Shabazz Napier Leads Connecticut to 2nd NCAA Title in Four Years, Drops Kentucky, 60-54

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, April 7, 2014

Shabazz Napier scored a game-high 22 points and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player, leading the Connecticut Huskies to the Men's Basketball Championship with a 60-54 victory over the youthful Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky, down as many as 15 points in the first half, closed the gap to within one, but never led in the game.

Napier was 8-for-16 overall, hitting four of six from three-point land and 2-for-2 from the stripe. He added three rebounds and three steals, dominating the Kentucky backcourt of freshmen guards, Aaron and Andrew Harrison who were a combined 6-for-16 and committed seven turnovers.

The real star of the game, however, was the rim, whenever Kentucky was shooting free throws, because that was the decisive statistic of the game. While the Huskies were 10-for-10 at the foul line, the Wildcats were a woeful 13-for-24, a miserable 54%, many of their misses coming in key situations.

Thus, the national championship belongs to Connecticut for the second time in four years. Napier and fellow senior, Niels Giffey, were a part of both championship teams.

The tournament is over and so its this blog, ending seven years of collage hoops coverage. It's on to other pursuits for me. I'll be the guy in the bleachers with a cold beer and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap.

-- Fearless Rick

Shabazz Napier Leads Huskies to Final Four; Kentucky Also Advances

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 30, 2014

As he's been doing for the better part of the season, Shabazz Napier put the UConn Huskies on his back and mushed his team to another important victory, this one over the Michigan State Spartans for a trip to the Final Four in Dallas with a 60-54 victory.

With a game-high 25 points, Napier scored the key buckets and made big plays in the final minutes to lead his squad to their biggest win of the year and a rematch with the Florida Gators in a national semi-final on Saturday.

Napier was just 6-for-14 from the field, but that included a 4-for-9 mark from three point range and perfection at the foul line where he made all nine of his free throws. The senior point guard also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Up 51-49 with under two minutes to play, Napier put the Huskies - the 11 seed in the East region - up by four with a short jumper and, after Michigan State's Adreian Payne scored a pair of free throws, Napier was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 30 seconds to go and calmly stepped to the line and sank all three foul shots for a five point UConn lead.

Michigan State missed a three-point attempt and Napier fed Phillip Nolan for a dunk with 15 seconds left which sealed the victory.

The Huskies will face Florida on Saturday, meeting the Gators for the first time since December 2 when they beat the Gators, 65-64. Since then, Florida has run off 30 straight wins and enter the Final Four as the #1 seed from the South region.

The last spot in the Final Four was completed in rousing fashion late Saturday afternoon as Kentucky upset Michigan in the Midwest region final, 75-72. Kentucky, the #8 seed in the region got a clutch performance from Aaron Harrison, who hit four three-pointers in the final eight minutes, the last one coming with just three seconds in the game, breaking a 72-all tie and sending the Wildcats to a Final Four meeting with Wisconsin.

DeAndre Daniels' 27 Points Leads Connecticut past Iowa State, 81-76; Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State Advance

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 28, 2014

Coming into the tournament, everyone knew that the Connecticut Huskies were a talented group, but they we're very deep, and few thought they'd advance far, but, with an 81-76 victory over Iowa State in the East region semi-final, they're one step away from the Final Four.

The Huskies, having won any number of games and Big East championships at Madison Square Garden, might have felt right at home in the Big Apple, but junior DeAndre Daniels, who hails from Los Angeles and led all scorers with 27 points, it was a special night.

Daniels blew away the Cyclones by hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field, including a pair of three pointers and snatched 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies into the next round.

The Huskies (29-8), the seven seed in the region, meet up with Michigan State (29-8) in the East regional final on Sunday, after the Spartans took out Virginia, 61-59.

Over in the Midwest region, 8th-seeded Kentucky took out defending national champion Louisville, 74-69, the #4 seed, and #2 Michigan scraped by #11 Tennessee, 73-71.

The Wildcats and Wolverines will go at it Sunday, the winner advancing to the Final Four.

DeAndre Daniels, Shabazz Napier Toast Owls as Connecticut Wins, 90-66

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A swarming, crushing defense and big games from Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels produced a huge, 90-66, win for Connecticut, sending the overmatched Temple Owls to their sixth straight AAC defeat.

