St. Joseph's Carl Jones Lights Up Seton Hall for 38 in 78-70 Loss

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2011

St. Joseph's lost their first game of the season, 78-70, to Seton Hall, but, losing to a mid-level Big East team isn't exactly an embarrassment, and it's surely not going to stop Carl Jones from putting up big points night in and night out.

Jones, a 5'11" junior guard out of Garfield Heights, Ohio, scored 38 points for the Hawks in Friday's contest, hitting 12 of 17 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 3-pointers. Jones also added a 10-for-11 effort from the free throw line, including his first miss of the season (he's 26-for-27 from the charity stripe).

Easily his career high, Jones' 38 point tally moved him into a tie for 8th in the overall NCAA scoring race at an even 25 points per game. He's also the second highest scorer in the country - behind Albany's Gerardo Suero at 25.7 per game - with three games already in the books.

The 2-1 start is an improvement for St. Joseph's, which had an uncharacteristically second poor season in a row in 2010-11, winning just 11 while dropping 22 games after going 11-20 in 2009-10. They lost their first two games last season, but already have wins against Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech to their credit, a notable improvement.

With Carl Jones bombing away, the Hawks may be a team to watch in the Atlantic-10.

Shurna Scores 37 in Northwestern Win over LSU

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

Last season, the Northwestern Wildcats finished their regular season 18-13, were snubbed by the NCAA tournament committee, went to the NIT, won two games and were ousted in the quarter-finals by Washington State, 69-66.

This season, with 6'9" senior forward and leading scorer, John Shurna, back for his final year, they're reaching for more, and their 88-82 win over LSU Thursday night was another step in the right direction.

Shurna scored a career high 37 points against the Tigers, playing all 40 minutes in a game that was tight until the final seconds.

LSU had built an 11-point half time lead and expanded it to 14 in the second half, but Shurna, who scored 21 points in the second half, led a comeback by the Wildcats, capped by Dave Sobelewski's 3-pointer in the final minute, sealing the victory.

Hitting 13 of 14 free throws, Shurna made 10 of 21 shots from the field including four 3-pointers to pace all scorers and put his name in sixth place in the Division 1 scoring leaders. He also had seven rebounds and four assists. Shurna played 31 minutes and scored 15 points in Northwestern's season-opening win over Texas.

The Wildcats won't have much time to celebrate their win. They play 3-0 Tulsa Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm ET.

Casper Ware, Long Beach State Dump 9th-Ranked Pitt, 86-76

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Coming out of the Big West conference to play at Pitt, Long Beach State took the lead early, expanded it to nine points at the half and became the first non-Big East team to beat the Panthers at the Petersen Events Center since Bucknell in 2005, delivering a shocking, 86-76, win over the 9th-ranked Panthers Wednesday night.

Casper Ware, a four-year senior who has improved his scoring each season, pumped in a career-high 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting, including four 3-pointers.

Ware, a 5'10 guard, added six assists and a pair of rebounds, as the 49ers outplayed Pitt in nearly every aspect, shooting 59% compared to Pitt's 47%. Long Beach players dished out 24 assists and outrebounded Pitt, 29-26.

Ware scored 9.1 points per game as a freshman in the 2008-09 season, improved to 11.9 the next year and tallied 17.2 per game last season. He is averaging 24 points this year.

Long Beach State improved to 2-0 and earned the respect of Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and his players, and probably much of the college basketball universe, as well.

Th 49ers went 22-12 last season, losing their conference tournament final to UC Santa Barbara. They were knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the opening round by Washington State, 85-74.

Coach K Gets 903rd Win, Most All-Time; Brown Scores 35 in Longhorn Victory, UCLA Now 0-2

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2011

The atmosphere was electric at historic Madison Square Garden as Duke topped Michigan State, 74-69, earning win number 903 for coach Mike Krzyzewski to push him past his mentor, Bobby Knight, setting the record for most career wins by a head coach in college basketball history.

Andre Dawkins led all scorers with 26 points, on 8-of-15 shooting, including six 3-pointers. Duke opened a double-digit lead on the Spartans after forging a closely-played 34-33 first half lead and held off a spirited rally by Michigan State as time wound down.

Coach K is in his 32nd year of coaching the Blue Devils. His coaching career began at Indiana as an assistant under Knight in 1974. In 1975 he became head coach at Army, where he had played from 1965-1969. His record as coach at West Point was 73-59, and in 1980 was named head coach at Duke University, where he's compiled a stellar record of 830–225 (.787).

Coach Krzyzewski's lifetime college coaching record is 903–284 (.761). He has won four national championships, all with the Blue Devils.

The Texas Longhorns improved to 2-0 with a 100-90 win over Rhode Island. Leading the scoring parade for Texas was junior guard J'Covan Brown, who poured in 35 points to lead all scorers, hitting 10 of 22 field goals, including five three points. Brown was also 10-for-12 from the free throw line, with six assists and six boards.

