Monthly Archives: March 2018

Bucknell Bison claim Patriot League title

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The Bucknell Bison will play in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the second year in a row.

Bucknell secured the Patriot League’s automatic bid Wednesday night on its home court in Lewisburg, Pa.

The Bison (25-9) did it in dominating fashion with an 83-54 victory over Colgate.

With the victory, Bucknell became the 13th team to snag an automatic bid.

Conference / automatic qualifier

Ohio Valley — Murray State (26-5)

Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago (28-5)

Big Ten — Michigan (28-7)

Big South — Radford (22-12)

Atlantic Sun — Lipscomb (23-9)

Southern — UNC Greensboro (27-7)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Iona (20-13)

West Coast Conference — Gonzaga (30-4)

Horizon — Wright State (25-9)

Northeast — LIU Brooklyn (18-16)

Colonial Athletic Association — Charleston (26-7)

Summit — South Dakota State (28-6)

Patriot League — Bucknell (25-9)

UTSA rolls past UTEP, 71-58, in C-USA tournament

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Steve Henson on Wednesday morning proudly accepted the Conference USA’s Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Award.

By Wednesday night, he felt even better after his UTSA Roadrunners defeated UTEP 71-58 in the opening round of the C-USA tournament.

“Just proud of our guys,” Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “The award today was very nice. But it’s really a reflection of what these guys have done and the progress we’ve made and the direction we’re heading.”

The tournament is being held for the first time in the Ford Center at the Star, in Frisco.

With the victory, fifth-seeded UTSA (19-13) advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals against the No. 4 Marshall Thundering Herd (21-10).

The setting

UTSA entered the postseason with 18 victories, the most for the team in six years.

In the days leading into the tournament, Henson, along with players Jhivvan Jackson, Keaton Wallace and Deon Lyle had pulled down major awards from the C-USA.

But UTSA shrugged off the hype and defeated UTEP for the third time this season.

“I know our younger guys got some awards (earlier in the week),” Henson said. “But we need to come in here and keep winning.”

The stars

Lyle, the sixth man of the year in the conference, started for the third straight game in the absence of Jackson, who is out with a knee injury.

He led the Roadrunners with 18 points, including 15 in the second half.

UTSA forward Byron Frohnen had 14 points and 14 rebounds, including 13 points in the first half and nine boards after intermission.

The nitty gritty

UTSA’s defense flustered UTEP again, holding the Miners to less than 40 percent from the field for the third time this season.

UTEP was 22 of 60 from the field for 36.7 percent. Evan Gilyard led the Miners with 29 points.

He hit 10 of 25 shots and 3 of 11 from three.

UTEP took a 2-0 lead on a jumper by Paul Thomas, but UTSA scored seven straight points and never trailed again.

The Roadunners hiked the lead to 10 at halftime and expanded it to 17 with 9:10 remaining.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,” UTSA forward Nick Allen said. “I’m glad we got that accomplished.”

The next challenge

UTSA and Marshall play similar styles. Both like to shoot the three.

The Roadrunners defeated the Thundering Herd 81-77 on Feb. 1 in San Antonio.

But Marshall has won seven of its last nine, including a 76-67 victory at Middle Tennessee on Saturday, the final day of the regular season.

Charleston claims first NCAA tourney bid since 1999

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The College of Charleston rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half Tuesday night to beat Northeastern 83-76 in overtime for the Colonial Athletic Association title.

As a result, the Cougars claimed their first NCAA tournament bid in 19 years.

Northeastern built a 42-25 lead with less than 18 minutes left in regulation in the game played at North Charleston, S.C.

But the Cougars refused to fold, and Joe Chealey led the way with 32 points.

Charleston hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 1999.

In all five teams secured automatic bids on Tuesday, including the sixth-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Gonzaza, an NCAA finalist last year, stormed past BYU 74-54 in Las Vegas.

Killian Tillie scored 22 as the Zags won their 30th game of the season and secured the West Coast Conference tournament championship trophy.

