Tigers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Minnesota&rsquo;s second-leading scorer Jamison Battle has decided to transfer to Ohio State for his final college season, the fifth-year forward announced Thursday on his Instagram account.
The 6-foot-7 Battle was a preseason All-Big Ten pick who missed the first four games of the season with a foot injury and played through back trouble down the stretch. He averaged 12.4 points per game with career-low shooting rates of 37.1 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from 3-point range. He made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Rutgers on March 2.
Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Battle participated in the team&rsquo;s senior day ceremony that he was leaning toward turning pro, but he entered the portal to keep his options open.
Battle had a superb debut season with the Gophers in 2021-22, when he averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with 36.6% shooting from 3-point range. The Minnesota native transferred home after playing his first two seasons at George Washington.
The Gophers finished 9-22 overall in 2022-23 and in last place in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were second-to-last before winning three games at the Big Ten Tournament to reach the semifinals. They finished 16-19.

Battle had a superb debut season with the Gophers in 2021-22, when he averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Jamison Battle announces transfer from Minnesota to Ohio State

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Justyn Mutts scored 27 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 80-72 victory over No. 18 North Carolina on Sunday.
Mutts scored 21 of his points in the second half for the Hokies (8-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who built an 18-point, second-half lead and then held on to hand the slumping Tar Heels (5-4, 0-1) their fourth consecutive defeat.
North Carolina cut that lead to 67-64 on a layup by Caleb Love with 3:06 remaining, but Mutts answered with a basket 17 seconds later, and the Tar Heels got no closer.
The Associated Press&rsquo; preseason No. 1 team, North Carolina played without center Armando Bacot, who missed the game with a bruised shoulder.
Caleb Love, Pete Nance, and RJ Davis each scored 18 for North Carolina.
NO. 4 ARIZONA 81, CALIFORNIA 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo combined for 42 points and 19 rebounds and Arizona bounced back from its first loss by holding off winless California.
Tubelis had 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Ballo &mdash; the Division I leader in field goal percentage &mdash; made 7 of 10 shots en route to 17 points, with seven rebounds and four blocks.
The Wildcats (7-1, 1-1 Pac-12) were coming off an 81-66 loss Thursday at Utah, just their fifth in 44 games under second-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Cal (0-9, 0-2) continued its worst start in program history, extending the nation&rsquo;s longest active losing streak to 12 games. The Golden Bears were led by guard Devin Askew, who had 25 points, while forward Lars Thiemann added 18 on 9-of-14 shooting.
NO. 5 PURDUE 89, MINNESOTA 70
WEST LAFAYETE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Zach Edey set career highs with 31 points and 22 rebounds, powering Purdue past Minnesota in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The 7-foot-4 Edey started slowly, making only one of his first seven shots. He dominated after that, finishing 11 of 23 from the field and 9 of 10 from the foul line.
