Orange

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Bob Huggins looks over his revamped roster at West Virginia and already likes what he sees from some newcomers.
&ldquo;The ball goes in,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;The ball actually goes in. It&rsquo;s great. It&rsquo;s more fun to watch that.&rdquo;
West Virginia finished 16-17 last season and lost 10 players, mostly to the transfer portal, including the top four scorers. The Mountaineers were last in the Big 12 and had the league&rsquo;s worst shooting percentage, scoring defense and rebounding margin.
The only returning player with significant playing time is guard Kedrian Johnson, who started all but two games. Yet several incoming transfers have spent plenty of time on the court.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a chance to be good. Not good but really good,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got more guys I think who can score.&rdquo;
Guard Erik Stevenson is at his fourth school and has already taken on a leadership role.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the alpha of the group,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just so competitive. He raises the level of our practice because of his competitiveness.&rdquo;
Stevenson started every game at South Carolina a year ago, averaging 11.6 points, after stints at Washington and Wichita State. Forward Tre Mitchell averaged 8.7 points and started 17 games at Texas. He also started 43 games at UMass.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re guys who are going to be a lot more comfortable. They&rsquo;ve played in very competitive leagues,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;If anybody ought to be ready to go, it ought to be those guys.&rdquo;
PERSONAL ACCOLADES
Despite the forgettable end to the 2021-22 season, it&rsquo;s been good ever since for the 69-year-old Huggins, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last month.
And the accolades aren&rsquo;t done. Huggins enters the season with a 916-399 career record. With his 921st win he&rsquo;ll pass Jim Calhoun into third place all-time among Division I coaches, behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and recently retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
TRANSFERS GALORE
West Virginia lost forward Jalen Bridges to Baylor, guard Sean McNeil to Ohio State and forward Isaiah Cottrell to UNLV. The trio averaged a combined 25 points per game. Top scorer Taz Sherman used up his eligibility.
Forward Emmitt Matthews transferred back to West Virginia from Washington, where he&rsquo;s reunited with childhood friend Stevenson. Huggins also signed ex-Iowa guard Joe Toussaint and three junior college transfers.
&ldquo;They all came here to play,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s been really good from a competitive standpoint. It&rsquo;s a really good group of guys.&rdquo;
EMMITT&rsquo;S RETURN
A year ago Matthews left West Virginia after three seasons. He said he barely saw his parents when COVID-19 restrictions were in place during the 2020-21 season.
When Washington was holding its Senior Night ceremony, Matthews said he closed his eyes and imagined being back in Morgantown, where he said a player&rsquo;s last home game is treated as &ldquo;the highest thing in the world.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I love everything about being here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The fan base. Just the way we play, the style of play. How loud the Coliseum gets when you got a sold-out game. The roads trips when you go places and the fans at the other schools hate you because you&rsquo;re the hardest-playing team in the nation. Those kind of things is stuff that&rsquo;s always stuck with me since the first year that I was here, and I just love that.&rdquo;
DEFENDING THE RIM
Jimmy Bell gives the Mountaineers a beefy presence in the paint at 6-10, 285 pounds. Mohamed Wague, at 6-10 and 225 pounds, is agile and the team&rsquo;s best shot blocker, Huggins said. Both are junior college transfers. In addition, Stevenson, Matthews and Mitchell averaged more than four rebounds per game last season.
THE SCHEDULE
West Virginia opens the season at home Nov. 7 against Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s. The Mountaineers will play Purdue in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament where they also could meet No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Duke. There also is a Jan. 28 home game with No. 15 Auburn. The Big 12 opener is Dec. 31 at Kansas State.

“We’ve got a chance to be good. Not good but really good,” Bob Huggins said. “We’ve got more guys I think who can score.”

