Xavier Thames Nets 30 for San Diego State: Syracuse Out; Wisconsin, Michigan, Michagan St. Lead Big Ten to Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 22, 2014

The Aztecs of San Diego State advanced to the Sweet 16 with a thundering victory over North Dakota State, 63-44.

Xavier Thames led the scoring parade with 30 points on 9-for-19 shooting with four threes.

The Aztecs, #4 seed in the West region will match up with the winner of the Sunday's Gonzaga-Arizona meeting.

Elsewhere, Syracuse, the #3 seed in the South, was upended by #11 Dayton, 55-53; in the Midwest region, #2 Michigan downed #7 Texas, 79-65, making them the third Big Ten team in the Sweet 16, joining Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Xavier Thames, Aztecs Rip Marquette to Capture Wooden Legacy Title

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, December 1, 2013

It was a weird Sunday for a few of college basketball's Top 25 as the UAB Blazers shot just 31%, but managed to upset #16 North Carolina, 63-59; star forward Doug McDermott was held to a season-low seven points in George Washington's 60-53 victory over #20 Creighton; and, Xavier Thames scored nearly half of his team's points in San Diego State's 67-59 win over #25 Marquette.

The 5-1 Aztecs won their fourth straight to capture the final of the Wooden Legacy tournament at Fullerton, California, having already topped Charleston, 72-52, in the opening round and dumping Creighton, 86-80, in the semi-final on Friday.

Thames, a senior guard, had a career-high 29 points to pace the Aztecs. Though he could not get his two-point shots to drop (2-for-10), he was money from beyond the arc, hitting five of six three-pointers, and, at the foul line, where he canned 10 of 11.

Named tournament MVP, Thames scored 26 in the Creighton win and had 11 points in the easy win over Charleston.

With victories over two ranked teams during the holiday weekend, it's a good bet that the Aztecs will find themselves among the ranked teams when the new polls are released Monday. San Deigo State's only loss was a 69-60 setback to #6 Arizona.

Jamaal Franklin Has 4th Double-Double as #17 Aztecs Roll to 6-1

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, December 3, 2012

In very light college basketball action Monday (just 14 Division 1 games), Jamaal Franklin stood above the rest, getting 18 points and 15 rebounds in San Diego State's 74-62 victory over Texas Southern.

The 6'5" junior guard continued his extraordinary level of early-season play for the #17 Aztecs with his fourth double-double in seven games, scoring in double figures every game this season.

Franklin led both teams in scoring and rebounding. San Diego State is 6-1.

Ironically, the only team to have beaten the Aztecs this season, Syracuse, was the only other Top 25 team in action Monday. After a slow start, the #4 Orange overwhelmed the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 84-48, as coach Jim Boeheim emptied the bench and got scoring from nine different players.

The Orange are 6-0.

Jamaal Franklin's 28 Points Helps San Diego St. Upend UCLA

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, December 1, 2012

Not even a month into the college hoops season, a few trends are developing, not the least of which is the relative parity among conferences - the Big East notwithstanding - the value of having upperclassmen and the over-zealousness of the early polling on big-name programs.

In keeping with those themes, Baylor, a squad sporting plenty of upperclassmen - like senior Pierre Jackson - and experience, took down the over-hyped Kentucky Wildcats - called by some a "one-year program" - 64-55. With two losses this week alone, the 4-3, 8th-ranked Wildcats don't deserve a Top 25 ranking, let alone a top ten one. Of their three losses, two were at home (Duke and Baylor). Message: Stay in school.

Xavier (Atlantic-10) defeated the Big Ten's Purdue, 63-57, off 25 points from Semaj Christon, a freshman guard.

In LA, San Diego State upended UCLA, 78-69, as Junior guard, Jamaal Franklin, lit up the Bruins for 28 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field and seven of eight free throws. Franklin had three treys, seven boards and three assists, getting support from fellow junior, Xavier Thames, who dropped in 19 points for the 5-1 Aztecs, the nation's 23rd-ranked team.

