Michigan State: 2018-19 Big Ten Men's Basketball Champions



CHICAGO -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had one simple question for his team. He got the answer he wanted, and the sixth-ranked Spartans picked up their sixth Big Ten Tournament championship.

Now, they'll try to bring home the biggest prize of all.

Matt McQuaid scored a career-high 27 points, Cassius Winston converted the go-ahead layup in the closing minute, and the Spartans rallied to beat No. 10 Michigan 65-60 in the Big Ten final on Sunday.

Top-seeded Michigan State (28-6) scored the game's final 10 points to capture its first championship since 2016. No other program has won the conference tournament as many times as Michigan State, and this one was particularly sweet.

After all, the Spartans prevented a championship three-peat by Michigan (28-6) and beat their rivals for the third time this season.

"I asked them all today, `What do you want to do?" Izzo said. "Pregame meal, `What do you want to do? You want to play for the (NCAA) Tournament or you want to play the game?' That sounds like a stupid question, but if you knew where my guys were at as far as physically, it was a good question to ask. Once they said `We want to play the game,' I said, `You just gave me a license for 40 minutes of hell, so you better get going because I'm not letting up."

"They responded and I think they enjoyed it," he continued. "So did I."

McQuaid nailed a personal-best seven 3-pointers. Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, had 14 points and 11 assists as Michigan State won for the 10th time in 11 games.

"It's always big," McQuaid said. "Michigan's a really good team. Beating them three times ... it's hard to do."

Both teams were awarded No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and will play Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. Michigan State faces Bradley in the East Region, while Michigan goes against Montana in the West. The Wolverines beat Montana last year on the way to the national championship game.

Ignas Brazdeikas led Michigan with 19 points. Jordan Poole scored 13. Jon Teske had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Zavier Simpson added 10 assists.

But the third-seeded Wolverines fell again to Michigan State after blowing their chance to win the league by losing to their rivals twice in the final four regular-season games.

"You lose three times in a season to your rival, it's gonna hurt" Isaiah Livers said. "But we'll use it as motivation for the NCAA Tournament. I'm glad we don't have a week or two weeks to sit there and think about that last game. We can get right back to playing."

Michigan led by 13 early in the second half, but Michigan State went on a 13-4 run to tie it at 48 with just over seven minutes remaining.

The Wolverines were up 60-55 after Livers hit a 3 with 2:29 left, but they didn't score again. McQuaid answered with one of his own to start the game-ending run and Xavier Tillman made a tying layup for Michigan State.

After Simpson missed a 3 for Michigan, Winston drove to his left for a layup -- which Teske thought he blocked -- to put the Spartans on top 62-60 with 28 seconds left.

Brazdeikas then missed a pull-up jumper that got tipped by Aaron Henry with 14 seconds to play. Teske and Tillman went up for the rebound, the ball got knocked out of bounds and the referees gave possession to Michigan State after a review as Michigan coach John Beilein screamed on the sideline.

Henry made a free throw and missed the second, making it a three-point game. Poole then appeared to get bumped by Winston -- Michigan State had a foul to give -- just before he launched a long 3 off the dribble, but there was no call.

The Spartans' Kenny Goins hit two free throws to make it 65-60 with two seconds left.

AHRENS INJURED

Michigan State forward Kyle Ahrens was relieved X-rays showed his left ankle wasn't broken after he was taken from the court on a stretcher in the first half, though the extent of the injury was not clear.

He expects to have an MRI once the softball-sized swelling goes down.

Ahrens landed awkwardly when he collided in midair with Goins going for a defensive rebound with 4:34 left in the first half.

He clutched his lower left leg as he screamed in pain. Medical personnel placed an air cast on his leg and teammates gave him hugs before he was wheeled away, pounding his chest as he was taken to the back. He returned to the sideline on crutches in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan: The Wolverines have their sights set on another big NCAA run after losing to Villanova in the championship game last year.

Michigan State: The Spartans head to the tournament with high hopes, though their rotation figures to be a little thinner after Ahrens went down.

UP NEXT

Michigan: NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State: NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati: 2018-19 American Athletic Men's Basketball Champions



MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- With conference player of the year Jarron Cumberland running the show, No. 24 Cincinnati pulled away to win its second American Athletic Conference Tournament.

Cumberland had 33 points and eight rebounds as No. 24 Cincinnati won its second straight AAC tournament title, defeating No. 11 Houston 69-57 on Sunday.

"Jarron was off the charts," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said, later adding: "Jarron is superhuman."

Cane Broome finished with 15 points and Tre Scott added 12 for Cincinnati (28-6), who had lost to Houston twice during the regular season, including 85-69 March 10 at Cincinnati. This time was different as the Bearcats shut down Houston's offense.

"We've had three terrific games with Cincinnati, at our place, at their place and (Sunday)," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Obviously, that's a difficult team to beat three times, especially over the course of five or six weeks.

"Watching how they played today, you can see how well we played the other two times when we beat them."

In the second half, Houston shot a mere 27.8 percent, including making 3 of 18 from 3-point range. That provided Cincinnati, the tournament's No. 2 seed, the opportunity to build a double-digit lead -- a margin that reached 15 three times in the final seven minutes.

Sampson said he could tell Cronin had the Bearcats "really ready to play. You could tell they had a little bit of an ax to grind."

Cronin had noted after Cincinnati's semifinal win over Wichita State that the Bearcats rarely lose to a team three times in a season -- another point of motivation for his team, along with holding the tournament trophy.

After Sunday's victory, the Cincinnati coach said the championship win gives his team a hint of the things necessary if they are to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and with an emphasis on the thin margin between winning and losing.

"You've got to be hard to beat," Cronin said. "You can't (miss) layups. You've got to block out. You can't make dumb fouls and you try to maximize your potential on offense."

Armoni Brooks led Houston (31-3) with 17 points and Corey Davis added 12 for the Cougars, who were the tournament's top seed.

While the Bearcat defense stifled Houston shooting in the second half, Cincinnati put the ball in the hands of Cumberland, voted the tournament's most valuable player, and he responded with 20 second-half points. Cumberland made 7 of 14 shots after halftime and also was 6 of 9 from the free throw line.

"Cumberland hit some tough shots," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He hit some really, really tough shots."

Houston got in trouble early in the second half when two quick fouls sent forward Breaon Brady to the bench with four fouls. About the same time, Fabian White went to the bench holding his right wrist.

At that point, the Bearcats were taking the lead to 15 points and really weren't threatened the rest of the way.

"We would have liked to have won," Sampson said, later adding: "I'm not going to spend two minutes thinking about this game. I'm just excited about what's coming up."

BIG PICTURE

Cincinnati: Cumberland, who was limited to only 11 points in a semifinal win over Wichita State, had surpassed that at halftime with 13 but was still struggling from the field. After halftime, he took over the game as the Bearcats extended the lead.

