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San Jose State saw an important season of growth in its men’s college basketball program come to a disappointing end in hail of missed shots Monday, falling 67-57 to Radford in the College Basketball Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Spartans, seeded No. 2, led by as many as eight points in the first half, fell behind early in the second half and were within 47-46 with 8:57 left before seeing the No, 10 Highlanders pull away down the stretch.

San Jose State ends its season at 21-14 one year after finishing 8-23 under coach Tim Miles, the Mountain West Coach of the Year. The Highlanders, from Radford, Va., and members of the Big South, are also 21-14 and play in the semifinals at the Ocean Center Tuesday night.

“We missed a lot of layups and in a low-possession, one-and-done tournament those are critical errors,” Miles said. “We didn’t play our best at the big moments. These guys accomplished a whole bunch all season but tonight there were too many turnovers and too many misses of inside shots that were right there for us.”

Guard Omari Moore, the MWC Player of the Year, led San Jose State with 17 points and added four rebounds and five assists. Tibet Gorener added 11 for the Spartans and hit four of six 3-point shots.

DaQuan Smith led a balanced Radford scoring attack with 16 points, with Kenyon Giles adding 11 and Shaq Jules and Bryan Antoine 10 each.

The Spartans shot just 36 percent from the floor (20-for-56) and had twice as many turnovers (12 to 6) as the Highlanders. A team that has hung its hat on rebounding all season, finishing sixth in the national in rebounding margin, was beaten 40-35 on the board.

It didn’t help that Ibrahima Diallo, a 7-foot center from Senegal, opened the game as a starter after injuring an ankle Saturday and had three quick rebounds in six minutes before reinjuring his ankle and missing the rest of the game.

“When Ibrahima went out, our rebounding went right with him honestly,” Miles said. “We just weren’t able to come up with the loose balls. You’ve got to credit Radford, they were really quick to the ball, they were on high-alert, and we weren’t.”

Considering San Jose State had Sunday off while Radford was playing on back-to-back days and was coming off an overtime win against Tarleton State, it made for a disappointing finish.

“We didn’t play our best basketball today and it stunk because that’s a team we feel like if we play 50 times, we win 49, but they got us today,” Moore said. “It’s our last game together as a group. That’s definitely a tough feeling for sure.”

Once the disappointment wears off, the Spartans can look back on winning 20 games for the first time since going 22-9 in 1980-81. Moore finished with 1,312 career points, sixth in career history, and cemented what Miles believes will be a spot in the Spartans Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet, but I think I’ve put together a career I can be proud of and my family can be proud of,” Moore said. “It’s definitely sad that it’s come to an end, but I love San Jose and I’m glad I was able to play a part in pushing this program in the right direction.”

Moore said he has another year of eligibility left if he wants it, but is leaning toward the process of getting prepared for the NBA Draft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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STANFORD — It was an emotional and heartbreaking night at Maples Pavilion for Stanford, which saw its season end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 54-49 loss to Ole Miss.

But through the tears of sadness and finality for the Cardinal’s seniors, Tara VanDerveer did offer one ray of sunshine: the head coach said Hannah Jump plans to return for a fifth year.

“Hannah Jump is planning to come back, so you know, we are excited about that,” VanDerveer said. “I always meet the fourth-year seniors before every game and I just said, ‘Hey, here, this is your last game [at Maples]. And she goes, ‘Not for me,’ but I knew that. We’re excited that she’ll be coming back.”

Jump declined to comment publicly about her future plans. But the senior had tears in her eyes when she spoke to Bay Area News Group about the emotions she was feeling after Sunday’s loss.

“Everything’s kind of hitting me right now,” Jump said. “It’s definitely not the way I wanted the season to end, not the way I wanted our seniors to go out. To lose this last game here at Maples, it’s heartbreaking.

“But Ole Miss played a great game, they were very aggressive, they sped us up a lot. We fought back and I was proud of us for fighting back in the third, fourth quarter. I was really proud of our grit and our fight and our will to come back. We just couldn’t finish it.”

