Bobcats bust the brackets beats Georgetown
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Who knew that all this time Ohio used the regular season as a warm-up act?
The Bobcats’ time to shine is March.
The MAC tournament champion Bobcats, who had a losing record in conference play, have found their way in the only month that matters and now boast an NCAA tournament win for the first time in 27 years.
document.write("document.write("if (typeof DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad != "undefined"){DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad(300,250);} // if (typeof RecordAnyLoad != "undefined"){RecordAnyLoad(AdLoadRecordUrl);}");");Georgetown might want to skip the tourney next time it’s in Providence.
Armon Bassett scored 32 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bobcats to a convincing 97-83 win over the Hoyas in the Midwest Regional.
How about a standing O for Ohio!
“We may not be a better team, just got to be a better teama given night,” Bassett said.
In early March, no one expected Ohio (22-14) to be in this position. The team had just finished a 7-9 season in Mid-American Conference play and entered the conference tournament as the ninth seed.
Four wins later, Ohio was in the 65-team field.
Forty minutes later, the Bobcats are in the second round where they will play Tennessee, which earned a 62-59 win over San Diego State.
Coach John Groce wouldn’t call it the biggest win in team history.
“I certainly think it’s one of them,” he said. “What it does more than anything is, I think it gives tremendous belief with our guys in what we’re doing, in our system.”
Ohio seized the lead earlyits 3-point shooting and never had a serious letdown the rest of the way. The Hoyas (23-11) made a small run in the second half that cut a 19-point lead down to seven.
No worries. D.J. Cooper, who scored 23 points, made a 3 to the delight of all those green-clad fans who made the trip and cheered themthe whole way. The Bobcats cruised from there and have won six straight games.
Ohio joined Murray State, which knocked off Vanderbilt 66-65 at the buzzer, as the two big upset winners Thursday.
“There were some times where the only people that really believed in what we were doing and where we were headed were the guys in our locker room and our administration,” Groce said.
getCSS("3088867")Video Ohio better than GeorgetownMarch 19: Ohio star Armon Bassett says his teams mindset in beating Georgetown was that they didnt have to be the better team, they just had to be better than the Hoyas in that game.
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Chris Wright led the third-seeded Hoyas (23-11) with 28 points. Georgetown coach John Thompson III said a day earlier his team was playing their best basketball of the season. It certainly didn’t extend into the tournament opener.The Hoyas looked sensational in winning the first three games of the Big East tournament, before losing to West Virginia in the championship, and appeared to have positioned themselves as a legitimate Final Four threat.
It wasn’t to be.
“We really thought we could make some noise in this tournament,” Georgetown guard Austin Freeman said. “We really didn’t imagine we would be one-and-done.”
The Hoyas had a rough time in Providence back in 1989, too, when they narrowly beat No. 16 seed Princeton 50-49. At least they won in ’89.
This time the Hoyas were flustered and frustrated throughout. When Greg Monroe washis back after being whistled for an offense foul, he pounded the court in disbelief and anger.
Monroe had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Hollis Thompson scored 16 points.
Monroe, the 6-foot-11 center with NBA prospects, appeared to lean toward returning for his junior season.
“I’m ready to go back and see how I can help my team next year,” he said.
The Big East took a beatingThursday with the Hoyas and sixth-seeded Marquette both losing. Notre Dame also lost to Old Dominion. Second-seeded Villanova needed overtime to eke past Robert Morris earlier in the day in Providence — the Big East’s headquarters.
ALSO ON THIS STORYOhio-Georgetown box scoreBeyond the Arc: A brutal day for the Big EastMonroe says he"ll return to Georgetown
Bassett, the MAC tournament MVP, made it look easy. After a 3-pointer made it 39-26, he just turned toward the crowd with a shrug and smiled.
