FFXIV: Linger

#FFXIV #StPatricsDay 

Michigan: 2024-25 Big Ten Men's Basketball Champions

 

Both Michigan and Wisconsin clearly showed signs of fatigue from playing their third day in a row. Big Ten basketball is rugged, and the wear of playing three consecutive days clearly showed. The battle tested Wolverines still found a way to win by a score of 59-53, capturing the Big Ten Tournament Championship to cap off an amazing run.

Shooting was abysmal and point-blank layups were less than guaranteed for most of the game. With their legs fatigued, both teams shot poorly from deep and the halftime score of 23-21 told the whole story. And while those struggles continued in the second half, it was the Wolverines who ultimately made enough plays to secure the win.

Here are three takeaways from Michigan's Big Ten Tournament Championship victory over Wisconsin:

1. The win may not affect Michigan for the NCAA Tournament

Michigan was predicted as the last 4-seed in the tournament prior to the Big Ten Championship game. Most pundits agreed that, regardless of the result, Michigan would stay in that 4-seed spot. They could sneak into a 3-spot with the win, but that seems unlikely. One of the biggest positives of the tournament run is the Wolverines staying healthy. Duke saw two of their stars suffer injuries in their conference tournament. Going into the NCAA tournament healthy is critical for a team like Michigan with less bench depth.

2. Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf have to be willing to take over

While fatigue was certainly a factor, Goldin and Wolf struggled mightily in the first half of this game. Michigan will have a tough time putting together a deep run in the NCAA tournament if that becomes a consistent issue. Goldin missed quite a few point-blank shots, and Wolf seemed lost and out of rhythm in the first half. For teams to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, the stars have to perform and be willing to take over. Hopefully, after some rest, Goldin and Wolf can get back to dominating.

3. Three-point shooting remains an issue

Wisconsin shot under 20 percent from three and Michigan was not much better shooting below 30 percent. Elite guard play and timely three-point shooting are a key aspect to NCAA Tournament success, and the Wolverines have struggled as of late from behind the arc. Again, fatigue was a factor in this game and some rest could mitigate much of that in the coming days. The maize and blue certainly have some capable three-point shooters in Donaldson, Burnett and even Wolf. If they can rest and reset before the NCAA Tournament, that three-point prowess could propel a deep run.

Michigan struggled in close games early in the season. But those struggles turned into a strength in the latter half of the season, as the Wolverines became comfortable in close games and consistently made the right plays at the right time to pull out victories. Going into the NCAA Tournament, all of those close games will bode well for the the maize and blue. Big Ten Tournament Champions once again, an amazing first year for new head coach Dusty May continues.

Memphis: 2024-25 American Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

 

FORT WORTH, Texas — Memphis basketball bulldozed UAB Sunday 84-72 to win the AAC tournament championship – its second in the last three years.

The 17th-ranked Tigers (29-5) are double conference champs for the first time since 2013, when they were members of Conference USA. They have won eight consecutive games and are headed into March Madness as the AAC’s automatic qualifier.

AAC Coach of the Year Penny Hardaway and his short-handed team battled beginning to end – in much the same way the entire season has played out. With sure-handed veteran leader Tyrese Hunter on the bench – his left foot in a walking boot due to an unspecified injury he suffered in Saturday’s win over Tulane – and backup Dante Harris also sidelined with a high ankle sprain, sophomore guard Baraka Okojie made his first start of the season.

But it was Memphis’ superstar tandem of PJ Haggerty and Dain Dainja who stood tall and delivered once more. Haggerty finished with 23 points, while Dainja had his second double-double in as many games, dropping 22 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Dainja also had five blocks.

Moussa Cisse was key, contributing 8 points and 14 boards. Colby Rogers emerged to bucket 15 points. Haggerty, Okojie, Cisse and Rogers each came up with two steals.

Whether it was Haggerty bullying his way to the basket and knocking down one tough shot after another, or it was Dainja and his high-level footwork rattling off indefensible move after indefensible move, the AAC Player of the Year and AAC Newcomer of the Year lived up to their billings.

Especially down the stretch. During a particularly fruitful stretch that began with 12:08 left in the game, the Tigers were 10-of-17 from the field. Haggerty and Dainja combined for seven of those made field goals.

