657 - Maryland-Eastern Shore women at UMBC
December 31 at UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, MD
ESPN +
Play-by-play man Troy Green with a "dribble drive" with 2:57 left in the second quarter, as well as a phrase of the year nominee:
"Te'yJah Oliver trying to make lemonade out of a lemon possession".
!
656 - Pennsylvania women at Stetson
December 31 at Edmunds Center in DeLand, FL
ESPN +
Really impressed with the Penn defense, which came into the game third nationally in scoring defense and fourth in field goal percentage defense, then held the hosts to 34% shooting in a 75-53 win.
Penn has won four straight (and allowed an average of just over 42 points) since losing a one-point game to defending America East champion Maine, November 25.
Eleah Parker is probably the best pro prospect for Penn, and the junior showcased a nice all-around game, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds and remained third in the country in blocked shots by swatting five Monday afternoon. Even more impressive was Ashley Russell, a senior guard who just missed a triple-double with a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Penn built a 19-point halftime lead thanks to a huge first half - 7-of-13 from three-point range and 55% shooting overall - and weren't threatened in the second half. Russell and Phoebe Sterba combined for 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting to help the visitors build that halftime cushion.
Games 654-655: Afternoon/evening doubleheader
655 - Delaware State at Ball State
December 29 at Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN
ESPN +
654 - Gardner-Webb at Wake Forest
December 29 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
In my pre-game notes I wrote down the following in regards to color commentator Stan Lewter:
I'm expecting great things from you saying the word "basketball", Stan Lewter, DON'T LET ME DOWN.
And he did not.
I was anticipating at least a "basketball" per game minute and Lewter provided that and more, saying the word 45 times - 21 in the first half, 24 in the second (1.1/game minute) - during Gardner-Webb's 73-69 victory.
Notable
"value the basketball"
"if you're asking me, that's a basketball play" (said three times in 14 seconds during a first half replay)
"he's played phenomenal basketball"
"a guy who can score the basketball if needed"
"this has been a ragged basketball game" (2)
"that was vintage Gardner-Webb basketball"
Other nonsense
During a time out at the 13:30 mark of a 6-6 game: "don't let this game get out of hand"
"that's an energy play"
"he's been an explosion player"
"when you think of Wake Forest, you think of Arnold Palmer" (you do?)
"make Wake Forest make a passing decision"
"a mental fatigue foul"
"the Bulldogs are barking, they're up one!"
December 29 at Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN
ESPN +
654 - Gardner-Webb at Wake Forest
December 29 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
In my pre-game notes I wrote down the following in regards to color commentator Stan Lewter:
I'm expecting great things from you saying the word "basketball", Stan Lewter, DON'T LET ME DOWN.
And he did not.
I was anticipating at least a "basketball" per game minute and Lewter provided that and more, saying the word 45 times - 21 in the first half, 24 in the second (1.1/game minute) - during Gardner-Webb's 73-69 victory.
Notable
"value the basketball"
"if you're asking me, that's a basketball play" (said three times in 14 seconds during a first half replay)
"he's played phenomenal basketball"
"a guy who can score the basketball if needed"
"this has been a ragged basketball game" (2)
"that was vintage Gardner-Webb basketball"
Other nonsense
During a time out at the 13:30 mark of a 6-6 game: "don't let this game get out of hand"
"that's an energy play"
"he's been an explosion player"
"when you think of Wake Forest, you think of Arnold Palmer" (you do?)
"make Wake Forest make a passing decision"
"a mental fatigue foul"
"the Bulldogs are barking, they're up one!"
Game 653 - Middle Georgia State at Georgia State
December 29 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
It was an NAIA opponent, yes, but good heavens what a way to close the non-league portion of the schedule.
GSU scored the fourth-most points in program history and had its second-largest margin of victory ever in a 117-69 victory.
After a sluggish start and an early struggle from behind the arc, Middle Georgia actually led 20-15 nine minutes in. But Nelson Phillips' tremendous offensive rebound and eventual put back at the 7:42 mark capped an 11-0 run and GSU led 26-20 and for the remainder of the day. The freshman Phillips had his finest game as a collegiate, scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Devin Mitchell knocked down seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points (18 in the second half).
The Panthers hit 16 three-pointers and four others reached double figures, including Malik Benlevi and Damon Wilson, who chipped in with 16 apiece.
Middle Georgia shot 41% from the field in the first half, but just 27% (10-of-36) in the second and turned the ball over 21 times. GSU led 48-37 at the break, then its second-half point total equaled the visiting Knights' scoring output for the game.
The three highest-scoring single games in school history also came against in-state teams from lower divisions. The Panthers defeated Fort Valley State 122-106 in November, 1989; Piedmont 119-76 in November, 1991; and Morris Brown 118-81 in December, 1988 (thanks to GSU SID Mike Holmes for those numbers). The largest margin of victory in program history was the highest recent point total before Saturday - a 115-55 victory over Tennessee Temple in November, 2014.
After a great non-conference slate that included wins over 2018 NCAA team St. Bonaventure, Alabama and Georgia, the Panthers (9-4) open Sun Belt play with a road trio to UT-Arlington, who it beat in last year's Sun Belt championship game, January 3, and Texas State, January 5.
ESPN +
It was an NAIA opponent, yes, but good heavens what a way to close the non-league portion of the schedule.
GSU scored the fourth-most points in program history and had its second-largest margin of victory ever in a 117-69 victory.
After a sluggish start and an early struggle from behind the arc, Middle Georgia actually led 20-15 nine minutes in. But Nelson Phillips' tremendous offensive rebound and eventual put back at the 7:42 mark capped an 11-0 run and GSU led 26-20 and for the remainder of the day. The freshman Phillips had his finest game as a collegiate, scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Devin Mitchell knocked down seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points (18 in the second half).
The Panthers hit 16 three-pointers and four others reached double figures, including Malik Benlevi and Damon Wilson, who chipped in with 16 apiece.
Middle Georgia shot 41% from the field in the first half, but just 27% (10-of-36) in the second and turned the ball over 21 times. GSU led 48-37 at the break, then its second-half point total equaled the visiting Knights' scoring output for the game.
The three highest-scoring single games in school history also came against in-state teams from lower divisions. The Panthers defeated Fort Valley State 122-106 in November, 1989; Piedmont 119-76 in November, 1991; and Morris Brown 118-81 in December, 1988 (thanks to GSU SID Mike Holmes for those numbers). The largest margin of victory in program history was the highest recent point total before Saturday - a 115-55 victory over Tennessee Temple in November, 2014.
After a great non-conference slate that included wins over 2018 NCAA team St. Bonaventure, Alabama and Georgia, the Panthers (9-4) open Sun Belt play with a road trio to UT-Arlington, who it beat in last year's Sun Belt championship game, January 3, and Texas State, January 5.
Game 652 - Sacred Heart women at Kentucky
December 29 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, KY
SEC Network
A big thing with basketball announcers during this portion of the college season is how the players are adjusting to having some time off for the holidays. Usually they express this concern by mentioning the "legs" of the players and how those legs are HEAVY & they need to get them going again after the break.
Play-by-play man Clay Ables and color commentator Christi Thomas took it to another level Saturday morning in Kentucky's 71-43 win. Here's a breakdown:
First quarter
"heavy legs"
"those legs just feel heavy"
"get their legs underneath them"
"just getting some legs out from under her" (This is my favorite of the day. Makes it seem like the player, Kentucky's Maci Morris, was removing a bunch of other people's legs out from under her).
Second
"their legs aren't there" (THEIR legs aren't THERE !)
Third
"legs a little heavy"
"does Sacred Heart have the legs?"
"get your legs back after the holiday break"
SEC Network
A big thing with basketball announcers during this portion of the college season is how the players are adjusting to having some time off for the holidays. Usually they express this concern by mentioning the "legs" of the players and how those legs are HEAVY & they need to get them going again after the break.
Play-by-play man Clay Ables and color commentator Christi Thomas took it to another level Saturday morning in Kentucky's 71-43 win. Here's a breakdown:
First quarter
"heavy legs"
"those legs just feel heavy"
"get their legs underneath them"
"just getting some legs out from under her" (This is my favorite of the day. Makes it seem like the player, Kentucky's Maci Morris, was removing a bunch of other people's legs out from under her).
Second
"their legs aren't there" (THEIR legs aren't THERE !)
Third
"legs a little heavy"
"does Sacred Heart have the legs?"
"get your legs back after the holiday break"
Game 651: Christmas special
UNLV vs. Bucknell
December 25 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI
ESPNU
A dominant performance from Bucknell in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic as the Bison hit 14 three-pointers (and shot 56%) and rolled to a 97-72 victory.
Six different players were in double figures for Bucknell (6-6), led by Kimbal Mackenzie's 16 points. Jimmy Sotos handed out a tournament-record 12 assists (Bucknell had 26 assists on 37 made baskets).
UNLV made its first 3-pointer of the night, then missed its next 19, and was never really in the game after halftime. Bucknell led by as many as 36 on a Sotos-assisted lay-in that turned into a three-point play from Mackenzie at the 6:16 mark.
"dribble drive" !
Great job by LaPhonso Ellis for getting in a quick "dribble drive", just 3:58 into the game.
That's Ellis' first appearance on our list.
December 25 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI
ESPNU
A dominant performance from Bucknell in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic as the Bison hit 14 three-pointers (and shot 56%) and rolled to a 97-72 victory.
Six different players were in double figures for Bucknell (6-6), led by Kimbal Mackenzie's 16 points. Jimmy Sotos handed out a tournament-record 12 assists (Bucknell had 26 assists on 37 made baskets).
UNLV made its first 3-pointer of the night, then missed its next 19, and was never really in the game after halftime. Bucknell led by as many as 36 on a Sotos-assisted lay-in that turned into a three-point play from Mackenzie at the 6:16 mark.
"dribble drive" !
Great job by LaPhonso Ellis for getting in a quick "dribble drive", just 3:58 into the game.
That's Ellis' first appearance on our list.
Games 648-650: Weekend tripleheader
650- Indiana State vs. UNLV
December 23 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI
ESPN2
Jordan Barnes didn't attempt a shot until 7 1/2 minutes remained in the first half, yet finished with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Indiana State's 84-79 win in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic.
The Sycamores (8-3), who will play either Bucknell or TCU in the final Christmas Day, have an excellent trio in Barnes, wing Tyreke Key (16 points) and 6-9, 255-pound post player Emondre Rickman (13 points, 6-of-9 FG). ISU, which came in leading the country in three-point shooting, hit 41% of their long-range shots Sunday, but took just 12 from behind the arc and had a surprisingly-huge night in the post thanks to players like Rickman.
The Sycamores look like a definite contender in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Nice nights for sophomore Amauri Hardy - 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field - and freshman Joel Ntambwe (21 points, 15 rebounds) in a losing effort for UNLV.
649 - William & Mary at Virginia
December 22 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA
ACC Network
Other games watched:
Texas State at Arkansas
Winthrop at Southern Illinois
648 - Idaho at Santa Clara
December 21 at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA
wccsports.com
Nonsense
"went in amongst the trees"
"it's a foul fest"
"fundamental footwork"
"rainbow three"
"ladies and gentleman, see the Vandals run"
"he's a stretch three"
"trap game"
"the cozy confines of the Leavey Center"
"a cardinal basketball sin"
December 23 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI
ESPN2
Jordan Barnes didn't attempt a shot until 7 1/2 minutes remained in the first half, yet finished with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Indiana State's 84-79 win in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic.
The Sycamores (8-3), who will play either Bucknell or TCU in the final Christmas Day, have an excellent trio in Barnes, wing Tyreke Key (16 points) and 6-9, 255-pound post player Emondre Rickman (13 points, 6-of-9 FG). ISU, which came in leading the country in three-point shooting, hit 41% of their long-range shots Sunday, but took just 12 from behind the arc and had a surprisingly-huge night in the post thanks to players like Rickman.
The Sycamores look like a definite contender in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Nice nights for sophomore Amauri Hardy - 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field - and freshman Joel Ntambwe (21 points, 15 rebounds) in a losing effort for UNLV.
649 - William & Mary at Virginia
December 22 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA
ACC Network
Other games watched:
Texas State at Arkansas
Winthrop at Southern Illinois
648 - Idaho at Santa Clara
December 21 at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA
wccsports.com
Nonsense
"went in amongst the trees"
"it's a foul fest"
"fundamental footwork"
"rainbow three"
"ladies and gentleman, see the Vandals run"
"he's a stretch three"
"trap game"
"the cozy confines of the Leavey Center"
"a cardinal basketball sin"
Games 646-647: Wednesday doubleheader
647 - Coppin State women at Florida Gulf Coast
December 19 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL
ESPN +
Chandler Ryan went 7-for-7 from three-point range and Davion Wingate went 6-for-7 and each scored 21 points off the bench in Gulf Coast's 93-61 win.
The Eagles, who had 11 different players score, hit an incredible 13 3-pointers in the first half as they went into the locker room up 51-22.
Nice night for Chance Graham in a losing effort as the junior led the visitors with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Also, one of the keys to the game for Coppin State?
MAKE SHOTS.
646 - UNC-Wilmington at Georgia State
December 19 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Good bounce back win for GSU, which shot 55% from the field, 52% from three and topped its old Colonial Athletic Association foe 86-71.
Devin Mitchell appears fully over his leg injury as the senior scored a season-high 23 points (on 6-of-10 three-point shooting). Four others were in double figures and the defense forced 22 turnovers. D'Marcus Simonds scored 14 points, which is seven below his average, but the junior grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists.
The Panthers were coming off a loss at Kansas State last Saturday in which they led by three with about 10 minutes to play, but scored just six points the remainder of the night.
One more non-conference game December 29 against NAIA Middle Georgia College before Sun Belt play begins January 3.
December 19 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL
ESPN +
Chandler Ryan went 7-for-7 from three-point range and Davion Wingate went 6-for-7 and each scored 21 points off the bench in Gulf Coast's 93-61 win.
The Eagles, who had 11 different players score, hit an incredible 13 3-pointers in the first half as they went into the locker room up 51-22.
Nice night for Chance Graham in a losing effort as the junior led the visitors with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Also, one of the keys to the game for Coppin State?
MAKE SHOTS.
646 - UNC-Wilmington at Georgia State
December 19 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Good bounce back win for GSU, which shot 55% from the field, 52% from three and topped its old Colonial Athletic Association foe 86-71.
Devin Mitchell appears fully over his leg injury as the senior scored a season-high 23 points (on 6-of-10 three-point shooting). Four others were in double figures and the defense forced 22 turnovers. D'Marcus Simonds scored 14 points, which is seven below his average, but the junior grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists.
The Panthers were coming off a loss at Kansas State last Saturday in which they led by three with about 10 minutes to play, but scored just six points the remainder of the night.
One more non-conference game December 29 against NAIA Middle Georgia College before Sun Belt play begins January 3.
Game 645 - Tennessee State at Akron
December 18 at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, OH
ESPN +
What a performance from play-by-play man Michael Reghi and color commentator Jacki Windon. The pair set a site record for saying the word "basketball" on Tuesday, passing Adrian Crawford's memorable work in the Southern Miss-Florida State game last December.
Crawford said it 70 times that day, but Reghi and Windon combined for 78 in Akron's 82-60 win.
"Basketball"
First half: said 32 times (1.6/game minute)
Second half: 46 (2.3/minute)
Total: 78 (1.9/game minute)
Notable
"high basketball IQ"
"they're finding themselves in basketball games"
"good decisions with the basketball"
"you can't go from here to there without putting the basketball on the deck"
"basketball loose on the deck"
"fun basketball game, Jacki"
"the basketball vernacular"
ESPN +
What a performance from play-by-play man Michael Reghi and color commentator Jacki Windon. The pair set a site record for saying the word "basketball" on Tuesday, passing Adrian Crawford's memorable work in the Southern Miss-Florida State game last December.
Crawford said it 70 times that day, but Reghi and Windon combined for 78 in Akron's 82-60 win.
"Basketball"
First half: said 32 times (1.6/game minute)
Second half: 46 (2.3/minute)
Total: 78 (1.9/game minute)
Notable
"high basketball IQ"
"they're finding themselves in basketball games"
"good decisions with the basketball"
"you can't go from here to there without putting the basketball on the deck"
"basketball loose on the deck"
"fun basketball game, Jacki"
"the basketball vernacular"
Games 642-643: A pair in Atlanta
643 - Kennesaw State women at Georgia State
December 13 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Sam Crenshaw never disappoints when it comes to saying the word "basketball". Another impressive evening for the play-by-play man in GSU's 79-73, overtime win.
