Category: College sports

‘We were all locked in.. it started in practice first ‘Everything Coulibaly and Barker had to say after big win over Auburn

Here’s what Aggies Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker had to say after the Auburn win

The Texas A&M Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) notched their first SEC win of the season with a convincing 66-44 victory over the Auburn Tigers (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.

A&M came out strong against the Auburn Tigers in their first home SEC game this season and they took Coach Joni Taylor’s challenge to heart. The Aggie played tough defense all night long and dominated the paint to the tune of 40 points and 43 rebounds. They were led by former Auburn Tiger Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker who sat down to speak after the game.

“It was kind of emotional. I played with that team for two years and you know, I just had to do what I needed to do no matter what. We’re friends off the court, but on the court it’s game time.” – Aicha Coulibaly

“Something Joni talked about at the beginning of the season was that we’re not a team that’s going to have one person score 20 or 30 each game. There’s a lot of people on the team that can score. We contributed in the best way to that because we didn’t rush on offense, and nothing was forced. That’s why our field goal percentage is better because we’re taking the shots that are best for us.” – Barker.

Below, you can watch the full post-game presser Q&A with Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker.

Texas A&M will return on the road on January 11 to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers at 7:00 PM CST at the Maravich Assembly Center.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Clemson falls in new AP Top 25 poll

A look at how far Clemson fell in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.

Clemson fell five spots in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released on Monday, dropping from No. 16 to No. 21.

The Tigers (11-3 overall, 1-2 conference) suffered back to back losses for the first time all season after falling on the road Wednesday night at Miami and again on Saturday to No. 8 North Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Following a weekend that saw two more unbeaten teams fall in Ole Miss and James Madison, No. 2 Houston remains the nation’s only unbeaten team at 14-0 entering the week. Purdue (14-1 overall) remained at No. 1. for the fourth consecutive week in the AP poll.

Clemson checked in at No. 22 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll, also released on Monday. The Tigers fell six spots from last week’s ranking in the Coaches Poll.

The Tigers will need to be at their best when they return to action with a trip to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech (9-5 overall, 1-2 conference) Wednesday. The Hokies dropped a close contest against Florida State over the weekend in Tallahassee.

Clemson’s game against Virginia Tech is scheduled for a 7 p.m. EST tipoff. The game can be seen on ESPN.

The Texas A&M Women’s basketball team secure first SEC win of the season

Aicha Coulibaly leads the Aggies to their first SEC win of the season over Auburn

The Texas A&M Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) notched their first SEC win of the season with a convincing 66-44 win over the Auburn Tigers (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Joni Taylor was much happier with her team’s effort in their second game of conference play as they put together a more complete game than their loss to Georgia a few days ago. Their toughness was on full display against the Tigers, with over half their points coming in the paint and they held them to under 10 points in two quarters.

Aicha “AC” Coulibaly led the Aggies in scoring against her former team and, with the help of a double-double from Janiah Barker, recorded the program’s 300th win at Reed Arena. A win over the Bulldogs in their SEC opener would have been ideal; crossing this milestone at home while winning their first SEC win this season was a nice consolation prize.

Below are the Aggie critical contributors from the game:

Aicha Coulibaly:  14 points / 5 rebounds / 3 assists

Janiah Barker:  13 points / 10 rebounds

Endyia Rogers:  12 points

Texas A&M will return on the road on January 11 to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers at 7:00 PM CST at the Maravich Assembly Center.

Below are some highlights from the win over Auburn.

Women’s basketball suffers 91-69 defeat to No. 14 Indiana

The Nebraska women’s basketball team faced another big test after squaring off against Maryland last week.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team faced another big test after squaring off against Maryland last week. However, unlike last week, the Huskers couldn’t replicate a win against the Hoosiers, instead suffering a 91-69 defeat.

Nebraska hosted Indiana in front of a season-high 9,059 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Huskers also raised their fourth retired jersey banner in school history, honoring 2014 first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, Jordan Hooper.