The Huskies held Temple to 38% shooting (23-60) while the Huskies put balls through hoops at a 53% clip. Particularly hot was the Daniels-Napier duo, combining for 58 points, nearly two-thirds of the Husky total.

Napier scored 27 points, going 9-for-14 overall, including five of eight from three-point range while canning all four of his free throw attempts. The senior guard dealt six assists and grabbed seven boards.

Daniels, the 6'9" junior forward from Los Angeles, led all scorers with a career-high 31 points on 11-for-189 shooting. He was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, hit five of six free throws and snatched 12 rebounds for his second double-double in his last three games.

Connecticut evened their conference record at 3-3 in the newly-formed American Athletic, an outgrowth of the mass defections from the Big East.

The Huskies close out their January schedule with a game at Rutgers on the 25th and a home meeting with Houston on the 30th.

DeAndre Daniels Carries Connecticut to 83-73 Win over #17 Memphis

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 16, 2014

Since their third loss of the season - a 74-65 loss at SMU, January 4 - and an 0-2 start in conference play, the Connecticut Huskies had fallen off the radar and out of the Top 25, but they made their presence known Thursday night with an 83-73 win at #17 Memphis.

While Shabazz Napier leads the team in just about every offensive category and put up a double-double, scoring 17 and dishing 10 assists, DeAndre Daniels was lead dog for the Huskies in their second straight American conference win.

Daniels, a 6'9" junior from Los Angeles, dropped in 23 points and hustled 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

A consistent performer (13.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Daniels hit nine of 15 shots, including a 4-for-5 mark from beyond the arc. His 11 boards included four on the offensive end, helping the Huskies to extra opportunities as they shot 57% and out-rebounded Memphis, 34-27.

Daniels also had a couple of steals and blocked four shots. The Huskies were deadly down the stretch, hitting their final seven shots and going six-for-six from the foul line, turing a close game, that had multiple ties and lead changes, into a late runaway as Connecticut finished with its largest lead of the contest.

The Huskies will have another chance to gain recognition while making up ground in their conference when they host #18 Louisville on Saturday. A win over the Cardinals would almost certainly result in re-insertion of the Huskies into the top 25 rankings. After the Memphis win, they are 14-3, overall.

Connecticut Previals in OT over Bearcats as Shabazz Napier Drops 27

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, February 21, 2013

Only two top 25 teams were in action on Thursday; #6 Duke trampled Virginia Tech, 88-56, and, #22 Oregon was upended on a buzzer-beater by Cal's Justin Cobbs, 48-46, sending the Golden Bears to their fourth straight win and leaving them, at 9-5, a game behind PAC-12 co-leaders Oregon and Arizona - both 10-4.

With UCLA at 9-4 and Arizona State posting a 9-5 mark, the conference title is still up for grabs and the post-season tournament should prove to be a wide open affair.

The tightest game of the night ended in overtime, when Connecticut's Shabazz Napier took over the game and scored 11 of his game-high 27 points for the 73-66 victory over Big East rival, Cincinnati.

UConn took a three-point lead into intermission, scored just 18 points in the second half, but then equalled that total in overtime as Napier drove the Huskies to their third win in their last four games. The win sent Connectivut to a 9-5 record and dropped the Bearcats to a pedestrian 7-7, endangering their acceptability as an NCAA tourney at-large invitee.

Napier - UConn's leading scorer at 16.7 ppg - was 7-for-14 from the field, going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, adding seven of eight from the charity stripe.

Shabazz Napier Hoists Huskies over South Florida, 69-64

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, February 3, 2013

Shabazz Napier scored a game-high 24 points as the Connecticut Huskies overcame a 12-point half time deficit to defeat South Florida, 69-64, handing the Bulls their fourth straight Big East loss.

Napier made five of ten three-pointers on 7-for-15 shooting from the field, adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Huskies have won three straight, but are on the road their next two games - at St. John's and Seton Hall - before returning home to host #6 Syracuse on Wednesday, February 13. Connecticut is 5-3 in the conference, trailing 6-2 Syracuse and Marquette for the top spot. In its final season under the current alignment, the Big East is a jumble, with nine teams within two games of first place.

Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb Lead Huskies to Big East Meeting with Syracuse

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 7, 2012

It may not have been the prettiest of performances, but Connecticut's 71-67 overtime win against West Virginia was the 13th straight post-season victory for Jim Calhoun's Huskies.

UConn, the reigning national champion, won all five of their Big East games last season, six NCAA tourney tilts and now have won two straight in the current Big East feast.

The Huskies (20-12, 8-10) trailed the Mountaineers late in the second half by nine points, but that's whenShabazz Napier- who scored a game high 26 points, went off, scoring nine straight points to bring UConn even at 63-all. Throughout the game, Napier was aided by timely buckets from Jeremy Lamb,who went 9-for-18 with three triples for 22 points and added six rebounds.

Napier was not sharp from the field, making just seven of 22 shots, but that included four three-pointers and he was 8 of 9 from the foul line and dished six assists.

Connecticut shot just 40% for the game, but their defense held West Virginia to 28% from the field.

Connecticut's win - their second in as many days - put them into a third round match-up with second-ranked Syracuse, which took the Huskies' measure on February 25 with a 71-69 win. Tip time at Madison Square Garden is noon ET on Thursday.

Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb Lead UConn to OT Win at Villanova

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 20, 2012

In overtime, Villanova's Ty Johnson tied the game with Connecticut at 70-all on a layup, leaving just 5.8 seconds on the clock. It looked like the game was going into double overtime, but Shabazz Napier had other ideas, racing down the court and throwing up a very long 3-point attempt that swished through the net, giving UConn a 73-70 lead that would hold up as the Wildcats had no answer with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock.

Napier and the Huskies saved their season, for the moment. With head coach Jim Calhoun sidelined with health issues, the Huskies had entered the road game at Villanova with just two wins in its last nine contests. The losses had been piling up and there was even talk that Connecticut, the reigning NCAA champions, might not make it into the NCAA field.

The Huskies fell behind early on, down 18 points in the first half, but rallied to tie the score at 30-30 at the break. Jeremy Lamb finished with a career high 32 points, scoring in just about every conceivable manner as the Huskies struggled to stay in the game. Lamb was 11-for-19 from the field with two 3-pointers. He was also 8-for-11 from the line and scored all 10 of Connecticut's points in overtime prior to Napier's game-winner.

Napier scored just six points, all on a pair three-pointers, but the last one was truly epic and important, getting the Huskies to 7-8 in conference play and 17-10 overall. For now, Connecticut appears to have found a path back to the big dance, though they face Syracuse, Providence and Pitt to close out the regular season and will probably have to earn a few wins in the Big East tourney to secure a spot.

As big as the win was for the Huskies, it cannot be overstated that the team they beat is just 4-11 in conference play and has an overall mark of 11-16. Connecticut earned their road win, but the opposition was not what most people would call a quality team.

NOTABLE: Quincy Acy scored 22 points to go with 16 rebounds (8 offensive) as #13 Baylor (23-5) took down Texas, 77-72, an important road win for the Bears who came into the game losers of three of their last four.

The loss left the unranked Longhorns (7-8, 17-11) roundly on the tournament bubble.

Backcourt Duo Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb Lead Huskies to 16th Straight Win; Upsets Rule Holiday Tourneys

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 24, 2011

As reigning national champions, the Connecticut Huskies get their share of perks, like a Thanksgiving trip to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau.

The Huskies wasted little time establishing their dominance in their opening game vs. NC Asheville, taking a 39-28 leas at the half and cruising to their 16th straight win with a 73-63 victory.

Led by their backcourt tandem of Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb, each of whom has 23 points, the Huskies improved their current season record to 5-0, maintaining their spot at #4 in the AP poll, behind the top three of North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State.

Napier had seven assists and three steal to go with his 7-for-14 shooting, with four 3-pointers, He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line.

Lamb pitched in eight of 13 shots from the field with three 3-pointers. He was also flawless at the line, making 4 of 4, to go with six rebounds.

The Huskies will face the University of Central Florida in the semi-finals of the tourney on Friday. UCF dispatched the College of Charleston, 74-63.

