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.

Duke: 2018 Independence Bowl Champions

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Temple was making big special-teams plays, returning interceptions for touchdowns and looking like a team that might crush Duke for a big postseason win.

But the Owls had one problem that couldn't be overcome: Coach David Cutcliffe doesn't lose in Shreveport.

Daniel Jones threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns, T.J. Rahming caught 12 passes for 240 yards and two scores, and Duke recovered from a slow start to blow past Temple 56-27 in the Independence Bowl on Thursday.

Cutcliffe is now 4-0 in the Independence Bowl dating back to 1998.

"When we come to Shreveport," Cutcliffe said with a grin. "Don't bet against us."

Duke (8-5) snapped a two-game losing streak by putting on an offensive show. The Blue Devils scored touchdowns on seven straight drives, flipping a 27-14 deficit in the second quarter to a 56-27 lead by midway through the fourth.

"We kind of hit a lull for a second, but I don't think we ever lost confidence," Jones said. "We knew we had some good stuff and if we caught a few breaks we could catch momentum and keep it rolling."

Jones' five touchdown passes and 423 yards passing both set Independence Bowl records. So did Duke's 56 points. Cutcliffe wasn't surprised by the offensive success because he felt the team's preparation was excellent.

"It was very evident in Durham what their intentions were," Cutcliffe said. "We didn't have a bad minute of practice."

This was Cutcliffe's first Independence Bowl win at Duke. He led Ole Miss to victories in Shreveport in 1998, 1999 and 2002 and is already enshrined in the bowl's Hall of Honor.

Temple (8-5) lost for just the second time in its past eight games.

"We've got a great culture, we love each other and we're tough," Temple interim coach Ed Foley said. "But you still have to go out and make plays. And (Duke) went out and made more plays than us. That's what cost us the game."

The Owls took a 13-7 lead in the first half after Delvon Randall's 52-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the 10th game this season in which they scored a non-offensive touchdown.

Temple pushed ahead 27-14 late in the second quarter, but Duke responded with 22-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Rahming to pull within 27-21 by halftime.

"When we came in at halftime our offense was hot. It was a just a matter of time," Cutcliffe said.

Temple's Anthony Russo completed 25 of 46 passes for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Owls didn't score in the second half and gave up 42 unanswered points.

"They brought a little more pressure, but that's on me and the offensive line to get that picked up," Russo said. "I just don't think we found our groove in the second half."

JONES COMPLETES TO ... JONES

Things were going so well for Jones that he completed a 6-yard pass to himself during the fourth quarter. He tried to throw a pass over the middle, but a Temple defender batted it into the air before it fell back in Jones' hands and he sprinted forward to make something out of the play.

BIG PICTURE

Temple: The Owls looked great for most of the first half, but once Duke's offense got going, Temple's defense didn't have an answer. Now Temple will focus on the transition to new coach Manny Diaz, who replaces Geoff Collins.

Duke: It was an impressive win for Duke, which scored just 13 combined points in losses to Clemson and Wake Forest to end the regular season. The lopsided result gives the Blue Devils some momentum heading into 2019.

UP NEXT

Temple loses a senior class that's been to four straight bowl games. But the Owls will return some quality players on both sides of the ball, including Russo. Temple hosts Bucknell in the season opener next year.

Duke should return most of its defense next season, but must replace several offensive starters, including three linemen. The Blue Devils have a difficult game against Alabama in Atlanta to open next season.

New Mexico State: 2017-18 Western Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Even with three different coaches in three years, New Mexico State keeps making NCAA Tournament appearances.

In the offseason, Chris Jans took over an already successful Aggies program after Paul Weir left for instate rival New Mexico. One year earlier, Marvin Menzies left for UNLV.

Jans got things organized during the season and rolling late as his Aggies once again won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship Saturday night with a 72-58 victory over upstart Grand Canyon at the Orleans Arena.

Zach Lofton scored 21 points, AJ Harris had 20, and Jemerrio Jones added 15 points and 18 rebounds to help New Mexico State win its fifth straight WAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

"We're going dancing," Jans said. "This was quite the journey. Hired a great staff and had to go to work everyday. Summer and fall were rough. There was lots of back and forth. We had to get on the right page. This group likes each other."