West Virginia revamps roster under newly minted Hall of Famer Huggins

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim won&rsquo;t forget last season, and not because it was the only losing one in more than four decades on the job at his alma mater.
He coached his two sons &mdash; Buddy and Jimmy &mdash; and said that was the most enjoyable of his 46 seasons in spite of the record (16-17, 9-11 Atlantic Coast Conference).
&ldquo;It was great coaching them,&rdquo; said Boeheim, who turns 78 in November. &ldquo;I miss them.&rdquo;
The Boeheim brothers and swingman Cole Swider have moved on, and their offensive contributions were significant. The trio combined to average nearly 47 points a game and made 205 3-pointers. The Orange, who averaged 77.4 points, return two starters &mdash; guard Joe Girard and center Jesse Edwards &mdash; along with guard Symir Torrence and forward John Bol AJak to help guide six incoming freshmen.
&ldquo;I like this team in the sense that we may not shoot it as well as we did last year ... but we&rsquo;ve got guys that can get to the basket better and I think maybe get to the foul line better, so I think our offense will be different,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;I think it can still be very high level.&rdquo;
Girard will move from point guard to shooting guard, replacing Buddy Boeheim, who averaged 19.2 points in his final year. Girard averaged 13.8 points and led the Orange with 89 3-pointers, shooting a team-best 40.3%.
As the new season looms, the disappointment of not making the NCAA Tournament is still on players&rsquo; minds.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been using that motivation every day in practices,&rdquo; Girard said. &ldquo;In every single drill and every single rep, the coaches are getting on us and making sure we&rsquo;re going 110% just because of the way things went last year. They want to make sure there&rsquo;s no chance of that happening this year.&rdquo;
Boeheim said the six freshmen &mdash; guards Judah Mintz, Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland, forwards Maliq Brown and Chris Bunch, and center Peter Carey &mdash; and Duquesne transfer Mounir Hima, a 6-foot-11 forward, will play.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been really good so far, all the new guys,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;Their mindset is in the right place.&rdquo;
BENNY&rsquo;S BACK
Highly touted forward Benny Williams had a disappointing first season, scoring just 56 points in 333 minutes over 29 games. But he gave a glimpse of his talent at home against Duke in February, scoring 14 points and snaring six rebounds in 30 minutes. That he came back says a lot.
&ldquo;I think it shows perseverance,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;A lot of guys in my situation would have transferred, coming in as a highly touted high schooler, not playing that much, not scoring that much, not doing anything, really. I feel back to myself. I&rsquo;m very confident of what I&rsquo;m going to bring this year for my team.&rdquo;
JESSE&rsquo;S JOURNEY
The 6-11 Edwards was coming into his own last season when he suffered a season-ending injury in early February. Over a five-game span, he shot 31 of 42 (73.9%) and grabbed 33 rebounds, then broke his left wrist in a fall at Boston College. He&rsquo;s healthy again and ready to go.
&ldquo;The team was going so good at that point, so the timing was terrible,&rdquo; Edwards said. &ldquo;But I think it gave everybody out here extra motivation. Whoever falls out, we&rsquo;re still going to battle.&rdquo;
ZONE OUT
Boeheim said the Orange will have something of a new look on defense, using more man-to-man to complement the 2-3 zone.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In my first 30 years we did that, so it&rsquo;s not like this is new for me.&rdquo;
MINTZ&rsquo;s MOJO
The 6-3 Mintz, a product of Oak Hill Academy, has been playing alongside Girard in practice and figures the sky&rsquo;s the limit.
&ldquo;I want to be freshman of the year in the ACC,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just having coach have confidence in me makes everything five times easier. I think I&rsquo;ve grown as a player since I&rsquo;ve been here.&rdquo;
SCHEDULE
Syracuse, picked for eighth in the ACC, plays in the Empire Classic in New York City on its first road trip, with an opening game against Richmond. The home slate includes Georgetown, Notre Dame, top-ranked North Carolina, No. 18 Virginia and No. 7 Duke.
___
Freelance writer Mark Frank contributed to this report.

The Boeheim brothers and swingman Cole Swider have moved on, and their offensive contributions were significant.

