecs (4-1) capitalized, outscoring them 14-5 in that span.

“They just amped up their defense a little bit,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “They got a little more comfortable on the offensive end. Obviously, turnovers were a little bit of a problem, and I'm sure during that stretch we had a couple turnovers, a couple missed layups that I probably would have rather passed on."

SDSU carried that momentum, taking the lead less than three minutes in the second half. Then Arizona started running. And everyone started scoring.

Pelle Larsson hit a 3. Oumar Ballo made a layup. Kerr Kriisa made a jumper. Courtney Ramey splashed a triple. In less than five minutes, Arizona turned a deficit into a 10-point lead, and never looked back. Five players scored in double-figures (Kriisa and Ramey each had 21).

“I couldn't have asked the game to play out any better for our growth and development as a team. Not that I want teams to go from down 16 to up whatever they did, two or three, but it happens. For our guys to hang in there and come out and make a bunch of winning plays down the stretch says something about them,” Lloyd said.

The Wildcats appear to be just as potent as they were last year when they boasted one of the sport's fastest and highest-scoring offenses. This year, nobody's playing faster (77.6 possessions per game) and few teams are more efficient. They didn't shoot like they did on Monday, but 58% from the field, and 45% from beyond the arc is pretty tasty

It'll make for an on-brand Maui finale (5 pm ET, ESPN). We might see both teams hit triple digits. It's got our guys hyped about the possibility. Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster and John Henson talked about the title game — and also had Scheierman as a guest on the Field of 68 AFTER DARK.

SDSU will play Arkansas in the third-place game (10 pm ET, ESPN2). It's hard to believe one of those teams will leave the event with two losses; both have been good.

Ohio State had little trouble dispatching Cincinnati, 81-53. The Buckeyes (4-1) started slow, but led for most of the game and turned it on with a monster second half. Zed Key led all scorers with 19 points, while freshmen Brice Sensabaugh and Bruce Thornton each had 17.

They'll play Texas Tech (4-1) in the fifth-place game (2:30 pm ET, ESPN). The Red Raiders dismantled Louisville, allowing just .55 points per possession in a game that wasn't even as close as the 70-38 final score.

Can someone throw Louisville a life jacket? The Cardinals (0-5) were scoreless for nearly 10 minutes during their loss, their lowest point total in 41 years. They're also the first ACC team to start 0-5 since 1960. Credit the Red Raiders and their nasty defense, but mostly, it's Louisville. We've seen this all season from the Cards.

2. Johnnies get it done, stay unbeaten

St. John's started slow and somewhat sloppy but closed with a flourish — exactly what you'd expect from an Andre Curbelo-led team.

Curbelo scored a career-high 23 points in a 76-69 overtime win against Syracuse in the Empire Classic final Tuesday night. He also dished 6 assists, some of which probed the Syracuse zone for just the right shot.

Joel Soriano (19 points, 14 rebounds) and David Jones (18 and 13) contributed as well, as St. John's (6-0) frustrated Syracuse's Joe Girard (1-for-10 shooting), just a night after he scored 31 against Richmond. The Orange (3-2) got 20 from Judah Mintz.

Other Tuesday results to know:

UAB 87, Georgia 73: Jelly Walker scored 30 points to help the Blazers (4-1) rally past the Bulldogs (4-2) in the Sunshine Slam title game. The reigning C-USA POY is third in D-I in scoring (24.6 ppg) and delivered on Tuesday, hitting 11-of-22 shots on a variety of drives, along with five 3s.

Kansas State 96, Nevada 87, OT: New coach Jerome Tang says the Wildcats (5-0) can make the NCAA Tournament. He's got them in the Cayman Islands Classic title game after Keyontae Johnson (28 points, 9 rebounds) and Markquis Nowell (29 points, 11 assists) carried the day against the Wolf Pack (5-1).

LSU 73, Akron 58: The Tigers (5-0) pulled away from their toughest opponent to date, getting 23 points from guard Adam Miller. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL. They'll play K-State for the event trophy.

Richmond 61, Temple 49: The Spiders (3-3) ended a three-game losing streak behind a big night from Tyler Burton (18 points). The Owls (2-4) now have back-to-back Philly games vs. Drexel and La Salle.

Yale 73, Vermont 44: The Bulldogs (6-0) are off to their best start since 1945-46. Matt Knowling paced them with 22 points. Conversely, Vermont (1-5) is off to its worst start in nine seasons.

Utah State 95, Oral Roberts 85: The Aggies (5-0) topped 90 points for the third straight game, getting a career-high 30 points from junior guard Steven Ashworth off the bench. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, are now 3-3.

Northwestern 66, Liberty 52: Chase Audige scored 20 points and Ty Berry added 19 as the Wildcats won the Cancun Challenge. They're now 5-0, the best start in Chris Collins' tenure. The Flames (2-2) got 23 from Darius McGhee.

San Francisco 67, Wichita State 63: The Dons have a new coach in Chris Gerlufsen, but they're still winning. They moved to 6-0 after holding on in the Hall of Fame Classic final. Things aren't quite as crisp as last season, but they're balanced and experienced (every starter is an upperclassman).

East Carolina 86, Toledo 75: The Pirates (4-1) handed the Rockets (3-2) yet another surprising loss. Toledo was an 11-point favorite.

Kansas City 63, Indiana State 61: The Roos (3-4) dealt the Sycamores (4-1) their first loss of the season; the second consecutive night they've done that to a team. They're a surprise contender for the Gulf Coast Showcase championship.