Fletcher Loyer scored 20 for Purdue (8-0).
Jamison Battle led the Golden Gophers (4-4) with 21 points. Ta&rsquo;Lon Cooper added 15 points for Minnesota.
NEBRASKA 63, NO. 7 CREIGHTON 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Derrick Walker scored a career-high 22 points as Nebraska upset Creighton, the highest-ranked opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten on the road since 1997.
Nebraska (6-3) beat the Bluejays for the first time in 14 regular-season meetings in Omaha since 1995. Creighton (6-3) lost its third straight, with its previous two against ranked opponents.
Sam Griesel scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and Juwan Gary finished with 12 as the Huskers turned back every comeback attempt by the Bluejays.
Francisco Farabello scored 16 points to lead the Bluejays, going 5 for 9 on 3-pointers. Baylor Scheierman and Kalkbrenner had 10 points apiece.
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 94, ALCORN STATE 40
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points and Tennessee flexed its defensive muscles in a victory over Alcorn State.
The Volunteers (7-1) also got double-digit point production from Julian Phillips (18), Jahmai Mashack (13), Uros Plavsic (12), Tyreke Key (11) and Zakai Zeigler (10).
Dominic Brewton led the Braves (3-6) with 10 points.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 73, MICHIGAN 69
LONDON (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace scored 14 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double to lead Kentucky over Michigan in a London showcase of two marquee American college sports teams.
Wallace was 4 of 4 on 3-point shooting with his most important one giving the Wildcats (6-2) a five-point lead with 1:11 to play.
Tshiebwe, last season&rsquo;s consensus national player of the year, scored 13 points and pulled down 14 rebounds amid foul trouble that kept him on the bench for extended spells.
Hunter Dickinson led Michigan (5-3) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jett Howard, Michigan&rsquo;s second-leading scorer, was in early foul trouble but had 16 points for the Wolverines.
NORTHWESTERN 70, NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 63
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Boo Buie scored 20 points and Northwestern beat Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Chase Audige also added 15 points and Ty Berry had 13 for Northwestern (6-3).
Mady Sossoko and A.J. Hoggard each had 12 points for Michigan State (5-3) and Joey Hauser added 10. The Spartans have lost two in a row, falling to Notre Dame earlier in the week.
NO. 21 UCLA 65, OREGON 56
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Clark and freshman Amari Bailey scored 14 points each and UCLA rallied in the final four minutes to hold off Oregon for its fourth straight win.
The Bruins (7-2, 2-0 Pac-12) hadn&rsquo;t had a big scoring run all game until they pulled away late.
The Ducks (4-5, 1-1) had won four straight over the Bruins. Guerrier led the Ducks with 15 points and Will Richardson added 13 points.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 71, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 60
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jaren Holmes scored 14 points and Aljaz Kunc added 12 as Iowa State handed St. John&rsquo;s its first loss of the season.
Kunc also contributed eight rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones (7-1). Robert Jones had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Posh Alexander led St. John&rsquo;s (8-1) with 14 points.

