Tag: NCAAM Tournament

Where is Drake located as the Bulldogs play in March Madness 2024?

The midwestern university is the second most relevant result when you search “Drake basketball loss.”

If it’s March and we’re talking about Drake, it means one of two things. Most commonly, a certain Degrassi: The Next Generation star turned rapper has cursed whatever team has a rolling bandwagon with his fanhood. In 2024, this is the Houston Cougars.

Recently, however, it means the Drake Bulldogs have emerged as Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions, punching their dance ticket in hopes of escaping to their first Round of 32 appearance since 1972. This year, that came at the expense of Indiana State, sending one of the country’s most popular mid-majors to the NIT and heaping loads of scorn onto the selection committee.

The Sycamore’s loss is Iowa’s gain, however. Drake is located in the state capital of Des Moines, roughly three miles from the state capitol and, for a much more useful waypoint, less than two miles from the Big Grove Brewery and Taproom.

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Who is Jack Gohlke? Meet Oakland basketball’s March Madness star who shrugged off first-half dominance

Meet Jack Gohlke, the Oakland sensation who hit some stellar 3-pointers against Kentucky.

During Thursday night’s opening round of 2024 March Madness, a new mid-major hero arrived. His name was Jack Gohlke.

The Oakland sixth-year graduate guard put on a show in the first half of his team’s game against Kentucky, scoring a game-high 21 points and hitting seven 3-point buckets as his Golden Grizzlies led the Wildcats 38-35 at half.

The Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native transferred to Oakland this season after spending time at D-II program Hillsdale College and has made a huge impact on his new team.

Gohlke has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation this season along with his teammate Blake Lampman.

Ahead of Thursday’s game, Gohlke told Kentucky Sports Radio that he felt confident he could carry his sharpshooting over into the tournament.

“If I caught it at half-court and I was open, I feel like I could put it up,” Gohlke said ahead of the matchup. “I have faith in my teammates and I’m going to get them the ball, as well, but I think they know I’ll put it up from anywhere. Coach (Greg) Kampe and my teammates, they give me the ultimate confidence and ultimate green light. I just go out there and play free.”

At least from the first half, it looks like Gohlke wasn’t kidding. He took full advantage of his “One Shining Moment.”

He had such a dominant first half, all he could do was shrug it off.

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Trash talk from a former teammate inspired Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard to drop 40 points in a bracket-busting win

Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard said he used to mentor this player as teammates at South Carolina.

Oregon senior guard Jermaine Couisnard was one of the breakout stars of the first game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Couisnard, a 25-year-old playing for the Ducks in the opening round of March Madness, is currently finishing his senior year in Eugene for the Oregon men’s basketball program.

He had previously played multiple seasons for South Carolina in the SEC before transferring to the Pacific Northwest to play for Oregon head coach Dana Altman.

Yet, in a juicy storyline, Oregon was fatefully matched up against South Carolina to begin March Madness and Couisnard did not disappoint.

The senior led the Ducks in many key statistical categories, including: points, assists, 3-pointers, and steals. He was dominant while playing against South Carolina, finishing with 40 points as the Ducks advanced to the second round to play Creighton in the Midwest region of the bracket.

It was the first time a double-digit seed had scored at least 40 points in a men’s basketball tournament game since Stephen Curry did as much in 2008.

After the game, Couisnard admitted that he was feeling particularly inspired because someone on South Carolina’s roster was hitting him with some “trash talk” after hitting a 3-point against him.

Couisnard said that this is a player that he used to mentor when they were teammates in South Carolina (who he later confirmed was Jacobi Wright), so he was feeling especially motivated after hearing that.

Couisnard described it as “normal” trash talk and nothing egregious.

Either way, the Oregon star played for South Carolina for many years.

So this win to survive and advance had to feel especially good for Couisnard and the Ducks.

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Where is McNeese State located as the Cowboys play in March Madness 2024?

Cowboys head coach Will Wade didn’t have to travel too far after being fired by LSU in 2022.

McNeese State is going through the most prosperous season of basketball success in program history. All it had to do was hire one of the game’s most controversial head coaches to get there.

Will Wade had never had a losing season as a head coach and had led LSU to what would have been four straight men’s NCAA tournament appearances if not for COVID-19. Despite this, he was fired by the Tigers after the NCAA opened an investigation into his recruiting practices.

That dimmed his star and eventually led to a 10-game suspension and two-year show-cause penalty. Fortunately for him, he’d already found a new job — and it wasn’t too far from Baton Rouge.

McNeese State is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana; a city that, unsurprisingly, sits on the bank of Lake Charles in the southwestern corner of the state. That leaves it roughly 210 miles from New Orleans and 145 from Houston.

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Illinois’ Marcus Domask made March Madness history with rare triple-double in first-round win

Illinois’ Marcus Domask joined elite company in March Madness history on Thursday.

Illinois guard/forward Marcus Domask made some pretty impressive March Madness history on Thursday during his team’s first-round victory over Morehead State.