By-quarter:
1st - 8 times
2nd - 8
3rd - 7
4th - 8
OT - 10
Total: 41
642 - Chattanooga at Georgia State
December 12 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Excellent job of not looking ahead to a big road game on Saturday as the Panthers shot 57% from the field in a 95-88 win.
One of the biggest things about Wednesday's win was Devin Mitchell coming off the bench to score a season-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range in 32 minutes. Mitchell missed the first seven games with a knee injury, and this was his first big game. His return us huge as he's the team's best outside shooter (though they have several good ones) and the roster is so much deeper with him healthy.
D'Marcus Simonds continued his excellent junior season, scoring a game-high 24 points, and sophomore point guard Kane Williams, who is becoming a real weapon when driving to the rim and either finishing or drawing fouls, added 17 points.
Associated Press No. 25 Kansas State awaits at Bramlage Coliseum Saturday.
December 13 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Sam Crenshaw never disappoints when it comes to saying the word "basketball". Another impressive evening for the play-by-play man in GSU's 79-73, overtime win.
By-quarter:
1st - 8 times
2nd - 8
3rd - 7
4th - 8
OT - 10
Total: 41
642 - Chattanooga at Georgia State
December 12 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +
Excellent job of not looking ahead to a big road game on Saturday as the Panthers shot 57% from the field in a 95-88 win.
One of the biggest things about Wednesday's win was Devin Mitchell coming off the bench to score a season-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range in 32 minutes. Mitchell missed the first seven games with a knee injury, and this was his first big game. His return us huge as he's the team's best outside shooter (though they have several good ones) and the roster is so much deeper with him healthy.
D'Marcus Simonds continued his excellent junior season, scoring a game-high 24 points, and sophomore point guard Kane Williams, who is becoming a real weapon when driving to the rim and either finishing or drawing fouls, added 17 points.
Associated Press No. 25 Kansas State awaits at Bramlage Coliseum Saturday.
Game 641 - Colorado at New Mexico
December 11 at The Pit in Albuquerque, NM
ESPN2
Impressive come back by the Buffaloes, who erased a 17-point, first-half deficit to win their sixth straight, 78-75.
Really enjoyed watching McKinley Wright play. The Colorado point guard can get to the rim and finish and he made some huge baskets Tuesday, finishing an efficient 6-for-12 from the field. His leaner with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the opening half capped a 12-0 run and got the visitors to within 32-27.
New Mexico still led 43-34 at halftime & by 14 four minutes into the second half, but the Lobos' offense went cold after that and Colorado (8-1) took the lead for good at the 4:33 mark on Wright's driving lay-up.
Tyler Bey led the Buffaloes with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
New Mexico wasted a great night from Anthony Mathis, who was 7-of-10 from three-point range for a game-high 23 points before fouling out with five seconds left.
ESPN2
Impressive come back by the Buffaloes, who erased a 17-point, first-half deficit to win their sixth straight, 78-75.
Really enjoyed watching McKinley Wright play. The Colorado point guard can get to the rim and finish and he made some huge baskets Tuesday, finishing an efficient 6-for-12 from the field. His leaner with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the opening half capped a 12-0 run and got the visitors to within 32-27.
New Mexico still led 43-34 at halftime & by 14 four minutes into the second half, but the Lobos' offense went cold after that and Colorado (8-1) took the lead for good at the 4:33 mark on Wright's driving lay-up.
Tyler Bey led the Buffaloes with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
New Mexico wasted a great night from Anthony Mathis, who was 7-of-10 from three-point range for a game-high 23 points before fouling out with five seconds left.
Game 640 - Towson women at Saint Joseph's
December 10 at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, PA
ESPN +
The duo of Kionna Jeter and Danielle Durjan was very impressive in the Tigers' 73-52 victory.
Jeter, who came into the night 15th nationally in scoring, started slowly, but used a nice mid-range jumper and the ability to find her own shot whenever she needed to for a game-high 19 points on 50% shooting. Jeter also had five of Towson's 11 steals.
Durjan had one of the most efficient nights we've seen at 200 Game Season, scoring 16 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, in just 19 minutes off the bench.
Towson is an impressive offensive rebounding team - seventh nationally coming in - and were all over the glass Monday. Led by Nukiya Mayo, who grabbed five offensive rebounds to go along with 16 points, the visitors had 20 offensive rebounds. That helped lead to 24 second-chance points and allow Towson to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a blowout win.
ESPN +
The duo of Kionna Jeter and Danielle Durjan was very impressive in the Tigers' 73-52 victory.
Jeter, who came into the night 15th nationally in scoring, started slowly, but used a nice mid-range jumper and the ability to find her own shot whenever she needed to for a game-high 19 points on 50% shooting. Jeter also had five of Towson's 11 steals.
Durjan had one of the most efficient nights we've seen at 200 Game Season, scoring 16 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, in just 19 minutes off the bench.
Towson is an impressive offensive rebounding team - seventh nationally coming in - and were all over the glass Monday. Led by Nukiya Mayo, who grabbed five offensive rebounds to go along with 16 points, the visitors had 20 offensive rebounds. That helped lead to 24 second-chance points and allow Towson to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a blowout win.
Game 639 - Fairfield women at Dartmouth
December 9 at Leede Arena in Hanover, NH
ESPN +
Dartmouth shot 60% (23-of-38) from the field and got 18 points from senior Isalys Quinones in a 59-46 victory.
Quinones, a 6-3 forward and newest member of the Scoochie Smith All Stars, was efficient in both the lane and from three-point range, hitting 3-of-4 shots from each distance.
Sophomore Elle Louie added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, and senior point guard Cy Lippold did a great job running the offense for the hosts, who led by as much as 21.
Nonsense
Good collection of phrases & general silliness from the broadcast team:
"you can't win a game in the first quarter, but you sure can lose it"
"there's no 13-point basket"
"Dartmouth's just all up in your kitchen defensively"
"good, active hands"
"pick and pop"
"Dartmouth made mincemeat of the BU zone the other day"
ESPN +
Dartmouth shot 60% (23-of-38) from the field and got 18 points from senior Isalys Quinones in a 59-46 victory.
Quinones, a 6-3 forward and newest member of the Scoochie Smith All Stars, was efficient in both the lane and from three-point range, hitting 3-of-4 shots from each distance.
Sophomore Elle Louie added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, and senior point guard Cy Lippold did a great job running the offense for the hosts, who led by as much as 21.
Nonsense
Good collection of phrases & general silliness from the broadcast team:
"you can't win a game in the first quarter, but you sure can lose it"
"there's no 13-point basket"
"Dartmouth's just all up in your kitchen defensively"
"good, active hands"
"pick and pop"
"Dartmouth made mincemeat of the BU zone the other day"
Game 638 - Frostburg State at Longwood
December 7 at Willett Hall in Farmville, VA
ESPN +
Daniel Alexander did all he could, but the Division III Bobcats fell just short.
Alexander poured in 33 points, and Edwin Cole hit a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the second half to send the game into overtime, but Longwood hung on for a 68-65 victory.
Jashaun Smith converted a lay-up at the four-minute mark of overtime to put the hosts up for good. It was 66-61 before Alexander picked up the last of his and his team's points on a four-point play with 55 seconds left.
Smith (12 points) was one of five in double figures for Longwood.
Frostburg, a school based in Maryland, led by four late in the game. The Bobcats just didn't have enough past Alexander. The 6-2 junior was 12-of-23 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range (and had a team-high 12 rebounds, more than twice his average), while his teammates hit just 12-of-41 from the field and missed 14 of their 19 3-point attempts.
Analysis!
I think the color commentator's name was T.J. Winger, not entirely sure about the last name. But this is a segment we like to call Thanks, T.J.!
* 54-53 game, 1 1/2 minutes left: "this is a big defensive possession". Thanks, T.J.!
* "He averaged double figures in scoring all four years of high school". You mean he scored at least 10 points per game in high school?! Thanks, T.J.!
* Frostburg took a three-point lead on a Terry Kenner three in the corner 4 1/2 minutes into the second half: "(Frostburg has) got everything brewing in their direction".
* On Longwood's win over VMI in its previous game: "it wasn't the sexiest offensive game, more of a defensive grind".
[ALL] Thanks, T.J.!
ESPN +
Daniel Alexander did all he could, but the Division III Bobcats fell just short.
Alexander poured in 33 points, and Edwin Cole hit a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the second half to send the game into overtime, but Longwood hung on for a 68-65 victory.
Jashaun Smith converted a lay-up at the four-minute mark of overtime to put the hosts up for good. It was 66-61 before Alexander picked up the last of his and his team's points on a four-point play with 55 seconds left.
Smith (12 points) was one of five in double figures for Longwood.
Frostburg, a school based in Maryland, led by four late in the game. The Bobcats just didn't have enough past Alexander. The 6-2 junior was 12-of-23 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range (and had a team-high 12 rebounds, more than twice his average), while his teammates hit just 12-of-41 from the field and missed 14 of their 19 3-point attempts.
Analysis!
I think the color commentator's name was T.J. Winger, not entirely sure about the last name. But this is a segment we like to call Thanks, T.J.!
* 54-53 game, 1 1/2 minutes left: "this is a big defensive possession". Thanks, T.J.!
* "He averaged double figures in scoring all four years of high school". You mean he scored at least 10 points per game in high school?! Thanks, T.J.!
* Frostburg took a three-point lead on a Terry Kenner three in the corner 4 1/2 minutes into the second half: "(Frostburg has) got everything brewing in their direction".
* On Longwood's win over VMI in its previous game: "it wasn't the sexiest offensive game, more of a defensive grind".
[ALL] Thanks, T.J.!
Game 636 - Georgia State at Alabama
December 4 at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL
SEC Network
That may have been the greatest/most ridiculous win in program history.
Georgia State allowed 60 percent shooting in the first half & went down 21 at halftime, yet found a way to pull the stunner, 83-80.
Malik Benlevi capped a thrilling come back with a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer that gave GSU two wins against the SEC in the same season for the first time ever.
D'Marcus Simonds struggled in the first half (five points on 2-of-12 shooting), but scored 18 points over the final 20 minutes, and all nine GSU points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch just before Benlevi's three.
Simonds lay-up with 43 seconds left put GSU up 80-78; Alabama scored its final points 20 seconds later on a Dazon Ingram lay-in.
It was the 12th-largest halftime come back in NCAA history.
Ingram had only four of his 17 points after halftime.
Kira Lewis is Alabama's best player, and he showed it in the first half hitting four threes on his way to 16 points. But GSU played excellent defense in the second half - the Crimson Tide shot 29% - and Lewis added just three points after the break.
Also, the come back could not have been possible without horrendous free-throw shooting from Alabama, which made 4-of-11 over the final seven minutes & was 18-of-31 for the game.
And GSU finished 79% (15-of-19) from the line, led by Simonds, who was 6-of-6 in the second half.
Benlevi!
The senior continued the strong start to his senior season, adding 16 and 8. On the radio post game, Benlevi told 88.5's Dave Cohen that that was the first buzzer beater of his life.
!
What a shot.
What a win.
That may have been the greatest/most ridiculous win in program history.
Georgia State allowed 60 percent shooting in the first half & went down 21 at halftime, yet found a way to pull the stunner, 83-80.
Malik Benlevi capped a thrilling come back with a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer that gave GSU two wins against the SEC in the same season for the first time ever.
D'Marcus Simonds struggled in the first half (five points on 2-of-12 shooting), but scored 18 points over the final 20 minutes, and all nine GSU points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch just before Benlevi's three.
Simonds lay-up with 43 seconds left put GSU up 80-78; Alabama scored its final points 20 seconds later on a Dazon Ingram lay-in.
It was the 12th-largest halftime come back in NCAA history.
Ingram had only four of his 17 points after halftime.
Kira Lewis is Alabama's best player, and he showed it in the first half hitting four threes on his way to 16 points. But GSU played excellent defense in the second half - the Crimson Tide shot 29% - and Lewis added just three points after the break.
Also, the come back could not have been possible without horrendous free-throw shooting from Alabama, which made 4-of-11 over the final seven minutes & was 18-of-31 for the game.
And GSU finished 79% (15-of-19) from the line, led by Simonds, who was 6-of-6 in the second half.
Benlevi!
The senior continued the strong start to his senior season, adding 16 and 8. On the radio post game, Benlevi told 88.5's Dave Cohen that that was the first buzzer beater of his life.
!
What a shot.
What a win.
Games 633-635: Weekend trio
635 - Columbia women at Boston College
December 2 at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA
ACC Network
634 - Georgia State at Liberty
December 1 at Vines Center in Lynchburg, VA
ESPN +
633 - Gonzaga at Creighton
December 1 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE
December 2 at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA
ACC Network
634 - Georgia State at Liberty
December 1 at Vines Center in Lynchburg, VA
ESPN +
633 - Gonzaga at Creighton
December 1 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE
FOX
Game 632 - American at VMI
November 27 at Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA
espn3
Color commentator Grafton Young with a nice trio of phrases in American's 74-64 win:
"VMI is playing high-octane on the offensive side of the ledger"
"American? Give them credit, they studied the tape, they're playing the plays"
"The bank is open, past 5, on a Tuesday night!"
espn3
Color commentator Grafton Young with a nice trio of phrases in American's 74-64 win:
"VMI is playing high-octane on the offensive side of the ledger"
"American? Give them credit, they studied the tape, they're playing the plays"
"The bank is open, past 5, on a Tuesday night!"
Games 630-631: A Sunday evening
631 - Oregon State at Long Beach State
November 25 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA
BigWestTV
630 - Little Rock women at LSU
November 25 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
SEC Network
November 25 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA
BigWestTV
630 - Little Rock women at LSU
November 25 at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
SEC Network
Game 629 - Canisius vs. UAB
November 25 at HP Field House in Orlando, FL
ESPN
Zack Bryant had struggled through the first two games of the Advocare Invitational, combining for just 13 points and 25% shooting in UAB's losses to Florida State and Charleston. In Sunday's seventh-place game, Bryant came off the bench and scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and had seven steals in a 68-58 victory.
UAB got off to a really slow start and trailed by as much as 26-11 in the opening half. Things started to turn around for the Blazers with just under three minutes to play in the half. Bryant led the way during an 8-0 run, converting a transition lay-up and hitting a 3-pointer, then followed that with a steal that led to Jeremiah Bell's bucket, and Bryant's three-point play with a minute left got the Blazers to within 30-29.
UAB took its first lead of the night on Bryant's Jalen Perry-assisted 3-pointer with 18:07 to go in the game and never trailed again.
Bell added 15 points and Perry, 11 for UAB.
Takal Molson led Canisius with 15 points, but second-leading scorer Isaiah Reese wasn't much of a factor, scoring six points and hitting just 3-of-12 from the field.
Phrase of the year nominee
Mike Morgan:
"UAB marinating in momentum"
!
ESPN
Zack Bryant had struggled through the first two games of the Advocare Invitational, combining for just 13 points and 25% shooting in UAB's losses to Florida State and Charleston. In Sunday's seventh-place game, Bryant came off the bench and scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and had seven steals in a 68-58 victory.
UAB got off to a really slow start and trailed by as much as 26-11 in the opening half. Things started to turn around for the Blazers with just under three minutes to play in the half. Bryant led the way during an 8-0 run, converting a transition lay-up and hitting a 3-pointer, then followed that with a steal that led to Jeremiah Bell's bucket, and Bryant's three-point play with a minute left got the Blazers to within 30-29.
UAB took its first lead of the night on Bryant's Jalen Perry-assisted 3-pointer with 18:07 to go in the game and never trailed again.
Bell added 15 points and Perry, 11 for UAB.
Takal Molson led Canisius with 15 points, but second-leading scorer Isaiah Reese wasn't much of a factor, scoring six points and hitting just 3-of-12 from the field.
Phrase of the year nominee
Mike Morgan:
"UAB marinating in momentum"
!
Games 627-628 - A Saturday pair
628 - Marist at Buffalo
November 24 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY
espn3
This game was all about the benches - specifically how Marist got 34 of its 49 points from its reserves, which isn't good, and C.J. Massinburg's performance off the bench for the hosts, which was excellent.
Massinburg, the team's leading scorer who missed Buffalo's previous game against Dartmouth, showed little signs of that knee injury, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 21 points in a 76-49 win.