A recap of Sunday's men's college basketball slate includes a handful of top-25 upsets.

Virginia Tech hands No. 18 Tar Heels fourth consecutive loss

Spencer Davies details Jamal Cain's climb from Pontiac, Michigan to the NBA level through the lens of longtime friend Mychal Covington.

Outwork everybody: Two-way Heat rookie Jamal Cain catches you sleeping

The NBA Sixth Man of the Year award recognizes the importance of a key player who contributes like a starter despite coming off the bench. Over the last decade, with only one exception (Lou Williams in 2018), nine of the 10 award-winners were a part of a playoff team.
It's fair to say that the Sixth Man of the Year must contribute to a high level of winning.
There is another commonality between the winners of the award over the last 10 seasons: All but one of them have been high-volume guards &mdash; Tyler Herro, Jordan Clarkson, Williams (3x), Jamal Crawford (2x), Eric Gordon and JR Smith (with the one anamoly being Montrezl Harrell.)
Zooming out more, over the last 20 seasons, 17 of the winners were listed as a "shooting guard." Harrell, Lamar Odom and Antawn Jamison were the other three award-winners in that span.
Each of these guards had one job when they came into the game: Get buckets. Every award-winner averaged at least 14 points per game on 40% from the field or better, and 70% of the winners scored more than 18 points per contest. This is often good enough for a top-three scoring season on an individual's team, thus highlighting the important impact they have off the bench.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
But what is the Sixth Man of the Year award really&nbsp;about? Is it about a player's total impact off the bench? Is it the contribution to winning? Or is it merely the ability to score a lot of points while not being in the starting lineup?
The only legitimate qualification for the award is playing with the second unit more than being in the actual starting five. In 2016-17, while Gordon only started 15 games, he was third on the team in minutes played. Herro was also third in minutes for the Miami Heat this past season.&nbsp;
Volume. Volume. Volume.
However, the Sixth Man of the Year award should look beyond the volume scorers by default and focus on those bench players who have a high-level impact on winning teams.
Take, for instance, Tyus Jones. The Memphis Grizzlies finished with the second-best record in the NBA last season (56-26). Yes, Memphis has a budding superstar in Ja Morant, but the Grizzlies are not where they are today without Jones.
Jones led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.04) by almost 2 assists over the next closest player &mdash; his brother, San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones (5.07). Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has been able to entrust his offense to Tyus with the second unit to the point where Memphis finished with the second-highest scoring average in the NBA last season at 115.6 points per game.&nbsp;
Last season's Sixth Man award-winner was Herro, who had a net rating of plus-5.3. While net rating is more of a team stat, it does indicate that his team was better by more than 5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor. In comparison, the Grizzlies were 7.6 points per 100 possessions better than their opponent when Jones was on the floor.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Taylor Jenkins on how Tyus Jones&rsquo; aggression and confidence scoring the ball enhances the team&rsquo;s offense &mdash; his playmaking, his teammates, productivity <a href="https://t.co/CdGw6gXWRe">pic.twitter.com/CdGw6gXWRe</a>
&mdash; Grizzly Bear Blues (@sbnGrizzlies) <a href="https://twitter.com/sbnGrizzlies/status/1456033306257002504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a great connector out there. I love the spirit [and] leadership he plays with, the way he moves the ball,&rdquo; Jenkins said after the playoff-opening loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. &ldquo;Obviously when he&rsquo;s played a bigger role, he&rsquo;s filled those shoes brilliantly. He plays so well, plays great team basketball.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies were also 17-6 in the games in which Jones had to step in, replacing an All-NBA player in Morant due to injury. Herro only started 10 games in Miami last season, and the Heat were 5-5 in those contests. Further, Herro was playing a less crucial position than Jones and replacing a less depended-upon player.
In those 23 contests in which Jones started, he averaged 12.7 points and 6.6 assists per game. Memphis had an improved Offensive Rating and Defensive Rating compared to his time off the bench, good for plus-14.1 per 100 possessions with Tyus starting. In Herro's 10 starts, his scoring average decreased slightly. (His assists did bump to 4.4 helpers a night, though.)
However, in essence, when Jones was called upon to start, he elevated his play with his increased minutes. Herro's starts were essentially on par with his production off the bench, and Miami saw a significant decrease in both ORTG and DRTG with him as a starter; now, this is partly due to who may have been absent from the lineup. Nonetheless, Herro's impact fell well short of Jones when you look beyond pure scoring.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
A prime example of the "impact winning" argument comes from the Utah Jazz in 2020-21, in which both Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles were up for Sixth Man of the Year. (One of them clearly had to be the seventh man, right?)
Clarkson was top-three in just two categories for the Jazz, points per game and steals per game; meanwhile, Ingles was top-three in assists, Offensive Rating, three-point percentage, Offensive Plus-Minus and Win Shares. So while Clarkson outscored Ingles by an average of 6 points per game, it certainly seems that Ingles had a bigger impact on winning each game.&nbsp;
The NBA is full of nuance. The MVP has always been a nuanced conversation, where statistics and impact beyond basic scoring are weighed and valued. The MVP off the bench should also be deeper than just being a "bucket-getter."
Guys like Joe Ingles in 2020 and Tyus Jones over the last couple of years are an example of some of the most important players off the bench in the entire Association, and it could lead the latter to some golden hardware this season.

Justin Lewis analyzes how Tyus Jones' importance to the Grizzlies' success could lead to him winning the Sixth Man award.

Why Tyus Jones has a case for 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man award with Grizzlies

