News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Saturday, March 30

Posted on March 30, 2019 by John Stalica

Last night in the NCAA Tournament, four more tickets were punched to the Elite 8 – in some respects, last night did mirror the NCAA Tournament as a whole. There were a few exciting games, but for the most part the higher seeded teams advanced. Michigan State got out to a comfortable lead at halftime that LSU would cut to 4 thanks to a 13-5 run by the Tigers to start the 2nd half. Michigan State countered with an 11-0 run and the Tigers would get no closer than 9 points the rest of the way. The Spartans ended up winning 80-63 thanks to 20 points and 8 rebounds from Aaron Henry along with 17 points and 8 assists from Cassius Winston.

Duke trailed by 5 points at halftime, but gradually took control in the 2nd half thanks to 23 points from Zion Williamson and 22 points from Tyus Jones. Virginia Tech had their chances to win in the closing seconds – first they missed a potential go-ahead 3-point shot, then after a Duke miss from the free throw line, the Hokies missed their final two shots that included a tough fadeaway shot from right under the hoop with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock.

In the Midwest region, Auburn continued their hot-shooting ways and took what was a 1-point lead at halftime and blew the game open in the 2nd half with 56 points in the half. They hit a program-record 17 3-point shots, but they were dealt a serious blow when the game’s leading scorer Chuma Okeke left with what appeared to be a serious knee injury midway through the 2nd half. Nonetheless, Auburn advanced to their first Elite 8 since 1986 with a 97-80 victory against the Tar Heels.

The nightcap did indeed feature a defensive struggle between Kentucky and Houston in the first 36 minutes of the game, but the Cougars were able to take a 58-55 lead with under a minute remaining in the game. Tyler Herro hit a 3-point shot (following a blocked shot by PJ Washington) to put the Wildcats up for good and they salted the game away from the free throw line en route to a 62-58 win.

Outside of the NCAA Tournament, there was one game played in the CIT – Green Bay advanced to the semifinal round with an 80-65 victory against Cal State-Bakersfield. The semifinal matchups are set for next Tuesday; Hampton will play at Marshall in the first game and Texas Southern will play at Green Bay in the second game.

There was one head coaching vacancy filled yesterday – Mark Fox was named as the new head coach at California. Fox has made the NCAA Tournament five times in his previous 2 head coaching stops – three times at Nevada (including a pair of trips to the Round of 32) and twice at Georgia.

UPDATE (12:30 PM) – One of the worst-kept secrets is about to become official early next week – Fred Hoiberg is now expected to be named the next head coach at Nebraska. He is also expected to add Matt Abdelmassih to his coaching staff – Abdelmassih was pivotal as a recruiter at Iowa State and most recently was able to recruit guys like Shamorie Ponds to St. John’s.

WEST REGION

(3) TEXAS TECH VS (1) GONZAGA (6:09 PM, TBS) – Gonzaga will be looking to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three seasons with a victory today. They blew open a close game against Florida State in the final three minutes. Texas Tech held Michigan to a season-low 44 points in their victory Thursday night; they will be looking to advance at least a step further than last season in which they lost to eventual national champion Villanova in the Elite 8.

SOUTH REGION

(3) PURDUE VS (1) VIRGINIA (approx. 8:49 PM, TBS) – At least one Final Four drought will be snapped when both teams meet tonight; Purdue has not made it that far since 1980 while Virginia has not advanced to one since 1984. Virginia was able to survive a couple of scoring droughts in their victory against Oregon on Thursday night. Purdue got out to a 17-point lead early in the 2nd half in their game against Tennessee, but were able to overcome poor foul shooting and a late Vols run and ended up surviving in overtime to advance.

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All-Access at the East Regional: HoopsHD does some Virginia Tech locker room interviews

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage by chatting with as many Virginia Tech players as possible after they finished practice.

