NCAA BK PREVIEWS Thursday, Mar 17

[CNOTES]

Preview: Orange (19-13) at Flyers (25-7)
Date: March 18, 2016 12:15 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) Jim Boeheim is back where he feels most comfortable this time of year, glad-handing a countless stream of well-wishers as Syracuse prepared to play Dayton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.


It's a whole lot more comfortable than the recliner he was in last year.


The Orange had to sit out March Madness after a lengthy investigation by the NCAA found a history of improper benefits and academic misconduct stretching back years. For the first time since 1993, Boeheim and his team were forced to watch postseason tournaments unfold on television.


'I'm sure it was really tough for him,' Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney said Thursday. 'I mean, he's been coaching for a long time. And he's been in the tournament almost all those years. And I think for him not to be a part of it was really tough for him.'


The sanctions, which included the loss of eight scholarships, also kept Boeheim on the shelf for nine games earlier this season. The Orange (19-13) won just four times during that stretch.


Syracuse found its stride when Boeheim returned, winning eight of nine in January and February. That proved to be enough to earn an at-large bid, even after a loss to Pittsburgh in the first round of the ACC Tournament, and make Boeheim the 'happiest I've ever been on Selection Sunday.'


'It's obviously been a difficult year,' he said, 'to go through everything that's happened.


Things won't get a whole any easier for the No. 10-seed Orange on Friday.


Seventh-seeded Dayton (25-7) captured a share of the Atlantic-10 regular-season title, became a Top 25 mainstay and now has the experience of having been to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.


That includes knocking the Orange out of the field two years ago.


'I would say as much as anything, a win like that against Syracuse - advancing to the Sweet 16 - may have as much reason for us being here for the third year in a row as anything,' Flyers coach Archie Miller said. 'When you're able to make a run like we made a couple of years ago, I think it carries over to your players' experience level, big-game mentality in the last couple of regular seasons.'


As the Orange and Flyers prepare to meet at the Scottrade Center, here are some key story lines:


WINNING FORMULA: Dayton beat the Orange two years ago in Buffalo by relying on its defense, holding Syracuse without a 3-pointer for the first time in 665 games. The result was a 55-53 victory. 'The most memorable thing about it was how tough we played,' the Flyers' Dyshawn Pierre said. 'There was a lot of ups and downs and we stuck together, and that's the biggest thing we need to bring to this game.'


HOME COOKE-ING: Boeheim wasn't the only one sitting out last year: Charles Cooke, the Flyers' leading scorer, had to redshirt after transferring from James Madison. 'I did everything I could do in the offseason, in the summertime, been trying to make these guys better in practices,' said Cooke, who led the Dukes to the NCAA Tournament the previous year. 'It just really feels good to be here.'


IN THE ZONE: Syracuse still runs Boeheim's famous 2-3 zone, while the Flyers prefer a pack-line defense that clogs the lane. Both are highly effective. 'They're really competitive,' the Orange's Tyler Roberson said, 'so we're going to have to match their intensity.'


FAMILIAR FOES: Dayton assistant Allen Griffin played for Boeheim at Syracuse before serving as an administrative assistant. Meanwhile, Dayton guard John Crosby and Syracuse forward Tyler Lydon were teammates at New Hampton School in New Hampshire, and Cooke and Orange guard Malachi Richardson were teammates at Trenton Catholic Academy in New Jersey. 'We've been like brothers since we were young,' Richardson said. 'He texted me before the bracket was released and said, `We're probably going to play y'all.''


UP NEXT: The winner gets second-seeded Michigan State or No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State for a spot in the Midwest Regional semifinals. 'Syracuse has been really successful with the first games in the past,' Roberson said. 'We want to continue that and start off with a win.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Rams (24-10) at Beavers (19-12)
Date: March 18, 2016 1:30 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The last time Oregon State made the NCAA Tournament, it was led by a senior guard named Gary Payton.


It took a generation for the Beavers to return to college basketball's preferred postseason destination - along with another senior guard named Payton.


Led by Gary Payton II, seventh-seeded Oregon State (19-12) will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 26 years when it faces tournament regular Virginia Commonwealth on Friday.


The appearance caps a dramatic two-season turnaround under coach Wayne Tinkle by the Beavers, who were largely relegated to Pac-12 Conference irrelevance for much of the time since their last trip in 1990. That team featured the elder Payton, the conference's Player of the Year and future NBA Hall of Famer who will be in attendance in Oklahoma City on Friday to watch his son.


What he'll see is a team dismissive of its underdog status against the 10th-seeded Rams (24-10), one fueled by his son - the two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year who excels at a little bit of everything just like his dad.


'We had a great group of guys that helped me do it,' Payton II said. 'And that was the goal, the main goal, to get back here and make Beaver basketball exciting again.'


Payton spent his first two collegiate seasons in junior college, but his impact at Oregon State was immediate last season as the Beavers won 17 games in Tinkle's first year.


This season, the 6-foot-3 senior has averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and five assists per game. However, his offensive prowess is only a small part of the havoc Payton - who also averaged 2.5 steals per game - brings to the court for Oregon State.


And he's done so without feeling any of the pressure of living up to his father's considerable legacy with the Beavers.


'He's such a laid-back individual, I don't think he sees that pressure, doesn't feel it,' Tinkle said. 'He's very confident in himself.'


That confidence is likely to be needed on Friday against a VCU team that's established itself as a tournament regular since its remarkable Final Four run in 2011.


The Rams have reached the tournament in every year since, and they've done so this year despite a new coach in Will Wade and rocky beginning to the season that saw them 5-5 after three straight losses to Florida State, Georgia Tech and Cincinnati in December.


It was after the Georgia Tech loss that Wade, a former VCU assistant under Shaka Smart who spent the last two seasons at Chattanooga, felt the Rams' NCAA hopes fading and told the players focus only on the Atlantic 10 Conference schedule ahead.


The change in focus worked, with VCU winning its first nine league games and reaching the conference tournament championship game on their way to securing the school's ninth NCAA appearance since 2004.


'You had to give them hope,' Wade said. 'So we gave our guys some hope and they've responded. They responded well. We won the league, and here we are.'


Despite the regularity of their NCAA visits, senior guard Melvin Johnson said the Rams aren't any less excited this time.


'It's one of the experiences that you never get tired of,' Johnson said. 'If I had another four years to go to another four NCAA Tournaments, I would, and I'd be just as happy as I am now.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Rainbow Warriors (27-5) at Golden Bears (23-10)
Date: March 18, 2016 2:00 PM EDT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) When California believed the off-court distractions were finished, an on-court problem with more immediate consequences arrived.


It hasn't been the easiest week for the fourth-seeded Golden Bears.


'It's been a rough week for the team and everything,' Cal's Jabari Bird said. 'But we have had up and downs throughout the whole entire year, so it's nothing new for us.'


After the Bears saw an assistant coach get dismissed amid sexual harassment allegations and then lost their leading scorer for the season because of an injury, California (23-10) tries to get back to basketball on Friday when it faces 13th-seeded Hawaii in their NCAA Tournament opener.


California's week started with the dismissal of assistant Yann Hufnagel, followed by questions about whether head coach Cuonzo Martin handled the allegations properly. Just when the Bears believed they could get back to basketball, senior standout Tyrone Wallace broke a bone in his right hand during Wednesday's practice and will miss the rest of the season.


Individually, they are issues that could derail any team. Collectively, and all happening within less than a week, they're the kind of distractions that could ruin what's been a special season for the Bears.


Even with Wallace out, this remains a California roster filled with NBA talent, led by Bird, Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, that won 9 of 11 to close the season and was a matter of seconds from playing in the Pac-12 Tournament title game.


'I just think the difficulty is on the surface. But in our program it's (an) everyday lifestyle,' Martin said. 'And we'll be talking about with our players, things happen in life, whether it's basketball, in the classroom, family members. It's a part of - a bump in the road, you keep moving forward.'


Hawaii (27-5) understands being engulfed by uncertainty. Hawaii was sanctioned for infractions committed under former coach Gib Arnold. Its penalties include a 2016-17 postseason ban, scholarship reductions, and players being allowed to transfer without having to sit out a year.