NOTABLE: The other half of the draw at the Battle 4 Atlantis saw Harvard blow out Utah, 75-47, in a day full of surprises and upsets.

At the Old Spice Classic in Kissimmee, Florida, Indiana State downed Texas Tech, 60-49, the Dayton Flyers downed Wake Forest, 80-76, and Fairfield dominated Wake Forest, 54-45.

In the only game of the Old Spice Classic that went somewhat according to plan, Minnesota knocked off DePaul, 80-79.

Rounding out the Thanksgiving Day upsets, St. Louis put down Boston College, 62-51 at the 76 Classic at Anahiem, California.

Jeremy Lamb Scores 30 as Defending Champion Huskies Open Season with Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 11, 2011

As a freshman, Jeremy Lamb played a key role down the stretch as the Connecticut Huskies rolled through the NCAA tourney field to capture the national championship.

Now a sophomore, Lamb, elevated to a starting role by coach Jim Calhoun, is set to lead the Huskies' campaign through the Big East.

In Connecticut's 70-57 win over Columbia Lamb topped all scorers with 30 points on 11-for-17 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. The 6'5" sophomore played 38 minutes, torching the overmatched Lions from everywhere on the court. For good measure, he added a couple of assists, four steals, a block and three boards as the Huskies extended their win streak to 12 games, currently the longest in the nation, after steamrolling through the Big East and NCAA tournaments to the national championship.

Shabazz Napier, another sophomore, added 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

Barring any major mishaps, the Huskies should run their winning streak to at least 20 games, as they have eight home games ahead before Big East play begins on December 28 when the Huskies visit South Florida.

NOTABLE: One team that has to start a winning streak of their own would be the UCLA Bruins, who opened their season with a 69-58 home loss to Loyola Marymount.

The loss could be traced to poor shooting overall by the Bruins, especially starting guard Lazeric Jones, who was 1-for-11 (9.1%), including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. UCLA shot 41% from the field (24-59) and were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range. Loyola Marymount took a 34-33 lead into intermission, but broke the game open in the second half, hitting 10-of-15 3-pointers for the game.

UConn Men Stand Taller, Capture 3rd Championship Under Calhoun

Connecticut 53 Butler 41

In a season in which the most recently dominant team - the UConn women's team - was ousted from their final game, the UConn men picked up the banner and carried it proudly to the men's national championship, the third for coach Jim Calhoun since 1999.

Connecticut took control midway through the second half, mostly due to the effort of freshman Jeremey Lamb whose steal and dunk with 13:38 to play, gave the Huskies a 5-point lead.

Lamb scored again and his alley-oop bucket from Shabazz Napier put the Huskies up 37-28 at the 11:00 minute mark. It was all UConn thereafter, expanding their lead to 14 points when Alex Oriaki completed a three-point play with 5:48 remaining. The game was essentially over at that point.

Shelvin Mack hit two straight 3-pointers with just under two minutes to play, but Kemba Walker ended the game with four straight free throws and the 53-41 final score, the lowest point total by a champion since 1949.

The Husky defense can also take pride in holding Butler to 18.8 shooting, an NCAA finals record.

At the end of a contentious half of basketball, Shelvin Mack's 3-pointer at the buzzer game the Bulldogs a 22-19 lead. Due to the defensive intensity neither team was distinguished shooting from the field.

The Huskies led with 24% (9-37) shooting. Butler shot just 21% from the field in the first half (6-28) UConn held a 20-17 rebounding edge, but Butler had seven offensive boards to Connecticut's five.

Butler hit 5 of 15 3-pointers; UConn was 0-7 in the first half from beyond the stripe.

Kemba Walker and Shelvin Mack each had 7 first half points to lead their teams.

Player of the game was Alex Oriakhi, with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and stellar defense inside. Butler scored their only points in the paint for the entire game with 6:05 left to play when Andrew Smith got loose for a layup.

The Huskies tied an NCAA championship game record with 10 blocked shots. Kemba Walker led all scorers with 16 points. Lamb had 12, all in the second half.

