NEW YORK – With his team trailing by three points in the closing seconds of overtime against Oklahoma, Lewis Jackson penetrated the Sooners’ defense and had an opportunity to shoot near the basket.

The play was for Jackson to drive in for a layup to cut the lead to one, but instead he bounced a pass toward Keaton Grant, who stood beyond the three-point line on the left wing.

Jackson’s bounce pass went left as Grant slid the other way.

The two teammates looked at each other and grimaced over the miscommunication, but the damage had been done.

It was Oklahoma ball with 9.5 seconds left and the Sooners hit their free throws down the stretch to preserve an 87-82 overtime victory in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. Boston College beat UAB, 83-77, in the consolation game behind 24 points from senior guard Tyrese Rice.

Read the full story here.

There is no time for Purdue to wallow, as a date with No. 7 Duke looms ahead in Tuesday’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“We’re drooling, we’re drooling,” Purdue guard Keaton Grant said of the matchup. “This one sits in our stomach with a bad taste in our mouth. We’re drooling for Tuesday.”

Having completed his final official visit to Pittsburgh this week, Dominic Cheek has no timetable for making a decision but will sit down next week his coaches to discuss his options.

“Today [Friday] was our first day of practice so we’ve got to concentrate on St. Anthony right now,” Friars associate head coach Ben Gamble said in a phone interview. “And then maybe sometime late next week we’ll sit down and talk about each of the schools’ strengths, but there is no date set for a decision and no timeframe on an announcement.”

The 6-foot-5 Cheek visited Pitt Tuesday-Thursday and saw the No. 4 Panthers beat Belmont at home on Tuesday.

“He enjoyed it,” Gamble said. “He liked their style. He enjoyed the visit. He said the facilities were really nice.” (more…)

Because you can never have enough Jessica Biel…

I’m headed to Madison Square Garden this afternoon for the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off between No. 10 Purdue and No. 11 Oklahoma.

Purdue beat Boston College Wednesday and Oklahoma downed UAB behind 32 points and 15 boards from sophomore big man Blake Griffin.

“There’s no other Blake Griffin,” Purdue guard Keaton Grant said. “There’s only one of them in the United States, get 20 rebounds [per game]. So it’ll definitely be a great challenge playing against them and we look forward to it.” (more…)

Coming off the Thanksgiving holiday, both Seton Hall and Rutgers are gearing up for games this weekend.

**After winning 2 of 3 in Puerto Rico, Seton Hall (4-1) actually received two votes in the AP Top 25 poll, the same poll that features seven Big East teams in it: No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Louisville, No. 4 Pittsburgh, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 15 Marquette, No. 20 Villanova and No. 21 Georgetown. Syracuse, which beat defending national champ Kansas in Kansas City, and West Virginia also received votes.

“It’s too early to even think about ‘resume wins’ or anything like that, or NIT or NCAA, because we have so much basketball to play,” PIrates coach Bobby Gonzalez told WABC radio. “But to come in and beat USC and Virginia Tech and get some quality wins like that, and play Memphis, too, which is a strength-of-schedule game, and go home 4-1, I think that’s pretty exciting right now for this early in the year.” (more…)

When Ashton Gibbs and Travon Woodall arrive at the Prudential Center in Newark for this weekend’s Legends Classic, they will be greeted by a slew of family, friends and former teammates anxious to watch them compete at the collegiate level.

This is, after all, a Garden State homecoming for the freshmen duo at Pittsburgh.

“I’m excited,” said Gibbs, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound shooting guard who starred at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J. “A lot of my family and friends are going to be there. Just to come back and play like 15 minutes away from my house is a special thing and I’m honored to do it.”

Read the full story here.

NEW YORK — Blake Griffin has done it again.

Oklahoma’s 6-foot-10, 251-pound sophomore forward dropped 32 points and 15 rebounds on UAB in a 77-67 victory in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.

No. 11 Oklahoma meets No. 10 Purdue in Friday’s championship game at 3:30. The Boilermakers downed Boston College, 71-64, behind 19 points from E’Twaun Moore.

Griffin has now recorded double-doubles in all five games for the Sooners (5-0). He had career highs of 35 points and 21 rebounds Sunday, when Oklahoma looked sluggish before pulling out an 80-76 victory over Gardner-Webb. He entered the UAB game averaging 26 points, 19.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Against UAB, he had 19 points and 7 rebounds in the second half, when the Sooners stormed back from a 34-29 deficit. (more…)

Nearly everywhere Dominic Cheek goes, he seems to run into a former teammate.

At Kansas, it was Tyshawn Taylor. At Rutgers, Mike Rosario. At Pitt is is Travon Woodall.

Of the five schools still on Cheek’s list, three feature freshmen who played alongside Cheek last year on St. Anthony’s undefeated national championship team. Only Memphis and Villanova do not.

I interviewed Woodall, a freshman point guard, tonight for a story running Friday in advance of Pitt’s trip to Newark for the Legends Classic. NCAA regulations prevent me from quoting Travon directly on what he said about Cheek. (more…)

Check out my SNY interview with Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds from Big East Media Day.

“He can be a scorer,” Nova coach Jay Wright told ESPN. “He can drop 40 on you and he can maybe come up with a game where he maybe gets 12 and 10 assists. And he’s also developing into a very, very good defender. The well-rounded, all-around great guard is what we want to see from Scottie Reynolds this year.”

St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark finished 24-1 and ranked No. 2 nationally a year ago but had no postseason tournament to peak for.

That’s because Dan Hurley’s Gray Bees played a national independent schedule that didn’t culminate in a postseason tournament.

That will all change this year.

The Gray Bees have been selected to participate in the National High School Invitational, a new event being put together by ESPN, Nike and Paragon Marketing. It is set for April 3-5, the Final Four weekend, and will be held at Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C. (more…)