Buffalo (5-0), ranked for the first time in its history at No. 22, hit 16-of-32 as a team from three as starter Jayvon Graves knocked down four on his way to 16 points.
Marist's starters were a non-factor, including leading scorer Brian Parker, who was held without a field goal and scored just three points.
627 - Chicago State at Bradley
November 24 at Carver Arena in Peoria, IL
ESPN
In an 86-70 Bradley victory, we had a solid collection of nonsense from the broadcast team of Brian Bedo & Matt McClain:
"a player-led team"
"rhythm looks"
"high volume three-point shooter"
"Bradley trying to fight fire with fire"
"another stat stuffing afternoon"
"active hands"
November 24 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY
espn3
This game was all about the benches - specifically how Marist got 34 of its 49 points from its reserves, which isn't good, and C.J. Massinburg's performance off the bench for the hosts, which was excellent.
Massinburg, the team's leading scorer who missed Buffalo's previous game against Dartmouth, showed little signs of that knee injury, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 21 points in a 76-49 win.
Buffalo (5-0), ranked for the first time in its history at No. 22, hit 16-of-32 as a team from three as starter Jayvon Graves knocked down four on his way to 16 points.
Marist's starters were a non-factor, including leading scorer Brian Parker, who was held without a field goal and scored just three points.
627 - Chicago State at Bradley
November 24 at Carver Arena in Peoria, IL
ESPN
In an 86-70 Bradley victory, we had a solid collection of nonsense from the broadcast team of Brian Bedo & Matt McClain:
"a player-led team"
"rhythm looks"
"high volume three-point shooter"
"Bradley trying to fight fire with fire"
"another stat stuffing afternoon"
"active hands"
Games 625-626: Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader
626 - Xavier women at Wake Forest
November 21 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
Play-by-play man Brian Rushing, late-second quarter:
" Xavier with a quick, 4-0 outburst."
625 - Georgia State vs. Georgia
November 21 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Considering they were blown out in the semi finals to eventual tournament champion Creighton, GSU's run in the Cayman Islands Classic was extremely successful.
Thanks to eight 3-pointers from 6-8 forward Malik Benlevi, the Panthers had no trouble with in-state rival Georgia, winning 91-67 to grab the third-place trophy.
It's the program's first win over an SEC team since December, 2003 (Auburn), and Benlevi was a huge reason why. The senior was 8-of-11 from behind the arc (GSU as a team was 14-of-25, 56%), and with all-tournament team performer D'Marcus Simonds adding 17 points and eight assists (he averaged 21 points in three tournament games), and Kane Williams contributing 14 points and seven assists (the sophomore point guard averaged 13.3 points & 4.6 assists in the tournament), the Panthers came up with one of their bigger regular season non-conference wins in a while.
November 21 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Network
Play-by-play man Brian Rushing, late-second quarter:
" Xavier with a quick, 4-0 outburst."
625 - Georgia State vs. Georgia
November 21 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Considering they were blown out in the semi finals to eventual tournament champion Creighton, GSU's run in the Cayman Islands Classic was extremely successful.
Thanks to eight 3-pointers from 6-8 forward Malik Benlevi, the Panthers had no trouble with in-state rival Georgia, winning 91-67 to grab the third-place trophy.
It's the program's first win over an SEC team since December, 2003 (Auburn), and Benlevi was a huge reason why. The senior was 8-of-11 from behind the arc (GSU as a team was 14-of-25, 56%), and with all-tournament team performer D'Marcus Simonds adding 17 points and eight assists (he averaged 21 points in three tournament games), and Kane Williams contributing 14 points and seven assists (the sophomore point guard averaged 13.3 points & 4.6 assists in the tournament), the Panthers came up with one of their bigger regular season non-conference wins in a while.
Game 624 - Moving on to the semis
Georgia State vs. St. Bonaventure
November 19 at John Gray Gymnasium in George Town, Cayman Islands
Stadium TV
Georgia State has had a pretty solid top 3 or 4 in its rotation in the past, but has lacked the depth that's necessary to not only win a conference (which they accomplished without depth a year ago), but be able to win non-league road/neutral games against NCAA-caliber teams (which they did not).
Each season, there's the hope that a second group emerges and allows the Panthers to dress a solid 8-9 players that can contribute. Perhaps this is the season.
Freshman Nelson Phillips had a great game, contributing 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 25 points as GSU won its quarterfinal game of the Cayman Islands Classic, 75-65.
Phillips nearly notched his first double-double, while senior Malik Benlevi (13 points on 5-of-10 shooting), sophomore point guard Kane Williams (six points, six assists, four steals, two blocks) and senior Jeff Thomas added nine and seven. Now Creighton awaits in the semifinals.
It's a huge opportunity for GSU, which beat a fellow 2018 NCAA team Monday, will play one again Tuesday, and with a victory, Sweet 16 Clemson or in-state rival Georgia awaits in the championship game.
The semis are Tuesday at 7:30. Can't wait.
Georgia State has had a pretty solid top 3 or 4 in its rotation in the past, but has lacked the depth that's necessary to not only win a conference (which they accomplished without depth a year ago), but be able to win non-league road/neutral games against NCAA-caliber teams (which they did not).
Each season, there's the hope that a second group emerges and allows the Panthers to dress a solid 8-9 players that can contribute. Perhaps this is the season.
Freshman Nelson Phillips had a great game, contributing 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and junior D'Marcus Simonds scored 25 points as GSU won its quarterfinal game of the Cayman Islands Classic, 75-65.
Phillips nearly notched his first double-double, while senior Malik Benlevi (13 points on 5-of-10 shooting), sophomore point guard Kane Williams (six points, six assists, four steals, two blocks) and senior Jeff Thomas added nine and seven. Now Creighton awaits in the semifinals.
It's a huge opportunity for GSU, which beat a fellow 2018 NCAA team Monday, will play one again Tuesday, and with a victory, Sweet 16 Clemson or in-state rival Georgia awaits in the championship game.
The semis are Tuesday at 7:30. Can't wait.
Games 621-623: Weekend tripleheader
623 - Little Rock at Nevada
November 16 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, NV
ESPNU
622 - Alcorn State at Vanderbilt
November 16 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, TN
SEC Network
"extra buzz in the building"
"Memorial magic"
"a great NBA body"
"power conference team" (2)
"they had some teaching moments"
"he's really a player's coach"
"a good student of the game and a gym rat"
Commentator Shan Foster's top 3
"showing the strength, the athleticism...the yoyo!"
"Alcorn State running their offense...religiously"
"they're not running offense right now, they're just playing basketball"
621 - Alabama vs. Northeastern
November 15 at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
ESPN
November 16 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, NV
ESPNU
622 - Alcorn State at Vanderbilt
November 16 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, TN
SEC Network
"extra buzz in the building"
"Memorial magic"
"a great NBA body"
"power conference team" (2)
"they had some teaching moments"
"he's really a player's coach"
"a good student of the game and a gym rat"
Commentator Shan Foster's top 3
"showing the strength, the athleticism...the yoyo!"
"Alcorn State running their offense...religiously"
"they're not running offense right now, they're just playing basketball"
621 - Alabama vs. Northeastern
November 15 at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
ESPN
Game 620 - UT-San Antonio at Oklahoma State
November 14 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, OK
FS1
OSU actually trailed 9-0 in this game, but got it together midway through the first half and shot 50% from the field in winning 82-60.
But I really just wanted to talk about one phrase that I hear a lot, and not just in sports. Early in the second half, Oklahoma State's Cameron McGriff (20 points, 10 rebounds) took a charge and commentator Bryndon Manzer said he "read that like a book".
This doesn't make any sense.
If I'm reading a book, I don't have any idea what's going to happen (which is why I'm READING THE BOOK). How could he have read that pass like a book?
Do you mean he read that like a book he had already read?
FS1
OSU actually trailed 9-0 in this game, but got it together midway through the first half and shot 50% from the field in winning 82-60.
But I really just wanted to talk about one phrase that I hear a lot, and not just in sports. Early in the second half, Oklahoma State's Cameron McGriff (20 points, 10 rebounds) took a charge and commentator Bryndon Manzer said he "read that like a book".
This doesn't make any sense.
If I'm reading a book, I don't have any idea what's going to happen (which is why I'm READING THE BOOK). How could he have read that pass like a book?
Do you mean he read that like a book he had already read?
Game 619 - Mercer at Georgia State
November 13 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
A week ago, I watched Jeff Thomas set a career-high with 26 points in a season-opening win over East Tennessee State. Another Tuesday, another career-high for the senior.
Thomas was fantastic, scoring 30 points, including eight 3-pointers as GSU hung on for a 62-60 victory.
Thomas, who bounced back from a two-point game in a loss to Montana last Friday, needed to be that good because
1. No one else shot the ball particularly well (Thomas was 11-of-17 from the field and 8-of-13 from three, the rest of the team was just 12-of-37 and 7-of-22).
2. The Panthers' top three-point shooter, Devin Mitchell, is still out with a knee injury.
3. Mercer nearly erased a 19-point deficit and inexplicably had the last possession with a chance to win. The Bears missed a three with a couple seconds to play.
After a 2-1 first week of the season, things get tougher in a hurry for GSU. November 19, the Panthers play St. Bonaventure, a 26-win, NCAA team a year ago, in the Cayman Islands Classic. Either Boise State or Creighton follows a day later.
A week ago, I watched Jeff Thomas set a career-high with 26 points in a season-opening win over East Tennessee State. Another Tuesday, another career-high for the senior.
Thomas was fantastic, scoring 30 points, including eight 3-pointers as GSU hung on for a 62-60 victory.
Thomas, who bounced back from a two-point game in a loss to Montana last Friday, needed to be that good because
1. No one else shot the ball particularly well (Thomas was 11-of-17 from the field and 8-of-13 from three, the rest of the team was just 12-of-37 and 7-of-22).
2. The Panthers' top three-point shooter, Devin Mitchell, is still out with a knee injury.
3. Mercer nearly erased a 19-point deficit and inexplicably had the last possession with a chance to win. The Bears missed a three with a couple seconds to play.
After a 2-1 first week of the season, things get tougher in a hurry for GSU. November 19, the Panthers play St. Bonaventure, a 26-win, NCAA team a year ago, in the Cayman Islands Classic. Either Boise State or Creighton follows a day later.
Game 618 - Morgan State at DePaul
November 12 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL
FS1
Nice night for DePaul, which overwhelmed the visitors from Baltimore in a 91-63 victory.
The Blue Demons (2-0), looking for their first winning season (and first with more than 12 wins) since 2006-07, have a pair of really good players in Max Strus and Eli Cain. Strus scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, while Cain added 21 on 7-of-14 from the field. The pair combined for a 10-for-17 night from three-point range.
DePaul doubled up the MEAC school on the glass (52-26 rebounding edge), and after Morgan State got to within 22-16 on a jumper by Martez Cameron with about seven minutes to play in the first half DePaul went on a 10-1 run and cruised for the rest of the night.
Cameron led the Morgan State with 11 points.
FS1
Nice night for DePaul, which overwhelmed the visitors from Baltimore in a 91-63 victory.
The Blue Demons (2-0), looking for their first winning season (and first with more than 12 wins) since 2006-07, have a pair of really good players in Max Strus and Eli Cain. Strus scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, while Cain added 21 on 7-of-14 from the field. The pair combined for a 10-for-17 night from three-point range.
DePaul doubled up the MEAC school on the glass (52-26 rebounding edge), and after Morgan State got to within 22-16 on a jumper by Martez Cameron with about seven minutes to play in the first half DePaul went on a 10-1 run and cruised for the rest of the night.
Cameron led the Morgan State with 11 points.
Game 616 - North Alabama at Samford
November 6 at Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, AL
espn3
The trio of Josh Sharkey (18 points, seven assists), Myron Gordon (19 points) and Ruben Guerrero (17 points, four blocks) combined to shoot 72% (23-of-32) from the field, more than enough for Samford in its season opener, a 91-74 win.
It was North Alabama's first game as a Division 1 member as the Lions are making the transition from Division II to the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The visitors from Florence, Alabama trailed just 14-12 after a 3-pointer from Jamari Blackmon at the 15:47 mark of the first half, but Samford put together a 22-6 run over the next six minutes and were never threatened again.
North Alabama was good from the outside - 14-of-26 - but struggled on 2-pointers (27%). Meanwhile, Sharkey was excellent in the opening half (Samford led 49-30 at the break after shooting 70% from the field) and the visitors couldn't recover.
espn3
The trio of Josh Sharkey (18 points, seven assists), Myron Gordon (19 points) and Ruben Guerrero (17 points, four blocks) combined to shoot 72% (23-of-32) from the field, more than enough for Samford in its season opener, a 91-74 win.
It was North Alabama's first game as a Division 1 member as the Lions are making the transition from Division II to the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The visitors from Florence, Alabama trailed just 14-12 after a 3-pointer from Jamari Blackmon at the 15:47 mark of the first half, but Samford put together a 22-6 run over the next six minutes and were never threatened again.
North Alabama was good from the outside - 14-of-26 - but struggled on 2-pointers (27%). Meanwhile, Sharkey was excellent in the opening half (Samford led 49-30 at the break after shooting 70% from the field) and the visitors couldn't recover.
Game 615 - Season opener
East Tennessee State at Georgia State
November 6 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
If Tuesday was any indication, Jeff Thomas is about to have a fantastic senior season.
Thomas scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting, added four blocks and played his usual excellent defense in a 74-68 win.
GSU, coming off a Sun Belt championship and NCAA appearance, gave up a horrific 27 offensive rebounds, so that huge problem did not go away at least in game No. 1 of the new season. Also, Devin Mitchell didn't play for an unknown reason.
But reigning league player of the year D'Marcus Simonds shook off some early rust to score 21 points (4-of-8 from three) and Pittsburgh transfer Damon Wilson, playing in his first game as a Panther, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and hit the biggest shot of the night, corralling a missed Simonds' 3-pointer and hitting one of his own with 50 seconds to play that put the Panthers in front 72-68.
The visitors had pulled to within 69-68 on a dunk from Armus Mladen at the 1:37 mark.
ETSU, a 25-win team and Southern Conference runner-up a year ago, built a 56-52 lead with just under eight minutes to play. GSU followed with a 10-0 run - Thomas nailed an ahead-for-good three with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
Nice double-double for Malik Benlevi, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds, including several put backs when GSU was struggling to find offense.
November 6 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
If Tuesday was any indication, Jeff Thomas is about to have a fantastic senior season.
Thomas scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting, added four blocks and played his usual excellent defense in a 74-68 win.
GSU, coming off a Sun Belt championship and NCAA appearance, gave up a horrific 27 offensive rebounds, so that huge problem did not go away at least in game No. 1 of the new season. Also, Devin Mitchell didn't play for an unknown reason.
But reigning league player of the year D'Marcus Simonds shook off some early rust to score 21 points (4-of-8 from three) and Pittsburgh transfer Damon Wilson, playing in his first game as a Panther, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and hit the biggest shot of the night, corralling a missed Simonds' 3-pointer and hitting one of his own with 50 seconds to play that put the Panthers in front 72-68.
The visitors had pulled to within 69-68 on a dunk from Armus Mladen at the 1:37 mark.
ETSU, a 25-win team and Southern Conference runner-up a year ago, built a 56-52 lead with just under eight minutes to play. GSU followed with a 10-0 run - Thomas nailed an ahead-for-good three with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
Nice double-double for Malik Benlevi, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds, including several put backs when GSU was struggling to find offense.
Game 614 - Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz
October 19 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN
Tough loss for Utah in its first home game & our season 4 opener.
The Jazz led by as much as 16 points in the second half, but Jonas Jerebko's tip-in (in his first game against his former team) with .3 seconds left was the difference in a 124-123 Golden State win.
Jae Crowder's lay-up with 51 seconds to go had given Utah a 123-122 lead, and with the ball back and still up one, Donovan Mitchell missed a long, pull-up jumper with seven seconds left. That gave the defending NBA champions a last possession, and after Kevin Durant (game-high 38 points) missed a pull-up from the elbow, Jerebko made a tricky tip-in for the winning points.
Durant came close to a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. Steph Curry scored 31 points and handed out eight of the Warriors' 27 assists. Golden State was excellent from both three-point range (10-of-19) and the field overall (39-of-87, 56%).
Utah started 1-11 from three-point range, but made 18 of its final 35. Joe Ingles led the way, hitting 7-of-11 from behind the arc for a team-high 27 points.
