Beal’s 21 lifts Fla. to 68-58 win over Marquette

PHOENIX (AP)—Exactly as his coach asked him to, Bradley Beal is bringing out his `A’ game. His latest bit of wizardry moved Florida a win away from the Final Four and set up Billy Donovan with a perfectly scripted matchup against his old coach and boss, Rick Pitino.

Beal, the freshman with NBA written all over him, scored 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting Thursday night to help the Gators to a 68-58 victory over Marquette.

Next up for No. 7 Florida (26-10) is a West Regional final Saturday against Louisville and Pitino, who taught ol’ Billy The Kid a lot of what he knows.

“Obviously, I’ve said that outside of my parents, he’s the most influential person in my life,” Donovan said.

The most influential person on Donovan’s team? On this night, it was Beal. He also had six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots, including one on Jae Crowder while the third-seeded Golden Eagles (27-8) were desperately trying to claw back after trailing by 14.

Crowder, a senior and the Big East player of the year, never found his touch. After sitting for eight minutes in the first half with foul trouble, he finished with 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting while another Marquette senior, Darius Johnson-Odom, also went 5 for 15 in a struggle to reach 14 points.

“We struggled being in rhythm most of the game,” coach Buzz Williams said. “Jae has always played more than 12 minutes in a half, but it’s dangerous for him to pick up his third, so he sat a lot the half. When you’re playing against a team as good as Florida and you’re playing without your key guys, it’s hard for that rhythm to get established.”

Erving Walker had 11 for the Gators, including a 3-pointer that came after Patric Young scrapped for an offensive rebound with 2:05 left. It snapped a 6-0 Marquette run that pulled the third-seeded Golden Eagles to within six.

But the biggest difference maker was Beal, a high school national player of the year whom Donovan has been pushing to be more assertive, especially after the Gators lost four of five heading into the tournament.

“He doesn’t want to step on toes; he’s very aware of his place on the team,” Donovan said, in explaining Beal’s slow acceptance of a leading role. “You can’t do anything but love him because of the way he handles himself.”

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Rick Pitino’s prepared Louisville Cardinals send tuckered out top-seeded Michigan State home

PHOENIX – Draymond Green was worried. All week, the energy that had suffused Michigan State’s basketball team throughout its surprising run to the Big Ten championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament went missing. Mediocre practices. Dead film sessions. A grim feeling that the Spartans’ Sweet 16 game against Louisville might be its last of the season.

“I think everybody just knew,” Green said. “We had a feeling.”

Fight though they did, Green’s prophesy – and the Spartans’ fatigue – proved true. Louisville overcame an ugly first half to run away from Michigan State in a 57-44 West Regional semifinal victory during which the Cardinal outrebounded, outfoxed and outclassed a team rarely beaten in any of those facets and almost never in all three.

“I definitely had a sense,” said Green, a likely first-team All-American who led a Spartans team expected to suffer through a down season. “Nobody’s crazy. We know the energy level this team has had, and … our energy level just wasn’t there.”

[ Related: Breaking down Friday’s Sweet 16 matchups ]

Green wasn’t blaming any one person. Not his teammates who shot 14-of-49. Not himself, with six of the Spartans’ 15 turnovers. Not coach Tom Izzo, who added to the misery by getting outcoached by Rick Pitino. Michigan State had no answer for Louisville’s 2-3 zone, helmed by Gorgui Dieng playing goalkeeper with seven blocks, nor did Izzo adjust accordingly when the Cardinals unleashed a press designed, in Pitino’s words, “to get to the legs.”

As with a boxer, once they went, Michigan State’s will followed.

If Green sounded like a beaten man, it’s because he was. More than perhaps any coach in college basketball, Izzo emphasizes mental fortitude over talent. Sure, because he has won a national championship and made six Final Fours at Michigan State, he can wrangle McDonald’s All-Americans. He just doesn’t need them.