Pinewood's Hannah Jump (24) shoots layup against Archbishop Mitty's Haley Jones (30) in the first period of their Central Coast Section Open Division girls basketball championship game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Pinewood’s Hannah Jump (24) shoots layup against Archbishop Mitty’s Haley Jones (30) in the first period of their Central Coast Section Open Division girls basketball championship game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Jump was a high school star at Pinewood, twice making the all-Bay Area News Group first team for the school just four miles down the road from Stanford. In her first two years with Stanford, Jump was a key piece off the bench and shot 43.2% from 3-point range for the national title-winning team in 2020-21.

But Jump began starting some games in 2021-22 and started every single game of 2022-23, averaging 31.7 minutes per game and blossoming into a major piece for Stanford. She set a program record with 100 3-pointers in a single season on 227 attempts and she’s in the top 10 in the country in both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage (44.1%).

She played 36 minutes on Sunday night, scoring eight points and playing stout defense to help the Cardinal nearly come from down 13 midway through the third quarter. She expressed pride in how she’s grown into such a vital piece for the Cardinal, even through the pain of the loss.

“Everything I do out there impacts the game, which I think we saw today,” Jump said. “Whether it’s me shooting, defense or spreading the floor. I think this season has given me a lot of confidence. Confidence through Tara, confidence that my teammates have in me and confidence in myself. This is not how we wanted it to all end.”

It’s pretty clear that VanDerveer would welcome Jump back, too. While the Cardinal offense thrived inside, VanDerveer identified outside shooting as a problem for Stanford this season, even with Jump on the team.

“I think we have a great inside game with Cam on the block, and I think Cam can be more versatile,” VanDerveer said. “I think we struggled with perimeter shooting, and maybe shot selection.”

Jump’s potential use of the extra year of eligibility would be an immense help with that. But the end of the season will mean the end of the time with her other three seniors: Francesca Belibi, Haley Jones and Ashten Prechtel.

VanDerveer said Belibi has been accepted into an academic program at Harvard and isn’t sure if she would return. The coach added that Prechtel already has her master’s degree and wants to play professionally, as does Jones — Jump’s close friend, club teammate and high school rival.

Even if she comes back, the quartet that called themselves “The Funky Four” likely won’t be. And Jump said her time with the other three “meant everything.”

“We’re literally all sisters, we do everything together,” Jump said. “This being our final game as the four of us is really, really tough. We know we had bigger goals for ourselves, and in past years, we’ve been able to do that. It hurts to not be able to play to our full potential or get to those goals. But the love I have for these girls doesn’t change.

“I’m super excited for Haley and what’s coming for her in the next couple months, and whatever happens with the others, I’m super excited for them, too.”

Stanford Cardinal's Hannah Jump (33) celebrates her 3-point shot and foul against the Santa Clara Broncos in the second quarter at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford Cardinal’s Hannah Jump (33) celebrates her 3-point shot and foul against the Santa Clara Broncos in the second quarter at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

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STANFORD — The senior class that led Stanford back to the top of women’s basketball knew Sunday was their final game in Maples Pavilion together heading into the game.

Ole Miss made it their final game, period.

The No. 8 seed Rebels stifled the No. 1 seed Cardinal all night en route to a 54-49 upset victory, ending Stanford’s season on their home floor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

After a furious Stanford comeback tied the game with 1:16 to go, Hannah Jump threw the ball directly into the arms of Ole Miss forward Madison Scott, who was fouled by Haley Jones with 18 seconds to go.

Scott made two free throws and Stanford tried to feed the ball into Jones. But Ole Miss double-team caused Jones to lose the ball out of bounds. Ole Miss made its two free throws to go up four and, after its final timeout, Stanford committed another turnover on the inbounds pass.

The Rebels led by as many as 13 midway through the third and led by eight with six minutes to go. But Stanford held the Rebels scoreless for 5.5 minutes and came back to tie the game on layups from Cameron Brink, Jump and Jones followed by two free throws from Brink.