The Bruins, already unranked, fell to 4-3.

As expected, the Big East came out far ahead at the end of the Big East - SEC Challenge. Going into Sunday with a 6-2 edge in games, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Providence notched wins, while Mississippi was the sole winner for the SEC, topping Rutgers, 80-67.

The Big East was hardly "challenged," taking the series nine games to three.

Conference Tourneys UPDATE: Key games, 3/8/2012

Big Ten: Indiana 75 Penn State 58 - While the Hoosiers won this one easily, it was not all fun and games as senior guard Verdell Jones crashed to the floor, screaming and clutching his right knee with 5:45 left in the first half. Team officials say Jones suffered a sprained knee, but it sure looked worse than that. Will update as better information becomes available.

Big 12: Kansas 83 Texas A&M 66 - The #4 Jayhawks got 26 points from Elijah Johnson, built a 12-point lead at the half and expanded it in the second. The Jayhawks, ranked 3rd nationally, will face #12 Baylor on Friday at 7:30 pm ET.

Big East: Cincinnati 72 Georgetown 70 - Yancy Gates led all scorers with 23 points and had eight rebounds as the Bearcats eliminated the #13 Hoyas and will face #2 Syracuse in a semi-final game at 7:00 pm ET Friday.

Mountain West: San Diego State 65 Boise State 62 - The #18 Azetcs weren't supposed to be tested in the opening round of their conference tournament, but they managed to squeak past Boise St. on Jamaal Franklin's buzzer beating three-pointer as time expired. Franklin finished with 19 points. Teammate Chase Tapley led all scorers with 20, on 8 of 14 shooting with four threes. San Diego State shot 51% to Boise's 43%, but were out-rebounded 31-22.

Jamaal Franklin's 35 and 13 Lead Aztecs to Share WCC Title; Three NCAA Seeds In, More, Sunday

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 3, 2012

As expected, Saturday turned out to be a monster day in college basketball, with three teams clinching spots in the NCAA tourney - UNC Asheville (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and Murray State (Ohio Valley) - and #6 North Carolina dusting #4 Duke on the Blue Devils' home court, 88-70, to capture the ACC regular season title, a #1 seed in the conference tournament and a probable shot at a #1 seed in the NCAAs.

With the PAC-12 sublimated to the role of bystander this season, the neighboring West Coast conference has picked up the slack, producing four tournament-eligible teams, each of which produced wins on Saturday.

Colorado State and #17 UNLV beat Air Force and Wyoming, respectively, while New Mexico and San Diego State ended up sharing the regular-season title at 10-4, after splitting their two games during the season. New Mexico topped Boise State, 76-61, while the #20 Aztecs blew an 18-point lead but eventually turned back TCU in overtime, 98-91.

Sophomore guard Jamaal Franklin was 9-for-18 from the field with three 3-pointers and 14-17 from the line for a game high and career high 35 points, to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. It was Franklin's third straight double-double and fifth this season.

While the top four teams in the WCC have the resumes to reach the field of 68, the conference is guaranteed only one automatic bid, to the team that wins the upcoming conference tourney, though all four have a reasonable chance of heading to the Big Dance.

Elsewhere in the Top 25, Iowa State cemented their claim as a tourney team with an 80-72 win over #9 Baylor and #3 Kansas looked the part of a #1 tournament seed, taking apart Texas, 73-63, in the Big 12 regular season finale.

#7 Missouri easily dispatched Texas Tech, 81-59. #20 Temple took care of Fordham, 80-60.

In the Big East, #8 Marquette took care of business against #11 Georgetown, 83-69, earning themselves some time off with a double bye in the conference tourney which begins Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Georgetown, with the loss, will have to play an extra game in the tourney, finishing tied for 4th place in the standings with South Florida and Cincinnati, at 10-6, though the Bearcats held the tie-breaker and will get the double bye after dusting Villanova, 72-68, coupled with West Virginia's 50-44 win over South Florida.

#20 Notre Dame, third in the standings and #2 Syracuse hold the other two double byes. The Orange finished up their regular season undefeated at home with a 58-49 win over #19 Louisville that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates.

