GLIAC (Division II) quarterfinals
February 28 at GVSU Fieldhouse in Allendale, MI
espn3.com
Just a phenomenal performance by Northwood's Jordyn Nurenberg - 32 points and 13 rebounds - but it wasn't enough as host Grand Valley State won 68-55 to advance to this weekend's semifinals.
Nurenberg, playing in what turned out to be her final collegiate game, hit 11-of-17 shots, but didn't get nearly enough help as her teammates could only collect 23 points on 7-of-34 shooting (20%).
Grand Valley State, which improved to 22-6, had four players in double figures, led by Piper Tucker's 16-point night. Point guard Janae Langs did a bit of everything with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists; Taylor Lutz also scored 11 points and handed out four assists in 38 minutes and Taylor Parmley added 10 points and eight rebounds.
The GLIAC semifinals and finals will be hosted by top seed and unbeaten Ashland (29-0), which rolled to a 91-63 victory over eighth-seeded Walsh in another quarterfinal and plays No. 4 seed Michigan Tech in the semis.
Ashland, ranked No. 1 in Division II by the WBCA coaches, was knocked out of the 2016 national tournament in the round of 32, while Grand Valley State defeated its 2017 semifinal opponent Saginaw Valley (March 4 at 4 pm) in the round of 32 on its way to a final four appearance.
Game 332 - Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech
February 28 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
The Yellow Jackets celebrated senior night on Tuesday, just before the immediate future of the program led the way to a victory.
Junior Ben Lammers was fantastic, scoring seven of his game-high 20 points during a key stretch late and freshman Josh Okogie had two of the biggest second-half baskets and the game-clinching defensive play as Tech kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 61-52 win.
This was my first time seeing Lammers in person since he became a starter and one of the country's most-improved players and he didn't disappoint. The 6-10 center showed a variety of impressive moves around the basket and a solid mid-range jumper, along with his usual excellent defense (he leads the Atlantic Coast Conference & is second nationally in blocked shots). Lammers' three-point play on an up-and-under move at the 4:10 mark put Tech up 51-47, and he later added the last of his points on a dunk that gave the Yellow Jackets a 58-52 cushion with just over a minute left.
Okogie, a freshman from nearby Shiloh High School, had just five points through the first 34 minutes of the game, but came alive late. His three-point play on a great drive and finish at the rim made it 54-50, and after Michael Young pulled Pittsburgh to within two with a lay-in at the 2:57 mark, which turned out to be the Panthers' last points of the night, Okogie hit a pretty, pull-up jumper over Young and the Yellow Jackets led 56-52 with two minutes to go.
A desperate Pittsburgh tried to cut a seven-point deficit to five with about 30 seconds left, but Okogie took a charge that effectively wrapped up Tech's eighth conference win.
Young, who came into the night as the ACC's leading scorer at 20.2 points, led the Panthers with 16. Young picked up eight straight Pittsburgh points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch that saw the visitors grab a slim, 44-43 lead at the 6:30 mark. It was a 47-46 Pittsburgh lead on a three-point play by Jamel Artis off a nice give-and-go with Sheldon Jeter. Quinton Stephens' wild runner with just under five minutes to go gave Tech the lead for the rest of the night.
The Yellow Jackets celebrated senior night on Tuesday, just before the immediate future of the program led the way to a victory.
Junior Ben Lammers was fantastic, scoring seven of his game-high 20 points during a key stretch late and freshman Josh Okogie had two of the biggest second-half baskets and the game-clinching defensive play as Tech kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 61-52 win.
This was my first time seeing Lammers in person since he became a starter and one of the country's most-improved players and he didn't disappoint. The 6-10 center showed a variety of impressive moves around the basket and a solid mid-range jumper, along with his usual excellent defense (he leads the Atlantic Coast Conference & is second nationally in blocked shots). Lammers' three-point play on an up-and-under move at the 4:10 mark put Tech up 51-47, and he later added the last of his points on a dunk that gave the Yellow Jackets a 58-52 cushion with just over a minute left.
Okogie, a freshman from nearby Shiloh High School, had just five points through the first 34 minutes of the game, but came alive late. His three-point play on a great drive and finish at the rim made it 54-50, and after Michael Young pulled Pittsburgh to within two with a lay-in at the 2:57 mark, which turned out to be the Panthers' last points of the night, Okogie hit a pretty, pull-up jumper over Young and the Yellow Jackets led 56-52 with two minutes to go.
A desperate Pittsburgh tried to cut a seven-point deficit to five with about 30 seconds left, but Okogie took a charge that effectively wrapped up Tech's eighth conference win.
Young, who came into the night as the ACC's leading scorer at 20.2 points, led the Panthers with 16. Young picked up eight straight Pittsburgh points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch that saw the visitors grab a slim, 44-43 lead at the 6:30 mark. It was a 47-46 Pittsburgh lead on a three-point play by Jamel Artis off a nice give-and-go with Sheldon Jeter. Quinton Stephens' wild runner with just under five minutes to go gave Tech the lead for the rest of the night.
Games 330-331: Monday hoops
331 - Georgia State at Arkansas State
February 27 at ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro, AR
espn3.com
330 - (8) Stetson at (1) Florida Gulf Coast
Atlantic Sun quarterfinals
February 27 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL
espn3.com
February 27 at ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro, AR
espn3.com
330 - (8) Stetson at (1) Florida Gulf Coast
Atlantic Sun quarterfinals
February 27 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL
espn3.com
Game 329 - Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers
February 25 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
ABC
ABC
Games 327-328: Saturday evening doubleheader
328 - UCLA at Arizona
February 25 at McKale Center in Tuscon, AZ
ESPN
327 - Purdue at Michigan
February 25 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI
ESPN
February 25 at McKale Center in Tuscon, AZ
ESPN
327 - Purdue at Michigan
February 25 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI
ESPN
Game 326 - Wichita State at Missouri State
February 25 at JQH Arena in Springfield, MO
ESPN2
Landry Shamet is some player.
The redshirt-freshman was nearly perfect, scoring a career-high 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three and the Shockers turned a close game into a rout, winning 86-67.
Shamet added eight rebounds and five assists and didn't commit a single turnover as Wichita State (27-4, 17-1 Missouri Valley Conference) grabbed at least a share of the league's regular season title with Illinois State (the 16-1 Redbirds visit Northern Iowa today).
Missouri State, which boasts one of the top rebounders in the country in Alize Johnson (he had 18 and 12 on Saturday), was within 50-46 at the 14:08 mark on Ryan Kreklow's 3-pointer. As part of the ensuing, 10-2 run, Shamet nailed a long three, and assisted on a long ball from Daishon Smith and jumper by Shaquille Morris to make it a 60-48 game.
Morris was great down low during the early stages of the game, helping the Shockers get out in front, and finished with 20 points.
There were at least three potential NBA players on the court in Johnson, Shamet and Morris.
ESPN2
Landry Shamet is some player.
The redshirt-freshman was nearly perfect, scoring a career-high 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three and the Shockers turned a close game into a rout, winning 86-67.
Shamet added eight rebounds and five assists and didn't commit a single turnover as Wichita State (27-4, 17-1 Missouri Valley Conference) grabbed at least a share of the league's regular season title with Illinois State (the 16-1 Redbirds visit Northern Iowa today).
Missouri State, which boasts one of the top rebounders in the country in Alize Johnson (he had 18 and 12 on Saturday), was within 50-46 at the 14:08 mark on Ryan Kreklow's 3-pointer. As part of the ensuing, 10-2 run, Shamet nailed a long three, and assisted on a long ball from Daishon Smith and jumper by Shaquille Morris to make it a 60-48 game.
Morris was great down low during the early stages of the game, helping the Shockers get out in front, and finished with 20 points.
There were at least three potential NBA players on the court in Johnson, Shamet and Morris.
Game 325 - College of Staten Island vs. CCNY
CUNYAC (Div. III) championship game
February 24 at Nat Holman Gymnasium in New York, NY
espn3.com
CCNY, the No. 2 seed, led top-seed Staten Island 44-43 about four minutes into the second half, but a 12-0 run, aided by great work from Kevon Murphy, helped Staten Island pull away and win 77-66 for the school's 14th league championship.
CSI finished 17-0 in CUNY play and advances to the Division III national tournament, which begins next week.
Murphy scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, and six of those came on three consecutive baskets during the run. Sensational point guard Frank Schettino, who was coming off a 11-10-13 triple-double in a semifinal win over fourth-seeded Baruch, was held to 11 points and six assists and turned the ball over five times, but the key for Schettino and the Dolphins was only one of the team's 14 turnovers came in the second half.
Staten Island's defense also clamped down at the right time, holding CCNY without a field goal for 6 1/2 minutes (missed nine straight shots). By the time the drought ended, at the 9:40 mark on March Richards' lay-up, Staten Island still held a nine-point lead & it was nothing worse than a three-possession game the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Khaleeq Baum poured in 21 and 11 to take home tournament MVP honors. I thought Murphy should've been MVP, though, after he had a near double-double (20 points, nine rebounds) against Baruch & was huge over the final 20 minutes of the final.
* Two quick things:
1. Color commentator Sean Couch said "pure as the driven snow with that jumper," so we can't let him get away with that.
2. This CCNY logo is terrifying
February 24 at Nat Holman Gymnasium in New York, NY
espn3.com
CCNY, the No. 2 seed, led top-seed Staten Island 44-43 about four minutes into the second half, but a 12-0 run, aided by great work from Kevon Murphy, helped Staten Island pull away and win 77-66 for the school's 14th league championship.
CSI finished 17-0 in CUNY play and advances to the Division III national tournament, which begins next week.
Murphy scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, and six of those came on three consecutive baskets during the run. Sensational point guard Frank Schettino, who was coming off a 11-10-13 triple-double in a semifinal win over fourth-seeded Baruch, was held to 11 points and six assists and turned the ball over five times, but the key for Schettino and the Dolphins was only one of the team's 14 turnovers came in the second half.
Staten Island's defense also clamped down at the right time, holding CCNY without a field goal for 6 1/2 minutes (missed nine straight shots). By the time the drought ended, at the 9:40 mark on March Richards' lay-up, Staten Island still held a nine-point lead & it was nothing worse than a three-possession game the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Khaleeq Baum poured in 21 and 11 to take home tournament MVP honors. I thought Murphy should've been MVP, though, after he had a near double-double (20 points, nine rebounds) against Baruch & was huge over the final 20 minutes of the final.
* Two quick things:
1. Color commentator Sean Couch said "pure as the driven snow with that jumper," so we can't let him get away with that.
2. This CCNY logo is terrifying
Game 324 - Yale at Harvard
February 24 at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, MA
The Ivy League Digital Network
I would imagine Yale has seen all it wants to of Bryce Aiken.
