Kaluma's 4-point play in overtime helps Kansas State rally past No. 9 Baylor, 68-64
Arthur Kaluma converted a four-point play to give Kansas State the lead with 20 seconds left in overtime, and Tylor Perry added a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds to go, helping the Wildcats beat No. 9 Baylor 68-64 on Tuesday night.
No. 6 Baylor tops No. 8 Ole Miss in Sugar Bowl; Corral hurt
Al Walcott set a Sugar Bowl record with a 96-yard interception return, Monaray Baldwin raced 48 yards for the go-ahead score on an end around, and sixth-ranked Baylor beat No. 8 Mississippi 21-7 as injured Rebels quarterback Matt Corral looked on from the sideline.
On College Football: Who would make 15-team super league?
What if college footballโs most powerful teams, the biggest of the big boys, tried to do what is happening now in European soccer, where a dozen of the wealthiest and most successful clubs are in the process of forming a 15-team Super League.
Final Four set, a question left: Can anybody beat Gonzaga?
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Itโs not easy to bury a team as good as USC, let alone in a half, no matter how easy Gonzaga made it look. He asked Few the day before their game against the high-flying Trojans whether his defense was getting lost in the shuffle. โObviously, I think heโs the best defender in the country,โ Baylor coach Scott Drew said. Then Baylorโs bout with the virus came late in the season, requiring a pause of three weeks plus. After everything else fans weathered throughout this wacky season, a few more days might finally deliver a national championship game worth the wait.
Gonzaga's bid for a perfect season moves on to Final Four
Gonzaga (30-0) has been an offensive juggernaut rarely seen in college basketball. AdโEveryone wants us to keep moving forward, but thatโs not how we roll,โ Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. That doesnโt lessen our desire to win this game, the next game or win two more games.โThe next one won't be easy. The Bears were embroiled in one of the darkest scandals in college basketball history, when Patrick Dennehy was murdered by teammate Carlton Dotson in 2003. They played in the Final Four.โ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25
Baylor beats Arkansas 81-72 for first Final Four in 71 years
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS โ Baylor reached the Final Four for the first time in 71 years, getting 22 points from MaCio Teague and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell to beat Arkansas 81-72 on Monday night. The South Region final was a reunion of former Southwest Conference programs aiming to join another (Houston) in the Final Four. The Bears ran away from there, right into next weekend's Final Four against the Cougars. Mitchell led the stiff-arm charge as Arkansas missed 12 straight shots and Teague hit a pair of 3-pointers to put it out of reach. AdThe expected fast-twitch South Region final was going to be a drought-ender, just a matter of how long.
What To Watch: men's, women's regional finals start Monday
... Oregon State opponents are shooting just 31.3% overall and 23.1% from 3-point range in the NCAA Tournament. That Missouri squad lost a regional final to an Oklahoma team coached by Kelvin Sampson, whoโs now at Houston. โฆ Arkansas is in a regional final for the first time since 1995, when it lost to UCLA in the championship game. โฆ Arkansasโ Justin Smith is averaging 20.3 points and 11 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games. Arizona and Indiana are both in an NCAA regional final for the first time.
Close range: Baylor grinds to Elite 8 in 62-51 win ova 'Nova
Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 from long range on a 14-point day. Jared Butler scored nine points on 1-for-9 shooting from 3, and MaCio Teague had five points without a 3. The guards did a great job of not settling and probing more.โBecause of that, Baylor shot 53% in the second half, even though it made only one 3. Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who'd carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Forward Brandon Slater left the game about midway through the second half after landing awkwardly during a fight for a rebound.
The Latest: Appleby cleared to play for Florida
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)The Latest on the second round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___7:45 p.m.Florida guard Tyree Appleby has been cleared to play and was in the starting lineup for No. 1 seed in the second round for a third time, joining the 2000 team against Arizona and the 2017 squad against Villanova. Sister Jean Delores Schmidt gave an inspirational pregame prayer to her Loyola Chicago team before the eighth-seeded Ramblers met top-seeded Illinois in Sundayโs second round. UCLA and Abilene Christian face off Monday, assuring that at least one double-digit seed will reach the Sweet 16. This is the first time four teams seeded 13th or worse made it to the second round.
The Latest: 12th-seeded Oregon State upsets No. 5 Tennessee
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)The Latest on the first round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___6:50 p.m.Another first-round upset as 12th-seeded Oregon State defeated No. 9 seed Georgia Tech 71-60 on Friday to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament. Senior guard Bubba Parham, who is 5-10, got the start instead as Georgia Tech went with a guard-heavy look. AdIllinois will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago or ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday. Ad___2:10 p.m.Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.