Let’s do this:

The biggest off-court question was whether SR SG/SF Ty Outlaw would be allowed back onto the court after a marijuana possession charge. He was not around to answer any questions so this was all there was to see:

If you ever thought that the Hokies would run out of storage space, think again. I think even I could fit into this bag with plenty of room to spare:

You know it is a big game when everyone’s favorite hand-shaker is in the house. Let’s all give a hand to…Jimmy Patsos!:

SR PG Justin Robinson is finally healthy after missing 12 games due to a left foot injury but was busy at the press conference rather than sitting by his locker:

FR SG Jonathan Kabongo (born in Toronto) said that the Canadian basketball scene is blossoming and turning into a hotbed. His brother Myck (who played basketball at Texas) never made it out of the 1st round of the NCAA tourney but has told him to soak it all in. While understanding that Zion Williamson is great, he says there are ways to stop him if they just trust themselves: it is not like Duke is undefeated so they cannot get caught up in all the hoopla. He said that it is crazy on campus and everyone is proud of the team because they have not advanced this far in a long time. RJ Barrett played with/against him in the past when they were both growing up in Canada: he could not have imagined when they were 12-year olds that they would be squaring off in the NCAA tourney! He said that the Ty Outlaw situation was not a distraction: they have been able to handle injuries and other things all year that other people used to try to bring them down:

The winner of the name game is FR SG Brendan Palmer’s mother, whose name is…Jackie Robinson! The team learned a lot about Duke’s personnel from their 1st meeting last month: they have good shot-blockers and a lot of fast/athletic players. He admits that Zion is definitely a good player who can attack the basket. The whole campus is behind the team and Ty’s situation will not distract them. They are moving past it and the coaches will keep them on track:

Both of JR PF Kerry Blackshear Jr.’s parents played basketball at Stetson (where his father Kerry Sr. remains the all-time leading scorer in school history): while Stetson has been really good to his family he came to Blacksburg because he wanted to make his own mark. They have made it this far by playing through each other: all 16 teams who are left in the tourney are elite. While he had a double-double in a win over Duke last month, his confidence does not come from 1 game but rather from his teammates/staff. He won an AAU national title in high school but admitted that it was a LONG long time ago: there are always other great players out there since it is a big world but the key is to give it all of your time/energy because anyone can lose on any given night. It will take a team effort to stop each of Duke’s stars, including 3 potential top-5 picks in the NBA draft as well as a great PG: they just need to stay locked into their identity. Since he is a graduate student who is taking online classes he is not on campus every day but everyone he has seen this week and been saying hi and wishing him congrats:

That’s all for now, check back later for continuing coverage.

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All-Access at the East Regional: HoopsHD interviews Virginia Tech HighTechs senior captain Becky Krashin

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage by chatting with Virginia Tech HighTechs senior captain Becky Krashin about the Duke-UNC rivalry and her prediction for tonight.

What is the atmosphere like at Virginia Tech this week now that you are in the Sweet 16? The atmosphere is exciting back in Blacksburg. It has been the talk around campus and everyone is ready for game day!

How did you 1st get into cheerleading/dancing, and what is the best part? I began dancing around the age of two or three and have not stopped since. My mom put me in ballet and tap classes to start and eventually I worked up to jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, pom, and kick. My favorite part is the lasting relationships that I have made with my old dance friends and current teammates.

Will we see your group doing anything extra-special for the NCAA tourney this weekend? The NCAA tournament is also more than just cheering on our basketball team. While in San Jose last weekend for the 1st 2 rounds we visited a local elementary school where a VT alumni was a teacher. We taught the students our traditions like stadium yell, sideline cheers, and read them a few books. It was an awesome experience to interact with members of the community in California. This weekend we look forward to cheering on the team as well as interacting with our fans!

What do you think the role of a college cheerleader is today, and how has it changed over time? The world of college cheerleading and dancing has definitely changed over time. Now, games are just a part of what we do. With national competitions and multiple sports that have room for us on the sideline (like wrestling and volleyball) we have many opportunities to do what we love.