Brown is fourth in the country in scoring, with a 31.5 average after scoring 28 points in Texas' season opening, 82-46 victory over Boston University on Sunday.

NOTABLE: After losing their season opener to Loyola Marymount, 69-58, Friday, the UCLA Bruins hit another, even lower point, losing to Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday night, 86-66. The Bruins shot just 37% against the Blue Raiders and hit just four of 20 3-pointers. The 0-2 start marks the first time the Bruins have lost the first two games of the season since 2002. It just could be that UCLA doesn't play defense. The Blue Raiders shot a blazing 71% from the field (35-for-49) and canned 11 of 12 from beyond the arc.

Pangos Hoists 33, Ties 3-Point Record for Gonzaga in Bulldog Victory over Washington State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 14, 2011

Kevin Pangos missed all three shots he took from inside the 3-point arc in Gonzaga's 89-81 win over Washington State. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, he hit nine of 13 from outside the arc, tallying a career-high 33 points tying Dan Dickau's school record for made threes in a game to help the Zags move to 2-0 on the season.

Pangos, a 6'1" freshman guard, lit up the scoreboard for Gonzaga after scoring only 11 points in their season opening, 77-69, win over Eastern Washington on Friday.

In his 37 minutes, Pangos also dished six assists and grabbed a pair of rebounds. He was also 6-for-6 from the line, including two clutch free throws with time winding down. Center Robert Sacre, saddled with foul trouble much of the game, made six straight foul shots as the Bulldogs failed to score a field goal in the final five minutes, but held off a late rally by the Cougars. Sacre played only 23 minutes, but contributed from the charity stripe, making all 13 of his free throws.

The Bulldogs are expected to remain a force in the West Coast conference after being knocked out in the second round of last season's NCAA tournament by Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars.

Brown Sparks Longhorns to Big, 82-46, Win over Boston U.

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, November 13, 2011

Texas bombed Boston University, 82-46, outscoring the Terriers, 51-25 in the second half after taking a 31-21 lead into the break.

J'Covan Brown led all scorers with 28 points off 10-for-19 shooting, including making three of nine 3-pointers. Brown wasn't shy with his shot, nor with passing off to teammates, as he also led all players with eight assists.

Brown's 28 points tied his career best, set back in 2010 in an 80-68 loss to Kansas, the same team that beat the Longhorns in the Big 12 finals last season. Texas was ousted by Arizona in the second round of the NCAA tourney last Spring, 70-69, but there's plenty of optimism in the Lone Star State after opening the regular season with a lopsided win.

Brown, a 6'1" junior guard, is an 87% career free throw shooter. He canned five of six from the line on Sunday.

Arnett Moultrie Scores 28 as Bulldogs Roll; Coach K Ties Bobby Knight with Career Win 902

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, November 12, 2011

Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie was nearly unstoppable in the paint - and in front of it - hitting 9 of 16 shots from the field and 9 of 10 free throw attempts as the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 with an 80-65 win over the South Alabama Jaguars.

Mississippi opened a 44-29 half time lead and just stayed even with the Jaguars for the double digit win.

Moultrie, a 6'11" junior who sat out all of last season after transferring from UTEP, where he played two seasons, also ripped down 13 boards, seven of them on the offensive end, and also nailed one of two 3-pointers.

NOTABLE: After slipping narrowly by upset-minded Belmont, 77-76, on Friday, the Duke Blue Devils got coach Mike Krzyzewski win number 902 as they trounced Presbyterian, 96-55, tying him with Bobby Knight for the most career wins by a head coach. Coach K can claim the all-time record when the Blue Devils face Michigan State Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Mike Krzyzewski is in his 37th year of coaching. He began his career at Army before taking the head coaching job at Duke in 1980. He has a combined record of 902–283 (.786).

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.

Steve Lavin Returns, St. John's Rallies for Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Red Storm of St. John's ran its record to 2-0 with a 78-73 victory over feisty Lehigh in the second round of of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at Carneseca Arena.

Leading all scorers was God'sgift Achiuwa (yes, that's his real name), a 6'8" junior forward from Nigeria who spent his underclassman years at Erie Community College in upstate New York.

Achiuwa scored on every shot he took, going 6-for-6 from the field and canning all nine of his free throws for 21 points. He also hauled in eight rebounds and contributed a steal, a block and an assist.

St. John's trailed Lehigh for most of the game. Taking a 43-33 lead into half time, the Mountain Hawks held sway until the final few minutes, when St. John's used defensive pressure to gather up a few easy baskets, take the lead and hold on for the win.

The game was significant for St. John's in that it marked the return of head coach Steve Lavin, who had been away from the team for a cancer operation. Lavin's return was expected, though not quite this soon. He was originally scheduled to return to his team on Sunday, when the Red Storm faces Maryland-Baltimore County.