Duke and North Carolina are taking their much talked about and often debated men&rsquo;s basketball rivalry on the road to a place its never been.
The neighboring schools are preparing for another first in a series filled with big-name players and intense finishes: playing each other in the NCAA Tournament. It seems fitting the matchup comes in the Final Four, with a berth in the championship game on the line.
It&rsquo;s an intriguing script for Saturday night&rsquo;s showdown in New Orleans.
Duke ran North Carolina off its own court in the teams&rsquo; first meeting this season. The Tar Heels exacted revenge by spoiling retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s final home game in what appeared to be their last battle with Coach K.
A third meeting wasn&rsquo;t something either wanted to talk about to start the week, not when Krzyzewski&rsquo;s Blue Devils were first to earn their spot to the Big Easy and not when Hubert Davis&rsquo; Tar Heels followed a day later.
They have to now.
&ldquo;To me, the thing is, I think we&rsquo;re going to have two really good teams play against one another,&rdquo; Krzyzewski said Tuesday, three days after beating Arkansas to claim the West Region title. &ldquo;Whereas, the last two games we were better than them at that point and they were better than us at the other point. And now we&rsquo;ll see what happens.&rdquo;
The Tar Heels continued their second-half surge by beating underdog Saint Peter&rsquo;s on Sunday to win the East Region crown and reach an NCAA-record 21st Final Four despite being a No. 8 seed.
While Davis is surprised the teams have somehow never run into each other in the NCAAs, he shrugged off questions about the significance of the meeting beyond the chance to play for a national title.
&ldquo;Duke-Carolina, the significance, Coach K&rsquo;s last season &mdash; those things, even though that it is a story, and that&rsquo;s relevant, it doesn&rsquo;t help us on the floor,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;So our focus is on what helps us on the floor, and it&rsquo;s our preparation, our practice and our play.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve told the guys, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ve got to turn down or turn off the noise from the phone, the family, the friends and the fans. And focus on what&rsquo;s ahead of us.&rsquo;&rdquo;
The fierce rivalry between programs with a combined 11 NCAA championships has long been an annual must-watch event. It&rsquo;s a series featuring names like Jordan, Laettner, Hill and Jamison, among them. It also has had star power on the sideline, with Krzyzewski battling Hall of Famers like the late Dean Smith and Roy Williams before now facing a first-year coach in former UNC and NBA player Davis.
The teams had come close to this moment only once before, in 1991. That&rsquo;s when both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels reached the Final Four in Indianapolis.
But the Tar Heels, with Davis as a player and Smith the coach, lost the first semifinal to a Kansas team coached by Williams. Then Duke stunned everyone by beating undefeated and reigning national champion UNLV in the second game, creating a what-could&rsquo;ve-been scenario as the Blue Devils went on to beat Williams&rsquo; Jayhawks for Krzyzewski&rsquo;s first of five NCAA championships.
Now it&rsquo;s finally happening, but the script for Round 3 is unclear considering how wildly different the teams&rsquo; two regular-season meetings ended.
The Blue Devils won the first by 20 points in February, dominating behind a star-level performance from freshman A.J. Griffin in particular. Duke looked sharp from the outset, rolling to a 31-8 lead while looking completely unbothered by a crowd booing relentlessly in its own farewell to Krzyzewski in his final trip to Chapel Hill.
By the end, they were celebrating 3-pointers and dunks in a preening performance on the Tar Heels&rsquo; homecourt, sending fans fleeing for the exits with five minutes left. It was a performance that led junior Wendell Moore Jr. said afterward illustrated how his team loves big games and &ldquo;being the villain.&rdquo;
The performance only further heightened questions about the Tar Heels&rsquo; toughness and their lack of a competitive response in lopsided losses to Tennessee, Kentucky, Miami and Wake Forest earlier in the season.
Yet their trajectory changed in the rematch to close the regular season, turning an improving team into one determined to prove its mettle in one of the game&rsquo;s toughest environments. And it came amid the pomp and heightened emotion with Krzyzewski&rsquo;s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium that made it feel more like a spectacle than ever, starting with a pregame ceremony and photo with more than 90 of his former players.
The Tar Heels ignored all of it, playing instead with a fearless fire and confidence lacking in that first meeting.
Davis stuck with his five starters in a substitution-free second half that saw the Tar Heels shoot 59% and score 55 points. And by the end, the Tar Heels were celebrating a double-digit victory on &ldquo;Coach K Court&rdquo; and had Krzyzewski apologizing to the crowd in an awkward warm-up to the postgame ceremony in his honor.
&ldquo;And I&rsquo;ll tell you,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;this season isn&rsquo;t over, all right?&rdquo;
It seems he was talking about this year&rsquo;s rivalry, too.
&ldquo;Just us meeting at this time, especially after beating them in Cameron, it just makes for the perfect story,&rdquo; UNC junior big man Armando Bacot said. &ldquo;And I think it&rsquo;ll definitely be one of the biggest college games of all time.&rdquo;

Duke and North Carolina are taking their much talked about men’s basketball rivalry on the road to a place its never been.