Stanford had a possession with the game tied and less than a minute, calling two timeouts to try and find the right play. On the inbound after the second timeout, Jump picked up her dribble in the corner and tried to hit Jones, but Scott stepped in front of the pass for the steal.

The late fourth quarter turnovers were the final three of 20 the Cardinal committed on the night. The Rebels’ defense also caused all sorts of problems for Stanford around the rim, with the official statistics showing that the Cardinal missed 21 layups.

Brink made a major impact after missing the first round game against Sacred Heart because of a stomach bug. The second-team All-American led the Cardinal with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks.

In what ended up being her final game wearing Stanford red, Jones has 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting and eight rebounds. Jump added eight points. The rest of Stanford’s players only scored five points on the night.

The last time Stanford didn’t reach the Sweet 16 – which was also the last time the Cardinal lost an NCAA Tournament game at Maples Pavilion – was in 2007, when Florida State came across the country and knocked off Stanford 68-61 in the second round. It’s only the fifth time Stanford has lost an NCAA Tournament game at Maples Pavilion.

It’s also just the fifth time that a No. 1 seed hasn’t advanced to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA women’s tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994 and the first time since 2009.

Ole Miss will advance to the Sweet 16 in Seattle Regional 4 and will play either No. 4 seed Texas or No. 5 seed Louisville on Friday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (time to be determined).

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As the final minute ticked off the clock, the Princeton fans started chanting “Sweet 16! Sweet 16!” and coach Mitch Henderson cleared the bench with the victory easily in hand.

This upset was no small-school fluke against a more heralded team. It was a thoroughly dominating performance that sent Princeton to a place it hadn’t been in more than a half-century.

Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another power conference team to reach the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri 78-63 on Saturday.

“The world looks at us as two upsets,” forward Tosan Evbuomwan said. “But I feel like we’re supposed to be here. We have a lot of confidence in one another, what we’re doing. There’s definitely no letup with this group.”

The No. 15 seeded Princeton (23-8) followed up a first-round win over Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona by overwhelming 10th seeded Missouri (25-10) of the Southeastern Conference from the start.

The Ivy League school known for giving powerhouses scares and occasionally pulling off upsets a generation ago has reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1967 when only 23 teams even made the tournament.

“I have no words for you,” Peters said. “We have such an unbelievable section (of fans) here. I have the best teammates in the world. I love each and every one of them. when we go out and believe in each other, anything is possible. I know it’s cliche, but anything is possible.”

Princeton will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Baylor and Creighton in the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday night.

The Tigers will be the second Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 in the past 43 tournaments, joining Cornell in 2010. No team from the academically prestigious league that doesn’t give athletic scholarships has gone further since Penn made the Final Four in 1979.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing deep into the tournament,” said Henderson, a player on Princeton’s teams in 1996 and ’98 that won first-round games. “As a player, got to the second round a couple times. Never got beyond it.”

This marks the third straight year a team seeded 15th made it to the Sweet 16, following Oral Roberts in 2021 and fellow New Jersey school Saint Peter’s last year. The only other time a 15 seed made it this far came in 2012 when Florida Gulf Coast did it.

Ryan Langborg led Princeton with 22 points and Peters added 17.

DeAndre Gholston scored 19 points and Noah Carter added 14 for Missouri, which was seeking its first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2009.

“We were able to get the lead one time,” coach Dennis Gates said. “We held the lead for 30 seconds in the entire game. Every time we got the lead or when they had the lead, we cut it to six, they came back down and did what a good team would do: Make a shot or make a play.”

Princeton showed no signs of being outclassed against another power conference team, controlling the play from the start. Keeshawn Kellman had two dunks and a blocked shot in a span of 16 seconds midway through the half.

Princeton built the lead to 10 points on a corner 3 by Zach Martini and went up 33-19 on a drive by Evbuomwan.

Missouri responded by scoring the final seven points of the half to go into the break down seven.