Domask posted up a triple-double in the victory (12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), making him the first player to do so in the men’s NCAA tournament since Ja Morant’s appearance with Murray State in 2019.

It’s also only the 10th time in the tournament’s history on the men’s side that a triple-double has been recorded during a March Madness game. How about that?

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green also netted a couple of triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament while he was at Michigan State, as he’s the only player in men’s history with two to his name.

This is just such a cool accomplishment for Domask as he led his third-seeded Illinois past a fierce effort from Morehead State to the Round of 32.

We’ll see if Domask can keep his hot streak alive when Illinois plays again on Saturday, opponent to be determined.

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Nebraska’s Keisei Tominaga’s backwards trick shot in practice might be the best bucket of March Madness

Don’t mind us. Just watching this on a loop.

Keisei Tominaga has unreal rage. On Thursday, he casually nailed a one-handed shot from half-court — BACKWARD.

We’re totally here for shooters with incredible range. (We made a list here on the men’s side and even here on the women’s side.) Still, Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Keisei Tominaga casually hitting ginormous shots is so darn impressive and something you must see to believe.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Nebraska was practicing for its upcoming first-round matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies during Thursday’s practice when something magical happened. The cameras were rolling when Tominaga placed himself at half-court, turned around and heaved a one-handed shot backward. Afterward, he walked off like it was no big deal.

Don’t believe it was real? Here are some more angles in case you thought we were kidding.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

Meet Creighton’s Mason Miller, the son of a 2-time NBA championship winner

If Creighton’s Mason Miller seems familiar, it’s because you remember his dad’s NBA days.

If you watched the Creighton men’s basketball team defeat Akron in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, you got to watch the son of an NBA legend in action.

Mason Miller, a sophomore forward for Creighton, is the son of former NBA player Mike Miller, a 17-year retired veteran who won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

The elder Miller played college ball at Florida before being drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2000. He coached Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, to a TSAA Class AAA state title in his only season as a coach, where Mason Miller played for his dad before joining Creighton.

Now, the younger Miller will keep playing on in the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament with Creighton, where he scored 10 points for the Bluejays in that team’s opening-round victory.

*This post previously stated that Mike Miller was still the coach of Houston High. He left after the 2020-21 season.

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Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot jokingly credited upset win over BYU on his players not letting him retire

Duquesne’s season should have ended weeks ago, but Keith Dambrot won’t be riding off into the sunset just yet.

The Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team has been winning so much that head coach Keith Dambrot, who announced his retirement earlier this week, jokingly credited his team for not letting him get to retirement life sooner.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Duquesne has been playing some good basketball. They’re on a roll, and since February 28, they have won nine games straight. That winning streak includes an upset win over BYU during Thursday’s first round of NCAA tournament play. The win is actually really special because head coach Keith Dambrot had previously never won an NCAA Division I tournament game.

After the matchup, Hambrot was asked how his team’s clutch play helped them meet the moment. Hambrot joked that his team won’t let him retire.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

 

How LeBron James became Duquesne’s biggest fan during March Madness (hint: their coaches)

Duquesne has one major fan in LeBron James. Here’s why.

The Duquesne men’s basketball team upset BYU on Thursday to win its first March Madness game in 55 years, and LeBron James was as hyped as anyone to see it happen.

Duquesne is led by coach Keith Dambrot, who was James’ high school coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary for two seasons. The team’s associate coach, Dru Joyce III, was one of James’ teammates at the school, and Joyce’s father was a coach and mentor to James when he was 10 years old.

A film about James’ high school days, Shooting Stars, came out last year on Peacock. Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin played Joyce III, while Dermot Mulroney played Dambrot, Oregon basketball player Mookie Cook played James and Wood Harris played Joyce II.

All of those close connections makes James the most notable person cheering Duquesne on in this year’s tournament, as its historic win over BYU on Thursday sparked James to send out a few congratulatory messages on Twitter (X).

James also hooked up the Duquesne team with basketball shoes before its big game on Thursday.

This is a really neat connection that will be worth following for the duration of Duquesne’s March Madness run, one the Los Angeles Lakers superstar (and many more) will be watching intently.

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A ref needed a replacement shoe after blowing out a sneaker during the Creighton-Akron game

We haven’t seen a shoe mishap like this since Zion Williamson.

During the first day of March Madness, a college basketball official had a mishap involving his sneakers.

While officiating an opening round matchup between Creighton and Akron, much like Zion Williamson did during his college basketball days in 2019, referee Kelly Pfeifer blew out one of his shoes. Even though this seems like a nightmare scenario for most, it ended up working out for everyone involved.

The referee was able to receive some help from standby official Adam Flore. Fortunately, the backup ref and Pfeifer happen to wear the same size sneakers and it was a quick fix:

Even though only one of Pfeifer’s shoes was broken, Flore handed over both of his sneakers so that the referee had a matching pair.

That is excellent teamwork from the referees to get a quick solution to this strange problem.

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