ESPN
Tough loss for Utah in its first home game & our season 4 opener.
The Jazz led by as much as 16 points in the second half, but Jonas Jerebko's tip-in (in his first game against his former team) with .3 seconds left was the difference in a 124-123 Golden State win.
Jae Crowder's lay-up with 51 seconds to go had given Utah a 123-122 lead, and with the ball back and still up one, Donovan Mitchell missed a long, pull-up jumper with seven seconds left. That gave the defending NBA champions a last possession, and after Kevin Durant (game-high 38 points) missed a pull-up from the elbow, Jerebko made a tricky tip-in for the winning points.
Durant came close to a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. Steph Curry scored 31 points and handed out eight of the Warriors' 27 assists. Golden State was excellent from both three-point range (10-of-19) and the field overall (39-of-87, 56%).
Utah started 1-11 from three-point range, but made 18 of its final 35. Joe Ingles led the way, hitting 7-of-11 from behind the arc for a team-high 27 points.
Game 613 - (4) Cleveland Cavaliers at (2) Boston Celtics
Eastern Conference finals
Game 7
May 27 at TD Garden Arena in Boston, MA
ESPN
Game 7
May 27 at TD Garden Arena in Boston, MA
ESPN
Game 612 - (1) Houston Rockets at (5) Utah Jazz
Western Conference semifinals
Game 3
May 4 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN
I imagine Utah was feeling pretty confident heading into Friday's game. The fifth-seeded Jazz had just evened the series and secured home-court advantage with a win in Houston in game two.
That confidence went away in a hurry.
The top seed had a dominant first quarter and were never threatened in winning 113-92 to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Rockets, who won an NBA-best 65 games during the regular season, shot 61% in the opening period (16-of-26), assisting on 10 of those made baskets and led 39-22 through one. The lead grew to as much as 88-50 in the third on a long Eric Gordon 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play.
Gordon was great off the bench, finishing with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Gordon and James Harden led all players in scoring with Harden adding 12 assists.
Game four is Sunday.
Game 3
May 4 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN
I imagine Utah was feeling pretty confident heading into Friday's game. The fifth-seeded Jazz had just evened the series and secured home-court advantage with a win in Houston in game two.
That confidence went away in a hurry.
The top seed had a dominant first quarter and were never threatened in winning 113-92 to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Rockets, who won an NBA-best 65 games during the regular season, shot 61% in the opening period (16-of-26), assisting on 10 of those made baskets and led 39-22 through one. The lead grew to as much as 88-50 in the third on a long Eric Gordon 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play.
Gordon was great off the bench, finishing with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Gordon and James Harden led all players in scoring with Harden adding 12 assists.
Game four is Sunday.
Game 611: (5) Indiana Pacers at (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern Conference first round
Game 7
April 29 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
ABC
I really don't think it's fair that one NBA team gets to play with four human basketball players and one guy who is his own basketball species, while every other team has to settle for five human basketball players.
Cleveland got another incredible effort from LeBron James as his 45 points led the Cavaliers to a 105-101 victory and 4-3 series win.
James, who is second only to Michael Jordan for career playoff 40-point games (and during this game became the sport's all-time leader in playoff steals), is basically carrying a team through the postseason AGAIN. James was 16-of-25 from the field (his teammates also hit 16 field goals, but on 49 attempts) and was one rebound and three assists short of a triple-double.
The three-time defending East champions will play top seed Toronto in round two.
Great effort again from Indiana's Victor Oladipo, who as a 6-4 guard led all players with 12 rebounds while scoring 25 of his team-high 30 points in the second half. Oladipo poured in 58 points during the final two games of the series.
Game 7
April 29 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
ABC
I really don't think it's fair that one NBA team gets to play with four human basketball players and one guy who is his own basketball species, while every other team has to settle for five human basketball players.
Cleveland got another incredible effort from LeBron James as his 45 points led the Cavaliers to a 105-101 victory and 4-3 series win.
James, who is second only to Michael Jordan for career playoff 40-point games (and during this game became the sport's all-time leader in playoff steals), is basically carrying a team through the postseason AGAIN. James was 16-of-25 from the field (his teammates also hit 16 field goals, but on 49 attempts) and was one rebound and three assists short of a triple-double.
The three-time defending East champions will play top seed Toronto in round two.
Great effort again from Indiana's Victor Oladipo, who as a 6-4 guard led all players with 12 rebounds while scoring 25 of his team-high 30 points in the second half. Oladipo poured in 58 points during the final two games of the series.
Game 610: (4) Oklahoma City Thunder at (5) Utah Jazz
Western Conference first round
Game 6
April 27 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN
Game 6
April 27 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN
Game 609: (6) New Orleans Pelicans at (3) Portland Trailblazers
Western Conference first round
Game 1
April 14 at Moda Center in Portland, OR
ABC
Great playoff opener for the sixth-seeded Pelicans, who got huge performances from Anthony Davis (35 and 14 with four blocked shots) and Rajon Rondo (17 assists) and stunned the No. 3 seed 97-95.
Jrue Holiday added 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Rondo's assist total is his highest in the playoffs since also getting 17 in the Celtics' win over Philadelphia in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Portland's top two players - Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum - were held to a combined 13-of-41 shooting and the hosts shot just 37% overall.
Game 1
April 14 at Moda Center in Portland, OR
ABC
Great playoff opener for the sixth-seeded Pelicans, who got huge performances from Anthony Davis (35 and 14 with four blocked shots) and Rajon Rondo (17 assists) and stunned the No. 3 seed 97-95.
Jrue Holiday added 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Rondo's assist total is his highest in the playoffs since also getting 17 in the Celtics' win over Philadelphia in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Portland's top two players - Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum - were held to a combined 13-of-41 shooting and the hosts shot just 37% overall.
Game 608: New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Clippers
April 9 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
ESPN
ESPN
Game 607: Villanova
NCAA Tournament national championship game
(3) Michigan vs. (1) Villanova
April 1 at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
TBS
There were a ton of great stories in this NCAA Tournament:
* Maryland Baltimore County becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, stunning the top overall seed Virginia 74-54 in the South Region.
* Also in the South - No. 14 seed Buffalo blew out No. 3 Arizona in the first round and Loyola-Chicago went from a No. 11 seed to the final four.
* Syracuse does what Syracuse apparently does all the time now - win tournament games as a low seed, this time taking a No. 11 and winning a first four game, then upsetting sixth-seeded TCU and third-seeded Michigan State to get to the Sweet 16. The Orangemen lost to No. 2 seed Duke by just four.
* Michigan got hot at the right time, winning the Big 10 Tournament, then reaching the national title game with a five-game run in the NCAAs, which included a buzzer-beater over No. 6 seed Houston in the round of 32.....
....but there was one great team - Villanova, which won its second national championship in three years with a convincing, 79-62 victory over the Wolverines on Monday.
(3) Michigan vs. (1) Villanova
April 1 at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
TBS
There were a ton of great stories in this NCAA Tournament:
* Maryland Baltimore County becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, stunning the top overall seed Virginia 74-54 in the South Region.
* Also in the South - No. 14 seed Buffalo blew out No. 3 Arizona in the first round and Loyola-Chicago went from a No. 11 seed to the final four.
* Syracuse does what Syracuse apparently does all the time now - win tournament games as a low seed, this time taking a No. 11 and winning a first four game, then upsetting sixth-seeded TCU and third-seeded Michigan State to get to the Sweet 16. The Orangemen lost to No. 2 seed Duke by just four.
* Michigan got hot at the right time, winning the Big 10 Tournament, then reaching the national title game with a five-game run in the NCAAs, which included a buzzer-beater over No. 6 seed Houston in the round of 32.....
....but there was one great team - Villanova, which won its second national championship in three years with a convincing, 79-62 victory over the Wolverines on Monday.
Games 605-606: A pair head to the finals
606 - NCAA Tournament national semifinals
(11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (3) Michigan
March 31 at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
CBS
605 - NCAA Tournament national semifinals
(1) Notre Dame women vs. (1) Connecticut
March 30 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
ESPN
(11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (3) Michigan
March 31 at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
CBS
605 - NCAA Tournament national semifinals
(1) Notre Dame women vs. (1) Connecticut
March 30 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
ESPN
Game 604: Title
NIT championship game
March 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
ESPN2
Tony Carr knows how to lead his team to a championship. What a performance.
Carr just missed a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds as Penn State won its second-ever NIT title, 82-66 over Utah.
Carr, a sophomore who may or may not declare for the NBA Draft next month, tied the NIT record for single-game assists as the Nittany Lions won their most games (26) since the 2008-09 team won 27 and the school's first NIT crown.
Lamar Stevens had one of the quietest 28-point, 11-of-15 shooting games I've seen in a while, Josh Reaves was also great (18 points, 8-of-13) and Penn State turned a five-point halftime cushion into a pretty comfortable victory with 64% (16-of-25) shooting in the second half.
Sedrick Barefield was great from three-point range (6-of-8) and finished with a team-high 22 points for the Utes.
March 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
ESPN2
Tony Carr knows how to lead his team to a championship. What a performance.
Carr just missed a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds as Penn State won its second-ever NIT title, 82-66 over Utah.
Carr, a sophomore who may or may not declare for the NBA Draft next month, tied the NIT record for single-game assists as the Nittany Lions won their most games (26) since the 2008-09 team won 27 and the school's first NIT crown.
Lamar Stevens had one of the quietest 28-point, 11-of-15 shooting games I've seen in a while, Josh Reaves was also great (18 points, 8-of-13) and Penn State turned a five-point halftime cushion into a pretty comfortable victory with 64% (16-of-25) shooting in the second half.
Sedrick Barefield was great from three-point range (6-of-8) and finished with a team-high 22 points for the Utes.
Games 602-603: Final two punch ticket to Columbus
NCAA Tournament regional finals
603 - (2) Oregon women vs. (1) Notre Dame
March 26 at Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA
ESPN
602 - (2) South Carolina women vs. (1) Connecticut
March 26 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
ESPN
603 - (2) Oregon women vs. (1) Notre Dame
March 26 at Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA
ESPN
602 - (2) South Carolina women vs. (1) Connecticut
March 26 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
ESPN
Game 601: Alabama women at Virginia Tech
WNIT quarterfinals
March 25 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA
ACC Network
Virginia Tech picked up a 74-67 win to advance to its second WNIT final four (2002), but more importantly, play-by-play man Andrew Allegretta put together a fantastic day of saying the word "basketball":
Total: 44
First quarter: 7
Second: 12
Third: 11
Fourth: 14
(averaged 1.1 per game minute)
That's how you finish strong, Andrew.
March 25 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA
ACC Network
Virginia Tech picked up a 74-67 win to advance to its second WNIT final four (2002), but more importantly, play-by-play man Andrew Allegretta put together a fantastic day of saying the word "basketball":
Total: 44
First quarter: 7
Second: 12
Third: 11
Fourth: 14
(averaged 1.1 per game minute)
That's how you finish strong, Andrew.
Games 598-600: Final four is set
NCAA Tournament regional finals
600 - (3) Texas Tech vs. (1) Villanova
March 25 at TD Garden in Boston, MA
CBS
The Wildcats got to their second final four in three seasons (and third in Jay Wright's 17 seasons) thanks to huge edges in rebounding (51-33) and at the free throw line (29-of-35, Tech attempted 18).
I'd put Villanova as a slight favorite to win the whole thing, though Midwest champion Kansas, its opponent in next week's national semifinals, is just as capable of winning two more games.
599 - (9) Florida State vs. (3) Michigan
March 24 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
TBS
598 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (9) Kansas State
March 24 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA
TNT
Not much more to say about the Missouri Valley Conference champions, which shot 57% from the field, hit half of their 18 three-point attempts and rolled into the program's first final four since winning the title in 1963.
This was actually the first comfortable outcome for the Ramblers, who won by a combined four points in their first three tournament games, but 78-62 on Saturday. This one really wasn't all that close for much of the day. Ben Richardson was fantastic (23 points on 7-of-10 shooting) and his 3-pointer 3 1/2 minutes into the game put Loyola up for good. The lead grew to as much as 61-38 on a Lucas Williamson lay-up with 9:40 to go.
What a run and it continues in the national semifinals, next Saturday against Michigan.
600 - (3) Texas Tech vs. (1) Villanova
March 25 at TD Garden in Boston, MA
CBS
The Wildcats got to their second final four in three seasons (and third in Jay Wright's 17 seasons) thanks to huge edges in rebounding (51-33) and at the free throw line (29-of-35, Tech attempted 18).
I'd put Villanova as a slight favorite to win the whole thing, though Midwest champion Kansas, its opponent in next week's national semifinals, is just as capable of winning two more games.
599 - (9) Florida State vs. (3) Michigan
March 24 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
TBS
598 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (9) Kansas State
March 24 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA
TNT
Not much more to say about the Missouri Valley Conference champions, which shot 57% from the field, hit half of their 18 three-point attempts and rolled into the program's first final four since winning the title in 1963.
This was actually the first comfortable outcome for the Ramblers, who won by a combined four points in their first three tournament games, but 78-62 on Saturday. This one really wasn't all that close for much of the day. Ben Richardson was fantastic (23 points on 7-of-10 shooting) and his 3-pointer 3 1/2 minutes into the game put Loyola up for good. The lead grew to as much as 61-38 on a Lucas Williamson lay-up with 9:40 to go.
What a run and it continues in the national semifinals, next Saturday against Michigan.
Games 596-597: Elite 8 begins to take shape
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
597 - (4) Stanford women vs. (1) Louisville
March 23 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
ESPN
ACC player of the year Asia Durr had 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added five of Louisville's 17 assists, while Myisha Hines-Allen scored 17 points and passed the 2,000-point plateau for her career in an 86-59 win.
I've liked the Cardinals to reach the national title game and nothing changed after Friday's performance. They're well-balanced (two others were in double figures and six total players scored at least eight points), are a good defensive team (opponents are averaging just 57 points in three tournament games) and have Durr, a future WNBA star who is capable of taking over any game.
596 - (5) Clemson vs. (1) Kansas
March 23 at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, NE
CBS
Well, Bill Raftery out-dribble drove himself in this one.
18:07 left in the first half: "a little dribble drive blow by!"
Other games watched:
(6) Oregon State women vs. (2) Baylor - Huge upset for OSU, which snapped Baylor's 30-game winning streak.
(5) West Virginia vs. (1) Villanova
(11) Syracuse vs. (2) Duke
(3) UCLA women vs. (2) Texas
March 23 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
ESPN
ACC player of the year Asia Durr had 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added five of Louisville's 17 assists, while Myisha Hines-Allen scored 17 points and passed the 2,000-point plateau for her career in an 86-59 win.
I've liked the Cardinals to reach the national title game and nothing changed after Friday's performance. They're well-balanced (two others were in double figures and six total players scored at least eight points), are a good defensive team (opponents are averaging just 57 points in three tournament games) and have Durr, a future WNBA star who is capable of taking over any game.
596 - (5) Clemson vs. (1) Kansas
March 23 at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, NE
CBS
Well, Bill Raftery out-dribble drove himself in this one.
18:07 left in the first half: "a little dribble drive blow by!"
Other games watched:
(6) Oregon State women vs. (2) Baylor - Huge upset for OSU, which snapped Baylor's 30-game winning streak.
(5) West Virginia vs. (1) Villanova
(11) Syracuse vs. (2) Duke
(3) UCLA women vs. (2) Texas
Games 594-595: On to the Elite 8
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
595 - (9) Florida State vs. (4) Gonzaga
March 22 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
TBS
The Seminoles held the No. 4 seed to 33% shooting from the field and won 75-60 to advance to the school's first Elite 8 since 1992-93.
Florida State, which will play No. 3 Michigan in Saturday's West regional final, handed out 19 assists on 27 made field goals, blocked nine shots (reserve Mfiondu Kabengele had four) and had eight steals.
Florida State and Michigan will meet for the first time in the tournament.
594 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (7) Nevada
March 22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA
CBS
Loyola has won three tournament games by a combined four points - 64-62 over Miami, 63-62 over Tennessee and Thursday's 69-68 victory.
The 11th-seeded Ramblers and ninth-seeded Kansas State will play in Saturday's South regional final with a trip to the final four on the line.
Incredible.
Other games watched:
(7) Texas A&M vs. (3) Michigan
(9) Kansas State vs. (5) Kentucky
March 22 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
TBS
The Seminoles held the No. 4 seed to 33% shooting from the field and won 75-60 to advance to the school's first Elite 8 since 1992-93.