Following Sunday's game, St. John's heads to the familiarity of Madison Square Garden on November 17, when they tackle the Arizona Wildcats in the semifinal round of the K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Regular Season Opens; Dee Bost Leads Miss. St. to 76-66 Victory

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 7, 2011

College basketball's regular season officially began Monday, and Dee Bost picked up where he left off last season, leading the Bulldogs to an opening night win over Eastern Kentucky, 76-66, with 23 points, leading all scorers.

Bost hit on 7 of 15 shots from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range. The senior point guard with dazzling speed and quickness added six rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals, though he exhibited some of the same casualness with the ball that cost Mississippi State some games last season, turning the ball over five times.

The Bulldogs ended last season on a sour note, losing in the quarterfinals of the SEC to Vanderbilt, 87-81, ending their season without an invite to either the NCAA or NIT tournament.

Bost, who missed the front end of last season, returned to the team in January, but could only help the Bulldogs to a 9-8 record, exclusively against SEC opponents. He managed to lead the team in assists per game, averaging 6.2, but also committed an average of 3.5 turnovers per outing.

The game was part of the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, which is being played at various venues across the country.

UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie added 13 points and 10 boards for a double-double in his first game as a Bulldog, sitting out last season according to NCAA rules. Freshman Rodney Hood added 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers.

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.

Skeen's 26 in Win over Kansas Worth the Wait

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 27, 2011

Virginia Commonwealth University? Not supposed to be in the Final Four, right?

Tell that to Jamie Skeen, VCU's 6'9" senior forward who took on the monstrous Morris twins of Kansas and sent them back to farm.

Skeen sat out a year (2008-09) when he transferred out of Wake Forest to VCU for an opportunity to play under the tutelage of head coach Shaka Smart. After scoring 26 points in the Rams' 71-61 victory over Kansas, his patience has been richly rewarded with a trip to the Final Four.

Skeen's 26 led all scorers and even though the Jayhawks outrebounded VCU, 45-35, Skeen battled in the lane all afternoon, hauling in 10 boards while helping get both Marcus and Markeif Morris in second half foul trouble.

Next up for the Rams is a trip to Houston, where they will take on the Butler Bulldogs, another small conference team with its sights set on winning the national championship. Tip time for the Saturday tilt is 6:09 pm EDT, followed by the other semi-final game, pitting Connecticut against Kentucky at 8:49 pm EDT.

Final Four Field Set: Rams and Wildcats Advance

The final two pieces of the Final Four puzzle fell into place Sunday as the VCU Rams pulled off a stunning upset of Kansas, eliminating the last of the #1 seeds and Kentucky vanquished North Carolina, sending the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 1998.

VCU 71 Kansas 61 - Criticized by many as being unworthy of inclusion into the NCAA field, the VCU Rams pounded the Kansas Jayhawks from the opening tip to the final buzzer, sending the last of the #1 seeds packing.

Seeded #11 after defeating USC in a play-in game, the Rams, representing the Colonial Athletic Conference, won their 5th straight tournament game, completing a sweep of five of the six "power" conferences. Virginia Commonwealth has beaten a team from the PAC-10 (USC), Big East (Georgetown), Big Ten (Purdue), SEC (Florida) and now, the Big 12 (Kansas). The only conference unscathed by the horn of the Rams is the ACC, and they were eliminated in the West regional when Kentucky knocked out North Carolina.

Led by Jamie Skeen's game high 26 points and 10 rebounds, the Rams opened up a double-digit lead early on the Jayhawks and never looked back. Kansas drew to within four points in the second half, but were turned away repeatedly by VCU's deadeye shooting and tenacious defense. VCU hit 12 of 25 3-pointers, holding Kansas to just 2-for-21 beyond the arc and 36% (22 of 62) overall.

It is VCU's first-ever Final Four appearance, and fittingly, they get to play another small conference team, the Butler Bulldogs, who emerged as the #8 seed from the Southwest region.

Kentucky 76 North Carolina 69 - The Wildcats led nearly the entire game and at one point in the second half were up by 11 points, but a resolute North Carolina squad brought the game to a tie in the closing minutes.

Brandon Knight made a three-pointer and hit three clutch free throws to ice the game. Sandwiched in between Knight's scores was another trey by DeAndre Liggins. North Carolina could not get the ball in the bucket in the final minute, sending the Wildcats on to face the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, April 2nd in a semi-final match-up.

Knight was the game's high scorer with 22 points, one better than Carolina's Tyler Zeller. Knight also handled six rebounds and four assists, and was 5-for-11 from 3-point range. The Wildcats hit 12 of 22 three-point jacks, while the Tar Heels were only able to can 3 of 18 from beyond the arc. All five Kentucky starters finished in double figures.