Instead of crumbling under the sanctions that were handed down early in the season, the Warriors renewed their focus. A team that beat Northern Iowa and took Oklahoma down to the wire became determined to see if it could make a run knowing the Warriors would be stuck at home a year from now.


'I think we earned it,' Hawaii star Stefan Jankovic said. 'We have been through a lot as a team, obviously, and the core group of guys, especially, all the different coaches, all the adversity. So we're just excited.'


Here are things to watch when the Warriors and Bears meet:


BRING ON SINGER: Sam Singer stepped in already once this season when Wallace first went down with a broken hand. He played at least 30 minutes in six of the next eight games, but could not bring the scoring punch that Wallace provided. That will need to be shared among Brown, Bird and Rabb, but Singer must be some type of threat to try to make up for the loss of Wallace.


'He's a great facilitator. He's not the scorer that Tyrone is, but he does his job, plays defense, and we're all behind him,' Bird said.


PLAYER OF YEAR: Jankovic was the Big West player of the year, becoming just the second Hawaii player to win conference player of the year honors. While his scoring was important - the Warriors were 9-0 when Jankovic scored 20 or more points - Hawaii's ability to control the backboard was more crucial this season. The Warriors were 23-0 when out-rebounding their opponents. Jankovic was the leader at 6.6 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING REPORT: Hawaii was able to get some unique insight into California thanks to its coaching staff. Coach Eran Ganot was previously an assistant at Saint Mary's and talks regularly with Gaels coach Randy Bennett, who played Cal this season. And Hawaii assistant John Montgomery is a former Cal assistant and son of former California coach Mike Montgomery.


WAKE UP: While the 11 a.m. PT tip time for California is an early call, it's nothing compared to the body clock adjustments for the Warriors. Friday's game will tip at 8 a.m. back on the islands and comes after a Big West title game that tipped off at 8:30 p.m. PT. Ganot wasn't concerned since the Warriors have been on the West Coast for more than two weeks, closing out the Big West regular season on the road before the conference tournament.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Blue Raiders (24-9) at Spartans (29-5)
Date: March 18, 2016 2:45 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) Michigan State is making its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. That alone should strike fear into the Spartans' opening-round opponent.


Coach Tom Izzo knows the pedigree won't do much good in Friday's matchup against Middle Tennessee State. Players realize that this time of the year there can be no off games.


'We're in a baseball city,' Izzo said Thursday as his second-seeded Spartans prepared for the Blue Raiders. 'Pitchers don't pitch, hitters don't hit, you go home. That's kind of the way it is.'


Middle Tennessee State coaches and players will do their best to just play their game.


'Yeah, they have a lot of history,' said junior forward Reggie Upshaw, the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. 'But I mean we've played against great competition all year.'


Not quite like this, though.


Michigan State (29-5) has won 13 of 14 and took the Big Ten tourney title despite poor shooting, winning its semifinal and the final by a combined seven points. The Spartans have perhaps the best player in the nation in Denzel Valentine, who is averaging 19.4 points, 7.6 points and 7.6 assists per game.


Valentine was named most outstanding player of the conference tournament, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and assists all three games.


He knows better than to count on an easy ride to the second round against either Dayton or Syracuse.


'They won their conference. I mean, they look pretty good on film,' Valentine said. 'So we're going to have to bring it from Day 1.'


Middle Tennessee (24-9) hasn't won an NCAA game since 1989, but has a bit of experience against higher-level competition. The Blue Raiders beat Auburn in overtime and have won six in a row entering the tourney. Like Michigan State, they won their conference tournament.


Coach Kermit Davis said he told players to imagine they were going to play a pickup game, and added 'Every college player thinks you're going to win the pickup game.'


'We understand who we're playing,' Davis said. 'I do think they have a quiet confidence, but they also understand the challenge.'


The winner plays either Dayton or Syracuse in the second round. Some things to watch for:


BACKING IT UP: This is the third time Michigan State has been a No. 2 seed and the first two times worked out really well, a title in 1979 and national runner-up finish in 2009. The Spartans have a strong history of performing in St. Louis, defeating Northern Iowa and Tennessee in 2010 to advance to the Final Four in 2010. They played in St. Louis' Final Four in 2005, losing to North Carolina in the semifinals, and advanced to the Final Four in 1999.

OUTSIDE LOOKS: Middle Tennessee sophomore Giddy Potts leads the nation making 50 percent of his 3-pointers and Michigan State senior Bryn Forbes is second at 48 percent. Forbes was cold in the Big Ten tourney, going 4 of 17 from long range. Valentine and Matt Costello, on the interview podium alongside Forbes, said there was no question Forbes is the best shooter in the country.


'He's not allowed to answer,' added Costello, the team's leading rebounder. 'He can't be too cocky.'


Michigan State has made a school-record 310 3-pointers, averaging 9.2 per game, and leads the nation with 43 percent accuracy.


SLOW IT DOWN: Middle Tennessee scored 99 points in the Conference USA semifinals and beat Old Dominion 55-53 in the tourney final. A deliberate pace limiting fast break points is the underdog's best bet as a No. 15 seed seeking an upset.


'As far as scoring 90, I'm pretty sure that won't be one of those kind of games,' said Upshaw, the CUSA tournament MVP.


UNFAMILIAR FOES: The schools have met just once, with Michigan State winning in 1977 behind Greg Kelser, who had 18 points and seven rounds, and freshman Magic Johnson, who had 12 point and five assists. There's one common opponent this season - Michigan State beat Florida Atlantic in its season opener and Middle Tennessee State swept the season series from FAU in C-USA play.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Owls (21-11) at Hawkeyes (21-10)
Date: March 18, 2016 3:10 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) When people talk about picking a team to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament, one of the biggest things they look for is how a squad played at the end of the season.


If that's so, Iowa certainly doesn't fit the bill.


The seventh-seeded Hawkeyes (21-10) lost six of their final eight games, including a loss to Illinois in their first game in the Big Ten Tournament.


They will try and turn that around when they face 10th-seeded Temple (21-11) on Friday in the opening round of the South Regional at Barclays Center.


'Toward the end, I think the Big Ten season really started to wear on us,' Hawkeyes leading scorer Jarrod Uthoff said. 'Day in and day out, you're playing great teams. It's not like you're playing poor competition. Losing to those good teams, I think it's a good experience for us, and I think we'll bounce back in this tournament.'


Coach Fran McCaffery agreed with Uthoff to a point.


'I think that's as a good explanation as any,' he said. 'But I'm a little more pragmatic. When I look at it, we pretty much lost to good teams. We lost to some teams that we were probably supposed to beat on paper. You lose on the road to Penn State, Malcolm Hill hit a big time step back jumper and you lose a two-point game against Illinois. Those are things that happen in the Big Ten.'


Then he added the caveat Iowa fans want to hear.


'We're not in Panic City by any means,' he said.


Panic has never been a word to describe Temple coach Fran Dunphy.


'I don't think too much about their struggle. They are really a good team, and I think this is a whole new world, the NCAA Tournament is a fresh start for everybody,' Dunphy said. 'The life that we lead, the fragile nature of the life that we lead is sometimes the games come down to a made shot or a missed shot, and a bad pass or a nonrebound or whatever, and that's just the way it is.'


Things to watch out for when the Hawkeyes meet the Owls:


OLD BUDS: McCaffrey and Dunphy are a couple of Philly guys who have known each for a long time. 'I can remember his dad being a Philly cop, and part of his chores at the end of his career were to take care of the Palestra,' Dunphy said. 'So I would see him all the time. His mom and his dad were very, very terrific basketball fans and great Philadelphians.'


FIRST TIME: McCaffrey's first NCAA Tournament game as a head coach was in 1988 when his Lehigh team faced top-ranked Temple. The Owls beat Lehigh 87-73.


TAKING CARE: Don't look for the ball to be flying all the over the place on Friday. These are two of the stingiest teams in the country as far as turning the ball over. The Hawkeyes average 10.4 turnovers a game and the Owls are even better at a Division I-leading 9.2 per game.