Houston: The Cougars suffered through 35 percent shooting in the first half. Brooks made five of the nine Houston field goals in the half. But things got worse after halftime as Houston had trouble converting shots and could never really cut into the Cincinnati lead. Injuries and foul trouble only made things worse

UP NEXT

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are a seventh seed in the South Region and play Iowa, the region's No. 10 seed on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Houston: Earned a third seed in the Midwest Region and will play Friday against No. 14 seed Georgia State.

---

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Auburn: 2018-19 Southeastern Men's Basketball Champions



NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Auburn Tigers are taking home their first Southeastern Conference Tournament championship since 1985 and aren't satisfied.

Not with the NCAA Tournament up next.

Bryce Brown scored 19 points, and Auburn won the SEC Tournament title by routing eighth-ranked Tennessee 84-64 on Sunday.

"We still have a lot more to prove, a lot more to accomplish as a team," said Brown, a senior guard who hadn't won an SEC Tournament game before this week.

No. 22 Auburn (26-9) hadn't even played for the title since 2000, and the fifth-seeded Tigers won their fourth game in as many days to capture only the second SEC Tournament championship in program history. The Tigers now have won eight straight and 10 of their last 11 heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Better yet, Auburn and coach Bruce Pearl have become the nemesis to his old program, beating Tennessee three straight times. Auburn ruined Tennessee's hopes of winning back-to-back SEC regular-season titles for the first time with an 84-80 win to wrap up the season a week ago, and the Tigers also are the last team to beat Tennessee in Knoxville.

Now Pearl has his first SEC Tournament title at the expense of the first team he coached in the league.

"I get no greater pleasure in beating Tennessee for this SEC championship because I spent so many wonderful years as a Tennessee Vol," Pearl said. "Got great respect for their fans and program, their tradition in basketball."

On the court, Pearl thanked SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for forgiving him and letting him return to the league as a coach. Pearl was still under an NCAA show cause penalty when Auburn hired him in 2014 for violations committed when he was at Tennessee. He was fired in 2011 for lying to NCAA investigators about a cookout he held for recruits.

"I hope the SEC's better with me in it," Pearl said.

Tennessee (29-5) likely cost itself any chance at the program's first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols will have to win their first-round game to reach 30 victories for only the second time in school history.

"Now it's time to play for the big one," Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield said after being held to a season-low four points.

Chuma Okeke scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds for Auburn, and Danjel Purifoy added 10. Junior guard Jared Harper, Auburn's second-leading scorer, went 1 for 11 and had nine points.

Lamonte' Turner led Tennessee with 24 points. Grant Williams, the two-time SEC player of the year, was held to 13. Jordan Bone had 11 and Jordan Bowden scored 10.

Tennessee struggled to bounce back after an emotional win over No. 4 Kentucky in the semifinals. Coach Rick Barnes said he told his assistants the Vols looked a little drained at the start.

"We just came out with no energy," Williams said. "We came out like we expected things to happen. It's hard to bounce back from that, especially how Auburn plays, how explosive they can be, especially when they start making shots."

The Tigers also became only the third team this season to lead Tennessee by double digits. Tennessee led 17-13 with 11:09 left on a pull-up jumper by Jordan Bowden. Then the Vols went cold, making only two buckets the rest of the half.

Auburn heated up with the Tigers' defense helping them turn the Vols over and over. The Tigers scored 16 straight points in a run that featured a pair of 3s from Brown. A free throw by Horace Spencer capped the spurt with 3:58 left and a 31-18 advantage. Auburn led 32-23 at halftime.

The team that just set the SEC record for 3s made in a season hit 6 of 12 outside the arc to push that lead further. By the time Austin Wiley finished off a three-point play with 11:22 to go, the Tigers led 56-34.

BIG PICTURE

Auburn: The Tigers get so much attention for how they shoot 3s, but they also are fifth in the nation in steals per game. They came up with 14 steals in forcing 17 turnovers and had a 21-11 scoring edge off turnovers. ... The Tigers also got the most minutes yet from Wiley, coming off an injured lower right leg. He missed five games, including the Tigers' tournament-opening win over Missouri.

Tennessee: The Vols had not lost a rematch in the regular season, going 5-0 in such games in each of the past two seasons. This game came a week after the Vols lost at Auburn. The Vols' drought without a SEC tourney title, last won in 1979, will stretch to at least 41 years.

BROWN'S BACK

Brown had struggled in the first half of games at this tournament and said after Auburn's win over Florida in the semifinals that he knew he would have to start faster in the championship game. The senior guard did just that. He was 4-of-8 shooting with 11 points, and Auburn needed his production with Harper limited to two minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.

QUOTABLE

"The fact is we weren't very good," Barnes said.

UP NEXT

Auburn is cruising into its second straight NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee makes its second straight NCAA Tournament.

---

Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker

---

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Georgia State: 2018-19 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Champions



NEW ORLEANS -- Normally talkative Georgia State coach Ron Hunter announced that he couldn't linger long at his postgame media conference following the Sun Belt Conference title game.

He had a six-hour party to attend, he said, referring to the bus ride back to Atlanta from New Orleans.

Malik Benlevi scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Georgia State advanced to a second straight NCAA Tournament with a 73-64 victory over Texas-Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final on Sunday.

"This is about to be the best party bus you have ever seen," Hunter said. "We're not going to a restaurant. I cancelled it. We're not going to a hotel. I cancelled it. We're getting with my team. We're getting with our families. We're getting on a bus and you're going to hear us all around the country."

The top-seeded Panthers (24-9) also demonstrated they are no longer the one-man show they were a year ago, when they relied on D'Marcus Simonds' 27 points to win the 2018 conference title game. This time, Simonds was held to 10 points, but Georgia State had the balance to withstand that. Benlevi punished UTA from outside with four 3-pointers, while Damon Wilson scored 13 points, Kane Williams 12, and Jeff Thomas 11, putting all five starters in double figures.

"We are a dangerous team to play because of how we play," Hunter said. "What people are doing, they're game-planning for D'Marcus and it's the wrong thing to do. I've got good players.

"That's why I hope whoever we're playing in the NCAA Tournament, they're doing the exact same thing."

Edric Dennis scored 12 points and Brian Warren 11 for Texas-Arlington (17-16), which has now come within one victory of a trip to the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons, only to fall short against the same foe.

The game was a rematch of last year's Sun Belt final, albeit in name only because Texas-Arlington had a different coach and five different starters a year ago. Only one current UTA player -- reserve D.J. Bryant -- even played in the 2018 final.

Texas-Arlington was as close as 64-60 when Warren's jumper went down with 2:10 to go, but the Panthers made enough free throws and grabbed enough defensive rebounds from there on to close the game out comfortably. Georgia State coach Ron Hunter started subbing out starters -- and hugging them as they came to the bench -- with a minute to go.