Elsewhere, in the Summit League, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits defeated South Dakota 97-87, at Sioux Falls, S.D.

LIU Brooklyn stunned favored Wagner 71-61 in New York to win the Northeast Conference title.

Also, Wright State won the Horizon League by pounding Cleveland State 74-57 at Detroit.

Conference / automatic qualifier

Ohio Valley — Murray State (26-5)

Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago (28-5)

Big Ten — Michigan (28-7)

Big South — Radford (22-12)

Atlantic Sun — Lipscomb (23-9)

Southern — UNC Greensboro (27-7)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Iona (20-13)

West Coast Conference — Gonzaga (30-4)

Horizon — Wright State (25-9)

Northeast — LIU Brooklyn (18-16)

Colonial Athletic Association — Charleston (26-7)

Summit — South Dakota State (28-6)

C-USA honors UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson, Deon Lyle

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UTSA men’s basketball on Tuesday continued to collect Conference USA postseason awards.

Guard Jhivvan Jackson has been named as Freshman of the Year and junior forward Deon Lyle won the Sixth Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday.


Jhivvan Jackson finds an open space and hits a mid-range jumper against Marshall.

The announcement followed Monday’s news that Jackson was named second-team all conference and, also, that both Jackson and Keaton Wallace had made the All Freshman team.

UTSA is having its best season in six years.

The Roadrunners have posted an 18-13 record, including an 11-7 finish for fifth place in the C-USA standings.

The Roadrunners open C-USA tournament Wednesday night in Frisco against the UTEP Miners.

Here are some season highlights for each of the three players:

Jhivvan Jackson


Jackson strips UTEP’s Omega Harris and races for a layup, giving the Roadrunners a three-point lead with 12 seconds left on Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center.

Fifth-leading freshman scorer in the NCAA is out for the season with a knee injury … He broke a 19-year-old school record for freshman with 534 points, the most for a first-year player at UTSA since Devin Brown in 1998-99 … Averaged 18.4 ppg to lead the team … Registered three games with 30 or more points …

Deon Lyle


Jhivvan Jackson takes off on the dribble and passes to Deon Lyle for a layup in the first half on Feb. 3 against Western Kentucky.

Tied Wallace for second in scoring (11.3 points) in 18.6 minutes per game … Played all but the last two games of he season off the bench … Started the last two after Jackson was knocked out with a knee injury … Averaged 12.5 in conference … Shot 44.4 percent on 3-pointers to lead C-USA and rank 19th nationally …

Keaton Wallace


UTSA freshman Keaton Wallace gets open and sinks a foul-line jumper in the first half against UTEP.

Averaged 11.3 points, 2.7 assists and 0.9 steals … Ranks as the No. 5 freshman scorer in school history with 351 points … When his shooting cooled off at mid-season, he picked up his game in other areas, registering 11 assists in one game and eight in another …

Coach Ken Burmeister is out at Incarnate Word

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Ken Burmeister will not return as men’s basketball coach at the University of the Incarnate Word, athletic director Brian Wickstrom said in a news release.

A search for a replacement will begin immediately.

Ken Burmeister

The announcement comes three days after UIW finished 7-21 and 2-16 in the Southland Conference.

“I want to thank Coach Burmeister for his 12 years of service and for helping transition our program to the NCAA Division I level,” Wickstrom said in a statement. “As we evaluate the direction of UIW men’s basketball, we will search for the best candidate to fill the position and look forward to commenting further when that person is in place.”

Burmeister posted 10 winning seasons with UIW, including two Heartland Conference titles, a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament and a berth in the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament.

He accumulated a 311-280 (.526) record in 21 seasons as a head coach and a 183-156 (.540) record with the Cardinals.

Iona, UNC Greensboro claim NCAA tourney berths

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The Iona Gaels and UNC Greensboro Spartans on Monday claimed automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

Iona will advance for the third straight year.

The Gaels beat Fairfield 83-71 in Albany, New York, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championship.

UNC Greensboro will make its first NCAA appearance in 17 years.