Jones was named tournament MVP. He had a tourney record of 55 rebounds in three games, while the previous record was set in four games with 53 by Boise State's Jason Ellis in 2005.

"I thought Zac would get (MVP)," Jones said. "I don't care about that. All I want to do is win."

The top-seeded Aggies (28-5) have won eight of their 13 appearances in the WAC Tournament.

"I don't care what seed they give us," said Jans, whose program has lost its last nine NCAA Tournament games, dating back to 1993. "This time, we have an experience bunch. They seed us where they seed us. Our guys are going to fight and be a tough matchup for anyone."

Alessandro Lever had 19 points to lead third-seeded Grand Canyon (22-11). Keonta Vernon had 17 points, while Casey Benson had nine points and seven rebounds for the Lopes, who were seeking their first NCAA Tournament appearance in its first year of postseason eligibility after being in Division I for five years.

"It wasn't our night. It wasn't our time." Grand Canyon coach Dan Majerle said. "I'm really, really proud of them. We've been waiting five years. It was a great year for our guys. We played real hard. We know what it's like to be here. Now there's something at the end (of the season)."

LOPES RALLY, AGGIES RALLY: After leading 36-22 early in the second half, the Aggies' lead was cut to 50-47 with 9:14 left. But New Mexico used a 6-0 run to keep distance from the Lopes the rest of the way.

The Lopes built their largest lead at 16-12 as both teams struggled offensively for the first 16 minutes. The Aggies responded with a 22-6 run, aided by four 3-pointers, two by Lofton. That run carried early into the second half.

"To credit them, we had a defensive breakdown (late in the first half)," Majerle said. "You have Jones, you have Lofton, and you have Jones going to get every rebound. Hats off to them. They have some really good players."

The Aggies swept the regular season, including winning at Grand Canyon 74-70 exactly one month ago.



New Mexico State: The Aggies are now 18-2 all-time at the Orleans Arena. .. Lofton also made the WAC All-Tournament team. . Lofton was ecstatic in the postgame press conference. "I'm so happy I came here," he said. "I didn't expect us to be that good. We had new hurdles, everything worked out."

Grand Canyon: The Lopes started 1 of 9 from 3-point range. ... Before Saturday, the Lopes defense has been key to their run, ranking fourth in the country in effective opponent field goal percentage at 43.7 percent. ... Lever and Vernon both made the all-tournament team. ... Grand Canyon may get an invitation from a smaller pay-to-play tournament. "It's something we have to talk about," Majerle said. "It will be more for our young guys."

UP NEXT

New Mexico State: The NCAA Tournament.

Grand Canyon: Wait for an invitation to a smaller tournament.

New Mexico State: 2017 Arizona Bowl Champions

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Bowl is not typically the type of game where fans storm the field. Certainly not for a team that finished 7-6.

But this has been a long, arduous wait for New Mexico State fans. All those losing seasons, all that disappointment, all that time between bowl games.

Storm away, Aggies. You've earned it.

Larry Rose III scored on a 21-yard run in overtime and New Mexico State won in its first bowl game in 57 years, beating Utah State 26-20 in the Arizona Bowl on Friday night.

"I'm just thrilled for these kids and this community," New Mexico State coach Doug Martin. "Just look at these fans who showed up here. This is an unbelievable day for us.

Utah State (6-7) had the ball first in overtime and Dominik Eberle hit the right upright on a 29-yard field goal attempt, sending a groan through the Utah State crowd. Eberle made 16 for 18 field goals during the regular season, but missed three in the Arizona Bowl.

New Mexico State won it when Jones burst through a hole on the left side, sending the Aggies and their fans rushing onto the Arizona Stadium field. Jones finished with 142 yards on 16 carries.

"He's my field goal kicker. I love that kid and he's been really consistent all year," Utah State coach Matt Wells said. "Was I surprised? Yes. Was I disappointed in him? Not one bit."

