Ultimately, the day belonged to USC, which extended its lead to double digits with five minutes remaining and cruised to the finish with an 88-75 victory. Chad Baker-Mazara’s shooting and the Trojans’ wealth of length and depth shined throughout the tournament, and jitterbug point guard Jordan Marsh took a big step forward when Rodney Rice sat out the championship game with an injury.
The Players Era Festival may have picked up some of the party week, but there was plenty to learn from Maui. Below are three takeaways from the action at the Lahaina Civic Center.
1. Sunny prospects for the finalists
The Trojans won their first two games by a combined five points. Rice and Baker-Mazara repeatedly buried clutch jumpers, and 6-9 forward Ezra Ausar’s brute-force bucket getting around the rim wore down multiple frontcourts. Ausar made 29 free throws in the three games, using nimble footwork and ruthless physicality to consistently earn trips to the charity stripe.
Interchangeable defensive standouts Jacob Cofie and Amarion Dickerson wreaked havoc. Even Jaden Brownell, who hadn’t scored since Nov. 9, had 16 points in the championship game after playing a total of three minutes in the first two rounds. That trio, along with the immense starting backcourt of Rice (6-5) and Baker-Mazara (6-7), contributes to USC ranking sixth nationwide in average height, according to KenPom, and the Trojans’ size advantage is clear.
For the Sun Devils, the island excursion was still very beneficial. Arizona State picked up a key win against Texas late Monday night and showed off an exciting backcourt that provides hope for the upcoming Big 12 gauntlet. Moe Odum (26.3 points per game, 4.0 assists per game over the three games) looks like a superstar, and defensive linemates Anthony “Pig” Johnson and Bryce Ford each had big moments. There may not be a faster trio of guards in the country.
Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley’s job security is shaky, but his team may have enough pop to threaten for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The only losses are to USC and Gonzaga, who have a combined record of 14-1, and this week’s win in Texas could age well.
2. Seton Hall shows up
Of the eight teams in Maui, Will Wade and NC State drew the most hype to the event. Seton Hall heard all that noise and quickly silenced it, outsmarting and outplaying the Wolfpack in the opening game of the tournament. That marked the first time all season that an unranked team in the AP poll defeated a ranked opponent. The Pirates nearly defeated USC in the semifinals in a narrow 83-81 loss and then took care of Washington State 75-61 in the third-place game.
Lightning rod guard Adam “Budd” Clark was a big reason for this. The high-speed creator does everything he can to advance the Pirates’ offense, getting to the rim and the free-throw line while also showing off a devastating fadeaway in the midrange. He racked up 17 assists during the week, and Seton Hall is a different team when he’s on the floor. According to CBB Analytics, the Pirates are 25.7 points better per 100 possessions when Clark plays.
The lasting memory of the Pirates, however, will be their ferocious defensive effort. Stephon Payne and Najai Hines are always lurking, helping the Pirates lead the nation in blocking rates. Hines may even get some one-shot hype soon thanks to his impressive mobility. Clark is a threat to the ball. And the Pirates’ wing frame creates plenty of deflections and other chaos, consistently winning the race for loose balls.
Add in the surprisingly effective guard play of Clark, Mike Williams, Tajuan Simpkins and AJ Staton-McCray, and Seton Hall is a real threat to make the NCAA Tournament this year. The Big East has a serious power vacuum behind UConn and St. John’s, and Seton Hall has a good shot at finishing in the top five like Creighton, Villanova, Georgetown, Butler or whoever.
3. Care for NC State and Boise State
On the other end of the spectrum is NC State, which is limping to the mainland after a 1-2 game in Maui. The Wolfpack had much higher expectations upon arrival, but an opening round loss to Seton Hall meekly sent them to the consolation side of the bracket. A win over Boise State on Tuesday helped temporarily ease concerns, but first-year coach Will Wade and his squad fell in a see-saw match to fellow rookie boss Sean Miller and Texas to finish sixth in the event.
NC State’s defense has been a problem all tournament. Against Seton Hall, the Wolfpack surrendered 65 percent shooting inside the arc, repeatedly getting pounded at the rim with their undersized frontcourt of 6-6 Darrion Williams and 6-8 Ven-Allen Lubin. Then Texas torched the Wolfpack at the rim, burying 16 3s and getting into the lane at will off the bounce. NC State wants to change everything on defense, but Wade’s team seemed to do so out of convenience/laziness, rather than to actually make the opponent uncomfortable.
With a lone win over a struggling Mountain West team (in what appears to be a down year for that league), the Wolfpack haven’t done much for their resume on the Island. Fortunately, they have plenty of opportunities to pick up key wins in league play, and they also get swings at Auburn and Kansas before ACC play on New Year’s Eve.
Meanwhile, Boise State and Leon Rice are approaching crisis stage. The Broncos are already coming off a loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific, and while they have exacted some revenge on another Division II program from Hawaii (shout out to Chaminade, which went 0-3 in the host event but gave Washington State a run for its money on Monday), they leave Maui without any notable results.
Last year, Boise State made a late push for an at-large bid by winning 11 of its last 14 games. However, the league may offer fewer opportunities for wins this season. For a late surge to matter at all, the Broncos must beat Butler in Indianapolis on Dec. 6 and Saint Mary’s in Boise eight days later to bolster their non-conference resume.
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