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.

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

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

ISML 2018: Victory Speech - Rem Natsuki, 2019 Saimoe Prime Minister

Well, I will go ahead and start my remarks by letting you all in on a not-so-well-kept secret, in fact, it's not even close to it and even makes mock of it: I outdid Emilia. (laughter) No, seriously, everyone, I did outperform Emilia and she is, as a consequence, the first person I will thank. She blazed a path for me and she also won her last contest so our party and that of Oregairu's and Hachiman are the big winners this election, so congratulations for Hachiman and Violet for winning their seats. Together, we will lead the Saimoe movement and represent the best of our great nation around the world because we love doing that. (applause)

I also want to point out that several days ago, it was my birthday, as well as that of my good friend Aoba Suzukaze. She has been a great advocate of my legacy and I want to thank her for her support. My sister Ram is owed my thanks. Without her, I wouldn't be here. But most of all, Subaru Natsuki, of whose last name I will borrow as Saimoe Prime Minister—but please, just call me Rem—is the one person that believed I could be a leader like no other. It was his inspiration that drove me to be a better person. I love him with everything I have, and he accepted the invitation to be the first gentleman of Saimoe for this coming year, so he gets to work with Hachiman on helping make Japan great again as a strong economic influence on the world. Mostly, to ensure that good men will always prevail, and they need not be Japanese. (laughter, applause) You laugh, but you know very well, that as your leader-elect, I am not wrong in my convictions. (laughter)

But it is because of you, I remembered who I am and I maintained my promise to pay you back for your belief in me. The best I can do to repay you...is to do my work as Saimoe Prime Minister to the best of my ability. This isn't a Royal Election I was a part of. This was bigger than me, Emilia, my sister...it encompassed so much and it was a struggle. But I told myself to be positive, be assertive, be aggressive in what I want to become, because if I do that, fate will take care of the rest. It is because of you, I am here as your Saimoe Prime Minister, and I will not let you down. You, my wonderful fans and even those who supported Kamui—and just wanted to add, I called Kamui on a great race and she happily conceded so now she can go ahead and bully Tooru anytime she wants (laughter)—no, but seriously, those who supported Kamui and others, I extend my hand of solidarity and ask for your help and cooperation in leading our movement forward.

I cannot do this alone, and I won't. We, the members of Saimoe, the finest people you will ever be one with anywhere, need you to be with us and support us. I am just one person, Hachiman is another, Violet is another...we need you to stand with us in this year of transition. We will be having a new emperor take over when I am sworn in with Hachiman and Violet. We need you to show your support for the future Emperor, Naruhito, and his vision for the Japanese nation going forward.

Also, I have believed that the promotion of time-honored Asian values can be applied anywhere. What are those, you say? It's four parts: social harmony, socio-economic prosperty and collective well-being of community, loyalty and respect for elders and authority, and a preference for collectivism and communitarianism. Basically, it's putting the team and the world above you. No man or woman is above the law, not even me, I merely enforce and promote it.

But it's not rocket science, ladies and gentlemen. Respect your parents. Your mother, your father, your grandparents, uncles and aunts...these are important parts of your life, your family. Do what you can to make them proud of you. Your siblings, your children, make them happy as well. And take the advice of those who have been in this world longer than you in stride. Violet has done a remarkable job immortalizing the stories of great people in writing for all to read and she is just getting started. She will write your story too, all you have to do is ask. Never be headstrong in a decision. Make sure the team is on board.

And this is what we do during meetings of our Diet, the Saimoe Parliament. We are an all-star team with unselfish minds when we need to go in one direction or another. We are not like that government in the West where two factions continually fail to make progress due to pride and selfishness and pettiness. We make decisions regarding new ways to promote our culture to satisfy the demands of the West and elsewhere. And those who don't get their way ultimately come around and support the consensus. That is the power of the collective aspect of Asian values, and I mean to promote it and encourage it as values that the world can adopt.

