Tag: mens basketball

Penn State, Jalen Pickett crush Illinois to stop losing streak

Jalen Pickett went off on Illinois to snap Penn State basketball’s losing streak.

Penn State’s offense was on full display at The Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night. They used their hot shooting night to beat Illinois 93-81.

This victory put a stop to the four-game losing streak Penn State had coming into the evening. The story of the game was [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag].

After the loss to Maryland over the weekend, coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] put the spotlight on Pickett.

Frustrated with the lack of foul calls Pickett has been receiving, Shrewsberry said, “That kid is one of the best players in our league. He’s being treated unfairly.”

Pickett was red-hot in the first half. He looked to attack and get himself involved in the offense early.

He finished the first half with 24 points, shooting 10 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 6 from three.

Pickett also scored his 2,000th career point in the first half after hitting a three. This is a major milestone for the senior guard who is in his second season at Penn State.

The rest of the team followed their senior guard’s performance. Penn State shot 56% in the first half from both the field and three-point land.

After trailing at halftime in all four of their previous games, the Nittany Lions took a 53-40 lead into the locker room.

The hot shooting continued for Penn State.

Pickett finished with 41 points, shooting 15-20 from the field and 5-9 from three. This set the Bryce Jordan Center record for most points scored in a single game.

He also became the third men’s player to score 40 points in a game for Penn State, joining Gene Harris and Jesse Arnelle.

Guard [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] added 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] continued his run of good play adding 12 points on 50% shooting.

The team finished the game shooting 57.9% from the field and 42.9% from three point range.

This was the response they needed at home, hosting Illinois who came into the game 8-2 in their last 10 games.

Senior guard [autotag]Terrence Shannon Jr.[/autotag] was the game’s second leading scorer with 20 points. The Illini also had four others in double digits, including starting forwards [autotag]Coleman Hawkins[/autotag] with 12 points, [autotag]Matthew Mayer[/autotag] with 11 points and guard [autotag]Jayden Epps[/autotag] with 12 points.

Penn State goes on the road for their next game. They will face Minnesota, Saturday night at 9 pm eastern on Big Ten Network.

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2022 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket

Who wins the ACC tournament this week?

The 2022 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament is set after the regular season concluded this past weekend.  The 15 member schools now head to New York for the conference tournament as some look to improve their seeding for the NCAA Tournament while others try to make a final case to be in the field of 68 and not be left out.

Duke clinched their first outright ACC regular season title since the J. J. Redick days this year, but after North Carolina ruined Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game are the Blue Devils still the runaway favorite?

Here how the bracket will set up this week at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Related:

Notre Dame’s all-time NCAA basketball tournament history

Texas Basketball: Tone for the rest of the season will be set today

Texas’ season had started strong but has recently gone downhill. Today’s game vs. Oklahoma State will set the tone for the rest of the year.

Many times in college basketball it’s not who finished with the best record, the highest seed, or even had the most NBA prospects. It’s rather who got hot at the right time.

A good, championship-level contender will stay consistent throughout the year and will usually have a good chance to make it to the Final Four and potentially the championship game.

A team shouldn’t start hot and cool off by the end of the regular season because the way they’ve been playing up to the NCAA tournament is going to catch up to them at the level of “Who are you lately?” A team starting slow and finishing hot can be good, unless they started off so bad that by the time they started playing up to their potential, it’s too late.

In the case of the Longhorns, they seemingly started strong but have recently been heading in the wrong direction.

Texas started the season 10-1 with impressive wins over North Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas (in Lawrence), Oklahoma State, and a close one-possession loss to No. 3 Villanova. The team looked like contenders in the first half of their season.

Since their great start to the season, they’ve lost three of their last four games. Each of those were to ranked teams (Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor) with their lone victory coming by way of Kansas State who has a record of 5-14.

If the Longhorns are seriously going to contend for the Big 12 title and the NCAA tournament, it starts today against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have gone 5-3 since their three-point loss to Texas earlier in the season.

Texas losing to ranked teams at this point in the season will do nothing for their confidence heading into the postseason. Head coach Shaka Smart already had his battle with COVID-19 and now his squad is going to have to battle their way back in the discussion for the top teams in the conference. With the way they’ve played lately, that’s still in question.

If Texas can win today against a quality Oklahoma State team, lead by star freshman Cade Cunningham, it could be the catalyst that reignites the team as we inch closer to the postseason and March Madness.

