Game 1

Butler led wire to wire and used a dominant rebounding effort to defeat South Carolina, 79–72, on Friday (Nov. 21) afternoon at Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier.

The Bulldogs (79 points) built a 38–31 halftime edge, pushed the margin to as many as 15 early in the second half and never trailed across 38:40 of game time. Butler finished +19 on the boards (48–29) and turned 15 offensive rebounds into a 23–10 advantage in second-chance points, while outscoring the Gamecocks 42–32 in the paint.

Finley Bizjack paced Butler with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Michael Ajayi posted a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double, Jamie Kaiser Jr. added 14 on 5-for-5 shooting, and Jalen Jackson scored 10. The Bulldogs shot 48.2% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range.

South Carolina was led by Meechie Johnson’s 24 points. Mike Sharavjamts added 13 and Eli Ellis had 13 for the Gamecocks, who shot 40.3% overall and 26.9% from distance.

Game 2

Virginia used a dominant rebounding effort and a steady parade to the free-throw line to outlast Northwestern, 83–78, on Friday evening at Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier in front of a sold out crowd of 1,209 fans.

UVA finished +24 on the boards (49–25) with 21 offensive rebounds that fueled an 18–11 edge in second-chance points. The Cavaliers also converted 30 of 36 free throws (83.3%) to hold off the Wildcats, who shot a higher percentage from the field (46.6%) and from 3-point range (43.8%). UVA led 40–36 at halftime and answered a second-half Northwestern push that briefly put the Wildcats ahead by seven with 15:24 to play.

Forward Thijs De Ridder powered Virginia with 26 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Chance Mallory added 16 points and eight boards. Malik Thomas scored 14 and Dallin Hall chipped in 11 as UVA’s bench contributed 18 points. Northwestern was paced by Jayden Reid’s 25 points and Arrinten Page’s 20; Nick Martinelli added nine.

Key moments included Virginia’s 8–0 first-half spurt to seize its largest lead (eight). The game featured six ties and 12 lead changes.