TOUGH RUN: Dunphy has a 3-15 mark in the NCAA Tournament at Penn and Temple, often as an underdog. 'We haven't been wearing white shirts too many of those years either, but that's the way life goes. So would I like to have more wins as a basketball coach in the NCAA? Sure. ... I'd like to reverse the number, but that's not what life has presented to me.'


MAKING 3s: Temple led the American Athletic Conference with 7.8 3-pointers per game. Iowa has averaged 8.2 3s per game.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Roadrunners (24-8) at Sooners (25-7)
Date: March 18, 2016 4:00 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Cal State Bakersfield doesn't expect to shut down Buddy Hield.


Oklahoma's senior guard, who ranks among the short list of favorites for National Player of the Year, averages 25 points per game and has scored at least 30 points 10 times this season. Whether Bakersfield can at least slow him down will largely determine if the 15th-seeded Roadrunners can beat No. 2 seed Oklahoma and become one of this year's surprise teams.


'He's an aggressive scorer,' Bakersfield forward Kevin Mays said. 'He definitely takes a lot of shots. But I think we have a pretty good game plan on how to contain him. I wouldn't say stop him, because a guy like that, you can't really stop him. But I definitely think we've got the right pieces to contain him.'


Hield, a likely lottery pick in the NBA draft later this year, scored 46 points at Kansas in a triple-overtime loss. He drained seven 3-pointers in the second half of a comeback win at LSU and got the best of a showdown with projected No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Ben Simmons. He hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Texas and scored 39 points against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.


Bakersfield (24-8), the Western Athletic Conference tournament champion, prides itself on its defense. The Roadrunners have held opponents to 63.2 points per game and 39.1 percent shooting. Bakersfield looks forward to the challenge of dealing with Hield.


'The defense we play, I mean, I think it's going to be a good matchup because he can get off at any time, and it's going to be very exciting to see what's in front of us,' Bakersfield guard Dedrick Basile said.


Hield was held to six points on 1-for-8 shooting in his previous outing, a loss to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. He had scored at least 12 points in every previous game this season. Bakersfield coach Rod Barnes said West Virginia set the precedent for how you should guard him.


'I think West Virginia did a great job of denying him the basketball, face guarding him a lot,' Barnes said. 'I think they gave him a lot of looks. I think as the attention -- there were five guys. They didn't go one-on-one or two-on-two. They didn't try to go and trap him. Everybody was focused in on him.'


Barnes is concerned about Oklahoma's other weapons, too. Ryan Spangler, Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard each average at least 10 points per game. Oklahoma (25-7) averages 80.4 points and shoots 45.9 percent from the field, including 42.6 percent from 3-point range.


'Obviously we all know about Buddy,' Barnes said. 'I think they've got some other players. They're one of the best teams in the country, obviously having a No. 2 seed. So we have our work cut out for us. I think a very good offensive team which it's been obviously proven this year that they can shoot the three-pointer.'


Bakersfield's offense starts with center Aly Ahmed. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior center leads the team with 12.9 points per game, and he is second with 6.2 rebounds per contest.


'Big, tough guy,' Spangler said. 'He can rebound. He likes it in the post, but I think he can step out and shoot it too. So we just need to be physical with him and try to keep him away from the basket.'


Ahmed has help. Mays, Basile, Damiyne Durham and Jaylin Airington all average at least 10 points.


The Roadrunners have won 10 of 11 and avenged their only loss during that stretch by beating top seed New Mexico State in the Big West Tournament final on a last-second 3-pointer by Basile. They believe they can defeat Oklahoma, too.


'I think they're a good team, but they are not great,' Ahmed said. 'They are beatable. We play pretty good defense, and we proved a lot of things since last year, since this program has started building maybe four, five years ago. We keep just proving things every year. I think if we play pretty good defense tomorrow, we'll have a big chance.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Jackrabbits (26-7) at Terrapins (25-8)
Date: March 18, 2016 4:30 PM EDT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy has no illusions that his team will win a shootout with fifth-seeded Maryland in their NCAA Tournament opener on Friday.


Nagy said the Jackrabbits will have to rely on defense and rebounding if they want a chance to win the first NCAA game in program history.


The 12th-seeded Jackrabbits (26-7) will also have to shoot better than they did in the Summit League tournament, which they managed to win despite poor shooting, Nagy said.


But Nagy doesn't plan to play a slowdown game, figuring neither team wants that.


'I would say that physically we don't match up to them,' Nagy said. 'They're a much bigger team than us.'


Maryland (25-8) averages 76 points per game with balanced scoring.


The Terrapins are in no danger of looking past the Jackrabbits, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. Both teams played in an early season tournament in Cancun, and Turgeon watched the Jackrabbits play and was impressed. 'They have our attention,' Turgeon said.


The Jackrabbits played in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2013, losing in the first round both times. Maryland, meanwhile, has a 39-24 record in the NCAAs and is making its 26th appearance. The Terps won the national title in 2002.


Maryland has had a roller coaster season. The Terrapins raced to a 22-3 start and were ranked No. 2 in the second week of February. They stumbled at the end, losing four of six, and lost to Michigan State in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.


'Down the stretch we were not the same team for a while,' Turgeon said. 'We did hit a valley four weeks ago.'


But he believes they have turned the page.


'Hopefully it all comes together for us,' Turgeon said. 'I do think we are playing better.'


'We're fresh, we're healthy and I do think we are excited,' Turgeon said. 'We are really locked in right now.'


For South Dakota State, freshman Mike Daum leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game. Guards George Marshall and Deondre Parks follow with a 14-point average each.


Daum said the Jackrabbits will not be intimidated by playing in the tournament or playing Maryland.


'The court stays the same size,' Daum said. 'The venues get bigger.'


Marshall, a transfer from Wisconsin, said the Maryland back court of Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon poses a huge challenge.


'They can do a little bit of everything,' Marshall said. 'They can shoot it from the outside. They can also drive, get in the paint and make plays for themselves.'


Sulaimon, a graduate transfer from Duke, is using his past NCAA experience to teach younger players.


'We can't overlook an opponent,' Sulaimon said. 'They call it March Madness for a reason. We are totally focused on South Dakota State.'


Other things to watch when South Dakota State faces Maryland:


TWELFTH SEEDS: History has been pretty good to No. 12 seeds against fifth-seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Since 1985, No. 5 seeds have an 80-44 record against No. 12 seeds. Last year was the first since 2007 without a No. 12 winner.


SEEING DOUBLE: All five Maryland starters score in double figures, averaging between 14.4 and 11.1 points per game. All were named to the All-Big Ten Conference lists.


JACKRABBITS RULE: Among power conference foes, South Dakota State posted wins over TCU and Minnesota this season, but lost to Texas Tech.


TERRAPINS RULE: This is the fifth time Maryland has won 24 regular-season games, including the past two seasons in a row.


NEUTRAL SITES: Maryland is 5-1 in neutral site games this season, losing only to Michigan State.


MARYLAND DEFENSE: Maryland allowed 66.9 points per game this season and led the Big Ten with 110 blocked shots.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Panthers (21-11) at Badgers (20-12)
Date: March 18, 2016 6:50 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) Much has changed at Wisconsin since last year's fun-loving ride to the national title game.


Bo Ryan has retired, the ultra-successful coach replaced by longtime assistant Greg Gard. Player of the year Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker are playing in the NBA. And the expectations that accompanied the Badgers to their second straight Final Four have been ever-so-slightly tempered.


Their own world-beater attitude remains in place.


'I was telling the guys the difference was, last year we wanted to win the national championship. We believed we'd win and the only difference is you guys believed in us too,' said Nigel Hayes, who will lead the seventh-seeded Badgers against No. 10-seed Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.


'This year, we want to win the national championship. We believe we can,' Hayes said, 'and then you guys don't think you can, which you - that's fine. Everyone has their opinions.'


There is every reason to believe the Badgers (20-12) can make another deep run.


They were 9-9 at one point this season before rattling off 11 wins in 12 games, beating Michigan State, Indiana and Maryland along the way. Hayes is joined by Bronson Koenig and Vitto Brown, players who were part of that runner-up finish a year ago, to form a veteran starting five. And freshman forward Ethan Happ has evolved into a Kaminsky clone, posting double-double performances with regularity.


Maybe things aren't so different after all.