For Butler, Mack was the high scorer, with 13 points. For senior Matt Howard, his final game as a Bulldog will leave permanent bad memories. Howard was 1-for-13, scoring seven points, his lowest output since a 6-point effort against Marian, in Butler's first game of the season, on November 13, 2010.

At 68, coach Calhoun set another record. He became the oldest coach to win a national championship. He joins Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, John Wooden and Bobby Knight as the only coaches to ever win three or more national titles.

The Huskies ended their regular season by losing four of their last five, finishing up with a 9-9 record in the Big East and 21-9 record overall. In tournament play, however, UConn had no equal. They won the Maui Invitational in December with three straight wins, then won the Big East tournament with five wins in five days. Their six straight in the NCAA tourney, stretched their winning streak to 11 games. They went the entire season without losing to any team outside the Big East, at 32-9.

2011 Final Four Semi-Final Recaps: Butler and Connecticut Prevail

The Butler Bulldogs and Connecticut Huskies advanced to the NCAA men's basketball national championship game with wins in semi-final matches on Saturday.

Butler 70 VCU 62 - Shelvin Mack scored 24 points and Butler's defense clamped down on the VCU Rams late in the contest, sending the Butler Bulldogs to their second consecutive national championship game appearance.

Mack was 8-for-11 from the field and canned 5 of 6 three-point attempts. Matt Howard, who was saddled with four fouls for the last nine minutes of the game, added 17 points, getting 11 of them from the charity stripe.

VCU battled gamely and stayed close until the final few minutes, when Butler exerted their dominance, thwarting VCU on their offensive trips while tacking on points as time wore down.

Jamie Skeen led all scorers with 27 points, but did not have enough support from his teammates. Bradford Burgess, who contributed 15, was the only other Ram to score more than 4 points.

Butler lost to Duke, 61-59 in last season's national championship game. 28-9 Butler has won 14 straight, the longest current streak in the nation.


Connecticut 56 Kentucky 55 - Shabazz Napier was only 1-for-7 from the field, but his two free throws with 2 seconds left gave UConn a 4-point lead and a trip to the national championship game against Butler, Monday night.

Brandon Knight hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was material only to the margin of victory.

The Huskies established a 10-point lead at the half, but the Wildcats came out of intermission on a mission and quickly tied the game and battled through long stretches with the Huskies, neither team able to gain an upper hand.

Player of the year runner-up, Kemba Walker, scored just 18 points, but still was the game's high scorer. Walker added six rebounds and seven assists. Jeremy Lamb added 12 points and eight rebounds.

The 31-9 Huskies, the #3 seed from the West region, will play the 28-9 Butler Bulldogs, the #8 seed from the Southeast region for the national championship on Monday night at 9:21 pm ET. The game will be televised live from Houston's Reliant Stadium, exclusively by CBS.

Bracket Breakdown: 2011 Final Four Semi-finals

The Final Four has gathered in Houston for a pair of Saturday semi-final games at Relaint Stadium that will determine the participants in Monday's National Championship game.

Here's a brief breakdown of the contestants and analysis of both games.


(11) VCU (28-11) vs. (8) Butler (27-9), 6:09 pm ET - Judging by the prevailing wisdom of both the bracket analyzers and the tournament committee itself, neither of these teams was supposed to make it this far. It's rare to get any team in with a higher seed than 6, much less get two in the same year.

The basketball gods have bestowed an additional gift by having them play each other, though both have proven their mettle against some of the best teams in the tournament.

VCU is by far the more athletic and energetic of the two teams. They will look to speed up the pace of the game and take advantage of any and all Butler mistakes, though the Bulldogs are a fairly disciplined bunch. VCU will probably opt to contest more than a few inbounds passes, a weakness of Butler's exposed against Wisconsin.

Additionally, VCU's inside presence may be more than Butler's Matt Howard and Andrew Smith can handle. VCU's Jamie Skeen, Juvonte Reddic and Toby Veal go 6'9", 6'9" and 6'8", respectively. While Howard will handle his end of the deal, Smith, though 6'11", is only a sophomore and doesn't possess the experience of the VCU forwards though freshman Khyle Marshall has given valuable minutes inside.