Every time Missouri threatened early in the second half, Princeton had an answer with Peters hitting five 3-pointers. The fourth gave Princeton a 62-43 lead and Missouri never threatened after that.

“Blake Peters has been making shots coming off the bench for us for weeks,” Henderson said. “This is a very, very confident group. We are so thrilled to be going to the Sweet 16. It is an absolute pleasure being around these guys. They just grit their teeth and they do it.”

BIG PICTURE

Princeton: Princeton was more than a match physically with Missouri with a 44-30 rebounding edge and 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. Caden Pierce led the way with 16 rebounds.

“They’re playing absolutely fearless,” Henderson said. “They’re unafraid of anyone.”

Missouri: Coach Dennis Gates’ first season at Missouri was a successful one with 25 wins but still had a disappointing finish.

UP NEXT

Princeton will look for its first Elite Eight appearance since 1965 when Bill Bradley was the star.

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STANFORD — When Stanford is at full strength, it’s hard to find any team in the country that’s as tall and long as the Cardinal.

But it sure would help to have their All-American post player ready for what should be a tough battle for rebounds on Sunday.

Thankfully for the No. 1 seed Cardinal, Cameron Brink was able to practice on Saturday after she missed Friday’s game with a non-COVID related illness.

Brink, who posted on Instagram that she had an IV put in her arm, said she’s ready for Sunday’s 6:30 p.m. second round NCAA Tournament game against the No. 8 seed Ole Miss.

“It was just a stomach bug, and just dealing with that,” Brink said. “As long as I’m ready to play tomorrow, that’s all that matters.”

Stanford was able to do just fine without Brink in its first round game, blasting No. 16 seed Sacred Heart. But coach Tara VanDerveer admitted that “it is really different not having Cam out there” afterwards and would welcome her return to the lineup.

“We need Cam,” VanDerveer said. “We’re really happy that she’s back. I thought she practiced well today.”

VanDerveer said they’ll have to wait until tomorrow to figure out if Brink needs any minutes restriction, saying, “everyone is always day-to-day.Sunday’s opponent looked especially strong in their blowout win over Gonzaga, actually beating the Bulldogs by a wider margin than Stanford did earlier this year (84-63 on Dec. 4, 2023, although Gonzaga only had seven players that night).

VanDerveer quipped that she “didn’t sleep last night” in preparing for the matchup after the Rebels dominated the Bulldogs on the glass, grabbing 24 offensive rebounds en route to scoring 21 second chance points. For Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the Rebels reaching the 50-rebound mark for the fourth time this season can be credited to their tough conference slate.

“It’s playing in the Southeastern Conference. Every night, we are playing against elite level talent. We’re playing against elite athletes. And we have to fight,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We did not think that that would be impossible for us to do tonight or any time in the NCAA Tournament – unless we face South Carolina again; they are monstrous.”

But there’s another funny tidbit about those Gamecocks that both Ole Miss and Stanford share: they are the only two teams in the country to take South Carolina to overtime.

Stanford did so back on Nov. 20, when the reigning national champions came back from down 10 points entering the fourth quarter to win 76-71 at Maples Pavilion.

Ole Miss were also home on Feb. 19 when they took the undefeated Gamecocks to overtime and lost 64-57. The Rebels faced them again in the SEC tournament semifinals and lost 81-50.

In those two games, South Carolina’s size led the Rebels to getting out-rebounded by double digits (by 13 in each game). They’ve only been outrebounded by double digits one time all season.

Could Stanford’s similar size inside to South Carolina present a similar challenge to the Rebels? McPhee-McCuin isn’t sure, if only because of the Gamecocks’ size throughout their entire lineup.

“South Carolina, their front court is 6-6, 6-5, 6-4, 6-3. Stanford’s big, but I don’t remember their 2-guard being 6-3,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I think that they are going to be really good on the glass as well, but even versus South Carolina, we competed. They didn’t just annihilate us on the glass … That’s just who we are. So no matter what, we feel like we can rebound with the best of them.”

