By R.L. Bynum
Ian Jackson rebounded from a bad first game at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas with a solid effort on Tuesday. Meanwhile, No. 7 Michigan advanced to the championship game of that event for the right to win big money despite Elliot Cadeau’s struggles, on a day when Ven-Allen Lubin registered a double-double in Maui.
Jackson, who had five points in No. 14 St. John’s’ 83–82 Monday loss to No. 15 Iowa State, had a productive 21 minutes in the Red Storm’s 96–81 Tuesday victory over Baylor.
Jackson scored 14 points and three 3-pointers with three rebounds for St. John’s (4–2), which gets another test in its final Las Vegas game, taking on No. 21 Auburn (5–2) at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Auburn comes off a 102–73 loss to the Wolverines (6–0), who earned a spot in the 9:30 championship game against No. 12 Gonzaga (7–0), with the winning team earning $1 million NIL payout. The losing team gets $500,000.
Cadeau extended his streak of games with only one assist to a career-high four games after never previously doing that in back-to-back games in his career. He scored three points on one 3-pointer with a rebound and three fouls in 13 minutes.
At the Maui Invitational, No. 23 N.C. State rebounded from an 85–74 first-round loss to Seton Hall with an 81–80 victory over Boise State (4–3) in a consolation game. Lubin collected 11 points, 12 rebounds, a block and a steal in the game.
It was Lubin’s first double-double since recording the last of four for UNC last season, when he collected 10 points and 13 rebounds in the Tar Heels’ 68–59 ACC tournament victory over Wake Forest on March 13.
The Wolfpack (5–1) plays its final Maui game at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday against Texas (5–2), which beat Chaminade 119–78 on Tuesday.
Tray Crisp’s Mississippi State team (6–1) won the Emerald Coast Classic title Tuesday with a 69–47 victory over Middle Tennessee. She had five points, one 3-pointer, four assists and a rebound in 30 minutes.
The struggles for SMU and Paulina Paris continued on Tuesday. She had six points, three rebounds and an assist in 24 minutes off the bench as the Mustangs fell to 1–5 with a 70–67 loss in the first round of the Music City Classic. SMU tries to rebound at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the consolation game against Winthrop (4–3).
Will Shaver had two points in nine minutes as Samford (4–4) beat Georgia State 78–63 in the first round of the Cancun Challenge, and will meet Utah Valley (4–2) at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
In other games on Wednesday:
— Vanderbilt (5–0), with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington, meets Western Kentucky (4–0) in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas (ESPN).
— Teonni Key’s No. 16 Kentucky team (7–0) faces No. 7 Maryland (7–0) at 5:30 in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tournament.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting point guard ahead of sophomore L.J. Cason
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 10.2 points, 46.7 FG%, 42.6 3P%, 67.6 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.3 turnovers
Team record: 14–1, 4–1 Big Ten; Rank: No. 2
Tuesday: No. 2 Michigan 74, (at) Penn State 72 — Started; 27:29, 9 points, 3–8 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, +3
Saturday: Wisconsin 91, No. 2 Michigan 88 — Started; 25 minutes, 19 points, 6–9 FG, 2–4 3FG, 5–5 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 3 assists, 1 turnover, +2
Next game — 10:30 Wednesday at Washington, Big Ten Network
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 8.9 points, 44.6 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 14–3, 1–2 SEC
Sunday: (at) No. 8 Oklahoma 95, Mississippi State 43 — Started; 28:39, 7 points, 2–11 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -39
Thursday: No. 23 Tennessee 90, Mississippi State 80 — Started; 31 minutes, 9 points, 3–6 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls, 3 turnovers, -14
Next game — 7:30 Thursday vs. No. 23 Tennessee
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 15 games, 2.1 points, 43.8 FG%, 2–4 3FG, 69.6 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 7 blocks, 4 steals
Team record: 11–4, 3–0 American
Tuesday: Tulsa 94, Temple 82 — 6 minutes, 5 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, +/- of 0
Friday: Tulsa 76, (at) Tulane 73 — 6 minutes, 3 points, 1–3 FG, 1–1 3FG, 1 block
Next game — 6 p.m. Tuesday at East Carolina, ESPN+
Ian Jackson, St. John’s guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter, sharing time in a point-guard-by-committee mix