Syracuse looks to rebound after Boeheim’s first losing season

TBT Record 71 Players with NBA Experience and 29 Alumni Teams to Compete
Jimmer Fredette, Projected 2023 Draft Top-10 Picks Ausar and Amen Thompson Highlight Field of 64 Competing for $1M Prize on ESPN
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) &ndash; the $1 million, winner-take-all, summer basketball event broadcast live on ESPN networks today released the bracket for this year&rsquo;s tournament. For the fifth year in a row, all games will feature TBT&rsquo;s Elam Ending&reg;.
Now in its ninth year, TBT 2022 will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records. The field will once again feature 64 teams squaring off in a single-elimination format and will be supported by longtime partners PUMA, Zelle, and E&amp;J Brandy.&nbsp;
The field will be split into eight regions played over two weeks in July. Seven of those regions will be headlined by alumni teams, while the eighth regional will be played at Rucker Park&rsquo;s legendary Greg Marius Court in New York City.
One team from each region will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be split between Wichita, Kansas (July 27) and Dayton, Ohio (July 28-29). Dayton will also host TBT&rsquo;s semifinals (July 30), as well as TBT&rsquo;s $1 million winner-take-all championship game (Aug. 2).
&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s field is electrifying,&rdquo; said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. &ldquo;Nine years ago, we set out to be the home for high stakes, open-to-all basketball, pitting people against one another from all walks of life. This year&rsquo;s field demonstrates how far we&rsquo;ve come. It is exceptionally diverse and talented. I can&rsquo;t wait to see what team wins six straight games.&rdquo;
The full TBT 2022 schedule includes:
Regional Host Cities
&nbsp; &nbsp; Omaha, Neb. &ndash; headlined by Omaha Blue Crew (Creighton) &ndash; July 16-19
&nbsp; &nbsp; New York City, N.Y. (Rucker Park) &ndash; headlined by Marcus Smart&rsquo;s YGC &ndash; July 16-20
&nbsp; &nbsp; Albuquerque, N.M. &ndash; headlined by The Enchantment (University of New Mexico) &ndash; July 28-21
&nbsp; &nbsp; Wichita, Kan. &ndash; headlined by AfterShocks (Wichita State) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Syracuse, N.Y. &ndash; headlined by Boehiem&rsquo;s Army (Syracuse) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Charleston, W. Va. &nbsp;&ndash; headlined by Best Virginia (West Virginia) and Herd That (Marshall) &nbsp;&ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Cincinnati, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier) &ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Dayton, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Red Scare (Dayton) &ndash; July 24-27
Championship Week Schedule&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; Quarterfinals &ndash; July 27 (Wichita), July 28-29 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; Semifinals &ndash; &nbsp;Saturday, July 30 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; $1 Million, Winner-Take-All Championship &ndash; Tuesday, Aug. 2 (Dayton)&nbsp;
Highlights of this year&rsquo;s tournament include:&nbsp;
- New Look Boeheim&rsquo;s Army Set to Defend TBT Title &ndash; Boeheim&rsquo;s Army, who after seven years finally won its first TBT championship, is set to defend its title in Syracuse this summer. First-time TBT participants and Syracuse alums Tyler Ennis, Rakeem Christmas, and Marek Dolezaj join a core that includes TBT legend D.J. Kennedy, who is seeking his sixth TBT title, and DeAndre Kane, who is going for his fifth.
- TBT Steps Outdoors at World Famous Rucker Park &ndash; TBT will be playing games outdoors for the first time in the event&rsquo;s history this summer at New York City&rsquo;s famed Rucker Park. The event, in partnership with Chick-Fil-A Tri-State and the NBPA, will be free and open to the public. Headlining the regional are YGC, a team backed by Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, and Skip To My Lou, named after and coached by former NBA player and streetball legend Rafer Alston.
- Jimmer Fredette Joins The Money Team &ndash; 2011 National college player of the year and NBA Draft lottery pick Jimmer Fredette will return to TBT this summer as a member of Floyd Mayweather&rsquo;s The Money Team. A quarterfinalist in 2021, The Money Team&rsquo;s roster also includes three other players with NBA experience: Trevor Booker, Jeremy Evans, Charles Jenkins, and Xavier Munford.
- Overtime Enters TBT&rsquo;s First Draft-Eligible Team &ndash; Media brand Overtime will enter its first TBT team, Team Overtime, which is slated to include four 2023 draft-eligible prospects from their new professional pathway program Overtime Elite. Twins Ausar and Amen Thompson, both projected top-10 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, will be joined by former five-star recruit Jazian Gortman and four-star recruit Jaylen Martin on a roster with several veteran professionals, including former NBA player Malcolm Thomas. Team Overtime will be competing in the Omaha Regional.
- Rivalries Renewed &ndash; Two brand new sets of bitter rivals could be facing off in TBT this summer. Xavier Regional headliner, Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier Alumni), will be joined by crosstown rival Nasty Nati, a Cincinnati alumni team whose roster includes former first-round pick Jacob Evans. The Enchantment, a New Mexico alumni team, and Panamaniacs, a New Mexico State alumni team, will go head-to-head in the first-round of the New Mexico Regional in a battle for in-state supremacy. Best Virginia, the West Virginia alumni team, and Herd That, the Marshall alumni team, could both finally get their long-awaited matchup in the second round of the West Virginia Regional. Stillwater Stars, an Oklahoma State alumni team starring Markel Brown, will go toe-to-toe with Big 12 foes Air Raiders, a first-year Texas Tech alumni team composed mainly of their 2019 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up team that includes former first-round pick Zhaire Smith.
- Sideline Cancer&rsquo;s Big Offseason &ndash; TBT&rsquo;s runner-up in 2020 and a quarterfinalist in 2021, Sideline Cancer is gearing up for a championship run. They&rsquo;ll add Mike Daum, the NCAA&rsquo;s seventh leading scorer all-time, 16-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles, and former Iowa State star Diante Garrett to take some of the scoring load off explosive guard Marcus Keene.
Free Throws&hellip;
<ul>
<li>TBT&rsquo;s &amp; Puma&rsquo;s innovative 33-point contest, which pits two shooters head-to-head where the first to make 11 threes advances, will return. The final eight shooters who advance out of TBT&rsquo;s regional locations will compete live on Thursday, July 28 live on ESPN2 for a $33,333 grand prize. Winner-take-all.</li>
<li>NFT project Gutter Cat Gang has entered a TBT team in the Omaha Regional in collaboration with Kyle Hines, the most decorated American in European basketball history.</li>
<li>Notable boxer and Cincinnati native Adrien Broner&rsquo;s AboutBillions team will compete in the Xavier Regional for the first time.</li>
<li>Prominent content brand Friday Beers will make their first foray into TBT&rsquo;s field in 2022, taking over longtime TBT franchise Armored Athlete.</li>
<li>India Rising, TBT&rsquo;s first team of players entirely of Indian descent, will be competing in the Syracuse Regional. Their roster includes former Stanford big man Josh Sharma, and one time G League Ignite prospect Princepal Singh.</li>
</ul>
Tickets for all TBT game days and events are on sale now at www.thetournament.com. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:info@thetournament.com">info@thetournament.com</a>.
About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending&reg;, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with worldwide exposure on ESPN and events across the country - culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT&rsquo;s ninth season, visit www.thetournament.com

