College – Page 124 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Nebraska women make NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed

Posted on March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

The Nebraska women’s basketball team earned its 14th NCAA Tournament bid in school history, as the Huskers claimed a No. 10 seed in the 64-team field announced during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on ESPN Monday night.

Nebraska, which produced one of the nation’s top turnarounds under second-year coach Amy Williams in 2017-18, will face No. 7 seed Arizona State at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 17, at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by ESPN2, while a radio call of the game will be provided by the Husker Sports Network.

Texas (26-6, 15-3 Big 12) earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will take on No. 15 seed Maine (23-9, 13-3 America East) in Saturday’s second game at Austin. The Longhorns advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game, while the Black Bears earned the America East automatic bid by winning the tournament title. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CT) tip on ESPN2. The winners of the two first-round games will meet in Monday’s second round.

The winner of the four-team bracket in Austin will advance to the Kansas City Regional, March 23-25.

Nebraska heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 21-10 record after earning the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with an 11-5 conference mark. The Huskers also advanced to the Big Ten semifinals.

Nebraska’s 21 wins mark a 14-game improvement in the win column over last year’s 7-22 overall record, when the Huskers tied for last in the Big Ten Conference. The improvement is the largest increase by any team in 2018 NCAA Tournament field and tied for the biggest jump in Division I with fellow Big Ten partner Rutgers. Nebraska produced an eight-game improvement in league play (3-13, 2016-17).

Williams earned 2018 Big Ten Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors from the league coaches and media and is one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach-of-the-Year award.

The Huskers, who earned their first NCAA bid since facing Syracuse in the 2015 first round at Columbia, S.C., are led on the court by second-team All-Big Ten point guard Hannah Whitish. The 5-9 sophomore from Barneveld, Wis., leads Nebraska in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (4.8 apg) and steals (1.3 spg).

Inside, freshman Kate Cain has made a major impact at both ends of the court for the Big Red. The 6-5 center from Middletown, N.Y., adds 10.1 points per game while leading Nebraska in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and blocked shots (3.2 bpg). Cain’s Big Ten-leading 100 blocks have smashed Nebraska’s single-season school record and rank her among the top-five shot-blockers in the nation this season. She was the only freshman or sophomore to earn a spot on the five-player Big Ten All-Defensive Team and she was also one of five conference newcomers on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

With Cain in the middle and a commitment to defense for the entire Nebraska team, the Huskers improved by 13 points defensively from a year ago, allowing just 63.3 points per game this season. The Huskers led the Big Ten in both field goal percentage defense (.371) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.302) in 2017-18. Despite losing their starting front line, the Huskers were also six points per game better on the offensive end this season.

Nebraska’s game against the Sun Devils (21-12, 10-8 Pac-12) will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Huskers and Arizona State. Nebraska owns a 4-3 edge in the all-time series, including a 62-58 win over the Sun Devils in the last meeting between the two teams at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Dec. 28, 2008.

It will be the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Arizona State in the postseason, and the only previous neutral site meeting between the schools came in the first match-up, a 71-69 Husker win at the California Invitational on Nov. 29, 1979.

Nebraska’s only other NCAA Tournament appearance in the state of Texas was a successful one. In 2013, the sixth-seeded Huskers went to College Station, Texas and defeated 11th-seeded Chattanooga (73-59) before knocking off third-seeded Texas A&M (74-63) at Reed Arena to advance to the second NCAA Sweet Sixteen in Husker history.

Nebraska’s point guard on that 2013 squad was All-American and WNBA first-round draft pick Lindsey Moore, who also led the Huskers to their first-ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen as a freshman in 2010. Moore is now a graduate assistant at Arizona State.

Nebraska Coach Amy (Gusso) Williams will be leading her second school to an NCAA Division I Tournament, after also helping two Nebraska teams to the NCAA Tournament as a student-athlete.

