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.
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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 — Starter
Season statistics — 38 games, 38 starts, 10.2 points, 41.6 FG%, 37.7 3P%, 69.4 FT%, 2.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists
Team record: 35–3; Rank: No. 3
Friday: 90–77 win Midwest Regional Sweet 16 in Chicago vs. No. 18 Alabama — Started; 33:37, 17 points, 6–14 FG, 3–8 3FG, 2–5 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 7 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block, +15
Sunday: 95–62 win Midwest Regional final in Chicago vs. No. 23 Tennessee — Started; 34:20, 8 points, 3–7 FG, 1–2 3FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 10 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals, +30
Next game — 8:49 p.m. Saturday vs. No. 2 Arizona at Final Four in Indianapolis, TBS
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 30 games, 30 starts, 8.7 points, 38.3 FG%, 37.1 3P%, 84.6 FT%, 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 18–13
Season ended with SEC tournament loss
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.3 points, 43.6 FG%, 4–10 3FG, 69.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 8 blocks, 12 steals
Team record: 19–12
Season ended with loss in American Conference tournament
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 — 36 games, 19 starts, 9.4 points, 40.9 FG%, 34.3 3P%, 90.0 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 30–7; Rank: No. 13
Friday: 80–75 loss in East Regional Sweet 16 in Washington vs. No. 1 Duke — Didn’t start; 16 minutes, 5 points, 2–8 FG, 1–7 3FG, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 assists
Season ended with loss to Duke
Puff Johnson, Ohio State
6–8, 190 pounds | Graduate | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve
Team record: 21–13
Season statistics — 9 games, 1 start, 2.3 points, 33.3 FG%, 3–7 3FG, 6–9 FT, 1.1 rebounds
Season ended with first-round NCAA tournament loss to TCU
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 28 games, 28 starts, 11.4 points, 51.2 FG%, 2–15 3FG, 69.8 FT%, 7.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
Team record: 25–11; Rank: No. 17
Saturday: 76–54 loss in Fort Worth Regional 1 Sweet 16 vs. No. 3 Texas — Started; 31:31, 10 points, 2–8 FG, 0–1 3FG, 6–6 FT, 9 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 assists, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, -17
Season ended with loss to Texas
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 34 games, 34 starts, 13.6 points, ACC-leading 66.8 FG%, 27.3 3P%, 73.3 FT%, 7.1 rebounds
Team record: 20–14
Season ended with NCAA First Four loss to Texas
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 36 games, 36 starts, 13.5 points, 44.4 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 84.7 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Team record: 27–9: Rank: No. 22
Season ended with loss to No. 4 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Season statistics — 20 games, 12 starts, 9.6 points, 39.9 FG%, 25.0 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 9–21, 2–16 ACC
Season ended with left foot injury in February
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.6 points, 47.6 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 59.3 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 17 blocks, 7 steals
Team record: 18–14
Season ended with loss in Southern Conference tournament
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 31 games, 32 starts, team-leading 19.6 points, 50.0 FG%, 42.2 3P%, 82.6 FT%, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Team record: 15–17
Next game — 10:30 Wednesday at College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas vs. Baylor, FS1 (first game since March 11)
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 36 games, 9 starts, 8.9 points, 56.3 FG%, 29.4 3P%, 74.1 FT%, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks
Team record: 27–9; Rank: No. 22
Season ended with loss to No. 4 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Photo via redstormsports.com