Florida State, which will play No. 3 Michigan in Saturday's West regional final, handed out 19 assists on 27 made field goals, blocked nine shots (reserve Mfiondu Kabengele had four) and had eight steals.
Florida State and Michigan will meet for the first time in the tournament.
594 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (7) Nevada
March 22 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA
CBS
Loyola has won three tournament games by a combined four points - 64-62 over Miami, 63-62 over Tennessee and Thursday's 69-68 victory.
The 11th-seeded Ramblers and ninth-seeded Kansas State will play in Saturday's South regional final with a trip to the final four on the line.
Incredible.
Other games watched:
(7) Texas A&M vs. (3) Michigan
(9) Kansas State vs. (5) Kentucky
Game 593 - Jacksonville State at North Texas
CBI semifinals
March 21 at The Super Pit in Denton, TX
espn3.com
We're closing in on game No. 600 and this was one of the finest shooting performances we've seen.
North Texas used a ridiculous, 70% shooting first half (21-of-30) to build a 28-point halftime lead and cruised into the CBI best-of-3 final with a 90-68 victory.
The Mean Green also hit 10-of-14 from three-point range during that 57-point opening half and finished the game 61% (32-of-52) from the field and 70% (14-of-20) on its three-point attempts. North Texas has now scored 90+ points in three straight tournament games against South Dakota, Mercer and the Gamecocks after reaching that plateau just three times in 32 games in the regular season and Conference USA Tournament.
Amazingly, the hosts were just 146th nationally in three-point percentage coming in (35%), while Jacksonville State, whose season ended at 23-13, was 28th nationally in three-point defense (32%).
Roosevelt Smart (20 points, 4-of-8 three-point shooting) and Jorden Duffy (19 points, 5-of-5) led the way for North Texas, who will play either Campbell or San Francisco in the championship series. The pair have been fantastic in the tournament as Smart is averaging more than 28 points and Duffy, 23 (15 above his season average).
March 21 at The Super Pit in Denton, TX
espn3.com
We're closing in on game No. 600 and this was one of the finest shooting performances we've seen.
North Texas used a ridiculous, 70% shooting first half (21-of-30) to build a 28-point halftime lead and cruised into the CBI best-of-3 final with a 90-68 victory.
The Mean Green also hit 10-of-14 from three-point range during that 57-point opening half and finished the game 61% (32-of-52) from the field and 70% (14-of-20) on its three-point attempts. North Texas has now scored 90+ points in three straight tournament games against South Dakota, Mercer and the Gamecocks after reaching that plateau just three times in 32 games in the regular season and Conference USA Tournament.
Amazingly, the hosts were just 146th nationally in three-point percentage coming in (35%), while Jacksonville State, whose season ended at 23-13, was 28th nationally in three-point defense (32%).
Roosevelt Smart (20 points, 4-of-8 three-point shooting) and Jorden Duffy (19 points, 5-of-5) led the way for North Texas, who will play either Campbell or San Francisco in the championship series. The pair have been fantastic in the tournament as Smart is averaging more than 28 points and Duffy, 23 (15 above his season average).
Games 592 - Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs
March 19 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX
ESPN
Golden State was without Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, AND lost Draymond Green to a second quarter injury, so an 89-75 San Antonio win makes a little sense.
But the Spurs still played well defensively, holding Golden State to 15% shooting from three and 40% overall. San Antonio's offense ran through LaMarcus Aldridge all night and the 6-11 post player scored 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting and added 12 rebounds.
Green didn't score and grabbed just three rebounds in 12 minutes before the injury, so Quinn Cook stepped up and scored a team-high 20 points.
Without those four all stars, Golden State scored its fewest points since a hilarious, great-day-in-the-Big-10, 76-74 loss to San Antonio in November, 2013.
ESPN
Golden State was without Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, AND lost Draymond Green to a second quarter injury, so an 89-75 San Antonio win makes a little sense.
But the Spurs still played well defensively, holding Golden State to 15% shooting from three and 40% overall. San Antonio's offense ran through LaMarcus Aldridge all night and the 6-11 post player scored 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting and added 12 rebounds.
Green didn't score and grabbed just three rebounds in 12 minutes before the injury, so Quinn Cook stepped up and scored a team-high 20 points.
Without those four all stars, Golden State scored its fewest points since a hilarious, great-day-in-the-Big-10, 76-74 loss to San Antonio in November, 2013.
Games 590-591: Moving on to the Sweet 16
591 - (12) Florida Gulf Coast women at (4) Stanford
March 19 at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA
ESPN2
590 - (5) Duke women at (4) Georgia
March 19 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA
ESPN2
Very rarely do you get a 4-5 matchup in the second round of the tournament and it turns into a blowout.
That happened Monday as Duke was in control from the early stages of the second quarter and won 66-40.
It was just a three-point game after one, but the Blue Devils dominated the second, holding Georgia without a point for 7 1/2 minutes and just two points in the period. Que Morrison's lay-up at the 2:41 mark finally put an end to the drought and made it a 28-14 game, though Duke scored the final seven points of the first half and led by 20 or more for the entire second half.
A combination of really good Duke defense and a ton of close shots missed by Georgia turns into a horrifying night for Georgia, which shot 23% (16-of-68) from the field.
Leaonna Odom led the way for the No. 5 seed, scoring 16 points, while Lexie Brown added 14 points, six assists and seven steals, becoming the school's single-season steals leader in the process.
Duke, which has played in the national semifinals four times but has never won a title, heads to Albany for the regional semifinals and will play unbeaten Connecticut.
Other games watched:
(11) Buffalo women at (3) Florida State
(7) Arizona State women at (2) Texas
March 19 at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA
ESPN2
590 - (5) Duke women at (4) Georgia
March 19 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA
ESPN2
Very rarely do you get a 4-5 matchup in the second round of the tournament and it turns into a blowout.
That happened Monday as Duke was in control from the early stages of the second quarter and won 66-40.
It was just a three-point game after one, but the Blue Devils dominated the second, holding Georgia without a point for 7 1/2 minutes and just two points in the period. Que Morrison's lay-up at the 2:41 mark finally put an end to the drought and made it a 28-14 game, though Duke scored the final seven points of the first half and led by 20 or more for the entire second half.
A combination of really good Duke defense and a ton of close shots missed by Georgia turns into a horrifying night for Georgia, which shot 23% (16-of-68) from the field.
Leaonna Odom led the way for the No. 5 seed, scoring 16 points, while Lexie Brown added 14 points, six assists and seven steals, becoming the school's single-season steals leader in the process.
Duke, which has played in the national semifinals four times but has never won a title, heads to Albany for the regional semifinals and will play unbeaten Connecticut.
Other games watched:
(11) Buffalo women at (3) Florida State
(7) Arizona State women at (2) Texas
Games 588-589: Double dribble drive
NCAA Tournament second round
March 18 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC
589 - (16) UMBC vs. (9) Kansas State
TruTV
588 - (7) Texas A&M vs. (2) North Carolina
CBS
The origins of the made-up nonsense phrase "dribble drive" really go back to Bill Raftery. I'm not 100% sure Raftery was the first broadcaster to shout this phrase, but he is definitely one of the first I ever heard. Since, dozens of announcers use it even though it means absolutely nothing.
Again:
YOU CAN'T DRIVE WITHOUT DRIBBLING.
So it's an incredible day at 200 Game Season that not only did we get Raftery for two games, but he wasted no time in saying "dribble drive".
A&M-UNC: said for the first time at 19:07 left in first half
UMBC-Kansas State: said 19:31 left in first half
Other games watched:
(9) Villanova women at (1) Notre Dame
March 18 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC
589 - (16) UMBC vs. (9) Kansas State
TruTV
588 - (7) Texas A&M vs. (2) North Carolina
CBS
The origins of the made-up nonsense phrase "dribble drive" really go back to Bill Raftery. I'm not 100% sure Raftery was the first broadcaster to shout this phrase, but he is definitely one of the first I ever heard. Since, dozens of announcers use it even though it means absolutely nothing.
Again:
YOU CAN'T DRIVE WITHOUT DRIBBLING.
So it's an incredible day at 200 Game Season that not only did we get Raftery for two games, but he wasted no time in saying "dribble drive".
A&M-UNC: said for the first time at 19:07 left in first half
UMBC-Kansas State: said 19:31 left in first half
Other games watched:
(9) Villanova women at (1) Notre Dame
Games 586-587: Saturday matinees
587 - (7) Rhode Island vs. (2) Duke
NCAA Tournament second round
March 17 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
CBS
586 - (11) Central Michigan women vs. (6) LSU
NCAA Tournament first round
March 17 at St. John Arena in Columbus, OH
ESPN2
The Chippewas certainly are enjoying the program's 50th season of womens basketball.
Tinara Moore was outstanding, scoring 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, freshman Micaela Kelly added 17 points as Central Michigan won its first-ever NCAA game, 78-69.
Moore's lay-up at the 5:37 mark of the opening quarter gave her team the lead for the remainder of the day. LSU got as close as two points on a few occasions, but the Chippewas hit half of their shots (28-of-56) and showed why they're one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, knocking down 15-of-17 to seal the historic win.
The MAC champions rely heavily on their starters and each of the five contributed Saturday. Reyna Frost added 12 points and 12 rebounds (CMU won the rebounding battle 41-29) before fouling out late in the fourth, Presley Hudson had 12 points and handed out eight assists and Cassie Breen hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points.
Other games watched:
(11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (3) Tennessee
(6) Houston vs. (3) Michigan
NCAA Tournament second round
March 17 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
CBS
586 - (11) Central Michigan women vs. (6) LSU
NCAA Tournament first round
March 17 at St. John Arena in Columbus, OH
ESPN2
The Chippewas certainly are enjoying the program's 50th season of womens basketball.
Tinara Moore was outstanding, scoring 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, freshman Micaela Kelly added 17 points as Central Michigan won its first-ever NCAA game, 78-69.
Moore's lay-up at the 5:37 mark of the opening quarter gave her team the lead for the remainder of the day. LSU got as close as two points on a few occasions, but the Chippewas hit half of their shots (28-of-56) and showed why they're one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, knocking down 15-of-17 to seal the historic win.
The MAC champions rely heavily on their starters and each of the five contributed Saturday. Reyna Frost added 12 points and 12 rebounds (CMU won the rebounding battle 41-29) before fouling out late in the fourth, Presley Hudson had 12 points and handed out eight assists and Cassie Breen hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points.
Other games watched:
(11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (3) Tennessee
(6) Houston vs. (3) Michigan
Game 585 - (13) Charleston vs. (4) Auburn
NCAA Tournament first round
March 16 at Viejas Center in San Diego, CA
TruTV
Charleston was trying to become the third 13-seed to win these past two days (Buffalo, Marshall), but fell just short, 62-58.
Auburn advanced despite not shooting the ball well at all - 5-of-24 from three-point range and 35% overall - and two of its top players being held in check. Point guard Jared Harper, who is top-30 nationally in assists, was held to just two in 18 minutes because of really early foul trouble, and Bryce Brown had just 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Harper came through when it mattered, though, drilling a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:18 left. It looked like Charleston's Grant Riller was fouled on the arm on a potential tying three with seven seconds to play, but the guard didn't get the call. Riller played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points, while Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with 24.
Mustapha Heron paced Auburn with 16 points.
Marquise Pointer's three with 3:10 to go was the last field goal of the day for the Cougars, who turned the ball over 21 times in their first NCAA appearance since 1998-99.
Other games watched:
(14) Bucknell vs. (3) Michigan State
Springfield (MA) vs. Nebraska Wesleyan (NE) - Division III semifinals
(16) UMBC vs. (1) Virginia - ** UMBC wins 74-54! First No. 16 seed to beat a 1 in the history of the tournament. The last 12 minutes were wonderful. **
March 16 at Viejas Center in San Diego, CA
TruTV
Charleston was trying to become the third 13-seed to win these past two days (Buffalo, Marshall), but fell just short, 62-58.
Auburn advanced despite not shooting the ball well at all - 5-of-24 from three-point range and 35% overall - and two of its top players being held in check. Point guard Jared Harper, who is top-30 nationally in assists, was held to just two in 18 minutes because of really early foul trouble, and Bryce Brown had just 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Harper came through when it mattered, though, drilling a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:18 left. It looked like Charleston's Grant Riller was fouled on the arm on a potential tying three with seven seconds to play, but the guard didn't get the call. Riller played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points, while Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with 24.
Mustapha Heron paced Auburn with 16 points.
Marquise Pointer's three with 3:10 to go was the last field goal of the day for the Cougars, who turned the ball over 21 times in their first NCAA appearance since 1998-99.
Other games watched:
(14) Bucknell vs. (3) Michigan State
Springfield (MA) vs. Nebraska Wesleyan (NE) - Division III semifinals
(16) UMBC vs. (1) Virginia - ** UMBC wins 74-54! First No. 16 seed to beat a 1 in the history of the tournament. The last 12 minutes were wonderful. **
Games 583-584: Daytime doubleheader
584 - (10) Northern Colorado women vs. (7) Michigan
NCAA Tournament first round
March 16 at Ferrell Center in Waco, TX
ESPN2
The duo of Katelynn Flaherty and Hallie Thome were too much for the Big Sky champions as the Wolverines advanced with a 75-61 win.
Flaherty, Michigan's all-time leading scorer for either gender, scored 20 points and Thome dominated inside, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The No. 7 seed shot 57% (28-of-49) and didn't trail after Flaherty drained a 3-pointer with just over five minutes left in the opening quarter.
In its first-ever trip to the NCAAs, Northern Colorado was led by the Savannah's, Scott (game-high 25 points) and Smith (16 points).
583 - (15) Georgia State vs. (2) Cincinnati
NCAA Tournament first round
March 16 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
TBS
Other games watched:
(10) Providence vs. (7) Texas A&M
(13) Marshall vs. (4) Wichita State
(10) Minnesota women vs. (7) Green Bay
(10) Virginia women vs. (7) California
NCAA Tournament first round
March 16 at Ferrell Center in Waco, TX
ESPN2
The duo of Katelynn Flaherty and Hallie Thome were too much for the Big Sky champions as the Wolverines advanced with a 75-61 win.
Flaherty, Michigan's all-time leading scorer for either gender, scored 20 points and Thome dominated inside, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The No. 7 seed shot 57% (28-of-49) and didn't trail after Flaherty drained a 3-pointer with just over five minutes left in the opening quarter.
In its first-ever trip to the NCAAs, Northern Colorado was led by the Savannah's, Scott (game-high 25 points) and Smith (16 points).
583 - (15) Georgia State vs. (2) Cincinnati
NCAA Tournament first round
March 16 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
TBS
Other games watched:
(10) Providence vs. (7) Texas A&M
(13) Marshall vs. (4) Wichita State
(10) Minnesota women vs. (7) Green Bay
(10) Virginia women vs. (7) California
Games 581-582: First Thursday, night games
NCAA Tournament
582 - (14) Montana vs. (3) Michigan
March 15 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS
TBS
581 - (14) Stephen F. Austin vs. (3) Texas Tech
March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
TruTV
What a second half for Keenan Evans.
The senior scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and Texas Tech moved on with a 70-60 win.
Stephen F. Austin led by as much as eight points at 39-31 a couple minutes into the second half, but the Red Raiders chipped away and eventually took the lead for good on an Evans' lay-up with four minutes to play.
It's the first NCAA win for Texas Tech since the 2004-05 team beat Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16.
The Southland Conference champions didn't make a field goal over the final 5:24, and in particular, Ivan Canete didn't make a bucket over the final 13 minutes of the game and had just two of his team-high 17 points during that final stretch.
Other games watched:
(12) Davidson vs. (5) Kentucky
(11) San Diego State vs. (6) Houston
(9) Alabama vs. (8) Virginia Tech
(13) Buffalo vs. (4) Arizona
582 - (14) Montana vs. (3) Michigan
March 15 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS
TBS
581 - (14) Stephen F. Austin vs. (3) Texas Tech
March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
TruTV
What a second half for Keenan Evans.
The senior scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and Texas Tech moved on with a 70-60 win.
Stephen F. Austin led by as much as eight points at 39-31 a couple minutes into the second half, but the Red Raiders chipped away and eventually took the lead for good on an Evans' lay-up with four minutes to play.
It's the first NCAA win for Texas Tech since the 2004-05 team beat Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16.
