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Arizona-Purdue is just the start of Saturday's awesome schedule of college hoops. Plus, Marquette avoided a stumble, Gonzaga seeks revenge, a Mountain of news, and Four Questions with Indiana State coach Josh Schertz.
Tristan Freeman
December 15, 2023
Confused by the NCAA’s latest signals about whether transfers can play in the next two weeks without risking a whole year of eligibility? Apparently so are they. This means there’s going to be dozens of players in limbo. Two have already played, and more are slated to do the same this weekend.
Let’s explore that and set up an awesome weekend of hoops.
1. Marquette survives upset bid
As Northwestern showed us on Wednesday, you better be ready for anything during Finals Week. No. 7 Marquette nearly had to learn that lesson on Thursday against St. Thomas.
The Golden Eagles were coasting last night, leading by double-digits. However. the Summit League program refused to go away, slowly chipping the lead to as low as 1 with four minutes to go.
He did NOT throw away that shot!
#RollToms
— St. Thomas Men’s Basketball (@TommieMBBall)
Dec 15, 2023
But the Golden Eagles (9-2) stayed cool, responded with a Chase Ross 3-pointer to followed that with a few defensive stops, and closed with six Tyler Kolek free throws for an 84-79 win. Kolek finished with 12 points and 10 assists, while Oso Ighodaro had 21 points and 8 rebounds.
“We actually showed our guys (Northwestern coach) Chris Collins' comments about his team not being quite as connected last night,” said coach Shaka Smart said. “Anyone can beat anyone.”