How does your school decide who gets to go to DC, and what does it mean to you to see your group doing their thing in front of a national TV audience? It is more than the national TV audience: it is about the incredible atmosphere of supporting the team at the tournament level. It is always exciting to get on TV but having the opportunity to cheer on our guys in person is what I am most looking forward to.

Do you think that you will have a bit of a home-court advantage since DC is only 4 hours away from Blacksburg? Hokie fans always travel well so we are excited to see them this weekend. DC is also an area full of current students and alumni so we are hoping for an exciting crowd!

What has been your favorite moment so far this season: beating Purdue, beating Duke, Senior Night, other? Senior night was really special but beating Duke was by far one of my favorite moments as a college dancer. The energy and enthusiasm that Hokie fans bring is truly undeniable and their presence at the Duke game was just amazing.

What is your school’s policy on player-cheerleader dating? Although there is not a defined rule we are just friends and classmates with the players like we are with many of the other student-athletes at Virginia Tech.

Any predictions for Friday night? It should be an exciting and high energy game and we cannot wait to cheer on our Hokies!

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All-Access at the East Regional: HoopsHD attends Duke practice

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is coming to Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel got to attend Duke’s practice on Thursday afternoon and now brings you the following photo/video essay.

SO SG Alex O’Connell scored 7 PTS against North Dakota State but looks ready for action despite not playing against UCF:

You might think that Coach K has everything memorized but even the winningest coach in college basketball history needs to check his notes from time to time:

Still no sign of Jim Nantz but the rest of the CBS crew is in the house with TV monitors aplenty:

Raftery:

Wolfson:

Grant Hill spent the entire time catching up with all of the assistant coaches at his alma mater including:
2000 ACC POY Chris Carrawell:

2011 ACC POY Nolan Smith:

Zion Williamson is big:

I mean really big:

Here is video of Zion looking big while warming up:

FR SG Cam Reddish is averaging 12.5 PPG through 2 career NCAA tourney games and was working on his 3-PT shot:

FR PG Tre Jones has only made 1 FT in the entire NCAA tourney so he got some shots up from the FT line:

There are camera crews set up everywhere to capture their allotted 15 minutes of practice video before we get kicked out of the gym:

The 2 freshman superstars (RJ Barrett and Zion) spent some time shooting from the mid-court logo just to see who has more range:

I never met John Wooden so this might be the closest I ever get to a 5-time (and counting) NCAA championship coach:

…and his lovely wife:

1 perk for Greg Paulus (screen left), who spent the past year down the street from the Capital 1 Arena as an assistant coach at GW, is that he can walk over and reconnect with the coach (screen right) who recruited him to come play at Duke almost 15 years ago:

RJ and Zion stretched it out:

…then stretched it out some more:

That’s all for now, check back later for continuing coverage.

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All-Access at the East Regional: HoopsHD does some Michigan State locker room interviews

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jon Teitel

The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is taking place in Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage by chatting with as many Michigan State players as possible after they finished practice.

Let’s do this:

I wanted to ask Coach Tom Izzo some questions but apparently 100 other reporters had the same idea:

FR SF Aaron Henry was in the news last week after Izzo screamed at him during the Spartans’ win over Bradley but he too was already occupied:

The NCAA makes you choose whether to attend the press conference or the locker room because they are occurring simultaneously, which is why the only sign of JR PG Cassius Winston was the 1 on his locker:

I am not usually a fan of a school changing uniforms every year just to make more money, but if the staff can add a little decorative touch on the back to acknowledge an amazing accomplishment then have at it:

JR SG Joshua Langford was a 2016 McDonald’s All-American: he remains proud of that because not everyone gets to have such an experience. The person from that McDonald’s Game who he remains closest to is Miles Bridges: “he is like my brother”.  Joshua also played for team USA at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit with Marques Bolden (whose Duke team might face the Spartans in the Elite 8 if they both win on Friday): he did not hang out with Marques that much back in the day but still calls him a “good dude”. He said that Izzo always pushes them to be the best that they can be and is a true leader. He has plenty of NCAA tourney experience himself (10 PTS in a 2017 2nd round loss to Kansas) but he will be sitting this 1 out due to left foot surgery.  Joshua expects to be fully recovered by August and is just excited to still be a part of the team because they have something special.  As a co-captain he knows that he cannot check out even though he is hurt so he is doing as much as he can to push the younger guys because a good captain never abandons the ship:

Cassius and teammate JR PF Nick Ward finally returned from their press conference and were promptly swarmed by the assembled masses:

 

I hoped to get a great scoop from FR PG Jack Hoiberg, as his father Fred was fired as Chicago Bulls head coach in December and is rumored to become Tim Miles’ replacement as head coach of Nebraska any day now. He did not share any breaking news with me but is happy that his dad will get some good opportunities in the future. The 1 upside of the firing is that it has been nice for his dad to have some free time to come see more of his games, as Fred plans to fly into DC today for the big matchup with the Tigers. He confirmed that Coach Izzo is definitely intense and tries to get the most out of his players but that he treats all of them in a caring way. The Hoiberg family was in East Lansing for Jack’s 20th birthday earlier this month, which was around the same time as his team banquet, and they went out to dinner the night before. He provided the best comic relief of the day while getting wheeled around the locker room in a laundry basket:

I tried to rush back and ask Izzo a question at his press conference but somehow he was even farther away from me than before:

SO PF Xavier Tillman was named Big 10 6th Man of the Year a few weeks ago: he said it was an honor and he did a lot of hard work to earn it by losing 20 pounds since the end of last season. He had 12 REB last March in a 2nd round 2-PT loss to Syracuse and realized that he had to be more aggressive: he only took 5 shots against the Orange. His mother Tanya Powell-May finished her career at Michigan as the school’s all-time leading rebounder but he confirmed that she is now a die-hard Michigan State fan. He said Coach Izzo is always solid and does not let the media affect him at all. His key to beating LSU is to keep them off the rim and box out because they are really athletic:

JR SG/SF Kyle Ahrens missed all of last year with a foot injury and fears that he might miss this year’s NCAA tourney due to a lower-leg injury that he suffered in the Big 10 tourney title game win over Michigan. He said that he is getting better and can now walk around without a boot but does not think he will play this weekend. He was not the only Ahrens in the NCAA tourney this month: his brother Justin played in Ohio State’s loss to Houston last Sunday. Justin faced Kyle during each of the past 3 months, which he said has been very different because they had always played on the same team while growing up. He referred to LSU’s offensive rebounding as “tremendous” and knows that his team needs to lock-down on defense. Despite all of the team’s injuries this season (including his own), he feels they have a special team due to their chemistry so that if someone goes down it is just “next man up”:

I overheard FR SG Brock Washington tell another reporter that his mom went to Michigan and his dad went to Michigan State so I asked him if his mom would disown him if the Spartans keep beating the Wolverines (3-0 so far in his college career). He laughed and said that his mom actually cheers for his team now…even though she “bleeds blue”! He confirmed that Coach Izzo is a fantastic person and could not speak higher about his coach even if he tried: on his very 1st campus visit he could tell how much Izzo loves everyone on the team. He turns 20 on Saturday and hopes to spend his birthday preparing for a game in the Elite 8, although he knows that LSU like to crash the boards hard and will be very aggressive:

1 of the biggest players on the team is 6’11” FR PF Marcus Bingham Jr. He had a huge growth spurt during high school and his 7’4” wingspan comes in handy when challenging shots. He said that as a 6’2″ high school freshman he worked on guard drills, then switched to big man drills after growing to 6’7″, but even as a 6’9″ junior he still retained his guard skills. He calls Izzo a really good coach: if he is yelling at you that means he cares about you and wants to help you improve:

That’s all for now, check back later for continuing coverage.

