Tag: reaction

Florida Atlantic, KT Harrell advance to Sweet 16

If you are needing a team to root for in the Sweet 16, may we suggest the FAU Owls?

Auburn’s run toward another Final Four berth was snapped on Saturday by the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars, but there is still one former Tiger that is keeping his NCAA championship dreams alive.

[autotag]KT Harrell[/autotag], who played guard for Auburn from 2013-15, is heading to the Sweet 16 as a member of Florida Atlantic’s coaching staff, serving as the director of basketball operations.

The No. 9 seed Owls defeated No. 16 seed and potential cinderella team Farleigh Dickenson on Sunday night, 78-70. The Owls advanced to the round of 32 by knocking off Memphis on Friday, 66-65. Florida Atlantic will now face No. 4 seed Tennessee in the East Region semi-finals this weekend in New York City.

Harrell is in his first season as the director of operations for Florida Atlantic after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant under Bruce Pearl at his alma mater. Harrell was on a staff that won an SEC regular season championship. His first season with FAU has been historic, as the Owls have built a 32-4 record and won the Conference USA tournament.

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25 best remaining free agents for the Bears to consider after first wave

Here’s a look at the best remaining free agents the Bears should consider following the first wave of free agency.

The first wave of NFL’s free agency is in the books, which featured some big-time signings and trades across the league. But there are still plenty of intriguing options on the free agent market heading into the second week.

The Chicago Bears made a few moves in the first week of free agency action, including signing linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, defensive linemen DeMarcus Walker and Andrew Billings, as well as offensive guard Nate Davis, running back D’Onta Foreman and tight end Robert Tonyan.

But there are still plenty more moves on the way for general manager Ryan Poles, especially when the second and third waves of free agency get underway. And there have are still some big-name players still on the table.

Here’s a look at the best available free agents the Bears should consider.

Nets’ Royce O’Neale says team is ‘capable’ of rebounding better

Royce O’Neale believes that the Nets can rebound better than they have recently.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Royce O’Neale has been in the NBA long enough to know what a team is capable of. In his mind, the Nets are capable of competing with teams on the glass, even if they’re a bigger team like the Denver Nuggets.

“I know we’re capable of doing it,” O’Neale said after Sunday’s 108-102 loss to Denver. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Nets 40-33 in the game and even though Brooklyn had more offensive rebounds then Denver (9-6), it was still evident that Denver’s size posed issues for Brooklyn on the glass.

“I think just everybody paying a little bit more attention to detail to helping Nic (Claxton) out, especially when we go small,” O’Neale said after scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds in the losing effort. Even though Denver center Nikola Jokic could win his third MVP award, it’s important to note that the Nets struggle with bigs like him because they have no one who can match a combination is height and size. Perhaps Moses Brown, who did not play, could help. Either way, the Nets may have to get creative with how they rebound the basketball if they want to win games.

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Colorado men’s basketball NIT recap: Buffs’ season concludes with loss to Utah Valley

Colorado’s season came to a close with a second-round loss to Utah Valley

To look at the positives, Colorado gained some valuable postseason experience playing in the NIT and Lawson Lovering enters the offseason with a good deal of confidence in his offensive game.

But a career-high 21-point night from Lovering still wasn’t enough to earn the Buffs a spot in the NIT quarterfinals. Utah Valley hit 56% of its field goals and left the CU Events Center with an 81-69 second-round win to end Colorado’s season.

The Wolverines began the second half on a 7-0 run to go up 45-38 and while the Buffs were able to tie things up twice later, Colorado never fully rebounded from the loss of momentum. Utah Valley’s Trey Woodbury was a thorn in the Buffaloes’ side, too, scoring 25 on 11-of-15 from the field.

Playing in his final college game, Ethn Wright capped his Buffs career with 17 points, including 12 from deep.

Tristan da Silva, who said afterward that he’ll at least test the NBA draft waters this summer, scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

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

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson: What the Lions are getting in the free agent safety

C.J. Gardner-Johnson: Breaking down what the Lions are getting in the free agent safety

The Lions made a big splash at the end of the first week of free agency. Numerous reports indicate the Lions have signed free agent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year contract worth $8 million.

It’s a below-market value signing by Gardner-Johnson, who was arguably the top remaining unsigned free agent. The versatile DB is an instant starter in Detroit and gets to play for familiar faces.

Gardner-Johnson spent his first three seasons with the New Orleans Saints before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles last summer. Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn coached Gardner-Johnson in the first two years in New Orleans.

The familiarity helps ease some of the concerns about the versatile defensive back. His truculent personality has been an issue for Gardner-Johnson with both opponents and (sometimes) teammates. He’s an agitator on the field, bringing a vocal edge the Lions secondary hasn’t really had lately.

