Pamplin Media Group – Phil Knight Invitational and Legacy Day 1: Bracket, scores, top performances

Oregon State and Portland provide a scare early, Gonzaga and others roll in the late games.

In true Thanksgiving fashion, the first day of the men’s Phil Knight Legacy college basketball tournament began with a burst of energy before gradually slipping into a late-night snoozer.

After the dust settled around 11:30 pm with the conclusion of Gonzaga vs. Portland State, we have 8 men’s teams still vying for two tournament titles while the other 8 try to fight for fifth place.

Looking back at the men’s action, a number of individual performances stood above the rest in the first round, and we’re taking a look back at those day one standouts to get you caught up for day two coming up Friday.

Here’s a look at the brackets and the 10 best individual performances we saw from Thursday:

Legacy brackets

Semifinals

No. 8 Dukes vs. Xavier, 12:30 p.m

Oregon State vs. Florida, 3 p.m. (consolation)

No. 6 Gonzaga vs. No. 24 Purdue, 6 p.m

Portland State vs. West Virginia, 8:30 pm (consolation)

Round one

No. 8 Duke 54, Oregon State 51

Xavier 90, Florida 83

No. 24 Purdue 80, West Virginia 68

No. 6 Gonzaga 102, Portland State 78

Invitational bracket

Semifinals

North Carolina vs. Iowa State, 2:30 p.m

UConn vs. Alabama, 6:30 p.m

Portland vs. Villanova, noon (consolation)

Oregon vs. Michigan State, 9 p.m. (consolation)

Round one

North Carolina 89, Portland 81

Iowa State 81, Villanova 79 (OT)

UConn 83, Oregon 59

Alabama 81, Michigan State 70

Top performances

Kyle Filipowski, Duke, freshman

The opening game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament was not exactly pretty, but Filipowski put in the yeoman work as Duke survived Oregon State’s upset bid. On top of leading all scorers with 19 points, the freshman 7-footer grabbed five of the Blue Devils’ 22 offensive rebounds. On a day when Duke’s four other heralded freshmen combined for just 15 points, Filipowski stepped up to save the day.

Jordan Pope, Oregon State, freshman

Though Oregon State did not come away with a victory on Thursday, Beaver Nation should be thankful for Pope’s Turkey Day performance. The freshman guard led the team with 14 points, while also putting up team-best numbers in rebounds (5), assists (2), steals (2) and minutes played (38). He had a chance to tie the game at the end of the second half, but his 3-pointer bounced off the rim to seal OSU’s fate.

Colby Jones, Xavier, junior

Jones scored 11 of his career-high 22 points during a five-minute stretch in the middle of the second half, including three of his career-high four 3-pointers. That outburst keyed a 17-7 Musketeer run that broke a 58-58 deadlock with under 13 minutes to go. Other players stepped up to help seal the win for Xavier, but Jones’ hot hand was what put the Musketeers in the driver’s seat down the stretch.

Zach Edey, Purdue, junior

Edey is one of the biggest names — and biggest players — in college basketball, and he backed up the buzz on Thursday against West Virginia. The 7-foot-4 Canadian center went for 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding 12 rebounds and a block for good measure. Edey also showed outstanding touch at the free-throw line for a player of his size, knocking down 10 of his 12 attempts from the stripe in the win.

Malachi Smith, Gonzaga, junior

After scoring just 14 points over the past three games, Smith had his best night in a Gonzaga uniform in the Bulldogs’ blowout win over Portland State. The Chattanooga transfer, who helped lead the Mocs to the NCAA Tournament last year, scored a season-high 23 points thanks to a hot shooting night from beyond the arc. Smith was a perfect 5-of-5 on 3-pointers Thursday, tying a career-high in that category.

Pete Nance, North Carolina, graduate student

No. 1 North Carolina might not have expected to be pushed to the limit in round one against Portland, but the Tar Heels certainly were in their 89-81 win over the home team. Pete Nance was a big reason why they survived and advanced.

Nance was a steady presence shooting for a Tar Heels team that has struggled in that regard early this season. The Northwestern transfer hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career high 28 points to power UNC through the upset bid.

Brother of current NBA player Larry Nance Jr., look for Pete to keep the good times rolling as UNC takes on Iowa State at 2:30 pm at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Brandon Miller, Alabama, Freshman

The Crimson Tide freshman continues to put the nation on notice with another stellar performance under his belt in the 2022-2023 campaign.

Miller had 24 points with nine rebounds and two blocks to pace No. 18 Alabama in its win over No. 12th Michigan State, right on par with his 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game averages through five games.

His inspired play has led the Tide to a 5-0 mark and an intriguing matchup with UConn on Friday that’ll pit Miller against the solid size of the Huskies.

Caleb Daniels, Villanova, senior

Villanova didn’t walk away with the win, but Daniels did almost everything he could to try and get the Wildcats over the hump.

The guard not only played 41 minutes, but he finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to impact the game in a multitude of ways.

Cats fans hope that can translate to a win on Friday against Portland instead of another L like they took against Iowa State.

Osun Osunniyi, Iowa State, senior

The Cyclones want to play defense, and it starts with big man Osunniyi who had two blocks on Thursday, one coming in overtime.

Not only that, but Osunniyi had 17 points to lead Iowa State’s starters in scoring while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Gabe Kalscheur also made a case for himself by scoring 23 points and hitting five 3-pointers, but Osunniyi was big against a tough Villanova squad.

Tristen Newton, Connecticut, senior

This one was never much of a game thanks in part to Newton going off for 23 points along with six assists and four rebounds.

The Huskies as a team made 17 3-pointers that sank the Ducks all evening long and Newton was a big part of that, going 5 for 6 from deep.