If not, this may prove that Texas’ early season start and their top 10 ranking was just a tease. The schedule from here doesn’t get any easier with games at Oklahoma and Texas Tech combined with home games against West Virginia and Kansas. It’s crucial that they get the ball rolling now.

Texas Basketball: Longhorns smother UT-Rio Grande Valley 91-55

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team handled their business on Wednesday night. They beat UT-RGV 91-55, led by Courtney Ramey.

The Longhorns men’s basketball team got their season started against UT-Rio Grande Valley. Courtney Ramey got the scoring going early with their five points of the game. It was clear there was a talent gap between the two teams. Texas returned their entire team from a season ago with the addition of Greg Brown, more on him in a moment.

The story of the first half was the transition offense and play of Kai Jones. He led the team in the first half with 11 points and four rebounds at the half. Texas built a 45-29 lead heading into the break. Brown struggled in the first half missing all six of his shots but had two points and six rebounds at the break.

He would open the second half with a ferocious dunk.

As the game wore on, the Texas Longhorns team showed off their length and athleticism. K. Jones was able to showcase his hops with a few dunks off passes from Matt Coleman and Ramey. The Longhorns built their lead up to 81-53 late in the second half with just under five minutes to go.

Brown played much better in the second half went on, he recorded a double-double in his first collegiate game. The Longhorns expanded their lead to over 30 points in the closing minutes.

Courtney Ramey led all scorers in this game. At times looked sloppy but Texas handled an inferior opponent, which hasn’t always been the case for Shaka Smart in early nonconference play. Five Texas players would finish with double-digit scoring.

Final Stats:

Player Shooting Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks
Ramey 7-11 20 5 6 1 1
Coleman 6-10 17 1 5 1 1
Brown 2-9 11 10 0 0 0
K. Jones 6-6 14 8 0 1 0
Sims 1-3 4 10 0 1 1

 

Tuesday Big 12 morning rush: Oklahoma facing injury bug

The latest news from around the Big 12 Conference including the injury bug biting Oklahoma and Baylor sophomore withdraws from NBA Draft.

Each morning Longhorns Wire will share the top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. For this edition of the Big 12 Morning College Football Talk and 247Sports provide the headlines.

Oklahoma linebacker Caleb Kelly has suffered a knee injury, per report

The Sooners defense lost one of their key players when he went to the NFL through the draft. Now Caleb Kelly was expected to be part of that linebacker group hoping to replace Kenneth Murray’s production. However, Sooners Wire is reporting that Kelly suffered an ACL tear that will cost him his season.

After a step back his sophomore year, former defensive coordinator Mike Stoops moved him to inside linebacker, where he ended up losing his starting role. Kelly suffered an almost season-ending injury in the spring of 2019 and played just four games in the fall.

He seemed prime for a big last year, but Kelly has reportedly been injured again during 2020 fall camp.

Oklahoma quarterback Tanner Mordecai reportedly suffers injury during fall camp

On top of the Kelly news, Sooners Wire also reported that backup quarterback Tanner Mordecai also suffered an injury. Mordecai wasn’t likely to challenge Spencer Rattler for any significant time but back up quarterbacks play a vital role and Moredecai could miss time depending on when the season actually kicks off.

The Sooners were going through a quarterback competition between Tanner Mordecai and presumed starter Spencer Rattler. The competition may have just gotten easier to figure out for unfortunate reasons.

According to a report from SoonerScoop.com, Mordecai suffered an injury during practice that won’t require surgery, but he will miss time.

Lincoln Riley has maintained that Mordecai is in the thick of this quarterback race, but missing time to the heavy favorite is not good for his potential of that.

The Waco, Texas, native came to Oklahoma in the 2018 recruiting class. He was a four-star prospect and one of the best players in Texas.

Baylor sophomore Jared Butler withdraws from draft

ESPN reported that Jared Butler has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to campus for the 2020-21 basketball season.

“This decision was extremely difficult because of the relationships I’ve built in Waco, the tremendous will to win a national championship for Baylor, the unprecedented time of the coronavirus and my ultimate dream of playing in the NBA all in one equation,” Butler said. “But I think through it all I came to have great peace of mind in what I wanted to do and what’s best for me right now.”

Butler, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, was ranked as the No. 46 prospect in the ESPN 100. He averaged 16 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for Baylor, which was projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the season was canceled. A deep tournament run would have undoubtedly benefited Butler, who had a breakout season, being named to the Big 12’s all-conference first team and a third-team All-American.