The Harvard freshman had his way with the Bulldogs once again, scoring 22 points and handing out five assists in the hosts' 77-64 victory.
In a pair of victories over Yale this season, the 6-0 guard has averaged 24.5 points and knocked down 10 of his 18 three-point attempts (55%), including 5-of-8 in Friday's win. Aiken wasn't alone as fellow classmate Seth Towns poured in 18 points, while the upperclassmen, namely seniors Zena Edosomwan (15 points, 7-of-9) and Ivy League assist leader Siyani Chambers (seven assists on Friday) got in on the fun as well.
Harvard moved to 9-2 in conference play with its fifth consecutive win. Both teams are trying to stay in the top part of the standings (Harvard is currently second, Yale third) and earn a spot in the league's first-ever postseason tournament, a four-team event March 11-12 at The Palestra.
Harvard may have the talent, led by Aiken, to topple still-unbeaten at 11-0 Princeton. The Tigers slithered away with a 57-56 victory in Cambridge on February 4, with the rematch set for March 3 in New Jersey.
The Ivy League Digital Network
I would imagine Yale has seen all it wants to of Bryce Aiken.
The Harvard freshman had his way with the Bulldogs once again, scoring 22 points and handing out five assists in the hosts' 77-64 victory.
In a pair of victories over Yale this season, the 6-0 guard has averaged 24.5 points and knocked down 10 of his 18 three-point attempts (55%), including 5-of-8 in Friday's win. Aiken wasn't alone as fellow classmate Seth Towns poured in 18 points, while the upperclassmen, namely seniors Zena Edosomwan (15 points, 7-of-9) and Ivy League assist leader Siyani Chambers (seven assists on Friday) got in on the fun as well.
Harvard moved to 9-2 in conference play with its fifth consecutive win. Both teams are trying to stay in the top part of the standings (Harvard is currently second, Yale third) and earn a spot in the league's first-ever postseason tournament, a four-team event March 11-12 at The Palestra.
Harvard may have the talent, led by Aiken, to topple still-unbeaten at 11-0 Princeton. The Tigers slithered away with a 57-56 victory in Cambridge on February 4, with the rematch set for March 3 in New Jersey.
Games 322-323: Womens hoops doubleheader
323 - Georgia State women at Arkansas State
February 23 at ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro, AR
espn3.com
322 - Furman at Chattanooga
February 23 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, TN
espn3.com
February 23 at ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro, AR
espn3.com
322 - Furman at Chattanooga
February 23 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, TN
espn3.com
Game 321 - Oregon State at Stanford
February 22 at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA
ESPNU
Outstanding shooting night for Stanford, which made 57% of their shots and never trailed in a 79-66 win.
Not only was the offense playing at a high level - Reid Travis and Marcus Allen each scored 17 points and combined to hit 15 of their 22 field goals to lead the way - but the Cardinal defense had 13 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
Its been a miserable season for Oregon State and the Beavers couldn't capitalize on their first Pac 12 win over Utah last weekend and fell to 1-15 in league play and 5-24 overall. The good news for OSU is second-leading scorer Stephen Thompson, who scored a career-high 31 against the Utes but struggled Wednesday with just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, post players Drew Eubanks and Gligorije Rakocevic, who didn't (combined 37 points), and Tres Tinkle, who was leading the team in scoring before suffering a wrist injury, are all sophomores.
Things should be better for the Beavers in 2017-2018.
* Meanwhile, color commentator Brad Daugherty is doing just fine this season. Daugherty said the word "basketball" a total of 46 times during the broadcast and he displayed the type of balance only the greats achieve: 24 times said in the first half, 22 in the second.
ESPNU
Outstanding shooting night for Stanford, which made 57% of their shots and never trailed in a 79-66 win.
Not only was the offense playing at a high level - Reid Travis and Marcus Allen each scored 17 points and combined to hit 15 of their 22 field goals to lead the way - but the Cardinal defense had 13 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
Its been a miserable season for Oregon State and the Beavers couldn't capitalize on their first Pac 12 win over Utah last weekend and fell to 1-15 in league play and 5-24 overall. The good news for OSU is second-leading scorer Stephen Thompson, who scored a career-high 31 against the Utes but struggled Wednesday with just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, post players Drew Eubanks and Gligorije Rakocevic, who didn't (combined 37 points), and Tres Tinkle, who was leading the team in scoring before suffering a wrist injury, are all sophomores.
Things should be better for the Beavers in 2017-2018.
* Meanwhile, color commentator Brad Daugherty is doing just fine this season. Daugherty said the word "basketball" a total of 46 times during the broadcast and he displayed the type of balance only the greats achieve: 24 times said in the first half, 22 in the second.
Game 320 - Boise State at Nevada
February 22 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, NV
ESPN
As I planned out my basketball watching for Wednesday, I saw a trio of enticing games tipping at 9:00 pm:
- Butler at Villanova, FSI. The ranked Bulldogs visiting the No. 2 team in the country
- Louisville at North Carolina, ESPN. Two top-10 teams, each looking to win the ACC regular season title
- Oregon at California, ESPN. An excellent Oregon team against Cal, looking for what would be its best win of the season
...and decided to wait until 10:00 pm and watch Boise-Nevada.
I like to see as many teams as possible at this site, so we got the Broncos for just the second time and the Wolfpack for the first. And despite lacking the qualities of the other three games - ranked teams, historic programs - it was an entertaining contest won by Nevada, 85-77.
The trio of Marcus Marshall, Cameron Oliver and Jordan Caroline combined for 68 of the 85 points (80%) & the Wolfpack hit their final 12 free throws (Marshall knocked down the last six to seal it) and went 30-for-34 for the game. Boise State got to within 74-72 with about 2 1/2 minutes to play, but couldn't pull any closer.
With the victory Nevada also tied Colorado State (both are 11-4) atop the Mountain West Conference.
As for the other three games? Well, Butler ended Villanova's 48-game home winning streak, North Carolina may have moved to a No. 1 seed with a huge home win, and Oregon was held to 16-first half points, then erased a 16-point, second-half deficit and won on a Dillon Brooks three with two seconds left.
Those all seem like better choices, don't they? BUT - without Boise-Nevada, I never would've heard
"They say offense sells tickets, defense wins games...but rebounding wins championships."
from commentator Richie Schueler!
ESPN
As I planned out my basketball watching for Wednesday, I saw a trio of enticing games tipping at 9:00 pm:
- Butler at Villanova, FSI. The ranked Bulldogs visiting the No. 2 team in the country
- Louisville at North Carolina, ESPN. Two top-10 teams, each looking to win the ACC regular season title
- Oregon at California, ESPN. An excellent Oregon team against Cal, looking for what would be its best win of the season
...and decided to wait until 10:00 pm and watch Boise-Nevada.
I like to see as many teams as possible at this site, so we got the Broncos for just the second time and the Wolfpack for the first. And despite lacking the qualities of the other three games - ranked teams, historic programs - it was an entertaining contest won by Nevada, 85-77.
The trio of Marcus Marshall, Cameron Oliver and Jordan Caroline combined for 68 of the 85 points (80%) & the Wolfpack hit their final 12 free throws (Marshall knocked down the last six to seal it) and went 30-for-34 for the game. Boise State got to within 74-72 with about 2 1/2 minutes to play, but couldn't pull any closer.
With the victory Nevada also tied Colorado State (both are 11-4) atop the Mountain West Conference.
As for the other three games? Well, Butler ended Villanova's 48-game home winning streak, North Carolina may have moved to a No. 1 seed with a huge home win, and Oregon was held to 16-first half points, then erased a 16-point, second-half deficit and won on a Dillon Brooks three with two seconds left.
Those all seem like better choices, don't they? BUT - without Boise-Nevada, I never would've heard
"They say offense sells tickets, defense wins games...but rebounding wins championships."
from commentator Richie Schueler!
Game 319 - Xavier at Seton Hall
February 22 at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
FS1
First time watching Angel Delgado play and he was great for the host Pirates.
The 6-10 junior post player had 25 points and 13 rebounds - right on his nation-best average for rebounds - and Desi Rodriguez was a perfect compliment with 22 points as the Pirates won 71-64.
Seton Hall is right on the edge of the NCAA Tournament and probably just needs to finish strong in the regular season to get an at-large berth, and Delgado is going to be a handful for any future NCAA opponent. He's certainly going to want to bounce back from his performance in last year's first round when he had just seven points before fouling out in a loss to Gonzaga.
FS1
First time watching Angel Delgado play and he was great for the host Pirates.
The 6-10 junior post player had 25 points and 13 rebounds - right on his nation-best average for rebounds - and Desi Rodriguez was a perfect compliment with 22 points as the Pirates won 71-64.
Seton Hall is right on the edge of the NCAA Tournament and probably just needs to finish strong in the regular season to get an at-large berth, and Delgado is going to be a handful for any future NCAA opponent. He's certainly going to want to bounce back from his performance in last year's first round when he had just seven points before fouling out in a loss to Gonzaga.
Game 317 - Just let the madness begin
Huntington women at Indiana Wesleyan
Crossroads League (NAIA) quarterfinals
February 21 at Luckey Arena in Marion, IN
WIWU/espn3.com
We don't need to wait for Division 1 to get conference tournament season underway, and what a way for the season to begin for Huntington.
Miranda Palmer scored 26 points and the Foresters pulled the upset with a dominant performance, 79-59.
Huntington, which shot a ridiculous 73% from the field in the second half (5-of-7 from three), moves on to Friday's semifinals and will visit No. 2 seed Saint Francis, an 80-63 winner over seventh-seeded Bethel in another quarterfinal.
Palmer is the school's all-time leading scorer, (and one of only two players along with Amy Betchel, who she passed for No. 1 earlier this season, with 2,000 or more points). It was easy to see why in this one. The senior guard hit three step-back jumpers in the first period, one of which a 3-pointer with just under a minute left giving the visitors the lead for good at 12-9. Palmer hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc and added three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
The higher-seeded Wildcats, who look like they are going to miss the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 2003, never could get going & shot an ugly, 4-for-22 from three-point range.
Crossroads League (NAIA) quarterfinals
February 21 at Luckey Arena in Marion, IN
WIWU/espn3.com
We don't need to wait for Division 1 to get conference tournament season underway, and what a way for the season to begin for Huntington.
Miranda Palmer scored 26 points and the Foresters pulled the upset with a dominant performance, 79-59.
Huntington, which shot a ridiculous 73% from the field in the second half (5-of-7 from three), moves on to Friday's semifinals and will visit No. 2 seed Saint Francis, an 80-63 winner over seventh-seeded Bethel in another quarterfinal.