Round 3: UNC, Duke set for first NCAA meeting in Final Four

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 just three days away, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 1 action, here's a recap of what went down on Wednesday.
Tickets Punched
Colgate defeats Navy 74-58, Patriot League Championship
Jack Ferguson: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Greg Summers: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17862404_lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" />
SEC
Missouri defeats Ole Miss 72-60, faces No. 5 LSU
Kobe Brown: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists&nbsp;
Matthew Murrell: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists&nbsp;
Vanderbilt defeats Georgia 86-51, faces No. 6 Alabama
Scotty Pippen Jr.: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Braelen Bridges: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17862620_lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="468" />
Big Ten
Northwestern defeats Nebraska 71-69, faces No. 5 Iowa
Boo Buie: 16 points, 3 assists&nbsp;
Alonzo Verge Jr.: 21 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗦 😼 This is March ‼️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCats</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/NU_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NU_Sports</a> <a href="https://t.co/9dBLxaSHDW">pic.twitter.com/9dBLxaSHDW</a>
&mdash; Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NUMensBball/status/1501729758111019012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>


<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Penn State defeats Minnesota 60-51, faces No. 6 Ohio State
Jalen Pickett: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Jamison Battle: 19 points, 6 rebounds
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17860435_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
ACC
Virginia Tech defeats Clemson in OT 76-75, faces No. 2 Notre Dame
Keve Aluma: 19 points, 10 rebounds
PJ Hall: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛!!!! <a href="https://t.co/hBrAMmBl4P">pic.twitter.com/hBrAMmBl4P</a>
&mdash; Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/HokiesMBB/status/1501744888651653122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>


<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Boston College upsets Wake Forest 82-77 in OT, faces No. 4 Miami (FL)&nbsp;
DeMarr Langford Jr.: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jake LaRavia: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Syracuse defeats Florida State 96-57, faces No. 1 Duke&nbsp;
Cole Swider: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 9-15 FG
Joseph Girard III: 16 points, 4 assists
Virginia defeats Louisville 51-50, faces No. 3 North Carolina
Jayden Gardner: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 7-12 FG
Maliik Williams: 11 opints, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17862474_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
Big 12
West Virginia defeats Kansas State 73-67, faces No. 1 Kansas
Sean McNeil: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 7-10 FG
Nijel Pack: 18 points, 6 rebounds
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17863085_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
Big East
Butler defeats Xavier 89-82, faces No. 1 Providence
Chuck Harris: 29 points, 2 assists
Simas Lukosius: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 11-13 FT
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
DOWN GOES X‼️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ButlerWay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ButlerWay</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Team124?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Team124</a> <a href="https://t.co/CAHgoom1CY">pic.twitter.com/CAHgoom1CY</a>
&mdash; Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/ButlerMBB/status/1501712938033463298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>


<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

St. John&rsquo;s defeats DePaul 92-73, faces No. 2 Villanova
Julian Champagnie: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Javon Freeman-Liberty: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Seton Hall defeats Georgetown, faces No 3. Connecticut
Jared Rhoden: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Aminu Mohammed: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17861107_lg.jpg" alt="" width="701" height="467" />
Pac 12
Stanford defeats Arizona State 71-70, faces No. 1 Arizona
Spencer Jones: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6-12 (3PT)
DJ Horne: 21 points, 8-17 FG
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Heck of a comeback, <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StanfordMBB</a> 😳🤯 <a href="https://t.co/AqCzhETS30">pic.twitter.com/AqCzhETS30</a>
&mdash; Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoStanford/status/1501697971083116544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>


<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Oregon defeats Oregon State 86-72, faces No. 4 Colorado
Jacob Young: 23 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds
Jarod Lucas: 22 points, 2 rebounds, 6-10 FG
Washington State defeats California 66-59, faces No. 2 UCLA
Efe Abogidi: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Jordan Shepherd: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists
Washington defeats Utah 82-70, faces No. 3 Southern California
Terrrell Brown Jr.: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Marco Anthoy: 18 points, 2 assists
&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 1 action, here's a recap of what went down during Wednesday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Wednesday recap

