Games 769-770: Final two Elite 8 spots up for grabs

770 - (4) Virginia Tech vs. (1) Duke
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
March 29 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC
CBS

"dribble drives"

13:52 left in first half, Bill Raftery

769 - (5) Auburn vs. (1) North Carolina
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
March 29 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO
TBS

Game 768: Western Kentucky women at Ohio

WNIT third round
March 28 at Convocation Center in Athens, OH
espn3

In Ohio's 68-60 victory, the Bobcats' school-record 30th, play-by-play man Marty Bannister put together a fine evening of saying the word "basketball":

1st quarter: 7
2nd: 12
3rd: 17
4th: 9

Total: 45 (1.1/game minute)

Game 766-767: Thursday doubleheader

767 - (12) Oregon vs. (1) Virginia
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
March 28 at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, KY
TBS

766 - (3) Purdue vs. (2) Tennessee
NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
March 28 at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, KY
CBS

Game 765 - (10) Iowa vs. (2) Tennessee

NCAA Tournament second round
March 24 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
CBS

Chris Webber:

"it's an adjustment in heart"
"he didn't try to play hero ball"

Games 763-764: Saturday, part 2

764 - (10) Minnesota vs. (2) Michigan State
NCAA Tournament second round
March 23 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA
CBS

763 - (12) Murray State vs. (4) Florida State
NCAA Tournament second round
March 23 at XL Center in Hartford, CT
TNT


Other game watched:

(9) Baylor vs. (1) Gonzaga (second round)

Games 761-762: Saturday

762 - (7) Wofford vs. (2) Kentucky
NCAA Tournament second round
March 23 at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL
CBS

"a workhorse forward"
"he understands the pulse of his team"
"the savvy junior"
"big blue nation"
"a heady lead guard"

761 - (11) Tennessee women vs. (6) UCLA
NCAA Tournament first round
March 23 at Xfinity Center in College Park, MD
ESPN2



Other games watched:

(10) Auburn women vs. (7) BYU (first round)
(10) Florida vs. (2) Michigan (second round)

Games 759-760: First round continues

760 - (16) Iona vs. (1) North Carolina
NCAA Tournament first round
March 22 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
CBS

759 - (14) Georgia State vs. (3) Houston
NCAA Tournament first round
March 23 at BOK Center in Tulsa, OK
TBS

A single-elimination tournament can be quite cruel.

GSU (24-10) had its worst shooting performance at the worst time as Houston ran away in the second half and won 84-55.

The Panthers, in the tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, hit a season-low 30% from the field and after setting a school-record for three-point field goals, made just six of their 23 attempts from behind the arc against a really good Houston defense.

In their final collegiate games, Devin Mitchell scored 12 points, including a pair of threes, Jeff Thomas had just five points on 2-of-10 shooting, Jordan Tyson grabbed five rebounds in 15 minutes and Sun Belt Tournament MVP Malik Benlevi was never a factor and finished with as many personal fouls (4) as points and rebounds.

In what could've been his final game at the college level, junior D'Marcus Simonds led the way with 18 points. We'll see if Simonds declares for the NBA Draft or returns for his senior season.

Houston's Corey Davis led all scorers with 26 points, including seven 3-pointers. GSU couldn't stop Davis in the first half, and really not much of anything throughout the night. Houston (32-3) shot 51% from the field in each half and had an absurd 51-27 rebounding advantage that felt like 151-27.

Game 757-758: First round

758 - (10) Seton Hall vs. (7) Wofford
NCAA first round
March 21 at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL
TBS

757 - (10) Florida vs. (7) Nevada
NCAA first round
March 21 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA
CBS

"dribble drive"

9:30 left in second half, Reggie Miller

Game 755: Back-to-back

(2) UT Arlington vs. (1) Georgia State
Sun Belt championship
March 17 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
ESPN2

Georgia State made program history on Sunday.

The top seed used a stifling defense once again to win convincingly, 73-64 and capture the Sun Belt title for the second consecutive season.

The Panthers, who held UT Arlington to 35% shooting a day after limiting fourth-seeded Texas State to 21% in the semifinals, have reached the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time. All five starters scored in double figures, led by tournament MVP Malik Benlevi, who was fantastic in two games.

