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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Tuesday / December 10.
  • How about that incredible 60-foot, buzzer-beating 3-pointer Cedric Jackson hit last night to give Cleveland State a 72-69 victory over No. 11 Syracuse?

    After Arinze Onuaku hit a layup to tie the game at the Carrier Dome with 2.2 seconds left, Jackson let loose a two-handed heave from 3-quarters away and the ball banked home for a 72-69 Cleveland State upset.

    The Cleveland State players ran out onto the court to hug Jackson in celebration.

    As if UConn didn’t already have a big enough front line with 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet, 7-1 Charles Okwandu and 6-7 Jeff Adrien, now the Huskies are adding another huge, athletic body up front.

    Stanley Robinson, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Birmingham, Ala., will debut tonight when No. 2 UConn (8-0) hosts Stony Brook (5-4) tonight on SNY (7 p.m.).

    Robinson made his first appearance at practice Sunday and threw down a two-handed dunk off a miss by Okwandu.

    “He’s a great athlete,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun told reporters Sunday. “He jumps. He dunks. He’s not going to make every shot yet. Some of the stuff we’ve added he doesn’t know yet, but he does know how to run. He does know how to block shots. He does know how to rebound and he knows how to defend.”

    As we head into the holiday season, here are some key dates for the prep circuit:

    Dec. 5-6 – Marshall County Hoopfest

    Dec. 11 – Lincoln and Lance Stephenson vs. Putnam (Okla.) and Xavier Henry, at Oklahoma City (ESPN)

    Dec. 13-14Big Apple Challenge

    Dec. 18 – Lincoln vs. Jefferson

    Dec. 18-23 City of Palms Classic featuring St. Patrick and Lincoln among others, Fort Myers, Fla.

    Rutgers needs a point guard for next year.

    This much seems as obvious as the news that the sun will rise tomorrow.

    As things stand now, the Scarlet Knights have just three guards on the roster for next season: Corey Chandler, Mike Rosario and Mike Coburn. Chandler is a combo guard who excels best in transition and when creating for himself, not for others; Rosario (pictured) is a shooter who needs someone to set him up and dish him the rock; Coburn is a solid contributer but not a starting point guard in the Big East. He started and had 3 points and 2 assists Sunday when Rutgers struggled before coming out on top against Delaware State, 60-55, at the RAC.

    St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts, Rutgers assistant Craig Carter, Providence assistant Pat Skerry and Siena assistant Andrew Francis were among those Sunday night for Jason Curry’s Big Apple Challenge at Baruch College.

    The featured game of Sunday’s action saw Thomas Jefferson of Brooklyn beat Bishop Loughlin of Brooklyn 63-61.

    How about that big night for the A 10?

    Temple downed No. 8 Tennessee, 88-72, behind 35 points from Dionte Christmas.

    And UMass won at No. 25 Kansas 61-60.

    Think Xavier can keep up the trend when it faces Duke on Saturday at the Izod Center in Jersey?

    The 6-foot-5 Christmas made 6-of-7 3-pointers in the second half for Temple and scored 24 of the Owls’ first 33 points in the first 11:15 of the second half.

    “When you’re hot, you’re hot,” Christmas told the Philly Inquirer. “The second half the basket looked like an ocean.”

    Said Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl: “Twenty NBA scouts were here and they obviously got a real show of what a big-time NBA two-guard can do when he gets it going.”

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