After one of Haggerty’s hits that kissed high off the glass and found the bottom of the net, he performed an impromptu shimmy from the seat of his pants as the referee’s whistle blew. Haggerty hopped up and hit a free throw to put the Tigers up 63-56 with 8:23 remaining.

Three minutes later, Dainja went heads-up against a Blazers defender, blew right by him, made the layup, then looked toward media row, nodded his head and let out a primal scream.

And there wasn’t much UAB and its own superstar Yaxel Lendeborg could do to stop it. Lendeborg was his usual productive self, registering yet another double-double. But it wasn’t enough.

The first half was a bit tighter. The Tigers led by as many as 5 points in the first half. But things suddenly became problematic for them offensively.

Memphis went scoreless, going through a stretch spanning more than five minutes where it went 0 for 11 from the field. The cold snap was not limited to this player or that. Haggerty and Dainja missed three attempts. Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Cisse also each came up empty.

While UAB took the lead during that stretch from 9:29 to the 4:19 mark, the Blazers made just two field goals of their own.

Florida: 2024-25 Southeastern Men's Basketball Champions

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Todd Golden knows exactly what he expects out of his fourth-ranked Florida Gators.

“We have a chance to win a national championship,” Golden said as his Gators accepted the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship trophy Sunday.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points as Florida won its fifth SEC Tournament title and first since 2014 Sunday, beating the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers 86-77.

“I came here because I believed in that vision,” Clayton said of winning titles at Florida. “See it come to fruition, it actually happening, is great.”

The Gators (30-4) lost in this game a year ago. This time, they showed off their depth going through No. 21 Missouri, No. 5 Alabama and now the Vols. The result is finishing their 12th appearance in this game all-time to add another title to the list that started with three straight between 2005-07.

“When we are playing like this, I think we are the best team in America," Golden said.

Will Richard added 17 points for Florida. Alex Condon had 13, Thomas Haugh 11 and Alijah Martin 10.

Richard wore one of the nets around his neck talking to reporters, and the senior made clear he doesn't want his first to be his last. This is just more motivation.

“Cutting down the nets is a great feeling, but we want to be able to do that in the NCAA Tournament as well,” Richard said.

Fourth-seeded Tennessee (27-7) goes home still looking for its first title in this event since 2022. The Vols have five SEC championships, but dropped to 1-3 under coach Rick Barnes with this the Vols' fourth final in the past seven tournaments.

“We came with the idea we wanted to win this tournament,” Barnes said. “Disappointed that we didn’t. We get to go again next week. Hope that we can survive and keep moving on.”

ordan Gainey led the Vols with a career-high 24 points. Zakai Zeigler had 23 and Chaz Lanier added 11 before fouling out.

“The experience we’ve had, playing the best of the best in this conference is going to help us in March, and that’s the biggest goal,” Tennessee senior Jahmai Mashack said of balancing the disappointment of the loss.

These teams split during the season with each winning routs defending their home courts. The Vols had enough fans that this felt like a home court. Yet they led only briefly, the last less than two minutes in at 6-5.

Florida took over from there. The Gators jumped out to a 34-22 lead and took a 39-30 edge into halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating deep 3 from Denzel Aberdeen. Tennessee never got closer than five in the second half.

Clayton also had a net around his neck, and he got to cut down a net at Iona in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference where he was the league player of the year before transferring to Florida. He recalled his first title back in high school where no one was allowed to cut nets for a simple reason.

“They had games after us,” Clayton said with a big smile.

Who's MVP?

There was some momentary confusion during the postgame ceremony when Richard first was announced as the MVP, then Clayton.

Takeaways

Tennessee: Playing this tournament in the Volunteer State doesn't help the Vols. They are 1-5 all-time in SEC title games in this state. They go home with the last tournament title won in Tennessee back in 1936 in Knoxville.

They now are 5-2 after going 6-16 before this season.

Key moment

Tennessee got within five four times in the second half. After the final time, Clayton's 3 with 6:48 left started an 11-2 spurt to seal the win.

Key stat

The Gators dominated the boards 39-25 and 15-5 on the offensive glass.