But UTA's real downfall was a shooting drought of 23 straight missed field goals spanning the last 10 minutes of the first half and more than the first five minutes of the second before TiAndre Jackson-Young hit a 3 with 14:46 left to trim Georgia State's lead to 43-34.

"That'll get you beat," UTA coach Chris Ogden said. "I knew we were going through droughts and we were trying different things. We had some looks that we didn't hit, but when they made the plays at the rim, I just thought it affected our overall aggression and they did a good job of contesting shots. They did, so give them credit."

AWAITED ACCOLADE

Benlevi, a 6-foot-6 senior, was named the tournament's outstanding player after garnering few other accolades during his four-year career.

"Four years I've been playing the Sun Belt and never made All-Conference. I feel like I've been snubbed two years in a row," he said. "So, I'm feeling good."

MOMENTUM SHOT

Texas-Arlington raced to a 12-4 lead as Patrick Mwamba scored seven early points and led 23-19 after Warren's 3 with 10:10 left in the first half. But after that, the Mavericks missed their last 13 shots of the half.

Georgia State surged into the lead for good with a 13-1 run highlighted by Williams' 3 as he was fouled.

"It was very big. I think it was a momentum swinger," Williams said of his four-point play. "After that, I feel like we got the tide rolling and everybody picked up the pace and we started getting the energy flowing ... It was a big-time play."

BIG PICTURE

Texas-Arlington: In its second appearance in the Sun Belt title game since joining the league in 2013-14, UTA again fell short of what would have been its second trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia State: After winning its third Sun Belt tournament title in five years, GSU enters the NCAA Tournament having won five straight and eight of nine.

UP NEXT

Texas-Arlington: Although the Mavericks were the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt, finishing just one game above .500 overall likely ends their season without a bid to any postseason invitational tournaments.

Georgia State: The Panthers await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Saint Louis: 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Champions



NEW YORK -- Saint Louis coach Travis Ford could feel a shift about eight minutes into the second half of the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game. The Billikens had trailed St. Bonaventure almost the whole way to that point -- by as much as 15 in the first half -- but Ford could sense the Bonnies were ready to be caught.

"I told them, now let's put the pedal to the metal," Ford said. "Let's let loose a little bit. Let's get aggressive on defense."

The Billikens responded with a run that gave them the lead for good and Saint Louis beat St. Bonaventure 55-53 Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 and an NCAA Tournament bid.

The sixth-seeded Billikens (23-12) won four games in four days to earn their first A-10 Tournament title since 2013 and get back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2014.

"How we won the game is who we are," said Ford, who took over at Saint Louis in 2016 after being fired by Oklahoma State. "We're just a hard-playing, physical, aggressive basketball team."

Bonnies guard Nelson Kaputo, who played only the last minute, had a 3 from the corner for the win in the final seconds after a scramble, but it bounced off the back of the rim. The Billikens cleared the rebound as time expired and then dog-piled on the court as confetti rained down from the ceiling of Barclays Center.

"He didn't play for two hours," Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said. "For him to come up and try and make that shot, it's hard. I know he's disappointed, but at the end of the game you can't really choose who's going to take that last shot."

Jordan Goodwin had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Saint Louis and Tramaine Isabell made a key 3, starting the decisive 12-0 run. Isabell was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

Courtney Stockard led the fourth-seeded Bonnies (18-16) with 22 points but fouled out in the final minute.

The Billikens are a team heavy on senior transfers with Isabell (Drexel), Javon Bess (Michigan State), D.J. Foreman (Rutgers) and Dion Wiley (Maryland) all playing key roles. They were picked to win the A-10, but lost four straight in late January and muddled through the conference schedule.

Goodwin, a sophomore, said through the losing streak the upperclassmen kept the team optimistic.

"Javon, he said, `It's not over. It's not over,' " Goodwin said. "We could have been the last seed, but we knew we were going to make it to this game. We were going to win this game."

Isabell said: "Guys could have quit. Some locker rooms might."

Saint Louis needed an 11-point comeback to get out of the first round Thursday against Richmond and then beat Dayton and Davidson to reach the final.

St. Bonaventure controlled the first half, holding the Billikens without a field for the first 9:19.

In the second half, the Bonnies went 6:09 without scoring as Saint Louis played more man-to-man defense and got aggressive with its switches.

"They did a really good job of taking away some of our actions and making it a one-on-one game. And we don't have one-on-one type players," Schmidt said.

Hasahn French made a reverse layup for the Billikens at 6:56 to give Saint Louis its first lead, 47-46, since the first basket of the game. Moments later, Wiley swished a 3 from the right corner and Saint Louis was up 52-46.

"When Dion hit that 3 in the right corner, I was like, here we go," Isabell said.

The small contingent of Saint Louis fans -- no A-10 campus is farther from Brooklyn -- was doing its best to drown out the noise from a partisan crowd of St. Bonaventure fans from western New York.

Stockard hit a 3 from the corner with 56 second left to cut Saint Louis' lead to 55-53. The Bonnies tried to get the ball into star freshman Kyle Lofton's hands on the last possession, but it was poked away. The best Lofton could do after recovering was find Kaputo in the corner, and the senior missed his only shot of the game.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Louis: Ford, the former Kentucky guard, is making his seventh NCAA appearance as a coach. He took Oklahoma State to the tournament five times in eight seasons and also went as coach of Eastern Kentucky in 2005.

St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies were trying to make consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.

UP NEXT

Saint Louis: The Billikens will find out their NCAA opponent later Sunday.

St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies are hoping for an NIT bid.

Yale: 2018-19 Ivy League Men's Basketball Champions



NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Two thoughts kept running through Alex Copeland's mind as his Yale team prepared to take on Harvard for the Ivy League championship and an NCAA berth.

First, he couldn't stop thinking about how hard he would cry if the Bulldogs lost on their home floor to their archrival in front of friends and family. Second, he couldn't stop thinking about how hard he would cry if they won.

The tears turned out to be happy ones.

Copeland scored a season-high 25 points and Yale beat the Crimson 97-85 on Sunday for its second NCAA Tournament trip in four seasons.

Yale (22-7), which lost to Harvard (18-11) twice in the regular season, used a 15-0 burst in the second half to take control. The Bulldogs celebrated with their fans who poured onto the floor when it was over.

"Visualizing those moments ... it's been going on for so, so long that to actually be here and to be talking about it sitting next to these guys feels so surreal and it just feels amazing," Copeland said.

The Bulldogs will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since a memorable run that saw them beat Baylor in 2016. After that opening win, Yale then played Duke tough in a 71-64 loss.

"It was nice to go as freshmen, but at the end of the day we realized we were just minor pieces in that," senior Trey Phills said. "We really wanted to carry and lead a team, give these other guys the experience we had."

