The PK80-Phil Knight Invitational on paper had an opportunity to produce two championship games featuring four big brands and consensus top-15 teams. But, obviously, brackets don't always unfold the way they're supposed to unfold.
So there were no guarantees.
But Michigan State and North Carolina handled things in the Victory Bracket. And Duke and Florida handled things in the Motion Bracket. So Sunday's title games are set, and they are awesome. It'll be Michigan State-North Carolina followed by Duke-Florida. So anybody fortunate enough to get a ticket to the doubleheader at Portland's Moda Center will have the opportunity to see the reigning national champions (UNC) and the nation's top-ranked team (Duke), the preseason National Player of the Year (Miles Bridges) and the early favorite for postseason National Player of the Year (Marvin Bagley) -- plus three active Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coaches (Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams and Tom Izzo).
(Meantime, the NFL will have exactly one game Sunday between two teams with winning records. But that's another column for another day.)
All four teams in the title games are in the top 11 of the updated CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). Duke, of course, remains No. 1. Michigan State is No. 3. Florida is No. 9. And North Carolina is No. 11.
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Duke
| Marvin Bagley finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds in Friday's victory over Texas. The Blue Devils won despite missing 15 of their 18 3-point attempts. | -- | 0-0 |
2 |
Kansas
| Udoka Azubuike got 21 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's win over Oakland. It was the first double-double of the 7-footer's college career. | -- | 0-0 |
3 |
Michigan St.
| Cassius Winston got 28 points and five assists in Friday's win over UConn. Miles Bridges was held to just six points in his return from an ankle injury. | -- | 0-0 |
4 |
Notre Dame
| The Irish beat Wichita State Wednesday despite making just four 3-pointers in the game. Bonzie Colson finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds. | -- | 0-0 |
5 |
Wichita St.
| The Shockers squandered a 14-point halftime lead in Wednesday's loss to Notre Dame. Zach Brown finished with a team-high 14 points. | -- | 0-0 |
6 |
Kentucky
| Nick Richards finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's victory over Fort Wayne. Quade Green added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. | -- | 0-0 |
7 |
Villanova
| Mikal Bridges got 18 points and seven rebounds in Friday's win over Northern Iowa. The junior wing is averaging a career-high 18.5 points and a career-high 5.8 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
8 |
USC
| Bennie Boatwright got 19 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Lehigh. The junior forward is averaging 18.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
9 |
Florida
| Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Hudson got a career-high 35 points in Friday's 2OT victory over Gonzaga. He made eight of Florida's 17 3-pointers in the game. | -- | 0-0 |
10 |
Miami
| Dewan Huell scored 16 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's win over La Salle. The sophomore forward is averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. | -- | 0-0 |
11 |
N. Carolina
| Luke Maye finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds in Friday's win over Arkansas. The former role player is averaging 21.2 points and 10.8 rebounds for the reigning national champions. | -- | 0-0 |
12 |
Minnesota
| Jordan Murphy got 16 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's win over UMass. The junior forward has recorded a double-double in all six games this season. | -- | 0-0 |
13 |
Cincinnati
| The Bearcats shot 50.0 percent from 3-point range in Wednesday's victory over Wyoming. Kyle Washington finished with a game-high 16 points. | -- | 0-0 |
14 |
Gonzaga
| Johnathan Williams scored a career-high 39 points on 22 shots in Friday's 2OT loss to Florida. Josh Perkins added 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. | -- | 0-0 |
15 |
Baylor
| Terry Maston got 15 points off the bench in Tuesday's win over Creighton. The senior forward is averaging 11.0 points and 8.6 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
16 |
Louisville
| Ray Spalding finished with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in Friday's win over Saint Francis. He left the game in the second half with an ankle injury. | -- | 0-0 |
17 |
Alabama
| The Crimson Tide are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Collin Sexton is averaging 21.5 points and 4.3 assists in 28.8 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
18 |
Texas A&M
| DJ Hogg finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Friday's win over Pepperdine. He's averaging 17.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game. | 2 | 0-0 |
19 |
Virginia
| The Cavaliers shot 50.0 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from 3-point range and 86.4 percent from the free throw line in Friday's win over URI. Isaiah Wilkins finished with 19 points and six rebounds. | 2 | 0-0 |
20 |
Creighton
| The Bluejays missed 25 of the 30 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's loss to Baylor. Marcus Foster was 1-of-9 from beyond the arc in 36 minutes. | 2 | 0-0 |
21 |
Arizona St.
| Tra Holder finished with a career-high 40 points in Friday's victory over Xavier. The Sun Devils now own victories over Xavier, Kansas State and San Diego State. | NR | 0-0 |
22 |
Xavier
| The Musketeers squandered a 15-point first-half lead in Friday's loss to Arizona State. Chris Mack's team lost despite shooting 55.6 percent from the field. | 3 | 0-0 |
23 |
TCU
| Kenrich Williams finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds in Friday's win over New Mexico. Jaylen Fisher added 10 points, five assists and three steals. | -- | 0-0 |
24 |
West Virginia
| The Mountaineers created 27 turnovers in Friday's win over UCF. They are ranked No. 1 in defensive turnover percentage. | -- | 0-0 |
25 |
Texas Tech
| The Red Raiders have won their five games by an average of 26.8 points. Keenan Evans is averaging a team-high 18.0 points in 24.2 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
26 |
Nevada
| Caleb Martin finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Friday's win over Hawaii. The NC State transfer is averaging 19.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. | -- | 0-0 |
OUT: Saint Mary's
IN: Arizona State