'They had to kind of find their own way, so to speak,' said Gard, the interim coach until getting the permanent job a couple weeks ago. 'I'm happy for our guys because they did what a lot of people didn't think possible. And to get to this point they've forged their own identity, written their own story.'


The next chapter of which comes against the Panthers (21-11) in the first round.


Jamie Dixon's program was an NCAA Tournament mainstay before missing out last year, qualifying 10 of the previous 11 seasons. But the Panthers coach acknowledged Thursday there is a different feeling to this trip simply because of the complexion of his team.


So often built on a foundation of veterans, this team is led by a cast of newcomers.


'We have a lot of new guys, six really new players,' Dixon said. 'That really became the thing I emphasized at the end of the year, getting into the tournament. ... We really wanted to make it special. It's a team that's been here a lot but make it special for those guys.'


Here are a couple more things to know about the matchup:


SPEAKING OF HAYES: The Panthers recruited the Badgers' star, who grew up not far from Pittsburgh in Toledo, Ohio. 'You're going to have to have a lot of guys guarding him and that's our plan going into the game,' Dixon said. 'It's something we have to contain.'


EN GARD: The Badgers coach had the interim tag lifted from his title March 8, during the thick of Big Ten Tournament preparations. But after losing to Nebraska last Thursday, Gard finally had a few days to reflect on it. 'That's the best loss we've had all year,' he said, 'the loss of the interim tag.'


TURNING POINT: Koenig said things turned for the Badgers after a loss to Northwestern left them 1-4 in the league. 'We were all pretty embarrassed,' he said, 'just because of the culture of the program, and the start in the Big Ten wasn't exactly what we planned on. So we all kind of just called a team meeting in the locker room and got our emotions and feelings out, and that was good for us.'


DEPTH CHARGE: The Panthers have 10 players averaging at least 12 minutes, and that could bode well if the game turns into a physical, Big Ten-style measure of attrition. 'When we're at our best, we're a hard team to beat,' forward Jamel Artis said. 'We have to be the aggressor, try to speed Wisconsin up. They like to play at a slow pace, so we want to speed them up.'


ASSIST MARK: The Panthers have been at their best offensively when they have at least 20 assists, the ball moving quickly from player to player. 'That seems to be the number that stands out, our assist numbers,' Dixon said. 'We've had some games where we've been very good offensively and some we struggled.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Lumberjacks (27-5) at Mountainers (26-8)
Date: March 18, 2016 7:10 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) West Virginia and Stephen F. Austin meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Regional and it could get messy. There will be turnovers. Maybe lots of them.


'I hope there's not and I hope there is,' Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood said.


Pressure defense is the calling card for both the third-seeded Mountaineers and (27-5) and No. 14 Lumberjacks, the top two teams in the country in terms of forcing turnovers.


The Mountaineers under coach Bob Huggins bill themselves as 'Press Virginia.' Few teams play defense with the intensity and end-to-end effort that West Virginia does.


'The style of defense we play, conditioning is a big part of it,' Mountaineers guard Jaysean Paige said Thursday at Barclays Center.


West Virginia is tops in the nation in steals at 9.9 per game and second in turnovers forced at 18.15 per game.


'We don't let people do what they want,' West Virginia's Teyvon Myers said.


The Lumberjacks' numbers are just as impressive. They lead the nation in turnovers forced at 18.63 per game and are seventh in steals at 9.1 per game, but they take a different approach when it comes to pressure.


'We mix up our defenses in the full court. But ours is more half-court oriented, taking passing lanes away, denial,' Underwood said. 'We have a young man in Trey Pinkney at the point who's as good on the ball defender as I've been around in my time as a coach. There's total pressure on the offense the entire time.'


West Virginia reached the Big 12 championship game and is in the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in nine seasons under coach Bob Huggins.


The Lumberjacks are making their third straight NCAA appearances as Southland Conference champions under Underwood, who worked for Huggins for one season at Kansas State. In 2014, Stephen F. Austin beat VCU in its first NCAA Tournament game, facing down the Rams' frenetic Havoc defense.


'So we're kind of going to take the same steps in this game because me and Thomas (Walkup) was a part of that team,' Pinkney said. 'So we prepare for it the same way, and we're going to handle the pressure to the best of our abilities.'


Things to know about West Virginia and Stephen F. Austin.


HUGGY BEAR: Huggins, who has reached the Final Four with West Virginia and Cincinnati, can be a little intimidating, sometimes gruff and often very dry with his humor.


Underwood knows a different side of Huggins and appreciates his ability to connect with players.


'There's two things that Hugs did that were unbelievably impressive to me, and one, as a head coach I've never been around or seen anyone who has spent as much time recruiting as he did as a head coach, a fabulous recruiter,' Underwood said. 'The other thing is he's the single best communicator with people and players that I've ever seen. Just has an unbelievable way of affecting young men in a positive way.


'His players love him to death and it's a great learning experience for me,' Underwood added.


RETURN TO BROOKLYN: There is a lot of Brooklyn on this West Virginia roster.


Myers and teammates Tarik Phillip both grew up not far from Barclays Center and have known and played against each other since they were kids.


'He won a couple of game, I won a couple of games,' Phillip said. 'He can score the ball so it's definitely good to have him on my side.'


Phillips, who played at Brooklyn College Academy, said what he misses most about home is the shopping.


'Clothes, sneakers. They got a whole bunch of stores you can get sneakers from around here,' Phillip said. 'In Morgantown there's probably one store where they got all the sneakers and they got one size in each. If you don't get it you pretty much miss out.'


If the Mountaineers get some free time this weekend, Phillip said he plans to take his teammates shopping.


Myers said one of the big reasons why he transferred to West Virginia from junior college was because of his relationship with Phillip.


'Great guy to have on my team,' Myers said. 'Tells me when I'm doing something wrong. Let's me know I need to be locked in at all times.'


NEXT: The winner plays either Notre Dame or Michigan on Sunday.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Phoenix (23-12) at Aggies (26-8)
Date: March 18, 2016 7:20 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Danuel House cringed as soon as heard the word 'overlooked' during a question about Texas A&M's season on Thursday.


It was inevitable after Kentucky coach John Calipari said earlier in the week he felt the fourth-seeded Wildcats should have been seeded higher in the NCAA Tournament than the Aggies after their Southeastern Conference Tournament championship victory.


And House, a senior guard, was ready with his response to how third-seeded Texas A&M (26-8) felt following Calipari's comments heading into its first-round game against Green Bay (23-12) on Friday.


'Not respected,' House said. 'Not respected at all is the right word.'


Whether House was more frustrated with Calipari or an overall lack of national attention for Texas A&M was unclear. What was certain was the Aggies, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, feel they belong among any mention of the country's best - and that they are every bit of a No. 3 seed.


It's a role of favorite the Aggies haven't played all that often since joining the SEC in 2012, though they've experienced a steady climb under fifth-year coach Billy Kennedy. And they would like nothing more than to cap that success with their first NCAA Tournament win since 2010, proving they belong as a No. 3 seed in the process.


However, that will be no easy task against a Phoenix team that is in the tournament for the first time in 20 years. Green Bay secured its berth by winning the Horizon League Tournament, and enters Friday having won eight of its last nine games - though its players were quick to embrace the underdog role.


'We really don't have much to lose right now,' Green Bay senior Jordan Fouse said. 'They're the ones feeling the pressure.'


Some things to watch in this matchup:


KENNEDY'S TRIO: Kennedy is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time as a head coach, and with his third school. Kennedy first took Southeastern Louisiana to the tournament in 2005 and then Murray State in 2010, and he is 1-2 in tournament games entering Friday.


MARCH SUCCESS: First-year Green Bay coach Linc Darner will make his tournament debut, but he is no stranger to postseason success - having led Division II Florida Southern to a national championship last season. Including Green Bay's Horizon League championship run two weeks ago, Darner has won 13 straight games in March. 'We can just go out and play and relax and have fun,' Darner said.


LATE-SEASON RUN: Texas A&M's tournament hopes appeared in jeopardy last month after it lost four straight games and five of six overall. However, following a 76-71 loss at LSU on Feb. 13, the Aggies won eight straight games before losing in the SEC championship game to Kentucky. The winning streak included an overtime win over the Wildcats, giving the Aggies plenty of confidence entering the tournament.