Up next

Both teams await their seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia Commonwealth: 2024-25 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Champions

WASHINGTON (AP) Max Shulga scored 18 points and Joe Bamisile sealed the win with two free throws with a half-second left as Virginia Commonwealth held off George Mason 66-63 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship Sunday.

VCU led by eight at the break, 36-28, but George Mason got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jared Billups and Woody Newton to trail by just two, 45-43 with more than 12 minutes to play. Shulga answered with a 3 and hit a pair of free throws before finding Jack Clark for a 3 to push the VCU lead to 53-43.

Darius Maddox hit a 3 with 2:27 left to get the Patriots within one at 59-58. Coming out of a timeout, Shulga held the ball at the top of the key, then calmly knocked down a step-back 3 with 1:59 left. Jalen Haynes' layup with 39 seconds left got George Mason within 3 but Zach Anderson missed a 3-pointer with :04 left and Newton was forced to foul Bamisile with a half-second left.

Bamisile and Jack Clark each scored 17 points for VCU (28-6). Shulga, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, hit 8 of 9 from the line as the Rams converted 22 of 27.

Haynes led George Mason (26-8) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Maddox had 12 points to go with three steals and Anderson and Brayden O'Connor each added 10 points.

Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason finished the regular season tied for the regular season championship with 15-3 records. The Rams reached the conference championship game for the ninth time since joining the A-10 in 2012-13.

Yale: 2024-25 Ivy Men's Basketball Champions

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- John Poulakidas knocked down five 3-pointers in the second half as regular-season champion Yale added the Ivy League tournament championship with a 90-84 win over Cornell on Sunday to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

The senior guard got off to a slow start, scoring just two points in the first half and missing all four 3-point attempts as Yale took a 37-32 advantage into intermission. That changed to start the second half when he erupted for eight points during a 90-second span, burying two 3s and a jumper to push the Bulldogs' lead to 16 points, 50-34 with under 16 minutes to play.

Cornell clawed back. Guy Ragland Jr., Adam Hinton and Nazir Williams each hit 3-pointers in the span of just over a minute to get within seven and Ragland hit two more 3s to make it 60-58 with 9:18 left. Bez Mbeng answered with a 3 for Yale and Poulakidas hit from deep to make it 66-60, but Cornell got a three-point play from AK Okereke to make it a three-point game. Trevor Mullin and Poulakidas each hit a 3 and Nick Townsend scored twice during a 10-4 run for a76-68 lead with five minutes left.

Poulakidas finished 8 of 14 from the floor, including 5-for-9 from distance, while going 4-for-4 from the line. Townsend finished with 19 points with four assists and two steals, Mbeng contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Casey Simmons added 13 points.

Okereke led Cornell (18-11) with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Williams was 8-for-8 from the line and scored 20 points. Ragland hit 4 of 6 from deep to add 16 points with seven rebounds and Jake Fiegen contributed 11 points.

Grand Canyon: 2024-25 Western Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

 

PARADISE, Nev. (AP) — Ray Harrison scored 18 points to lead six Grand Canyon players in double figures and the Lopes beat top-seeded Utah Valley 89-82 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

No. 2 seed Grand Canyon (26-7) clinched its third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and its fourth in program history, all since 2021.

Duke Brennan finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and JaKobe Coles scored 13 for the Lopes. Makaih Wiilliams, Lok Wur and Tyon Grant-Foster added 12 points apiece.

Carter Welling made a jumper that trimmed Utah Valley’s deficit to three with nine minutes to play but got no closer. Harrison answered with two free throws and, after a steal by Collin Moore, Williams hit a step-back 3-pointer with 8:23 remaining and Coles hit two free throws to make it 74-62 about five minutes later.

Tanner Toolson hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range and led the Wolverines with 28 points. Welling scored 18 points and Trevan Leonhardt added 10 with six assists.

Utah Valley (25-8), which had won 10 in a row and 20 of its last 21 games, won the regular season conference title and made its first-ever appearance in championship game. The Wolverines were 0-6 in tournament’s semifinals before a 68-55 win over No. 5 seed Seattle on Friday.

Utah Valley used a 19-5 run to take 21-12 lead about nine minutes into the game but Grand Canyon scored the next nine points and then closed with 7-1 spurt to take a 40-33 lead into halftime.

The teams split the regular-season series with each home team winning.