By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
A World University Games team from the United States has never failed to advance to the medal round until now.
That distinction falls to this group after a 94-85 loss on Friday morning to Canada. The loss leaves the United States (3-2) in third-place in Pool C at the conclusion of the preliminary round. The top two teams in each pool, Canada (5-0) and Australia (4-1) in Pool C, advance to Sunday’s medal-round quarterfinals.
The United States, which is now 143-11 all-time at the World University Games dating back to 1965, can finish no higher than ninth place in the 24-team event. It plays Norway on Sunday in the consolation round.
A bi-annual event, this is the second straight World University Games in which the United States will fail to medal. This is also the first time the United States will leave the event with more than one loss.
Louisville senior Luke Hancock, the Most Outstanding Player of last season’s Final Four, scored a game-high 27 points and went 5-for-6 from 3-point range against Canada, while Creighton senior Doug McDermott and Baylor red-shirt senior Cory Jefferson each added 17.
Behind a team-high 20 points from Baylor senior Brady Heslip, Canada shot 48.6 percent from the floor, whereas the United States shot just 40.3 percent from the game.
“Canada certainly is a very good team,” United States and Davidson College head coach Bob McKillop said. “They look like a team, they played like a team. Our guys emptied their gas tanks. They gave a great effort, but we fell short.”
The United States rolled through preliminary round contests against United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic and Sweden by an average margin of victory of nearly 52 points per game.
The 3-0 start was before a 93-84 loss on Thursday to an Australian squad that featured five players with Senior National Team experience, including Australian professional Jason Cadee and University of New Mexico senior forward Cameron Bairstow.
Against the United States, Cadee and Bairstow combined for 45 points on 18-for-28 shooting.
