CBB weekend winners, losers: The March drama arrives early

Loser: Texas Tech Red Raiders

In the Baha Mar Championship, No. 1 Purdue shut down No. 15 Texas Tech on its way to an 86-56 victory.

The Boilermakers held the Red Raiders to 33% shooting from the field, and National Player of the Year candidate JT Toppin failed to convert from behind the arc. The season is young, but if Texas Tech wants to compete with the likes of Houston and Arizona in the Big 12, it can’t repeat its abysmal shooting performance from Friday.

Winner: Georgia guard Marcus Millender

That was just one half of Charleston’s drama. In the second game, Georgia led by as many as 14 points in the second half against Xavier. However, the Musketeers found themselves in front by two with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Bulldogs guard Marcus Millender remained calm and drained a three in a defender’s face with 10 seconds left. The thrilling victory pits Georgia against Clemson in the tournament’s championship game on Sunday.

Loser: West Virginia Mountaineers

The West Virginia-Clemson matchup at the Shriner Children’s Charleston Classic produced arguably the wildest finish of the season so far.

After trailing for most of the game, Tigers forward Jake Wahlin extended Clemson’s lead to three. On the ensuing possession, Mountaineers forward Brenen Lorient found himself wide open by the basket but mistakenly dunked the ball with one second left.

The Tigers hit two more free throws to ice the game and hand West Virginia its first loss in heartbreaking fashion.

Winner: Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg

During a tie game between undefeated Kansas State and Nebraska at the Hall of Fame Classic, the Cornhuskers missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, but guard Sam Hoiberg got fouled on the putback attempt with 0.6 seconds to go.

Hoiberg connected on the first attempt from the line, ultimately sealing the deal. The 86-85 win is the Cornhuskers’ tenth in a row, the longest streak in the country dating back to last season.

Winner: The upcoming schedule

One of the best weeks of the year is here. Feast Week has begun, and throughout the next week, intriguing matchups will be on the air from the late morning hours to beyond midnight.

Sit back, fill up on turkey and enjoy this week’s slate of action.