Season statistics — 15 games, 8 starts, 11.1 points, 43.4 FG%, 35.6 3P%, 90.3 FT%, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 11–5, 4–1 Big East
Tuesday: Providence 77, St. John’s 71 — Started; 22 minutes, 7 points, 2–8 FG, 1–3 3FG, 2–3 FT, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 3 steals
Saturday: St. John’s 90, (at) Creighton 73 — Started; 23 minutes, 12 points, 4–8 FG, 2–3 3FG, 2–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 turnover, 1 block
Next game — 6:30 Tuesday vs. Marquette, Peacock/NBCSN
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 11.0 points, 54.9 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 70.7 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–2, 2–1 SEC; Rank: No. 6
Sunday: No. 6 Kentucky 74, Missouri 52 — Started; 22:10, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, +10
Thursday: (at) Alabama 64, No. 6 Kentucky 51 — Missed game recovering from dislocated elbow
Next game — 4 p.m. Saturday vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, SEC Network
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 17 games, 17 starts, 12.7 points, 67.2 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 71.9 FT%, 6.6 rebounds
Team record: 12–5, 3–1 ACC
Tuesday: N.C. State 79, Boston College 71 — Started; 23:38, 7 points, 3–5 FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, -1
Saturday: N.C. State 113, (at) Florida State 69 — Started; 25:48, 19 points, 6–7 FG, 7–8 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 4 blocks, +29
Next game — noon Saturday vs. Georgia Tech, The CW
Plays UNC —7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, ESPN or ESPN2
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 16 games, 16 starts, 15.0 points, 52.6 FG%, 47.5 3P%, 80.8 FT%, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Team record: 16–0, 3–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Started; 26:50, 12 points, 4–8 FG, 1–4 3FG, 3–4 Ft, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, +1
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 84, LSU 73 — Started; 19 minutes, 19 points, 6–12 FG, 4–10 3FG, 3–3 FT, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, +17
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday at Texas, ESPN2
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting guard
Season statistics — 15 games, 9 starts, 11.0 points, 42.3 FG%, 27.1 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 7–9, 0–4 ACC
Tuesday: (at) No. 13 Louisville 91, SMU 58 — Started; 33:14, 20 points, 8–15 FG, 4–7 3FG, 0–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, -29
Sunday: Georgia Tech 67, SMU 59 — Started; 37:01, 12 points, 5–10 FG, 0–2 3FG, 2–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 4 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 steals, -3
Next game — 6 p.m. Sunday at N.C. State, ACC Network
Plays UNC — 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at Carmichael Arena, ACCN
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 14 games, 2.6 points, 50.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 50.0 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 blocks, 2 steals
Team record: 9–7, 2–1 Southern Conference
Wednesday: Samford 82, Western Carolina 77 — 21 minutes (tied career-high), career-high 11 points, 4–7 FG (4 FGs career-high), 1–1 3FG, 2–2 FT (2 FTs ties career-high), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1 block, +7
Next game — 4:30 Saturday at Chattanooga
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 16 games, 16 starts, 21.6 points, 50.5 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 80.7 FT%, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Team record: 10–6, 3–1 Big Ten
Tuesday: Minnesota 70, No. 19 Iowa 67 —Started; 32:24, 16 points, 5–12 FG, 2–5 3FG, 4–6 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 3 assists, 2 steals, +/- of 0
Friday: USC 70, Minnesota 69, OT —Started; 45:00, 20 points, 5–16 FG, 3–9 3FG, 7–10 FT, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 foul, 1 turnover, -1
Next game — 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. Wisconsin, Big Ten Network
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 16 games, 1 start, 10.1 points, 60.7 FG%, 31.6 3P%, 78.1 FT%, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–0, 2–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Didn’t start; 9 points, 1–4 FG, 7–10 FT, 3 rebounds, 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, +5
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 84, LSU 73 — Didn’t start; 26 minutes, 11 points, 3–4 FG, 1–2 3FG, 4–5 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, =/- of 0
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday at Texas, ESPN2
Photo via redstormsports.com
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