Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

NCAA set to release 68-team tournament bracket

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(Davidson players celebrate after knocking off Rhode Island for the Atlantic 10 championship.)

By Jerry Briggs
For thejbreplay.com

The 68-team NCAA tournament bracket is set for release Sunday at 5 p.m.

You can click on this link and fill it in as the teams are announced on national television, on TBS.

For the fourth time, San Antonio will host the Final Four.

The NCAA semifinals and finals will be held March 31 and April 2 at the Alamodome.

Sunday’s highlights

The up-and-down Kentucky Wildcats won the Southeastern Conference title Sunday, beating Tennessee 77-72.

Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exploded for 29 point and 7 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to the win over the SEC co-champions.

Tennessee entered the game projected as a No. 3 seed and Kentucky a No. 5 seed.

In a game that is expected to force the selection committee to drop one of its at-large selections from the field, Davidson beat Rhode Island 58-57 to win the Atlantic 10.

As a result, Davidson moves in unexpectedly to secure the conference’s automatic bid.

Rhode Island, projected as either a No. 7 or No. 8 seed, likely will make the tournament as an at large to effectively bump another team out.

In other games, Cincinnati scored a 56-55 victory over the Houston Cougars to claim the American Athletic championship.

Also, Georgia State won the Sun Belt title in New Orleans with a 74-61 victory over UT Arlington.

Sunday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

American — Cincinnati 56, Houston 55

Sun Belt — Georgia State 74, UT Arlington 61

Southeastern Conference — Kentucky 77, Tennessee 72

Atlantic 10 — Davidson 58, Rhode Island 57

Ivy League — Penn 68, Harvard 65

Saturday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

Big West — Cal State Fullerton 71, UC Irvine 55

Pac-12 — Arizona 75, USC 61

Western Athletic Conference — New Mexico State 72, Grand Canyon 58

Atlantic Coast Conference — Virginia 71, North Carolina 63

Southland Conference — Stephen F. Austin 59, Southeastern Louisiana 55

Conference USA — Marshall 67, Western Kentucky 66

Big Sky — Montana 82, Eastern Washington 65

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


(Former UTSA assistants Jeremy Cox (left) and Kyle Keller (second from right) pose for the team picture on Saturday after Stephen F. Austin won the Southland Conference title).

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)

Conference USA — Marshall (24-10)

Southland — Stephen F. Austin (28-6)

Atlantic Coast — Virginia (31-2)

Big Sky — Montana (26-7)

Western Athletic Conference — New Mexico State (28-5)

Pac-12 — Arizona (27-7)

Big West — Cal State Fullerton (20-11)

Ivy League — Penn (24-8)

Southeastern — Kentucky (24-10)

Atlantic 10 — Davidson (21-11)

Sun Belt — Georgia State (24-10)

American — Cincinnati (30-4)


(Sophomore guard Rawle Alkins throws down a monster dunk, helping Arizona power past Southern Cal in the Pac-12 tournament).

Marshall ends 31-year NCAA tournament dought

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The Marshall Thundering Herd won the Conference USA basketball title Saturday night in Frisco, holding off Western Kentucky 67-66 in Frisco.

With the victory, the Herd qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987.

Point guard Jon Elmore scored 27 points for the fourth-seeeded Herd (24-10).

Coach Dan D’Antoni’s team played well in the tournament, defeating the No. 5 UTSA Roadrunners, the No. 9 Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the No. 3 Hilltoppers on consecutive days at the Ford Center, in the Star.

Earlier this season, forecasters were projecting that both Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky would make the NCAA tournament out of the C-USA.

But both might now be looking at accepting bids from the less-prestigious NIT.

No. 1 Middle Tennessee (24-7) lost in the quarterfinals, and Western Kentucky (24-10) fell in the championship game despite scoring the last 11 points of the game.

Trailing by the eventual final score, the Hilltoppers missed two shots in the final 30 seconds.

Saturday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

Pac-12 — Arizona 75, USC 61

Western Athletic Conference — New Mexico State 72, Grand Canyon 58

Atlantic Coast Conference — Virginia 71, North Carolina 63

Southland Conference — Stephen F. Austin 59, Southeastern Louisiana 55

Conference USA — Marshall 67, Western Kentucky 66

Big Sky — Montana 82, Eastern Washington 65

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


(Virginia is expected to be a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA tournament, possibly the first overall).

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)

Conference USA — Marshall (24-10)

Southland — Stephen F. Austin (28-6)

Atlantic Coast — Virginia (31-2)

Big Sky — Montana (26-7)

Western Athletic Conference — New Mexico State (28-5)

Pac-12 — Arizona (27-7)

Brunson-led Villanova wins in OT to claim Big East title

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Point guard Jalen Brunson scored 31 and forward Mikal Bridges added 25 Saturday night as the Villanova Wildcats beat Providence 76-66 in overtime for the Big East title.

Villanova has been projected as a No. 1 regional seed for the NCAA tournament.

The selection show for the 68-team tournament is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. It will be aired on TBS.

San Antonio is the host city for the Final Four, scheduled March 31 and April 2 at the Alamodome.

Saturday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

Conference USA — Marshall 67, Western Kentucky 66

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

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)

Conference USA — Marshall (24-10)

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.