The numbers bear that out, too. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Stanford had the fifth-best rebounding average in the country, grabbing 45.6 per game. Ole Miss isn’t far behind, with their 41.7 rebounds per game ranking 21st out of 361 teams.

Stanford’s senior star Haley Jones and the Cardinal watched the first half of Ole Miss’ win over Gonzaga from the stands and left the impression that the Rebels were “very aggressive.” But that’s not anything Stanford hasn’t dealt with in the Pac-12, either.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s not like anything crazy,” Jones said. “We prepare to rebound every single game, but now it’s just more of an emphasis … We’ve had games to prepare us for this — o-board teams like Colorado, South Carolina, Tennessee, we’ve prepped for that in the past. So it’s just really locking into that.”

And the key to the game? That’s an easy question to answer, both for the coach and for the player who didn’t play on Friday.

“Boxing out is what’s going to [matter],” Brink said. “We’ve just got to forearm them and make sure they don’t get an o-boards. Simple.”

VanDerveer added, “You have to rebound against this team. Our team is going to have to be aggressive. Can’t be the nice girls from Stanford.”

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, hoping to take her basketball team to the finals of the Women's NCAA Tournament, speaks after their opening round victory over Sacred Heart, Friday, March 17, 2023, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, hoping to take her basketball team to the finals of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, speaks after their opening round victory over Sacred Heart, Friday, March 17, 2023, at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

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Considering San Jose State hadn’t played in the postseason in 12 years and was still looking for a breakthrough victory, its 75-52 win over Southern Indiana Saturday in the College Basketball Invitational carried a significance that belied the anonymity of the event.

The Spartans, seeded No. 2, handled the 15th-seeded Screaming Eagles with relative ease, taking a double-digit lead before the game at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., was 10 minutes old and keeping its foot on the gas throughout.

“I think it’s very important for the image of our players, for the image of our program,” San Jose State coach Tim Miles said. “Let’s face it — San Jose State men’s basketball has been down for a long time and we’re trying to etch out a reputation for program support in the community, whether it be on campus or in the Silicon Valley. To do that, you need to do well.”

The game was a carryover of a season that has seen San Jose State go from 8-23 under Miles a year ago in his first season to 21-13. Southern Indiana, a former Division II program from the Ohio Valley Conference, fell to 16-17 and were overmatched from beginning to end.

Guard Alvaro Cardenas, a sophomore from Granada, Spain, led San Jose State with 22 points in 22 minutes, going 8-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-6 on 3-point shots. Omari Moore, the Mountain West Player of the Year, took just nine shots but scored 15 points with eight rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers.

For Southern Indiana, guard Isaiah Swope had 16 points and Tyler Henry 10. Forward Jacob Polakovich, an All-OVC performer who was averaging 12.4 points per game and was among the national leaders with 13.0 rebounds, had just six points and seven rebounds against the San Jose State interior defense.

Pretty much everyone got in the act for the Spartans, who will face either Tarleton State or Radford in the second round Monday. Ranked No. 6 in the country in rebounding margin, San Jose State beat Southern Indiana 50-25 on the glass.

Robert Vaihola played just 12 minutes and had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Spartans did all that good work mostly without Ibrahima Diallo, their 7-foot center from Senegal who departed with a left ankle sprain nine minutes into the game, did not return, and is questionable to play in the second round.

The Spartans will have bigger aspirations down the road, but for the moment are just fine with a big win in the CBI. Not counting conference tournaments, San Jose State had lots its five previous games — a loss to Creighton in the CBI in 2011, NCAA Tournament losses to Kentucky in 1996, Missouri in 1980 and Brigham Young in 1951, and and a 1981 defeat against UTEP in the NIT.

“It’s super important,” Cardenas said. “San Jose hasn’t been the best team over the years and playing in the postseason is always great no matter what tournament it is. It’s been a long time since San Jose played a postseason game and we were really excited to get the win.”

For Miles, it was gratifying to see his team stay true to the strengths that enabled the Spartans to go 10-8 in the MWC and beat Nevada — which made the NCAA Tournament — in the conference tourney.

