Hoops du Jour
Men: Pitt at Ohio State
Tipoff: 2:30 p.m., Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Records: Pittsburgh (6-1, 0-0 ACC); Ohio State (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
TV: Peacock (Steve Schlanger and Jess Settles)
Notable: Pitt was ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, despite coming off its first loss. The Panthers fell by six points to No. 15 Wisconsin on Sunday … Pitt starter Damian Dunn had surgery on his right thumb and will miss approximately six weeks. Freshmen Amsal Delalic and Brandin Cummings are expected to help fill the void … Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett is the only guard among power conference teams averaging at least 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game … Buckeyes’ only loss was at Texas A&M … First-year coach Jake Diebler took Ohio State to the NIT quarterfinals last year when he was the interim coach … Ohio State shoots 43% from 3-point range (66-of-152) with John Mobley Jr. (19-of-32, 59%), Bruce Thornton (12-of-23, 52%) and Meechie Johnson Jr. (16-of-38, 42%) leading the way … Ohio State 7-footer Aaron Bradshaw missed the last two games while being investigated for a possible domestic incident.
Mirror prediction: Ohio State 79, Pitt 77
Mirror prediction record: 6-1
— Buck Frank
College men
UConn’s Karaban goes to hospital
LAHAINA, Hawaii — UConn forward Alex Karaban was taken to a hospital with a head injury after the No. 2 Huskies’ 85-67 loss to Dayton in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday night.
Karaban’s head hit the floor after he was fouled with about 2¢ minutes left. He stayed in the game but was later placed in the concussion protocol and sent to the hospital for further testing.
Karaban got clearance to fly home with the rest of the team shortly before takeoff, a team spokesman said Thursday.
Karaban had made four of his team’s eight 3-pointers and scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the first half to lead the Huskies (4-3), who lost all three games they played in the tournament.
The Flyers (6-2) got 20 points from Enoch Cheeks.
Thursday’s Top 25 games
ILLINOIS 90, NO. 19 ARKANSAS 77: Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis scored a season-high 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Illinois beat No. 19 Arkansas in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase.
NO. 18 FLORIDA 75, WAKE FOREST 58: Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points and Alijah Martin added 16 as No. 18 Florida beat Wake Forest in the ESPN Events Invitational. Florida (7-0) opened the second half with a 10-0 run to add to its 32-28 halftime lead. Cayton scored six points in the first half and 15 in the second half.
NO. 13 PURDUE 71, N.C. STATE 61: Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 15 of his 22 points points in the second half and Camden Heide added 15 for No. 13 Purdue, which beat N.C. State in the opening game of the Rady Children’s Invitational. It was a rematch of last season’s Final Four game, which Purdue won 63-50 before losing to UConn in the championship game.
NO. 3 GONZAGA 89, NO. 14 INDIANA 73: Khalif Battle led a balanced attack with 16 points, Ryan Nembhard had a double-double and No. 3 Gonzaga used a first-half blitz to beat No. 14 Indiana in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
OKLAHOMA 82, NO. 24 ARIZONA 77: Freshman Jeremiah Fears scored a season-high 26 points, Jalon Moore added 24 and Oklahoma held off No. 24 Arizona in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI 96, BYU 85: Jaylen Murray scored nine of his career-high 28 points in overtime and No. 23 Mississippi beat BYU in the Rady Children’s Invitational to extend its nonconference winning streak to 19 games, the longest in the country.
The Associated Press