Sports

Sears, Alabama can’t duplicate record 3-point night, fall to Duke with Final Four at stake

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Mark Sears was held to six points and Alabama followed an NCAA Tournament-record 25 3-pointers with only eight, dooming its shot at a second straight Final Four in an 85-65 loss to Duke in the East Region final. Sears — who finished 2 of 12 from the field and 1 for 5 on 3s — shot a clunker on Alabama’s first attempt and never got untracked. He hit 10 3s and scored 34 points on the same Prudential Center court only two nights earlier against BYU. This time, Sears made his only basket of the first half with 2:17 to go.… Continue Reading

Proctor, Flagg help No. 1 seed Duke roll past Baylor 89-66 to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor 89-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils, the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. Proctor made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s. Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for Baylor.… Continue Reading

NC State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State has announced the hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as the Wolfpack’s new men’s basketball coach. The school announced the hiring Sunday. That came a day after Wade’s McNeese team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. An introductory news conference for Wade is scheduled for Tuesday. It caps a week in which Wade was unusually open about his conversations with N.C. State. Wade had won 58 games the past two seasons at McNeese. That marked a climb back to prominence after he was fired at LSU in 2022 amid allegations of recruiting violations.… Continue Reading

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Tobacco Road is the center of the NCAA Tournament this week with three women’s first-round sites at Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State. There’s also the men’s first-round games being played at N.C. State as well. In all, there’s 21 men’s and women’s teams in the area for the games. No city comes close to that, including Los Angeles which has both UCLA and Southern Cal hosting first-round women’s sites. It’s the first time that there’s been so much basketball in one area at four different venues. The “Triangle” as its known, hosted three women’s first-round sites in 1998, but there was no men’s games in the area that year.… Continue Reading

Tar Heels and Rebels fighting for respect going into NCAA tourney matchup

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Seth Trimble and North Carolina face Jaemyn Brakefield and Mississippi in the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee. It’s a matchup of two motivated teams. North Carolina was a controversial selection when it received an at-large bid on Sunday. But the 11th-seeded Tar Heels posted a dominant 95-68 victory against San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday night. No. 6 seed Ole Miss also has faced criticism. Despite going 22-11, including a 10-8 record in the rugged SEC, a veteran college basketball analyst labeled Mississippi a “fraud” while predicting a first-round loss.… Continue Reading

McNeese State’s Will Wade confirms he’s been in contact with NC State about its coaching job

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — McNeese State coach Will Wade knows his name is in the mix during the college basketball coaching carousel. And unlike some coaches during this time of year, he’s not being coy talking about it. Asked Wednesday if he or his agent had been in contact with N.C. State about its opening, the second-year McNeese State coach confirmed that he had been. Though he didn’t elaborate on the extent of his contact with N.C. State, Wade name has since been linked to the Wolfpack job and other schools after finishing up his second straight 20-win season at McNeese that ended with an NCAA tourney berth.… Continue Reading

Davis perfect on six 3s as North Carolina routs San Diego State 95-68 in First Four

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — RJ Davis scored 26 points and went 6 of 6 from 3-point range to help North Carolina silence some skeptics with a dominant 95-68 victory over San Diego State in a First Four matchup. Davis’ six 3-pointers tied Caleb Love’s program record for an NCAA Tournament game. Love had six against UCLA in 2022. Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis went 5 for 5 from deep against Eastern Michigan in 1991. The 14 made 3-pointers were the most for North Carolina in an NCAA Tournament game. The Tar Heels hit 13 against Marquette in 2022. Seth Trimble had 16 points for North Carolina in a matchups of No. 11 seeds. UNC advanced to face No. 6 seed Mississippi in a South Region game Friday in Milwaukee.… Continue Reading

March Madness tips off with First Four in Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — March Madness tips off with the First Four in Dayton, with a mix of bubble teams who made the cut and smaller schools hoping to be this year’s Cinderella. North Carolina was a controversial selection, but the Tar Heels can silence some skeptics with a win over San Diego State on Tuesday night. Xavier and Texas meet for the fourth time in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night. Saint Francis of Pennsylvania, the 19th school to qualify with a losing record, faces Alabama State. Washington D.C. area schools American and Mount St. Mary’s will play for the 71st time.… Continue Reading

March Madness brackets have Auburn as the overall No. 1 followed by Duke, Houston, Florida

Auburn is the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, with Duke, Houston and Florida joining the Tigers on the No. 1 line in the March Madness bracket. The NCAA selection committee favored the regular-season champs of the record-setting Southeastern Conference despite three losses in their last four games, along with a loss to Duke back in December. A record-setting 14 teams from the SEC made the tournament.… Continue Reading

Proctor, Knueppel carry No. 1 Duke past No. 13 Louisville 73-62 for 2nd ACC title in 3 years

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor scored 19 points on six 3-pointers, Kon Knueppel added 18 points and No. 1 Duke defeated 13th-ranked Louisville 73-62 on Saturday night to clinch its second Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in three seasons under Jon Scheyer. It was Duke’s 23rd ACC title overall, the most of any team in conference history. Sion James added 15 points for Duke, which played its final two tournament games without ACC player of the year Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown due to injuries. Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 29 points on five 3s for Louisville, which was playing in its first ACC final since joining the league in 2014.… Continue Reading

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