Both teams play solid man-to-man and zone defenses. VCU has been making a living at the 3-point line, with Bradford Burgess and Brandon Rozzell doing most of the damage. Butler's Shelvin Mack will have to be in top form to counter the VCU attack, especially speedy Joey Rodriguez.

Take nothing away from Butler. They are well-coached and know how to win close games. They currently possess the nation's longest active winning streak, at 13 games. VCU is a 2 1/2-point favorite and has more depth than the Bulldogs.


(4) Kentucky (29-8) vs. (3) Connecticut (30-9), 8:49 pm ET - Kentucky head coach John Calipari has - for the second year in a row - taken a group of talented freshmen and molded them into a cohesive unit capable of taking on any team in the country. Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb are all freshman and also are the team's three leading scorers. Juniors Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins compose the remainder of the starting five, all of whom score in double figures besides Liggins, who checks in at 8.8 ppg.

The interior is the domain of Josh Harrleson, who has been magnificent on defense in the post and has contributed well to Kentucky's flow offense. Of all the teams in America, Kentucky probably has the most number of players who can make individual plays, a fact not lost on the Connecticut Huskies.

For UConn, the ball started rolling in Maui, when the Huskies unveiled Kemba Walker and won the Maui Classic, with wins over Wichita State, Michigan State and Kentucky, the final of the tourney going in an 84-67 rout, to Connecticut. The team the Huskies beat in Maui bears resemblance only in the most superficial way. Kentucky's players have matured considerably since that December date and are much more of a team than a bunch of individual future stars, as was the case back then.

UConn's game comes down to Walker, almost unavoidably and the Huskies seem to thrive on the tournament environment, having run through the Big East with five straight wins and four more in the NCCAs. Kentucky, however, also won the SEC tournament and is riding a 10-game streak.

Everybody on Kentucky will have a chance to guard Kemba Walker, as slick and elusive as he is. Walker has proven to be unguardable by a single player and his presence and quickness puts extra pressure on opposing defenses. He's been aided by the emergence of freshman Jeremy Lamb, the team's second leading scorer, who has come of age through the rigors of the tournament. He's a future star in his own right and will match up well against the Wildcats.

The Huskies will also have plenty to say on drives to the hoop and in the rebounding department with solid Alex Oriakhi and Charles Okwandu responsible for clogging the lane. The inside game will be very physical and not much of an advantage for either team.

The oddsmakers have Kentucky a 2 1/2-point favorite, hinged upon the Wildcats' ability to hold Walker in check and UConn's defense, which must contend every shot. Team depth favors the Huskies who will go nine deep into their bench, while Kentucky prefers to go with a six or seven man rotation.

Elite Eight: Butler Serves Notice; Huskies Mush Toward Houston

Half of the Final Four was determined on Saturday as Butler and Connecticut advanced through to the gathering in Houston.

Butler 74 Florida 71, OT - Rallying from a nine-point deficit late in the game, the Bulldogs tied the Gators in regulation and completed their upset win in overtime, advancing to the Final Four out of the Southeast region.
Butler, the Cinderella of the 2010 tournament, lost in the final to Duke, and is repeating the historic run a year later. The Bulldogs, seeded eighth in their region, has won three games in nail-biting fashion, beating Old Dominion, 60-58 in the opening round, then knocking off #1 seed Pitt, 71-70, before topping Wisconsin, 61-54. The win on Saturday was their 13th straight, currently the longest winning streak in the country.

Shelvin Mack came p big for Butler, scoring 27 points to lead all scorers. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Sunday's VCU-Kansas match-up on Saturday in Houston.

Connecticut 65 Arizona 63 - Once again, the superlative Kemba Walker nailed a jumper that proved to be the winning score, lifting the Huskies in a hard-fought battle over Arizona.

Walker knocked down a 12-foot jump shot to give Connecticut a two point lead with 20 seconds left. The Wildcats had two chances at the win, opting for three-point shots, but missed both and ran out of time.

Walker finished with 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Freshman Jeremy Lamb contributed with a productive game, scoring 19 points, with four rebounds. Lamb also had a key steal late in the game that put UConn up by five points momentarily, late in the action.

This marks the third time Connecticut has reached the Final Four as a representative of the West region. The two previous times, they won the national championship.