The Southland Conference champions didn't make a field goal over the final 5:24, and in particular, Ivan Canete didn't make a bucket over the final 13 minutes of the game and had just two of his team-high 17 points during that final stretch.
Other games watched:
(12) Davidson vs. (5) Kentucky
(11) San Diego State vs. (6) Houston
(9) Alabama vs. (8) Virginia Tech
(13) Buffalo vs. (4) Arizona
Games 579-580: First Thursday, day games
NCAA Tournament first round
580 - (10) Oklahoma vs. (7) Rhode Island
March 15 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
CBS
E.C. Matthews hit a pair of 3-pointers in overtime, the first giving Rhode Island the lead for hood and the second a huge shot with 28 seconds to go and seven on the shot clock that put the Rams up 79-74.
Thanks to a team-high 16 from Matthews and three others in double figures, Rhode Island survived, 83-78, moving on to play second-seeded Duke in Thursday's round of 32. It's the second consecutive trip to the second round for the Rams, who before last season hadn't been to the tournament since 1998-99.
For Oklahoma's Trae Young (28 points, seven assists and six turnovers), his freshman season, and potentially a brief collegiate career, came to an end.
579 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (6) Miami
March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
TruTV
Donte Ingram!
After Morgan William's incredible shot in last season's womens national semifinals, I've decided that any time a player hits a game-winning shot in the tournament my lead will just be their name followed by an exclamation point.
Nothing better than a senior extending his team's season and that's what Ingram did when he drained a 3-pointer with .3 seconds left to send Loyola to round two.
The winning shot was made possible by a Lonnie Walker turnover. The Miami freshman dribbled the ball off his leg with 23 seconds left (great defense by another freshman, Lucas Williamson, who helped by first deflecting the ball), and though Loyola missed a pair of shots at the other end, Walker missed the front end of a one-and-one, which preceded Ingram's dramatic bucket.
It's the first NCAA win for the Ramblers since a 70-57 triumph over SMU in the 1985 round of 32.
Other games watched:
(12) South Dakota State vs. (5) Ohio State
(9) N.C. State vs. (8) Seton Hall
580 - (10) Oklahoma vs. (7) Rhode Island
March 15 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
CBS
E.C. Matthews hit a pair of 3-pointers in overtime, the first giving Rhode Island the lead for hood and the second a huge shot with 28 seconds to go and seven on the shot clock that put the Rams up 79-74.
Thanks to a team-high 16 from Matthews and three others in double figures, Rhode Island survived, 83-78, moving on to play second-seeded Duke in Thursday's round of 32. It's the second consecutive trip to the second round for the Rams, who before last season hadn't been to the tournament since 1998-99.
For Oklahoma's Trae Young (28 points, seven assists and six turnovers), his freshman season, and potentially a brief collegiate career, came to an end.
579 - (11) Loyola-Chicago vs. (6) Miami
March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
TruTV
Donte Ingram!
After Morgan William's incredible shot in last season's womens national semifinals, I've decided that any time a player hits a game-winning shot in the tournament my lead will just be their name followed by an exclamation point.
Nothing better than a senior extending his team's season and that's what Ingram did when he drained a 3-pointer with .3 seconds left to send Loyola to round two.
The winning shot was made possible by a Lonnie Walker turnover. The Miami freshman dribbled the ball off his leg with 23 seconds left (great defense by another freshman, Lucas Williamson, who helped by first deflecting the ball), and though Loyola missed a pair of shots at the other end, Walker missed the front end of a one-and-one, which preceded Ingram's dramatic bucket.
It's the first NCAA win for the Ramblers since a 70-57 triumph over SMU in the 1985 round of 32.
Other games watched:
(12) South Dakota State vs. (5) Ohio State
(9) N.C. State vs. (8) Seton Hall
Games 577-578: Tournament, day 2
NCAA Tournament first four
March 14 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
TruTV
578 - (11) Arizona State vs. (11) Syracuse
577 - (16) Texas Southern vs. (16) NC Central
Jim Spanarkel "basketball" count:
Total: 40
first game: 19
second game: 21
March 14 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
TruTV
578 - (11) Arizona State vs. (11) Syracuse
577 - (16) Texas Southern vs. (16) NC Central
Jim Spanarkel "basketball" count:
Total: 40
first game: 19
second game: 21
Games 575-576: NIT first round
576 - (8) SE Louisiana at (1) Saint Mary's
March 13 at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, CA
ESPN
Incredible shooting performance by Saint Mary's, which was nearly 60% (35-of-59) from the field in an 89-45 blowout.
The Gaels hit 13 threes and two players - Jock Landale (26 points) and Jordan Ford (19) scored as many points as the visitors from the Southland Conference. Calvin Hermanson hit five threes and scored all 17 of his points in a first half that saw the Gaels shoot 61% in building a 43-19 halftime cushion.
The victory was the 29th for Saint Mary's, tying a program record set in each of the past two seasons.
575 - (5) Boston College at (4) Western Kentucky
March 13 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY
espn3.com
The Hilltoppers, a top-15 shooting team nationally, hit 55% of their shots and moved on to the second round with a 79-62 victory. Western Kentucky will travel to USC, who defeated UNC Asheville 103-98 in two overtimes on Tuesday.
I wonder if Justin Johnson has an NBA future. The senior forward for WKU has good size (6-7, 245), can shoot it from anywhere (51% overall field goal percentage, 42% on threes) and is an excellent rebounder (averages 9.6, top-30 nationally). Johnson led the way on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Taveion Hollingsworth scored 18 points and Darius Thompson added 17 points and eight assists for the Hilltoppers, who at 25-10 have their most wins since the NCAA second-round team from 2008-09 finished 25-9.
Also a nice night of nonsense from the broadcast team of Dave Weekley & Rob Kennedy:
"a catch and shoot guy"
"he's got a Charles Barkley mentality in a point guard's body"
"concussion protocol"
"back in basketball shape"
"takes his foot off the gas"
"a football mentality"
"he pursues the basketball"
"pocket pass"
March 13 at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, CA
ESPN
Incredible shooting performance by Saint Mary's, which was nearly 60% (35-of-59) from the field in an 89-45 blowout.
The Gaels hit 13 threes and two players - Jock Landale (26 points) and Jordan Ford (19) scored as many points as the visitors from the Southland Conference. Calvin Hermanson hit five threes and scored all 17 of his points in a first half that saw the Gaels shoot 61% in building a 43-19 halftime cushion.
The victory was the 29th for Saint Mary's, tying a program record set in each of the past two seasons.
575 - (5) Boston College at (4) Western Kentucky
March 13 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY
espn3.com
The Hilltoppers, a top-15 shooting team nationally, hit 55% of their shots and moved on to the second round with a 79-62 victory. Western Kentucky will travel to USC, who defeated UNC Asheville 103-98 in two overtimes on Tuesday.
I wonder if Justin Johnson has an NBA future. The senior forward for WKU has good size (6-7, 245), can shoot it from anywhere (51% overall field goal percentage, 42% on threes) and is an excellent rebounder (averages 9.6, top-30 nationally). Johnson led the way on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Taveion Hollingsworth scored 18 points and Darius Thompson added 17 points and eight assists for the Hilltoppers, who at 25-10 have their most wins since the NCAA second-round team from 2008-09 finished 25-9.
Also a nice night of nonsense from the broadcast team of Dave Weekley & Rob Kennedy:
"a catch and shoot guy"
"he's got a Charles Barkley mentality in a point guard's body"
"concussion protocol"
"back in basketball shape"
"takes his foot off the gas"
"a football mentality"
"he pursues the basketball"
"pocket pass"
Game 573-574: Tournament, day 1
NCAA Tournament first four
March 13 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
TruTV
574 - (11) UCLA vs. (11) St. Bonaventure
Huge evening for St. Bonaventure, which picked up its first NCAA win since the 1969-70 team went to the final four with a East Regional final victory over Villanova.
THAT WAS IN MARCH, 1970.
Courtney Stockard was fantastic, scoring a game-high 26 points, and also making up for the struggles of top scorer Jaylen Adams, who was 2-of-16 from the field and scored just eight points. The Bonnies will play No. 6 seed Florida in the round of 64 on Thursday.
573 - (16) Radford vs. (16) LIU-Brooklyn
Also an historic day for Radford, which had four players score in double figures in a 71-61 victory.
It's the first NCAA win in school history for the Highlanders, who had been 0-or-2 in their previous two trips in 1997-98 and 2008-09.
Carlik Jones did everything for the Big South champions, getting pretty close to a rare, NCAA Tournament triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Travis Fields came off the bench and hit all three of his three-point attempts and joined Ed Polite with a game-high 13 points. Polite also had a nice all-around game, adding 12 rebounds and four assists.
A big reason the Northeast Conference champion Blackbirds' season came to an end was the struggles of Joel Hernandez. The senior came into the night 30th nationally in scoring with an average of just under 21 points, but was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting with six turnovers and honestly, after a slow start looked frustrated and didn't provide a whole lot of positives for LIU Brooklyn for the rest of the night.
March 13 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
TruTV
574 - (11) UCLA vs. (11) St. Bonaventure
Huge evening for St. Bonaventure, which picked up its first NCAA win since the 1969-70 team went to the final four with a East Regional final victory over Villanova.
THAT WAS IN MARCH, 1970.
Courtney Stockard was fantastic, scoring a game-high 26 points, and also making up for the struggles of top scorer Jaylen Adams, who was 2-of-16 from the field and scored just eight points. The Bonnies will play No. 6 seed Florida in the round of 64 on Thursday.
573 - (16) Radford vs. (16) LIU-Brooklyn
Also an historic day for Radford, which had four players score in double figures in a 71-61 victory.
It's the first NCAA win in school history for the Highlanders, who had been 0-or-2 in their previous two trips in 1997-98 and 2008-09.
Carlik Jones did everything for the Big South champions, getting pretty close to a rare, NCAA Tournament triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Travis Fields came off the bench and hit all three of his three-point attempts and joined Ed Polite with a game-high 13 points. Polite also had a nice all-around game, adding 12 rebounds and four assists.
A big reason the Northeast Conference champion Blackbirds' season came to an end was the struggles of Joel Hernandez. The senior came into the night 30th nationally in scoring with an average of just under 21 points, but was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting with six turnovers and honestly, after a slow start looked frustrated and didn't provide a whole lot of positives for LIU Brooklyn for the rest of the night.
Game 572 - (2) Robert Morris women - (1) St. Francis (PA)
Northeast championship
March 11 at Degol Arena in Loretto, PA
ESPNU
St. Francis leaned heavily on its best player, and Jessica Kovatch sent the Red Flash to the NCAA Tournament.
Kovatch, the nation's second-leading scorer (average of 24.9, first is Iowa's Megan Gustafson at 25.6), poured in 29 points on 8-of-17 shooting in a 66-56 victory.
It's the 12th Northeast title for St. Francis, which prevented Robert Morris from winning three consecutive championships. The junior Kovatch broke the tournament record, scoring 103 points over the three games, and picked up MVP honors.
Senior forward Jocelynne Jones shook off two early fouls to lead the visitors with 21 points, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.
March 11 at Degol Arena in Loretto, PA
ESPNU
St. Francis leaned heavily on its best player, and Jessica Kovatch sent the Red Flash to the NCAA Tournament.
Kovatch, the nation's second-leading scorer (average of 24.9, first is Iowa's Megan Gustafson at 25.6), poured in 29 points on 8-of-17 shooting in a 66-56 victory.
It's the 12th Northeast title for St. Francis, which prevented Robert Morris from winning three consecutive championships. The junior Kovatch broke the tournament record, scoring 103 points over the three games, and picked up MVP honors.
Senior forward Jocelynne Jones shook off two early fouls to lead the visitors with 21 points, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Games 569-571: Championship
Sun Belt Tournament
March 9-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
571 - championship
(4) UT-Arlington vs. (2) Georgia State
ESPN2
570 - semifinals
(3) Georgia Southern vs. (2) Georgia State
espn3.com
569 - quarterfinals
(7) Troy vs. (2) Georgia State
espn3.com
That was an extremely satisfying championship run.
GSU got 27 points from D'Marcus Simonds and never trailed in defeating UT Arlington 74-61 in the Sun Belt final.
Simonds picked up Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament despite struggling in the semifinal win. The sophomore was 8-of-19 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line (the team finished 16-of-20) a day after scoring only six points and fouling out in a 73-67 victory. When Simonds is driving to the rim and making lay-ups and/or getting fouled like he was Sunday, GSU is a tough team to beat.
Here's a great statistic: GSU trailed for a total of 18 seconds during this tournament. Georgia Southern took a 7-6 lead with 15:43 left in the first half of Saturday's game, and at the 15:25 mark, Coye Simmons of Georgia Southern picked up a foul and a technical foul, GSU went up 9-7 thanks to a 3-of-4 stay at the line and didn't trail for the rest of the weekend.
So, thank you Coye Simmons?
The defense was outstanding Sunday, holding Arlington's top two players - Erick Neal and Kevin Hervey - to a combined shooting performance of 4-of-29 and the team to just 29% from the field (17-of-57).
GSU is in the tournament for the first time since 2015, was given a No. 15 seed and will play No. 2 seed and American Conference champion Cincinnati in the first round on Friday.
March 9-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
(4) UT-Arlington vs. (2) Georgia State
ESPN2
570 - semifinals
(3) Georgia Southern vs. (2) Georgia State
espn3.com
569 - quarterfinals
(7) Troy vs. (2) Georgia State
espn3.com
That was an extremely satisfying championship run.
GSU got 27 points from D'Marcus Simonds and never trailed in defeating UT Arlington 74-61 in the Sun Belt final.
Simonds picked up Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament despite struggling in the semifinal win. The sophomore was 8-of-19 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line (the team finished 16-of-20) a day after scoring only six points and fouling out in a 73-67 victory. When Simonds is driving to the rim and making lay-ups and/or getting fouled like he was Sunday, GSU is a tough team to beat.
Here's a great statistic: GSU trailed for a total of 18 seconds during this tournament. Georgia Southern took a 7-6 lead with 15:43 left in the first half of Saturday's game, and at the 15:25 mark, Coye Simmons of Georgia Southern picked up a foul and a technical foul, GSU went up 9-7 thanks to a 3-of-4 stay at the line and didn't trail for the rest of the weekend.
So, thank you Coye Simmons?
The defense was outstanding Sunday, holding Arlington's top two players - Erick Neal and Kevin Hervey - to a combined shooting performance of 4-of-29 and the team to just 29% from the field (17-of-57).
GSU is in the tournament for the first time since 2015, was given a No. 15 seed and will play No. 2 seed and American Conference champion Cincinnati in the first round on Friday.
Games 566-568: Quarterfinal Thursday
568 - ACC quarterfinals
(6) North Carolina vs. (3) Miami
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
567 - ACC quarterfinals
(10) Notre Dame vs. (2) Duke
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
Marvin Bagley is good.
The freshman put together a 33-point 17-rebound night (his fourth 30-15 of the season) and the second-seeded Blue Devils rolled into the semifinals with an 88-70 win.
Senior Grayson Allen was also great - 23 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range - and freshman Trevon Duval handed out 11 assists.
Matt Farrell did Duval one better with a career-high game of 12 assists, but hit just 3-of-11 from three (the Irish were 5-of-23 as a team).
566 - (5) Kent State vs. (4) Ball State
MAC quarterfinals
March 8 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
espn3.com
Basketball phrases/nonsense
"attack the tin with ferocity"
"three point marksmanship"
"that looked to me like a basketball play"
"Zach Gunn, and he has that holster always ready to trigger"
"took him to the woodshed"
"international flavor"
"MACtion"
"a great kick ahead"
"the show and go"
(6) North Carolina vs. (3) Miami
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
567 - ACC quarterfinals
(10) Notre Dame vs. (2) Duke
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
Marvin Bagley is good.
The freshman put together a 33-point 17-rebound night (his fourth 30-15 of the season) and the second-seeded Blue Devils rolled into the semifinals with an 88-70 win.
Senior Grayson Allen was also great - 23 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range - and freshman Trevon Duval handed out 11 assists.
Matt Farrell did Duval one better with a career-high game of 12 assists, but hit just 3-of-11 from three (the Irish were 5-of-23 as a team).