To compensate, Izzo pushes his players, rides them, implores them that they have to be stronger, tougher, better. He is widely recognized as the godfather of the War Drill, a gruesome rebounding exercise that has bloodied many a face. Other coaches have stolen from him the use of a plastic bubble to cover the rim, force every shot to carom away and necessitate a rebound.

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Michigan State handles LIU 89-67

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
6 hours, 49 minutes ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Draymond Green got on the phone earlier this week with a former Michigan State star.

Magic Johnson must have told Green to play just like him.

Green recorded his second career NCAA tournament triple-double—the first player to do it since Johnson—and Derrick Nix added 18 points as top-seeded Michigan State fought off the upset bug that took down two No. 2 seeds, advancing in the West Regional with an 89-67 win over LIU Brooklyn on Friday night.

On a freaky Friday of upsets, Michigan State wasn’t going down.

Green wouldn’t stand for it.

“The kid’s a great player,” LIU coach Jim Ferry said. “I thought he was a great player going in on tape. He’s a great player live. He’s going to have a very long career in front of him. He’s just a fantastic basketball player.”

The Spartans (28-7) finally put away the bothersome No. 16 Blackbirds (25-9) with a 14-4 run midway through the second half. Michigan State outscored LIU 47-30 after halftime to set up a third-round game with Saint Louis on Sunday.

Green had 24 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes. He joined Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only players in history to have more than one triple-double in the tournament.

Afterward, Green showed typical humility in downplaying his accomplishment. His previous triple-double came in last year’s tournament loss to UCLA.

“At the end of the day I’d much rather have a win than a triple double, because when you look at those record books it’s going to say Draymond Green stats triple double and then it’s going to say the score of the game,” he said. “And the last one was a loss and this one was a win. So it don’t really matter.

“It’s just about getting wins this time of year, and I’m just happy we’re able to do that.”

Green didn’t get into any specifics about his conversation with Johnson. The Hall of Famer was talking with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who put Green on the phone.

“I don’t know what he said to him, but it might have been something good,” Izzo said. “I might have to call him back. I’m proud of Day Day (Green’s nickmane). I’m pleased for him. Happy for him. And yet he’s got a lot of basketball to go. “

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NCAA CBS March Madness Listings and Schedule

Links to all the games, to watch from your computer.


DATE
TIME
(EST.)
GAME NETWORK WEB STREAMING


Monday 02/27/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Big South Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Radford (#10) vs. VMI (#7)
Big South Network

Monday 02/27/12
7:30 PM
(Campus Site)
Big South Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Gardner-Webb (#9) vs. High Point (#8)
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12 NOON
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - TEAMS TBD
[Winner of Game No. 1 (Seed #7 / #10) vs. Coastal Carolina (#2)]
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
2:00 PM
(approx.)
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Campbell (#3) vs. Winthrop (#6)
Big South Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
2:30 PM
(approx.)
Atlantic Sun Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - Jacksonville (#8) vs. Belmont (#1)
ESPN3.com

Wednesday 02/29/12 6:00 PM
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 3 - TEAMS TBD
[Winner of Game No. 1 (Seed #8 / #9) vs. UNC Asheville (#1)]
Big South Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Loyola Chicago (#10) vs. Detroit (#3)
Horizon League Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Green Bay (#7) vs. Youngstown State (#6)
Horizon League Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 4 - Wright State (#8) vs. Butler (#5)
Horizon League Network

Wednesday 02/29/12 7:00 PM
Ohio Valley Conference Championship
First Round - Game No. 1 - Southeast Missouri (#5) vs.
Eastern Kentucky (#8)
OVCSports.tv

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 1 - Buckell (#1) at Navy (#8)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Holy Cross (#4) at Lafayette (#5)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:00 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 3 - Lehigh (#2) at Colgate (#7)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
7:30 PM
(Campus Site)
The Patriot League Championship
Quarterfinal No. 4 - American (#3) at Army (#6)
Patriot League All*Access