Palmer is the school's all-time leading scorer, (and one of only two players along with Amy Betchel, who she passed for No. 1 earlier this season, with 2,000 or more points). It was easy to see why in this one. The senior guard hit three step-back jumpers in the first period, one of which a 3-pointer with just under a minute left giving the visitors the lead for good at 12-9. Palmer hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc and added three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
The higher-seeded Wildcats, who look like they are going to miss the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 2003, never could get going & shot an ugly, 4-for-22 from three-point range.
Game 316 - Baylor women at Texas
February 20 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
ESPN2
In a match up of two teams both 14-1 in the Big 12 and top-10 nationally (Baylor was No. 4, Texas, No. 6), Kalani Brown was phenomenal in leading the Bears to a 70-67 road win.
Brown, a 6-7 post player who started the night averaging 14 points, scored 35 with outstanding shooting from both the field (10-of-12) and line (15-of-16), and added 13 rebounds.
Texas led by as much as 11 points, but the Longhorns' top three scorers, namely junior guards Brooke McCarty (14 points on 5-of-16 shooting) and Ariel Atkins (14, 4-of-17) and freshman forward Joyner Holmes (7, 3-of-14), all struggled and that's usually not a good thing.
The game was tied at 56-56 with 4 1/2 minutes to go, but Brown had five points and Lauren Cox had four during Baylor's 9-0 run over the next three minutes. Texas got to within three points on three separate occasions after that, including at 70-67 on a Lashann Higgs' lay up with six seconds to play. The ensuing inbounds pass by Alexis Prince was stolen by Higgs, but McCarty's night came to a disappointing end when her potential tying three missed.
This was my first time seeing McCarty play, and despite the tough game, she's one of those basketball players who is very gifted with and without the ball. You don't find that every day. As for Brown - my goodness, what a talent. Though just a collegiate sophomore, she's got a bright future ahead of her and it involves many, many evenings patrolling the paint in WNBA arenas.
With Baylor now holding a one-game lead for the league's regular season title, the teams each have a pair left before the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor hosts Texas Tech on February 25 and visits nationally-ranked Oklahoma on the 27th, while Texas entertains Iowa State on the 24th and travels to Kansas State on the 27th.
ESPN2
In a match up of two teams both 14-1 in the Big 12 and top-10 nationally (Baylor was No. 4, Texas, No. 6), Kalani Brown was phenomenal in leading the Bears to a 70-67 road win.
Brown, a 6-7 post player who started the night averaging 14 points, scored 35 with outstanding shooting from both the field (10-of-12) and line (15-of-16), and added 13 rebounds.
Texas led by as much as 11 points, but the Longhorns' top three scorers, namely junior guards Brooke McCarty (14 points on 5-of-16 shooting) and Ariel Atkins (14, 4-of-17) and freshman forward Joyner Holmes (7, 3-of-14), all struggled and that's usually not a good thing.
The game was tied at 56-56 with 4 1/2 minutes to go, but Brown had five points and Lauren Cox had four during Baylor's 9-0 run over the next three minutes. Texas got to within three points on three separate occasions after that, including at 70-67 on a Lashann Higgs' lay up with six seconds to play. The ensuing inbounds pass by Alexis Prince was stolen by Higgs, but McCarty's night came to a disappointing end when her potential tying three missed.
This was my first time seeing McCarty play, and despite the tough game, she's one of those basketball players who is very gifted with and without the ball. You don't find that every day. As for Brown - my goodness, what a talent. Though just a collegiate sophomore, she's got a bright future ahead of her and it involves many, many evenings patrolling the paint in WNBA arenas.
With Baylor now holding a one-game lead for the league's regular season title, the teams each have a pair left before the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor hosts Texas Tech on February 25 and visits nationally-ranked Oklahoma on the 27th, while Texas entertains Iowa State on the 24th and travels to Kansas State on the 27th.
Game 315 - Texas State at Georgia State
February 20 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com
Sometimes you need contributions from unexpected players to win.
Devin Mitchell provided that much-needed spark for GSU, knocking down three 3-pointers on his way to 14 points in a 67-51 victory. The Panthers needed a win badly, having lost three consecutive games coming into the night, including a devastating home loss February 18 to Sun Belt leader UT-Arlington in which they blew a 15-point, second half lead.
There was no such collapse on Monday and Mitchell was a big reason why.
At about the 11-minute mark of the second and the Panthers clinging to a six-point lead that felt like much less, Mitchell had a strong drive for a lay-up, then followed that with consecutive 3-pointers. The last long ball was a transition three that came off a Texas State turnover and made it a 51-37 game with 10 minutes left.
The lead wouldn't fall below eight the rest of the night.
Mitchell, a redshirt-sophomore transfer from Alabama, was averaging just 4.2 points before the double-digit outburst. Not only was Mitchell big off the bench (helping GSU finish with a 25-7 advantage in bench production), but D'Marcus Simonds was fantastic in the second half (14 of his 18 points), and leading scorer Jeremy Hollowell, held to just two first-half points, came alive with a 14-point second half.
espn3.com
Sometimes you need contributions from unexpected players to win.
Devin Mitchell provided that much-needed spark for GSU, knocking down three 3-pointers on his way to 14 points in a 67-51 victory. The Panthers needed a win badly, having lost three consecutive games coming into the night, including a devastating home loss February 18 to Sun Belt leader UT-Arlington in which they blew a 15-point, second half lead.
There was no such collapse on Monday and Mitchell was a big reason why.
At about the 11-minute mark of the second and the Panthers clinging to a six-point lead that felt like much less, Mitchell had a strong drive for a lay-up, then followed that with consecutive 3-pointers. The last long ball was a transition three that came off a Texas State turnover and made it a 51-37 game with 10 minutes left.
The lead wouldn't fall below eight the rest of the night.
Mitchell, a redshirt-sophomore transfer from Alabama, was averaging just 4.2 points before the double-digit outburst. Not only was Mitchell big off the bench (helping GSU finish with a 25-7 advantage in bench production), but D'Marcus Simonds was fantastic in the second half (14 of his 18 points), and leading scorer Jeremy Hollowell, held to just two first-half points, came alive with a 14-point second half.
Game 314 - Rider at Iona
February 19 at Hynes Center in New Rochelle, NY
espn3.com
Two things happened in this game:
1. The visiting Broncs played incredibly well, shooting 60 percent from the field and building a lead as large as 20 in winning 103-85. Iona was in the game for about six first-half minutes, pulling even at 9-9 on a pair of Jordan Washington free throws at the 15:16 mark, but Rider took the lead about a half-minute later and never trailed again.
It was a 55-48 game four minutes into the second half before Rider's 11-0 run effectively put the game away.
Washington was fantastic, scoring a career-high 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds off the bench.
Rider just showcased a ton more balance as all five starters scored in double figures, led by Jimmie Taylor, who missed just three field goals in pouring in 28 points (5-of-6 on threes). Norville Carey had a career-high 20 points and Stevie Jordan just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine assists, one of which was a feed on a Tyere Marshall lay-up that began the Broncs' second-half run.
2. The broadcast team of Doug Sherman and Rob Kennedy averaged exactly one "basketball" per minute - 20 times each half. Outstanding work, gentlemen.
espn3.com
Two things happened in this game:
1. The visiting Broncs played incredibly well, shooting 60 percent from the field and building a lead as large as 20 in winning 103-85. Iona was in the game for about six first-half minutes, pulling even at 9-9 on a pair of Jordan Washington free throws at the 15:16 mark, but Rider took the lead about a half-minute later and never trailed again.
It was a 55-48 game four minutes into the second half before Rider's 11-0 run effectively put the game away.
Washington was fantastic, scoring a career-high 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds off the bench.
Rider just showcased a ton more balance as all five starters scored in double figures, led by Jimmie Taylor, who missed just three field goals in pouring in 28 points (5-of-6 on threes). Norville Carey had a career-high 20 points and Stevie Jordan just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine assists, one of which was a feed on a Tyere Marshall lay-up that began the Broncs' second-half run.
2. The broadcast team of Doug Sherman and Rob Kennedy averaged exactly one "basketball" per minute - 20 times each half. Outstanding work, gentlemen.
Game 313 - Arizona at Washington
February 18 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, WA
ESPN2
A pair of great freshmen went head-to-head in this one, a 76-68 Arizona victory, and neither disappointed.
Arizona's Lauri Markkanen was all over the glass, grabbing seven of his 13 rebounds on the offensive end, to go along with 26 points in 35 minutes. Markkanen shared high-scoring honors with Markelle Fultz of Washington, who played all but two minutes & added six assists.
It was the Arizona defense that clinched the 14th win in 15 Pac 12 games, holding the Huskies without a field goal and just three Fultz free throws over the final 4:41.
With a free throw at the 3:41 mark of the first half, Fultz set a school freshmen record for scoring. The 6-4 guard, who leads the Pac 12 in scoring, is at 579 points with three regular season games and any conference tournament contests still to play.
The freshmen were the headliners, but Arizona sophomore Allonzo Trier had an excellent game as well, contributing 21 points.
ESPN2
A pair of great freshmen went head-to-head in this one, a 76-68 Arizona victory, and neither disappointed.
Arizona's Lauri Markkanen was all over the glass, grabbing seven of his 13 rebounds on the offensive end, to go along with 26 points in 35 minutes. Markkanen shared high-scoring honors with Markelle Fultz of Washington, who played all but two minutes & added six assists.
It was the Arizona defense that clinched the 14th win in 15 Pac 12 games, holding the Huskies without a field goal and just three Fultz free throws over the final 4:41.
With a free throw at the 3:41 mark of the first half, Fultz set a school freshmen record for scoring. The 6-4 guard, who leads the Pac 12 in scoring, is at 579 points with three regular season games and any conference tournament contests still to play.
The freshmen were the headliners, but Arizona sophomore Allonzo Trier had an excellent game as well, contributing 21 points.
Games 311-312 - Sun Belt doubleheader
312 - UT Arlington men at Georgia State
February 18 at GSU Sports Arena
espn3.com
It was another extremely dissapointing, close loss for the mens team, which fell 68-67 on a 3-pointer by Erick Neal with one second to play.
That's three straight defeats by a combined seven points for GSU.
Neal hadn't been a factor at any point in Saturday's game (2-of-9 shooting and just six points before the shot) & had taken THE TWO WORST SHOTS in an afternoon by both teams of worst shots. The miracle three capped a big comeback by the first-place Mavericks, who trailed 53-38 at the 11-minute mark before a 14-0 run cut the deficit to one point.
The Panthers again built a lead and it was up to 65-58 on two of Jeremy Hollowell's game-high 19 points at the 2:09 mark, but Arlington closed the game scoring 10 of the final 12 points.
