For updated rosters and a preview of the 3x3U Tournament this weekend in San Antonio – CLICK HERE
One of the major dominoes in the 2018 Coaching Carousel is about to fall in place later today. After Louisville announced that Vince Tyra will become the full-time AD after serving in an interim role following the termination of Tom Jurich, the Cardinals will hire Xavier head coach Chris Mack later today. It is expected to be a seven-year deal with monetary negotiations still ongoing.
Another familiar face will emerge at his alma mater – Tubby Smith will become the next head coach at High Point. This follows stints at Memphis, Texas Tech, Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia and Tulsa.
Another notable player that formally entered the NBA Draft was Miles Bridges. He has hired an agent, so he will not be returning to Michigan State after two seasons with the Spartans.
On the court last night, both NIT semifinal games were played at Madison Square Garden. Western Kentucky jumped out to an 8-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Utah was able to tie the game at halftime. After a tie at the end of the 3rd quarter, the Utes outscored the Hilltoppers 18-13 to advance to the NIT Championship on Thursday night. Utah was led by 24 points and 11 rebounds from Justin Johnson; Dwight Coleby also had 10 points and 13 boards for the Utes.
They will play Penn State on Thursday night – the Nittany Lions cruised to a 75-60 victory over Mississippi State. They led by as many as 26 points in the 3rd quarter; Tony Carr led Penn State with 21 points. Mississippi State was led by Tyson Carter’s 19 points off the bench, but was not nearly enough to overcome Penn State’s starters that outscored the Bulldogs 67-31.
SAN FRANCISCO AT NORTH TEXAS (8:30 PM, ESPNU). Thanks to a double-double from Chase Foster in Game 1, San Francisco is a win away from capturing its first CBI title. Head coach Kyle Smith would be the first head coach to ever win both a CBI and a CIT title (he won the CIT two years ago as Columbia’s head coach) should the Dons emerge victorious tonight.
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT LIBERTY (7:00 PM, CBS Sports Network). UIC advanced to the CIT semifinals with a win at Austin Peay last Wednesday – it was the first time Peay had ever lost a postseason game at home. They will take on another group of Flames – Liberty has won a pair of home games against North Carolina A&T and Central Michigan to earn their spot in tonight’s first semifinal game.
SAM HOUSTON STATE AT NORTHERN COLORADO (9:00 PM, CBS Sports Network). The Bearkats of Sam Houston State have a pair of home wins under their belt against Eastern Michigan and UT-San Antonio. They will go on the road for the first time in the CIT with a game at Northern Colorado; the Bears advanced to this point with a win at San Diego last Wednesday night.