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- Another night, another upset
Another night, another upset
FAU escapes (with some controversy) while Gonzaga suffers a rare loss at a WCC foe. Meanwhile, Illinois holds court and Marquette suffers a key injury loss. Plus, Four Questions with San Francisco's Chris Gerlufsen.
Tristan Freeman
January 12, 2024
A difficult season just worse for USC, who’ll be without star freshman guard Isaiah Collier (15.4 ppg and 4.1 apg) for the next 4-6 weeks with a hand injury. After entering as preseason Top 25 teams, the Trojans are just 8-8 overall. They’ll need an incredible turnaround for an at-large bid.
After Thursday’s results, other notable teams may be hoping for the same.
1. Say it with us: Winning on the road is hard
If there’s anything this week taught college hoops fans, it’s that winning on the road is a challenge, no matter who you are.
Sometimes, you need a little luck.
No. 24 Florida Atlantic can attest to that. The Owls had lost two of their last three games — both on the road — entering Thursday’s matchup at Tulane. And it looked like they’d finally have some breathing room when it led by 9 with three minutes left. But they didn’t score a field goal from that point on, setting up some serious drama in the final second.
Collin Holloway’s driving layup with 28 seconds left gave Tulane a 1-point lead. FAU missed twice, but got both rebounds. The second rebound bounced out to Alijah Martin, who hoisted a 3-pointer and … well, just watch the play.
You make the call: Was this a foul?
Alijah Martin would go on to hit two of three free throws for the win.
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68)
2:12 AM • Jan 12, 2024
“We didn't like that call; I'm sure Tulane didn't like this call,” FAU coach Dusty May said. “I'm sure we're going to have some more battles with Tulane going forward because that's a really good basketball team.”
Tulane coach Ron Hunter didn’t like the call, but what you didn’t see in that video was FAU’s Johnell Davis getting hacked on his drive to the basket before Martin’s shot. Balance? Maybe.
Tulane (10-5, 1-2 in AAC) gave it a great effort, led by 28 points from Jaylen Forbes and 20 points and 11 rebounds from Kevin Cross. With both FAU and Memphis looking vulnerable, the Green Wave could be a dark horse threat to watch in the AAC Tournament. As for FAU (12-4, 2-1), it got a much-needed road win.
Gonzaga wasn’t as lucky.