Arlington's defense had 13 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
311 - UT Arlington women at Georgia State
February 18 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com
Huge win for seventh-place Georgia State, which knocked off an Arlington team that came into the game tied for second with Troy in the Sun Belt.
A big reason for the 64-59 win, which moved GSU to 7-8 in league play (Arlington's now 10-4), was the work done on the defensive end on Rebekah VanDijk. The junior started the day second in the conference at 16.2 points, but was held to eight points and attempted only five shots.
GSU has done a fine job on the 6-5 center the last three times the teams have met. In two games last season, VanDijk scored a total of 17 points, and in the three contests shot just 30%.
Meanwhile, the combination of Jada Lewis and Makeba Ponder led the hosts on Saturday. Lewis, a freshman guard from nearby McEachern High School, scored 21 points and Ponder continued to add to her career three-point total (she's second in school history to Kendra Long) knocking down six threes for 20 points of her own.
February 18 at GSU Sports Arena
espn3.com
It was another extremely dissapointing, close loss for the mens team, which fell 68-67 on a 3-pointer by Erick Neal with one second to play.
That's three straight defeats by a combined seven points for GSU.
Neal hadn't been a factor at any point in Saturday's game (2-of-9 shooting and just six points before the shot) & had taken THE TWO WORST SHOTS in an afternoon by both teams of worst shots. The miracle three capped a big comeback by the first-place Mavericks, who trailed 53-38 at the 11-minute mark before a 14-0 run cut the deficit to one point.
The Panthers again built a lead and it was up to 65-58 on two of Jeremy Hollowell's game-high 19 points at the 2:09 mark, but Arlington closed the game scoring 10 of the final 12 points.
Arlington's defense had 13 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
311 - UT Arlington women at Georgia State
February 18 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com
Huge win for seventh-place Georgia State, which knocked off an Arlington team that came into the game tied for second with Troy in the Sun Belt.
A big reason for the 64-59 win, which moved GSU to 7-8 in league play (Arlington's now 10-4), was the work done on the defensive end on Rebekah VanDijk. The junior started the day second in the conference at 16.2 points, but was held to eight points and attempted only five shots.
GSU has done a fine job on the 6-5 center the last three times the teams have met. In two games last season, VanDijk scored a total of 17 points, and in the three contests shot just 30%.
Meanwhile, the combination of Jada Lewis and Makeba Ponder led the hosts on Saturday. Lewis, a freshman guard from nearby McEachern High School, scored 21 points and Ponder continued to add to her career three-point total (she's second in school history to Kendra Long) knocking down six threes for 20 points of her own.
Game 310 - Utah at Oregon
February 16 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, OR
ESPN
That's two consecutive Thursday evenings I've gotten a chance to watch Oregon and before they blew a 19-point lead at UCLA a week ago & tonight they were very impressive.
In a 79-61 win, the Ducks made 53% of their shots with four main guys - Dillon Brooks (20 points, 9-of-13 shooting), Jordan Bell, who did a bit of everything with 17 points (missed just one of eight shot attempts), seven rebounds, five of the team's 10 blocked shots and three assists, Tyler Dorsey (16 points) and Payton Pritchard (seven assists) - leading the way.
Oregon, which won its 41st consecutive home game (longest in the nation), has a really good eight-man roation with Dylan Ennis the other starter and Chris Boucher (three blocks Thursday), Kavell Bigby-Williams and Casey Benson coming off the bench. Combine an offense with five players averaging double-digit points with a defense that leads the country in blocked shots and is top-20 nationally in field goal percentage and three-point defense (Utah shot 38 and 15%, respectively in those categories on Thursday), and Oregon is on a fairly long list of national title contenders.
If not a title, then this certainly looks like a team capable of at least making the program's second final four and first since winning the first NCAA Tournament in 1939.
ESPN
That's two consecutive Thursday evenings I've gotten a chance to watch Oregon and before they blew a 19-point lead at UCLA a week ago & tonight they were very impressive.
In a 79-61 win, the Ducks made 53% of their shots with four main guys - Dillon Brooks (20 points, 9-of-13 shooting), Jordan Bell, who did a bit of everything with 17 points (missed just one of eight shot attempts), seven rebounds, five of the team's 10 blocked shots and three assists, Tyler Dorsey (16 points) and Payton Pritchard (seven assists) - leading the way.
Oregon, which won its 41st consecutive home game (longest in the nation), has a really good eight-man roation with Dylan Ennis the other starter and Chris Boucher (three blocks Thursday), Kavell Bigby-Williams and Casey Benson coming off the bench. Combine an offense with five players averaging double-digit points with a defense that leads the country in blocked shots and is top-20 nationally in field goal percentage and three-point defense (Utah shot 38 and 15%, respectively in those categories on Thursday), and Oregon is on a fairly long list of national title contenders.
If not a title, then this certainly looks like a team capable of at least making the program's second final four and first since winning the first NCAA Tournament in 1939.
Game 309 - Manhattan women at Monmouth
February 16 at OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, NJ
espn3.com
Manhattan's 75-61 victory, just its fourth in 17 MAAC games, had a lot to do with Kayla Grimme (25 points on 11-of-15 shooting) and Amani Tatum (eight assists and five steals to go along with 11 points).
Grimme made all six of her shots during a pivotal third quarter, and towards the end of that period Monmouth subbed in 6-5 Erica Balman to guard the junior center. By then it was too late, and though Grimme didn't score the rest of the game, the Jaspers' lead also didn't fall below nine points the rest of the way.
Monmouth led by as much as seven points in the early stages of the second, but the top three-point shooting team in the conference made just 5-of-23 from behind the arc and shot 33% overall in the second half. That's when Manhattan got some distance, turning a deficit into a one-point lead on a Grimme 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the second & the visitors never trailed again.
The teams combined for a ridiculous 53 turnovers - 27 for Manhattan, 26 for Monmouth.
espn3.com
Manhattan's 75-61 victory, just its fourth in 17 MAAC games, had a lot to do with Kayla Grimme (25 points on 11-of-15 shooting) and Amani Tatum (eight assists and five steals to go along with 11 points).
Grimme made all six of her shots during a pivotal third quarter, and towards the end of that period Monmouth subbed in 6-5 Erica Balman to guard the junior center. By then it was too late, and though Grimme didn't score the rest of the game, the Jaspers' lead also didn't fall below nine points the rest of the way.
Monmouth led by as much as seven points in the early stages of the second, but the top three-point shooting team in the conference made just 5-of-23 from behind the arc and shot 33% overall in the second half. That's when Manhattan got some distance, turning a deficit into a one-point lead on a Grimme 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the second & the visitors never trailed again.
The teams combined for a ridiculous 53 turnovers - 27 for Manhattan, 26 for Monmouth.
Games 307-308: College/pro doubleheader
308 - New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies
February 15 at FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN
Fox Sports Southeast
307 - Xavier at Providence
February 15 at Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI
FS1
February 15 at FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN
Fox Sports Southeast
307 - Xavier at Providence
February 15 at Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI
FS1
Game 306 - Central Florida women at South Florida
February 14 at USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL
ESPN
Quite a night for the Golden Knights, who not only defeated a ranked team for the first time in their Division 1 history, but snapped a 19-game losing streak against their in-state rivals.
The 66-62 victory was the first for UCF in the series since December 10, 1980 and they couldn't have done it without Aliyah Gregory.
The junior guard was sensational, using a pretty mid-range pull-up jumper to score a career-high 34 points on 15-of-26 shooting in 36 minutes. Gregory set the tone right away, hitting 6-of-8 from the field in the opening quarter, which included her becoming the 22nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
"Of course, hitting a major milestone like that feels good and then we get a win on top of that feels great," Gregory told ucfknights.com.
UCF used a dominant, 20-6 second quarter to grab a nine-point halftime lead, and withstood a fourth quarter rally from the Bulls to move to 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the American Athletic Conference.
ESPN
Quite a night for the Golden Knights, who not only defeated a ranked team for the first time in their Division 1 history, but snapped a 19-game losing streak against their in-state rivals.
The 66-62 victory was the first for UCF in the series since December 10, 1980 and they couldn't have done it without Aliyah Gregory.
The junior guard was sensational, using a pretty mid-range pull-up jumper to score a career-high 34 points on 15-of-26 shooting in 36 minutes. Gregory set the tone right away, hitting 6-of-8 from the field in the opening quarter, which included her becoming the 22nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
"Of course, hitting a major milestone like that feels good and then we get a win on top of that feels great," Gregory told ucfknights.com.
UCF used a dominant, 20-6 second quarter to grab a nine-point halftime lead, and withstood a fourth quarter rally from the Bulls to move to 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the American Athletic Conference.
Game 305 - Toledo at Akron
February 14 at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH
Spectrum Sports Network
It sure looked like Toledo was going to be the first team to win at Rhodes in nearly two years, but things changed midway through the second half.
Toledo led 49-38 following a Nate Navigato 3-pointer at the 10:36 mark before the MAC-leading Zips' 18-6 run gave them the lead for the remainder of the night in a 71-65 victory.
That's 30 consecutive home wins for Akron, which has the second-longest home winning streak in the country (Oregon, 40) and hasn't suffered a defeat since February 21, 2015.
A big reason why Akron was able to erase the deficit and move to 12-1 in league play was the work of Isaiah Johnson. The senior center hit just two of his first seven shots, but came alive during the run, scoring eight points (Kwan Cheatham had seven). After a rough start, Johnson missed just one of his final seven field goal attempts, while the senior forward Cheatham was outstanding all night, finishing with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
* Let's get a quick "basketball" count from the broadcast team of Michael Reghi and Dave Cecutti:
First half: said 12 times
Second: 25
Total: 37
Notable
"Lot of hearts being displayed out here on the basketball floor"
"Here in their Rhodes Arena basketball playpen"
Spectrum Sports Network
It sure looked like Toledo was going to be the first team to win at Rhodes in nearly two years, but things changed midway through the second half.
Toledo led 49-38 following a Nate Navigato 3-pointer at the 10:36 mark before the MAC-leading Zips' 18-6 run gave them the lead for the remainder of the night in a 71-65 victory.
That's 30 consecutive home wins for Akron, which has the second-longest home winning streak in the country (Oregon, 40) and hasn't suffered a defeat since February 21, 2015.
A big reason why Akron was able to erase the deficit and move to 12-1 in league play was the work of Isaiah Johnson. The senior center hit just two of his first seven shots, but came alive during the run, scoring eight points (Kwan Cheatham had seven). After a rough start, Johnson missed just one of his final seven field goal attempts, while the senior forward Cheatham was outstanding all night, finishing with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
* Let's get a quick "basketball" count from the broadcast team of Michael Reghi and Dave Cecutti:
First half: said 12 times
Second: 25
Total: 37
Notable
"Lot of hearts being displayed out here on the basketball floor"
"Here in their Rhodes Arena basketball playpen"
Game 304 - South Carolina women at Connecticut
February 13 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT
ESPN
The 66-55 victory for Connecticut was the program's 100th consecutive, and this amazing run continues to be the greatest team accomplishment in the history of college basketball.