Duke&rsquo;s Mike Krzyzewski has spent more than four decades preparing seniors for managing the emotions that come with taking the court a final time at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This week, the retiring Hall of Famer must do that for someone new: himself.
&ldquo;Little bit of thinking yesterday: &lsquo;This is your last game at Cameron,&rsquo; Krzyzewski said Thursday, two days before his fourth-ranked Blue Devils host North Carolina to close the regular season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s crazy, how did that happen? How is it here? &hellip; I&rsquo;ll have to spend some time, have a meeting with me.
&ldquo;Maybe a few tough talks about keeping my eyes on the road, so to speak.&rdquo;
The 75-year-old known to many as &ldquo;Coach K&rdquo; has spent the better part of a year deflecting questions about his looming retirement and trying to avoid being a distraction or creating additional pressure on his fourth-ranked Blue Devils. The approach has worked, with a roster led by players with NBA futures securing the program&rsquo;s outright first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title since 2006.
Now there are no more deflections, no more chances to push questions into the distance. The moment is here, with Krzyzewski down to one home game &ndash; fittingly against the rival Tar Heels &mdash; and no more than 10 games left in an impressive career.
As Krzyzewski said he told his staff Thursday morning: &ldquo;Who would&rsquo;ve ever thought? It&rsquo;s my Senior Day.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m just going to overall &ndash; I&rsquo;m talking to myself right now &ndash; just let it happen,&rdquo; Krzyzewski said. &ldquo;And see what the hell happens. But try not to let it negatively influence anything for my players, because look, for them, it&rsquo;s their game. &hellip; And I&rsquo;m responsible for making sure that they have the best chance to win that game.&rdquo;
Krzyzewski&rsquo;s resume includes a college-coaching record 1,196 victories to go with five NCAA championships. So much of that success originated in the 82-year-old campus arena, with its cramped confines (9,314 capacity) and rowdy students packed into bleachers practically on top of the court along the length of the sideline to create an intimidating and ear-ringing homecourt advantage.
In all, Krzyzewski has a 572-75 record (.884) in 42 seasons of home games.
His Cameron farewell will be an emotional spectacle, adding another layer to a rivalry that annually commands the spotlight and features neighboring teams with a combined 11 NCAA championships.
The cheapest ticket on StubHub as of Thursday afternoon was $3,250, with seats climbing north of $10,000 &mdash; including some with asking prices of $50,000 and, improbably, $99,988 each. The school expects around 80 of Krzyzewski&rsquo;s former Duke players to attend, just one example of how his influence on the sport will continue long past his retirement.
Steve Wojciechowski will be among that group.
The former Blue Devils defensive-minded point guard best known as &ldquo;Wojo&rdquo; became an assistant on Krzyzewski&rsquo;s staff before spending seven seasons as Marquette&rsquo;s head coach until last year. His enduring Cameron moment came on his Senior Day in 1998, when Duke rallied to beat a North Carolina team featuring future NBA players Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter.
At the horn, Wojciechowski turned and ran straight to Krzyzewski for a firm and lasting hug amid the rare sight of &ldquo;Cameron Crazies&rdquo; storming the court to celebrate.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s surreal,&rdquo; Wojciechowski said. &ldquo;How many things in your life have been consistent over a 40-year period, where you know you go somewhere and turn on the TV, there&rsquo;s a constant there that you can depend on? In all of our lives? Very few. Duke, and Coach K being there, is one of them.&rdquo;
Not every memory is quite as sweet, though.
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, the point guard on Krzyzewski&rsquo;s first two NCAA title teams, still remembers Krzyzewski working out the team after a long bus ride home following a January 1991 loss at Virginia.
&ldquo;Coach said to go get taped and we were going to practice,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;And we practiced like another two hours, so that was probably a not-so-good behind-the-scenes memory at Cameron Indoor.&rdquo;
Current player Wendell Moore Jr., has heard stories like that from former players that came before him, laughing that Krzyzewski has &ldquo;definitely chilled out with us a little bit, I&rsquo;ve heard.&rdquo;
Moore said Krzyzewski was &ldquo;a little sentimental&rdquo; with the team this week.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s known it&rsquo;s coming to an end,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;So for him, he wants to cherish every last moment of it. ... I mean, we know where he&rsquo;s coming from. A guy like him, he never thinks it&rsquo;s going to end for him. But he knows his time is coming, so we&rsquo;re doing everything we can just to stay in the moment with him.&rdquo;

The moment is here, with Mike Krzyzewski down to one home game – fittingly against the rival Tar Heels.