Now in Year 9, TBT will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records.

Record 71 players with NBA experience headline 2022 TBT event

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
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Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
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2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

In a battle between Division I men's basketball's two winningest coaches, Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski went head-to-head once again. Duke and Coach K exited victorious, 79-59.
After a one point, overtime loss to Florida State, Duke aimed to get back on track at home. The Blue Devils (15-3, 5-2 ACC) are currently ranked No. 6 nationally thanks to an offense led by star freshman Paolo Banchero, and junior Wendell Moore Jr. Banchero is averaging 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest, making a strong case to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft.
Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC) have had a tumultuous start to 2022, losing four of their first six games. Senior Buddy Boeheim is fourth in the ACC in scoring at 19.2 points per game, and Villanova transfer Cole Swider, has been impactful on both ends averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds.&nbsp;
Three-point shooting made all the difference in this one. With Trevor Keels out due to injury, Duke connected on 14 out of 37 shots from deep, while Syracuse hit 5 of 28. Potential top-10 pick AJ Griffin, led the charge with 5 threes. Moore Jr. had a terrific game with 15 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
Duke got started early, jumping out to a 16-6 lead behind multiple three-pointers from Griffin. Syracuse responded with a 9-0 run on a handful of Jesse Edwards buckets. With the combination of Duke&rsquo;s efficient ball movement and shooting, and Syracuse&rsquo;s turnovers and struggles from deep, Duke held a halftime lead of 36-22. Griffin led all scorers with 12 points (4-6 3FG) at the break. Duke had 13 assists on 13 made field goals.
The Blue Devils started the second half on a tear and ran away with this one, at one point extending the lead to 31. Banchero and Mark Williams were simply too much to handle on the interior. Williams finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds on 6-7 shooting from the field. Banchero posted a dominant double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists.&nbsp;
Syracuse&rsquo;s 6-foot-11 sophomore, Jesse Edwards, was a bright spot for the Orange. He battled inside and finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 4 steals. Jimmy Boeheim also played well, scoring 12 points.
Moore Jr. said after the game, &ldquo;It started with ball movement. We were ready to shoot, total team effort.&rdquo;
Mike Krzyzewski wins career game number 1,171.
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UPCOMING
Duke will host Clemson on Tuesday.
Syracuse will travel to Pitt on Tuesday evening.
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The Blue Devils started the second half on a tear and ran away with this one, at one point extending the lead to 31.

