Brilliant Orange

The Field of 68 closed down Madison Square Garden last night, as the AFTER DARK crew discussed the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader for nearly an hour after everyone else had left MSG. That includes me. Needed to hit the road to put the finishing touches on this thing.

Let's get to it.

1. Illinois finds a way

Matthew Mayer ensured Illinois hung with No. 2 Texas. But it took a team to pull off an 85-78 overtime win on Tuesday night at the Jimmy V Classic.

Mayer hit his first seven shots and finished with a career-high 21 points. He was perfect from beyond the arc, including back-to-back 3s in the first half where he cooked Dillon Mitchell, then Brock Cunningham with a series of crossovers that led into step-back 3s.

He provided most of their early offense on a night when baskets could be hard to come by for everyone else. It delighted Illinois coach Brad Underwood, who'd been waiting for the 6-9 Baylor transfer to have a standout game.

"We had a Matthew Mayer sighting, which was nice to see. And needed," Underwood said afterward. "We're reliant on Coleman, Terrence and Matthew, and we haven't had Matthew. I welcomed him to the orange and blue after the game."

The No. 17 Illini (7-2) needed all of those guys — Terrence Shannon scored 12 of his 16 points in overtime; Coleman Hawkins played a game-high 42 minutes and finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists — but they wouldn't have seen overtime without timely plays from Jayden Epps.

The freshman guard scored 11, including the final five points in regulation: a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining and two tying free throws with eight seconds left.

"It was a big moment, I'm not even gonna lie," Epps said. "You hear so much about [Madison Square Garden], so when you play you take it all in."

As for Texas, the Longhorns (6-1) missed an opportunity for a win in a game they controlled throughout. They led by double-digits well into the second half despite not getting any consistent production from its backcourt of Marcus Carr (9 points on 14 shots) and Tyrese Hunter (10 points on 11 attempts). Carr had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Epps partially deflected his shot.

“I think Marcus’ heart was in the right place, he was trying to go win the game but probably too crowded,” Texas coach Chris Beard said. “Probably should have kicked it out."

2. Badgers don't fear Turtles (not in home dens, anyway)

Maryland boasted one of the season's most impressive starts — seven double-digit victories and a win against No. 16 Illinois on Friday. Then it went to Madison, where even the best teams can hit a wall. Such is life when playing the Badgers.

The No. 13 Terps (8-1) missed eight of their first 10 shots and had just as many shots as turnovers, as the Badgers (7-2) set the tone early in their 64-59 win.

“We controlled the tempo,” coach Greg Gard said. “I thought we did a good job of making them have to play against our set defense, which is always a goal of ours against anybody. We just try not to give them too many easy things, nothing at the rim and no easy 3s.”

Maryland entered the game with one of the nation's most efficient offenses, scoring 1.14 points per possession and over 80 points a game. But they were held to a season-low 38.2% from the field and .89 points per possession. They did make a in the second half, twice taking the lead until Connor Essegian's 3 with 7:24 left put them ahead for good.

“We make it harder on ourselves at times than we need to,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “But we were able to do just enough to close it out.”

3. Duke shines at its home away from home

Most nights, a Texas-Illinois matchup would snag the prime spot. But not when Duke's in New York City.

The Blue Devils (9-2) handled Iowa, 74-62, in the late game at the Jimmy V Classic, leaving the court to chants of "Our house!" from the decidedly pro-Duke crowd, most of whom stuck around until the final whistle just before midnight. They were treated to a career night from guard Jeremy Roach (22 points) and superb defense by freshman Mark Mitchell on Iowa star Kris Murray, who was held to 8 points on just 3-of-9 shooting and looked off from the start.

“This has been a special place for us to play over the years and we’re going to try to come back here like we’ve done in our program’s history,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “This is a special spot.”