QUICK SUCCESS: After playing with a slowed-down, defensive-first approach the last few seasons, the Phoenix embraced Darner's up-tempo 'RP 40' style this season. The motto stands for 'Relentless Pressure for 40 minutes,' and it applies to both ends of the court. One of the biggest benefactors of the new approach has been senior guard Carrington Love, who is averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game this season after averaging 10 a year ago.


NCAA EXPERIENCE: Texas A&M senior Anthony Collins is the only player in the game who has played in the NCAA Tournament. The guard, who transferred from South Florida, helped the Bulls reach the third round in 2012.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Crusaders (15-19) at Ducks (28-6)
Date: March 18, 2016 7:27 PM EDT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) When freshman Tyler Dorsey arrived at Oregon, his default was to keep silent.


As the season progressed, Dorsey became more vocal. And not surprisingly, as Dorsey made his voice heard for the Ducks, his game became a catalyst for Oregon's late season surge to a No. 1 seed.


'When Tyler first got on campus he was real quiet, he wouldn't talk as much. I think that's a big part of our success, now that he's talking a lot and he's vocal on the court,' Oregon's Elgin Cook said. 'And that's what we need from him. And he's been playing amazing as well.'


For as well as Dorsey played late in the season, he'll get his first taste of the NCAA Tournament on Friday when the top seed in the West Regional faces No. 16 seed Holy Cross. Oregon played loose and confident late in the season, rattling off eight straight wins heading into the NCAAs and claiming the first No. 1 seed in school history.


But it's the stigma that comes with being a No. 1 seed that worried coach Dana Altman on Thursday. He was concerned the Ducks might play tight.


'Our guys will be ready. We just got to relax and play,' Altman said. 'I think one thing that will help us, five guys played in last year's tournament and won a game.'


Dorsey was not one of those Ducks a year ago that beat Oklahoma State in the opener before falling to Wisconsin. But he brought a scoring mentality to the perimeter that, while it didn't completely replace Joseph Young, helped temper the loss of the 2015 Pac-12 player of the year.


During Oregon's eight-game winning streak, Dorsey is averaging 17.3 points and five rebounds per game.


'I just loved his confidence and his ability to score. He's done a good job of sharing the basketball and making plays for others. But he knows when he's got an opportunity, he can go get a basket,' Altman said.


Holy Cross (15-19) already has a tournament victory after holding off Southern 59-55 in the First Four. It was the Crusaders first NCAA win since 1953 despite nearly pulling major upsets twice since. After losing five straight and seven of eight, the Crusaders have now won five straight, their longest winning streak since midway through the 2013-14 season.


Making it six straight would be pulling off the biggest upset in tournament history.


'It's in the back of your mind that a 16 team has never beaten a 1 and how great it would be for not only our school, but for all the kind of small schools that get in here and get a chance to play a team like Oregon,' Holy Cross guard Robert Champion said. 'But I think when it comes down to it, we're just going to approach it just like another game. I think that's how we made this great run in March.'


---


Here's what else to watch as the Ducks and Crusaders meet for the first time:


HERE BEFORE: Holy Cross coach Bill Carmody was part of one of the more famous 1 vs. 16 games in tournament history. Carmody was an assistant for Princeton in 1989 when the Tigers drew powerhouse Georgetown in the first round. Carmody remembered losing his appetite when the selections were announced and seeing Georgetown as the opponent, but the Tigers nearly pulled the upset before falling 50-49.


'The game itself, it just went back and forth,' Carmody said. 'We took care of the ball. I think we only had four or five turnovers for the game and we gave ourselves a shot to win.'


TIME TO COOK: Cook was the most outstanding player of the Pac-12 Tournament after averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in Las Vegas and will become the first Oregon player in school history to play in three NCAA Tournaments during his career.


BUCKING THE TREND: Oregon's dominant performance winning the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles put the Ducks in rare company. But those accomplishments have not equated NCAA success. The Pac-12 has been absent from the Final Four since 2008 when UCLA swept the regular season and conference tourney titles.


STREAK EXTENDED: Oregon did not play at Washington or Washington State this season due to Pac-12 scheduling but will extend its streak of playing at least one game in the Evergreen State to 100 years when it tips off on Friday. The last time Oregon did not play in Washington state: 1916, when the Ducks season was called off due to World War I and an influenza outbreak.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Wildcats (26-8) at Musketeers (27-5)
Date: March 18, 2016 9:20 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) Xavier's No. 2 seed in the best in school history. The Musketeers won't be satisfied without a deep NCAA Tournament run to match.


The school made it to the round of 16 last March and is in the field for the 10th time in 11 years. Hopes are high entering Friday night's opener against 15th seed Weber State that this will be the start of a drive that produces the school's first Final Four appearance.


Still, first things first.


Weber State (26-8) has come a long way after going 13-17 last season, winning the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons without any seniors on the roster.


They lean heavily on 6-foot-9 Joel Bolomboy and Big Sky tourney MVP Jeremy Senglen, an all-conference guard averaging a team-leading 18.2 points. Weber State has won 10 of 12.


'They have two main guys,' Xavier guard Myles Davis said. 'We've just got to be ready to try and make it a tough day for those two.'


Bolomboy is the Big Sky MVP and its defensive player of the year, ranking third in the nation with 12.7 rebounds per game to go with a 17.2-point scoring average.


'He's going to get a lot of NBA looks,' Xavier coach Chris Mack said. 'Big challenge for us.'


Xavier (27-5) finished second in the Big East and counters with a deep lineup that features seven players that led the team in scoring at least twice. The resume features six wins over ranked opponents, including then-No. 1 Villanova last month.


'I feel like last year we had a good team, but yeah, I feel like this year's team is a lot better,' guard Remy Abel said. 'We're a lot deeper, we're more experienced.'


Sophomore Trevon Bluiett, a first-team All-Big East pick, leads a balanced offense with a 15.3-point average and is also the top 3-point threat. Freshman Edmond Sumner (11.3), Davis (11.1) and James Farr (10.8) also score in double figures.


The 6-foot-10 Farr leads the team in rebounding and is shooting 62 percent the last six games, and Davis has three triple doubles. J.P. Macura is averaging 9.6 points off the bench and Jalen Reynolds averages 6.1 points.


Things to watch for in Weber State-Xavier:


MARCH SUCCESS: Xavier has made it to the round of 16 five times the last eight seasons and Reynolds has a good track record, averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in four tourney games. Still, they vow not to overlook Weber State.


DEAD EYE: Davis made 85.1 percent of his free throws, second best in the Big East. He was sixth in 3-point percentage (38.7).


TOURNEY MOMENTUM: Weber State has won five of the last 10 Big Sky titles, going 15-3 this season. The Wildcats could benefit from getting tested last week, beating North Dakota in overtime in the semifinals and edging Montana 62-59 in the title game. The 15th seed is just 6-16 all-time in the tournament, though, and played just one tourney team in the regular season, splitting a pair with South Dakota State.


DIALED IN D: Xavier sagged a bit in recent games but used the time after the Big East tourney to get things ironed out. Farr said players let offensive woes bother them for a while.


'We've had some slip-ups this year and I think we're finally back to where we use to be,' Farr said. 'We saw the problem, we fixed it.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Wolverines (23-12) at Fighting Irish (21-11)
Date: March 18, 2016 9:40 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) Michigan-Notre Dame. A crisp fall afternoon in South Bend, Indiana. A cloudy, snowy day in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


Forget football in the Midwest. These two schools are playing basketball in Brooklyn.


Sixth-seeded Notre Dame and 11th-seeded Michigan, which beat Tulsa in a First Four game on Wednesday night, meet Friday in a first round game in the East Regional at Barclays Center.


The teams' press conferences featured some talk about football, the sport that defines the rivalry.


'I think it's exciting for both fan bases. There's no question the Notre Dame-Michigan thing runs deep,' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. 'I think it's got both fan bases - and our players feel that. I think it gives a little added energy to it.'