Duke gets back on track, routs Syracuse 79-59

Saturday afternoon, I had a great time at the Syracuse-Georgetown men's basketball game. It was great to see all the alumni in the house from both schools. I took pictures with Rony Seikaly, Dikembe Mutumbo, Patrick Ewing and Louis Orr, who was my assistant coach at Syracuse.
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Great seeing the OG Rony Seikaly 🍊🍊🍊 <a href="https://t.co/eBacr6RKtC">pic.twitter.com/eBacr6RKtC</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469797832676806661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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My man Coach Orr and Coach Patrick Ewing. It&rsquo;s all love after the game. They got this one today though, good job coaches <a href="https://t.co/tl8D4WMOW8">pic.twitter.com/tl8D4WMOW8</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469793363469783047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Syracuse fans all showed love. (We have the best fans in college basketball by the way.) This rivalry has so much history, and although Georgetown unfortunately came out with the win, I had an overall wonderful time watching the game.
I reached out to some Syracuse alumni &mdash; Lazarus Sims, Arinze Onuaku, Ryan Blackwell and Preston Shumpert &mdash; to get reactions after the two-game, old-Big East matchups against Villanova and Georgetown. It still pains me that we are no longer in the Big East, and yes, I am still holding out hope that, one day, we will return to the conference we belong.
Here is what all four Orange alum had to say on the team.
Lazarus Sims&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: How do you think we played against Villanova and Georgetown?&nbsp;
Lazarus Sims: "They were both great games, but we didn&rsquo;t have a consistent true point guard on the floor who put everyone in the right position. I&rsquo;ll go back to when they won the championship in '03. Many people will say it was 'Melo [Anthony], it was Gerry [McNamara] &mdash; but really if you go back and watch the tournament, when they played their best, it was Billy Edelin who was the key. He put Gerry in his right position, the 2. In contrast to this team, against Villanova and Georgetown, when they put Symir [Torrence] in &mdash; who is a pass first point guard &mdash; it puts your shooters and your scorers in the right position. It puts Buddy [Boeheim] at the 3. It puts Joe Girard at the 2, and allows them to do what they do best. What we&rsquo;re doing is forcing the 2-guard into [being] a point guard, so the flow isn&rsquo;t there. It lasts for awhile, but it&rsquo;s not sustainable."
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more, and I like Symir. It&rsquo;s crazy, I was watching [Seton Hall guard and 'Cuse transfer] Kadary Richmond play against Rutgers. And the way he was running the team, [he] put everyone in their positions first, then it opened it up for him especially in the first half.... then the second half, he focused on putting everyone in their positions. He should be in a Syracuse uniform. But I see him how I see Symir in [that] we need what he brings to the team and he needs to play more. What do you think?&nbsp;
Sims: "Definitely, and you have to let him play through certain mistakes like you do with Joe [Girard]. We need what he does. The offense flows better with a Symir-type of point guard running the team. That&rsquo;s no knock on Girard, it&rsquo;s just not playing him to his strength."
Etan: Symir should be playing more, the same way Kadary should&rsquo;ve been playing more last year. 
Sims: You&rsquo;ll get no argument from me.&nbsp;
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Etan: I saw the press conference after the Georgetown game, and Coach [Jim] Boeheim was saying the guys are worn down and they&rsquo;re tired. And I&rsquo;m thinking 'Well, you got guys on the bench ready to go.' The starters don&rsquo;t have to play ironman minutes.
Sims: "You saw with Symir, he got in [the game] at Georgetown. [He] made one mistake, and you didn&rsquo;t see him anymore for the rest of the game. It&rsquo;s hard to play like that. But we need what he brings, so we need to let him play through mistakes like we do the starters. I mean, let&rsquo;s be honest, sometimes Girard struggles to get the ball up the floor because that&rsquo;s not his strength. Well, we have someone on the bench whose strength that is, just like we did last year with Kadary. We gotta play guys to their strengths."
Arinze Onuaku&nbsp;
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Arinze Onuaku: "It&rsquo;s totally different from when we were there because obviously, our responsibility was solely the paint area, so it&rsquo;s odd seeing Jesse Edwards run from corner-to-corner. I know they switched the defense to the 1-3-1 [zone] at times and we know it&rsquo;s the bottom man&rsquo;s job to run corner-to-corner, but to have Jesse be that person, it does take him out of rebounding position."