The Spartans won the Southern Conference Tournament title with a 62-47 victory over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Asheville, North Carolina.

UNC Greensboro last played in the NCAA tournament in 2001.

Five more conferences will crown champions on Tuesday night, including the West Coast Conference, with sixth-ranked Gonzaga meeting BYU.

BYU advanced to the title game with an 85-72 victory over 20th-ranked Saint Mary’s.

NCAA automatic qualifiers

Ohio Valley — Murray State (26-5)

Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago (28-5)

Big Ten — Michigan (28-7)

Big South — Radford (22-12)

Atlantic Sun — Lipscomb (23-9)

Southern — UNC Greensboro (27-7)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Iona (20-13)

How good is No. 6 Gonzaga? See for yourself tonight

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How good is Gonzaga?

The question seems to blow in this time of year as predictably as a cold front out of Canada invading the northeastern reaches of Washington state.

As of Monday morning, the Zags are No. 6 in the nation according to the just-released Associated Top 25 poll.

But, as usual, opinions vary.

Jerry Palm of cbssports.com projects that Spokane, Washingon-based Gonzaga will receive only a No. 5 regional seed when the NCAA tournament bracket is released Sunday.

Meaning, that, in the eyes of the stat-crunchers, the national finalists from last year may only be the 17th- to 20th-best team in the nation.

If you’re curious about the disparity, one idea is to tune in to ESPN at 8 tonight.

That’s when the network is scheduled to air Gonzaga-San Francisco in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament.

The other WCC semifinal also is interesting.

It’s 20th-ranked Saint Mary’s against BYU, set to air at 10:30 p.m. on the four-letter network.

Palm projects Saint Mary’s, from Moraga, California, as a No. 9 regional seed.

Once again, it’s a suggestion that the WCC is either vastly overrated or underrated.

With the WCC semis tonight and the finals on Tuesday, it’s time to see for ourselves, I guess.

AP Top 25
March 5, 2018

1. Virginia 28-2 ACC
2. Villanova 27-4 Big East
3. Xavier 27-4 Big East
4. Michigan State 29-4 Big Ten
5. Duke 25-6 ACC
6. Gonzaga 28-4 West Coast
7. Michigan 28-7 Big Ten
8. Cincinnati 27-4 American
9. Kansas 24-7 Big 12
10. Purdue 28-6 Big Ten
11. Wichita State 24-6 American
12. North Carolina 22-9 ACC
13. Tennessee 23-7 SEC
14. Texas Tech 23-8 Big 12
15. Arizona 24-7 Pac-12
16. Auburn 25-6 SEC
17. Ohio State 24-8 Big Ten
18. West Virginia 22-9 Big 12
19. Clemson 22-8 ACC
20. Saint Mary’s 28-4 West Coast
21. Houston 24-6 American
22. Nevada 26-6 Mountain Wesst
23. Florida 20-11 SEC
24. Miami (Fla.) 22-8 ACC
25. Rhode Island 23-6 Atlantic 10

Buzzer beater lifts Radford into the NCAA tournament

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Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones on Sunday hit a buzzer-beating three, lifting the Radford Highlanders to a 55-52 victory over Liberty for Big South conference tournament title.

Jones’ rainbow boosts Virginia-based Radford into the NCAA tournament for the first time in nine years.

Over the past two days, five teams have won conference tournaments to secure automatic bids.

Here’s a list of the qualifiers:

Ohio Valley — Murray State (26-5)

Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago (28-5)

Big Ten — Michigan (28-7)

Big South — Radford (22-12)

Atlantic Sun — Lipscomb (23-9)

Projection: Texas Tech headed to Dallas as a No. 3 seed

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Selection Sunday is a week away, and the state of Texas looks strong with five teams projected into the field of 68.

Texas Tech is a No. 3 seed in the estimation of Jerry Palm at cbssports.com.

In Palm’s projection, Tech will be placed in a Midwest Region pod that will open round of 64 play at Dallas.

In addition, Palm projects that Houston and TCU will be six seeds, Texas A&M an eight and Texas an eleven.