Benlevi, one of four seniors who will play in the NCAAs for the second time later this week, finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the final and averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games in New Orleans. Benlevi clearly wants nothing to do with his collegiate career coming to an end, and neither do his teammates:

- Damon Wilson continued his late-season surge as the redshirt-junior scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was the catalyst at the top of GSU's zone defense, harassing Arlington's guards all afternoon. Guard Brian Warren, who scored 21 points in the Mavericks' semifinal win over No. 2 seed Georgia Southern, was just 4-of-18 from the field on Sunday. Wilson was a huge reason why.

- Sophomore point guard Kane Williams, one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, added 12 points and five assists. Williams has gone from an up-and-down freshman to an integral part of an NCAA Tournament team in just 12 months.

- Another senior, Jeff Thomas added 11 points and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

- GSU would've been much better than its 25-for-34 performance from the line if it wasn't for D'Marcus Simonds' struggles. The Panthers' top player, and absurdly their only all-Sun Belt recipient, was 2-of-9 from the charity stripe to finish with just 10 points. It's good news for GSU when the junior Simonds can have a tough night (he was also only 4-of-12 from the field) and still have a fairly-comfortable win in the conference championship game.

GSU, which as a 15-seed lost in the opening round to second-seeded Cincinnati in last year's tournament, received a No. 14 seed and will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma for Friday's opening round against another American Athletic Conference team, third-seeded Houston.

Games 753-754: Saturday doubleheader

754 - (2) Hawaii women vs. (1) UC-Davis
Big West championship
March 16 at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA
espn3

753 - (4) Texas State vs. (1) Georgia State
Sun Belt semifinals
March 16 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA
ESPN +

Games 751-752: Semifinal Friday, part 2

752 - (3) Grand Canyon vs. (2) Utah Valley
WAC semifinals
March 15 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
ESPN +

"wills the team to victory"
"that championship DNA"
"he's such a downhill player"
"instant offense"
"fell in love with the jump shot"
"strong with the basketball"

751 - (3) SE Louisiana vs. (2) Abilene Christian
Southland semifinals
March 15 at Merrell Center in Katy, TX
ESPN +

Games 749-750: Semifinal Friday

750 - (3) Duke vs. (2) North Carolina
ACC semifinals
March 15 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC
ESPN

749 - (3) Cal State Bakersfield women vs. (2) UT Rio Grande Valley
WAC semifinals
March 15 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
ESPN +


Other games watched:

Louisiana-Monroe vs. Georgia Southern (Sun Belt quarterfinals)
Charleston Southern women vs. Campbell (Big South semifinals)

"she just ran out of basketball court"

Oregon vs. Arizona State (Pac 12 semifinals)

Games 746-748: Wednesday/Thursday tripleheader

748 - Virginia Tech vs. Florida State
ACC quarterfinals
March 14 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC
ESPN

747 - UC Irvine women vs. Cal State Northridge
Big West quarterfinals
March 13 at Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA
ESPN

Lauren Saiki's beautiful feed to Tahlia Garza for a lay-up with two seconds left was the difference in Irvine's 59-57 and the Anteaters' first 20-win season since 1984-85 (!).

But what's important is color commentator Dave Miller said this about Northridge's Channon Fluker (20 points, 14 rebounds):

"Fluker's like LL Cool J, she's doin' it and doin' it well"

Dave!

and this about Irvine's offensive strategy:

"make shots this end, get stops at the other"

thanks, Dave!


Honorable mention

"changing the culture at UC Irvine"
"she's blue collar"
"keeps her chin on the rim"
"she's got killer instinct in her DNA"
"great motor"
"it starts with the rim run"

746 - Miami vs. Virginia Tech
ACC second round
March 13 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC
ESPN


Other games watched:

Fordham vs. Richmond (Atlantic 10 first round)
West Virginia vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 first round)

Games 744-745: Saturday pair

745 - Georgia State at Georgia Southern
March 9 at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, GA
ESPN +

744 - (8) VMI vs. (1) Wofford
Southern quarterfinals
March 9 at US Cellular Center in Asheville, NC
ESPN +

Games 742-743: Two on a Friday

743 - (3) Jacksonville State vs. (2) Murray State
Ohio Valley semifinals
March 8 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
ESPN

742 - (7) Manhattan vs. (2) Canisius
MAAC quarterfinals
March 8 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY
ESPN

Games 740-741: Thursday doubleheader

741 - (8) Hampton at (1) Campbell
Big South quarterfinals
March 7 at Gore Arena in Buies Creek, NC
espn3

Two of the top six scorers in the country were on display in this one, an 86-77 Campbell victory.