Wednesday 02/29/12
8:00 PM
(approx.)
Big South Championship
Quarterfinal No. 4 - Charleston Southern (#4) vs. Liberty (#5)
Big South Network

Tuesday 02/28/12
8:00 PM
(Campus Site)
Horizon League Championship
First Round - Game No. 3 - Illinois-Chicago (#9) vs. Milwaukee (#4)
Horizon League Network

Wednesday 02/29/12
8:30 PM
(approx.)
Atlantic Sun Championship
Quarterfinal No. 2 - Lipscomb (#7) vs. Mercer (#2)
ESPN3.com

Wednesday 02/29/12
9:00 PM
(approx.)
Ohio Valley Conference Championship
First Round - Game No. 2 - Austin Peay (#6) vs. Jacksonville State (#7)
OVCSports.tv

Wednesday 02/29/12 9:00 PM
West Coast Conference Championship
Opening Game - Portland (#8) vs. Santa Clara (#9)
WCC All*Access

BYU's record comeback beats Iona, 78-72

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron saw a huge comeback.

Had they stuck around a little longer, they could have watched the biggest one in NCAA tournament history.

Noah Hartsock scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and the Cougars came back from 25 points down to beat Iona 78-72 in the first round Tuesday night.

It marked the biggest comeback in an NCAA tournament game, the NCAA said. Previously, the largest deficit overcome was 22 points when Duke fought back to beat Maryland 95-84 in the 2001 national semifinals.

Hartsock was a little hurt that the president wasn't around to see the fireworks in the nightcap.

``I started looking around and didn't see him,'' Hartsock said with a grin. ``But I'm sure he had some important things to take care of.''

It was the second incredible turnaround of the night in Dayton. With the two heads of state watching from front-row seats on the baseline, Western Kentucky came back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58 in the first game.

That was the biggest margin overcome by a team in the final 5 minutes to win an NCAA tournament game, the NCAA said.

No matter how far they fell behind, BYU and coach Dave Rose had faith that the Cougars could somehow come back.

``Coming back from 25 points down is really satisfying now that we've won. At the time it wasn't that satisfying being down 25,'' he joked. ``But I don't think that any of us, especially the coaching staff or our players, doubted the fact that we could chip into that lead.''

Brandon Davies added 18 points and Damarcus Harrison 12 for the 14th-seeded Cougars (26-8), who advanced to play third-seeded Marquette on Thursday in Louisville, Ky.

There was no consolation for Iona.

``It's going to be one that we have to live with the rest of our lives,'' Gaels coach Tim Cluess said. ``It's a tough one we let get away. No excuses.''

Iona (25-8) seemed assured of its first official NCAA tournament victory after dominating the first half. But despite 15 points and 10 assists by Scott Machado, the Gaels dropped to 0-8 in NCAA play. Their lone win in 1980 was vacated due to NCAA violations.

Iona came in as the nation's top-scoring team at 83.2 points per game and didn't disappoint - at least in the opening 16 minutes. The Gaels scored 55 points in an eye-popping display of passing wizardry and outside shooting. Then they didn't score over the final 4:30 of the first half.

BYU then took control, slowly but surely. The Cougars held the Gaels without a point for 9:20 in a 17-0 run to narrow the deficit to 62-61 midway through the second half. BYU made up ground with a trapping half-court defense that forced the Gaels out of their hurry-up-and-shoot-3s attack. At the other end, the Cougars were getting buckets from Hartsock on fallaway jumpers.

``We just were more aggressive,'' Cougars guard Brock Zylstra said. ``We were doing to them what they were doing to us in the first half.''

Iona scored 55 points in the first 16 minutes, then managed just three field goals and seven points over the next 16 1/2 minutes.

Jermel Jenkins ended the lengthy drought with a 3 from the left corner with 8 minutes left.

From there on, the teams traded baskets as the pace slowed. Machado's three-point play pushed the lead to 70-64 with 5 minutes remaining before Hartsock hit an outside shot. After two missed foul shots by the Gaels, he hit another short turnaround jumper to cut the lead to two.