Sweet 16 Results and Recaps - Thursday Games

Four teams moved on in the tournament on Thursday, setting up match-ups for Saturday's games, the winners advancing to the Final Four in Houston, Texas.

Southeast

Florida 83 BYU 74, OT - Jimmer Fredette had one of the worst shooting performances of his life and it cost the Cougars dearly. Fredette scored 32 points, but he hit just 11 of 29 shots, including 3-for-15 from beyond the arc. Florida's Alex Tyus, however, had the game of his life, scoring 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting and ripping down 17 rebounds, both tops for Florida. Florida had a chance to win it in regulation, but Chandler Parsons' short jumper at the buzzer never really had a chance.

Butler 61 Wisconsin 54 - The Badgers shot just 30% from the field and had just 17 field goals overall, allowing the Bulldogs to build on their lead in the second half. Late-game sloppiness by Butler allowed Wisconsin to close to within four points, but they could not complete the comeback. Matt Howard was at his usual best, leading Butler with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Florida faces Butler on Saturday at 4:20 pm ET, the winner advancing from the Southeast region to the Final Four.

West

Connecticut 74 San Diego State 67 - The Kemba Walker road show rolled on, and now includes his sidekick, Jeremy Lamb. Walker was sensational, and may have locked up player of the year with his 36-point performance as his two main adversaries - Jimmer Fredette and Nolan Smith - both were bounced from the tourney. Lamb, a freshman out of Norcross, Georgia, tied his career high with 24 points, on 9-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-3 on treys. Lamb has notched double figures in each of UConn's last nine games, all wins. His emergence as a second scoring threat and the overall exceptional play of Walker have propelled the Huskies to the brink of greatness.

Arizona 93 Duke 77 - Coach K will have to wait until next season to shatter Bob Knight's all-time NCAA wins record of 902. The Blue Devils were stopped in their tracks by the surprise team of the tournament, Arizona, who now have blasted through Memphis, Texas and Duke thanks to their sensational sophomores, led by Derrick Williams, who led the way with 32 points and 13 boards.

Arizona and Connecticut hook up on Saturday at 6:55 pm ET to determine the Final Four entrant from the West region.

Round of 32 Results and Recaps - Saturday Games

East

Kentucky 71 West Virginia 63 - Brandon Knight scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Wildcats into the Sweet 16. Kentucky's next task will likely be against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who face George Mason on Sunday for the right to advance.
West

San Diego St. 71 Temple 64, 2OT - Temple pushed the Aztecs to the limit, but came up short in the second overtime. Billy White and Kawhi Leonard each had 16 points to pace San Diego State.

Southeast

Florida 73 UCLA 65 - The Bruins made a game of it but they could not check Erving Walker late, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

Butler 71 Pittsburgh 70 - In a bizarre finish which saw two personal fouls in the final 1.4 seconds - one each against a player from each team - Matt Howard hit a free throw with 0.8 seconds left for the win. Shelvin Mack scored 30 points to pace the Bulldogs, who knocked off the #1 seed in the region.

BYU 89 Gonzaga 67 - Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points as the Cougars shot 52% from the field and made a shambles of Gonzaga's upset plans.

Wisconsin xx Kansas St. XX - The Badgers survived a poor shooting night (2-for-17) by Jordan Taylor, by slowing the pace of the game and hitting key three-pointers and free throws down the stretch. Jacob Pullen scored 38 points in a losing effort. Jon Leuer paced the Badgers with 19 points and seven boards.

Southwest

Richmond 65 Morehead St. 48 - In a battler between a 12 and 13 seed, the lower seed prevailed with a workmanlike effort. Justin Harper had 19 points to lead all scorers. The Spiders rung up 18 assists.

Connecticut 69 Cincinnati 58 - Kemba Walker fought through the pain of a sore left wrist to lead the Huskies over Big East rival Cincinnati. Despite the injury, Walker tallied a game-high 33 points and was perfect from the foul line, going 14-for-14.