I want to close my address by saying that it will not be easy for us moving forward. Mikoto Misaka is the incumbent Saimoe Leader of the Free World and my personal adviser to all matters related to the finest people-us. She said this: "No matter what, you’re not defective. There’s nothing wrong with you, so don’t give up.” Motivate yourself to be at your best. Self-actualization leads to positive thinking and assertive confidence. And we will make it a lifelong commitment to serve you and motivate you to be successful in whatever, or whoever, you want to be as long as it makes your family, your community, your city, your country, and the world proud. So thank you, we salute you and honor you. May God bless you, and may God bless Japan and the world!

-Rem (a.k.a. Rem Natsuki)

2019 Saimoe Prime Minister/ISML Heavenly Tiara Champion

11 February 2019

ISML 2018: Rem Elected Saimoe Prime Minister!

ISML 2018: Rem Elected Saimoe Prime Minister!
Hachiman Hikigaya Elected Deputy Saimoe Prime Minister
Violet Evergarden Elected Speaker Of The Saimoe Diet 

By Jo-Ryan Salazar
The Bedlam On Baltic Avenue
February 11, 2019

Match Days 8 and 9 of the 2019 International Saimoe League Postseason were combined into Election Day 2019, and Rem has been elected Saimoe Prime Minister for 2019, routing Kamui Kanna 36484-17795. Hachiman Hikigaya will be your new Deputy Saimoe Prime Minister after putting Archer to the sword 35856-15990, while Violet Evergarden has been named Speaker of the Saimoe Diet after a 30967-19221 belting of Mai Sakurajima.

In particular, Evergarden will have a special role of being a saimoe-exclusive aide to both the Japanese Imperial Household and British Royal Family with Arthuria Pendragon, Saber, as a veteran assistant. This result is also named as the final Upset of the Round for the 2018 International Saimoe Season. Rem, who will be sworn in under the name Rem Natsuki, Hikigaya and Evergarden will sworn in during Golden Week 2019 in Japan.

Kaede Azusagawa finished in third place in the 2018 ISML Autumn Seasonal with a 23057-21671 victory over Alice Zubeg. Hitagi Senjougahara won the ISML Divine Circlet Female Division with a 27188-16810 win over Akame and in the Male Division, Alphonse Elric reigned supreme over Tsunayoshi Sawada, 21903-21077.

The top 16 characters in the male and female divisions form the Saimoe Cabinet for the forthcoming year and Election Day finalize the seating order on the Male and Female sides. Yukino Yukinoshita finished in third place with a 25603-21145 win over Asuna Yuuki Chtholly Nota Seniorious, the outgoing speaker of the Saimoe Diet, complete a strong debut campaign with a 23193-22910 thriller over Mashiro Shiina to finish fifth. Rikka Takanashi pounded Nanami Aoyama 26978-20986 for seventh, Emilia completed a ReZero sweep with a 28693-17376 hiding of Shiro for ninth, Rin Tohsaka outlasted Saber 23663-20811 for eleventh, Sakura Kinomoto won the closest race of a round, a 22808-22791 nailbiter over Sagiri Izumi for thirteenth, and Chiyo Sakura prevailed over Schwi Dola 22763-22044 to finish fifteenth.

In the Male Division, Levi Ackerman leveled Riku Dola 23991-21009 for third place, Rintarou Okabe was fifth after tearing down Shouto Todoroki 25501-19323, Nagisa Shiota defeated Willem Kmetsch 23125-21179 for seventh, Taki Tachibana cruised past Shirou Emiya 23719-21003 for ninth, Yuuta Togashi punched Saitama 27635-19368 for eleventh, Touma Kamijou broke Astolfo 23057-23182 for thirteenth and Takashi Natsume finished in fifteenth place after easing past Li Syaoran 22791-21280.

In other seasonal action, Index L. Prohibitorum won a 22186-22123 snoozer over Kuon Ohara, Rio Futaba defeated Narumi Momose 23323-20579, Ichigo cruised past Suzuha Amane 23244-20449 and Rikka Takarada finished the campaign on a winning note, getting the last laugh with a 23447-21167 smashing of Rinne Ohara. Index, Futaba, Ichigo, and Takarada join Sakurajima as members of Evergarden's special advisory council.