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Ohio led by 12 at halftime and keptrolling. Cooper picked Georgetown’s Jason Clark clean, sprinted toward the basket and tossed the ball backward high over his head where a streaking DeVaughn Washington slammed home the alley-oop in the play of the game.
The Bobcats have something to show for a turbulent season. They opened conference play with four straight losses, lost one player for the season with a broken hand and Washington was suspended five games for team violations. Groce even kicked a player off the team.
“I’m excited for our guys with everything they’ve been through,” Groce said.
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© ,,.NEW ORLEANS - To call this one a yawner would be understating things.
Kentucky’s flat tire of East Tennessee State in the initial turn of the NCAA contest was so consummate that fans were sleeping in the stands — and not even the common laughs of unwavering spectators could incite a small of those held snoozinglarge video boards.
That’s what happens when a No. 1 seed leads by thirty in the initial half and keeps pier on.
document.write("document.write("if (typeof DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad != "undefined"){DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad(300,250);} // if (typeof RecordAnyLoad != "undefined"){RecordAnyLoad(AdLoadRecordUrl);}");");“This is a neutral venue and you’ve got to have your own energy,” Kentucky manager John Calipari said, recalling what he told his players prior to the game. “You’ve got to have it from within. You can’t design (the crowd) to give it to us since it’s not that kind of venue.”
The immature Wildcats had small difficulty with that, and the Kentucky fans who stayed watchful were rewarded with a jot down opening by Eric Bledsoe.
Bledsoe’s eight 3-pointers set a new high for a Kentucky player in an NCAA contest game, and the Wildcats dominated via in a 100-71 feat over ETSUThursday night in the East Regional. The Wildcats modernized to fool around Wake Forest, that warranted an 81-80 overtime win over Texas.
getCSS("3053751")Slideshow Best of the big danceCheck out the tip images in this visible debate of theNCAA tournament.
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Scoring twenty-nine points, Bledsoe proposed 8 of 83s prior to eventually blank his initial from prolonged range late in the second half and finishing 8 of 9. Still, he surpassed Tony Delk’s prior propagandize jot down of 7 3s in the 1996 championship diversion feat over Syracuse.“I was only out there playing,” Bledsoe said. “Coach told me to fool around defense, and when I fool around invulnerability it carries over to offense. So that’s what I did.”
Patrick Patterson scored twenty-two points9-of-10 shooting, together with a handful of dunks, whilst John Wall combined seventeen points and eleven assists for the Wildcats (33-2).
Calipari pronounced ETSU “hit a buzzsaw.”
“Hopefully, we’re this good,” Calipari continued. “I’m not certain if we are, but we’ll see if we can keep it going.”
Micah Williams had eighteen points for ETSU (20-15), the Atlantic Sun Conference contest champs, who trailed by as most as 40 in the second half.
ALSO ON THIS STORYEast Tennessee State-Kentucky box score
Justin Tubbs combined sixteen points and Adam Sollazzo fourteen for the Buccaneers, who as a 16th seed last deteriorate gave Pittsburgh a first-round scare. ETSU simply could not serve a identical opening opposite the Southeastern Conference hold up Wildcats, who have 3 beginner starters but brushed off any worries about unawareness in the tournament. getCSS("3088867")Video Young Kentucky picks up winMarch 19: Kentucky manager John Calipari hopes his immature group is carrying some-more fun than any alternative patrol in the tournament, and he was gratified with how lax they seemed in violence East Tennessee State University.
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Kentucky strike from all areas of the court, clearly creation a 3 for each impact dunk. Kentucky done fifteen 3-pointers33 attempts. The Wildcats shot 51.7 percent altogether (31 of 60).
“Our scouting inform pronounced they couldn’t have 3s and they done 15,” ETSU manager Murry Bartow said. “So, obviously, if the rest of the contest they fire the round the approach they did tonight, they’re patently going to be a really difficult out.”