Williams was a sophomore guard on a 1996 Husker team that earned a trip to the first round. She was a senior on Nebraska’s 1998 NCAA Tournament squad that advanced to the second round with a win over New Mexico in Norfolk, Va.

As a second-year Division I head coach at South Dakota, Williams led the Coyotes to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, before falling to Stanford in the first round.

— NU Athletics —

KU’s Devonte’ Graham named First Team All-American by USBWA

Posted on March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham has been named 2018 All-America First Team by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the organization announced Monday.

The USBWA is among the outlets used for the official NCAA consensus All-America team and Graham is 2-for-2 on consensus All-America first teams as he was named to The Sporting News squad last week. Joining Graham on USBWA All-America First Team is Jalen Brunson (Villanova), Deandre Ayton (Arizona), Marvin Bagley III (Duke) and Trae Young (Oklahoma). There were two teams selected by the more than 900 members of the USBWA with the second team being Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Miles Bridges (Michigan State), Keenan Evans (Texas Tech) and Jock Landale (Saint Mary’s).

This is the second-straight year a Kansas player has earned USBWA All-America First Team honors. Jayhawk Frank Mason III earned the distinction last year and later received the Oscar Robertson Trophy recognizing the national player of the year by the USBWA.

In the past week, Graham has been named the Big 12 Player of the Year, All-Big 12 First Team, one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and All-America First Team by The Sporting News, NCAA.com and the USBWA. On the court, he also earned Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 assists in guiding Kansas to the tourney title.

On every national player of year watch list, Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I this season averaging 17.0-plus pts, 7.0-plus assists, 1.6-plus steals and fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game. Graham is third nationally, second in the Big 12, in assists per game at 7.5. The Raleigh, North Carolina, guard leads the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7. Graham is scoring 17.3 points per game, which is third in the conference and he is sixth in free throw percentage (83.4), fourth in 3-point field goals made (2.9), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (41.2) and fifth in steals (1.6).

On Feb. 26, Graham was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season after guiding No. 6 Kansas (27-7, 13-5) to two victories that propelled the Jayhawks to their NCAA-record 14th consecutive, 18th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 61st regular-season conference title.

This season, Graham is logging 37.6 minutes per game this year, which ranks as the fifth highest average in a single season at KU. His 98 3-pointers made are fifth on the KU season list as last week he passed his own season high mark of 94 set in 2016-17. Graham’s 254 assists this season are second on the KU list.

Kansas enters the 2018 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and will face No. 16 seed Penn (24-8, 12-2 Ivy League) on Thursday, March 15, at 1 p.m. (Central) at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

— KU Athletics —

Griffons defeat Washburn 12-3 to complete three-game sweep

Posted on March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

ST. JOSEPH – A seven run seventh inning propelled the Missouri Western baseball team past Washburn Sunday at the Griffon Spring Sports Complex 12-3. MWSU completes the three-game sweep of the Ichabods and they’ve now won five consecutive games. The Griffons are now 10-9 this season and 3-3 in the MIAA.

Washburn tagged three runs in the second inning to open an early lead before MWSU cut the deficit to one with runs in the fourth and sixth innings. The Griffons started a huge seventh inning with a Brooks Day double followed by back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases. Will Jibas gave Missouri Western the lead on a sac fly and Casey Danley’s two-run triple added insurance. MWSU added runs with the next three batters to continue to pull away from the Ichabods.

Nate Hunter came out of the bullpen and picked up his second win of the series. Hunter tossed 3 2/3 innings and allowed just two hits.

