2008 Paradise Jam

The 2008 Paradise Jam was an early-season men's and women's college basketball tournament. The tournament, which began in 2000, was part of the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and 2008-09 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The tournament was played at the Sports and Fitness Center in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Connecticut won the men's tournament, in the women's tournament Wisconsin won Island Division, and California won the women's Reef Division.

2008 Paradise Jam tournament
Teams8
Finals siteSports and Fitness Center
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
ChampionsConnecticut (men's)
Wisconsin (women's Island)
California (women's Reef)
MVPHasheem Thabeet, Connecticut (men's)
Alyssa Karel, Wisconsin (women's Island)
Ashley Walker, California (women's Reef)
Paradise Jam tournament

Men's tournament
Connecticut Team photo 2008 Paradise Jam winners

In the first round, Wisconsin took on unranked Iona, and won, but by only two points 60–58.[1] Miami faced unranked Southern Miss and won by ten, 70–50. Connecticut played LaSalle and Connecticut won 89–81; with A.J. Price returning to play after an ankle injury, but still suffering from an abscessed tooth.[2]

In the second round, Connecticut faced Miami, but won by 13 points, 76–63. Wisconsin faced San Diego, the winner of the first round game against Valparaiso, and won 64–49. In the championship game UConn faced Wisconsin, but opened up a ten-point lead by halftime, and extended it to a 19-point victory at the end of the game, with a final score of 76–57.[3] Jerome Dyson was the leading scorer for Connecticut, while Hasheem Thabeet earned the Tournament MVP honors.[4]

Bracket
5th Place Game
November 24		Consolation 2nd Round
November 23		First Round
November 21		Semifinals
November 23		Championship
November 24
Southern Miss60
16Miami79
Southern Miss7616Miami63
La Salle722Connecticut76
La Salle81
2Connecticut89
Southern Miss642Connecticut76
Iona6322Wisconsin57
San Diego73
Valparaiso66
7th Place GameValparaiso55San Diego493rd Place Game
Iona7522Wisconsin64
La Salle75Iona5816Miami (FL)80
Valparaiso7022Wisconsin60San Diego45

Women's tournament

The woman's tournament is organized as two divisions of four teams, each playing each other in a round-robin format.[5]

Island Division

In the opening round, Wisconsin beat Villanova by two points 47–45, while 7th ranked Baylor beat UCF 79–67.[6] In the second round, Wisconsin improved to 2–0 with a 65–61 victory over UCF, as well as Baylor who beat Villanova 62–57.[7] Baylor had a 21–2 run early in the game to take a large lead, and the Bears still held a 16-point lead at halftime. The Wildcats cut the lead to three with just over two minutes left in the game, but Baylor hit five of six free throws to hold on to the victory 52–57.[8]

On the final day, Villanova beat UCF to finish in third place. In the championship game, the two undefeated teams faced each other. Unranked Wisconsin was down by six points at halftime, and Baylor still lead by five points with under three minutes to go when Wisconsin scored six straight points to take the lead, ending with a two-point jump shot with seven seconds left in the game by Alyssa Karel. Baylor had one last shot; Melissa Jones was fouled at the buzzer, but missed both free throws to secure the Paradise Jam Championship (Island) for Wisconsin.[9] Wisconsin's Alyssa Karel won the tournament MVP award.[5]

Reef Division
California Team photo 2008 Paradise Jam winners

In the first round Iowa played Texas Tech. The halftime margin was two points in favor of Iowa, and they extended the lead to win the game 56–48. In the other game 3rd ranked California took on South Florida and won easily, 85–55.[6] In the second round South Florida took Iowa to overtime, then won 82–79 in overtime. California played Texas Tech and won 68–54.[10] On the final day, South Florida beat Texas Tech to earn second place in the division with a 2–1 record.[11] California easily beat Iowa 76–43 to go undefeated and win the 2008 Paradise Jam Championship (Reef)[10] California's Ashley Walker won the Tournament MVP.[5]

References
  1. "Scores for November 21, 2008". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  2. "No. 2 UConn needs inside muscle to dump feisty La Salle". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  3. Gardner, James (November 25, 2008). "UConn Stomps Wisconsin 76–57 to Win Paradise Jam". St. Croix Source. V.I. Source Publications, Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  4. "No. 2 UConn hands No. 19 Wisconsin its first loss in Paradise Jam". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  5. "Tournament History & Statistics". Basketball Travelers, Inc. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  6. "Scores for November 27, 2008". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  7. "Scores for November 28, 2008". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  8. "No. 7 Baylor defeats Villanova at Paradise Jam". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  9. "Karel pulls Wisconsin to victory over No. 7 Baylor in final minutes". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  10. "WOMEN'S "REEF" division 2008" (PDF). Basketball travelers, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  11. "USF Hands Texas Tech 71-61 Loss". USF Athletics. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
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