The overall winning streak, which began after the Huskies lost in overtime at Stanford on November 17, 2014, is obviously a ridiculous accomplishment, but I think that nearly as incredible is the fact Connecticut is 75-0 in American Athletic Conference play since the league was created in 2013.
I think some teams in early-November may have looked at Connecticut and the graduation of first-team All-America Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson and second-teamer Morgan Tuck (who became the top three picks in the WNBA Draft) and thought this could be the year the Huskies lose a game or two.
Instead, sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson scores nearly 21 points a night and is knocking down half of her field goal attempts; sophomore Napheesa Collier is third nationally hitting 66% (!) of her shots and averaging 19 points and nearly nine rebounds and junior Gabby Williams, who scored a career-high 26 points in Monday's win, is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, the Huskies have three players - Williams, junior Kia Nurse & senior Saniya Chong - who are handing out over four assists every night.
In Monday's game, Samuelson struggled and Collier had foul trouble (and was eventually disqualified) so the 5-11 Williams not only scored a ton, but pulled down 14 rebounds going up against the USC front line of 6-5 All America A'ja Wilson and 6-4 Alaina Coates.
And 25-0 Connecticut, which has defeated 10 teams currently in the Associated Press top 25, including the No. 6 Gamecocks, is fifth nationally in scoring and top-9 in both scoring and field goal percentage defense.
What a team and streak.
ESPN
The 66-55 victory for Connecticut was the program's 100th consecutive, and this amazing run continues to be the greatest team accomplishment in the history of college basketball.
The overall winning streak, which began after the Huskies lost in overtime at Stanford on November 17, 2014, is obviously a ridiculous accomplishment, but I think that nearly as incredible is the fact Connecticut is 75-0 in American Athletic Conference play since the league was created in 2013.
I think some teams in early-November may have looked at Connecticut and the graduation of first-team All-America Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson and second-teamer Morgan Tuck (who became the top three picks in the WNBA Draft) and thought this could be the year the Huskies lose a game or two.
Instead, sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson scores nearly 21 points a night and is knocking down half of her field goal attempts; sophomore Napheesa Collier is third nationally hitting 66% (!) of her shots and averaging 19 points and nearly nine rebounds and junior Gabby Williams, who scored a career-high 26 points in Monday's win, is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, the Huskies have three players - Williams, junior Kia Nurse & senior Saniya Chong - who are handing out over four assists every night.
In Monday's game, Samuelson struggled and Collier had foul trouble (and was eventually disqualified) so the 5-11 Williams not only scored a ton, but pulled down 14 rebounds going up against the USC front line of 6-5 All America A'ja Wilson and 6-4 Alaina Coates.
And 25-0 Connecticut, which has defeated 10 teams currently in the Associated Press top 25, including the No. 6 Gamecocks, is fifth nationally in scoring and top-9 in both scoring and field goal percentage defense.
What a team and streak.
Game 303 - Louisville at Syracuse
February 13 at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY
ESPN
Syracuse erased a seven-point deficit over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second half to force overtime, and led by two a minute into the extra session. But the Cardinals followed with a 10-0 run and led for good.
For some reason, Louisville decided to foul a three-point shooter, up five with 13 seconds to go, and Andrew White made all three to get the Orangemen to within 74-72. Then Jaylen Johnson helped out some more at the other end, missing a pair of free throws.
Syracuse's last chance came on a White three that turned into an offensive rebound by Tyler Roberson and ANOTHER FOUL by Louisville with less than three seconds on the clock. Roberson missed both and Ryan McMahon sealed a 76-72 win with two charity shots.
White's air ball was the last of 26 misses in 34 attempts from behind the arc for the hosts (Louisville came into the night third nationally in three-pont defense). That led to Sad Jim Boeheim:
ESPN
Syracuse erased a seven-point deficit over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second half to force overtime, and led by two a minute into the extra session. But the Cardinals followed with a 10-0 run and led for good.
For some reason, Louisville decided to foul a three-point shooter, up five with 13 seconds to go, and Andrew White made all three to get the Orangemen to within 74-72. Then Jaylen Johnson helped out some more at the other end, missing a pair of free throws.
Syracuse's last chance came on a White three that turned into an offensive rebound by Tyler Roberson and ANOTHER FOUL by Louisville with less than three seconds on the clock. Roberson missed both and Ryan McMahon sealed a 76-72 win with two charity shots.
White's air ball was the last of 26 misses in 34 attempts from behind the arc for the hosts (Louisville came into the night third nationally in three-pont defense). That led to Sad Jim Boeheim:
Game 302 - Vermont at UMBC
February 12 at Retrievers Activities Center in Baltimore, MD
espn3.com
UMBC simply can't find a way to beat its America East rivals.
That's 21 consecutive losses in the series for the Retrievers after a big comeback fell one possession short in a 77-74 defeat.
Vermont led 62-44 with just under seven minutes to play and was seemingly on its way to a convincing win. Instead, UMBC fought back and got as close as 75-74 on a pair of K.J. Maura free throws with 6.8 seconds to go. It was a three-point game when Maura's original pass was deflected by Dre Wills, Maura picked up the loose ball and his 40-foot heave at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim and over the backboard.
It was just the third time the final margin was in single-digits during the losing streak that dates back to the 2007-08 season.
Vermont not only tied a school-record with its 15th consecutive victory, but thanks to Cincinnati's loss to SMU on Sunday, now has the second-longest winning streak (Gonzaga, 26) in the country.
Wills was fantastic, finishing with 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and 13 rebounds. Maura also scored a game-high 22 for UMBC.
espn3.com
UMBC simply can't find a way to beat its America East rivals.
That's 21 consecutive losses in the series for the Retrievers after a big comeback fell one possession short in a 77-74 defeat.
Vermont led 62-44 with just under seven minutes to play and was seemingly on its way to a convincing win. Instead, UMBC fought back and got as close as 75-74 on a pair of K.J. Maura free throws with 6.8 seconds to go. It was a three-point game when Maura's original pass was deflected by Dre Wills, Maura picked up the loose ball and his 40-foot heave at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim and over the backboard.
It was just the third time the final margin was in single-digits during the losing streak that dates back to the 2007-08 season.
Vermont not only tied a school-record with its 15th consecutive victory, but thanks to Cincinnati's loss to SMU on Sunday, now has the second-longest winning streak (Gonzaga, 26) in the country.
Wills was fantastic, finishing with 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and 13 rebounds. Maura also scored a game-high 22 for UMBC.
Game 301 - Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
February 11 at Titan Gym in Fullerton, CA
ESPN
What a second half for Fullerton, which shot 68 percent over the final 20 minutes & pulled even at 5-5 in the Big West with a 74-69 victory.
It's the best 10-game start in conference play since the 2011-12 team won seven of its first 10.
Reserve Khalil Ahmad had scored just four points at halftime, but came alive in the second with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Meanwhile, starter Tre Coggins missed just one of his seven shot attempts and broke through with 15 of his 22 points in the second.
The host Titans erased a 10-point deficit, & eventually took the lead for good at the 8:18 mark when Ahmad's conventional three-point play made it a 55-52 game.
Long Beach, which had all five starters score in double figures, but got just two points from its bench (Fullerton's bench, led by Ahmad scored 29), saw its six-game winning streak in the series come to an end.
ESPN
What a second half for Fullerton, which shot 68 percent over the final 20 minutes & pulled even at 5-5 in the Big West with a 74-69 victory.
It's the best 10-game start in conference play since the 2011-12 team won seven of its first 10.
Reserve Khalil Ahmad had scored just four points at halftime, but came alive in the second with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Meanwhile, starter Tre Coggins missed just one of his seven shot attempts and broke through with 15 of his 22 points in the second.
The host Titans erased a 10-point deficit, & eventually took the lead for good at the 8:18 mark when Ahmad's conventional three-point play made it a 55-52 game.
Long Beach, which had all five starters score in double figures, but got just two points from its bench (Fullerton's bench, led by Ahmad scored 29), saw its six-game winning streak in the series come to an end.
Game 299 - Houston at Tulsa
February 11 at Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, OK
ESPNU
This was the second time we've watched Houston since the site was born in the fall of 2015 and the second time Rob Gray Jr. was impressive.
The redshirt-junior guard knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to a 28-point night, and Damyean Dotson added 24 points in the Cougars' 73-64 win.
It's amazing (and potentially troubling in the postseason if the team can't find a reliable third scorer and either or both get into any type of foul trouble) how important that duo is for Houston. Looking at the first 20 minutes on Saturday, the Cougars had 16 scoring possessions - either a two-pointer, three-pointer or free throw - and Gray and Dotson were involved, whether by scoring themselves or assisting, on 32 of the team's 36 first-half points.
In the second half, Gray, who leads the AAC in scoring, and Dotson (fourth) - were involved in 27 of the 37 points on 15 possessions.
Gray & Dotson were directly involved in 61 of the 73 points (83%) scored by Houston. That's incredible and a lot of fun to watch.
Tulsa didn't have a whole lot of fun overall, but it was a great night for their reserve guard Corey Henderson. The junior, who came in averaging 7.7 points, hit five of his seven three-point attempts for a team-high 19 points.
ESPNU
This was the second time we've watched Houston since the site was born in the fall of 2015 and the second time Rob Gray Jr. was impressive.
The redshirt-junior guard knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to a 28-point night, and Damyean Dotson added 24 points in the Cougars' 73-64 win.
It's amazing (and potentially troubling in the postseason if the team can't find a reliable third scorer and either or both get into any type of foul trouble) how important that duo is for Houston. Looking at the first 20 minutes on Saturday, the Cougars had 16 scoring possessions - either a two-pointer, three-pointer or free throw - and Gray and Dotson were involved, whether by scoring themselves or assisting, on 32 of the team's 36 first-half points.
In the second half, Gray, who leads the AAC in scoring, and Dotson (fourth) - were involved in 27 of the 37 points on 15 possessions.
Gray & Dotson were directly involved in 61 of the 73 points (83%) scored by Houston. That's incredible and a lot of fun to watch.
Tulsa didn't have a whole lot of fun overall, but it was a great night for their reserve guard Corey Henderson. The junior, who came in averaging 7.7 points, hit five of his seven three-point attempts for a team-high 19 points.
Games 297-298: Saturday afternoon doubleheader
298 - Iowa State women at Kansas State
February 11 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, KS
FS1
The story of this game was Lanie Page.