Shelvin Mack Shines as Bulldogs Advance

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 26, 2011

Over the past two seasons, the Butler Bulldogs have gone 9-1 in NCAA tournament games, the only loss coming by two points to Duke, in last year's finals.

Last season, the Bulldogs were led by Gordon Hayward, since gone to the NBA, so this year players - particularly seniors Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack - have had to step up their games. Butler plays extremely solid defense, but scoring usually falls to their leaders, but it is Mack who has the pure stroke to know down threes and open jumpers.

In Saturday's 74-71 overtime win against Florida, Mack provided a hefty share of offense, scoring a game-high 27 points, making four three-pointers, including a couple of key ones when Butler was making it's comeback late in the contest.

Mack has been money in Butler's four tourney wins. He scored 15 against Old Dominion, 30 against Pittsburgh and 13 in the Bulldogs' win over Wisconsin.

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.

Tyler Zeller Is North Carolina's Front Man

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 25, 2011

In North Carolina's 81-63 elimination of Marquette from the remaining tournament field, Tyler Zeller was just plain scary, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor, glowering and scowling his way to a game high 27 points.

Zeller, a junior on a team full of underclassmen, may be the elder statesman on the team, but his playing time at North Carolina isn't much more than that of many of his younger teammates, since he spent much of his freshman and sophomore years on the bench with injuries.

Now fully healthy, the lanky 7-footer has brought the Tar Heels to the brink of history. He had 32 points in North Carolina's tourney opener over LIU, then scored 23 in the nail-biter over Washington in the second round. In Friday's outing, Zeller tied teammate John Henson for top rebounding honors, with 12, grabbing 7 on the offensive end.

With his front court running mate Henson checking in 6'10", but with the reach of a man 7'3", the Tar Heels are as imposing and threatening up front as any team in the tournament.

Sweet 16 Results and Recaps - Friday Games

East

North Carolina 81 Marquette 63 - The Tar Heels used a swarming, oppressive defense to disrupt Marquette early and score frequently inside, racing to a 40-15 half time lead. Marquette held their own in the second half, but it was much to late to keep North Carolina from advancing. Tyler Zeller had another enormous game, notching 27 points to go with 17 rebounds, none of them on the offensive end.

Kentucky 62 Ohio State 60 - Brandon Knight's 15-foot jumper with 5.4 left broke a 60-all tie and Will Buford's 3-point heave at the buzzer fell short as the Wildcats pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. A hotly contested game throughout, neither team led by more than seven, and there was no margin of more than four points in the entire second half.

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger had his usual monster game with 21 points and 17 rebounds, but Kentucky's Josh Harrellson battled well inside, scoring 17 points and ripping down 10 boards on his own. DeAndre Liggins was lightning in a bottle in the latter stages of the second half, finishing with 15 points and 6 rebounds. He and Harrellson were the only Wildcats in double figures.

Kentucky's win left Kansas as the sole remaining #1 seed in the tournament.

North Carolina will play Kentucky on Sunday, for the right to play in the Final Four.

Southwest

Kansas 77 Richmond 57 - Simply too big, too fast and too talented for the Richmond Spiders to handle, Kansas quickly established a lead and expanded it over the first 20 minutes, leading 41-22 by half time. This was pretty much a team effort blowout, led by Brady Morningstar's 18 points. Nine different Jayhawks showed up on the scorer's sheet, evidence they are probably the deepest team remaining in the tournament.

VCU 72 Florida State 71 - In what had to be the most physical game of the tournament, the Seminoles and Rams found themselves stalemated at 65 through the first 40 minutes and forced into overtime to settle their differences.

The game boiled down to the inability of Florida State, the best defense in the nation, to defend an inbound pass under their own basket. With 7 seconds left, Joey Rodriguez triggered the ball into Bradford Burgess, who laid it in to give the Rams a one-point lead. Florida State players raced down court, but could not get off another shot.

Bradford, who had five of VCU's seven points in overtime, finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including six of seven from 3-point range.

Kansas and VCU square off Sunday, the winner advancing to the Final Four in Houston.

Derrick Williams Leads Wildcats Past Duke, Into Elite 8

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

On a night in which the three leading candidates for NCAA player of the year were all in action, Arizona's Derrick Williams outdid Kemba Walker, Nolan Smith and Jimmer Fredette.

Williams, only a sophomore, but possessive of enormous talent, led his youthful Wildcats to a stunning 93-77 rout of reigning national champion, Duke.

Hitting on 11 of 17 shots from the field, Williams showed both his inside and outside game, making 5 of 6 three-pointers en route to a game-high 32 points, also his career high. Duke had no answers for him on the boards, either, as Williams hauled in 13 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end.

The Wildcats, winners of the PAC-10 regular season and carrying a 30-7 record overall, advanced to the West region final on Saturday against the Connecticut Huskies.