Basketball – Page 71 – North Platte Post Archive

McDermott, Bluejays Earn No. 3 West Seed

Posted on March 16, 2014

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Doug McDermott and the Creighton Bluejays have earned the No. 3 seed in the West region and will face 14th-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday in San Antonio.

McDermott leads the nation in scoring at 26.9 points and was the unanimous Big East Conference Player of the Year. However, the Bluejays (26-7) were upset by Providence in the conference tournament final.

McDermott has 3,105 points, fifth on the all-time scoring list. He is trying to become the 11th player to be a three-time All-America and the first since Patrick Ewing of Georgetown and Wayman Tisdale of Oklahoma in 1985.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (23-11) earned an automatic bid as Sun Belt champions and are making their first NCAA appearance since 2005. They’re led by Elfrid Payton (19.1 points) and Shawn Long (18.7 points, 10.5 rebounds).

Baylor Opens with Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

Posted on March 16, 2014

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Baylor may have gotten off to a slow start in conference play, but victories in 10 of the last 12 games have propelled the Bears into the NCAA tournament as a No. 6 seed in the West.

Baylor (24-11) will face No. 11 Nebraska in San Antonio on Friday. The Bears return to the tournament after winning the NIT last season.

Baylor is coming off a loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament final. Baylor finished tied for sixth in the regular-season conference standings, after going 2-8 to start league play.

The Huskers (19-2) are making their first tournament appearance since 1998, and seventh overall. They’ve never won in the tournament.

Nebraska, picked to finish last in the Big 10, surpassed expectations overall this season but fell 71-67 to No. 24 Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 tournament.

NCAA Bid Worth Extra $150,000 for Huskers’ Miles

Posted on March 16, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s selection to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is worth an extra $150,000 for coach Tim Miles.

The bonus is one of several that are spelled out in Miles’ contract based on his team’s performance.

Miles already had secured a $50,000 bonus for finishing fourth in the Big Ten regular season. If the 19-12 Huskers beat Baylor on Friday, Miles’ contract calls for him to receive an extra $75,000 for having a 20-win season.

Miles was named Big Ten coach of the year in a vote of the coaches, but Michigan’s John Beilein was tabbed by the media. Miles is supposed to receive a $50,000 bonus if he is the consensus coach of the year. Executive associate athletic director Marc Boehm said he would consider giving Miles that bonus anyway.

Six Big Ten Teams Selected For NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Posted on March 16, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS — Six Big Ten teams were selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin will represent the conference in this year’s tournament.

Michigan, the Big Ten Champion, is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region and will travel to the Milwaukee second and third round site. Up first for the Wolverines is No. 15 Wofford, with the winner facing either No. 7 Texas or No. 10 Arizona State. Michigan is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth consecutive trip. The Wolverines boast a 41-20 record in the tournament. Michigan has made five appearances in the Final Four, including last year, and won the 1989 National Championship.

Wisconsin is the No. 2 seed in the West Region and will travel to the Milwaukee second and third round site. The Badgers will take on No. 15 American with the victor facing the winner of No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 10 BYU. Wisconsin will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time and making its 16th straight appearance. The Badgers are 25-18 in their previous trips and have made two Final Four appearances, including winning the 1941 title.

Michigan State is the No. 4 seed in the East Region and will visit the Spokane, Wash., second and third round site. The Spartans will face No. 13 Delaware in the second round with the winner facing either No. 5 Cincinnati or No. 12 Harvard. Michigan State is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance and 16th consecutive. Michigan State boasts a 56-26 mark in the NCAA Tournament with eight Final Four appearances, including the 1979 and 2000 national championships.

Ohio State is the No. 6 seed in the South Region and will start at the Buffalo, N.Y., second and third round site. The Buckeyes will face No. 11 Dayton with the victor taking on the winner of No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Western Michigan. Ohio State is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and sixth consecutive. The Buckeyes have a 43-23 record in the tournament and nine appearances in the Final Four, including a national championship in 1960.

Nebraska will be the No. 11 seed in the West region and will play at the San Antonio second and third round site. The Cornhuskers will face No. 6 Baylor in the second round, with the winner of that contest taking on either No. 3 Creighton or No. 14 Louisiana Lafayette. Nebraska is making its sixth NCAA Tournament Appearance and its first since 1998.

Iowa is a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region and will play Tennessee in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of that contest will travel to Raleigh, N.C., for its second and third round matchups. They will take on No. 6 Massachusetts with the winner facing either No. 3 Duke or No. 14 Mercer. Iowa’s appearance is the 23rd in school history and its first since 2006. The Hawkeyes have a 27-24 record in NCAA tournament games as well as three Final Four appearances.

Note: records do not include games that were later vacated.

Creighton, Nebraska are on NCAA Collision Course

Posted on March 16, 2014

The state of Nebraska will have two teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 1991 — and they would meet if they win their openers Friday in San Antonio.

No. 3-seeded Creighton will open against No. 14 Louisiana and No. 11 Nebraska will play No. 6 Baylor.

Creighton (26-7) is in the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row. Nebraska (19-11) had to sweat until its name was called, but it didn’t take too long. The Huskers are in the tournament for the first time since 1998.

The crowd of 2,000 at Pinnacle Bank Arena erupted when Nebraska appeared on the big screen at the team’s NCAA Selection Show watch party.

Millsap, Teague Help Hawks Rally past Denver 97-92

Posted on March 16, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — Paul Millsap had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Teague added 15 points and 10 assists and the Atlanta Hawks rallied for their third straight win with a 97-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.