The redshirt-freshman was averaging 1.2 points & had scored just 19 points all season until exploding for a 16-point night in Kansas State's 80-68 win.
Page hit 3 three-pointers, part of a 50% shooting night from behind the arc for the Associated Press No. 25 Wildcats. Page led a youthful Kansas State bench that out-scored Iowa State's 39-13, thanks to 11 points from freshman Eternati Willock and nine out of sophomore Kayla Goth.
Iowa State had pulled to within 72-68 on a three from Seanna Johnson with three minutes to play, but the visitors missed their final five shots and didn't score again.
297 - Georgia State at Appalachian State
February 11 at Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, NC
espn3.com
No matter the difference in conference record (9-2 vs. 1-10), you don't deserve to win when
1. your top scorer (Jeremy Hollowell) is held to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting
2. you turn the ball over 18 times
3. you shoot 5-for-15 from the free-throw line
4. and allow 14 3-pointers, nine to reserves
That all happened to Georgia State in a 77-72 loss, which snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Something about the Convocation Center that makes GSU uncomfortable. Since GSU re-joined and ASU joined the Sun Belt in 2014, that's three road losses in three years in Boone for the Panthers.
February 11 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, KS
FS1
The story of this game was Lanie Page.
The redshirt-freshman was averaging 1.2 points & had scored just 19 points all season until exploding for a 16-point night in Kansas State's 80-68 win.
Page hit 3 three-pointers, part of a 50% shooting night from behind the arc for the Associated Press No. 25 Wildcats. Page led a youthful Kansas State bench that out-scored Iowa State's 39-13, thanks to 11 points from freshman Eternati Willock and nine out of sophomore Kayla Goth.
Iowa State had pulled to within 72-68 on a three from Seanna Johnson with three minutes to play, but the visitors missed their final five shots and didn't score again.
297 - Georgia State at Appalachian State
February 11 at Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, NC
espn3.com
No matter the difference in conference record (9-2 vs. 1-10), you don't deserve to win when
1. your top scorer (Jeremy Hollowell) is held to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting
2. you turn the ball over 18 times
3. you shoot 5-for-15 from the free-throw line
4. and allow 14 3-pointers, nine to reserves
That all happened to Georgia State in a 77-72 loss, which snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Something about the Convocation Center that makes GSU uncomfortable. Since GSU re-joined and ASU joined the Sun Belt in 2014, that's three road losses in three years in Boone for the Panthers.
Game 296 - Huntingdon women at Agnes Scott
February 11 at Woodruff Physical Activities Building in Decatur, GA
My main focus for this Saturday matinee of Division III basketball was the battle inside between Huntingdon junior Juliette Harp and freshman Garis Grant of Agnes Scott.
Neither disappointed, though Harp's team led by as many as 28 in a 66-45 victory.
Grant was excellent, putting together a 22-point, 13-rebound performance (with five blocked shots). The problem for the hosts was the Charleston, South Carolina native didn't receive nearly enough help (she hit 8-of-13 from the field while her teammates made just 28%), and the Huntingdon defense forced 22 turnovers.
The visitors from Montgomery, Alabama had a trio lead the way as Harp finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds (eight on the offensive end), Maia Hall used her unorthodox shooting motion to hit four 3-pointers and had three of the Hawks' 15 steals & new Scoochie Smith All Star Jello Weatherspoon added eight points, three assists and three steals.
Agnes Scott, which came into the day last in the USA South West Division and having lost 10 consecutive games, deserves some credit for not being completely blown out of the gym after a rough opening quarter. The Scotties scored just two points through the first seven minutes and trailed 20-4 after one. Over the final three quarters, Agnes Scott was out-scored just 46-41, including winning the fourth thanks to Jalexis Teemer's 12-point quarter.
Huntingdon improved to 18-6.
My main focus for this Saturday matinee of Division III basketball was the battle inside between Huntingdon junior Juliette Harp and freshman Garis Grant of Agnes Scott.
Neither disappointed, though Harp's team led by as many as 28 in a 66-45 victory.
Grant was excellent, putting together a 22-point, 13-rebound performance (with five blocked shots). The problem for the hosts was the Charleston, South Carolina native didn't receive nearly enough help (she hit 8-of-13 from the field while her teammates made just 28%), and the Huntingdon defense forced 22 turnovers.
The visitors from Montgomery, Alabama had a trio lead the way as Harp finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds (eight on the offensive end), Maia Hall used her unorthodox shooting motion to hit four 3-pointers and had three of the Hawks' 15 steals & new Scoochie Smith All Star Jello Weatherspoon added eight points, three assists and three steals.
Agnes Scott, which came into the day last in the USA South West Division and having lost 10 consecutive games, deserves some credit for not being completely blown out of the gym after a rough opening quarter. The Scotties scored just two points through the first seven minutes and trailed 20-4 after one. Over the final three quarters, Agnes Scott was out-scored just 46-41, including winning the fourth thanks to Jalexis Teemer's 12-point quarter.
Huntingdon improved to 18-6.
Game 295 - Syracuse women at Duke
February 10 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC
ACC Network
The Orange came into the night averaging 80.5 points (13th nationally), but were held to 25 below their season average in a 72-55 loss.
Syracuse struggled mightily shooting the ball (25% overall), and in particular from three-point range where the visitors made just 10-of-37. Duke's defense is fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense and tied with Connecticut for ninth in perimeter defense, but Friday was more about Syracuse just missing a number of good looks from behind the arc.
The main culprit was Brittney Sykes, the ACC's second-leading scorer who was held to just 11 points & missed 13 of the 16 shots she attempted.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils got a near-triple double from Lexie Brown (nine points, eight assists and 11 rebounds), 18 points and 10 rebounds from Rebecca Greenwell and a dominant effort in the paint (out-scored Syracuse 44-8) in improving to 14-0 at home.
ACC Network
The Orange came into the night averaging 80.5 points (13th nationally), but were held to 25 below their season average in a 72-55 loss.
Syracuse struggled mightily shooting the ball (25% overall), and in particular from three-point range where the visitors made just 10-of-37. Duke's defense is fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense and tied with Connecticut for ninth in perimeter defense, but Friday was more about Syracuse just missing a number of good looks from behind the arc.
The main culprit was Brittney Sykes, the ACC's second-leading scorer who was held to just 11 points & missed 13 of the 16 shots she attempted.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils got a near-triple double from Lexie Brown (nine points, eight assists and 11 rebounds), 18 points and 10 rebounds from Rebecca Greenwell and a dominant effort in the paint (out-scored Syracuse 44-8) in improving to 14-0 at home.
Thursday tripleheader
Game 294 - Oregon at UCLA
February 9 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA
ESPN
Game 293 - Memphis women at Tulane
February 9 at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, LA
espn3.com
Game 292 - Central Connecticut State at Fairleigh Dickinson
February 9 at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ
NEC Front Row
February 9 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA
ESPN
Game 293 - Memphis women at Tulane
February 9 at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, LA
espn3.com
Game 292 - Central Connecticut State at Fairleigh Dickinson
February 9 at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ
NEC Front Row
Game 291 - Indiana State at Bradley
February 8 at Carver Arena in Peoria, IL
MVC TV Network
I don't know what happened in the halftime locker room, but the hosts had a miserable second half and fell down on the ground, 56-54.
Bradley led by as much as 12 & built a 38-27 halftime cushion by shooting 45 percent from the field, but things went sour in a hurry.
Indiana State used a 14-1 run to open the second half to take the lead, and survived through an ugly final 20 minutes to snap a 13-game road losing streak in conference play (last win was January 6, 2016 at Drake).
The second half for Bradley:
1st possession: missed lay-up
2 - turnover
3 - turnover
4 - 1-of-2 free throws
5 - missed jumper
6 - turnover
7 - missed lay-up
8 - turnover
9 - turnover
10 - missed jumper
11 - missed 3-pointer
12 - missed lay-up/missed jumper
13 - turnover
14 - 1-of-2 FT
15 - 1-of-2 FT
16 - missed jumper
17 - 0-of-2 FT
18 - 1-of-2 FT
19 - missed 3-pointer
20 - 1-of-2 FT
21 - made lay-up [first field goal of second half at 9:42 mark)
22 - missed lay-up
23 - made 3-pointer [8:28 mark, up 48-45]
24 - missed jumper
25 - 1-of-2 FT
26 - missed lay-up
27 - turnover
28 - missed 3-pointer/missed jumper
29 - turnover
30 - made dunk [by Donte Thomas at 4:45 mark, last team FG of game ties score at 51-51]
31 - missed jumper
32 - missed 3-pointer
33 - missed jumper
34 - 1-of-2 FT (up 52-51]
35 - missed jumper
36 - 2-of-2 FT [by Thomas at 1:44 mark, last points of game puts Braves up 54-51]
37 - missed 3-pointer
38 - missed jumper
39 - missed 3-pointer as time expired
2nd half: 16 total points, 3-for-24 FG, 9-18 FT
MVC TV Network
I don't know what happened in the halftime locker room, but the hosts had a miserable second half and fell down on the ground, 56-54.
Bradley led by as much as 12 & built a 38-27 halftime cushion by shooting 45 percent from the field, but things went sour in a hurry.
Indiana State used a 14-1 run to open the second half to take the lead, and survived through an ugly final 20 minutes to snap a 13-game road losing streak in conference play (last win was January 6, 2016 at Drake).
The second half for Bradley:
1st possession: missed lay-up
2 - turnover
3 - turnover
4 - 1-of-2 free throws
5 - missed jumper
6 - turnover
7 - missed lay-up
8 - turnover
9 - turnover
10 - missed jumper
11 - missed 3-pointer
12 - missed lay-up/missed jumper
13 - turnover
14 - 1-of-2 FT
15 - 1-of-2 FT
16 - missed jumper
17 - 0-of-2 FT
18 - 1-of-2 FT
19 - missed 3-pointer
20 - 1-of-2 FT
21 - made lay-up [first field goal of second half at 9:42 mark)
22 - missed lay-up
23 - made 3-pointer [8:28 mark, up 48-45]
24 - missed jumper
25 - 1-of-2 FT
26 - missed lay-up
27 - turnover
28 - missed 3-pointer/missed jumper
29 - turnover
30 - made dunk [by Donte Thomas at 4:45 mark, last team FG of game ties score at 51-51]
31 - missed jumper
32 - missed 3-pointer
33 - missed jumper
34 - 1-of-2 FT (up 52-51]
35 - missed jumper
36 - 2-of-2 FT [by Thomas at 1:44 mark, last points of game puts Braves up 54-51]
37 - missed 3-pointer
38 - missed jumper
39 - missed 3-pointer as time expired
2nd half: 16 total points, 3-for-24 FG, 9-18 FT
Game 290 - Denver Nuggets at Atlanta Hawks
February 8 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA
Fox Sports Southeast
Basketball, especially at the professional level, is a fast game and sometimes what you remember seeing isn't always reflected in the final box score. That was not the case on Wednesday. What I saw was Denver chucking up an insane amount of 3-pointers and not making nearly enough and as we check the final statistics it looks like the Nuggets were a horrid 13-for-44 from three-point range*.