Chris Clemons, who is one of the top scorers in NCAA HISTORY (over 3,000 points), scored four above his average with 34 points. The senior was just 7-of-21 from the field, but using his unorthodox method of free-throw shooting - he doesn't stand directly in the center of the line, but almost completely to right - hit 17-of-19 - to help  the top seed erase a second-half deficit and advance.

Jermaine Marrow, sixth nationally in scoring coming into the night, led the Pirates with 22 (3 1/2 below his average), but like Clemons struggled with his shot (7-of-20).

Just an insane Clemons' statistic was revealed late in the game. Including Thursday's game, the lightning-quick guard has scored in double figures in 127 of a career 128 games!

740 - (12) Virginia women vs. (5) Syracuse
ACC second round
March 7 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
ACC Network

Games 737-739: Mid-week tripleheader

739 - (8) SIU-Edwardsville vs. (5) Morehead State
Ohio Valley first round
March 6 at Ford Center in Evansville, IN
espn3

738 - (6) Vermont women at (3) Stony Brook
America East quarterfinals
March 6 at Island Federal Arena in Stony Brook, NY
ESPN +

Shania Johnson continued her incredible senior season in leading the third-seeded Seawolves into the semifinals.

Johnson broke her own school record with 16 assists (she's fourth in the country in the category) and added 14 points and India Pagan scored a career-high 21 points (on 10-of-13 shooting) in Stony Brook's 69-58 win.

Johnson's back court mate Jerell Matthews' night became sort of an afterthought, but it shouldn't have been. The 5-9 senior drained six 3-pointers (on 10 attempts) and scored 20 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.

The Seawolves erased a six-point halftime deficit thanks to a dominant third quarter (28-15).

Vermont got a game-high 28 points from Hanna Crymble.

737 - (13) Florida women vs. (12) Mississippi
SEC first round
March 6 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC
SEC Network



Other games watched:

(7) UT Martin vs. (6) Eastern Illinois, Ohio Valley first round

Games 735-736: Tuesday doubleheader

736 - (10) NC Asheville at (7) Presbyterian
Big South first round
March 5 at Templeton Center in Clinton, SC
ESPN +

The host Blue Hose hit 21 (!) 3-pointers and cruised to a 106-59 victory to set up a quarterfinal match up with No. 2 seed and defending league champion Radford.

JC Younger was an incredible 8-of-14 from behind the arc for all of his 24 points to lead Presbyterian, while Romeo Crouch added 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Radford and Presbyterian played just once during the regular season and the Highlanders escaped with a 79-77 win on January 12.

735 - (13) LaSalle women at (4) Dayton
Atlantic 10 first round
March 5 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
ESPN +

Phenomenal defensive effort by Dayton, which held the visitors to under 40 points (the final was 65-38) and just 27% (13-of-47) shooting to set up a quarterfinal match up with No. 5 seed Davidson.

Eleven different players scored for the host Flyers, led by Lauren Cannatelli's 13 points. The Flyers (16-12), top-65 nationally in scoring defense, held their 12th opponent to 55 points or less.

Also, let's welcome the newest member of the Scoochie Smith All Stars, and our second member of the LaSalle womens team, coach Mountain Macgillivray.














We'll take/need the offseason to decide whether to rename the team The Mountain Macgillivray All Stars.

Games 733-734: Postseason

Atlantic Sun quarterfinals

734 - (5) NJIT at (4) Florida Gulf Coast
March 4 at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, FL
ESPN +

Big night for NJIT, which won for the first time in the Atlantic Sun tournament (in its fourth season in the league) and for the first time at FGCU, 83-78.

The Highlanders shot the ball extremely well - 58% on threes, 54% overall - and got excellent performances from both Diandre Wilson (26 points, including 12-of-13 from the line) and Zach Cooks (25 points). Each player hit four of NJIT's 10 three-pointers.

NJIT is two wins away from its first trip to the NCAA Tournament and will play top seed Lipscomb in Thursday's semifinals.