566 - (5) Kent State vs. (4) Ball State
MAC quarterfinals
March 8 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
espn3.com
Basketball phrases/nonsense
"attack the tin with ferocity"
"three point marksmanship"
"that looked to me like a basketball play"
"Zach Gunn, and he has that holster always ready to trigger"
"took him to the woodshed"
"international flavor"
"MACtion"
"a great kick ahead"
"the show and go"
Games 563-565: Wednesday tripleheader
565 - (6) UC Riverside women vs. (3) UC Irvine
Big West quarterfinals
March 7 at Titan Gym in Fullerton, CA
espn3.com
It had been almost a year since we watched Michelle Curry try her best to get Riverside into the Big West semis. Curry's 22 points weren't enough that day, but Wednesday, she dropped a career-high 40 in the Highlanders' 86-74 win.
Curry was 11-of-23 from the field and hit 18 of her 21 free throw attempts (there were a silly 59 fouls called, the teams went a combined 53-of-74 from the stripe and six (!) players fouled out of a regulation game). The senior Curry is averaging 30 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two tournament games.
Riverside, just 9-21 during the regular season, is two wins from the tournament & will play top seed UC Davis in Friday's semifinals.
564 - (9) Florida A&M vs. (1) Hampton
MEAC quarterfinals
March 7 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA
espn3.com
It got much tighter than I thought it would towards the end as A&M cut an 18-point deficit to one with 36 seconds left, but the top seed hung on, 75-71.
Jermaine Marrow was outstanding for Hampton (18-14), just missing a triple-double - he had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Marrow is top-50 nationally in both scoring and assists and though he really struggled with his shot (4-of-18) he did everything else to help the Pirates reach the semifinals. Hampton is looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons.
Malique Trent Scott led Hampton with 22 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field.
Desmond Williams, A&M's leading scorer, poured in a game-high 27 points, 24 of which came in the second half.
563 - (9) Louisville vs. (8) Florida State
ACC second round
March 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
Excellent shooting afternoon for Louisville, which made 62% of its threes & 51% of its shots overall in an 82-74 win.
The Florida State bench (40 points) out-scored the starters (34), which is never a good thing.
It would be some story if Louisville, under interim coach David Padgett and with all the controversy surrounding the program this season, made a run in the ACC Tournament as a No. 9 seed. The Cardinals have top seed and projected No. 1 overall in the NCAAs, Virginia next in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Big West quarterfinals
March 7 at Titan Gym in Fullerton, CA
espn3.com
It had been almost a year since we watched Michelle Curry try her best to get Riverside into the Big West semis. Curry's 22 points weren't enough that day, but Wednesday, she dropped a career-high 40 in the Highlanders' 86-74 win.
Curry was 11-of-23 from the field and hit 18 of her 21 free throw attempts (there were a silly 59 fouls called, the teams went a combined 53-of-74 from the stripe and six (!) players fouled out of a regulation game). The senior Curry is averaging 30 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two tournament games.
Riverside, just 9-21 during the regular season, is two wins from the tournament & will play top seed UC Davis in Friday's semifinals.
564 - (9) Florida A&M vs. (1) Hampton
MEAC quarterfinals
March 7 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA
espn3.com
It got much tighter than I thought it would towards the end as A&M cut an 18-point deficit to one with 36 seconds left, but the top seed hung on, 75-71.
Jermaine Marrow was outstanding for Hampton (18-14), just missing a triple-double - he had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Marrow is top-50 nationally in both scoring and assists and though he really struggled with his shot (4-of-18) he did everything else to help the Pirates reach the semifinals. Hampton is looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons.
Malique Trent Scott led Hampton with 22 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field.
Desmond Williams, A&M's leading scorer, poured in a game-high 27 points, 24 of which came in the second half.
563 - (9) Louisville vs. (8) Florida State
ACC second round
March 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN
Excellent shooting afternoon for Louisville, which made 62% of its threes & 51% of its shots overall in an 82-74 win.
The Florida State bench (40 points) out-scored the starters (34), which is never a good thing.
It would be some story if Louisville, under interim coach David Padgett and with all the controversy surrounding the program this season, made a run in the ACC Tournament as a No. 9 seed. The Cardinals have top seed and projected No. 1 overall in the NCAAs, Virginia next in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Game 562 - (10) Georgia State women vs. (7) Coastal Carolina
Sun Belt first round
March 6 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
espn3.com
An extremely frustrating season came to an end for GSU as Coastal Carolina used a dominant second quarter to get some distance and cruised to a 74-55 win.
The seventh-seeded Chanticleers trailed by a point after one, but used a 12-0 run to out-score GSU 22-6 in the second (Kaylin West had 10 points and Jas Adams had eight in the period) and it was a double-digit lead for the rest of the night.
Adams, the top scorer in the Sun Belt, finished with 16 points, while West had 15 off the bench.
The Panthers had high hopes coming into the season, but two games in lost to injury Jada Lewis, last year's Sun Belt freshman of the year, then dropped five league games by seven points or less.
GSU has no seniors, so every major contributor, including Lewis, Kierra Henry (game-high 18 points) and Madison Newby (team's assist leader, averaged 11 points in 29 games) returns next season.
March 6 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
espn3.com
An extremely frustrating season came to an end for GSU as Coastal Carolina used a dominant second quarter to get some distance and cruised to a 74-55 win.
The seventh-seeded Chanticleers trailed by a point after one, but used a 12-0 run to out-score GSU 22-6 in the second (Kaylin West had 10 points and Jas Adams had eight in the period) and it was a double-digit lead for the rest of the night.
Adams, the top scorer in the Sun Belt, finished with 16 points, while West had 15 off the bench.
The Panthers had high hopes coming into the season, but two games in lost to injury Jada Lewis, last year's Sun Belt freshman of the year, then dropped five league games by seven points or less.
GSU has no seniors, so every major contributor, including Lewis, Kierra Henry (game-high 18 points) and Madison Newby (team's assist leader, averaged 11 points in 29 games) returns next season.
Game 561 - (6) San Diego women vs. (1) Gonzaga
West Coast championship
March 6 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
ESPN2
The best player in the West Coast Conference stepped up at the perfect time for Gonzaga.
League player of the year Jill Barta scored 32 points - 28 of which came after the opening quarter - on 10-of-19 shooting and Zykera Rice added 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 performance from the field in a 79-71 win.
San Diego, which did a phenomenal job getting to the final as a No. 6 seed, hit seven of its 11 field goal attempts in the first quarter to grab a 25-20 lead. Gonzaga used a 13-0 run midway through the second quarter to take the lead for good and ending up shooting 51% from the field.
It doesn't matter now, but I wonder if the Bulldogs, now 27-5, would've received an at-large bid with a loss. ESPN's Charlie Creme has Gonzaga as a No. 12 seed in the Lexington region coming into the day. Not sure that changes much after this one.
San Diego (17-15) got 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds from Maya Hood (she's the school's all-time leading rebounder) and 20 points out of Sydney Williams.
March 6 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
ESPN2
The best player in the West Coast Conference stepped up at the perfect time for Gonzaga.
League player of the year Jill Barta scored 32 points - 28 of which came after the opening quarter - on 10-of-19 shooting and Zykera Rice added 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 performance from the field in a 79-71 win.
San Diego, which did a phenomenal job getting to the final as a No. 6 seed, hit seven of its 11 field goal attempts in the first quarter to grab a 25-20 lead. Gonzaga used a 13-0 run midway through the second quarter to take the lead for good and ending up shooting 51% from the field.
It doesn't matter now, but I wonder if the Bulldogs, now 27-5, would've received an at-large bid with a loss. ESPN's Charlie Creme has Gonzaga as a No. 12 seed in the Lexington region coming into the day. Not sure that changes much after this one.
San Diego (17-15) got 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds from Maya Hood (she's the school's all-time leading rebounder) and 20 points out of Sydney Williams.
Games 559-560: Two champions
560 - Southern championship
(2) East Tennessee State vs. (1) UNC-Greensboro
March 5 at US Cellular Center in Asheville, NC
ESPN2
559 - MAAC championship
(6) Fairfield vs. (4) Iona
March 5 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
ESPN
(2) East Tennessee State vs. (1) UNC-Greensboro
March 5 at US Cellular Center in Asheville, NC
ESPN2
559 - MAAC championship
(6) Fairfield vs. (4) Iona
March 5 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
ESPN
Game 558 - (3) Western Illinois women vs. (2) South Dakota State
Summit League semifinals
March 5 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, SD
March 5 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, SD
(photo by Bobby Feathers)
Midco Sports Network
Western Illinois has had a fine season, just not against South Dakota State.
For the third time in as many meetings, SDSU picked up a lopsided victory, 80-51 to advance to Tuesday's league final against top seed and rival South Dakota.
Western Illinois is 22-9 and has a good shot at a WNIT bid, but against SDSU, the Leathernecks were just out-classed, beaten by an average margin of 31 points. Monday, the second-seeded Jackrabbits held Western Illinois, a top-10 scoring team nationally, to nearly 32 points below its season average & first-team all-Summit performer Emily Clemens to just three points.
The SDSU offense had a lot to do with the victory as well:
* There was balanced scoring. Four reached double figures, led by Madison Guebert's game-high 20 points. Gaubert, along with teammate and league player of the year Macy Miller (16 points, 10 rebounds) were also first-team selections.
* They shared the ball. The Jackrabbits handed out 16 assists (all-newcomer team selection Myah Selland and Rylie Cascio Jensen, both reserves, had five each) on 27 made baskets.
* SDSU knocked down 11 threes, including a 7-of-11 performance in the opening quarter that helped them take control.
Western Illinois has had a fine season, just not against South Dakota State.
For the third time in as many meetings, SDSU picked up a lopsided victory, 80-51 to advance to Tuesday's league final against top seed and rival South Dakota.
Western Illinois is 22-9 and has a good shot at a WNIT bid, but against SDSU, the Leathernecks were just out-classed, beaten by an average margin of 31 points. Monday, the second-seeded Jackrabbits held Western Illinois, a top-10 scoring team nationally, to nearly 32 points below its season average & first-team all-Summit performer Emily Clemens to just three points.
The SDSU offense had a lot to do with the victory as well:
* There was balanced scoring. Four reached double figures, led by Madison Guebert's game-high 20 points. Gaubert, along with teammate and league player of the year Macy Miller (16 points, 10 rebounds) were also first-team selections.
* They shared the ball. The Jackrabbits handed out 16 assists (all-newcomer team selection Myah Selland and Rylie Cascio Jensen, both reserves, had five each) on 27 made baskets.
* SDSU knocked down 11 threes, including a 7-of-11 performance in the opening quarter that helped them take control.
Game 557 - (6) Saint Joseph's women vs. (5) George Washington
Atlantic 10 championship
March 4 at Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA
ESPNU
Great day for George Washington, which broke open a close game late in the third quarter and cruised to a 65-49 victory.
It's the third Atlantic 10 title in four years for the Colonials. Four were in double figures, led by Brianna Cummings' 17 points and five assists and Kelli Prange's 14 points off the bench.
It was my first time seeing GW and its impressive point guard, Mei-Lyn Bautista. The junior guard was in complete control of the offense and she handed out seven assists and didn't have a single turnover. Bautista, a Queens, NY native, also added eight points and picked up a couple steals.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament (ESPN's Charlie Creme currently has the Colonials as a No. 14 seed in the Lexington region), Bautista's assist-to-turnover ratio is 3-to-1 (139 assists, 46 turnovers), which is a top-11 mark nationally.
This game featured an excellent point guard match up as Saint Joseph's Alyssa Monaghan is seventh in assist ratio, though she had just two assists and no turnovers Saturday.
* Solid afternoon of saying the word "basketball" from Melissa Lee & Andraya Carter
Lee: said 18 times
First quarter (7), 2nd (5), 3rd (5), 4th (1)
Carter: 14 times
First (2), 2nd (1), 3rd (8), 4th (3)
Total: 32
March 4 at Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA
ESPNU
Great day for George Washington, which broke open a close game late in the third quarter and cruised to a 65-49 victory.
It's the third Atlantic 10 title in four years for the Colonials. Four were in double figures, led by Brianna Cummings' 17 points and five assists and Kelli Prange's 14 points off the bench.
It was my first time seeing GW and its impressive point guard, Mei-Lyn Bautista. The junior guard was in complete control of the offense and she handed out seven assists and didn't have a single turnover. Bautista, a Queens, NY native, also added eight points and picked up a couple steals.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament (ESPN's Charlie Creme currently has the Colonials as a No. 14 seed in the Lexington region), Bautista's assist-to-turnover ratio is 3-to-1 (139 assists, 46 turnovers), which is a top-11 mark nationally.
This game featured an excellent point guard match up as Saint Joseph's Alyssa Monaghan is seventh in assist ratio, though she had just two assists and no turnovers Saturday.
* Solid afternoon of saying the word "basketball" from Melissa Lee & Andraya Carter
Lee: said 18 times
First quarter (7), 2nd (5), 3rd (5), 4th (1)
Carter: 14 times
First (2), 2nd (1), 3rd (8), 4th (3)
Total: 32
Game 556 - First of 68
Ohio Valley championship
(2) Belmont vs. (1) Murray State
March 3 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
ESPN2
Murray State completed a fantastic turnaround and advanced to the NCAAs for the first time since 2011-12 with a 68-51 victory.
The Racers finished 16-17 a year ago, but moved to 26-5 with their 13th consecutive victory (last loss was to this same Belmont team on January 18). Johnathan Stark led the way with 24 points, and though he struggled from three-point range (2-of-10), he was excellent on twos (8-of-11). Three others were in double figures for the Racers - Temetrius Morant (15 points) and Leroy Buchanan and Terrell Miller (11 each).
* Roy Philpott and Adrian Branch!
"he lives in the gym"
"Kyrie Irvingesque"
"dynamite from bonus land"
"stop and pop for a three-point shot"
"plays with a chip on his shoulder the right way" (?)
"put back presence"
"got caught ball-watching"
"dribble drive" ! - 11:32 left in the first half
"a bubblelicious match up"
"plays bigger than his 6-2 frame"
"coach K"
"Luke dropping dimes like it's his job, and it is"/"Austin Luke is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers"
"center by committee"
"what did Kevin McClain eat pregame? gun powder!"
"Joey brackets"
(2) Belmont vs. (1) Murray State
March 3 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
ESPN2
Murray State completed a fantastic turnaround and advanced to the NCAAs for the first time since 2011-12 with a 68-51 victory.
The Racers finished 16-17 a year ago, but moved to 26-5 with their 13th consecutive victory (last loss was to this same Belmont team on January 18). Johnathan Stark led the way with 24 points, and though he struggled from three-point range (2-of-10), he was excellent on twos (8-of-11). Three others were in double figures for the Racers - Temetrius Morant (15 points) and Leroy Buchanan and Terrell Miller (11 each).
* Roy Philpott and Adrian Branch!
"he lives in the gym"
"Kyrie Irvingesque"
"dynamite from bonus land"
"stop and pop for a three-point shot"
"plays with a chip on his shoulder the right way" (?)
"put back presence"
"got caught ball-watching"
"dribble drive" ! - 11:32 left in the first half
"a bubblelicious match up"
"plays bigger than his 6-2 frame"
"coach K"
"Luke dropping dimes like it's his job, and it is"/"Austin Luke is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers"
"center by committee"
"what did Kevin McClain eat pregame? gun powder!"
"Joey brackets"
Game 555 - South Alabama at Georgia State
March 3 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com
Nice close to the regular season as Isaiah Williams, playing in his final home game, scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in a 90-75 victory.
I thought the most important part of the game came late in the first half when GSU led just 35-32 before Williams knocked down a 3-pointer and hit one of his patented floaters in the lane and it was 40-32. Those two baskets capped a 7-0 run and the lead wouldn't fall below six the rest of the day.
Devin Mitchell is the best outside shooter in the Sun Belt Conference by a considerable amount (43% from three, Troy's Wesley Person is second at 38%) and the junior had one of his ridiculous shooting stretches midway through the second half that really helped keep some distance. During a seven-minute stretch (the 13:43 mark to 6:41), Mitchell made five straight threes, allowing the lead to get to 20 at one point.
GSU finished the regular season leading the Sun Belt in three-point shooting (38%) and that mark actually set a single-season school record. The Panthers made 12-of-23 from long range in this one.
Mitchell finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind the arc, while the league's leading scorer, D'Marcus Simonds, was a bit off with his shot (6-of-19), yet still finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and just one turnover. I fully expect the sophomore Simonds to be named the conference's player of the year on Monday because he has been exactly that all season.
espn3.com
Nice close to the regular season as Isaiah Williams, playing in his final home game, scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in a 90-75 victory.