Etan Thomas: And that&rsquo;s the part that I question. I can see [that] if we had Quincy Guerrier still, but it&rsquo;s seems like quite a bit to ask of the Boeheims to be the ones to crash the boards, but that&rsquo;s our strategy. And we&rsquo;ve been getting beaten pretty badly on the offensive rebounds, which is one of the reasons why I&rsquo;m not the biggest fan of that strategy.
Onuaku: "Yeah, for sure and [Jesse] is exerting a lot of energy sprinting from corner-to-corner, three-point line to three-point line. That&rsquo;s a lot to ask of the big man."
Etan: Now, I would like to see him get the ball more, and I feel he has earned the right to get the ball more with the way he has been converting. I want them to play inside-out, and that may be a lot to ask, but the entire half shouldn&rsquo;t go by and he only gets the ball two times. That&rsquo;s ridiculous.
Onuaku: "I agree. Any good team has to have balance, and he has been doing a much better job of finishing as well. I think it may take guys a little more time to trust him. He started off slow last year, and this year, so that trust factor from the guards is a factor. But as he continues to improve, I would expect that trust factor to increase."
Etan: But my problem with the trust issue is, they can jack up three-pointers and they can brick 90% of them and nobody loses trust in them. The big men get two or maybe three opportunities, and if you don&rsquo;t convert or catch their pass, they don&rsquo;t trust you?
Onuaku: "Yeah, the game is always gonna be unbalanced for big men. Jesse is going to have to speak up more, and as he produces more, they will have no choice but to give him the ball."
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s the story of being a big man. It was like that when I played and when you played. But that drag screen he does in early offense situation and [when] he rolls, I think that&rsquo;s an easy high pass to him and he finishes. They just do that a few times every half.&nbsp;
Onuaku: "I agree, and he has shown that he can catch it off the run and he does a great job of keeping the ball high and he has been scoring. So you&rsquo;re right &mdash; they should definitely utilize him much more. And shout out to Frank Anselem, who came in and really attacked the rim and provided a spark off the bench. He&rsquo;s someone we&rsquo;re definitely going to need him down the stretch." 
Ryan Blackwell&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: You watched both the Villanova game and the Georgetown game. What was your assessment?&nbsp;
Ryan Blackwell: "The Villanova game, we were right with them the first half. We were making shots, being aggressive, playing defense. Then the second half, it seemed like we just ran out of gas. Same thing with Georgetown; we were up [by] 10 at half, and we let them back in it. We&rsquo;re gonna have to shoot lights out to win games. I know Buddy was struggling a little, but if he&rsquo;s off and we&rsquo;re gonna rely on Jimmy Boeheim to post-up or go 1-on-1 or Joe Girard to go 1-on-1, it&rsquo;s gonna be tough. And if we&rsquo;re not gonna get much from the bench... I mean, the first half against Georgetown we got good production, but [in] the second half, for whatever reason, the production just wasn&rsquo;t there. Coach felt more comfortable going with his starters. And we faltered at the end, and that was unfortunate because it was a very winnable game."
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Etan: I heard Coach Boeheim at the press conference say that the guys looked tired and worn down, but then I&rsquo;m looking at the bench and they look pretty fresh to me. So I&rsquo;m thinking, well coach, there&rsquo;s a remedy for that. If the guys are tired and their shots [are] not falling, [they're] not closing out on defense, not getting back in transition, not rebounding, whatever &mdash; you have people on your bench who can help. 
Blackwell: "You and I both know, coach relies heavily on his starters and that&rsquo;s never going to change. And we know Benny Williams is extremely talented, but for whatever reason, he&rsquo;s not getting the minutes. Yes, he&rsquo;s young and he&rsquo;s a rookie, and with coach, he has a formula that he has always stuck to. But yeah, it&rsquo;s gonna be a real struggle for our starters to carry the full load."
Etan: I&rsquo;m at the Georgetown game &mdash; you can see it better in person &mdash; and I saw Georgetown literally wearing our guys down. And then, utilizing their bench and getting fresh legs in there to wear our guys down even more. Aminu Mohammed, who is just a freshman, was a holy terror against us. And he would get a break, then come back in fresh and terrorize us some more. I mean, you can&rsquo;t be surprised if guys are tired if they are playing ironman minutes, right?&nbsp;