: Kentuckys invulnerability delivers, too1 | 2NEW ORLEANS - Baylor manager Scott Drew’s postgame locker room plead with his group draggedlonger than common prior to he emerged — at the back of report — to plead as big a feat as majority Bears fans can remember.
“Sorry I’m late. We haven’t won a contest diversion in a prolonged time,” Drew said. “I know there are happy players in there.”
It had been 6 decades given Baylor last won an NCAA contest game, but Ekpe Udoh did all the Bears indispensable to wand off upset-minded Sam Houston State and finish the drought.
document.write("document.write("if (typeof DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad != "undefined"){DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad(300,250);} // if (typeof RecordAnyLoad != "undefined"){RecordAnyLoad(AdLoadRecordUrl);}");");Udoh had twenty points and thirteen rebounds, and Baylor dominated the last 3 mins of a 68-59 feat Thursday in the initial turn of the South Regional.
“Oh, man, usually happiness in my heart, man,” Udoh said. “But, whew, that was close. Sam Houston, that’s a great team. ... It’s tourney time. You’ve usually got to be ready.”
Udoh additionally had five assists, dual blocks and dual steals for the third-seeded Bears (26-7), who were scored equally with less than 4 mins superfluous prior to pulling afar for their initial NCAA contest win given violence BYU in 1950.
Baylor movesto fool around Saturday opposite 11th-seeded Old Dominion, a 51-50 leader over No. 6 seed Notre Dame progressing Thursday.
“Really, the diversion was flattering simple: Get the round to Ekpe,” Drew said. “He’s got twenty and 13, 9 for sixteen (shooting), let him possibly emanate for somebody or let him score. When we did some-more and some-more of that, things got simpler and easier.”
LaceDarius Dunn scored thirteen points for Baylor, 10 in the second half. His short, spinning blur and one-handed jam fueled a late 8-0 run that clinched it.
Gilberto Clavell had twenty-three points and Preston Brown combined thirteen for 14th seed Sam Houston State (25-8), that scored equally it at 55a short floater by Ashton Mitchell with 3:48 to go.
The diversion remained scored equally until Quincy Acy dunked with 2:30 left to hint Baylor’s wilful surge and put the Bears brazen for good.
“We knew once Quincy got a asperse or did something crazythe floor, it would get all of us going,” Dunn said.
Acy and Anthony Jones both accomplished with 10 points for Baylor. getCSS("3088867")Video Baylor moveswith winMarch 19: Lacedarius Dunn hopes Baylors win over Sam Houston State will assistance his group get absolved of all their butterflies relocating forward.
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Sam Houston State kept the diversion close with a triangle-and-two section invulnerability that BearKats manager Bob Marlin commissioned with thought of keeping the round afar from Baylor’s bomb backcourt of Dunn and Tweety Carter. It worked for majority of the game.
“We had the diversion right where we longed for it with 4 mins to go and had the basketball, had an event to get a lead, and it didn’t happen,” Marlin said. “Our defensive diversion plan was great the complete ballgame. Our guys fought hard.”
Baylor players pronounced they were unknown with the triangle-and-two — effectively man-to-man coveragethe guards and a section inside — and had difficulty adjusting.
“We were usually shocked. We never faced zero similar to that,” Dunn said. “When we got out there and faced them we were like, ‘Wow, what are we going to do?’ So it usually took us time to ease down.”
Yet, even when Baylor struggled, Sam Houston State was incompetent to lift away. Normally a clever 3-point sharpened team, the BearKats were dismantled by misses from prolonged range, going 6 of 31.
“We did not fire the round really well today, generally from 3-point range, and we knew we were going to have to,” Marlin said.
Drew praised Sam Houston State’s defense, afterwards added, “The story, though, was the defense.”
“They’re a extensive descent group ... had eighteen 3s opposite Kentucky, fifteen 3s opposite Auburn, and we hold them to 6 and 33 percent shooting,” Drew continued. “So obviously the invulnerability won us the game.”
