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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Monday / December 23.
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    • Breaking News, Kentucky, St. John's

    If you’re a college hoops fan, the New York metropolitan area is the place to be this week.

    Syracuse, UConn, Duke, Florida, Villanova and Kentucky are among the teams that will play games this week at Madison Square Garden Garden, Prudential Center and Barclays Center.

    The head coaching roster includes Naismith Hall of Famers Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and John Calipari of Kentucky, along with names like UConn’s Kevin Ollie, Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Villanova’s Jay Wright.

    Here’s the schedule of events:

    Monday: Tire Pros Classic, MSG

    UConn vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m. ESPN2

    Indiana, Recruiting, Villanova

    Jordan Tucker, the 6-foot-7 wing from Marietta (GA) Wheeler, is now focusing primarily on two schools and hopes to commit sometime in the next couple of months.

    Tucker, who ran with the NY Rens on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer, took an official visit to Indiana on Nov. 30 for the North Carolina game and will head to Villanova on Dec. 13 for the Temple game.

    “I loved the atmosphere [at Indiana],” Tucker said Sunday by phone of his trip, which included watching No. 10 Indiana take out No. 3 UNC, 76-67. “I got to go for a national game. Usually people go for football games and stuff, I wanted to switch it up, come for a basketball game. So I saw how they prepared for UNC and what they did and what they’re going to take away from them. Coach [Tom] Crean makes his players feel comfortable and always lets them know what they have to do to secure a ‘W.'”

    Kentucky, Recruiting

    Kentucky coach John Calipari and Kentucky-bound guard Quade Green were among those on hand Sunday afternoon watching Mohamed Bamba and Hamidou Diallo in the PSA Cardinals Showcase at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa.

    Villanova coach Jay Wright, UConn’s Dwayne Killings, Harvard’s Brian Eskildsen, St. Joe’s Phil Martelli, Temple’s Fran Dunphy, Penn State’s Pat Chambers, Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams and USF’s Oliver Antigua were also on hand, according to Pat Lawless and other reports.

    After committing to the Wildcats last month, Green said he now has his sights set on adding Bamba,  Diallo and Kevin Knox to another emerging star-studded class at Kentucky.

    Duke

    By JOEDY McCREARY

    DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Luke Kennard scored a career-best 35 points and freshman Jayson Tatum finished with 10 points in his long-awaited debut, leading No. 5 Duke past Maine 94-55 on Saturday.

    Amile Jefferson added a career-high 20 points for the Blue Devils (8-1), who played without a true point guard.

    Preseason All-America Grayson Allen and freshman Frank Jackson — their starting backcourt for the past four games — were held out. Allen has been dealing with a lingering toe injury, while Jackson has not had any publicly disclosed injuries.

    Even without those two, the Blue Devils had plenty of offensive punch, shooting 60 percent in routing the struggling Black Bears (2-6). Ilker Er scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Maine.

    The story of this one was who finally played for Duke — Tatum and big man Marques Bolden — as well as who didn’t.

    Baylor, Xavier

    WACO, Texas (AP) — Manu Lecomte scored 24 points and No. 9 Baylor took over in the second half in a 76-61 victory over No. 7 Xavier on Saturday.

    Johnathan Motley added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (8-0), who have beaten three Top 10 teams in the same season for first time. Half of Baylor’s eight wins have come against Top 25 teams.

    Xavier (7-1) was up 51-50 when Edmond Sumner, who had 19 points, hit a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play. The Musketeers then went almost 9 minutes before making another field goal.

    Lecomte, the former Miami transfer, put Baylor ahead to stay with two free throws. By time he made a jumper with 3:36 left, it capped a 21-2 run to put the Bears up 71-53.

    Trevon Blueitt, who led the Musketeers with 23 points and fouled out, made a 3-pointer with 2:33 for their first basket since their last lead.

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