Blackwell: "Yeah, it&rsquo;s tough. And yes, Buddy has improved so much, but he is being asked to do so much and carry the load offensively. And you&rsquo;re right, it&rsquo;s gonna wear on them as we get into the season. And you&rsquo;re right, Georgetown was getting in our shorts and wearing us down. I can&rsquo;t disagree with anything you said. And I worry about when we get into conference play, because it&rsquo;s not going to get any easier for us at all. And it&rsquo;s tough to knock down shots when you&rsquo;re worn down, no matter how great of a shooter you are, and we have great shooters. But yeah, you&rsquo;re right &mdash; hard to shoot threes when you&rsquo;re worn down. We may need to look to incorporate some other options and alternatives to go along with that."
Preston Shumpert&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: The secret&rsquo;s out now with Buddy. Everyone knows he can shoot, and teams are devising schemes to make sure he doesn&rsquo;t get open shots. What would be your advice to him, as the elite shooter you were, as to how he can get open and get his shot off?
Preston Shumpert: "It&rsquo;s so different once you&rsquo;re on the other team&rsquo;s scouting report. It&rsquo;s great that he had the success he had last season, but now, like you said, teams are going to try to come up with a game plan to stop you from doing what you do best, which in Buddy&rsquo;s case, is knocking down shots. He&rsquo;s been doing a good job of moving without the ball; he just has to do more of it. Be a little more creative on getting open and what he does once he catches the ball."
Etan: You said move without the ball, so let&rsquo;s talk specifics. Do you mean off screens? Running the baseline?
Shumpert: "I think it&rsquo;s a combination of both. He&rsquo;s getting pin-down screens and curls. I just think he needs to stay consistent with it and know he&rsquo;s going to be hounded and [that] guys are gonna be on him, because he&rsquo;s an elite shooter. But at the same time, if he comes off a screen and two guys jump him, it&rsquo;s the point guard&rsquo;s job to find the open man. Once you start taking advantage of those situations, then you will be more open. But he&rsquo;s gonna have to fade, curl, post up &mdash; he&rsquo;s gonna have to do a lot of different things to get his shot off, and that&rsquo;s really a compliment to him because of how good of a shooter he is. On every scouting report, I&rsquo;m sure it says, 'No open shots for him.'" 
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Etan: That&rsquo;s definitely true. What is the best way to come out of a slump? With shooters, you&rsquo;re going to go through times where the ball just doesn&rsquo;t go in the hole. What would your advice be to Buddy or Cole [Swider] when they are not shooting well?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "My favorite quote is, 'Shoot when you&rsquo;re making it, and shoot when you&rsquo;re missing it.' You've gotta continue to be aggressive and have confidence in your shot. Now, your shot selection is definitely important, but if it&rsquo;s a wide open shot, and that&rsquo;s your shot, fire that 'thang up. That&rsquo;s what you do. If you&rsquo;re a shooter, you've gotta shoot the ball. Shoot 'til you make it, shoot 'til you miss. That&rsquo;s a shooter&rsquo;s mentality. No conscience."
Etan: One thing that you started to develop through your years was the one-dribble, two-dribble pull-ups because they were playing you so tight for the three-point shot, and Buddy has been doing good with that. Do you think he should keep doing that more especially if the outside shot isn&rsquo;t falling?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "Definitely, that&rsquo;s what I meant by being a little more creative and taking what they&rsquo;re giving you. Like you said, guys are gonna be pressing up on you and running out on you. They&rsquo;re not going to let you get a free look. So that&rsquo;s when you go to the pump fake, one-dribble, two-dribble pull-up. But another thing &mdash; which I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re gonna like this &mdash; throw it up to the big [man] or give him that little pocket pass, when they hedge on him or after he sets the pick a little more often, and let the big [man] hammer a few down and get all riled up like you used to. It will open you up more. And the more you involve the big man, the better your screens will be. The big man will have you wide open if you treat him right. I learned that myself when we played together. Keep the big man happy, and he&rsquo;ll rebound better, block shots better and work harder to get you open, and will roll harder which will ultimately help everyone."
Etan: That should be on the wall in every locker room (laughs).

Etan Thomas spoke with four Syracuse alum after the Orange took on Georgetown and Villanova this past week to get their thoughts.