“You never know as a coach in the postseason how the first game is going to go, matter what,” Miles said. “Look at Purdue (which lost to Farleigh Dickenson) in the NCAAs. “Our mindset was excellent. I thought we came out and we were who we are.”

Cardenas, who averaged 9.8 points per game coming in, said he was looking to be aggressive when opportunities presented themselves and liked the roster balance in terms of contributions.

“I tried not to force anything and make the shots that I had open, and I made them,” Cardenas said. “Sometimes it’s true we have relied on Omari too much and today we all shared the ball a little more and tried to be aggressive.”

 

 

 

 

 

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STANFORD — Stanford’s experience has been considered a massive advantage whenever the Cardinal takes the floor.

But even with several key contributors who have played in back-to-back Final Fours and won the national championship in 2021, the Cardinal will need their freshmen to make an impact, too.

And that’ll be especially important if All-American Cameron Brink misses No. 1 seed Stanford’s second round game against No. 8 seed Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday with a non-COVID related illness, too.

In their first taste of NCAA Tournament action, each of Stanford’s three freshmen — center Lauren Betts and guards Talana Lepolo and Indya Nivar — had a solid game in a first round rout of No. 16 seed Sacred Heart and got a chance to enjoy their first taste of March Madness.

“It’s just really exciting,” Betts said. “This is something that Indya and I have grown up watching for a very long time, so it’s just an honor to be here and play on this team and just have this experience with the amazing people I get to be with every day.”

Both Nivar and Betts said their Big Dance debut was just like any other, though Nivar added, “But just with a little bit more excitement behind it knowing that this game, we have to do what we have to do to get to the next.”

Nivar scored double-digit points for just the second time all season, making 4-of-6 shots (one 3-pointer) and both free throws to tally 11 points in 20 minutes. Lepolo, a Carondelet alum Lepolo had a game-high seven assists and three steals while adding three points in 23 minutes.

Perhaps most encouraging for the Cardinal was Betts’ night, as the 6-foot-7 center filled in for Brink had 10 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action. She gave Brink credit for helping her improve to this point in practice.

“I think Cameron and I, KiKi and I, go at it every day and definitely put me in this position,” Betts said. “Today, if someone can’t make it, I’m ready to go, and I know what I have [to contribute].”

Brink posted on Instagram that it was “just a stomach bug” right as the game started on Friday, but included a photo of her at the hospital with an IV in. She’s considered day-to-day.

But with as deep of a team as Stanford has, coach Tara VanDerveer often has a hard time taking her leaders, like seniors Haley Jones and Hannah Jump and Brink, off the floor.

“It is very hard to get minutes for 15 people. It’s really impossible,” VanDerveer said. “I feel sometimes like, when I watch the Warriors play, you know, sometimes someone might play a lot in this game, not that much in the next game. That’s really hard on a young person. But we’re led by Cam and Haley and Hannah Jump, and I think Talana is doing really well.”

Jones and Jump have played 35 minutes or more 15 times each this season and Lepolo has also crossed the 35-minute mark four times, even as a freshman.

So to have a night like Friday, where Jones only played 25 minutes, Jump and Lepolo each played 24 minutes and the players who filled in behind them and for Brink performed well, can be especially valuable at this time of year.

“Indya had a really great game. Lauren Betts came in and filled in beautifully. Fran [Belibi] did really well. There wasn’t anyone that did poorly,” VanDerveer said. “You know, we needed this for our team to kind of bust out a little bit, remind ourselves this is what we can do.”

But make no mistake: the Cardinal would prefer to have their two-time All-American post player back and healthy for Sunday’s game.

“It is really different not having Cam out there,” VanDerveer said. “But I thought different people stepped up very well for us.”

Rebels come in with confidence, similar close call to Stanford

Sunday’s opponent looked especially strong in their blowout win over Gonzaga, actually beating the Bulldogs by a wider margin than Stanford did earlier this year (84-63 on Dec. 4, 2023, although Gonzaga only had seven players that night).