Alexis Markowski hit 9-of-14 shots from the field including all three of her three-point attempts to finish with 21 points, notching her fifth 20-point game of the season. Markowski also led Nebraska in rebounds, hauling in six. Freshman Logan Nissley was the only other Husker to finish with double-digit points, scoring 13 points in the loss.

Nebraska falls to 11-4 on the season and will remain home to take on Illinois Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on Big Ten Network.

Men’s basketball falls to No. 21 Wisconsin 88-72

The Huskers faced one of their biggest tests of the year on the road Saturday afternoon, taking on No. 21 Wisconsin.

The Huskers faced one of their biggest tests of the year on the road Saturday afternoon, taking on No. 21 Wisconsin. Though Nebraska put up a fight, it fell behind early and never managed to close the deficit, resulting in an 88-72 loss.

The Huskers went 26-of-53 in total shooting for the game, but their defense had no answers for the Badgers’ offense. Wisconsin went 33-of-60 in total shooting, giving it the edge over Nebraska on the afternoon.

Keisei Tominaga once again finished as the Huskers’ leading scorer. Tominaga went seven-of-ten in field goal shooting and three-of-six from beyond the arc in the loss. This translated to 17 points for the guard.

Rienk Mast finished directly behind Tominaga in points, producing 16 on the afternoon. The transfer went six-of-14 in total shooting and finished as the team’s co-leader in rebounds, hauling in six. Sam Hoiberg accompanied Mast in total rebounds, securing six as well.

Brice Williams also cracked double-digits in points scored for Nebraska, finishing with 10 points. Williams also surpassed 1,000 career points in the outing, becoming the 31st Husker in school history to reach the milestone.

With the loss, the Huskers fall to 12-3 and will return home Tuesday night for another big challenge, hosting No. 1 Purdue. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and can be viewed on Peacock.

Hutmacher wins by pin in Nebraska wrestling debut

The Nebraska wrestling team competed in a three-team meet on Saturday afternoon, hosting Wyoming and Northern Iowa.

The Nebraska wrestling team competed in a three-team meet on Saturday afternoon, hosting Wyoming and Northern Iowa. The Huskers swept the triangular, crushing the Cowboys 44-3 and sneaking away from the Wildcats 18-17.

The triangular also acted as the Nebraska wrestling debut for defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher. The Blackshirt returned to the mat for the first time since 2020. Hutmacher joined Nebraska wrestling after spending three seasons playing football.

Before Nebraska, Hutmacher wrestled for Chamberlain High School in South Dakota, where he was a four-time state champion. Hutmacher’s collegiate debut saw him win by fall in the first period, capping off a dominating win for Nebraska over Wyoming.

After falling in the first match, the Huskers won the remaining nine matches with authority, four by falls, two by tech falls, and one by a major decision.

Hutmacher did not wrestle in the team’s follow-up match with Northern Iowa, a meet that came down to the wire. But Silas Allred earned a pin in the penultimate match, giving Nebraska a five-point lead, eventually leading to the 18-17 victory.

The Huskers moved to 5-0 on the season and will remain home to take on Iowa on Friday night. The duel is set for 6:00 p.m. and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.

Oregon running back Dante Dowdell transfers to Nebraska

Oregon running back Dante Dowdell announced that he is transferring to the Huskers for the upcoming season.

Nebraska football received its second big transfer in less than 24 hours after its first. Oregon running back Dante Dowdell announced that he is transferring to the Huskers for the upcoming season.

Dowdell enters the 2024 season as a sophomore after playing his freshman year at Oregon. The four-star recruit out of Picayune, Mississippi native came out of high school rushing for 5,301 yards and 65 touchdowns.

The six-foot-two 215 pounder competed in six games for the Ducks in his first year. Across the six games, Dowdell rushed for 90 yards off 17 carries and a touchdown. Dowdell’s big game came against Portland State, where he finished with 55 yards and a touchdown off eight carries.

Dowdell joins a deep running back room for Nebraska, who finished second in the Big Ten in yards per game. Dowdell is also joining Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor as big transfers coming to Nebraska.

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Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor commits to Nebraska

The Huskers received another big addition to their team in the offseason, this time coming from the transfer portal.

