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Island survivors
Purdue and Texas Tech both got pushed at Baha Mar, but pulled off wins and will play Friday night. Not that those were Thursday's only thrilling games. We've got a full rundown, plus a look at PJ Haggerty's awesome night, a preview for the weekend's MTEs, and much more.
Tristan Freeman
November 21, 2025
In partnership with
Good morning! It’s gonna be a great day of college hoops. Let’s get you caught up on what happened Thursday.
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1. Purdue, Texas Tech survive, set up Baha showdown
The Baha Mar Championship was always had the potential to open Feast Week with a heavyweight title-game matchup.
Not that it was a certainly. First, No. 1 Purdue and No. 15 Texas Tech had to win on Thursday. And both were close calls.
The Boilermakers trailed for most of the first half, but led at halftime thanks to a Braden Smith buzzer-beater. Memphis led again with seven minutes to play, yet CJ Cox scored five-straight points. for the lead, and Purdue held on, 80-71.
Cox scored a season-high 18 points, which made up for off nights from Trey Kaufman-Renn (12 points and 11 rebounds) and Braden Smith (5 points on 2-of-14 FG). Fletcher Loyer led Purdue (5-0) with 20 points. He wondered afterward if the rims at the Baha Mar ballroom were set at the same height.
Dug McDaniel led Memphis (1-3) with 18 points. Coach Penny Hardaway noted that while he appreciated the effort, the Tigers would be 3-1 if “they played this hard all year.”
Similar to Purdue, the other favorite had a tough time advancing on Thursday.
Wake Forest led Texas Tech by three points with 2:26 remaining, but back-to-back field goals by Christian Anderson and LeJuan Watts gave the Red Raiders a late lead, and free throws sealed an 84-83 win.
Stars JT Toppin (21 points and nine rebounds) and Anderson (16 points) led the way for Texas Tech (4-1), which shot just 41% from the field and committed a turnover every five possessions. Harris led Wake with 26 points.
Still, it gives viewers a ranked matchup in tonight’s final. In a game where a pair of potential NPOY candidates are playing, it’s yet another early season treat. (9:30 pm ET. CBSSN).
“The just really don’t have any weaknesses,” said Tech coach Grant McCasland. “The key is gonna be what’s our competitive fight in a game like this.”
The Demon Deacons (3-2) and Tigers face off in the early game (7 pm ET on CBS Sports Network) in what also should be an entertaining game. Both teams could use the win. Wake Forest (3-2) is coming off its second narrow defeat to a ranked team.
2. K-State, Nebraska cruises at Hall of Fame Classic
The only player in college basketball back who averaged 20+ points per game in the prior two years was guard PJ Haggerty. He’s going to make it three straight with this season at Kansas State.