The Rebels did that in part through their domination on the glass, grabbing 24 offensive rebounds en route to scoring 21 second chance points. For coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the Rebels reaching the 50-rebound mark for the fourth time this season can be credited to their tough conference slate.

“It’s playing in the Southeastern Conference. Every night, we are playing against elite level talent. We’re playing against elite athletes,. And we have to fight,” McPhee-McCuin said. “We did not think that that would be impossible for us to do tonight or any time in the NCAA Tournament – unless we face South Carolina again; they are monstrous.”

But there’s a funny tidbit about those Gamecocks that both Ole Miss and Stanford share: they are the only two teams in the country to take South Carolina to overtime.

Stanford did so back on Nov. 20, when the reigning national champions came back from down 10 points entering the fourth quarter to win 76-71 at Maples Pavilion.

Ole Miss were also home on Feb. 19 when they took the undefeated Gamecocks to overtime and lost 64-57. The Rebels faced them again in the SEC tournament semifinals and lost 81-50.

In those two games, South Carolina’s size led the Rebels to getting out-rebounded by double digits (by 13 in each game). They’ve only been outrebounded by double digits one time all season.

Could Stanford’s similar size inside to South Carolina present a similar challenge to the Rebels? McPhee-McCuin isn’t sure, if only because of the Gamecocks’ size throughout their entire lineup.

“South Carolina, their front court is 6-6, 6-5, 6-4, 6-3. Stanford’s big, but I don’t remember their 2-guard being 6-3,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I think that they are going to be really good on the glass as well, but even versus South Carolina, we competed. They didn’t just annihilate us on the glass. I guess that’s the point I’m making. That’s just who we are.

“So no matter what, we feel like we can rebound with the best of them, and we’ve shown that because at the end of the day, South Carolina is the No. 1 team in the country until someone beats them, and we’ve been able to rebound with them. So if anything, it gives us confidence.”

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STANFORD — Most teams would struggle if they were missing an All-American.

Then again, most teams don’t have two All-Americans.

With Cameron Brink missing the game because of an illness, Haley Jones had 17 points and six rebounds to lead No. 1 seed Stanford to a 92-49 win on Friday night over No. 16 seed Sacred Heart in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The senior — who was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press (AP) this week — scored all 17 of her points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Jones only played seven minutes in the second half as the Cardinal pulled away from the Pioneers.

The Cardinal will play in the second round on Sunday, with the time still to be determined, against the winner of No. 8 seed Ole Miss and No. 9 seed Gonzaga’s game.

Fellow senior Hannah Jump broke Stanford’s program record for 3-pointers in a single season when she beat the halftime buzzer from deep, with her third triple of the first half giving her 97 for the season. She passed Karlie Samuelson’s 2016-17 season and the 2010-11 season of Jeanette Pohlen, who was on the Cardinal’s radio call for the moment.

Jump finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, all from 3-point range. It’s a drastic improvement from her last time on the floor, when she didn’t score a point in Stanford’s loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.

Brink, who was a second team AP All-American, said that it is “just a stomach bug” and that she’ll “be back ASAP” on Instagram. She’s officially considered day-to-day by the program.

The Cardinal (29-5) didn’t seem to miss Brink’s presence against the Pioneers, whose tallest player is 6-foot-2. Stanford started 6-foot-1 Francesca Belibi in Brink’s place and the senior contributed a double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Stanford also increased 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts’ workload to fill in for Brink. In her first NCAA Tournament game, the freshman had 10 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. She also had an emphatic block of Sacred Heart’s 5-foot-3 guard Ny’Ceara Pryor in the second quarter, one of three rejections on the night.

Pryor, who was the Northeast Conference’s Player, Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year this season, led the Pioneers with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting.

Sacred Heart (18-14) kept the game close early, as Stanford only led 23-18 after the first quarter. The Cardinal then outscored the Pioneers 50-19 in the middle two quarters — 22-8 in the second and 28-11 in the third.