Thus concludes the 2018 International Saimoe League, with Rem, Hachiman Hikigaya and Violet Evergarden steering the ship forward into 2019. Be sure to keep voting for your favorite candidates at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate. And be sure to tune in to The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue, your home for coverage of the 2019 International Saimoe League, the world's premier anime character competition since 2008.

Duke: 2017 Quick Lane Bowl Champions

DETROIT -- In mid-November, after a loss at Army, the Duke Blue Devils were looking at spending a second straight holiday season at home.

That made Tuesday's success in the Quick Lane Bowl even sweeter.

After a six-game losing streak dropped them to 4-6, the Blue Devils (7-6) had to beat Georgia Tech and Wake Forest just to get bowl eligible. They managed that, got a bid to spend Christmas in Detroit, and salvaged the season with a 36-14 win over Northern Illinois.

"People ask me how we came back from 4-6, especially since we don't have a star player who we could turn to," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "I tell them that we have a roster filled with great teammates. They decided they had to work together if we were going to come up with a decent finish."

Duke quarterback Daniel Jones finished with 338 yards of offense, throwing two touchdown passes while running for a third score, and Shaun Wilson and Brittain Brown added rushing touchdowns.

"We knew Northern Illinois had a lot of success rushing the passer this year, but our offensive line really controlled things," Jones said. "That really opened things up for our offense.

"We were frustrated after losing to Army, but we were finally able to channel that into motivation."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Childers threw for 234 yards and a score for Northern Illinois (8-5), while fellow redshirt freshman Tre Harbison ran for a touchdown.

"Marcus and I know that this offseason is crucial," Harbison said. "If we work hard, we should have a special backfield next year."

The Blue Devils took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, sandwiching rushing touchdowns around a failed Northern Illinois fake punt on 4th-and-18 from their own 11.

"They were being physical with our gunners, so we thought we could get a pass interference and a first down," Huskies coach Rod Carey said. "They didn't bite, and we had a punter throwing to a defensive back."

The Huskies had two first downs and 46 yards in the quarter, but tied the game with two scores in the first 2:38 of the second. Duke, though, moved back into a 26-14 lead with two touchdowns before halftime.

"We let up for a little while, and they took advantage of our mistakes," Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris said. "We knew we had to get focused again, and we shut them out from there."

Jones fumbled on the first possession of the second half, but Northern Illinois turned the ball back over after a failed fake field goal.

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: Other than the start of the second quarter, where they lost defensive focus on back-to-back possessions, the Blue Devils were in complete control.

"They hit a couple big plays against us, and our offense stalled, so we made some adjustments," Cutcliffe said. "We started passing the ball more, which is what we needed, and our defense started making plays."

Northern Illinois: The Huskies recovered from the disastrous first-quarter fake punt to get back into the game, but couldn't stay with Duke on either side of the ball.

"We were flying around out there, trying to make plays, but we didn't execute our game plan," said safety Mycial Allen, who was playing in his hometown. "Duke came up with the big plays and we didn't."

STUNNING SPECIAL TEAMS MOVE

The Blue Devils were startled by Carey's decision to run a fake punt in such a tough spot, especially in the first quarter of a 7-0 game.

"That was a very risky move," Cutcliffe said. "We're going to jam their gunners at the line, just like in press coverage, but we aren't going to hit them after that. That means you have to complete the pass to get a first down, and that's not easy to do."

UP NEXT

Duke: By winning their final three games, including Cutcliffe's second bowl victory in 10 seasons at Duke, the Blue Devils take some momentum into the offseason.

Jones will be back as a junior next season, while Brown is expected to replace Wilson as the No. 1 running back.


"We showed a lot of mental toughness to finish this season with three wins instead of rolling over and losing the last two games," Jones said. "This is an exciting way to go into the offseason."

Northern Illinois: After winning at Nebraska, the Huskies thought they were on the verge of another big season. However, conference losses to Toledo and Central Michigan knocked them out of MAC title contention and they were overmatched against Duke.

"This is disappointing, but we're going to have a good group of players coming back next year," Carey said. "We can build on this."

LAST WORD

"A month ago, no one thought we had a chance at a bowl game, so this was a great way to finish the season," said Giles-Harris, who was named First-Team All-ACC as a sophomore.