To be fair to the rest of the team, Will Barton by himself was 0-for-9 from behind the arc. Barton actually had a nice night aside from that, contributing seven assists and one turnover in 38 minutes, but the Hawks were a bit too much in a 117-106 win.
Denver, which lost for the fifth consecutive time at Philips, got to within 109-105 on a Barton-assisted Gary Harris dunk, but scored just one more point over the final three minutes.
The hosts had seven in double figures, led by Dennis Schroder's 24-point, 10-assist night.
* I checked basketball-reference.com's play index to see how often teams have attempted 44 or more threes in a game in 2016-17 and Houston has done it a ridiculous 13 times while the remainder of the league, which now includes Denver, has reached that mark a combined 10 times. Also interesting is that both Houston (38-17) and Denver (23-29) ended the evening with identical 36.3 percent shooting from three.
Fox Sports Southeast
Basketball, especially at the professional level, is a fast game and sometimes what you remember seeing isn't always reflected in the final box score. That was not the case on Wednesday. What I saw was Denver chucking up an insane amount of 3-pointers and not making nearly enough and as we check the final statistics it looks like the Nuggets were a horrid 13-for-44 from three-point range*.
To be fair to the rest of the team, Will Barton by himself was 0-for-9 from behind the arc. Barton actually had a nice night aside from that, contributing seven assists and one turnover in 38 minutes, but the Hawks were a bit too much in a 117-106 win.
Denver, which lost for the fifth consecutive time at Philips, got to within 109-105 on a Barton-assisted Gary Harris dunk, but scored just one more point over the final three minutes.
The hosts had seven in double figures, led by Dennis Schroder's 24-point, 10-assist night.
* I checked basketball-reference.com's play index to see how often teams have attempted 44 or more threes in a game in 2016-17 and Houston has done it a ridiculous 13 times while the remainder of the league, which now includes Denver, has reached that mark a combined 10 times. Also interesting is that both Houston (38-17) and Denver (23-29) ended the evening with identical 36.3 percent shooting from three.
Game 289 - Bucknell at Lehigh
February 8 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA
Campus Insiders
Tim Kempton has put together one of the most decorated careers in the history of the Patriot League and we finally got a chance to see the senior center in action.
In Lehigh's 79-71 win, Kempton not only led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but hit a milestone that few in the Patriot have ever reached. With a rebound at the 18:16 mark of the second half, Kempton became just the third player in the conference's history to reach the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound plateau. He joins Bucknell alum and current Atlanta Hawk Mike Muscala & former Colgate standout Adonal Foyle (who reached those marks in just three seasons) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
Kempton, the two-time defending Patriot player of the year, could be headed for award No. 3 as he was averaging 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds coming into the night. Bucknell's skilled post player, Nana Foulland, had a nice night as well, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds (Kempton and Foulland are 1-2 in the league in rebounding) and three blocked shots.
And let's not forget Austin Price, who hit 5-of-9 from three-point range and very nearly doubled his scoring average with a game-high 25 points for the Mountain Hawks.
Bucknell had a seven-game winning streak - it's longest run since the Muscala-led 2012-13 team reached the NCAA Tournament - snapped. The Bison are 0-2 against Lehigh and 11-0 against the rest of the conference.
Campus Insiders
Tim Kempton has put together one of the most decorated careers in the history of the Patriot League and we finally got a chance to see the senior center in action.
In Lehigh's 79-71 win, Kempton not only led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but hit a milestone that few in the Patriot have ever reached. With a rebound at the 18:16 mark of the second half, Kempton became just the third player in the conference's history to reach the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound plateau. He joins Bucknell alum and current Atlanta Hawk Mike Muscala & former Colgate standout Adonal Foyle (who reached those marks in just three seasons) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
Kempton, the two-time defending Patriot player of the year, could be headed for award No. 3 as he was averaging 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds coming into the night. Bucknell's skilled post player, Nana Foulland, had a nice night as well, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds (Kempton and Foulland are 1-2 in the league in rebounding) and three blocked shots.
And let's not forget Austin Price, who hit 5-of-9 from three-point range and very nearly doubled his scoring average with a game-high 25 points for the Mountain Hawks.
Bucknell had a seven-game winning streak - it's longest run since the Muscala-led 2012-13 team reached the NCAA Tournament - snapped. The Bison are 0-2 against Lehigh and 11-0 against the rest of the conference.
Game 288 - Michigan State at Michigan
February 7 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI
ESPN
It's looking more and more like Michigan State is going to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time sinch coach Tom Izzo's second season in East Lansing.
The Spartans were run out of the gym by their rivals on Tuesday night as Michigan shot 60 percent from the field (75% in the first half!) in an 86-57 victory.
It's MSU's worst loss in the series since another 29-point defeat at Crisler in February, 1996, during Izzo's first season on campus.
* A couple nonsense phrases to share from the broadcast, including "junkyard dog mentality" which was said four times, and "college basketball landscape", which was said twice.
ESPN
It's looking more and more like Michigan State is going to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time sinch coach Tom Izzo's second season in East Lansing.
The Spartans were run out of the gym by their rivals on Tuesday night as Michigan shot 60 percent from the field (75% in the first half!) in an 86-57 victory.
It's MSU's worst loss in the series since another 29-point defeat at Crisler in February, 1996, during Izzo's first season on campus.
* A couple nonsense phrases to share from the broadcast, including "junkyard dog mentality" which was said four times, and "college basketball landscape", which was said twice.
Game 287 - Georgetown at Villanova
February 7 at The Pavilion in Villanova, PA
FS1
Georgetown, in desperate need of a big win for its NCAA Tournament resume, fell short against the defending national champions, losing 75-64.
The Hoyas had nearly erased a 17-point deficit when they got within two points on a Rodney Pryor free throw at the 2:18 mark, but couldn't get any closer. The Big East's top scorer, Josh Hart hit a 3-pointer - his first field goal of the second half - with 1:20 left to make it 66-59 and later added a lay-up and a pair of free throws to polish off a 25-point night.
Pryor, the league's third-leading scorer, finished with 20 points and L.J. Peak scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half.
Villanova is an incredible 58-8 in Big East regular season play since the start of the 2013-14 season.
* Play-by-play man Tim Brando said "Pryor gets that nylon song to ring," so we can't let him get away with that.
FS1
Georgetown, in desperate need of a big win for its NCAA Tournament resume, fell short against the defending national champions, losing 75-64.
The Hoyas had nearly erased a 17-point deficit when they got within two points on a Rodney Pryor free throw at the 2:18 mark, but couldn't get any closer. The Big East's top scorer, Josh Hart hit a 3-pointer - his first field goal of the second half - with 1:20 left to make it 66-59 and later added a lay-up and a pair of free throws to polish off a 25-point night.
Pryor, the league's third-leading scorer, finished with 20 points and L.J. Peak scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half.
Villanova is an incredible 58-8 in Big East regular season play since the start of the 2013-14 season.
* Play-by-play man Tim Brando said "Pryor gets that nylon song to ring," so we can't let him get away with that.
Game 286 - UCLA women at Stanford
February 6 at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA
ESPN
With an 85-76 victory, UCLA did something it hadn't done in more than 18 years - win at Maples. Jordan Canada scored 25 points and handed out five assists and the Bruins snapped a 16-game losing streak at No. 8 Stanford, winning for the first time since January, 1999.
Monique Billings added 21 points, 15 rebounds (seven on the offensive end) and four blocks and Kari Korver was 5-of-7 from three-point range for No. 15 UCLA, which snapped another 16-game losing streak, beating a ranked team on the road for the first time since November, 2012.
Other games watched:
Louisiana at Georgia Southern
Texas women at Baylor
ESPN
With an 85-76 victory, UCLA did something it hadn't done in more than 18 years - win at Maples. Jordan Canada scored 25 points and handed out five assists and the Bruins snapped a 16-game losing streak at No. 8 Stanford, winning for the first time since January, 1999.
Monique Billings added 21 points, 15 rebounds (seven on the offensive end) and four blocks and Kari Korver was 5-of-7 from three-point range for No. 15 UCLA, which snapped another 16-game losing streak, beating a ranked team on the road for the first time since November, 2012.
Other games watched:
Louisiana at Georgia Southern
Texas women at Baylor
Game 285 - Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia State
February 6 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com
It's still extremely tight atop the Sun Belt Conference as GSU's 69-55 win only allowed the 9-2 Panthers to remain tied with Georgia Southern and Arkansas State, also winners at home Monday night, for first place.
Jeremy Hollowell is Georgia State's best offensive player and the senior was great in this one, scoring 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. And the key tonight for GSU was the work of Hollowell and the other four starters, who scored all but seven of the team's points.
The bench has been huge in many games this season, but struggled tonight (2-of-13 from the field), and it was starters Hollowell and the ever-improving Malik Benlevi (14 points, 4-of-7 from three-point range) and D'Marcus Simonds (10 points, six rebounds, four assists) who carried the team to its eighth consecutive win.
The GSU defense also had eight blocked shots, nine steals and forced 15 turnovers in holding just its second opponent to less than 60 points since the start of the new year.
espn3.com
It's still extremely tight atop the Sun Belt Conference as GSU's 69-55 win only allowed the 9-2 Panthers to remain tied with Georgia Southern and Arkansas State, also winners at home Monday night, for first place.
Jeremy Hollowell is Georgia State's best offensive player and the senior was great in this one, scoring 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. And the key tonight for GSU was the work of Hollowell and the other four starters, who scored all but seven of the team's points.
The bench has been huge in many games this season, but struggled tonight (2-of-13 from the field), and it was starters Hollowell and the ever-improving Malik Benlevi (14 points, 4-of-7 from three-point range) and D'Marcus Simonds (10 points, six rebounds, four assists) who carried the team to its eighth consecutive win.
The GSU defense also had eight blocked shots, nine steals and forced 15 turnovers in holding just its second opponent to less than 60 points since the start of the new year.
Games 282-283: Sun Belt doubleheader
283 - Louisiana at Georgia State
282 - Louisiana women at Georgia State
February 4 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
That's seven consecutive wins for the Georgia State men, who nearly blew a 20-point lead, but hung on to sweep the season series.
Louisiana got to within 83-82 on a strong baseline drive and lay-up by Johnathan Stove (his only points of the day) with 55 seconds left. That capped a 22-7 run, and after a bad GSU possession, the Ragin Cajuns had a chance to go ahead, but Bryce Washington missed a contested lay-up with eight seconds to go.
