Tag: NCAAB

A teary Angel Reese reminded everyone she’s just human as teammates passionately defended her

These are powerful messages from Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson.

One of the harder parts of playing sports in front of the national audience is dealing with the attention from fans, media and beyond.

After the LSU women’s basketball team fell to Iowa in the Elite Eight round on Monday night, two of the team’s best players delivered powerful reminders to all willing to listen about the very real human cost of visibility.

Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson both talked about the negative attention that the program, and Reese in particular, have received since the team won the 2023 women’s NCAA national championship.

Reese was moved to tears during both moments, as she reminded her critics that she’s human and detailed some of the hardships she has faced since becoming a national figure.

“I’ve been through so much; I’ve seen so much,” an emotional Reese told reporters after the game. “I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time, and I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and, like, not be there for them. So, I just want them to always just now, like, I’m still a human.”

Johnson provided a similarly stirring defense of Reese amid any outside criticism, talking about what a role model she is for her teammates. Her words also made Reese quite emotional.

“Y’all don’t know Angel Reese,” Johnson said. “I know the real Angel Reese, and the person I see every day is a strong person, is a caring, loving person… The crown she [wears] is heavy… She’s the type of teammate that’s going to make you believe in yourself.”

Van Lith also vigorously defended Reese, saying that any hate was not going to get to her.

It’s always an important reminder that we always engage with athletes, especially those playing at the collegiate level, with empathy and respect, as nothing that happens on the court is as important as how those who play are treated away from the game.

It’s clear that LSU has Reese’s back, and you can only hope more people will heed this message and treat all of these athletes with care and class.

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Caitlin Clark showed why she’s a great role model by signing items for thrilled fans after Elite Eight win

Caitlin Clark still made time for some Iowa fans after the Elite Eight game.

Iowa women’s basketball standout Caitlin Clark delivered one of the best performances of her college career on Monday night in the Elite Eight round against LSU.

Clark scored a remarkable 41 points, including nine 3-pointers, as her Hawkeyes got past the Tigers to make another Final Four appearance.

However, Clark still made time for fans after the game to sign various items and greet them as they made their way to Albany, New York, to support the Iowa superstar and her fellow Hawkeyes.

This is such a sweet gesture on Clark’s part, as she clearly made the night of some very fortunate fans who got a little time with a real legend after a legendary performance.

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Caitlin Clark shared incredibly classy moments with Angel Reese, Kim Mulkey after LSU-Iowa

There was plenty of respect between Iowa and LSU on Monday night.

While Monday night’s Elite Eight battle between Iowa and LSU only sent one team to the Final Four, both programs clearly had a lot of respect for one another.

After Iowa notched the 94-87 victory over LSU, Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark and Tigers superstar Angel Reese exchanged in a classy show of respect after the contest in the handshake line, as did Clark and LSU coach Kim Mulkey.

Clark and Reese both showed why they’re at the top of the game on Monday night, and both showed why they have such respect for each other with a friendly greeting afterwards.

For Mulkey, you can only do so much to slow Clark down, and she clearly respects what Clark is able to do as arguably the game’s best collegiate player right now.

While the Elite Eight game between these two powerhouses was clearly a hard-fought one, it’s nice to see how much these two teams appreciate the quality of play and people on the other side of the court.

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Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese could only shrug off Caitlin Clark’s spectacular Elite Eight performance

Well, what can you do?

Iowa women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark caught fire during her team’s 94-87 Elite Eight victory over LSU, and all the Tigers could do was shrug off the stunning performance from Clark on Monday night.

On two separate occasions, LSU standouts Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith shrugged at Clark’s stellar 41-point performance on the court in a “What can you do?” fashion.

To be honest, there really isn’t much you can do when Clark gets going, and Reese and Van Lith learned the hard way what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an amazing offensive explosion from the Hawkeyes legend.

Sometimes, all you really can do is shrug it off when Clark is on her A-game.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Hailey Van Lith’s inability to stop Caitlin Clark during LSU vs. Iowa inspired some great memes

Hailey Van Lith did not have a good time.

LSU women’s basketball guard Hailey Van Lith had a tall task in guarding Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark during Monday night’s Elite Eight game in Albany, New York.

Well, Clark didn’t have too much trouble finding the basket while Van Lith was guarding her during the contest, as the LSU guard’s defensive effort fell short of slowing down the Iowa elite scorer.

As the internet is wont to do, Van Lith’s defensive woes turned into an instant meme. While anybody would struggle to slow down Clark when she’s on her A-game, Van Lith still caught plenty of flak from sports fans.

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Ryan Ruocco delivered the funniest call of a thrilling Caitlin Clark 3-pointer during LSU vs. Iowa

Ryan Ruocco absolutely nailed this call.

ESPN broadcaster Ryan Ruocco drew arguably the best game of the women’s NCAA tournament so far, as LSU and Iowa finally faced off in the 2024 Elite Eight for a rematch of last year’s national title game.

