West Virginia Advances to Crossover Classic Title Game
Culver scores 23 points, grabs 15 boards in victory against VCU
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- West Virginia missed its first 10 shots of the game. The Mountaineers still raced to a 13-0 lead over VCU.
Derek Culver had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 15 West Virginia beat VCU 78-66 on Thursday in the Bad Boys Mowers Crossover Classic semifinals.
"I try to play hard on the defensive end and the offense was just going to follow," Culver said. "I just ended up getting in there and playing hard."
West Virginia (2-0) will face Western Kentucky in the final today.
"That's the neat thing about a tournament like this," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "Three games in three days with three different styles of play, three different styles of coaching."
Culver rebounded from a seven-point game Wednesday night in the Mountaineers' opening victory over South Dakota State, finishing two shy of his career high. He was 8 of 14 from the field.
Sean McNeil added 16 points, and Oscar Tshiebwe had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Nah'Shon Hyland led the Rams (1-1) with 13 points.
VCU missed its first nine shots, finally scoring on a goaltending call midway through the first half.
The Rams rallied with a full-court press and cut it to two with five minutes left in the half.
West Virginia had 21 turnovers.
"We would have done a much better job if we would have time to prepare," Huggins said.
"We haven't worked on a press breaker. We will, obviously. We're still awfully young. We're not quite as seasoned as some of the other people are."
West Virginia led by nine at the break. After the Rams cut it to three early in the second half, the Mountaineers opened a 16-point lead.
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia's length on the inside was again a factor. The Mountaineers had 23 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second-half points. They had 17 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points in their opener over South Dakota State.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 102 NO. 6 KANSAS 90
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Drew Timme scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs added 24 and Corey Kispert had 23 to help No. 1 Gonzaga beat No. 6 Kansas in the season opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs built a double-digit lead in the first half at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, then saw the Jayhawks tie it twice in the second half before putting them away. Gonzaga went on a 22-7 run to go up 96-78.
Suggs, who got in foul trouble in the first half, scored 17 of his 24 in the second half.
Marcus Garrett led Kansas with 22 points, and Ochai Agbaji added 17 points. Agbai picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, which hurt the Jayhawks. When he left, Kansas trailed 70-67.
The Jayhawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half to tie it at 57.
On Friday, Gonzaga will play Auburn, and Kansas will face St. Joseph's.
NO. 3 VILLANOVA 83, NO. 18 ARIZONA STATE 74
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) -- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored a career-high 28 points to lead Villanova over Arizona State in the championship game of the Empire Classic.
Justin Moore added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (2-0), and Caleb Daniels had 14 points -- 10 in the second half.
NO. 8 ILLINOIS 97, CHICAGO STATE 38
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Ayo Dosunmu scored 22 points, freshman Andres Curbelo added 18 and Illinois routed Chicago State.
The Illini (2-0) scored the first nine points and led 47-17 at halftime. They will host Ohio in the third round of the multi-team event Friday before facing No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday.
Adam Miller added 15 points and Kofi Cockburn finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois shot 60% from the field.
Xavier Johnson led Chicago State (0-2) with 10 points. Chicago State coach Lance Irvin has opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. Assistant Rodell Davis is coaching the team in Irvin's absence.