NOTABLES
– Six different Griffon recorded two or more hits in the win

– Missouri Western pitchers combined for seven strikeouts and just one earned run

– Casey Danley and Nick Schranck combined for seven RBIs, five hits and three runs scored

– Nolan Meyer was 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored

– Danley and Meyer both tripled in the seventh inning

– 12 runs is the most scored by MWSU since Feb. 4 when it won 13-7 at Harding University

UP NEXT
Missouri Western travels to Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Missouri for a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 16.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou makes NCAA Tournament as No. 8 seed in West; opens with Florida State

Posted on March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Basketball is back in March Madness. Head coach Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers hosted a watch party at Mizzou Arena on Sunday evening and an excited group of Black & Gold supporters cheered as Mizzou was announced as the No. 8 seed in the West Region of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

No. 8 Mizzou (20-12) takes on No. 9 Florida State (20-11 – 8th-place in the ACC) on Friday, March 16, in Nashville, Tennessee. Tipoff for the Tigers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 will be at approximately 8:45 p.m. CT on TBS.

Martin has now led three different programs to NCAA Tournament appearances, becoming the 59th different head coach to do so after his prior trips with Tennessee (NCAA Sweet 16, 2013-14) and California (NCAA First Round, 2015-16).

Mizzou’s selection to this season’s Big Dance is the 27th in program history. Martin is the third first-year Mizzou head coach all-time to lead the Tigers to an NCAA Tournament appearance, with Quin Snyder and Frank Haith accomplishing the feat in 2000 and 2012, respectively.

The Tigers are the No. 8 seed for the third time in program history, last playing as the eighth-seeded team during the 1999 NCAA Tournament, when Mizzou dropped a 61-59 heartbreaker to ninth-seeded New Mexico in Denver, Colorado, in what ultimately proved to be the final game ever coached by Mizzou Hall of Fame Coach Norm Stewart. Mizzou is 1-2 overall playing as the No. 8 seed, with all three outings as part of the West Regional.

Mizzou’s placement in the West Regional marks the third time in its last four (and ninth in its last 14) NCAA Tournament appearances that the Tigers have been shipped West from a bracketology standpoint. The Tigers’ matchup with Florida State will mark the first meeting between the programs since Dec. 19, 1980, when the Seminoles claimed a 68-64 win in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Cotton States Classic. Florida State holds a 2-1 edge in the overall series history.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Kansas gets the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region

Posted on March 11, 2018

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Picked as a No. 1 seed for the eighth time in the last 12 years, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make its 29th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The nation’s longest-active streak and the best all-time will start against the No. 16-seed Penn Quakers in the Midwest Region on Thursday, March 15, in Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena.

Kansas (27-7, 13-5) extended its NCAA-record run of 14-straight Big 12 titles to conclude the regular season and, on Saturday, the Jayhawks won their 11th Big 12 tournament title with an 81-70 victory over West Virginia. The unveiled bracket paired Kansas against Ivy League Tournament champion Penn (23-8, 12-2) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

This marks the ninth-straight season that the Jayhawks have earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. In head coach Bill Self’s 15 seasons, KU has never been seeded lower than fourth. Kansas has been a No. 1 seed 14 times, including each of the last three seasons (1986, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

The Jayhawks and Quakers have played three times previously, with the Jayhawks coming away with victories in each (89-71, Feb. 8, 1997; 61-56, Nov. 11, 1998; 105-59, Jan. 4, 2000).

ABOUT KANSAS (27-7, 13-5 Big 12)
Overall, the Jayhawks are making their 47th NCAA Tournament appearance. KU is 103-45 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, including 30 Sweet 16 appearances and 14 trips to the Final Four.

The Jayhawks finished the 2017-18 regular season with a 27-7 record against the nation’s second-toughest schedule, which included six victories against ranked opponents. In conference tournament action, Kansas defeated Oklahoma State and Kansas State to advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship finals against West Virginia. The Jayhawks claimed their third win over the Mountaineers this season and their 11th Big 12 postseason tournament title. Against the No. 1 RPI conference and the nation’s second-toughest strength of schedule, Kansas won the Big 12 Conference regular-season race by two games.

Kansas is one of seven Big 12 Conference teams to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, marking just the seventh time in NCAA history that 70 percent of a league was selected. The seven teams are the third-most to be representing a conference in the tournament. In all, KU faced 12 NCAA Tournament teams in 2017-18.