Notre Dame put its rivalry with Michigan on indefinite hold after the 2014 season - and the Wolverines were not pleased about. The Fighting Irish needed to reconfigure their schedule after joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. Even though Notre Dame is not a football member of the ACC, its agreement with the conference requires the Irish to play five ACC teams per season.


Notre Dame pulled out of the rivalry with three games remaining on the contract and no games are planned for the future. The Fighting Irish won the last football game between the teams 31-0 in South Bend in 2014.


'I think our guys, we have a lot of respect. I know I have a lot of respect for Notre Dame and the institution itself and the athletic teams that they have,' Michigan coach John Beilein said. 'So football's been a great rivalry for years. Maybe it will be again.'


Enough about football.


Michigan didn't arrive in Brooklyn until 4 a.m. Thursday.


'We had the latest wakeup call ever, noon,' Beilein said.


While Michigan may be tired, Notre Dame had the problem of not knowing who they would be playing until late Wednesday night.


'We started watching it at Dave and Buster's. So we were at Dave and Buster's playing some games, having fun, watching the game,' Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson said. 'And then we kind of finished it in our hotel room. But, yeah, we watched the game, kind of digested it, saw a great game, saw two great teams going at it.'


The teams have very similar numbers this season and both take very good care of the ball. Michigan averages 9.7 turnovers per game, the same as Notre Dame.


'For most of the season, we led the league - led the nation in least amount of turnovers,' Brey said, 'and then (at the ACC Tournament) we hit every cheerleader in the building.'


Things you should know about Friday's game between the Fighting Irish and the Wolverines.


MISSING STAR: Caris LeVert is still Michigan's leading scorer despite having played in one game since Dec. 30. A lower left leg injury kept him of every game except against Purdue on Feb. 13. He announced on March 1 that he would not be returning this season.


SOME SHOOTER: Notre Dame's Zach Auguste has a career 68.9 field-goal percentage in the NCAA Tournament (31 for 45). Auguste is averaging 15.7 points and 11.9 rebounds over the Fighting Irish's last 12 games.


REAL FOCUS: Most coaches would complain that they had to face the winner of a First Four game in the opening round. Not Brey.


'It was different in that you don't know who you're playing until late last night. But you know what, it may have been a blessing because you concentrated more on your own team than Tulsa or Michigan. Certainly, there's still some things that we can do better, especially taking care of the basketball,' he said. 'So it probably was a blessing in that I wasn't distracted watching too much Tulsa or Michigan film. I think I watched a half of each on Tuesday, and then that was it, and kind of coached our own team.'


STILL HURTING: Notre Dame came so close last season to ending Kentucky's quest for a perfect season - losing to the Wildcats by two points in a regional final.


'I think it's made this group hungry to be back in this tournament. This nucleus was a big part of that run in the NCAA Tournament. And certainly was right there to be so close to a Final Four berth,' Brey said. 'I think they come into this thing ready to attack, and I certainly don't want to over coach them, and I don't want them playing looking over their shoulders. We need to play downhill.'


CLOSING STRONG: Michigan guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman has become a key player down the stretch for the Wolverines. With the exception of the game at Wisconsin, the sophomore has scored in double digits in seven of the last eight games. During that run, he has not had more than two turnovers in any game.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Panthers (22-12) at Longhorns (20-12)
Date: March 18, 2016 9:50 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) For years, Shaka Smart could play the underdog card as Virginia Commonwealth's coach.


Smart's mid-major program beat the big boys all the way to the 2011 Final Four, and his VCU squads won two NCAA Tournament games in 2012 and 2013.


Now, he's in his first year at Big 12 member Texas. And for the first time, Smart leads the Goliath from the Power Five conference against the mid-major in March. Texas (20-12), seeded sixth in the West Region, plays No. 11 seed Northern Iowa (22-12) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.


Northern Iowa won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.


'Hopefully, our guys understand Northern Iowa's a dangerous team,' Smart said. 'You look at them, they've won 12 out of the last 13 games. They're defending at an extremely high level and they can shoot at every spot. So hopefully, if you really look closely, you realize it's not about what league the team came from, it's about what they do on the court.'


One of the best matchups will be between the guards. Texas' Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix will try to slow down Northern Iowa's Wes Washpun.


Washpun averaged 16.3 points in the MVC conference tournament and hit the game-winner against Evansville that put the Panthers into the NCAA Tournament.


'So far, we know he's an athletic point guard,' Taylor said. 'He drives a lot. He's a strong, left-handed driver, and he can also pull up for the jumper. We know that he's a good player.'


Taylor averages 14.8 points and 4.9 assists. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.7 to 1. Felix averages 10.6 points and 2.2 assists.


'Extremely talented offensive players,' Washpun said. 'They get pretty much wherever they want on the court, from what I've seen so far from watching film.'


Here are five things to watch as Texas and Northern Iowa meet for the first time:


RIDLEY'S STATUS: Cameron Ridley, Texas' 6-foot-10 center, missed much of the season with a broken foot, then played two minutes in the conference tournament loss to Baylor after having not played since Dec. 19. He averages 11.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.


'I go by what the athletic trainer and doctor says,' Smart said. 'So I'm not guaranteeing he'll play that much. It's based on two things: his availability and how the game is going.'


SIMILAR WINS: Both teams have victories over North Carolina and Iowa State. Texas beat North Carolina 84-82 on Dec. 12. Northern Iowa beat the Tar Heels on Nov. 21 when they were ranked No. 1.


ON THE RISE: Northern Iowa was 10-11 after losing to Illinois State on Jan. 23. Since then, the Panthers are 12-1 and haven't allowed more than 69 points in a game. Texas has five wins over ranked teams since the start of the new year.


TEMPO CONTROL: Texas prefers a bit quicker pace than Northern Iowa and takes 5.6 shots per game more than the Panthers. Northern Iowa is more efficient and averages just 9.8 turnovers per game.


HISTORY: Texas has reached the Sweet 16 five times in the past 14 years, but not since 2008. Northern Iowa beat UNLV and Kansas in the 2010 tournament in Oklahoma City for its only trip to the Sweet 16. The Panthers beat Wyoming in last year's tournament.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Bearcats (22-10) at Hawks (27-7)
Date: March 18, 2016 9:57 PM EDT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Cincinnati will take the floor Friday for the first time since losing a four-overtime thriller to UConn in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals, and guard Troy Caupain said the Bearcats have recovered from the loss.


'It was tough, but we got a lot of encouragement,' Caupain said Thursday.


'It was not a loss where we keep our heads down,' said Caupain, who scored a career-high 37 points in that game. 'That game is going down in history.'


Ninth-seeded Cincinnati (22-10) takes on eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's (27-7) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.


Saint Joseph's won the Atlantic 10 Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time and second time in three years.


Cincinnati ranks among the top teams in the nation in defense, allowing 62.9 points per game, and averaging five blocks per game. Opponents are shooting only 39 percent against them.


Coach Mick Cronin said the Bearcats have to rely on defense because they are not the type of program that draws the most athletic recruits.


'When you have to overachieve, you have to do it with defense,' Cronin said. 'We can't just rely on talent to win.'


The Bearcats will be able to rely on forward Gary Clark, who said he is fully recovered from an ankle injury.


Saint Joseph's is led by forward Isaiah Miles, who averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds and was the league's most improved player. Forward DeAndre Bembry, the A-10 player of the year, averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and more than four assists.


Coach Phil Martelli believes Miles is one of the most improved players in the country, after losing weight in the off-season.


'He led the country in foul outs last year,' Martelli said.


This year, 'his basketball I.Q. is at the next level, where he'll eventually end up,' Martelli said. Miles is a potent symbol for the improvement of the Hawks, who were just 13-18 in 2015, Martelli said.


Their 27-7 record is the second-best in program history, behind the 2004 squad that went 30-2 and reached the Elite Eight.


But Cincinnati presents a stifling defense and a size problem, Martelli said.


Cronin said he is hoping his Cincinnati team will get hot.


'Somebody is going to have to ride the hot hands of a few players' to win in the tournament, Cronin said. 'I want to be known as coach of the team that makes a lot of shots.'


Miles said Saint Joseph's will look for mismatches, and must play aggressive.


