No. 18 UConn survives Michigan rally in 74-60 win in Bahamas

Freshman forward Moritz Wagner scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting as MI rolled to a 102-47 victory over Charlotte on Thursday night in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Senior guard Michael Gbinije came up big for Syracuse when it mattered most, finishing with 20 points – including four 3-pointers – to help Syracuse edge No. 25 Texas A&M 74-67 in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.

“For me it was my first time playing against UConn”, Gbinije said.

Alabama 64, No. 20 Wichita State 60: Not only did the Shockers drop their second straight at the AdvoCare Invitational, but they also saw Anton Grady leave the game on a stretcher after being involved in a scary second-half collision.

“Tyler Lydon’s done an unbelievable job”.

“Syracuse played a great game”, UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “He’s had two monstrous games down here”. Trevor Cooney forced a turnover on the next play with two seconds left in the half and Gbinije stole the inbound pass, drawing a foul with.

But after the score was tied at 61, the Orange (6-0) outscored the Aggies (6-1) 13-6 over the final 5:38. Also, although no player fouled out, six Huskies ended with 4 fouls as the Orange lived at the line.

Daniel Hamilton was a catalyst for CT, as he was on triple-double watch with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. 3 seconds left while forcing a desperation three from half court. What really hurt was that Caris LeVert picked up his second foul with just over 8 minutes to go in the half and sat until the break. Rodney Purvis and Shonn Miller each contributed 13 points. As Michigan ran ball screen after ball screen, the Wolverines were unable to find clean lanes into which they could penetrate or open looks inside.

The Huskies made seven consecutive shots during that closing run. Nonetheless, UConn was having some of its own offensive struggles, so MI clung to a 15-14 lead as the under-8 timeout approached.

This is a big sign for the Syracuse Orange, as many expected them to flounder during this season dealing with sanctions from the NCAA. MI scored at will throughout, knocking down 12 3-pointers. “We shared the basketball once again, we had five guys in double figures”. “But we gotta try to put this one behind us because we’ve got a game tomorrow”. “The rule of coaches not calling timeouts is not a good rule”, he said.

“I think you have to really admire our fans, they were tremendous down here with tremendous support”, he said. (The players) are playing, I should be able to call timeouts in those situations….

“It doesn’t frustrate me one bit”, he said. As for CT, they will need to work on their on-ball defense for sure, as SU manhandled them today.

“It’s definitely something that can happen”, added Ollie. “I think both universities would like to continue that rivalry….”

“We just take what the defense gives us”, Purvis said.

The Huskies play Gonzaga in the third-place game on Friday. After last night’s emotional win over long time rival UConn, Syracuse had a quick turnaround to compete against a ranked Texas A&M squad.