Bryce Aiken scored 38 points for Harvard and Noah Kirkwood added 19.

Copeland was chosen the Ivy tournament's most outstanding player. The senior guard, who had seven assists, scored eight points during Yale's big run that turned a 59-58 deficit into a 73-59 lead.

"He's had a tremendous career and he stepped up big time for us tonight," Yale coach James Jones said.

Miye Oni, the Ivy League's player of the year, spent most of the game in foul trouble, but added 17 points for Yale. Azar Swain had 15.

Yale hit four of its first six shots and jumped out to an 8-2 lead on a spinning layup by Jordan Brunner. The Bulldogs stretched that to double-digits when Brunner found Blake Reynolds (14 points) underneath for a layup that made it 29-19.

But Aiken kept Harvard in the game. He hit six of his 10 shots in the first half and his three free throws gave the Crimson their first lead at 38-37.

Yale, which shot 61 percent over the first 20 minutes, led 43-42 at halftime.

Harvard came out strong after intermission and led 52-45 after a dunk by Kirkwood.

"It's a game of runs and we weren't able theirs going down the stretch and ultimately that led them to get the victory," Aiken said.

Yale scored the next eight points, capped by a jumper from Oni, who picked up his fourth foul with more than 14 minutes left and played just 10 minutes after intermission.

"I looked at the clock and I looked at the rest of the guys on the court and I said, `We've got to do it without him. We've got to hold it down until he can get back in the game," Copeland said.

The Bulldogs kept the Crimson at bay after their big run and cut down the nets on their home court after winning basketball's version of The Game.

CHARITY AT HOME

Yale hit 28 of its 30 foul shots in the game (93.3 percent) and Oni was 10 of 10 from the line. Harvard made 19 of 24 free throws.

MOVING UP

The win gives Jones 310 at Yale, tying him with Fran Dunphy (Penn) for second all-time in the Ivy League. He would need another 204 to catch former Princeton great Pete Carril.

BIG PICTURE

Yale: The Bulldogs and Crimson were both 10-4 during the regular season, but the Bulldogs were playing as visitors on their home floor because of their two losses to Harvard during the regular season. .

Harvard: Harvard came into the game 7-0 versus Ivy League Tournament teams this season, including that 2-0 record against Yale, the tiebreaker which earned the Crimson the top seed in the tournament. It also guarantees them a spot in the NIT.

"I mentioned that to our kids," Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. "There's still basketball for our program to participate in a national tournament. We're proud of that."

UP NEXT

Yale: The Bulldogs await their opponent and site in the NCAA tourney.

Harvard: The Crimson await an NIT bid.

UC Irvine: 2018-19 Big West Men's Basketball Champions



They met in Fullerton first and then Irvine, and then, Saturday night, they met in the middle.

In Anaheim. At Honda Center. In the finale of the Big West tournament.

Turns out it didn’t matter where the games started because each finished in the same place: with UC Irvine on top.

The Anteaters defeated Cal State Fullerton 92-64 with a blitz from the opening tip led by junior guard Max Hazzard.

With the victory, Irvine (30-5) advances to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. The 2014-15 Anteaters were seeded 13th and sent to Seattle, where they lost their first game to Louisville 57-55.

The win also avenged their loss in the Big West final a year ago to the Titans (16-17), who were trying to make consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament.

Hazzard delivered the early punches and freshman teammate Collin Welp the final knockout.

Hazzard had 15 of his 23 points in the first half and Welp 12 of his 23 in the opening 10 minutes of the second.

Fullerton’s Khalil Ahmad, who scored 60 points total in his first two tournament games, missed eight shots to start Saturday and finished with six points.

Hazzard began by making three three-pointers in the game’s first four minutes. He added a driving layup before finally missing another three-point try.

The Anteaters made 10 of their first 13 shots overall and, after barely 10 minutes, had ballooned the difference to 30-12. The Titans closed to within 33-22 on a Kyle Allman Jr. three-pointer 4:46 before halftime.

But Irvine reasserted itself to close on a 9-2 run to restore the 18-point edge — 42-24 — after 20 minutes.

From there, the Anteaters continued to pour it on, burying Fullerton with an overwhelming display of offensive efficiency.

These two schools are conference rivals that share Orange County and equal measures of respect and distaste for one another.

The Anteaters won both previous meetings against the Titans this year, 63-46 in January and 60-53 nearly a month later.

At that point, the schools had played 110 times in men’s basketball. The record for each was the same: 55-55.

Two institutions that sit roughly 23 miles apart couldn’t have been any closer.

In the Big West tournament, however, Fullerton had carved out a sizable gap. The Titans entered Saturday 7-2 against Irvine when the stakes were one-and-done.

In 2018, they knocked off the third-seeded Anteaters as the No. 4 seed 71-55 in a title game Irvine led only once after the first three minutes.

Both these programs arrived at Honda Center riding upward trends established over the past few seasons.

Irvine has claimed the Big West’s regular-season title four times in six years, reached three consecutive tournament finals now and won at least 20 games in six of the past seven seasons for coach Russell Turner.

The Titans have won 10 Big West games in each of the past three years after winning 10 total in coach Dedrique Taylor’s first three seasons at the school.

Oregon: 2018-19 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Champions



Payton Pritchard posted 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals as sixth-seeded Oregon beat top-seeded Washington 68-48 in the Pac-12 men's basketball championship game on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Louis King added 15 points for the 23-12 Ducks, who won their fourth Pac-12 tournament championship game in school history. Paul White added 14 points.

Jaylen Nowell scored a team-leading eight points for the 26-8 Huskies, who shot 33.3 percent from the field and 5-of-23 from three-point range. Washington only scored two points over the first 10 minutes of the second half.

             

What's Next?

Both teams will wait to hear their names on Sunday during the NCAA tournament selection show, which begins at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.

===

LAS VEGAS — After trailing by just two points at half, the Washington men’s basketball team went on the wrong end of a big run that ultimately cost them in a 68-48 loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game.

The offensive struggles against the Ducks continued today for the Huskies, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field and a measly 5-of-23 from distance.

Now, all the Huskies can do is sit and wait for the fates come Selection Sunday, where a loss casts some doubt on if the Dawgs will hear their names called. 

The first half featured a mostly back-and-forth contest before the Ducks began to generate a sliver of separation near the midway point. Oregon Guard Victor Bailey Jr. knocked down a heavily-contested three-point shot from the right wing to take the UO lead to four with 7:10 to go in the half.

After a series of back-and-forth buckets between the two teams, Matisse Thybulle scored on a tough floater to close out the half for the Huskies and trim the deficit to just two at the break.

It was a tough offensive start for leading UW scorer Jaylen Nowell, as he scored his first points of the game at the 4:17 mark in the opening frame and was shooting 2-of-5 from the field with a turnover at the half.