Led by the Big 12 Coach of the Year, Kansas head coach Bill Self guided his Jayhawks through a non-conference schedule that included Kentucky, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Syracuse, all tournament teams. Big 12 Player of the Year and Sporting News First Team All-American, Devonte’ Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging 17.0-plus points, 7.0-plus assists, 1.7-plus steals and fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game. As a team, KU averages 78.5 points per game and outscores opponents by a +10.6 margin.

ABOUT PENN (23-8, 12-2 Ivy)
The Quakers head to the NCAA Tournament after claiming the Ivy League Tournament title, an impressive addition to their 2018 Ivy League regular-season championship. The title, which Penn tied for with Harvard, marked the team’s 26th and first since 2007.

Four Quakers score in double figures and are led by sophomore guard Ryan Betley, who scores 14.4 ppg. Betley is the team’s top 3-point threat after averaging 2.5 threes per game and shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward and All-Ivy First Teamer A.J. Brodeur is the team’s top rebounder at 7.0 per game and adds 13.0 ppg. Brodeur is also the team’s most efficient scorer, making over 54 percent of his field goal attempts.

Penn is led by head coach Steve Donahue, who was named the Ivy League’s Coach of the Year. Donahue is 47-40 in his third year in Philadelphia.

Aside from a 12-2 conference slate, Penn will enter postseason play with wins in seven of its last eight outings. The Quakers’ last loss came on March 3 at Yale, 80-79.

UP NEXT
The winner of (1) Kansas vs. (16) Penn will advance to play the winner of (8) Seton Hall and (9) North Carolina State on Saturday, March 17.

— KU Athletics —

K-State to meet Creighton in NCAA South Regional Friday

Posted on March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State was rewarded for a successful season on Sunday, as the Wildcats earned their 30th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, including the fourth in six seasons under head coach Bruce Weber.

K-State (22-11, 10-8 Big 12) was selected as a No. 9 seed in the South Regional and will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST) in the first round on Friday, March 16 at the Spectrum Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the second game between the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday, March 18.

The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 2 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 10 seed Providence and No. 15 Lipscomb of the West Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed Cincinnati, No. 3 seed Tennessee, No. 4 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Kentucky.

K-State and Creighton will tip off at 5:50 p.m., CT with the matchup between No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 16 seed UMBC to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson.

Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 11:59 pm, tonight. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).

Kansas State is making its 37th postseason appearance, which includes 30 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 12 seasons, including in consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 10 times in the last 12 seasons (eight trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 30 overall bids ties for 20th nationally (along with Georgetown and Illinois), including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma).

In its last NCAA appearance, No. 11 seed K-State knocked off fellow No. 11 seed Wake Forest, 95-88, in the First Four at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio on March 14 before losing to No. 6 seed Cincinnati, 75-61, on March 17 in the South Regional First Round at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Seven current players saw action in one or both of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in both contests by current juniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. K-State has a 7-7 NCAA Tournament mark in its last seven appearances.

The program has posted a 34-33 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 10-5 in the first round. The school will be making its second consecutive appearance in the South Regional and the third overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 1-2 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 9 seed and the first since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 8 seed Kentucky, 56-49, in the Midwest Regional in St. Louis. The other appearance as a No. 9 seed came in the 1987 NCAA Tournament when the school defeated No. 8 seed Georgia, 82-79, in overtime before losing to top-seed UNLV, 80-61, in Salt Lake City. Overall, the school is 1-2 as a No. 9 seed.

In K-State’s 29 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 16 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 11 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).

Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fifth different coach to lead K-State to at least four NCAA Tournament appearances and joins Jack Hartman (1978-82), Lon Kruger (1986-90) and Frank Martin (2007-12) as the only coaches to accomplish it four times in a six-year period. Overall, Weber advances to his 12th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has a 12-11 record in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2005 Final Four.