The third Arizona Bowl started with some early fireworks on special teams.

Utah State's Savon Scarver returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, then New Mexico State's Jason Huntley took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score.

The excitement leveled off considerably until LaJuan Hunt scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter, set up by a shanked punt from New Mexico State's Payton Theisler.

New Mexico State's Tyler Rogers, held in check most of the game, answered by moving the Aggies on a 69-yard scoring drive, capped by his 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaleel Scott that tied it at 20. A video review overturned the initial call that Scott was out of bounds.

Rogers, who was second nationally with 347 yards passing per game during the regular season, threw for 191 yards and touchdown with two interceptions.

This was a rematch 57 years in the making.

New Mexico State had not been to a bowl game since the 1960 Sun Bowl. The opponent: Utah State.

Utah State went to eight bowls after that, including six of the last seven.

New Mexico State went into a bowl-less tailspin, finishing with a losing record 44 times since that last bowl game. It had 14 straight losing seasons, including a 0-12 mark in 2005, before winning its final two games this season to finally get back to bowling.

The long-awaited rematch turned into the Special Teams Bowl in the first half.

New Mexico State's Dylan Brown made two field goals, Eberle made two and missed two, and each team had a kickoff return for a touchdown.

After a third quarter of defensive stops and punting, both teams found the end zone to send the game overtime -- and, later, New Mexico State's fans onto the field.

"I thought it was a fairly clean game and pretty aggressive on both sides," Wells said. "If we had made the field goals early, then maybe it would have been a different ball game."

BIG PICTURE

Utah State racked up 441 yards of offense and kept Rogers from having a big game, but had a rough night on special teams.

New Mexico State made its first postseason game in nearly six decades a memorable one by rallying for a victory.

MOMENTUM SWING

Utah State had the game's best chance for the game's first offensive touchdown early in the third quarter, when Jordan Love completed a 41-yard pass to Ron'quavion Tarver to New Mexico State's 1.


On the next play, New Mexico State's Terrill Hanks knocked down Love's pitch to Hunt and recovered the ball himself at the 12-yard line, ending Utah State's hopes.

THIRD-DOWN WOES

Both teams struggled on third downs, converting a combined 5 of 40. Utah State was 1 for 18 and New Mexico State was 4 for 22. The teams had a combined 20 punts

UP NEXT

Utah State must replace seniors Hunt and cornerback Jalen Davis, a second-team AP All-American, but Love is a redshirt freshman.

New Mexico State will have big holes to replace with Rogers and Rose among the seniors it will have to replace.

New Mexico State: 2016-17 Western Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- New Mexico State overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat Cal State Bakersfield 70-60 on Saturday night and win the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title for the fifth time in the past six years.

The Aggies (28-5) used a 21-2 run in the second half after Bakersfield (22-9), the WAC regular-season champion, took a 39-26 lead.

But New Mexico State went on a 3-point binge, getting long-distance baskets from Ian Baker and Chancellor Ellis to pull the Aggies into a 41-41 tie. Ellis' 3 with 9:11 left put New Mexico State ahead for good.

Eli Chuha led New Mexico State with 16 points, and Baker had 15, including going 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

The Aggies were 6 of 12 on 3-pointers in the second half.

Dedrick Basile scored 17 points to lead Cal State Bakersfield, which might have worn down after playing a four-overtime game the night before, beating Utah Valley 81-80. It held a 29-20 lead at halftime and seemed comfortably in front.

Bakersfield's tenacious defense allowed the Roadrunners to pull away in the first half, holding the Aggies to just two baskets in the first 17 1/2 minutes of the game and forcing 12 turnovers in that span. Meantime, the Roadrunners made 12 of 25 shots and had nine steals.

But New Mexico State stormed back in the second half, using its big run to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

BIG PICTURE

New Mexico: This win might have been sweet revenge for last season's WAC title game. The top-seeded Aggies lost at the buzzer when Basile made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

UP NEXT

New Mexico State: The Aggies earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and await to see Sunday where they'll be headed.

Cal State Bakersfield: The Roadrunners will wait to see if they get an at-large berth Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.