The second half didn’t start any better for the Huskies, who through nine and a half minutes had only scored two points and suddenly found themselves trailing by 16.

Finally, a Noah Dickerson layup in the post broke an over seven-minute scoreless streak midway through the second half. 

But the Ducks kept the pressure on. Led by Payton Pritchard, Louis King, and Paul White, who each scored in double figures, Oregon put on enough points to secure the upset and win yet another Pac-12 tournament championship.  

No Washington player scored in double figures.

The CBS selection show will air at 3 p.m. on Sunday, where the Huskies are hoping for their first tournament appearance since 2011.

New Mexico State: 2018-19 Western Athletic Men's Basketball Champions



For the second straight year, the Grand Canyon men's basketball team came one win away from earning its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.

And for the second straight year, it was top-seeded New Mexico State that dashed the Lopes' dream.

New Mexico State routed GCU 89-57 in Saturday night's WAC Tournament championship game at the Orleans Arena to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies, who won all three of their matchups with GCU this season, defeated the Lopes 72-58 in last year's championship game in the same venue.

Everything went right for the Lopes in the first five minutes of Saturday's game, as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead and had the thousands of Lopes fans in attendance on their feet. But it was all Aggies, who won their 19th straight game, the rest of the way. NMSU out-shot, out-rebounded and out-defended GCU, to the delight of the NMSU fans who made the trip from Las Cruces.

Junior guard Carlos Johnson, who scored career highs in the Lopes' wins in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals -- 66 total points in the two games -- was held to nine points on 3 of 9 shooting Saturday.

GCU shot just 7 of 30 from 3-point range, NMSU went 17 of 39 from beyond the arc.

Coached by former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle, GCU is in its sixth year at the NCAA Division I level, but this was just its second season of NCAA Tournament eligibility. Saturday's result means the Lopes will have to wait at least one more season to punch their first-ever ticket to the Big Dance.

Abilene Christian: 2018-19 Southland Men's Basketball Champions



The UNO bid for a second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons came up short Saturday (March 16) in a Southland Conference championship loss to Abilene Christian in Katy, Texas.

The Privateers trailed by 15 points in the first half and never got closer than eight points in the second half of the 77-60 loss. Abilene Christian will play in the NCAA tournament in the second season of postseason eligibility after its transition from the Division II level.

UNO (19-13) reached the conference final with a semifinal win Friday against top-seeded Sam Houston State. The Privateers held the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye to the quarterfinal round of the eight-team tournament. The game Saturday with the third in three days for UNO.

UNO turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and trailed 40-29 at halftime. The deficit reached 15 points a second time in the second half before a 7-0 run drew UNO within 61-53. The Wildcats (27-6) ran away from there.

Bryson Robinson, one of two current players from the NCAA tournament team from two years ago, scored 14 points with four 3-pointers. Scott Plaisance added 13 points.

Although not qualified for the NCAA tournament, UNO could have a postseason opportunity. The school played last season in the College Basketball Invitational, an event in which schools submit a bid for a chance to play at home.

Duke: 2018-19 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions



CHARLOTTE—One week ago Saturday, the Blue Devils walked off the court in Chapel Hill ready to hit the reset button prior to starting postseason play.

Three wins, 81 points and 30 rebounds by Zion Williamson later, it's safe to say Duke is back at its best.

The third-seeded Blue Devils clinched their 21st ACC tournament title Thursday after knocking off No. 4 seed Florida State 73-63 Saturday evening. Duke used a 25-11 run in the opening minutes of the second-half to break open a game that was tied at halftime. Williamson capped his stellar tournament for the Blue Devils with a 21-point, five-rebound performance as Duke collected its first piece of hardware of the 2018-19 campaign.

Williamson's scoring total for the week was a program record for a three-game run in the ACC tournament.

The Blue Devils (29-5) struggled to find consistency out of the gates, missing each of their first eight attempts from the perimeter as Florida State jumped out to a 27-19 advantage. Duke then started to push the tempo and took advantage of eight first-half turnovers from the Seminoles (27-7) to tie the game at 27 and entered halftime tied at 36.

Terrance Mann hit a triple out of the locker room to give the Seminoles a three-point lead, but the Blue Devils came right back with a classic Duke second-half run. Tre Jones hit a jumper, Zion Williamson hit a pair of layups, Javin DeLaurier hit two at the line and a reverse layup by Jones in transition capped a 10-0 spurt. The Blue Devils took a 46-39 advantage with 16:29 remaining—then their largest of the night.

Less than three minutes later, Duke went on another 8-0 spurt to open up a 58-44 advantage, forcing a Florida State timeout with 11:11 remaining. The Blue Devils opened the half with 10 consecutive made 2-pointers and coupled that with stifling defense that held Florida State to just three of its first 15 from the field out of the break.

The Seminoles fought back and cut the Duke lead to as little as five, using a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to 61-56 with 5:28 remaining—behind a team-high 14 points from ACC Sixth Man of the Year Mfiondu Kabengele—but Florida State could not slow down the Blue Devils enough down the stretch. A bucket by Jones and a 3-pointer by Cam Reddish from the left wing with 1:20 left put the game away.

Jones continued his recent attacking mentality on offense, but was more efficient than in past games. The floor general added a season-high 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, while racking up six assists in the process.

After a slow start from R.J. Barrett, the freshman phenom began to attack and ended up with 11 first-half points and 17 in the contest. Barrett complemented another stellar offensive showing from Williamson, who paced the team with 12 in the opening period and led the Blue Devil scoring game on the interior.

Both teams showed sloppiness in the first half, combining for 15 turnovers. The teams took better care of the ball out of the locker room, as Duke won the turnover battle 13-12.

Duke did manage to improve in an area that it has struggled mightily in throughout the season—at the charity stripe. The Blue Devils finished the contest with a 81.0 percent clip on free-throw attempts. Duke needed every point it could get at the stripe as the Seminoles could not miss, draining their first 13 attempts and finishing the contest 15-for-16

With the win, the Blue Devils will wait to see if they earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. If that is the case when the bracket is revealed Sunday at 6 p.m., Duke will likely be in the East Region and will begin tournament play Friday in Columbia, S.C.

Old Dominion: 2018-19 Conference USA Men's Basketball Champions



FRISCO, Texas – Old Dominion is dancing! The Monarchs will make their return to the NCAA Tournament after an eight-year hiatus.

ODU defeated Western Kentucky  in the Conference USA Championship 62-56 on Saturday evening.

This will be the 11th NCAA Tournament appearance for Old Dominion, and the first since 2011. It’s also the first Conference USA title since joining the conference in 2013.

ODU last won a conference tournament title in the CAA back in 2011.

Xavier Green led ODU with 16 points. Ahmad Caver had a near double-double with 10 points and nine assists.