WATCH: Texas basketball’s top recruit Greg Brown is a freak athlete

Texas basketball commit Greg Brown shows off his athleticism during open runs with several impressive dunks.

The Austin community as a whole was elated when power forward Greg Brown announced his commitment to the University of Texas in April. Continue reading “WATCH: Texas basketball’s top recruit Greg Brown is a freak athlete”

SEC MBB Tournament to close locker rooms to media, use sanitized balls

The SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to be played in Nashville from Mar. 11-15 where one team will walk away as the conference champion and a bid to the NCAA tournament later this month. It has been reported by Emily Proud of WKRN in Nashville …

The SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to be played in Nashville from Mar. 11-15 where one team will walk away as the conference champion and a bid to the NCAA tournament later this month.

It has been reported by Emily Proud of WKRN in Nashville that the conference has decided to close the locker rooms from media availability and sanitize the game balls amid fears over the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Media availability to players and coaches will be limited to traditional press conferences.

As shown in the press release tweeted out by Proud, the SEC is taking sanitation very seriously. They will be sanitizing the locker rooms, the game balls and even the benches following each game. Hand sanitizer, Lysol spray, and disinfectant wipes will be available inside the locker rooms and the scorer’s table.

They still plan on having fans attend the event. The NBA has raised the possibility of games being played in empty stadiums, a move made over seas for heavily infected countries.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on all things on and off the court during the 2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

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WATCH: Shaka Smart reflects on Texas’ upset win over West Virginia

Texas men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart shares his thoughts on Texas’ impressive upset win over West Virginia.

There’s no question that the Texas basketball program is hanging on by a thread.

In what seemed like a far-fetched possibility, the Longhorns now have hope to sneak in to the NCAA tournament after an impressive upset win over No. 20 West Virginia on Monday.

Although they’ve been plagued with a variety of injuries to Jase Febres, Gerald Liddell, Jericho Sims and Kamaka Hepa, Texas has now won three consecutive games.

There’s still a tough road ahead, but head coach Shaka Smart expressed that this is the best the Longhorns have been playing since he’s been with the program. He’s proud of how his guys fought and battled against a very physical Mountaineers team.

Texas will travel to No. 22 Texas Tech this Saturday in a critical Big 12 showdown.

 

Texas Longhorns Set Record For Earnings In 2018-2019

The University of Texas brought in a school-record earnings for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The football program led the way for the school.

It was recently reported that the Texas Longhorns program were the highest valued at over $1 billion. So it should come as no surprise that the school reported record numbers in earnings. According to Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, the school reported a school record of $223.9 million in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

During the season the Longhorns saw the team win 10 games including a victory over top ten Georgia in the All-State Sugar Bowl. According to the report men’s basketball and baseball were the only other two sports that provided a net profit but nothing near what the football program brought back to the University. The men’s basketball team took home the NIT championship and the baseball team returned to Omaha for the College World Series for the first time in five years.

In the state of Texas, football is king and it is the same for the Longhorns. Despite the fact that the football team recorded at least four losses every year of the decade they are still viewed as the top program in the state. One could only imagine what that number will look like when the Longhorns are finally able to win the Big 12 again for the first time since beating Nebraska 13-12 in 2009 en route to a National Championship appearance.

 

How Hot Is Shaka Smart’s Seat?

In the fifth season under Shaka Smart, is the seat warming up for the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball coach?

This is the fifth year that Texas Longhorns men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart has been the man in charge in Austin. After winning over 70 percent of his games at Virginia Commonwealth University, the thought was that Smart could bring some of his March Madness magic to Austin.

A team that hasn’t had much success in the tournament since Rick Barnes led the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 or better five times during his tenure. For any college coach, they should get at least four to five seasons to get their program in place. In the beginning using players that were recruiting by their predecessor.

With this being the fifth year under Smart, this is his team. For a program that has seen success, it has to be increasingly frustrating to see a team that seems to be regressing rather than improving as time has gone by. After two tournament invites, the Longhorns were invited to the NIT tournament that Smart was able to win but with the start of Big 12 play, how hot is the seat for Smart?

Increasingly. For Smart to remain in the cards for the future, he needs be better than 8-10 in conference play as the team finished the last two seasons after falling to 4-14 in 2016. Even though Smart is under contract through the 2023 season, will that be enough of a deterrent to keep him in Austin without a positive showing throughout the remainder of 2019-2020 basketball season.