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NCAA Tournament Review and Preview – Friday, March 29

Posted on March 29, 2019 by John Stalica

For Jon Teitel’s All-Access coverage of LSU at the East Regional – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Duke Cheerleading Social Media Coordinator Taylor Lipsich – CLICK HERE

For today’s UTR News, Notes and CIT Preview – CLICK HERE

Despite getting into early foul trouble and into an 11-point deficit at halftime, Florida State looked like they just might pull off an upset over Gonzaga for the second straight season in the tournament. They got as close as 4 points with 4 minutes remaining following a free throw by Trent Forrest, but a 12-2 run by Gonzaga shut the door on the Noles and Gonzaga ended up with a 72-58 win to advance to the Elite 8 for the 3rd time in 5 seasons (and 4th time overall in program history). They’ll face Texas Tech on Saturday – the Red Raiders held Michigan to a season-low 44 points in their victory last night. The other stat of the night was the Wolverines’ inability to hit from the perimeter; they were 1-of-19 from behind the 3-point arc.

Tennessee actually took the reverse approach from their first two games in the NCAA Tournament; this time they found themselves in a big hole against Purdue and trailed by 17 with 16 minutes to play in the game. A 19-2 run by the Vols put Tennessee up midway through the second half, but an odd mix of hot 3-point shooting by both teams and poor free throw shooting eventually sent the game into overtime before Purdue finally pulled away with a 99-94 victory. This is the first time since 2000 that the Boilers advanced to the Elite 8; now they will seek their first Final Four since 1980.

Their opponent will be the Virginia Cavaliers – UVa had multiple scoring droughts throughout the game, and found themselves tied with Oregon late in the game before Ty Jerome hit a 3 that put the Cavaliers ahead for good. Oregon only managed four free throws in the final 5 minutes of the game as Virginia ended up winning 53-49. They move on to their first Elite 8 appearance since 2016 and will be seeking their first Final Four appearance since 1984.

EAST REGIONAL

(3) LOUISIANA STATE VS (2) MICHIGAN STATE (7:09 PM, CBS) – While Michigan State did have a brief scare in their opener against Bradley last week, they breezed past Minnesota last Saturday and must now face the regular season champion out of the SEC. LSU led Maryland for most of their game last Saturday, but it took a game-winning drive by Tremont Waters to finally finish off the Terps and advance to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2006.

(4) VIRGINIA TECH VS (1) DUKE (approx. 9:39 PM, CBS) – This could actually be a de facto road game for Duke tonight given the large amount of alumni that Virginia Tech has in the DC area, but it is worth noting that Virginia Tech did beat Duke at home earlier this year when Zion Williamson was out with an injury for the Blue Devils. Nonetheless, Duke did survive a major scare against Central Florida last Sunday when a couple of potential game-winning shots rimmed out for the Knights.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

(5) AUBURN VS (1) NORTH CAROLINA (7:29 PM, TBS) – It took a while for Auburn to jell this year, but they are the hottest team out of a loaded SEC right now and are playing every bit like the national contender that they were expected to be. They did survive a scare against New Mexico State, but smashed Kansas in their last game. North Carolina also has played three straight halves of quality basketball after actually trailing Iona at halftime in their tournament opener.

(3) HOUSTON VS (2) KENTUCKY (approx. 9:59 PM, TBS) – Off the court, there is rising speculation that Kelvin Sampson might already have one foot out the door on his way to Arkansas after Houston’s season is over. On the court, the Cougars have rode stifling defense to easy victories against Georgia State and Ohio State. Kentucky also rode some stifling defense of their own against Wofford/Fletcher Magee to survive a potential upset bid against themselves. All indications are that PJ Washington will be a game time decision for Kentucky tonight as to whether or not he plays, so it may be fortuitous that the Wildcats play in the last game tonight.

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