The Wildcats earned their fourth 20-win season under Weber and finished in sole possession of fourth place in the nation’s top RPI conference, the Big 12, with a 10-8 mark. The 22 wins are the most since winning 27 in Weber’s first season in 2012-13, while the 10 in Big 12 play were the most since also winning 10 in 2013-14. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selection Dean Wade (16.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) and All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team member Barry Brown, Jr. (16.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.).

Creighton enters Friday’s game with a 21-11 overall record, which includes a tie for third place with Providence and Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 10-8 mark. The Bluejays are led by senior guard and former K-State player Marcus Foster, who earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. He is averaging a team-best 20.3 points on 49 percent shooting, including 42.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.

Two other Bluejays are averaging in double figures, including junior guard Khyri Thomas (15.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and sophomore forward Martin Krampelj (11.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg.), while four others average between 6.0 and 8.3 points per game. Thomas was named Second Team All-BIG EAST, while freshman guard Mitch Ballock (7.0 rpg., 2.7 rpg.) was named to the league’s All-Freshman Team.

Foster played at K-State from 2013-15, averaging 14.1 points on 40.9 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range, with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes per game in 62 career games with 57 starts. He was twice named to All-Big 12 teams, including the Second Team as a freshman in 2013-14.

Thomas was a prep teammate of current Wildcat junior guard Kamau Stokes at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia during the 2014-15 season, while Ballock played at Eudora High School in Eudora, Kansas.

Creighton is led by head coach Greg McDermott, who has a 187-92 (.670) record in eight seasons at the helm which includes five NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously spent time as head coach at Wayne State (1994-2000), North Dakota State (2000-01), Northern Iowa (2001-06) and Iowa State (2006-10). Overall, he is 454-284 (.615) in 24 seasons as head coach. He matched up four times during Weber’s time as head coach at Southern Illinois from 1998 to 2003, while he went 1-7 against the Wildcats as head coach of the Cyclones.

This will be the 16th meeting between K-State and Creighton on the hardwood, but the first since 1987. The Bluejays own a narrow 8-7 edge in the series, including a 1-0 mark in neutral site games.

The winner of Friday’s first round matchup will face either No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday. The Cavaliers, winners of the ACC regular season and conference tournament, earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region. They are led by three scorers averaging double-figures, including a team-high 14.1 points per game from All-ACC first-team selection sophomore guard Kyle Guy. In addition to Guy, redshirt senior guard and All-ACC second-team selection Devon Hall averaged 12 points per game coupled with 4.3 rebounds per game and a 45.2 3-point percentage during the season.

As the ACC Coach of the year, Tony Bennett’s crew finished the season shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting the opponent to just 53.4 points per contest and 37.5 percent from the field. Virginia’s 17 ACC regular season wins, and nine conference road wins marked a new league record, as the Cavaliers are also just the fourth team in the Associated Press Top 25 era since 1990 to reach the No. 1 spot in the AP weekly poll after being unranked in preseason.

Bennett is an alum of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay (’92), who has a 288-117 overall record in his 11th year as a head coach, including a 219-85 (105-51, ACC) record in his eighth season at the helm of the Cavaliers.

For the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Retrievers enter the NCAA Tournament after winning the American East Conference Tournament to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008. Coached by head coach Ryun Odom, who coached the team to their fourth 20-win season in program history, the Retrievers averaged 73.9 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field in the season and were led by four scorers averaging double-figures. First-Team All-America East Graduate guard Jarius Lyles led UMBC by averaging 20.1 points per game on 43.6 percent from the field, while America East Defensive Player of the Year, K.J. Maura who average 2.0 steals per game.

Odom is an alum of Hampden-Sydney (’96) and is in his second year with UMBC, after posting a 21-13 record in his first season with the team, earning their first winning season since 2007-08 and the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, presented to the top first-year coach in Division I basketball. Prior to coaching at UMBC, Odom served as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) during the 2015-16 season, prior to serving as an assistant and interim head coach at Charlotte from 2010-15. He is the son of longtime head coach Dave Odom.

