Butler Wins 2024 Arizona Tip-Off Championship, Northwestern Takes Third
Behind a monster two-game effort from tournament MVP Jahmyl Telfort, the Butler Bulldogs claimed the 2024 Arizona Tip-Off championship on Friday night against No. 25 Mississippi State at Mullett Arena.
Telfort finished with a game-high 24 points, including 4-of-7 from 3-point land, to pace Butler, while teammate Pierre Brooks finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Brooks joined Telfort on the All-Tournament team as the Bulldogs claimed their first in-season tournament title since 2019.
Offensively, Butler shot 53 percent from the field, including an impressive 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) clip from 3-point range. Defensively Butler held Mississippi State to just 38 percent shooting to overcome a 14-6 deficit in the turnover column and a 16-shot attempt differential (69 shot attempts for Mississippi State, 53 for Butler).
Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Riley Kugel each finished with 22 points in the game, while Cameron Matthews had 14 and Michael Nwoko finished with 11.
It was a tight contest in the first 20 minutes, with Butler holding a 40-34 lead, the largest by either team in the first half, at intermission. Butler was able to flourish offensively in the second half, shooting nearly 59 percent from the floor and scoring on 21 of its 37 possessions.
Telfort recorded his second 20-point game of the tournament, averaging 23.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the two games in the desert. Telford was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Brooks, Hubbard, Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer and UNLV’s Dedan Thomas Jr.
Northwestern Takes Third With Victory Over UNLV
Senior Brooks Barnhizer piloted a 66-61 Northwestern victory against UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off by stuffing the stat sheet with team-highs 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four three-pointers.
The contest was a back-and-forth battle where neither team led by double digits. The Rebels (4-3) led by as many as seven in the first half, but the Wildcats (6-2) took the lead with 14 seconds remaining in the first half and never trailed again.
Barnhizer’s effort resulted in consecutive 20+ point games for the second time in his career, while he became the first Wildcat to post 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ 3PM since Scottie Lindsey on Jan. 15, 2017 against Iowa. He is the fourth Northwestern player to post those numbers since 2005-06.