BIG EAST, ACC, A10 and PAC 12 “Ring In” New Season at MSG in Gazelle Group’s 2K Classic

NEW YORK – When the Gazelle Group originally put together the field for the 2K Classic for Wounded Warriors at the Madison Square Garden, it was supposed to feature a souped up Washington team with elite 6 – 9 freshman forward Michael Porter Jr. and Indiana.

But the dynamics of the tournament changed when Indiana withdrew after their coaching change when Archie Miller replaced Tom Crean and Porter and his 6-10 brother Jontay de-committed to the Huskies after his father Michael Sr. did not return to Washington’s the coaching staff after Lorenzo Romar was dismissed after 15 seasons at the PAC 12 school. The Porters have since resurfaced at Missouri after Michael Porter Sr. took a job as an assistant on Cuonzo Martin’s staff.

Having said that, the K2 still provided an intriguing look at the college basketball season when Saint Louis upset fast paced Virginia Tech, 77-71, and Providence defeated Washington, 77-70, in the semi-finals. The two winners will play for the championship tonight.

This was a big week for the BIG EAST that has already gone 4-1 in the Gavitt Games with Seton Hall defeating Indiana, 84-68, in Newark, Creighton defeating 20th ranked Northwestern on the road, Xavier winning, 80-70, at Wisconsin and St John’s dominating Nebraska, 76-59. The BIG EAST’s only loss came when Minnesota that could be as good as any team in the Big Ten this year, defeated Providence, 86-74, on the road. Villanova, Seton Hall, Xavier, Providence and Creighton are definitely NCAA teams and St. John’s is growing into one quickly so the league games should be exciting.

The Friars (2-1) will go as far as 6-8. 225-pound senior Michael Bullock takes them. Bullock, who has played in a daze during the Friars first two games, scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as Providence started slowly, finally figured out the classic 2-3 zone former Syracuse assistant and new Washington coach Mike Hopkins employs, shooting 51 percent and making 53 percent from the three point line during an uneven but competitive game in which both teams committed 19 turnovers. Providence looked like it had taken control when it went on a 13-0 run towards the end of the first half to lead 37-30.  But they still needed to hang on after the Huskies cut the lead to 69-68 with 4:54 to play and 73-70 with 2:03 remaining.

“I’m glad we hung on,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “We’re trying to learn about our team. It was a pretty competitive game.

”Our bench won the game.”

Kalif Young added 12 points for the Friars (2-1). Drew Edwards and Alpha Diallo had 11 points apiece and Kyron Cartwright added 10.

Noah Dickson, one of the best big men in the Pac-12 led all scorers with 19 points for Washington (2-1). Freshman guard Jaylen Nowell finished with 14 for the Huskies, who should cause problems for man to man teams in its league.

Saint Louis (3-0) is filled with big bodies and it looks like they could be a contender in the Atlantic 10 this year. The Billikens are filled with new faces and much more talent, slowed down a Virginia Tech team that had been averaging 121.5 points after its first two games, holding the Hokies (2-1) to just 39.5 percent shooting.   Javon Bess, a 6-5, 220 pound junior, who played 44 games for Michigan State before transferring, scored 22 points and made 12 of 15 free throws. Jordan Goodwin, a Top 100 freshman, had 19 for Saint Louis, which constantly got to the rim and overwhelmed the Hokies with the paint with 43 rebounds against an ACC team and made the most of their trips to the line, making 19 of 25 free throws. Tech was just 23-for 36 from the line.