NCAA Basketball Tournament Winners

The Iowa State Cyclones weren’t themselves last night, losing 72-63 to Maryland. Thirteenth-ranked Iowa State beat Alabama in the first round of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City Monday night, 84-74. Top observations from that game were:

• Georges Niang made ESPN experts look good by scoring 28 points. They named Niang the #7 player in the country before the season.
• Dustin Hogue had what is becoming a typical outing, with 17 points on 8-11 from the field.
• Monte Morris didn’t score, but had 12 assists and no turnovers. Such efficient point guard play is a luxury other teams just don’t have.
• Naz Long looks more confident attacking the rim. He added 15 points and got to the line 7 times.
• Matt Thomas looked great as a scorer in his first game back from suspension. He’s a very versatile scorer and already looks twice as confident as a sophomore.

Some of these exciting topics became question marks just one night later, as the team failed to move and share the ball how they normally do, as Maryland won the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

Maryland’s win was among numerous preseason tournament games this week. The Iowa Hawkeyes fell to Texas and Syracuse in the 2K Sports Classic. More on the Hawkeyes in the coming week. Northern Iowa dominated Virginia Tech in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge last night and will face Northwestern tonight. Drake plays in the Challenge in Music City this weekend. Other results have been:

2K Sports Classic - #10 Texas won the tournament over Cal (Nov. 21)

Other teams included Iowa, Syracuse, Alcorn State, Hampton, Kennesaw State and North Dakota State.

Charleston Classic - Miami won the tournament over UNC Charlotte (Nov 23)

Other teams included USC, Akron, Drexel, Penn State, Cornell and South Carolina

Puerto Rico Tip-Off - West Virginia won the tournament over defending champion UCONN (Nov 23)

Other teams included Texas A&M, Dayton, Charleston, New Mexico, Boston College and George Mason

Paradise Jam - Seton Hall won the tournament over Illinois State (Nov 24)[Behind 40 points from Sterling GibbsESPN.com]

Other teams included Clemson, LSU, Nevada, Gardner-Webb, Old Dominion and Weber State

Coaches Versus Cancer Classic - Duke won the tournament over Stanford (Nov. 22)

Other teams included American, Fairfield, Louisiana Tech, Morehead State, Presbyterian, Sam Houston State, South Dakota and Wofford.

Hall of Fame Tip-Off - UMASS won the tournament over Florida State (Nov. 23)

Other teams included Notre Dame, Providence, Binghamton, Manhattan, Navy and Northeastern.

Legends Classic - Villanova won the tournament over Michigan (Nov 25)

Other teams included Oregon, VCU, Bucknell, Detroit, UMES, and Toledo.

The Maui Invitational, Cancun Challenge, MGM Grand Main Event, Battle for Atlantis, NIT Season Tip-Off and Great Alaska Shootout all include major conference teams and will conclude this week. To see the game schedules for all preseason tournaments, click here[bloggingthebracket.com]

Derek Hannah also manages and coaches in the YMCA Capital City Summer Basketball League, featuring Drake and Iowa State players, as well as athletes from smaller central Iowa schools.