For Jon Teitel’s photo essay of last week’s Virginia Tech-Duke game in the East Regional Semifinal – CLICK HERE
As the Final Four prepares to get underway in Minneapolis today, there were quite a few moves (and non-moves, for that matter) that fell into place for the 2019 Coaching Carousel. There was a feeling that Jamie Dixon was the frontrunner to be UCLA’s next head coach, but that is no longer the case after Dixon told the TCU brass that he would remain with their program. Vanderbilt also announced that Jerry Stackhouse would be their next head coach; he will replace Bryce Drew.
Elsewhere, Kevin Willard was a favorite target for Virginia Tech, but he has opted to remain at Seton Hall and is no longer in the running down in Blacksburg. There were also rumors that Chris Mullin would be dismissed at St. John’s, so their athletic department issued a press release earlier today stating that Mullin would still be head coach and that they were not looking at any other candidates at this time.
Meanwhile, in the CBI Championship Series, South Florida won the decisive Game 3 77-65. David Collins led the Bulls with 19 points and 8 rebounds; this was USF’s first win in any tournament since they won the Sun Belt Tournament in 1990. This was also the second time Brian Gregory won a postseason tournament; he had previously won the NIT in 2010 as Dayton’s head coach.
FINAL FOUR
(5) AUBURN VS (1) VIRGINIA (6:09 PM, CBS) – Something is going to have to give in this game – Virginia is the nation’s top team in terms of fewest points allowed, and Auburn has been arguably the hottest team remaining in terms of offensive production. However, Auburn did show that they could win a defensive struggle as evidenced in their overtime victory against Kentucky in the Midwest Regional Final last Sunday. Virginia needed a last-second shot to take their game against Purdue into overtime in the South Regional Final and took advantage with their win against the Boilers.
(3) TEXAS TECH VS (2) MICHIGAN STATE (approx. 8:39 PM, CBS) – Despite navigating through various injuries throughout the season, Michigan State finds itself in the Final Four for the eighth time during Tom Izzo’s coaching career after taking out a Duke team that was a heavy favorite to win the national title going into the NCAA Tournament this year. They will now face a Texas Tech team that is experienced in their own right and has advanced to the Elite Eight last year and now their first Final Four in program history in back-to-back seasons.