After year of deflection, Coach K’s Cameron farewell is here

Minneapolis, MN&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-4, 6-2 Big Ten) have had some impressive wins this season against Wisconsin, Seton Hall, and Duke, but the start of conference play has been up and down. They got back on track Thursday with a 75-64 win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-6, 6-4 Big Ten). It was Chris Holtmann&rsquo;s 100th win at Ohio State.
The first half was close all the way through as the teams changed leads multiple times, with Ohio State&nbsp; heading to the locker room up 32-30. Malaki Branham led the way with 11 points and E.J. Liddell followed up with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Senior guard Payton Willis led the Gophers with 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting.&nbsp;
Kyle Young started the second half out on a tear, as the Buckeyes extended their lead to 48-37. Sophomore forward Zed Key got it going on the interior as well, which helped stretch the lead to 66-53. Ohio State never looked back and cruised to the victory.&nbsp;
A potential 2022 NBA Draft pick, Liddell leads the Buckeyes in both points (19.4) and rebounds (7.3). He led all players in scoring with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists, and also scored his 1000th career point. Young had an efficient night on the inside with 14 points and 4 rebounds.&nbsp;
After a 10-1 start, the Golden Gophers seem to have hit a wall, losing four straight to start the year before getting a 68-65 win against Rutgers prior to this game. 6-foot-7 sophomore Jamison Battle has had a tremendous year, averaging 18 points per game. He had a rough night shooting at 5 of 18 from the floor, but led the team with 15 points.&nbsp;
The Buckeyes are currently No. 4 in the conference standings and are currently projected to be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;
UPCOMING
Minnesota will travel to No. 11 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon.
Ohio State travels to No. 6 Purdue on Saturday.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

The Buckeyes got back on track tonight with a 75-64 win against Minnesota in Chris Holtmann’s 100th win at Ohio State.

E.J. Liddell scores 23 points, Ohio State defeats Minnesota 75-64

Evan Fournier made his Boston Celtics debut during Monday's matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, after being traded from the Orlando Magic prior to the deadline. Fournier's debut was eye-opening for all the wrong reasons, as the 6-foot-7 shooting guard out of France put up zero points while shooting 0-10 from the field and 0-5 from behind the arc. 
<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1376718943310684160" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to StatMuse</a>, that&rsquo;s the most scoreless minutes by a Celtic with 10+ attempts since the start of the three-point era (1980). There was no shortage of playing time for Fournier, as he logged 33 minutes, but the nine-year veteran just couldn't buy a basket in his new threads.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, Fournier is the fourth player in the shot clock era to go 0-10 or worse in their debut with a new team. The others: Antawn Jamison (who went 0-12 with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010), Corey Blount (who went 0-10 with the Golden State Warriors in 2001) and Kevin McKenna (who went 0-10 with the Indiana Pacers in 1983).&nbsp;
The last time Fournier was scoreless in a game in which he wasn't ejected or injured was an 0-6 shooting performance in a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 4, 2016. He also had a 0-point game against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 10, 2019, but that's because he was ejected after just 14 minutes because he picked up two quick technical fouls. 
Tonight, Fournier's plus-minus was a -23 and his final stat line read: 0 points, 0 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Boston ultimately fell to New Orleans, 115-109, and they are now below .500 with a 23-24 record.
Fournier will look to bounce back on Wednesday when the Celtics host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Newly acquired Celtic Evan Fournier went scoreless in his debut with the team, shooting 0-10 from the field in 32 minutes.

Trey