The Duke defense was what looked special. Scheyer says "defense is the base of who we are" and they handled everything Iowa tried, holding the Hawkeyes (6-2) to 39% from the field and just .91 points per possession, well below their expected 1.16 ppp.

Virginia 55, James Madison 50: The Cavs (8-0) played most of the game without guard Reece Beekman (right leg injury), but Kihei Clark (17 points) and Jayden Gardner (14 points, eight rebounds) slowed down the up-tempo the Dukes (7-3) and avenged a home loss from last season.

Arkansas 65, UNC Greensboro 58: The ice-cold Razorbacks (8-1) trailed for much of the game — 33 percent from the field, including a first-half scoreless stretch that lasted more than eight minutes — but a 13-3 burst put the Spartans (4-6) away. Nick Smith scored 22, offsetting an off night from leading scorer Ricky Council IV, who had just six points.

Houston 76, North Florida 42: The game's outcome was hardly in question as the No. 1 Cougars (9-0) led throughout. What was in question was fans being able to watch on ESPN+. That issue was resolved late in the first half. Houston (9-0) did the same with the Ospreys, leading by 30 before halftime.

Iona 84, Saint Louis 62: Perfect example of why coaches are hesitant to schedule quality road games. The Billikens (7-3) entered as 1-point favorites and 40 spots higher on KenPom, but the Gaels (5-2) ran away with this one. Iona held SLU to a season-low 30.9 percent shooting and took away Yuri Collins' passing lanes. The nation's assist leader finished with just four dimes.

Fordham 72, Wagner 59: The Rams (9-1) are off to their best start since 2016-17 after a 40-point second half enabled them to pull away from the Seahawks (4-3). Fordham guard Darius Quisenberry scored a game-high 25.

New Mexico 102, Western New Mexico 63: The Lobos (8-0) are off to their best start since 2012-13 and are one of 10 remaining unbeaten teams.

NC State 94, Coppin State 72: Sam Sessoms, the nation's second-leading scorer had 22, but this was all Wolfpack (8-2), which got a season-high 33 from Terq Smith.

New Hampshire 74, Boston College 71: Clarence O. Daniels II scored 34 points as the Wildcats (3-5) not only ended a 15-game losing streak to BC, they won for the first time at BC in 23 tries. The Eagles (5-5) are 0-2 against America East teams this season.

Charleston 67, Presbyterian 62: The Cougars (9-1) never really shook the Blue Hose (2-8), trailing in the first half, and watched as a 10-point lead late in the second half dwindled to five with two minutes left. Ryan Larson, who finished with a team-high 15, answered with a layup to help put the game away.

High Point 85, Furman 82: The Panthers (8-1) got off to a fast start, but Mike Bothwell got the Paladins (6-3) back in the game with 10 points in the final three minutes of the first half. He finished with 29 but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Jaden House paced High Point with 29.

Butler 71, Yale 61: In a game of Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs, the Big East version prevailed, hitting 50 percent of their shots against a normally stingy Yale (8-2) defense. Manny Bates was too much inside, opening the game with a dunk and finishing with 22 points. Going 50 percent from beyond the arc also helps.

Wofford 71, Coastal Carolina 61: The Terriers (5-4) closed on a 22-4 run in their first game without coach Jay McAuley. (His leave of absence was reportedly not his choice.) Jackson Paveletzke led the team with 20 points, while BJ Mack added 18.

4. Quick hitters

Now that we're (mostly) through college football season, many college sports reporters are turning their attention to college hoops. That's great news for people searching for more info on teams but makes it more challenging to present that info. Time for some bullet points.

• Indiana missed having its "matchup nightmare" Jalen Hood-Schifino in its loss to Rutgers last week. He was unavailable for the game with a sore back, leaving coach Mike Woodson to fill his role with the bench and by using Xavier Johnson more. Neither was optimal (Johnson played 34 minutes, had six turnovers and was just 2-of-11 from the field). They expect to have him for Nebraska (8:30 pm ET, Big Ten Network).