Kemba Walker is Tourney's Top Choice on Round of 64 Day One

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 17, 2011

Determining a Player of the Day on the first full day of action in the Round of 64 was no easy task, as Butler's Matt Howard, BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Florida's Chandler Parsons all were worthy participants, but the nod goes to UConn's suprelative Kemba Walker, who willed his team to a wide-open, 81-52, win over Bucknell, the largest margin of victory of the tournament thus far.

Walker didn't do a lot of shooting, hitting 5 of 11 shots from the field, but he nailed a pair of three-pointers, was 6-for-6 at the foul line, dished 12 assists and hauled in 8 rebounds for a true all-around fine performance.

The win was Connecticut's 6th straight, a run that includes a record five wins to capture the Big East tourney. The Huskies move into the next round against some familiar faces, the Cincinnati Bearcats, a team they've already handled, 67-59, on the Bearcats' home court.

Round of 64 Results and Recaps - Late Games

Southeast

Florida 79 UC-Santa Barbara 51 - Chandler Parsons scored 10 points, had 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Gators rolled to an easy win. Ten different players Gators scored as coach Billy Donovan emptied his bench late.

BYU 74 Wofford 66 - The Cougars proved a bit too fierce for the Terriers. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points for BYU, the highest point total of the first day.
Wisconsin 72 Belmont 58 - Jon Leuer scored 22 points and Jordan Taylor had 21 to push the Badgers to the next round.

UCLA 78 Michigan State 76 - The Bruins built a 24-point lead only to give most of it away as Michigan State fought back in the second half. UCLA will face #2 seed Florida on Saturday.

Gonzaga 86 St. John's 71 - Gonzaga broke open a close game early on and kept the Red Stom at bay, cruising to a surprisingly easy first round win. Marquise Carter poured in 24 points for the Zags. Seeded surprisingly low at #11, Gonzaga faces #13 BYU in the next round.

Kansas State 73 Utah State 68 - Utah State's Tai Wesley got into early foul trouble and the Wildcats took advantage, building a working lead and staying safely ahead of the the Aggies. Jacob Pullen fought through flu-like symptoms to top the scorer's sheet with 22 points.

West


Connecticut 81 Bucknell 52 - Connecticut opened a big lead early, coasting to an easy opening round win. Kemba Walker led all scorers with 18 points, to go with 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

Cincinnati 78 Missouri 63 - Yancey Gates led all scorers with 18 points and ripped down 11 rebounds to lead the Bearcats over the Tigers. Gates was 7-for-8 from the floor, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers.

Kemba Walker Hits Buzzer-Beater to Oust Pitt from Big East Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 10, 2011

Having just about done everything that could be expected from a player this season, including leading the NCAA in scoring for the first few weeks of the season and bringing a suspect Connecticut squad into national prominence, Kemba Walker put an exclamation point on his season as he calmly tossed in an 18-foot jumper as time expired to catapult the Huskies to a 76-74 quarterfinal win over Pitt in the Big East tournament.

With Panther defenders focused on limiting his penetration and scoring, Walker had a tough night shooting, going 8-for-22 from the field, but he nailed down 8 of 9 from the foul line and led the Huskies in scoring with 24 points. Walker also grabbed 5 boards and tossed five assists. Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 27 points, hitting 6 of 7 from three-point range.

Connecticut advances to the semi-finals to face Syracuse, 79-73 winners over St. John's, at 7:00 pm Friday night. The Orange and Huskies met two years ago in the Big East tournament and produced a classic, 6-overtime game won by the Orange. Syracuse was the only Big East team to beat St. John's at Madison Square Garden, also having done so during the regular season.

In the other quarterfinal games, Notre Dame dispatched Cincinnati with ease, winning, 89-51, and Louisville took a seven point lead into half time and outscored Marquette by 20 in the second half for an 81-56 victory.

The Cardinals and Fighting Irish face off in the other semi-final match-up, following the SU-UConn tilt.

NOTABLE: Colorado seems to have secured their NCAA berth, dumping Kansas State for the third time this season while advancing to the semi-finals in the Big 12 with an 87-75 win. The Buffaloes face #2 Kansas in one semi-final at 7:00 pm ET. Texas and Texas A&M square off in the other semi-final game.

In the PAC-10 conference tourney, USC plays Arizona and Washington takes on Oregon in semi-final action Friday night.