K-State has never faced Virginia and/or UMBC on the hardwood in school history.

K-State was one of nine Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including seven in the Big Dance, joining No. 1 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 3 seed Texas Tech (East), No. 5 seed West Virginia (East), No. 6 seed TCU (Midwest) and No. 10 seed Oklahoma (Midwest) and Texas (South) in the field. In addition, Baylor is a No. 1 seed and Oklahoma State a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The Big 12 is the first league since at least 1996-97 to accomplish such a feat.

In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament for fifth time in seven seasons.

— K-State Athletics —

Nebraska to play at Mississippi State in NIT

Posted on March 11, 2018March 11, 2018

Lincoln – The Nebraska men’s basketball program will make its first postseason appearance in four years, as the Huskers were selected for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Sunday evening.

Nebraska, which enters the postseason with a 22-10 record, is the No. 5 seed and will take on No. 4 seed Mississippi State (22-11), on Wednesday, March 14 at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and carried on the Huskers Sports Network.

The Huskers opened the season by playing the Bulldogs in a charity exhibition game in October, winning 76-72 in Starkville.

The 2018 NIT is the 25th postseason appearance in school history and 18th time NU has been selected for the NIT. The Huskers are 23-16 all-time in the NIT, including a championship in the 1996 NIT and semifinal appearances in 1983 and 1987. This is NU’s first NIT appearance since 2011.

The Huskers finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-5 record before losing to eventual tournament champion Michigan in the Big Ten Quarterfinals on March 2. Nebraska is led by a pair of All-Big Ten selections in James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland Jr. Palmer was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the conference coaches, as he averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Copeland garnered honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and media, as he averaged 12.9 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

Mississippi State is 22-10 and finished tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference. Coach Ben Howland’s team went 18-2 at Humphrey Coliseum this season. The Bulldogs feature four players who average double figures, including Quinndary Weatherspoon, who averaged 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game en route to second-team All-SEC honors. Nick Weatherspoon was a freshman All-SEC team member and is second in the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg.

If Nebraska wins, Nebraska will play the winner of top-seeded Baylor against eighth-seeded Wagner in the second round.

— NU Athletics —

Top-seeded Bearcats get upset by Minnesota State in NCAA Tournament opener

Posted on March 10, 2018

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team fell to Minnesota State, 60-50, on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Central Region tournament at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo., on Saturday evening.

– Northwest finishes the season with a 27-4 overall record while the Mavericks improve to 23-9 and will face Southwest Minnesota on Sunday.

– Chris-Ebou Ndow finished with a team-high 21 points and grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest shot 29.1 percent from the field (16-for-55) and were 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

– Minnesota State hit 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the field and hit 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from three point territory.

– The Bearcats and the Mavericks each had seven steals. Northwest had nine turnovers while Minnesota State had 13.

– Joey Witthus scored 19 points with three long-range makes. He had three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

– Ndow hit four three pointers and was 5-of-6 from three point land and added three assists.

– Xavier Kurth grabbed five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

– Ryan Welty finished with five points, hitting one long range make. He had two rebounds and a steal.

– Brett Dougherty had a pair of assists and a steal.

– Northwest’s senior class finishes with a career record of 114-18 overall.

— Northwest Athletics —

Miller, Griffons blank Washburn 5-0 for fourth straight win

Posted on March 10, 2018

ST. JOSEPH – Jacob Miller tossed a complete game with a career-high nine strikeouts as Griffon baseball (9-9) beat Washburn (6-12) 5-0. It is the fourth consecutive win for Missouri Western win.

MWSU tried to supply plenty of run support in the first inning when it scored a run and loaded the bases on a pair of Ichabod errors. The Griffons only managed one run in the inning but added three insurance runs in the third inning and another run in the eighth inning.

Miller controlled Washburn throughout his complete first complete game at Missouri Western. He allowed just three hits and two walks as he faced 32 batters. Washburn committed five errors in the game.