What some advanced stats may tell us about the NCAA field
(AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)Two years ago, before the start of the last NCAA Tournament, we presented a system that could help narrow down the bracket, using advanced stats from recent seasons. Virginia, one of six teams that passed all of our statistical tests, did in fact win the national championship. To review: This method uses six stats in which every champion since 2008 has ranked in the top half of Division I. All these stats are available at barttorvik.com โ and we'll use that information to pare down this year's contenders. Effective field goal percentage (eFG%) is a measure of field goal percentage in which 3-pointers are given extra weight.
Gonzaga, Baylor dominate AP All-America teams
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25. Makes sense they'd hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-America teams. The Bulldogs' Corey Kispert and the Bears' Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. Just like the first- and second-team All-Americans, their teams also will be playing in the NCAA Tournament this week. ___AP Basketball Writer John Marshall and AP Sports Writers Michael Marot and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
Baylor beats West Virginia 76-50 for Big 12 crown
6 Baylor beat West Virginia 76-50 to win the Big 12 Tournament on Sunday. It is the ninth Big 12 Championship in the last 10 tournaments for top-seeded Baylor (25-2). Dijonai Carrington added 14 and Moon Ursin had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Lady Bears won their 17th straight game. โWe didnโt shoot the ball well and took a lot of bad shots,โ West Virginia coach Mike Carey said. AdThe Lady Bears dominated in the paint outrebounding West Virginia 46-33 and scoring 54 points in the paint.
No. 13 Texas beats No. 12 Oklahoma St for first Big 12 title
โ Texas finally won the Big 12 Tournament championship. 12 Oklahoma State. Isaac Likekele added 13 points and Kalib Boone had 12 for the Cowboys, who fought past No. 10 West Virginia and the second-ranked Bears the previous two days to reach their first Big 12 Tournament title game since 2009. BIG PICTUREAdOklahoma State finished the season on a roll, winning eight of its last nine before the Big 12 title game with a pair of OT victories.
No. 12 Oklahoma St beats No. 2 Baylor 83-74 in Big 12 semis
โ Confidence has never been a problem for Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham. 12 Cowboys trying to rally from a second-half hole against second-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament, Cunningham calmly responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team the lead. AdโYou have to give Oklahoma State a lot of credit," Drew said. The Bears did get off to a quick start, but Oklahoma State answered and gradually pulled ahead. Oklahoma State split the season series with the Longhorns, losing a 77-74 nail-biter in December before winning a 75-67 double-overtime thriller early last month.
Gonzaga remains No. 1, Baylor back to No. 2 in AP Top 25
Gonzaga won 86-69. Gonzaga won its ninth consecutive West Coast Conference regular-season title after going 14-0 and is the lone remaining undefeated team in Division I. Win those two and Gonzaga will become the fifth team in the last 45 years to head into the NCAA Tournament undefeated. AdThe win over the Mountaineers gave Baylor its first Big 12 regular-season title and moved it back into the No. The Razorbacks entered the AP Top 25 on Feb. 15 and have made a quick climb, reaching No.
Big 12 champ No. 3 Baylor beats No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70
3 Baylor, fresh off clinching its first Big 12 title on the road two days earlier, beat No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70 on Thursday night to end the Cowboys' five-game winning streak. Freshman standout and Big 12 leading scorer Cade Cunningham had 24 points and Kalib Boone 10 for Oklahoma State (17-7, 10-7), whose winning streak was the longest active in the Big 12. That came right after Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe had a dunk for Oklahoma State, prompting a timeout by Baylor coach Scott Drew. ... Oklahoma State was without guard Isaac Likekele (hand) for the fifth time in six games.
No. 3 Baylor clinches B12 title in OT, 94-89 over No. 6 WVU
6 West Virginia 94-89 Tuesday for the Bears' first Big 12 regular-season title. AdโAt the end of the day, they just did more of the little stuff at the end to win the game," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. But the Bears went scoreless for nearly six minutes before halftime, allowing West Virginia to keep it close the rest of the game. They shot 51% (36 of 70) from the floor against West Virginia. West Virginia hosts TCU on Thursday.
No. 2 Baylor returns with 77-72 win to stay undefeated
Baylor then had six consecutive games postponed because of COVID-19 issues in the program, and hadn't even had another full practice until Sunday. With 6-foot-8 forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua out of the Baylor lineup, Mark Vital had 15 rebounds and three blocks. โCongrats to Baylor for figuring our a way to win, thatโs why theyโre No. But to come away get a win and be able to perform like we did, very very pleased with that. Coming into the game second in the Big 12 averaging 17 points, Butler had three turnovers and took only one shot before halftime.