Best and Worst of the Tire Pros Invitational
With a 67-59 victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday night, Xavier captured this year’s Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando. Below is a look at the best and worst from the tournament.
TEAM THAT HELPED ITSELF: XAVIER
As the lone AP Top 25 team in the field in Orlando, Xavier expected to return home with something shiny to add to its trophy case. The Musketeers achieved their goal thanks largely to the trio of Trevon Bluiett, J.P. Macura and Edmond Sumner
Those three combined for 67.8 percent of Xavier’s points and 73.7 percent of its assists in its trio of victories over Missouri, Clemson and Northern Iowa. Bluiett received tournament MVP honors after back-to-back 21-point outbursts in the semifinals and title game. Macura also made the all-tournament team thanks largely to his 28-point, six-3-pointer semifinal eruption against Clemson.
What Sunday’s victory means for Xavier is a second straight holiday tournament trophy from Orlando. The Musketeers won at Disneyworld a year ago in the Advocare Invitational. Xavier also has given its next opponent ample motivation. Through a quirk in the schedule, Northern Iowa pays a visit to the Cintas Center on Saturday for a rematch of Sunday’s title game.
TEAM THAT HURT ITSELF: CLEMSON
When Clemson outclassed Davidson in the opening round of the tournament, it guaranteed the Tigers two cracks at another quality win. They instead allowed opportunities against Xavier and Oklahoma to slip away, limping home with a 2-2 record and plenty of work left to do to build an NCAA tournament-caliber non-conference resume.
On Friday afternoon, Clemson struggled to defend Xavier, surrendering 28 points to sharpshooter J.P. Macura and 21 to all-Big East forward Trevon Bluiett in an 83-77 loss. On Sunday, the Tigers did not provide star forward Jaron Blossomgame enough help on offense in a 70-64 loss to Oklahoma as guard Gabe Devoe and forward Donte Grantham combined to miss 22 of the 25 shots they attempted.
Those losses could prove costly for a Clemson team with NCAA tournament potential. The Tigers still have two more games against power-conference foes before they start the ACC gauntlet — a home game against Nebraska and visits to Alabama and South Carolina. But none of those games provide Clemson with a chance to beat a marquee team like the Tigers had this past weekend.
PLAYER WHO SHINED IN THE SPOTLIGHT: DAVIDSON’S JACK GIBBS
For a guy just coming back from the left shoulder injury he suffered last month, Jack Gibbs had no trouble shaking the rust off. The dynamic Davidson guard scored 71 points in three games in Orlando, leading the Wildcats to victories over power-conference foes Missouri and Arizona State and serving notice that he’s a contender to lead the nation in scoring this season.
Gibbs, who averaged 23.5 points per game as a junior last season, was especially impressive in Sunday’s 68-60 victory over Arizona State. Though he missed all eight 3-pointers he attempted, the 6-foot senior still scored 28 points by consistently beating his man off the dribble and getting to the foul line.
Gibbs and high-scoring forward Peyton Aldridge form maybe the Atlantic 10’s best one-two punch. If other scorers emerge or the Wildcats improve last year’s 223rd-ranked defense, they could challenge Rhode Island, VCU and Dayton for the A-10 title.
PLAYER WHO SHRANK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: MISSOURI’S TERRENCE PHILLIPS
The best game of Terrence Phillips’ college career ended in heartbreak. The sophomore guard committed a foolish last-second foul Thursday afternoon that doomed Missouri to an 83-82 overtime loss to 11th-ranked Xavier.
With the score tied and nine tenths of a second left in overtime, Xavier point guard Edmond Sumner inbounded the ball, sprinted to the right wing and got a touch pass right back from shooting guard J.P. Macura. Phillips attempted to contest Sumner’s shot and ran right through the Xavier point guard, sending him to the foul line, where he won the game with a free throw.
That foul spoiled Phillips’ career-high 21-point night and appeared to send him into a mini-tailspin thereafter. Phillips scored only three combined points in two consolation bracket games and missed all but one of the 14 shots he attempted. Missouri, projected to finish last in the SEC for a third straight season, lost by 15 to Davidson on Friday afternoon before rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to edge Tulane in Sunday’s seventh-place game.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