Things to watch in the Saint Joseph's-Cincinnati game:


---


THE SERIES: Cincinnati leads 3-1, but Saint Joseph's won the last meeting in 1969. In three of the games, the winner scored at least 100 points.


BEARCATS IN THE DANCE: Cincinnati is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 30th overall. They have a 44-28 record and won national titles in 1961 and 1962. They played in Spokane in the 2014 tournament, losing to Harvard in the first round. 'We will try to stay a little longer this time,' Cronin said.


HAWKS IN THE DANCE: Saint Joseph's has appeared in 20 previous NCAA Tournaments and are 18-24 in those games.


DOUBLE DOUBLES: The Bearcats have recorded 17 double doubles this season, most in the decade Mick Cronin has been coach. Gary Clark led with eight.


DOUBLE FIGURES: Four Bearcats - Caupain, Farad Cobb, Clark and Octavius Ellis - score in double figures.


NICKNAME: Saint Joseph's forward PierFrancesco Oliva is known as Checco.


SPOKANE AGAIN: The Hawks' last trip to Spokane was in 2014, when they fell behind 60-11 early in the second half against Gonzaga on the way to a 94-42 loss that was the worst in program history. 'We get the cold shivers when we think of Spokane,' Martelli said.

 

[CNOTES]

Saturday's Match Ups
Up Later......Good Luck !!

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Shockers (26-8) at Hurricanes (26-7)
Date: March 19, 2016 12:10 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) All it took was a First Four game to validate Wichita State's selection into the NCAA Tournament field, as if it needed any validation.


Now, after statement victories over Vanderbilt and Arizona, there seem to be no limits for these Shockers.


As always.


'I think our body of work and the type of team we are, we felt good about ourselves in terms of getting in,' Wichita State point guard Fred VanVleet said Friday. 'It's just a matter of who, what, where, when, why, that type of question.'


Next up is a second-round game against Miami (26-7), the third seed in the South, on Saturday. The Hurricanes held off a game Buffalo team in the first round and the Shockers (26-8) smothered sixth seed Arizona 65-55 two days after humbling Vandy 70-50 in Dayton, Ohio.


Much of the focus will center on the performance of the veteran backcourts - VanVleet and Ron Baker against Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan. The Miami duo is a tad older, the Shockers have more tournament experience with five straight tournament appearances and a 9-3 record.


'They're both fifth-year guys, and they've got 10 years' experience - we've got nine - so that's rare,' Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. 'But it'll be a big key to the game. Maybe one team out-guards, out-performs the other. Maybe they neutralize each other and it becomes a battle of who has the most productive front court. It'll be an interesting battle.'


Rodriguez averages 12.1 points, has 145 assists with 78 turnovers, 52 steals and is 50 of 156 (32.1 percent) on 3-pointers; VanVleet averages 12.2 points, has 167 assists with 50 turnovers, 51 steals, and is 42 of 107 (39.3 percent) from long range.


'They're both very highly competitive,' Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. 'They both are terrific floor generals. They both can shoot the three and distribute the ball. They really keep their team organized. But maybe the most important thing they do is they're both tremendous defensively on the ball. So guarding each other is going to be a real challenge for both of them.'


Another challenge the Shockers have faced is that itinerary. Ohio on Tuesday night (the game against Vandy didn't end until nearly midnight), Providence on Wednesday, late game Thursday, and first game Saturday - just after noon.


'We've been sleeping during the day and then doing things at night, traveling, red eyes. It's been odd. It really has,' Marshall said after pausing when asked what day it was. 'But at this point, you're running on adrenaline. It has been just a very grueling, very taxing several days, but it's been fun all the same.'


Other things to know when Miami meets Wichita State in the round of 32:


DEFENSIVE PROWESS: The Shockers led Arizona by as many as 24 in the second half and their defense was impeccable. Wildcats stars Ryan Anderson and Allonzo Trier combined during the season to average nearly 12 trips to the free throw line per game. Against Wichita State, their combined totals were 0 for 0. Even more impressive: Arizona, which averaged 81.2 points, had 20 baskets and 19 turnovers.


'That's hard to do to any basketball team, but especially a team the quality of Arizona, the quality of athletes, the quality of coaching,' Marshall said. 'But we've been able to do that this year. That's been a trademark of our team.'


HOW ABOUT SOME RESPECT: Miami is the third seed, but it's a 2.5-point underdog to Wichita State. Like the Shockers, the Hurricanes are accustomed to being snubbed. That one-point loss to Northeastern in late November certainly didn't help.


'I think throughout the year, we've been in a way disrespected,' Rodriguez said. 'I feel like, to a lot of people, we haven't done enough to prove ourselves. But at the end of the day, we don't play to prove other people wrong. We play to prove ourselves right, because we know we belong here. This is March, and you see all the brackets getting busted and everything.'


Marshall had a simple explanation: 'We're a 1 seed, but we've got two 1s.'


PAYBACK TIME?: Larranaga took George Mason to the Final Four a decade ago when he was the Patriots coach, and he had to go through Wichita State (63-55) in the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C. That was a home game of sorts, a short drive from the George Mason campus, and a year before Marshall left Winthrop to take over at Wichita State. But he remembers the game well. 'Hopefully, we can return the favor,' he said.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Bulldogs (23-6) at Blue Devils (24-10)
Date: March 19, 2016 2:40 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) At Duke, success in in the NCAA Tournament has become the expectation.


The Blue Devils not only have a Hall of Fame coach in Mike Krzyzewski, but five championship banners he's brought during his 36 years at an academic school that was largely an afterthought on the hardwood before his arrival.


It's why the defending champion and West Region fourth seed Duke (24-10) enters its second-round matchup against 12th-seeded Yale (23-6) Saturday with so much respect for a program that's understandably giddy in the aftermath of its first-ever tournament win.


While Duke certainly has an earned national reputation, with only one player that started in last year's national championship game still on the roster, this is the first taste of March Madness for most of the current Blue Devils. It has created a mutual respect between the schools.


'We've talked about the competition in the Ivy Leagues and how many good teams there are, how many good players,' Krzyzewski said. 'The level of talent in the Ivy League has risen, I think, in the last five or six years, and it's shown with what Harvard has done, Princeton, Yale, obviously.


'Yale is older. They're not just good, but they're good together.'


Coach James Jones is in his 17th season at Yale and led the Bulldogs to their first tournament berth since 1962.


It's been a journey that he said has roots in his childhood when he spent weekends and summers alongside his 76-year-old father, Herman, who works as a presser at a dry cleaner.


'He's had this great belief in himself, and that's kind of worn off on me,' Jones said. '(Working as a presser) it's kind of the hardest work that you'll ever do...It gave me life lessons every day.


'He don't believe in second place, my dad. He would talk about how he's the best presser in the world. `I'm the best. Look at this, I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the best.' So he kind of wore that into my head as a kid, that you always want to be the best at whatever you do.'


It's a lesson he hopes he's passed along to a Bulldogs' team trying to become the first Ivy League school since Cornell in 2010 to reach the Sweet 16.


The Bulldogs lost at Duke 80-61 in late November, but senior Justin Sears said they are looking forward to getting another shot at the Blue Devils on a neutral floor. A huge Yale contingent was at the Dunkin' Donuts Center for its upset of Baylor, and another big crowd is expected Saturday.


'It's March, and anything can happen,' Sears said. 'It doesn't matter what you did in the past. It's one game right now, and every team is focused. It's a neutral court...and we're hungry. This could be my last game, I don't know, so I'm going to play like it is my last game. So everyone has a big sense of urgency.'


Here are some things to watch for in Saturday's game.


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ALL ABOUT REBOUNDING


While the Bulldogs don't have a starter over 6-foot-8, they managed to outrebound a bigger Baylor front court in their first-round win. Coach Jones said the first drill they do in every practice is a rebounding drill. Yale outrebounds opponents on average by 10.8 per game. 'It's part of our DNA,' Jones said. 'If you were to interview any one of my guys and you asked them what is our principle on our team, they're going to tell you that we really play hard defensively, we rebound the ball, and we share it.'


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GUARD PLAY


Both Yale's Makai Mason and Duke's Grayson Allen should be pivotal in Saturday's matchup. Mason is coming off a career-high 31 points and 11 for 11 shooting performance at the free-throw line against Baylor. Allen is averaging 21.6 points per game and has scored at least 20 points in 18 games this season.