Gardner-Johnson played the slot/nickel role in New Orleans with Glenn as his position coach, and that’s his presumptive role in Detroit. He did play more deep coverage in a split safety look with the Eagles.

He’s a natural ballhawk. Gardner-Johnson picked off a league-leading six passes in just 12 games for the Eagles and broke up eight others. He’s very good at jumping routes and playing the ball in the air.

A kidney injury cost him five full games and parts of two others near the end of the season, though he did return in full for the Eagles’ postseason run. He also missed five games for the Saints in 2021, including a 4-game stint on injured reserve. He plays a full-throttle style that does leave him vulnerable, though the one-year contract mitigates a lot of the risk there.

Overall, it’s a great fit for a rising young Lions defensive core, one that also features free agent CBs Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley. Gardner-Johnson’s versatility, playmaking ability and big-game experience are a fantastic addition and value for the Lions.

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Gallery: Pictures from MSU’s Sweet 16 clinching win over Marquette

Best photos from Michigan State’s Round of 32 win over Marquette

Michigan State is heading back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans defeated Marquette, 69-60 in Columbus on Sunday to head to the Sweet 16.

Tyson Walker (23 points) put the team on his back, while Joey Hauser (14 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double against his former school. Mady Sissoko also had a stellar performance for the Spartans, posting 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

You can read the full game recap, HERE.

Check out the best photos from Michigan State’s win over Marquette:

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Nets’ Cam Johnson says team’s shots ‘just aren’t going in’ right now

Cam Johnson says that the Nets are getting good looks from three, but just aren’t hitting them right now.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson had a rough shooting performance from three-point land on Sunday. However, three-point shooting wasn’t just an issue for him as the entire team struggled shooting the three-ball. In what has been a recurring theme for the “new-look” Nets, the team seems to be defending at a high level, but the bigger question is if its offense will come along for the ride.

“They felt good,” Johnson said after scoring 14 points in Sunday’s 108-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets. “I’m sure everybody who shot him, but they felt good today. There’s not going in right now.” In Sunday’s crushing loss, Brooklyn shot 12-35 from three-point land (34.3%), but through the first three quarters, they shot 7-of-26 (26.9%). Even though the Nets were getting some good looks, Johnson included, for some reason, they just couldn’t get the shots to fall.

“And, I can only speak on myself personally, but it’s life as a basketball player,” Johnson continued. “You know, if it was easy, everybody would be shooting threes and making them so, you got to weather storms and continue to shoot. But, you know, it’s tough because I thought we had a lot of good looks tonight.” This was one of the three-point shooting nights that Brooklyn has had this season and it seems to be coming at the worst time when they need to string together wins just to stay out of the play-in tournament.

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This Sweet 16 will be missing the ‘Blue’ bloods

I guess you can say they are feeling…BLUE.

This year’s field in the Sweet 16 is going to look a little bit different. For the second time since 1980, the field of 16 won’t feature four mainstays in the tournament. This feat didn’t occur once from 1980 to 2019.

Per a tweet from CBS Sports, much like the 2021 field, it will be missing the [autotag]Duke Blue Devils[/autotag], [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag], [autotag]Kentucky Wildcats[/autotag], and North Carolina Tar Heels.

That year the field featured the following teams:

This year’s field has some similar names including Alabama, Arkansas, and UCLA already punching their tickets to the Sweet 16. The team that ultimately won the title, Baylor, can add their name to the list with a victory over Creighton on Sunday evening.

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Falcons 7-round mock draft: Atlanta trades down, loads up

The #Falcons trade back before landing help at wide receiver in our new 7-round mock draft

Thanks to the careful work of general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith over the last two years, the Atlanta Falcons were finally able to land some big-name free agents this offseason.

With the additions of Jessie Bates III, David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss and Taylor Heinicke, the team is in much better shape going into the 2023 NFL draft next month.

But how will these signings affect the team’s draft strategy? Check out our latest seven-round Falcons mock draft below.

Updated look at Eagles’ offseason roster following first waves of free agency

We’re looking at the Philadelphia Eagles’ current updated roster after the first wave of 2023 NFL free agency.

The first wave of the 2023 NFL free agency process has begun, with the Eagles quietly retooling their roster by restocking homegrown talent.

The new league year began Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, meaning free-agent signings could be made official afterward. Philadelphia had eight key contributors land lucrative deals elsewhere on the open market.

The Eagles retained six free agents while adding three new players, including former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota who reached an agreement early Friday morning on a one-year, $5 million deal worth up to $8 million.

With the second week of the free agency process set to begin, here’s an updated look at the current offseason roster ahead of the NFL draft.