The bracket buster of the day belonged to Illinois State, who upended #15 Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference semi-final, 65-64. The Rewdbirds will face #25 Creighton in the final on Sunday, the winner receiving the automatic bid. Creighton pasted Evansville, 99-71, in the other semi-final.

Sunday's biggest game will be in the Big Ten, where #10 Ohio State invades #5 Michigan State, each team seeking a share of the regular season title. Opening tip is set for 4:00 pm ET.

NOTABLE: Besides the Atlantic Sun, Big South and Missouri Valley, the other remaining conferences outside the majors which will get one automatic bid are America East, Big Sky, Ivy, Horizon, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Northeast, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern Athletic, Summit, Sun Belt, Western Athletic. Most of these will be decided by tournament play. The Ivy League champion may be decided Sunday when Penn plays Princeton. The Quakers are 1/2 game behind Harvard in the standings and would tie the Crimson for first place in the conference with a win, forcing a one-game playoff.

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.

Buzzer Beaters and Bracket Busters: Round of 64 Results, Early Games

East

West Virginia 84 Clemson 76 - the Mountaineers trailed early but rallied and led most of the second half, cruising to the win. They will face Kentucky in the next round.

Kentucky 59 Princeton 57 - John Calipari's youthful Wildcats survived an opening game scare from a very game Princeton squad. Josh Harrelson scored 15 points with 10 rebounds and 4 steals.

West

Temple 66 Penn State 64 - The Owls snapped a losing streak at the NCAA winning a nip-and-tuck battle with Vandy. Next up, San Diego State.

San Diego St. 68 Northern Colorado 50 - As expected, the powerful Aztecs cruised in their opening game. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 21 points.

Southeast

Butler 60 Old Dominion 58 - senior Matt Howard tipped in a loose ball as time expired to escape a close call with a very capable senior-led Old Dominion team. Howard played the majority of the second half with three fouls and, as usual, was in the right place at the right time.

Pittsburgh 74 NC-Asheville 51 - No match here, as the Panthers dominated. Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 26 points, including 6 0f 9 from three-point range.

Southwest

Morehead State 62 Louisville 61 - In the upset of the day, Morehead State, the #13 seed from the Ohio Valley conference, knocked off #4 Louisville on a daring three-pointer by Demonte Harper with time running down and the Eagles behind by three. Louisville was left with lees than 3 seconds and could not get off a shot.

Richmond 69 Vanderbilt 66 - The Spiders, the region's #12 seed, hung with the Commodores throughout the second half, took a late lead and held on for the win over a badly over-seeded (#5) Vanderbilt team. Point guard Kevin Anderson was a thorn in Vandy's side all day and had the go-ahead bucket on a short runner from the left of the hoop and finished with a game-high 25 points.

White, Leonard Lead Aztecs Past Gonzaga, 79-76

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Nobody likes to take a loss this early in the season, but good teams will interpret tham as learning experiences and hope to build off the mistakes.

For Gonzaga, Steven Gray's 35 points were offset by a lack of intensity on the boards, as the Bulldogs were out-rebounded 39-29 and defeated by San Diego State, 79-76.

What the Bulldogs will clearly see is that not only were they seriously deficient in the rebounding department, but that nearly half of the Aztecs' boards were of the offensive variety, many resulting in put-backs and extra possessions, as 6 of Kawhi Leonard's 12 boards were on the offensive end and senior forward Billy White dumped in 30 points on 14-for-18 shooting, also hauling down 9 rebounds, 7 offensive.

White had his share of easy buckets as he crashed the offensive boards with gusto, but he also made both of his 3-point attempts. Leonard, a 6'7" sophomore, had his second double-double of the season with 18 points.

Gonzaga dropped to 2-1 and has a date at powerful Kansas State on the 22nd. Putting the loss in perspective, it wasn't an enormous upset as the Aztecs are already ranked #25 in the most recent AP poll and are one of the favorites to win the Mountain West conference.