American Athletic Conference teams went 3-0 on Thanksgiving, recording wins over two Pac-12 opponents as well as one from the Big Ten. In the end, UConn and UCF each opened their respective tournaments with victories, while SMU will play for the consolation championship in the Bahamas.
UCF 68, Nebraska 59
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- UCF rode a strong first half to remain undefeated.
Ceasar DeJesus scored 15 points, 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Central Florida downed Nebraska 68-59 in a first-round game Thursday at the Advocare Invitational.
UCF (4-0) is off to its best start since 2010-11.
James Palmer Jr. had 20 of his 22 points in the second half for Nebraska (3-2).
Palmer's strong second half helped Nebraska, which trailed by 18 early on, get within 53-47 with 3:15 to play but the Cornhuskers could get no closer than six the rest of the way.
"I thought we handled it pretty well," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We were pretty much able to maintain that seven- to 11-point lead. They switched defenses and that kind of slowed us down. We had to make adjustments."
UCF converted 14 of 25 free throws, while Nebraska went 11 for 13.
"We couldn't get to the line and we couldn't get to the rim, and obviously that's their MO," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. "Tacko does an excellent job of being an air traffic control guy and just seeing everything in front of him and seeing when to go."
DeJesus scored 10 and Fall had nine, including a slam that came off a nifty move into the paint, as UCF went ahead 36-20 at the half.
Fall departed with 4 1/2 minutes left after landing awkwardly on his right knee after trying to block a shot. He was able to return in the final minute before intermission.
"I'm okay," Fall said. "Just have to fight through it."
Fall got his lone second-half basket with 1:15 remaining, a slam that made it 60-51.
The Knights held a 26-6 scoring advantage in the paint during the opening 20 minutes over Nebraska, which shot 25 percent (7 for 28). UCF's margin in the paint for the game wound up 36-20.
UConn 71, #rv/rv Oregon 63
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Terry Larrier scored 18 points, Alterique Gilbert and Jalen Adams both added 16 points each, and Connecticut knocked off Oregon 71-63 in the opening round of the PK80 Invitational on Thursday night.
The Huskies (4-0) overcame an awful night of shooting to knock off the Ducks playing essentially a home game a couple hours north of their campus in Eugene. Most of the lower bowl at Moda Center was clad in green and yellow but went home disappointed at Oregon's first loss of the season.
The tight matchup saw 17 lead changes, the final one coming with 2:24 left when Antwoine Anderson cut baseline and dunked off a perfect pass from Gilbert to give the Huskies a 64-62 lead. UConn led 68-62 in the closing seconds and could finally celebrate the victory when Payton Pritchard missed a deep 3-pointer with 11 seconds left.
Pritchard led the Ducks (4-1) with 14 points, but Oregon missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the second half. Oregon was 5 of 24 overall on 3s. Oregon had 18 second-half points at the free-throw line and just 14 points on made baskets.
Paul White added 12 points for Oregon, but Elijah Brown, averaging 12 points per game, fouled out after scoring just five. White had a fantastic sequence with about 10 minutes to go, scoring a tough driving layup on one end to give Oregon a 51-48 lead then recovering on defense to swat the driving attempt of Gilbert. He added two free throws and Oregon led 53-48, its largest lead of the game.
But UConn outscored the Ducks 23-10 over the final eight minutes. A pair of free throws from Anderson put UConn up 60-58 with 4:10 remaining, but Mikyle McIntosh answered with a driving basket and added two free throws with 3:25 left to put the Ducks in front.
The lead didn't last long. Christian Vital hit a pair of free throws and Anderson's dunk gave UConn the lead for good. Anderson finished with 10 points.
SMU 66, #2/4 Arizona 60
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) -- Ben Emelogu scored 20 points and SMU upset No. 2 Arizona 66-60 in Thursday night's consolation round at the Battle 4 Atlantis, handing the Wildcats their second consecutive loss to an unranked opponent.
The Mustangs (5-1) blew an 11-point lead in the second half but responded with a 10-2 run to go ahead for good. SMU won despite shooting 31 percent, though the Mustangs scored 19 points off 20 Arizona turnovers.
Shake Milton added 14 points, including four free throws in the final 70 seconds to help keep SMU in control.
And for the second straight night, the Wildcats (3-2) found themselves on the wrong side of a stunning defeat.
Arizona lost 90-84 to North Carolina State in Wednesday's first round. This time, the Wildcats had a tougher time generating offense.
Allonzo Trier scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats, who shot 47 percent. But SMU nearly doubled Arizona's output on the offensive glass (20-11) and finished with 23 more shot attempts, leading to 14 second-chance points.