• Here's a wild stat: Dayton hasn't won a non-conference true road game since 2016. The Flyers will try to correct that tonight at Virginia Tech (8 pm ET, ACC Network) where they're six-point underdogs. In the last three attempts, they've been close, losing by 8 points at UNLV earlier this season and at Ole Miss and SMU last season.

• So. Why didn't Louisville hit the transfer portal this summer? If the Cardinals' had 2-3 more guards, they might have avoided a season fans would like to forget. But it'll provide a good lesson for coach Kenny Payne and how to avoid historically bad seasons going forward.

• After beating UC Irvine and Troy by a combined eight points, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher (jokingly?) said he feels bad about the Aztecs' challenging schedule. But senior Matt Bradley doesn't mind. "Looking at the schedule, you’d think we’d have a little bit of layoff after Hawaii, but UC Irvine and Troy both put up a great fight. ... We’ll get better shooting the ball and doing other things, but winning games is the best thing we can do right now.”

5. What's next in New Mexico State shooting saga?

New Mexico State's season might go from odd to derailed.

Coming on the heels of Aggies forward Mike Peake being indefinitely suspended for his role in a shootout that resulted in the death of a New Mexico student, a report surfaced that three of his teammates helped him flee the scene and that the weapon was later found in possession of an assistant coach.

Those teammates then called assistant coach Dominque Taylor and head coach Greg Heiar, but it took another 12 hours for police to obtain the gun.

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Athletics Director Mario Moicca did not comment on the report. The school will conduct an external investigation of its own. There are more details from the police report here.

In the meantime, it's unclear if the school will take any immediate steps that will affect its schedule. The Aggies' game against New Mexico last month was canceled, though they did play and win last night. It's an incredible challenge for Heiar — in his first season at NM State — to navigate, especially as more details emerge. Muhammad is a starter, while Roy and Avery both play significant minutes off the bench. All three played last night.

Road woes

You read how Dayton hasn't won a non-conference true road game since 2016. Maybe that streak ends tonight, maybe not. That's not the question.

Who was the team Dayton beat in 2016?

Answer at the bottom of the Daily.

UConn touch this

Tonight will be UConn's fifth straight game where it'll face a big man on the Abdul-Jabber watch list. But while Oregon, Alabama, Iowa State and Oklahoma State all presented big men with size and athleticism, Florida (6-3) has the most skilled of the bunch in Colin Castleton. He hasn't maintained his torrid start to the season (25 ppg over his first four games) but will present a different kind of challenge for UConn (9-0) and its bigs, Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan. It's on the road, but I doubt that Sanogo will be too worried. (9 pm ET, ESPN2)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

• Michigan State (5-4) at Penn State (6-2), 6:30 pm (Big Ten Network)

• Dayton (5-4) at Virginia Tech (8-1), 8 pm (ACC Network)

• Penn (5-6) at Villanova (3-5), 7 pm (CSB Sports Network)*

*It's not that we're huge Big 5 fans, but this is Jay Wright's broadcasting debut.

Reasons to doubt Purdue

I'm just gonna leave this right here. The DTF crew can speak for themselves.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube here and subscribe here to the DTF podcast.

Links as you try to mimic some of Matthew Mayer's step-back moves.

• How does Yuri Collins make some of those passes, anyway?

• Twitter rarely agrees on anything. But there's universal acclaim for these Bradley jerseys.

• How a former Iowa State cross country runner is impacting the men's hoops team.

• We sometimes present a graph comparing various rankings, but this table from D1 Ticker has us beat.

• The Pac-12 is in "no rush" to finalize a new media deal.

It was pouring in NYC yesterday, otherwise we woulda been selling these outside MSG. But you lucked out because you can save 20% by using promo code "DAILY" at the Field of 68 shop. And keep an eye out for new merch dropping today.

Trivia answer: Dayton won at Alabama, 77-72, in Nov. 2016.

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