Kenneth Faried finished with 25 points and Wilson Chandler scored 12 for the Nuggets.

Kyle Korver, who hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it 96-92, scored 18 points and Pero Antic added 16 for Atlanta.

Ty Lawson, Denver’s leading scorer this season, handed out 11 assists, but went 0 for 12 from the field and finished with two points.

Before winning Monday at Utah, the Hawks had lost 14 of 15 to drop from third to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

Creighton, Nebraska are Hosting NCAA Watch Parties

Posted on March 16, 2014

Creighton and Nebraska will be hosting NCAA Selection Show watch parties on Sunday.

Creighton invites fans to join players and coaches at the on-campus D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha as they find out where and when the Bluejays will play next week. The Bluejays are assured of playing in the tournament for the third year in a row.

Nebraska’s watch party is at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament Friday and hope for their first NCAA bid since 1998.

If the Huskers make the NCAA field, it will mark the first time since 1991 that both Creighton and Nebraska have played in the tournament in the same year.

Doors at Sokol Arena and Pinnacle Bank Arena open at 4 p.m.

No. 14 Creighton Beats Xavier 86-78 to Reach Final

Posted on March 15, 2014March 16, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 32 points and second-seeded and 14th-ranked Creighton advanced to the Big East tournament championship game in its first year in the conference with an 86-78 victory over Xavier on Friday night.

The Bluejays looked to be on their way to an easy semifinal win but Xavier used a 20-6 run to get within 77-72 with 1:23 to play and Creighton was able to seal the game by going 9 for 10 from the free throw line over the final 1:16.

The Bluejays (26-6) will face fourth-seeded Providence in the championship game Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The Friars (22-11) beat Seton Hall 80-74 in the semifinals.

Ethan Wragge added 17 points, all but two on 3-pointers, and Chatman had 11.

Isaiah Philmore scored 23 points and Semaj Christon added 18 for third-seeded Xavier (21-12).

Nuggets Add to Heat Woes, Win in Miami 111-107

Posted on March 15, 2014March 16, 2014

MIAMI (AP) — Kenneth Faried scored 24 points, Darrell Arthur led a big effort from Denver’s bench with 18, and the Nuggets beat the suddenly reeling Miami Heat 111-107 on Friday night, handing the NBA champions their fifth loss in six games.

Evan Fournier scored 14, Ty Lawson had 13 and JJ Hickson added 11 for the Nuggets. Denver’s reserves scored 57 points.

Ray Allen scored 22 points for Miami, which fell three games behind Indiana in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James scored 21 points, Dwyane Wade added 19, Mario Chalmers had 16 and Chris Andersen scored 14 for the Heat, who turned the ball over 20 times and shot 7 for 24 from 3-point range.

It was only the fifth win for Denver in its last 18 games.

No. 24 Ohio State Comes Back to Beat Nebraska

Posted on March 14, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — LaQuinton Ross had 26 points and 13 rebounds and No. 24 Ohio State rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to beat fourth-seeded Nebraska 71-67 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

The victory sends No. 5 seed Ohio State (25-8) into a semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines defeated No. 9 seed Illinois 64-63 in another quarterfinal on Friday.

Amedeo Della Valle added 12 points for the Buckeyes, who led for all but the final minute of the first half, then had to rally past the Cornhuskers (19-12).

Terran Petteway led Nebraska with 20 points, but fouled out while defending Ross late in the game. Walter Pitchford added 15 points and Shavon Shields scored 12 for Nebraska, playing after a first-round bye for the first time since joining the Big Ten.

Ohio State led for almost the entire first half. But Nebraska’s switch to a zone defense held Ohio State’s offense in check, and the Huskers finally took their first lead of the game on a layup by Shavon Shields with 51 seconds left in the half.

That put Nebraska in front 29-28, and after a missed 3-pointer by Ross, Ray Gallegos hit a jumper at the other end to send Nebraska into halftime with a 31-28 lead.

Nebraska scored the first five points of the second half to build a 36-28 lead, prompting an Ohio State timeout. The Buckeyes’ struggles at the free-throw line in the first two minutes of the second half didn’t help their cause. Amir Williams and Sam Thompson were both 0-for-2 in that stretch.

Meanwhile, Petteway (1-of-2) and David Rivers (2-of-2) were hitting their free throws, and a Rivers jumper gave Nebraska an eight-point lead.

Ross scored to stop the Huskers’ run. But Petteway answered a 3-second violation on Ohio State with a jumper to put Nebraska ahead 38-30.

That started a 12-0 run for Nebraska, including two free throws by Petteawy after a technical foul on Ross for shoving.

Ross responded with a 3-pointer to stop Nebraska’s run and kickstart a 9-0 stretch for the Buckeyes to make it 48-39.

Both teams reached the double bonus with 9:36 to play and the score 54-44 Nebraska. Ohio State closed to 58-56 on a Thompson dunk with 4:42 to play.

Pitchford hit a 3-pointer to put Nebraska ahead 61-56. But after two free throws by Aaron Craft and two free throws by Shields, Della Valle hit a 3-pointer with 2:47 to play to pull Ohio State back within 63-61. Petteway fouled Ross on a dunk attempt, and Ross hit both free throws to tie the game at 63 with 1:52 to play.

Nebraska couldn’t get a good look at the other end, then Petteway was called for his fifth foul while defending Ross. His two free throws put Ohio State ahead 65-63.