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark brought her unreal ability to hit 3-pointers from seemingly anywhere on her side of the court with her on Monday night, as she got the third quarter started off right with a stellar 3-point shot from near the logo.

Ruocco had plenty of Clark 3-point shots to call during the game, and he found a hysterical way to ring this one in. Since this game is being played in Albany, New York, Ruocco yelled “From Schenectady!” after Clark banked the 3-pointer.

Ruocco did as well with the broadcast call here as Clark did with the basket, as the viewers at home had to appreciate the creativity from the ESPN broadcaster to make this Clark thrilling 3-pointer take even more life.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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Auburn legend Charles Barkley begrudgingly cheered ‘Roll Tide!’ after Alabama made its first men’s Final Four

Look away, Auburn fans.

If there’s anything an Auburn fan never wants to say, it’s the main slogan for Alabama.

Well, Auburn men’s basketball legend and sports broadcaster Charles Barkley had to metaphorically hold his nose as he gave credit to the Crimson Tide after the team punched its first-ever ticket to men’s Final Four.

Alabama’s 89-82 Elite Eight victory over Clemson on Saturday night was a historic one for the program, especially sweet for the rivalry after Auburn won the 2024 SEC title and got bounced earlier in the NCAA tournament.

Well, Barkley begrudgingly let out a “Roll Tide!” cheer to commend Alabama for its incredible accomplishment, surely to the delight of Crimson Tide fans everywhere.

While Auburn fans might want to zap this video from their memories as fast as possible, Barkley was a good sport for ever so briefly letting Bama have its flowers.

We’ll see how Alabama stacks up against UConn during that Final Four battle next weekend, and if Barkley has to keep praising Alabama’s excellence on the court… or can finally rejoice with all Auburn fans in it being eliminated from the tournament.

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Who is Mark Sears? Meet Alabama’s electric Elite Eight hero

Meet Mark Sears, Alabama’s electric Elite Eight hero.

When Alabama needed a spark in its Elite Eight game against Clemson on Saturday night, it found one in senior guard Mark Sears.

Sears played a huge role in helping Alabama men’s basketball reach its first Final Four in school history after its 89-82 Elite Eight victory over the Tigers.

The Muscle Shoals, Alabama, native played started his career with the Ohio University Bobcats in 2020 and played two seasons there. He then joined the Crimson Tide in 2022 and turned into a key member of its starting lineup.

Why Mark Sears’ mom Lameka mimes shooting free throws with Alabama guard

He’s now one of Alabama’s 2024 March Madness heroes for its first Final Four run. During the team’s Sweet 16 victory over North Carolina, Sears set Alabama’s single-season record for points scored by a player.

While playing Clemson, Sears nailed a staggering seven 3-point shots when his team needed them the most.

One of those came from a mid-court logo in the second half that wowed everyone in attendance for Saturday’s game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. 

He even hit a massive 3-pointer in the game’s final stretch to help the Crimson Tide inch further away from the Tigers for the victory. He scored 23 points in total during the win.

As the Crimson Tide try to keep this hot streak alive against UConn next weekend, the team will need more stellar play from Sears beyond the arc.

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Dan Hurley shared a heartwarming moment with his son after UConn’s Elite Eight victory

For the Hurleys, March Madness is a family affair.

UConn men’s basketball punched its ticket for the 2024 Final Four on Saturday in a lopsided victory over Illinois in the Elite Eight.

The Huskies are trying to win a second-straight national title under coach Dan Hurley, and making it to the Final Four of the men’s NCAA tournament is just one step closer to the ultimate goal.

Hurley’s son Andrew is a walk-on senior guard for the Huskies, so father and son get to make a second championship push together in this year’s tournament.

After Saturday’s Elite Eight win, the Hurleys shared a really sweet moment with each other on the court as they embraced in a big hug in their celebratory hats.

It’s always neat when somebody gets to play for their dad in any sport, much less one as big as college basketball.

It’s a family affair for the Hurleys, and we’ll see if more celebrating will be in order for this father-son duo as the tournament continues.

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UConn absolutely wrecked Illinois with a dominant 30-0 run in the Elite Eight

BREAKING: UConn is good at basketball.

The UConn men’s basketball team found itself on the ropes against Illinois on Saturday late in the first half, tied at 23 with less than two minutes to go to the break of this 2024 Elite Eight battle.

However, you can’t keep a good Husky down. After a slow start, UConn rattled off a staggering 30-0 run to counter the Illinois push, grabbing a whopping 53-23 lead about seven minutes into the second half.

It’s the longest scoring run for the program since 1990 and a great reminder of why nobody (and we mean nobody) wants to play the reigning men’s NCAA tournament champions in March Madness.

The team is a buzzsaw that can explode at will, and it’s easy to see why they’ve got a great chance to repeat as champions.

College basketball fans were in awe of UConn’s dominant run, as outscoring an opponent 30-0 for a stretch of basketball is pretty darn impressive.

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