The Monarchs will find out their opponent and destination Sunday on News 3 at 6:00 p.m. during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

Montana: 2018-19 Big Sky Men's Basketball Champions



BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Sayeed Pridgett scored 18 points and Montana overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Eastern Washington 68-62 on Saturday night for its second straight Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid.

Donaven Dorsey and Michael Oguine each added 12 points for Montana (26-8). The Grizzlies also beat the Eagles (16-18) last year in the final.

Jesse Hunt led Eastern Washington with 17 points, and Kim Aiken Jr. had 14.

Playing with a smaller lineup of five guards, Montana took its first lead midway through the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Montana: Montana could be facing the departure of coach Travis DeCuire, who has already been linked to coaching vacancies at major programs.

Eastern Washington: Coach Shantay Legans will have to deal with the loss of Hunt, the senior who lead the team in scoring and was the Big Sky’s top rebounder.

UP NEXT

Montana await its seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

Buffalo: 2018-19 Mid-American Men's Basketball Champions



CLEVELAND – The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team completed the championship sweep Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Jeremy Harris scored 31 points to help the Bulls to an 87-73 win against Bowling Green for the MAC Tournament championship. The Bulls clinched their fourth MAC Championship and their fourth NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. UB won conference titles and received auto bids in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

The Bulls improve to 31-3, a MAC record for wins in a season in men's basketball. The Bulls enter the  NCAA Tournament on a 12-game winning streak, and will learn their tournament destination when the NCAA announces the 68-team field Sunday night. The NCAA Tournament begins Tuesday with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

The Bulls also made Nate Oats’ bank account a little more robust. Under the terms of Oats’ new contract, which began Thursday, the fourth-year Bulls coach will receive a bonus of $75,000 for winning the MAC Tournament championship.

Third-seeded Bowling Green finishes the season 22-12. Saturday was the first meeting between the two teams in the MAC tournament

The Bulls took a 12-8 lead less than five minutes into the game, with the help of 3-pointers by Davonta Jordan and Jayvon Graves, and held the Falcons without a shot from the perimeter – Bowling Green opened 0-3 on 3-pointers, and finished 2 for 10 in the first half.

Then, the Falcons hit a drought from the floor. Bowling Green went without a successful shot form the floor for a span of nearly six minutes. In that time the Bulls went on a 9-0 run, and at one point the Falcons called a 30-second timeout with 9:04 left in an attempt to regroup, trailing 24-13.

It didn’t work. UB built its lead to 28-13 less than a minute after the timeout, and led by as many as 12. The Bulls also didn’t allow Bowling Green to hit its first 3-pointer until less than four minutes remained in the half, but Daeqwon Plowden’s shot cut UB’s lead to 36-31, part of a 14-3 run in the final 4:13 that cut UB’s lead to 39-38 with 1:30 left in the half. The Falcons also grabbed 25 rebounds to Bowling Green’s 17 in the first half, including 18 defensive rebounds to UB’s 13.

The Bulls and the Falcons traded leads five times in the first 2:09 of the second half, before Jeremy Harris’ 3-pointer 3:17 into the half tied the game at 50-50, but Dylan Frye hit only his second 3-pointer to break a scoreless drought of 2:31 that gave the Falcons a 53-50 lead.

The Bulls and the Falcons traded the lead six more times in more than two minutes midway through the second half, and UB used an 11-3 run to open its lead to 74-68 with less than five minutes left.

But Nick Perkins fouled out, a fourth foul plus a technical foul, and Justin Turner and Demajeo Wiggins made three of four free throws to cut UB’s lead to 74-71 with 4:26 left. The Bulls didn’t panic, though. Eighteen seconds later, Graves’ 3-pointer opened UB’s lead back to seven points, kicking off a decisive 13-2 run that closed the game for the Bulls.

Prairie View A&M: 2018-19 Southwestern Athletic Men's Basketball Champions



BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Gary Blackston and Dennis Jones scored 17 points apiece to lead six Prairie View A&M players in double figures and the Panthers beat Texas Southern 92-86 on Saturday night in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

Prairie View earned its second NCAA Tournament berth and first since 1998.

Gerard Andrus had 12 points, Taishaun Johnson and Darius Williams scored 11 apiece and Devonte Patterson added 10 for the top-seeded Panthers (22-12), who have won 11 games in a row.

Patterson made 1 of 2 free throws and Jones added a layup to put Prairie View in front 83-81, the last of 15 lead changes, with 2:11 left. Trayvon Reed's layup with 38 seconds to go made it 85-all but the Panthers went 7 of 8 from the foul line, and TSU committed two turnovers, from there to seal it.

Jalyn Patterson led Texas Southern (21-13) with 24 points, including 18 in the second half. Devocio Butler scored 18, Tyrik Armstrong added 16 and Jeremy Combs had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Combs, the SWAC player of the year, fouled out on the offensive end with two minutes remaining.

TSU had won the last two, and four of the last five, SWAC Tournaments.

Armstrong had 12 points in the first four-plus minutes as the Tigers scored 15 of the first 19 points and a dunk by Reed gave them a 13-point lead but PVAMU answered with a 19-4 run over the next five minutes to take its first lead a 26-24.

The Panthers scored the first six second-half points to take their biggest lead at 51-41 with 18:20 left.

Villanova: 2018-19 Big East Men's Basketball Champions



NEW YORK (AP) – Villanova became the first team to win three consecutive Big East Tournaments, beating Seton Hall 74-72 on Saturday night behind seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth and key contributions from freshman Saddiq Bey.

Seton Hall star Myles Powell, guarded closely by Booth, missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that could have won it. Booth was called for traveling as he tried to corral the rebound, however, and the Pirates got one more chance with 0.4 seconds left. Anthony Nelson’s long inbounds pass bounced off the backboard and was slapped away by the Wildcats, who got to party on the Madison Square Garden floor yet again.

The 25th-ranked and top-seeded Wildcats (25-9) were in the Big East final for a fifth straight year, and have won four of the last five championships. The only loss during that span was to Seton Hall in 2016, and Powell and the third-seeded Pirates (20-13) gave Villanova all it could handle once again.

Powell scored 25 points to cap a spectacular three days at Madison Square Garden for the high-scoring guard.

Paschall had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Booth scored 16 points and was selected most outstanding player of the tournament. Bey, who Villanova fans hope will lead the next wave of championship teams, had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Villanova had a chance to seal it in the final 30 seconds but Paschall was called for a charge when he lowered his shoulder into Myles Cale with 24 seconds left. Powell quickly scored inside at the other end to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 73-72 with 15.5 seconds left.

The Pirates sent Paschall to the line with 13.7 seconds remaining and he made the first and missed the second. Seton Hall rebounded and called a timeout to set up a final play with 8.9 seconds left.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: The Pirates are headed to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament, matching a school best (1991-94).