3. The Final Four for every fan

The NCAA announced future Final Four host cities Tuesday, one of which is a welcome addition to the rotation. The Field of 68 might have to open a remote work location just to prepare for it.

The full list — Detroit (2027), Las Vegas, Indianapolis (2029) and Arlington, Texas (2030) — contains a couple of infrequent spots in Arlington (last held in 2014) and Detroit (2009), while Indy will host for the 10th time, tying Kansas City for the most.

But that's all filler. Let's focus on Vegas, which will host the Final Four for the first time. It's got the 2023 West Regional Final and will have nine other NCAA Championships before 2028, which essentially confirms what most people knew for years: Vegas is an ideal place for big events. (The NCAA just didn't want to admit it.)

Turns out it just needed a football field, Allegiant Stadium, to make it happen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to book a few hotel rooms.

4. Basketball + Bahamas = A delight

Stuffed in between the Maui Invitational and the PK85, the Battle 4 Atlantis doesn't have quite the firepower of those events, yet it should be just as compelling with its mix of programs.

Kansas (4-0) and Tennessee (2-1) should meet in the final. Their predictive metrics are significantly better than the other six teams. But it's interesting to see how close everyone else is, and more so when you consider the first-round matchups.

Dayton (3-1) and Wisconsin (3-0) play at 1:30 pm ET (ESPN). Both feature size inside, a dynamic lead guard (though Malachi Smith, still recovering from a foot injury, has only played 21 minutes this season), and are essentially a match for their offensive and defensive efficiency.

Same for USC and BYU (5 pm ET, ESPN2). The Trojans (3-1) might be a bit more athletic, but the Cougars (3-1) have enough size to play with them. They are nearly even in adjusted efficiency and are among the faster teams in D-I.

As for Butler (3-1) and N.C. State (4-0), both are big underdogs. If either pulls off a first-round win, we'll be in for quite the tournament.

(BONUS note: Kansas coach Bill Self will be on the sidelines for the first time this season as his 4-game suspension is over. "The first two games were OK. Duke and Southern Utah, I didn't feel as OK watching from the living room," he said Tuesday. "I saw it from a fan's perspective, and now I know why fans are crazy. You have no control over the outcome. At least as a coach, you have a sense of control.")

5. Taking stock of bad losses and big starts

College basketball can be a forgiving sport in November and December. Early losses don't have to derail a season, especially when you can earn some resume-building conference wins in January and February.

But that's being put to the test by the ACC and Pac-12 thus far.

As outlined by Kevin Sweeney, the ACC has lost 11 games thus far to teams who aren't in the Power 5, Big East, AAC and Gonzaga. The Pac-12's lost 16 (you can't escape those SWAC losses). Those losses have raised more than a few eyebrows, and one wonders if the losses will be too much to overcome when it comes to at-large bids — even in a sport where you can get big wins later on.

Just as interesting? The Big Ten is rolling thus far — coming on the heels of getting hammered this offseason for its struggles during the 2022 NCAA tourney. Hm. Unless ... is it just the SOS, as Terrence Oglesby would say?

There's something to both sides of these arguments. Yes, the Big Ten might very well lay another egg in March. But there's no doubt that there's a handful of teams that are more mobile, can stretch a defense and would be better suited to making a run in March because they're not limited by a big guy in the middle. And the ACC and Pac-12 might figure things out.

Again, from Sweeney:

Guess we'll check back in a few months.

Riding high in Houston

The Cougars are now No. 2 in the latest AP poll, their highest ranking since Feb. 27, 1984. But Hakeem Olajuwon's team wasn't the only Houston athlete thriving on that day.

Question: Which Houston native set the indoor long jump world record on that same day?

The answer's at the bottom of the Daily.

(Note: We ended up having too much content on Fridays, so we'll try this feature on Wednesdays going forward. Have a killer trivia question? Email us: [email protected])

Back in a Flash

Charleston's already played in a November tournament, capping the Shriners Children's Classic last week with a title game victory over Virginia Tech. It's given the Cougars (5-1) one of the more impressive non-conference resumes with wins over two A-10 teams, a Pac-12 school and an ACC team. Now it plays host to Kent State (5-0), which hasn't really been tested this season, but boasts a roster that should push Charleston — much to the viewer's delight. Both teams play fast, ranking among the top 20 in adjusted tempo and average possession length (neither goes past 16 seconds). In a week where all eyes are on tournaments, it's a low-key great game. (FloSports, 6 pm ET)

Other non-Maui and Atlantis games to note (All times ET):

• LSU (5-0) vs. Kansas State (5-0), 7:30 pm (FloSports)

• Auburn (5-0) vs. Northwestern (5-0), 8:30 pm (CBS Sports Network)

• Saint Mary's (5-0) vs. Vanderbilt (2-2), Noon, (ESPN2).

• Purdue (11-4), at Indiana (13-2), 8:05 pm ET (ESPN)

The ACC is more than just their Big Three

Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke are the class of the ACC. But Terrence Oglesby says there's more to the league than just those three at the top. Yes, the bottom is bad. Yes, some teams aren't healthy. But anyone who's ignoring the mid-tier teams is fooling themselves.

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Links as you wait in the check-out line at the grocery store.

• In light of recent news, New Mexico State won't play New Mexico this season.

• Wichita State issued a statement regarding inappropriate remarks made during a Nov. 21 broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

• A cool thing for Wofford fans today vs NGU: Kids get in free.

• If UCLA is forced to stay in the Pac-12, the Big Ten would be obligated to fill that spot due to their new media deal.

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Trivia answer: Carl Lewis