733 - (6) North Alabama at (3) North Florida
March 4 at UNF Arena in Jacksonville, FL
ESPN +

Games 730-732: Weekend marathon, part 2

732 - Manhattan at Quinnipiac
March 3 at People's United Center in Hamden, CT
ESPN +

Color commentator Bill Mecca, seen here doing this

















had a pair of gems in Manhattan's 62-58 victory to close MAAC regular season play:

Late first half

"What it comes down to for Quinnipiac, you just gotta play basketball."

Late second half, just before a Quinnipiac defensive possession

"Gotta make a defensive play here if you're Quinnipiac."

Thanks, Bill!

731 - James Madison women at Towson
March 3 at SECU Arena in Towson, MD
CAA TV

730 - Idaho State at Northern Colorado
March 2 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, CO
Pluto TV

Games 727-729: Weekend marathon, part 1

729 - Prairie View A&M at Alabama A&M
March 2 at T.M. Elmore Gym in Huntsville, AL
Youtube.com

The sound on my computer had been on and off all day, but it was on long enough for some quick, pre-game nonsense from the announcing team. I didn't get anyone's name, so we'll just call them The Billys:

"their valuable piece of real estate is when they play at home"
"any team can lose, anywhere"
"when you play Bulldog basketball, you always come out with a win!"

That's as solid a top 3 as you're going to find in just under two minutes. Excellent work, Billys.

728 - Montana State women at Northern Arizona
March 2 at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, AZ
Pluto TV

727 - Little Rock at Georgia State
March 2 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN +

Game 726 - William & Mary women at Drexel

March 1 at Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, PA
Drexel Dragons TV

I?

watched at work the first three quarters of this game, then the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and first overtime on a bus, missed all but 18 seconds of the second overtime while waiting for a train, then watched the third and final overtime on my final bus ("the one-twenty"  - teenagers) home.

!

It's the triple-double of something.

It was also a nearly-three-hour adventure for both me and these two Colonial Athletic Conference rivals, and William & Mary pulled the stunner, 77-72, just as we pulled up to my apartment complex.

A truly historic day for 200 Game Season.

The loss snapped Drexel's 12-game winning streak and got the visiting Tribe to .500 overall at 13-13 (6-9 in the CAA).

The hosts had pulled even at 57-57 on a pair of free throws by Niki Metzel with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter. That was the last points for either team in regulation, then W&M went up 61-57 in the first minute and a half of overtime on a pair of buckets from Bianca Boggs. It took until the 1:38 mark of OT for Drexel to snap what turned into a drought of 4:50. Again, W&M built a four-point lead and Drexel tied it, getting a pair of free throws from Metzel with 11 seconds left to force overtime No. 2.

(The Tribe's Misha Jones had a good look from the corner, but missed as time expired).

** Most of the second OT went on without me as I waited on a train - no internet service is available at MARTA train stations, though that half-eaten burrito was. But complain, I will not: 1. when I was a kid, watching college basketball anywhere but inside a building on a television was unheard of, let alone while traveling on a bus; 2. I ate a full burrito just three days ago. The teams went back and forth until Boggs had a chance to put W&M ahead with 36 seconds to play, yet made only 1-of-2 from the line. I got on my final bus just as Jones' second attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out.

Third overtime.....

William & Mary picked up a great and memorable road victory, but Drexel helped out quite a bit with poor shooting. After Ana Ferariu hit a jumper 14 seconds into the third OT, the Dragons didn't make another basket the rest of the way & four of the Dragons' third-OT possession resulted in air balls (3) and a shot clock violation (1). Drexel was 1-of-9 from the field in the third overtime and 0-of-10 from 3-point range in the three extra periods.

Hailey Greenberg led the Dragons with 24 points, but was at the forefront of her team's shooting slump, missing all but one of her nine field goal attempts in the overtimes. Metzel added 21.

Boggs' lay-up with 3:42 left gave the Tribe the lead for good. The senior guard scored a game-high 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting and scored 14 of W&M's 20 overtime points.

The Tribe shot 53% for the game and though it took 55 minutes to do it, scored nearly 30 points more than Drexel was allowing per game (nation-leading 47.6).

Game 726 was one of the most hectic and enjoyable ones we've had in 3+ years.