Portland, Oregon — — Caleb Grill I followed TJ Otzelberger from South Dakota to UNLV and now back to Iowa, hoping to share moments like Friday.
Defeating the No. 1 team in the country was another bookmark moment on the pair’s long journey.
“Just thinking about how long we’ve known each other and how cool this was, I really enjoy sitting next to him from this moment on,” Otzelberger said. said.
In the semifinals of the Phil Knight Invitational, Grill had seven 3-pointers and a career-high 31 points as Iowa State dominated No. 1 North Carolina 70-65 in the final five minutes. .
Iowa State (5-0) earned its third victory over the #1 ranked team in the AP Top 25. The Cyclones won his 3-22 against his No. 1 team, and his other win is against Oklahoma with his 1957 Kansas. 2016.
The Cyclones can now add North Carolina (5-1) to their list.
“I was just going with the flow of the game. I never really thought about it.
Grill averaged 7.3 points and made just four of his 24 three-point attempts for the season entering Friday. But he couldn’t stop from across the arc, hitting a pair of big threes to ignite a late rally for Iowa State. His deep fedaway jumper just inside the three-point line with 1:40 remaining gave Iowa State a 63-61 lead, and the Cyclones were just enough to shake at the free-throw line in the final minute. Finished off with a win.
Grill’s previous career high was 27 while playing for UNLV against Alabama in the 2020-21 season. He also hit his 3-pointers on his 7 in that game.
Grill originally signed a deal with South Dakota, where Otzelberger was coaching. When Otzelberger took his UNLV head position and decided to join coaching in Las Vegas after starting his career at Iowa State University, he was released from the commitment.
The grill continued again when Otzelberger returned to Ames.
“Just because he was the first person to truly believe in me, what he did for me and my family and all that we’ve been through is really special.
Jalen Holmes added 22 points and the Cyclone endured shooters from . Arjaz Kunk When Gabe Karsher, combined to score three points and missed all eight shot attempts. Both were double-digit scoring averages for Iowa.
RJ Davis leads North Carolina with 15 points, Armando Baco add 14, Caleb Love Scored 12 points.
“We had threes wide open. We could get to the basket. Director Davies said.
North Carolina led 57-49 after a Leaky Black layup with 5:43 remaining, but missed four of their final six shots and made four turnovers during that span.
“We turned the ball over a few times, but you can’t do that in late-game situations,” Davis said. “You have to be healthy and disciplined and you have to do it on both ends of the floor and we didn’t do it.”
number. 1 loss
North Carolina lost as the nation’s No. 1 team for the first time since losing 71-67 in Northern Iowa on November 21, 2015. The Tar Heels lost the 2011 Thanksgiving Tournament to UNLV in 1st place.
big picture
North Carolina: Pete Nance Nance, who scored a career-high 28 points against Portland, didn’t score in the first 27 minutes, finishing with seven points.
Iowa State University: The Cyclones faced the No. 1 team from outside the conference for the first time since 1999, when they faced Cincinnati in the championship game of the Big Island Invitational.
next
Iowa State will face No. 18 Alabama or No. 20 UConn in the championship game, while the Tar Heels will face the loser in third place.
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AP College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP- – Top 25