I thought the most important part of the game came late in the first half when GSU led just 35-32 before Williams knocked down a 3-pointer and hit one of his patented floaters in the lane and it was 40-32. Those two baskets capped a 7-0 run and the lead wouldn't fall below six the rest of the day.
Devin Mitchell is the best outside shooter in the Sun Belt Conference by a considerable amount (43% from three, Troy's Wesley Person is second at 38%) and the junior had one of his ridiculous shooting stretches midway through the second half that really helped keep some distance. During a seven-minute stretch (the 13:43 mark to 6:41), Mitchell made five straight threes, allowing the lead to get to 20 at one point.
GSU finished the regular season leading the Sun Belt in three-point shooting (38%) and that mark actually set a single-season school record. The Panthers made 12-of-23 from long range in this one.
Mitchell finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind the arc, while the league's leading scorer, D'Marcus Simonds, was a bit off with his shot (6-of-19), yet still finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and just one turnover. I fully expect the sophomore Simonds to be named the conference's player of the year on Monday because he has been exactly that all season.
Games 553-554: Quarterfinal Friday
554 - (14) Rutgers vs. (3) Purdue
Big 10 quarterfinals
March 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
The Edwards' - Vince and Carsen - each scored 26 points as the Boilermakers moved into the semis with an 82-75 win.
Vince was 10-of-14 from the field and Carsen made 10-of-11 from the line to help the No. 3 seed erase a three-point halftime deficit. Both players knocked down four 3-pointers and the Boilermakers hit 13 as a team.
Great night for Corey Sanders - 23 points, 11-of-20 from the field - in a losing effort for the Scarlet Knights, who won games over 11-seed Minnesota and sixth-seeded Indiana to reach the quarters.
553 - (9) Saint Peter's vs. (1) Rider
MAAC quarterfinals
March 2 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
Huge upset in Albany as the Peacocks out-played the regular season champion and advanced with a 66-55 win.
It's the first time in the tournament's history a nine has defeated a one and Saint Peter's did it with defense - Rider shot just 30% from the field and missed 18 of its 21 three-point attempts - and a balanced offense that saw five players score at least nine points, led by Samuel Idowu's 12 points.
The fact Saint Peter's pulled off the huge upset was a bit of a surprise, but I'm not surprised the Broncs had trouble. The Peacocks lost both regular season games between the two teams, but by a combined seven points.
Saint Peter's (14-17) has already had a memorable tournament. In Thursday's first round game against eighth-seeded Monmouth, Nick Griffin's 3-pointer with five seconds left was the difference in a 60-58 victory.
Big 10 quarterfinals
March 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
The Edwards' - Vince and Carsen - each scored 26 points as the Boilermakers moved into the semis with an 82-75 win.
Vince was 10-of-14 from the field and Carsen made 10-of-11 from the line to help the No. 3 seed erase a three-point halftime deficit. Both players knocked down four 3-pointers and the Boilermakers hit 13 as a team.
Great night for Corey Sanders - 23 points, 11-of-20 from the field - in a losing effort for the Scarlet Knights, who won games over 11-seed Minnesota and sixth-seeded Indiana to reach the quarters.
553 - (9) Saint Peter's vs. (1) Rider
MAAC quarterfinals
March 2 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
Huge upset in Albany as the Peacocks out-played the regular season champion and advanced with a 66-55 win.
It's the first time in the tournament's history a nine has defeated a one and Saint Peter's did it with defense - Rider shot just 30% from the field and missed 18 of its 21 three-point attempts - and a balanced offense that saw five players score at least nine points, led by Samuel Idowu's 12 points.
The fact Saint Peter's pulled off the huge upset was a bit of a surprise, but I'm not surprised the Broncs had trouble. The Peacocks lost both regular season games between the two teams, but by a combined seven points.
Saint Peter's (14-17) has already had a memorable tournament. In Thursday's first round game against eighth-seeded Monmouth, Nick Griffin's 3-pointer with five seconds left was the difference in a 60-58 victory.
Games 551-552: Sun Belt split
552 - Troy at Georgia State
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
It's just time for the Sun Belt Tournament to begin because honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen to GSU next week in New Orleans. This season has been all over the place:
* On a neutral court in November they lost by 15 to Prairie View, a team that immediately lost eight consecutive games (they've since rebounded and are 11-6 in SWAC play with one regular season game to go, but that's still a pretty bad loss). Twelve days later, they blew a double-digit lead at home and lost to Liberty in overtime.
* Non-conference road losses to Mississippi (77-72) and Dayton (88-83 in overtime) should've been wins. Neither the Rebels or Flyers have had the type of seasons those programs are accustomed to, but those were still missed opportunities.
* They put together a 10-game winning streak where the defense was fantastic and they looked like the best team in the league.
* What turned out to be the final win of that streak was an impressive, 106-92 victory over Louisiana on February 8. The Ragin' Cajuns had been unbeaten in league play and on their own 10-game winning streak coming in (they've since started a new, six-game winning streak, re-establishing themselves as the favorite in New Orleans).
* And GSU has helped out considerably because that's now four losses in five games since the win over Louisiana after Thursday's 83-70 setback. The defense, once one of the best 25 or so units in the country, is now a liability. Troy was the fifth of GSU's last six opponents to score more than 80 points after two of the first 24 opponents reached that point total.
So after the regular season finale Saturday against South Alabama, the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed next week.
A championship run & a berth in the NCAA Tournament? Sure, I could see that happening.
Quarterfinal exit to a much lower seeded team? Sure, I could see that happening.
A run to the title game only to lose to top seed Louisiana 144-141? I could also see that happening.
An enjoyable time with very little stress? I'm having trouble seeing that.
551 - Troy women at Georgia State
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
I'd say Troy is about sick of seeing juniors Janessa Murphy and Kierra Henry.
Murphy and Henry each scored 25 points, completing an outstanding pair of games against Troy and GSU picked up a big victory, 85-78.
In two games against Troy this season (the teams split the series), Murphy scored 25 in each (tying a career-high) and was 14-of-20 from three-point range. She knocked down seven threes in each game, and when the guard is hitting outside shots like she has against the Trojans, GSU (8-20, 4-13 Sun Belt) can be dangerous as a lower seed in next week's league tournament.
Henry dropped 28 points on Troy in late-December to give her a 26.5 average in the two games, and the forward shot 59% (19-of-32).
Troy is an incredible rebounding team (No. 1 nationally coming into the night) and Thursday was no different. The Trojans grabbed 52 rebounds (three above their average), led by Sky'Lynn Holmes' 17.
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
It's just time for the Sun Belt Tournament to begin because honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen to GSU next week in New Orleans. This season has been all over the place:
* On a neutral court in November they lost by 15 to Prairie View, a team that immediately lost eight consecutive games (they've since rebounded and are 11-6 in SWAC play with one regular season game to go, but that's still a pretty bad loss). Twelve days later, they blew a double-digit lead at home and lost to Liberty in overtime.
* Non-conference road losses to Mississippi (77-72) and Dayton (88-83 in overtime) should've been wins. Neither the Rebels or Flyers have had the type of seasons those programs are accustomed to, but those were still missed opportunities.
* They put together a 10-game winning streak where the defense was fantastic and they looked like the best team in the league.
* What turned out to be the final win of that streak was an impressive, 106-92 victory over Louisiana on February 8. The Ragin' Cajuns had been unbeaten in league play and on their own 10-game winning streak coming in (they've since started a new, six-game winning streak, re-establishing themselves as the favorite in New Orleans).
* And GSU has helped out considerably because that's now four losses in five games since the win over Louisiana after Thursday's 83-70 setback. The defense, once one of the best 25 or so units in the country, is now a liability. Troy was the fifth of GSU's last six opponents to score more than 80 points after two of the first 24 opponents reached that point total.
So after the regular season finale Saturday against South Alabama, the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed next week.
A championship run & a berth in the NCAA Tournament? Sure, I could see that happening.
Quarterfinal exit to a much lower seeded team? Sure, I could see that happening.
A run to the title game only to lose to top seed Louisiana 144-141? I could also see that happening.
An enjoyable time with very little stress? I'm having trouble seeing that.
551 - Troy women at Georgia State
March 1 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
I'd say Troy is about sick of seeing juniors Janessa Murphy and Kierra Henry.
Murphy and Henry each scored 25 points, completing an outstanding pair of games against Troy and GSU picked up a big victory, 85-78.
In two games against Troy this season (the teams split the series), Murphy scored 25 in each (tying a career-high) and was 14-of-20 from three-point range. She knocked down seven threes in each game, and when the guard is hitting outside shots like she has against the Trojans, GSU (8-20, 4-13 Sun Belt) can be dangerous as a lower seed in next week's league tournament.
Henry dropped 28 points on Troy in late-December to give her a 26.5 average in the two games, and the forward shot 59% (19-of-32).
Troy is an incredible rebounding team (No. 1 nationally coming into the night) and Thursday was no different. The Trojans grabbed 52 rebounds (three above their average), led by Sky'Lynn Holmes' 17.
Games 549-550: A Thursday afternoon pair
550 - (10) Longwood vs. (2) Radford
Big South quarterfinals
March 1 at Kimmel Center in Asheville, NC
espn3.com
Nonsense
"they made this a 40-minute game"
"he went for the little scoopaloop"
"euro step"
"own the boards"
"playing with the house's money"
549 - (12) North Carolina women vs. (5) N.C. State
ACC second round
March 1 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
Fox Sports South
Big South quarterfinals
March 1 at Kimmel Center in Asheville, NC
espn3.com
Nonsense
"they made this a 40-minute game"
"he went for the little scoopaloop"
"euro step"
"own the boards"
"playing with the house's money"
549 - (12) North Carolina women vs. (5) N.C. State
ACC second round
March 1 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
Fox Sports South
Game 548 - Heritage HS at North Atlanta HS
Class AAAAAA quarterfinals
February 28 at North Atlanta HS gymnasium in Atlanta, GA
Big night for Heritage, which went on the road in front of a raucous North Atlanta crowd and won 59-53 to reach the state semifinals for the first time since 1984-85.
The Patriots (17-8) will play Gainesville, a 111-66 winner over Lakeside-Evans Wednesday, in the Class AAAAAA final four.
Here's the full story
February 28 at North Atlanta HS gymnasium in Atlanta, GA
Big night for Heritage, which went on the road in front of a raucous North Atlanta crowd and won 59-53 to reach the state semifinals for the first time since 1984-85.
The Patriots (17-8) will play Gainesville, a 111-66 winner over Lakeside-Evans Wednesday, in the Class AAAAAA final four.
Here's the full story
Game 547 - (8) Murray State women vs. (1) Belmont
Ohio Valley first round
February 28 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
OVC Digital Network
The Associated Press No. 22 Bruins got a bit of a scare, leading by a single point late in the third quarter, but a strong fourth sent the regular season champions to the semifinals.
It was 41-40 after Murray State's Bria Bethea (team-high 21 points) converted a lay-up with about 4 1/2 minutes to play in the third. Darby Maggard drained three 3-pointers as Belmont (29-3) closed the third on a 17-8 run, then the Bruins out-scored the eighth-seeded Racers 30-16 in the final period.
The junior Maggard, top-30 nationally in three-point percentage, hit 5-of-12. She's also a top-40 in assists and she handed out six Wednesday and Belmont had 23 as a team on 34 made baskets. Kylee Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists) and Sally McCabe (19 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 13 rebounds) were both excellent for Belmont (29-3), which has won 38 consecutive games against league opponents.
Last game for Ke'Shunan James, the OVC player of the year, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds, but was just 6-of-21 from the field.
February 28 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
OVC Digital Network
The Associated Press No. 22 Bruins got a bit of a scare, leading by a single point late in the third quarter, but a strong fourth sent the regular season champions to the semifinals.
It was 41-40 after Murray State's Bria Bethea (team-high 21 points) converted a lay-up with about 4 1/2 minutes to play in the third. Darby Maggard drained three 3-pointers as Belmont (29-3) closed the third on a 17-8 run, then the Bruins out-scored the eighth-seeded Racers 30-16 in the final period.
The junior Maggard, top-30 nationally in three-point percentage, hit 5-of-12. She's also a top-40 in assists and she handed out six Wednesday and Belmont had 23 as a team on 34 made baskets. Kylee Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists) and Sally McCabe (19 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 13 rebounds) were both excellent for Belmont (29-3), which has won 38 consecutive games against league opponents.
Last game for Ke'Shunan James, the OVC player of the year, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds, but was just 6-of-21 from the field.
Game 546 - Christian Heritage girls at Holy Innocents'
Class A quarterfinals
February 27 at Holy Innocents' School in Atlanta, GA
Story at dailycitizen-news
February 27 at Holy Innocents' School in Atlanta, GA
Story at dailycitizen-news
Game 545 - (8) USC-Upstate at (1) Florida Gulf Coast
Atlantic Sun quarterfinals
February 26 at Alico Arena in Key West, FL
espn3.com
The top seed is two wins away from a three-peat after shooting 60 percent from the field in a 96-76 win.
The Eagles (22-10), who won the league title as a No. 4 seed in 2015-16 and a No. 1 seed last season, hit 37-of-62 from the field (and were 11-of-20 from three-point range).
The hosts trailed by a point in the early moments of the second half, but Zach Johnson's 3-pointer at the 18:20 mark gave FGCU the lead for good. Johnson, a first-team all-Atlantic Sun honoree, had a great night, scoring 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Also a big night for reserve post player Antravious Simmons, who added season-high 18 points (more than 11 above his average).
A miserable season for USC-Upstate (7-25) came to an end, but not before Mike Cunningham tied a career-high with 28 points, though the junior's last basket of the night came at the 9:25 mark. It was 73-65 at the time, but the visitors made only three more field goals the rest of the night.
February 26 at Alico Arena in Key West, FL
espn3.com
The top seed is two wins away from a three-peat after shooting 60 percent from the field in a 96-76 win.
The Eagles (22-10), who won the league title as a No. 4 seed in 2015-16 and a No. 1 seed last season, hit 37-of-62 from the field (and were 11-of-20 from three-point range).
The hosts trailed by a point in the early moments of the second half, but Zach Johnson's 3-pointer at the 18:20 mark gave FGCU the lead for good. Johnson, a first-team all-Atlantic Sun honoree, had a great night, scoring 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Also a big night for reserve post player Antravious Simmons, who added season-high 18 points (more than 11 above his average).
A miserable season for USC-Upstate (7-25) came to an end, but not before Mike Cunningham tied a career-high with 28 points, though the junior's last basket of the night came at the 9:25 mark. It was 73-65 at the time, but the visitors made only three more field goals the rest of the night.
Games 543-544: Saturday doubleheader
544 - Gonzaga at BYU
February 24 at Marriott Center in Provo, UT
ESPN2
Eric Rothman and Caron Butler combined to say "Zags" 25 times, and also said these things:
"they don't rebuild they just reload"
"they all have sweat equity in these conferences"
"play with a bulls eye on their back"
"he's a shot maker not a shot taker" (pardon?)
"the glue guys"
"winning basketball pass"
"effort plays"
"hanging their hat on the defensive end of the floor"
"you have to stay goal oriented"
"carve out that space"
"change the culture"/"winning a culture"/"creating a winning culture"
543 - Georgia State at UT Arlington
February 24 at College Park Center in Arlington, TX
espn3.com
February 24 at Marriott Center in Provo, UT
ESPN2
Eric Rothman and Caron Butler combined to say "Zags" 25 times, and also said these things:
"they don't rebuild they just reload"
"they all have sweat equity in these conferences"
"play with a bulls eye on their back"
"he's a shot maker not a shot taker" (pardon?)
"the glue guys"
"winning basketball pass"
"effort plays"
"hanging their hat on the defensive end of the floor"
"you have to stay goal oriented"
"carve out that space"
"change the culture"/"winning a culture"/"creating a winning culture"
543 - Georgia State at UT Arlington
February 24 at College Park Center in Arlington, TX
espn3.com
Game 542 - Bradwell Institute at Heritage HS
Class AAAAAA second round
February 22 at Curtis Bell Gymnasium in Conyers, GA
Heritage got 27 points from Josh Guilford and reached the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1985-86 with an 83-73 win.
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February 22 at Curtis Bell Gymnasium in Conyers, GA
Heritage got 27 points from Josh Guilford and reached the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1985-86 with an 83-73 win.
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