Mass Street advances in The Basketball Tournament with win against rival Show Me Squad
LAWRENCE — KU men’s basketball’s alumni team, Mass Street, won again Saturday in Wichita in order to advance to the third round of The Basketball Tournament.
Mass Street captured a 69-65 victory in the second round against Show Me Squad. Thomas Robinson once again delivered the game-winning shot, hitting a free throw to do so in the Elam Ending-format. And Jayhawks fans had more reason to celebrate than just the win itself, as Show Me Squad is the rival-Missouri Tigers’ alumni team.
“All these teams have winning DNA,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said after the game during the TV broadcast on ESPN2. “Those guys — Mario Little, Thomas Robinson, Keith Langford, LaGerald Vick — they’ve played in so many big games. And to do it against what has been a longtime rival was just absolutely — we’re so lucky to be sitting here in the middle of the summer calling great basketball. And we’re not done yet. We’ve got some more Sunday.”
Before Mass Street plays Heartfire in a third-round matchup set for 2 p.m. Sunday in Wichita, here area few things to think about:
Thomas Robinson delivers again
Robinson has now hit the game-winning shot in each of Mass Street’s first two games. In the first round, his put-back off a missed free throw gave his side a 70-67 win against We Are D3. That’s a level of clutch play vital in a win-or-go-home tournament like the TBT.
Robinson finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the win over Show Me Squad. He shot 5-for-14 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. He’s averaging 18 points and 10.5 rebounds per game through two games in the TBT.
Mass Street’s scoring was much more balanced in its second game
In the win against We are D3, Mass Street’s scoring was mostly dominated by three players — who each finished in double figures scoring. But this time, against Show Me Squad, four players finished in double-figure scoring and two of their teammates weren’t far off. In addition to Robinson, the three players to finish in double figures scoring Saturday were Langford, Little and Vick.
Langford had 13 points, six rebounds and one assist. Little had 12 points, four rebounds and one assist. Vick had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Heartfire is coming off of wins against LA Cheaters and JUCO Products
Heartfire has had its share of close games to start the tournament. It won by three points, 69-66, in the first round against JUCO Products. It won by five points, 62-57, in the second round against LA Cheaters.
Against JUCO Products, Eric Griffin and Marcus Hall each had 16 points to lead the way for Heartfire. Against LA Cheaters, Craig Sword had 13 points to lead the way for Heartfire. Time will tell who will look to give Mass Street the most trouble.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Mass Street tops Show Me Squad in TBT in Kansas-Missouri rivalry game