NOTABLES
– Jacob Miller is Missouri Western’s third pitcher this season to throw a complete game

– The seven through nine batters for the Griffons combined to score three of the team’s five runs

– Brooks Day scored two runs for MWSU in his four at-bats

– Dusty Stroup drove in two runs for Missouri Western, it is fourth multiple RBI game this season

– Casey Danley went 2-for-4 at the plate

UP NEXT
Missouri Western goes for the series sweep tomorrow, March 11 at 1 p.m. from the Spring Sports Complex.

— Associated Press —

Kansas tops West Virginia 81-70 to win Big 12 tourney title

Posted on March 10, 2018

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Devonte Graham ripped off the shooting sleeve he was wearing and tossed it into the crowd, then took the two-time Big 12 defensive player of the year baseline for a pullup jumper.

Talk about unflappable.

Unstoppable, too.

The league’s player of the year finished with 18 points and 13 assists, most of them during the decisive second half, and Graham led ninth-ranked Kansas to an 81-70 victory over Jevon Carter and No. 18 West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament championship game Saturday night.

Malik Newman added 20 points on his way to tournament MVP, and freshman Silvio De Sousa had 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting in place of injured big man Udoka Azubuike, lifting the Jayhawks (27-7) to their 11th tournament title and a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

It was the second time in three years they’ve beaten West Virginia (24-10) for the championship.

“We just locked on and starting plays and kept competing, and it was just fun. It was fun to be out there,” Graham said with a smile. “It helped that we were able to make shots.”

Modest understatement there. The Jayhawks shot 72 percent from the field in the second half, and 56 percent for the game, while going 15 of 27 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“They have a lot of guys who can make shots,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “Let’s be honest, all of those guys out there, if they’re not McDonald’s All-Americans it’s because they’re from another country. They have good players and their guy can coach, you know?”

Daxter Miles Jr. hit five 3s and had 25 points to lead West Virginia, which has lost the last three Big 12 title games. Sagaba Konate added 18 points while Carter, the best defender in the league, finished with 17 points and nine assists.

West Virginia still has not won a postseason league tournament since the Big East in 2010.

“They just did a real good job of knocking down shots,” Carter said. “Seemed like every shot they put up, it went in. When we went cold, they kept hitting.”

The Mountaineers controlled most of the first half, picking and choosing when to employ their full-court press. And they caught a break when Mykhailiuk and Mitch Lightfoot picked up two fouls apiece, allowing Konate to score nearly at will in the paint.

Then the Mountaineers’ big fella picked up his second foul and took a seat on the bench.

The Jayhawks roared back to briefly tie the game, and trailed 34-33 at the break after De Sousa threw down an alley-oop dunk in transition in the closing seconds of the first half.

One of the hallmarks of Kansas over the years, especially under Bill Self, has been tenacious half-court defense — and the Mountaineers shredded it early in the second half. They scored their first eight possessions, and Miles’ layup gave them their biggest lead at 51-43 with 15:08 left.

From there, the game turned into a back-and-forth prizefight: Kansas scored 10 straight, West Virginia answered with eight in a row and the Jayhawks responded with 10 more.

“They got control of the game. We made a run. They got control in the second half, we made a run,” Self said, “and that was the difference. When they had a chance to distance themselves we got back in it, and we played almost flawless down the stretch.”

The Jayhawks’ last run was part of a larger 17-3 charge to finally take control.

Graham capped it with his fadeaway baseline jumper over Carter — after shedding a bit of clothes — and a 3-pointer from the wing that made it 73-66 with 3:49 to go.

West Virginia got it to 76-70 on Carter’s two free throws moments later, but Miles missed a 3-pointer and Carter missed a circus-style layup, then turned the ball over with a minute left.

That allowed the Jayhawks to seal their latest Big 12 championship from the foul line.

“We had open shots, didn’t make them. They had contested shots, made them,” Huggins said. “If they can do that for three weeks, they could win a national championship.”