NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from UMass Myrtle Beach Invitational title

Tulsa Hurricanes (4th Place): Sam Griffin has some help this season

Tulsa has a new coach and new roster overall but still brought back leading scorer Sam Griffin, one of the best players in the AAC. The question was who would be the key supporting role players to join Griffin to provide the offense. Guard Tim Dalger was good in all three games, while guard Anthony Pritchard and forward Bryant Selebangue were solid as well. They got the upset win over Loyola, followed by a close loss to Charlotte and a blowout loss to Murray State.

Ultimately, the Golden Hurricanes were competitive in this event and that should provide confidence for the rest of the non-conference and into AAC play. They were projected to finish towards the bottom and although they only played mid-majors this weekend, it was still a good performance for them overall.

Murray State Racers (3rd Place): Racers will be a threat in the Missouri Valley Conference

With a new head coach in Steve Prohm and a nearly completely new roster, there certainly were questions as to what the Racers would do, going from the Ohio Valley to the Missouri Valley. This past weekend showed that the program won’t take much of a drop-off at all. The major upset win over Texas A&M was notable and they played the eventual champs, UMass to the final seconds of the game.

Murray State blew out Tulsa, led by the veteran trio of Rob Perry, JaCobi Woods, and Jamari Smith will be one of the best in the MVC. With teams like Bradley and Southern Illinois dealing with injuries, the opportunity is there for the Racers to make a statement in year one of the new league.