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PACE AND SPACE


The Blue Devils and Bulldogs have scored at a high rate this season, averaging 81.8 and 75.3 points per game, respectively. Coach K said he isn't expecting that to change in their second matchup. 'Yale will play any pace because they're that good. We're not going to slow them down, and I'm not sure that they will slow us down,' he said. 'It could be a high-scoring game because they score well, and so do we.'

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Hoosiers (26-7) at Wildcats (27-8)
Date: March 19, 2016 5:15 PM EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) It seems like a matchup as juicy as Kentucky-Indiana should come in the Sweet 16 at the earliest.


Instead, fans will get the much-anticipated renewal of the rivalry in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 57th meeting between the fourth-seeded Wildcats and the Hoosiers on Saturday promises to be a good one, too.


Kentucky (27-8) and Indiana (26-7) - ranked 10th and 14th respectively in the final poll of the season - haven't played each other since 2012. The hiatus came following a raucous court storming in Bloomington and a dispute over whether to play at neutral sites or on campus.


After dominant first-round wins, the Wildcats and Hoosiers need to go through each other yet again to reach the East Region semifinals.


'I wish we weren't playing them (Saturday). I wish it was later down the road. But it is what it is,' Indiana coach Tom Crean said.


The game pits two of the nation's best point guards in Kentucky sophomore Tyler Ulis and Indiana senior Yogi Ferrell. Ulis was among five Wildcats in double figures with 10 points, adding a team-high seven assists as the Wildcats rolled to an 85-57 win over Stony Brook.


'Tyler is dragging us across the finish line. He's our leader. Our floor general. Our coach on the court,' Wildcats guard Isaiah Briscoe said.


Ferrell was brilliant in a 99-74 thrashing of 12th-seeded Chattanooga in the opening round, notching his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists.


'They both play extremely hard, extremely smart. (They) know how to create fouls, know how to turn down pick and rolls, know when to speed up their team and when to say, `Hold up, guys, let's play basketball here,'' Kentucky coach John Calipari said in comparing Ferrell and Ulis.


Here are some other things to know for one of the most anticipated matchups of the tournament's first week:


LENGTH VS. STRENGTH


Indiana's free-flowing offense will face a major challenge in Kentucky's ability to stifle opponents with its length and athleticism. Indiana's ball movement, spacing and shot-making were on full display against the Mocs, as the Hoosiers shot 65 percent, hit 10 3-pointers and had nearly twice as many assists as turnovers. But the Wildcats set an NCAA Tournament single-game record with 15 blocks against Stony Brook, which missed 24 of its first 27 shots.


'You've got to move the ball, wear them down a little bit. Try and get those bigs out, penetrate the ball into the lane, kick it out and just find a way. You especially can't go in there and drive in on those bigs,' Ferrell said.


SERIES SHUFFLE


Neither Crean nor Calipari said that the excitement surrounding Saturday's matchup would likely change the status of their once-annual matchup. The sticking point appears to be Calipari's desire to make it a neutral site series.


'When (former Indiana) coach (Bob) Knight was there, it was always a neutral game and that's all I proposed,' Calipari said. 'I even said `Let's play it in Indianapolis every year, play it in the football stadium. We will get 75 or 80,000 people there and it will be a crazy game.' I understand they need home games and that's what they want.'


Crean said he would like to see the schools find a way to play each other regularly, but he didn't sound very optimistic that would happen.


'I don't think anybody has ever closed the door on the series and certainly it's not open right now with anything that makes a lot of sense. But hopefully someday it will,' Crean said.


NOT OVER IT


Crean and Calipari last faced off in the Sweet 16 in 2012 when Kentucky beat Indiana 102-90, a game that still haunts Crean.


'I didn't envision us missing seven layups in that game and two dunks,' Crean said. 'I still look at that one and I see the misses more than I see the 92 points that we scored.'


STAR POWER


Jamal Murray, Kentucky's leading scorer, scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and added seven rebounds and a pair of blocks in the win over Stony Brook. Isaiah Briscoe was just as effective, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.


'They're fast and athletic and we have to get back in transition and take out their half court sets,' Indiana's Nick Zeisloft said.


HE SAID IT


'Bob Knight, he was the guy that threw the chair, right? That's about all I can associate with him. I don't know. I never really watched a lot of basketball growing up.' -Kentucky forward Derek Willis when asked what his impression of Indiana was. Willis was born in 1995, a decade after Knight famously tossed a chair during a home loss to Purdue.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Trojans (30-4) at Cyclones (22-11)
Date: March 19, 2016 6:10 PM EDT

DENVER (AP) Anyone associated with Iowa State's men's basketball team has Philadelphia 76ers big man Nerlens Noel to thank for helping turn around the Cyclones' program.


OK, the shot-blocker went to Kentucky and never attended any classes in Ames - unlike the man who had to guard him every day at practice for two years in high school and two summers of AAU ball.


'I just think it helped me learn different ways to get my shots off, use angles just to get around the defender's hand and to do a good job of using my body,' said senior forward Georges Niang, who has Iowa State a win over scrappy Arkansas-Little Rock from its second Sweet 16 appearance in three years.


'The way I play, it goes to how I played against him every day when I went to high school with him. He has a long, athletic frame and has a quick jumper. So, I think finding a way to use my body was really crucial to finishing at this level,' said Niang, Iowa State's only two-time All-American whose name is pronounced knee-ANG.


At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, Niang could be called a tad undersized for a power forward and backup center. His terrific ball-handling skills and shooting touch make him a matchup nightmare for just about everyone who faces him, including the 12th-seeded Trojans (30-4), who play the Cyclones on Saturday.


'He's probably a top-5 player in the country right now. It's going to be a tough matchup for me and for our whole team,' said power forward Lis Shoshi. 'But players like that you've got to stop them as a team. You cannot go 1-on-1 with them because they're really good.'


Niang is the only player in the country averaging 20 points and 6 boards while shooting 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line. And he's the only current collegian who's collected 2,000 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists in his career.


His stellar game has helped put the fourth-seeded Cyclones (22-11) back on the NCAA map.


'Georges is a basketball fanatic,' said teammate Nazareth Mitrou-Long. 'He's not one of those guys that just goes to the gym. He wakes up, watches film, stretches, watches more film, watches the game before, gets some light shots, warms up, then gets in some workouts. He doesn't take this as a joke. It's not a joke. It's everything. It's his life.'


That work ethic rubs off on his teammates, too.


'No question. To be in the huddle and to say things and for people to not say things while you're speaking, you have to have respect from others. And he has that because he leads by example,' Mitrou-Long said.


Other things to know about this matchup:


DIALED IN: Trojans coach Chris Beard is trying to keep his players in the moment. Beating the Boilermakers was yesterday's news. Hanging the Sun Belt Conference championship banner is tomorrow's fun.


'At our banquet this year we'll probably have steak and lobster, not grilled chicken because it's been an unbelievable year,' Beard said. 'There's a lot of things in the past and future, but right now is the precious present.


'Right now is an opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16, right now is an opportunity to live to play another day.'


ROLE REVERSAL: Cyclones first-year coach Steve Prohm came from Murray State, so he knows all about how mid-majors are on a roll in March. They've won their conference tourney to get here and didn't rely on an at-large bid. And they're the ones playing without the weight of expectations.


He's trying to use that knowledge as he manages the minefields of the favorites.


'Both teams will be crushed if they lose, but the mid-major, you're going out there, you're just throwing all your punches. Whatever happens, you know, happens,' Prohm said. 'Obviously at this level you're expected to win. You'll be beyond crushed if you didn't get there and you didn't max out.'


HAGINS HERO: Little Rock's Josh Hagins, who scored 29 of his 31 points after halftime in leading the Trojans past Purdue in double overtime, appreciates the attention but he's not getting caught up in it.


'We're on a mission right now,' Hagins said. 'It was really important for us to wake up this morning just really focused on Iowa State. Everything that happened yesterday, we appreciated it, it was a good team win. Everybody stepped up. But we're already on to the next one.'