With 2:26 left, Hartsock popped out on the right wing to hit a go-ahead 3. It was the Cougars' first lead of the game.

``This is a team that's worked hard all year, that's never given up,'' Hartsock said.

Davies added two free throws in the final minute before Zylstra scored in transition and turned it into a three-point play, and the comeback was complete.

It was a shocking turn of events because of how well the Gaels - who also got 13 points from Jenkins, 12 from Mike Glover and 10 by Sean Armand - started out.

``You're looking for answers out there, looking for guys to make a play,'' Cluess said. ``Their good player is drilling it with guys in his face and guys draped all over him. Big-time players have to make big-time plays.''

Rose, a co-captain for the old Phi Slamma Jamma teams at Houston, has tasted disappointment before. But not this night.

During a timeout in the middle of the comeback, he saw something he'll never forget.

``The look in our players' eyes at that time was, `Game on. We've got a chance here,''' Rose said. ``And we were able to finish it off.''

Syracuse’s Melo ruled ineligible

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Syracuse will have to chase a national championship without starting center Fab Melo, who has been declared ineligible for the NCAA tournament.

The university announced Tuesday that the 7-foot Brazilian, who did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh for the second and third-round games, won’t take part in the tournament due to an eligibility issue. The school did not elaborate.

Melo missed three games earlier this season — including one of the top-seeded Orange’s two losses — because of an academic issue.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said Syracuse, not the NCAA, declared Melo ineligible.

Coach Jim Boeheim said the Orange will be”ready to play.”

As he left the bus in front of the team hotel Tuesday, Boeheim at first said he had nothing to say. He then told The Associated Press that “all we can do is be ready to play with the guys we have.”

“That’s all we can do,” he said. “There are injuries, things happen during a season. We’ll be ready to play and we’ll go play.”

Boeheim has not decided who will start in place of Melo, the Big East Defensive Player of Year, on Thursday when Syracuse (31-2) opens the tournament against No. 16 seed North Carolina-Asheville.

Melo’s presence on the back line of the Orange’s 2-3 zone might not be a factor in that game but it could be if Syracuse advances to play to face the winner of the Kansas State-Southern Mississippi game or possible future opponents in the East Regional such as Ohio State, with sophomore center Jared Sullinger, Florida State or Wisconsin.

Sophomore Baye Keita or freshman Rakeem Christmas should get the start. The Orange are one of the deepest teams in the tournament with seven players, including Melo, averaging between 13.8 and 6.6 points per game.

Melo averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and had 88 blocks this season for Syracuse, which was ranked No. 1 for six weeks this season and finished No. 2 behind Kentucky in the final poll.

The Orange opened the season with 20 consecutive wins before losing 67-58 at Notre Dame without Melo. Syracuse then won 11 in a row before losing 71-68 to Cincinnati last Friday in the Big East tournament semifinals.

The news is the latest development in a tumultuous season for Syracuse.

Last week, school officials said the university had more than a year ago self-reported possible violations of its internal drug policy by former members of the team and that the NCAA was investigating. None of the current members of the team was involved.

In a report, Yahoo Sports said a three-month investigation it conducted showed that the Syracuse men’s basketball program failed to adhere to the drug policy while playing ineligible players over the past decade.

The report, which citied anonymous sources, said at least 10 players since 2001 had tested positive for a banned recreational substance or substances. The report did not identify who tested positive. Syracuse won its lone national championship in 2003.

And the season began with the dismissal of associate head coach Bernie Fine after two former ballboys accused him of sexually molesting them in the 1980s. While charges have yet to be filed against Fine, he was fired in late November. Boeheim and the university are also facing a defamation suit filed by the ballboys — Bobby Davis and stepbrother Mike Lang.

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March Madness Starts!

WE will keep fresh links to live action throughout the week, so stay tuned in. NCAA MARCH MADNESS 2012