Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

Kansas beats West Virginia 81-70 for Big 12 title

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(Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham, the Big 12 Player of the Year, finished with 18 points and 13 assists.)

The Big 12 champion Kansas Jayhawks will move into Selection Sunday with hopes for a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Kansas beat West Virginia 81-70 Saturday afternoon for the Big 12 tournament title.

The Jayhawks (27-7) also won the regular season.

Kansas entered the tournament coming off a double-digit road loss to Oklahoma State.

But the Jayhawks turned it on in the tournament, winning by double figures against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and West Virginia.

Despite a No. 9 ranking in the last Associated Press poll, coach Bill Self’s team was projected as late as Saturday afternoon as a No. 1 seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm of cbssports.com.

In the latest ratings percentage index, which factors in strength of schedule and victories over highly-ranked teams, they were sixth.

The NCAA will unveil the tournament bracket Sunday at 5 p.m. on TBS.

Saturday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

Big East — Villanova 76, Providence 66, OT

Big 12 — Kansas 81, West Virginia 70

Mountain West — San Diego State 82, New Mexico 75

MAC — Buffalo 76, Toledo 66

America East – Maryland-Baltimore County 65, Vermont 62

MEAC — North Carolina Central 71,, Hampton 63

SWAC — Texas Southern 84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 69


(San Diego State players celebrate their 82-75 victory over New Mexico in the Mountain West title game)

Conference / NCAA 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)

America East — Maryland-Baltimore County (24-10)

MEAC — North Carolina Central (19-15)

SWAC — Texas Southern (15-19)

Big 12 — Kansas (27-7)

Mountain West — San Diego State (22-10)

Big East — Villanova (30-4)

MAC — Buffalo (26-8)

Davis, Texas Southern clinch NCAA tourney bid

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After an 0-13 start to the season, the Texas Southern Tigers will play in another NCAA tournament for veteran coach Mike Davis.

The Tigers clinched their fourth automatic bid in five years Saturday with an 84-69 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

Center Trayvon Reed, a 7-foot, 2-inch junior, dominated with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

The Alabama native ran the floor well and hit 7 of 7 shots from the field.

Texas Southern will try to become the first team from the SWAC to win an NCAA game in eight years, according to the Associated Press.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff won in 2010, beating Winthrop in the opening round.

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)

America East — Maryland-Baltimore County (24-10)

MEAC — North Carolina Central (19-15)

SWAC — Texas Southern (15-19)

North Carolina Central will be dancing again

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Coach LeVelle Moton and the North Carolina Central Eagles are headed for the Big Dance once again.

For the third time in five years, Moton’s team claimed the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference postseason championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Pablo Rivas came off the bench to score 22 as North Carolina Central downed Hampton, 71-63, in the MEAC title game on Saturday at Norfolk, Virginia.

In the America East championship game, Maryland-Baltimore County edged Vermont, 65-62.

The list of auto qualifiers into the NCAA field now stands at 15. Here they are:

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)

America East — Maryland-Baltimore County (24-10)

MEAC — North Carolina Central (19-15)

Marshall advances with 95-81 victory over UTSA

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Playing from behind all night, the UTSA Roadrunners rallied furiously to pull within five points of the Marshall Thundering Herd in the closing minutes of the second half.

From there, the Roadrunners twice had chances to hit shots and make it a one-possession game.

But fourth-seeded Marshall held No. 5 UTSA scoreless on both tries, turning the stops into a 95-81 victory in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA men’s basketball tournament.

The tournament is being played in Frisco, in the Ford Center at the Star.

With the victory, Marshall (22-10) moves on to play ninth-seeded Southern Miss in a semifinal game set for 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Southern Miss (16-17) made the semis by shocking the top-seeded Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, 71-68, in overtime.

For UTSA (19-14), its dream of a berth in the NCAA tournament has been dashed.

But an opportunity looms to play in another postseason event, perhaps the National Invitation Tournament, the College Basketball Invitational or the CollegeInsider.com tournament.

Regardless, none of that was consolation to the Roadrunners, who put together their best season in six years, won the tournament opener Wednesday night against UTEP but then failed to sustain the momentum.

“Our guys are pretty disappointed in there, and I think that’s a good sign,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “They really believed we could come here and win a bunch of games and give ourselves a chance.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way. You know, we wouldn’t want guys to be in there content or coming over to this tournament not thinking we’re going to win it.

“So, they’re a little disappointed right now. Their heads are down.”

Henson told KTKR radio that “we’re kind of planning on playing in (another) tournament” early next week.

“So, we’ll have to bounce back real quickly,” he said. “You got to put this one behind you. The dream of the Big Dance (the NCAA tournament) is behind us now. We’ll go play some more good basketball.”

Guard C.J. Burks led Marshall with 29 points, hitting 9 of 16 from the field. Forward Ajdin Penava added 22 points.

On the glass, Penava dominated with 12 boards and Burks pulled down nine. Point guard Jon Elmore ran the show with 15 points and 11 assists.

“They’re a good team,” Henson said. “They just spread the floor so well. They made good plays.”

Getting off to a fast start, the Thundering Herd raced to an 18-point lead in the first half.

UTSA cut it to 11 at the intermission. But Marshall stepped on the gas again, building a 15-point margin seven minutes into the second half.

At that juncture, the Roadrunners started to play their best ball of the night. They rallied to within 74-69 when Giovanni De Nicolao hit a jumper.

But that was as close as it would get.

UTSA made a couple of stops, only to come up empty offensively when Deon Lyle missed a three, followed by De Nicolao having his runner blocked by Jannson Williams.

Williams followed his block with a free throw, and then a three-point shot, boosting Marshall into a nine-point lead. UTSA never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Playing without injured Jhivvan Jackson, the Roadrunners probably didn’t have enough weapons to win the tournament.

But forward Byron Frohnen had his second double-double in two nights with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Forward Nick Allen and guard George Willborn III also scored 16, with freshman Keaton Wallace coming off the bench for 13.

Lyle was held to 2-of-15 shooting and five points.

It’s UTSA vs. Marshall in C-USA quarterfinals

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Here’s a quick glance at the C-USA men’s basketball tournament, with the quarterfinals set for tonight in the Ford Center at the Star.

The Star complex houses the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility in Frisco.

C-USA men’s basketball

At Frisco

Wednesday’s first round

(9) Southern Miss 69, (8) Florida International 68

(5) UTSA 71, (12) UTEP 58

(10) Louisiana Tech 68, (7) North Texas 62

(6) UAB 83, (11) Florida Atlantic 72

Tonight / Quarterfinals

(9) Southern Miss (15-17) vs. (1) Middle Tennessee (24-6), 6 p.m.

(5) UTSA (19-13) vs. (4) Marshall (21-10), 6:30 p.m.

(10) Louisiana Tech (17-15) vs. (2) Old Dominion (24-6), 8:30 p.m.

(6) UAB (20-12) vs. (3) Western Kentucky (22-9), 9 p.m.

Friday / Semifinals

First semifinal (1 or 9 vs. 4 or 5), 12:30 p.m.

Second semifinal (2 or 10 vs. 3 or 6), 3 pm.

Saturday / Finals

Championship game, 7:30 p.m.

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.