The Huskers received another significant addition to their team in the offseason, this time coming from the transfer portal. Texas wide receiver Isaiah Neyor announced on Twitter late Friday night that he is committed to Nebraska after spending two seasons with the Longhorns.

The 6-foot-3 wide receiver transfers from Texas with two years of eligibility left and is coming to Lincoln with a solid resume. However, his time with the Longhorns resulted in minimal action for the Fort Worth, Texas, getting just one catch for 14 yards.

But before Texas, Neyor made a name for himself at Wyoming. In three seasons with the Cowboys, Neyor hauled in 52 catches for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Neyor came out of high school as a two-star wide receiver and will be the second Texas wide receiver to transfer to Nebraska in the past three years, joining former Husker Marcus Washington.

Neyor is also just the second player to commit to Nebraska from the transfer portal this offseason, the first being cornerback Blye Hill from Saint Francis University.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Ousmane Sylla Praises Clemson in Hermann Trophy Acceptance Speech

What Ousmane Sylla said in Hermann Trophy acceptance speech Friday night.

Ousmane Sylla became the fourth player in Clemson history to take home the NCAA’s most prestigious award when he was named the winner of the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Friday night at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

Sylla became the second Tigers player in five years to take home the honor after Robbie Robinson won the award in 2019. He beat out Garrison Tubbs of Wake Forest and Charlie Sharp of Western Michigan to secure the honor.

In his acceptance speech, Sylla recognized Clemson as being home to both a strong soccer program and a special community. He also gave special praise to coach Mike Noonan.

“First of all, I want to say thank you to God for giving me everything and a special thank you to Clemson University for giving a young man who comes from Africa a great (chance),” Sylla said. “I’m very grateful to the Clemson community and also coach Noonan. Thank you, Coach Noonan, for everything you have done for me.

“I’m very thankful. I know, me and you, this season was not easy, but thankfully we ended up accomplishing everything that we have been praying for. Also, I want to say thank you to my teammates. They are very special to me. They did a lot for me. Without them, I couldn’t be here. I’m very thankful to my family.

“Thank you for all the people who voted for me. I congratulate these two (fellow finalists). They are classy players also. They deserve to be here. And thank you, St. Louis, Missouri for hosting this amazing event. Thank you for everything.”

Sylla helped lead the Clemson program to its second national championship in three seasons with the Tigers’ 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on December 11. The Dakar, Senegal native finished the year with 13 goals, 10 assists, and 36 total points — the latter two categories placed him in the top 10 nationally.

Sylla was drafted 55th overall by Houston Dynamo FC in the 2023 MLS Draft. He was also named the MVP of the ACC Tournament as well as the College Cup this past season.

Clemson’s Ousmane Sylla Earns NCAA Soccer’s Highest Honor

Clemson’s Ousmane Sylla becomes fourth player in school history to win the MAC Hermann Trophy.

Clemson’s Ousmane Sylla was awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in NCAA Division I soccer, Friday night at the presentation’s annual awards ceremony at the Missouri Athletic Club.

Sylla became the fourth player in Clemson history to win the prestigious award, joining 2019 winner Richie Robinson, Bruce Murphy (1987), and Wojtek Krakowiak (1998). He was the third Clemson player in five years to be nominated for the award.

A senior from Dakar, Senegal, Sylla finished with 13 goals and 10 assists in 23 games this past season. In four years at Clemson, he totaled 24 goals and 24 assists in 71 matches, including 58 starts.

Sylla helped lead the Tigers to the 2023 men’s national championship. In their 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on December 11, Sylla’s 13th and final goal of the season gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead that would prove to be enough. The victory marked the program’s second NCAA championship in three years under head coach Mike Noonan.

Sylla beat out two other finalists for the award in Garrison Tubbs of Wake Forest and Charlie Sharp of Western Michigan.

The Hermann Trophy has been presented to the top player in college soccer since 1967. Sylla was drafted 55th overall by Houston Dynamo FC in the 2023 Major League Soccer (MLS) Draft in December.