D'Marcus Simonds, who had another nice game - 19 points and eight rebounds - drained a pair of free throws and Isaiah Dennis knocked the ball away from Jay Wright in the final seconds to help GSU survive.
Wright was excellent in the second half and finished with 20 points, seven assists and no turnovers.
The Panthers were able to out-score the Sun Belt's top offensive team thanks to big games from Malik Benlevi (17 points) and Jeremy Hollowell (16). They needed every one of those points because the GSU defense had very few answers for Frank Bartley, who doubled his scoring average with a career-high 31 points on 7-of-15 shooting from three-point range.
The hosts led 43-23 on a Willie Clayton three-point play with about five minutes to play in the opening half.
282 - Louisiana women at Georgia State
February 4 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
That's seven consecutive wins for the Georgia State men, who nearly blew a 20-point lead, but hung on to sweep the season series.
Louisiana got to within 83-82 on a strong baseline drive and lay-up by Johnathan Stove (his only points of the day) with 55 seconds left. That capped a 22-7 run, and after a bad GSU possession, the Ragin Cajuns had a chance to go ahead, but Bryce Washington missed a contested lay-up with eight seconds to go.
D'Marcus Simonds, who had another nice game - 19 points and eight rebounds - drained a pair of free throws and Isaiah Dennis knocked the ball away from Jay Wright in the final seconds to help GSU survive.
Wright was excellent in the second half and finished with 20 points, seven assists and no turnovers.
The Panthers were able to out-score the Sun Belt's top offensive team thanks to big games from Malik Benlevi (17 points) and Jeremy Hollowell (16). They needed every one of those points because the GSU defense had very few answers for Frank Bartley, who doubled his scoring average with a career-high 31 points on 7-of-15 shooting from three-point range.
The hosts led 43-23 on a Willie Clayton three-point play with about five minutes to play in the opening half.
Game 280 - Belmont at Murray State
February 2 at CFSB Center in Murray, KY
ESPN
Time for a "basketball" count with commenators Jerry Punch and Mo Cassara!
First half: said 12 times
Second half: 19
Total: 31
And a photo by Bobby Feathers
ESPN
Time for a "basketball" count with commenators Jerry Punch and Mo Cassara!
First half: said 12 times
Second half: 19
Total: 31
And a photo by Bobby Feathers
Game 279 - Louisiana-Monroe women at Georgia State
February 2 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
I haven't watched the GSU women play nearly as much as the men over the last decade and a half, but despite that, I still feel comfortable in saying this was their most impressive victory during that time frame.
[UPDATE: It's the largest margin of victory for the program since 2002 - georgiastatesports.com]
Just a thoroughly dominant performance by the Panthers, who won their third straight, 87-35.
Monroe led briefly, at 13-12 on a corner three from Gabriella Cortez with about two minutes to play in the opening quarter, but that was it for the visitors. It was a 19-15 game very early in the second before GSU went on a 45-3 run (I felt silly just typing those numbers), and led 64-18 with 52 seconds left in the third. During that long run, Monroe went nearly 13 minutes without a field goal.
reporter: "student" (1998-2000, portions of 2001 & 2002, 2003-2004)
GSU's defense was outstanding, forcing 25 turnovers (on 18 steals), holding Monroe to 26 percent shooting and out-rebounding its Sun Belt rival 45-24. Its offense wasn't too shabby either, shooting 51% and 10 different players handed out at least one assist.
Reserve Makeba Ponder led all scorers with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three.
I haven't watched the GSU women play nearly as much as the men over the last decade and a half, but despite that, I still feel comfortable in saying this was their most impressive victory during that time frame.
[UPDATE: It's the largest margin of victory for the program since 2002 - georgiastatesports.com]
Just a thoroughly dominant performance by the Panthers, who won their third straight, 87-35.
Monroe led briefly, at 13-12 on a corner three from Gabriella Cortez with about two minutes to play in the opening quarter, but that was it for the visitors. It was a 19-15 game very early in the second before GSU went on a 45-3 run (I felt silly just typing those numbers), and led 64-18 with 52 seconds left in the third. During that long run, Monroe went nearly 13 minutes without a field goal.
reporter: "student" (1998-2000, portions of 2001 & 2002, 2003-2004)
GSU's defense was outstanding, forcing 25 turnovers (on 18 steals), holding Monroe to 26 percent shooting and out-rebounding its Sun Belt rival 45-24. Its offense wasn't too shabby either, shooting 51% and 10 different players handed out at least one assist.
Reserve Makeba Ponder led all scorers with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three.
Game 278 - East Carolina at SMU
February 1 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX
ESPNNEWS
SMU keeps on rolling along.
The Mustangs' defense, third nationally in points allowed, was outstanding yet again, holding the overmatched visitors from Greenville to 30% shooting in an 86-46 win.
SMU has won 15 of 16, with the only loss during the stretch coming to AAC leader Cincinnati by two points. The teams meet again in Dallas on February 12.
* Other than the host Mustangs, the broadcast team of Alex Faust and Stephen Howard was the most impressive on Wednesday. Besides combining to say the word "basketball" 28 times, they also put together a fantastic collection of nonsense.
Howard was the star:
"The straw that stirs this team"
"Plug and play"
"He can give them energy minutes"
"Playing on all cylinders"
"This is a finely-tuned animal in SMU"
"That's a recipe for distance disaster for the opposing team"
"That's all SMU needed to get their rutters going"
But Faust was a contributor off the bench:
"Try and stem the bleeding"
"Obviously the scoreboard well out to pasture"
"Sean McDowell, fult tilt boogie"
ESPNNEWS
SMU keeps on rolling along.
The Mustangs' defense, third nationally in points allowed, was outstanding yet again, holding the overmatched visitors from Greenville to 30% shooting in an 86-46 win.
SMU has won 15 of 16, with the only loss during the stretch coming to AAC leader Cincinnati by two points. The teams meet again in Dallas on February 12.
* Other than the host Mustangs, the broadcast team of Alex Faust and Stephen Howard was the most impressive on Wednesday. Besides combining to say the word "basketball" 28 times, they also put together a fantastic collection of nonsense.
Howard was the star:
"The straw that stirs this team"
"Plug and play"
"He can give them energy minutes"
"Playing on all cylinders"
"This is a finely-tuned animal in SMU"
"That's a recipe for distance disaster for the opposing team"
"That's all SMU needed to get their rutters going"
But Faust was a contributor off the bench:
"Try and stem the bleeding"
"Obviously the scoreboard well out to pasture"
"Sean McDowell, fult tilt boogie"
Game 277 - Baylor at Kansas
February 1 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS
ESPN2
Baylor just can not win in Lawrence.
Behind 15 second-half points (and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line) by Frank Mason, and excellent defense in the final 20 seconds, Kansas escaped, 73-68.
The loss dropped Baylor to 0-14 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks have won 51 straight in the building.
Kansas (8-1 in Big 12), which moved ahead of the 7-2 Bears for sole possession of first place in the league standings, led 70-68, but turned the ball over with 25 seconds to go. Baylor's Ish Wainright - a 28% 3-point shooter, attempted a double-clutch three with a hand in his face that missed badly. It was a three-point game before an errant Baylor pass went out of bounds, effectively sealing the narrow Kansas victory.
Worse than the final two possessions was the fact that Johnathan Motley, a league player of the year candidate, attempted just one shot in the second half. Motley and point guard Manu Lecomte each finished with a team-high 16 points.
I didn't see much of a difference at all between the two teams. They both have great guard play, good shooters and impact wing/forwards (Motley and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. for Baylor, Landen Lucas and electric freshman Josh Jackson for Kansas) and are good defensively.
Baylor just needs to play the Jayhawks either at home (the rematch in Waco is set for February 18) or on a neutral site.
ESPN2
Baylor just can not win in Lawrence.
Behind 15 second-half points (and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line) by Frank Mason, and excellent defense in the final 20 seconds, Kansas escaped, 73-68.
The loss dropped Baylor to 0-14 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks have won 51 straight in the building.
Kansas (8-1 in Big 12), which moved ahead of the 7-2 Bears for sole possession of first place in the league standings, led 70-68, but turned the ball over with 25 seconds to go. Baylor's Ish Wainright - a 28% 3-point shooter, attempted a double-clutch three with a hand in his face that missed badly. It was a three-point game before an errant Baylor pass went out of bounds, effectively sealing the narrow Kansas victory.
Worse than the final two possessions was the fact that Johnathan Motley, a league player of the year candidate, attempted just one shot in the second half. Motley and point guard Manu Lecomte each finished with a team-high 16 points.
I didn't see much of a difference at all between the two teams. They both have great guard play, good shooters and impact wing/forwards (Motley and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. for Baylor, Landen Lucas and electric freshman Josh Jackson for Kansas) and are good defensively.
Baylor just needs to play the Jayhawks either at home (the rematch in Waco is set for February 18) or on a neutral site.
Game 276 - Connecticut women at Temple
February 1 at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA
SNY
Wednesday's 97-69 win was the 96th consecutive for the Huskies, who got 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting from Napheesa Collier and 24 points from Katie Lou Samuelson.
Some other numbers, both historical -
35 - the number of consecutive games Connecticut has won on the road, which is a ridiculous achievement. That broke the program's own record of 34, set from 2001-2004.
11/17/2014 - the last time Connecticut lost, an 88-86, overtime setback at Stanford.
and from Wednesday's game -
34 - the amount of consecutive possessions during the second and third quarters that the Huskies went without turning the ball over.
77% - Connecticut's field goal percentage during the opening half. The Huskies missed just six of their 26 shot attempts and led 52-18 at the break.
19% - Temple's first-half field goal percentage. For the game, the Owls' leading scorer, Feyonda Fitzgerald, was held to seven points on 3-of-16 shooting.
SNY
Wednesday's 97-69 win was the 96th consecutive for the Huskies, who got 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting from Napheesa Collier and 24 points from Katie Lou Samuelson.
Some other numbers, both historical -
35 - the number of consecutive games Connecticut has won on the road, which is a ridiculous achievement. That broke the program's own record of 34, set from 2001-2004.
11/17/2014 - the last time Connecticut lost, an 88-86, overtime setback at Stanford.
and from Wednesday's game -
34 - the amount of consecutive possessions during the second and third quarters that the Huskies went without turning the ball over.
77% - Connecticut's field goal percentage during the opening half. The Huskies missed just six of their 26 shot attempts and led 52-18 at the break.
19% - Temple's first-half field goal percentage. For the game, the Owls' leading scorer, Feyonda Fitzgerald, was held to seven points on 3-of-16 shooting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)