With seven minutes left to play, the Belmont Bruins were down by just two points to the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils, 59-57, on Friday night. The Bruins did keep the pressure on and had the game to within one point at several times. However, they lost in the opening round of the Maui Invitational, 77-76.
We note this here at SB Nation Denver because the Colorado St. Rams head to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., to face the Blue Devils on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Yeah, even if Belmont had won, all the Rams would have had was the false hope of beating the Dukies.
And in case one is wondering why the Maui Invitational has games being played outside of Maui, the tournament expanded to an additional four "Mainland teams" who play in the opening round and then head to a regional round hosted by Middle Tennessee State.
Belmont is one of those regional teams and will face Memphis in the opening round before heading to MTSU on Nov. 19 for a game against Towson.