Villanova: The defending national champions will be in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season, but will probably be seeded worse than a 2 for the first time since 2013.

Iowa State: 2018-19 Big 12 Men's Basketball Champions



KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Something about the Big 12 Tournament brings out the best in Iowa State.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones raced to a big early lead against No. 17 Kansas, then leaned on some balanced scoring and enough stops down the stretch to beat the Jayhawks 78-66 on Saturday night and remain unbeaten in five championship game appearances.

Lindell Wigginton had 17 points, Marial Shayok had 15 and Michael Jacobson 14 for the Cyclones (23-11). They became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the conference tournament and improved to 2-0 against Kansas (25-9) in the finals.

Dedric Lawson had 18 points and Devon Dotson added 17 for the third-seeded Jayhawks, whose last chance to win some hardware will be the NCAA tournament. Their run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns ended last weekend, and they failed to defend their Big 12 Tournament title.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones made a tremendous about-face during their stay in Kansas City.

They arrived having lost five of their past six regular-season games, and they looked rudderless in losses to Texas and lowly West Virginia. But beginning with a blowout of Baylor and continuing with a quarterfinal win over regular-season champ Kansas State, the Cyclones found their stride.

The Jayhawks, who are still looking for their own, were fortunate to trail 32-22 at halftime.

Lawson, who had 24 points in the semifinals, was 2-of-11 from the field. Marcus Garrett was 0-for-6 from the floor and 1-of-4 from the foul line. Quentin Grimes was 0-or-4 from beyond the arc after hitting five 3-pointers in their win over the Mountaineers on Friday night.

All told, the Jayhawks shot 27.8 percent from the field and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half. They also were just 2-of-8 from the free throw line.

Iowa State had its own trouble on the offensive end of the floor, getting five shots swatted into the seats. But the Cyclones were effective at getting to the rim, and easy layups by Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton allowed them to take control.

Their lead swelled to 41-24 early in the second half. And even when the Jayhawks managed to nip into it, they would inevitably miss an open layup or throw the ball away.

Or, Jacobson would knock down an unlikely 3-pointer.

That was the case when the Jayhawks trimmed the deficit to 45-35 with 14 minutes to go. Iowa State's big man calmly drained one from the top of the arc -- all Kansas coach Bill Self could do was smile in disbelief -- and Steve Prohm's squad promptly ripped off seven straight points.

Frustration eventually set in for the Jayhawks down the stretch.

After cutting their deficit to single digits on several occasions, including 72-63 with 1:21 to go, the Cyclones kept answering. And after Grimes was called for a foul on Wigginton, Lawson spiked the ball under the basket and was whistled for a technical foul.

Shayok made the two technical foul shots, Wigginton made two more, and the chants of "Let's Go, Cyclones!" began to reverberate throughout Sprint Center in celebration of another title.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State has leaned on Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker much of the season, but Wigginton and Haliburton shined in Kansas City. Wigginton is averaging more than 15 points over his past five games, and Haliburton continues to lead the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Kansas started freshman center David McCormack, but the Cyclones' guard-oriented lineup forced the Jayhawks to match their personnel. Charlie Moore and the rest of their guards struggled shooting the ball, and they were unable to get crucial defensive stops down the stretch.

UP NEXT

Both teams will learn their NCAA tournament destinations Sunday.

Utah State: 2018-19 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions



LAS VEGAS -- Sam Merrill scored 24 points, Neemias Queta had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference championship with a 64-57 victory over San Diego State on Saturday.

Utah State (28-6) scored the first 13 points of the second half to pull away after leading 34-32 at halftime. The Aggies, who joined the conference in 2013-14, were the No. 2 seeds after sharing the regular-season title with No. 14 Nevada.

Merrill, who went 11 of 12 from the free throw line, was the tournament's MVP. Abel Porter had 10 points for the Aggies, who have won 10 straight and 17 of their last 18 games.

Fourth-seeded San Diego State got no closer than five points on two occasions after Utah State's run, cutting it to 60-55 in the final minute. But Merrill responded by hitting two free throws with 43 seconds left to seal it.

Devin Watson scored 18 points in a game the Aztecs (21-13) in all likelihood needed to win to make the NCAA Tournament.

Even though the Aggies led for 12 minutes, 15 seconds of the first half, there were 10 lead changes and seven ties in the session. Neither team could build more than Utah State's five-point advantage.

BIG PICTURE

Utah State: This was the Aggies' first conference championship game appearance since winning the Western Athletic Conference title in 2011 with a 77-69 victory over Boise State. Merrill became the seventh Aggie to reach 700 points in a season and moved into fifth on the team's career scoring list with his 21st point Saturday.

San Diego State: The Aztecs won the MWC tournament in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2018. This also was their ninth finals appearance in 11 years, all at the Thomas & Mack Center. They have appeared in 11, a conference record.

UP NEXT

Utah State: Awaits word for a seeding in the NCAA Tournament

San Diego State: Awaits word on a postseason tournament berth.

Let It Ride



Good bye, hard life
Don't cry would you let it ride?
Good bye, hard life
Don't cry would you let it ride?



You can't see the mornin', but I can see the light
Try, try, try let it ride
While you've been out runnin' I've been waitin' half the night
Try, try, try let it ride



And would you cry if I told you that I lied and would you say goodbye or
Would you let it ride?
And would you cry if I told you that I lied
And would you say goodbye or would you let it ride?



Seems my life is not complete I never see you smile
Try, try, try let it ride
Baby you want the forgivin' kind and that's just not my style
Try, try, try let it ride



And would you cry if I told you that I lied and would you say goodbye or
Would you let it ride?
And would you cry if I told you that I lied
And would you say goodbye or would you let it ride?



I've been doin' things worthwhile, you've been bookin' time
Try, try, try let it ride



And would you cry if I told you that I lied and would you say goodbye or
Would you let it ride?
And would you cry if I told you that I lied
And would you say goodbye or would you let it ride?



Would you let it ride
Would you let it ride
Would you let it ride
Would you let it ride



Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride
Try, try, try let it ride



Would you let it ride?
Would you let it ride?
Would you let it ride?
Would you let it ride?

-Charles Turner and Randy Bachman


North Carolina Central: 2018-19 Mid-Eastern Men's Basketball Champions



NORFOLK, Va. -- Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament with a 50-47 victory against top-seeded Norfolk State on Saturday.

The Eagles (18-15) earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament despite missing nine of their last 10 shots and not scoring for the final 4:03.

Mastadi Pitt scored 14 points and C.J. Kelly 13 for Norfolk State (21-13). The Spartans had a last chance to tie, but after taking a timeout with 8.8 seconds left, they had to settle for a heavily contested desperation heave by Pitt at the buzzer.