Morethis storySam Houston-Baylor box scoreBeyond the Arc: Bears were owing for that win
The diversion was a homecoming of sorts for point guards Mitchell and Carter, who grew up as friends in the New Orleans area. They didn’t mount out in this game, however. Neither scored in the initial half, that accomplished with Sam Houston State sticking to a 31-30 lead.
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Mitchell, who came in averaging 12.7 points, didn’t measure until attack a 3 early in the second half. He accomplished with five points and 6 assists.
Carter, who came in averaging 15.7 points, got his usually pointsa fast-break layup in the second half and had dual assists.
Carter will get an additional chance, though,Saturday opposite Old Dominion.
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© ,,.SURPRISE, Ariz. - A day after acknowledging he unsuccessful a drug exam for heroin last year, Texas Rangers physical education instructor Ron Washington admits he used pot and amphetamines whilst he was a player.
“When you’re immature you have mistakes,” Washington pronounced Thursday. “I instruct I could take at the back of a small of the mistakes I might have made, but I can’t.”
Rangers ubiquitous physical education instructor Jon Daniels pronounced Washington would keep his job. He pronounced the group was wakeful Washington used drug as a player.
document.write("document.write("if (typeof DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad != "undefined"){DisplayDartAdandRecordAdLoad(300,250);} // if (typeof RecordAnyLoad != "undefined"){RecordAnyLoad(AdLoadRecordUrl);}");");“There’s a eminence in between what people do in their girl vs. after in life,” he told a group of reporters, according to the Web site of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“I’m certain there are things in the past we’re not unapproachable of. Ron could have avoided the subject or lied and chose not to. I’m not going to retaliate him for being honest. That doesn’t forgive the function but that’s reality,” Daniels said.
Washington done his ultimate acknowledgment prior to Texas played a “B” diversion opposite Milwaukeea have make have use of of field.
On Wednesday, Washington pronounced he tested certain for heroin in a Major League Baseball exam last July. He told Rangers government and MLB about the heroin — he pronounced he used it usually once — prior to the exam outcome and offering to resign. Texas boss Nolan Ryan and group government authorised him to keep his job.
Washington did not item how often he used pot and amphetamines, or report what kind of amphetamines he took. The 57-year-old Washington played 10 seasons in the majors, often as an infielder for Minnesota in the 1980s — a decade when heroin and amphetamine have make have use of of in the majors was not uncommon.
Washington pronounced his mistakes from years ago have zero to do with the issue he’s confronting now.
“I done mistakes in my younger days,” he said. “I wish to get past it, move brazen and get backthe margin and begin winning a small ballgames.”
All-Star third baseman Michael Young, the team’s longest-tenured player, pronounced what Washington did as a player was a non-issue in his eyes. He pronounced contention about amphetamine have make have use of of between players in the 1970s and 1980s was a “slippery slope.”
“We’re carefree this will move us together, and we can convene around each alternative a small more,” Young said. “Asking about contrariety or a distraction, it’s a satisfactory question. But it’s not applicable in this clubhouse. We have a plain group of guys in here and they’re not going to decider somebodya inapplicable designation and nottheir misfortune moment.”
ALSO ON THIS STORYHBT: Drug have make have use of of in the 80s? Shocking!
All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton, whose own drug troubles have been well chronicled, reiterated Thursday that he appreciated Washington’s approach.
“The proceed he has rubbed the situation, I have some-more apply oneself for him now,” Hamilton said. “He didn’t censor at the back of anything, didn’t have excuses. He was honest and that’s a peculiarity you wish in a leader, somebody who recognizes the mistakes and can discuss it you about them so you can sense from it.”
Washington pronounced he’s perceived multiform messages from family, friends and former players over the past 48 hours and that “it was all love.
“These people know Ron Washington,” he said. “I am a great person. No, I’m not a great person. I’m a damn great person. And I’m proud. And I fight. And I’m hungry. And I done a mistake.”
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