The Spartans closed the first half on a 20-8 run and led 32-22 at the break. It was 34-22 after Alex Long's jumper to open second-half scoring, but Jordan Perkins' 3-pointer started the 25-6 spurt. Perkins had seven points in the run that gave the Eagles a 47-38 lead with 8:18 to play.

The Spartans trailed 50-42 after Jibri Blount's basket for the Eagles with 4:03 left, but got only a driving basket by Steven Whitley and three free throws by Jordan Butler the rest of the way as they missed seven of their last eight shots.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. Central: The Eagles turned over the ball 17 times, but it led to just 13 points for Norfolk State. The Eagles also won the rebounding battle 41-29 with Raasean Davis grabbing 14 and Douglas 12.

Norfolk State: Scoring leader Nic Thomas (14.9 points per game) was scoreless, missing all five of his shots from the field.

UP NEXT

N.C. Central: will await its NCAA Tournament destination.

Norfolk State: will play in the NIT as league regular-season champions.

Vermont: 2018-19 America East Men's Basketball Champions




BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Vermont learned from its loss last year on its home floor to Maryland-Baltimore County in the America East Tournament title game -- a result that paved the way for an even bigger win by UMBC.

Anthony Lamb scored 28 points, and Vermont beat UMBC 66-49 on Saturday to win the America East championship and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

It was the seventh conference title overall and second in three years for the Catamounts (27-6), who got their revenge on the anniversary of 16th-seeded UMBC's shocking upset of top-seeded Virginia in last year's NCAA Tournament.

"I'm impressed how well we grew over the season and today was a full team effort," Vermont coach John Becker said. "These games are surreal because of the crowd and noise. We were tougher this year because of that game. We had a lot of young guys, so credit our new leadership."

Lamb, the America East player of the year, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He went 8 for 16 from the field and had nine rebounds, and he led a strong defensive effort from the Catamounts, who held the Retrievers to 34-percent shooting.

Stef Smith added 17 points for Vermont and Ben Shungu scored nine, all in the second half. K.J. Jackson led UMBC (21-13) with 15 points, and Arkel Lamar had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Lamb hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to start an 11-0 run that put Vermont ahead 39-22.

"The championship game a lot of times comes down to the best player playing like that," Becker said. "I never wanted to put any extra pressure on Anthony, but the reality today is that our best player was a big reason we won."

Both teams got off to slow starts. UMBC missed its first six field-goal attempts and hit only five of its first 16, while Vermont was 7 for 21, missing its first six 3-point attempts. Lamb scored 12 of Vermont's first 18 points and had 19 by halftime, when the Catamounts led 28-20.

"This year the script was flipped after a year ago," UMBC coach Ryan Odom said. "Hats off to Vermont today. Our offense today left a lot to be desired -- give them credit for a lot of that. Lamb had a dynamite game. He's tremendous."

BIG PICTURE

UMBC: The Retrievers handed Vermont its only two regular-season losses in America East play, including a 74-63 win in Burlington on Jan. 23. Lamb didn't play in that game.

Vermont: Recent struggles against UMBC aside, the Catamounts are comfortable atop the America East. They were the top seed in the conference tournament and reached their fourth straight title game and 13th overall. Vermont has seven titles, all since 2003.

STAT PACK

The Catamounts were 1 for 7 from 3-point range in the first half but heated up after halftime, making four of their first six from beyond the arc. ... Vermont shot 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded UMBC 38-27.

UP NEXT

UMBC awaits a possible bid in the NIT or another postseason tournament.

Vermont will learn its NCAA Tournament seeding and destination on Sunday evening.

Colgate: 2018-19 Patriot Men's Basketball Champions



HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Jordan Burns had a career-high 35 points and Will Rayman added 18 to lead top-seeded Colgate to a 94-80 victory over No. 2 Bucknell in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament, giving the Raiders their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

The victory before a standing-room only, overflow crowd, avenged last year's championship game loss at Bucknell. The Bison won last year's title matchup 83-54.

Rapolas Ivanauskas added 12 points for the Raiders (24-10, 14-5 Patriot League), who have now won a school-record 11 straight games.

Kimbal Mackenzie led Bucknell (21-12, 13-6) with 23 points. Nate Sestina had 21 before fouling out.

Burns hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range and 10 of 16 overall. Colgate hit 12 of 21 on 3s and 30 of 52 from the field for 58 percent.

Colgate held a 43-30 halftime lead, but Mackenzie almost single-handedly brought Bucknell back early in the second half. He hit his first four 3s and scored 16 of Bucknell's first 18 points after intermission to bring the Bison to 50-48 with just under 16 minutes to go.

Colgate answered with an emphatic run, scoring six straight as part of a 23-10 spurt to take a 73-58 lead with 8:25 remaining. Burns scored 11 points during the spurt, including consecutive 3s in a 40-second span. A hook shot by Rayman gave Colgate its biggest lead at 78-59 with 6:50 to go and the Raiders were never headed.

Colgate raced to the 13-point halftime lead thanks to Burns and Ivanauskas, who scored 19 and nine points, respectively. The Raiders held a 21-15 lead with a little more than 10 minutes to go in the half when Burns, who averaged 15.1 points during the season, went to work.

The sophomore guard scored 13 of Colgate's next 15 points in less than a three-minute span, nine of those points coming on three 3s as the Raiders extended to a 36-19 margin with less than six minutes to go. Burns shot 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Colgate hit 6 of 13 from 3 and held Bucknell to just 4 of 15 from deep and 11 of 32 shooting overall. The Raiders also dominated on the boards in the period, outrebounding Bucknell 23-15.

BIG PICTURE

Bucknell: It was a disappointing ending for the Bison, who seemed to have all the momentum after climbing to within two. They now await an invitation to the postseason.

Colgate: Euphoria is the word in Hamilton and Jordan Burns is the toast of the town as the Raiders await their first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

NCAA Tournament bracket announcement Sunday.

A Bedlam Reborn.



After several years of slight modifications to the layout of my blog, The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue, I have finally decided to make the blog more accessible for people of different persuasions while staying true to the Solid Pink color that is an official color of this blog, along with the now adopted secondary shade of French Pink and the tertiary accent of white.

Akatsuki has been retired as mascot of my blog, with Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi resuming their roles as co-mascots. Version 203 is the version where the Emporio theme is used to allow for better accessibility by computer users who may not be so adept. A few widgets have been axed, and a couple of text widgets have been moved as standalone pages (yes would you believe that there have been no actual pages on this blog until now? And it's been more than 10 years!).



Also, my tumblr page has been updated with a new look took to better emphasize accessibility. The Tumblr Official look had been the look for my blog for years. Now it's been given a change to reflect my ever evolving whims. In this, I am looking forward with hope to bigger and better things.

So, I hope you enjoy the content on the Bedlam, because we have a big year of Saimoe coming up and we'll make sure you know what's going on, because at the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue, there's always something going on down there.