As Reported by Marin Independent Journal

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STANFORD — Stanford will be starting its NCAA Tournament run without one of its two All-Americans.

Junior forward Cameron Brink is out for Friday’s matchup between the No. 1 seed Cardinal and No. 16 Sacred Heart with what the school said is “a non-COVID related illness.”

Brink attended Stanford’s practice on Thursday but didn’t participate in the portion of practice that media members attended. She was wearing street clothes on the Cardinal’s bench. Head coach Tara VanDerveer told the media on Thursday that a few members of the team have had a stomach bug this week.

Brink was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press on Wednesday after averaging 14.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in 2022-23. It’s the second time she’s made an AP All-American team (third-team in 2021-22).

Her status is considered day-to-day. The Cardinal may not miss the 6-foot-4 forward much against Sacred Heart, as the Pioneers’ tallest play is 6-foot-2. Stanford is looking to avoid a repeat of its own history, as the Cardinal has the only loss to a No. 16 seed in the history of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Still, if Stanford beats Sacred Heart, it’s possible she could miss Sunday’s second round game against the winner of Friday’s second game between No. 8 seed Mississippi and No. 9 seed Gonzaga.

It is unknown who Stanford is starting in Brink’s place alongside their other All-American, senior Haley Jones — who is playing in her final home games this weekend — as well as senior Hannah Jump, sophomore Kiki Iriafen and freshman Talana Lepolo.

As Reported by Marin Independent Journal

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By The Associated Press

March Madness has begun! On the tournment’s opening day, only four out of 32 teams lost to lower-seeded foes but two of them were big: No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Arizona both went down, busting millions of brackets.

Here is what to know going into Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament, including the favorites and underdogs as well as key games:

HOW TO WATCH

Every game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms. CBS, which also has a handy schedule that includes announcing teams, will handle the Final Four and national title game this year.

The NCAA will again stream games via its March Madness Live option and CBS games will be streamed on Paramount+. Fans of longtime play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz should soak up every moment: It’s his final NCAA Tournament.

TOP SEEDS

The top four seeds in the tournament are Alabama, Houston, Kansas, and Purdue. Each is in a region, some tougher than others (on paper), and each has had its share of headaches to set up what could be a chaotic tournament. Here is the latest from each region:

EAST REGION: The Boilermakers got a No. 1 seed for the fourth time, but Purdue could face potential hurdles in Memphis and surging Duke. Savvy veteran coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State are in the East, too, facing a first-round matchup with Southern Cal and coach Andy Enfield of Dunk City fame.

SOUTH REGION: Alabama, led by coach Nate Oats in a challenging season, is a No. 1 seed for the first time behind SEC player of the year Brandon Miller, who has armed security on hand after being the subject of threats. The Crimson Tide opened the tourney with an easy win. Potential hurdles could include Baylor or Missouri.

MIDWEST REGION: Houston got a top seed and won its opener even though All-American Marcus Sasser is clearly hobbled (strained groin). Potential hurdles could include Penn State, which hammered Texas A&M behind eight 3-pointers and 27 points from Andrew Funk. Former Arizona coach Sean Miller has Xavier in the tourney, too.

WEST REGION: Kansas is the top seed in a stacked region and the Jayhawks pulled away from Howard in their opener to advance to a tantalizing second-round matchup against Arkansas. No. 2 seed UCLA looked every bit a title contender in its opener. And you may remember VCU becoming the first NCAA tourney team to forfeit a game because of COVID-19 two years ago; the 12th-seeded Rams are back for a first-round game against Saint Mary’s.

SHINING MOMENTS

Princeton and the Paladins grabbed the spotlight early on opening day and Penn State’s Andrew Funk said goodnight with a spectacular shooting display.

The Ivy League’s Tigers used a late run to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, ousting No. 2 seed Arizona, 59-55. By then, the Paladins were already celebrating Furman’s first tourney appearance since 1980 with a win over No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67, on a deep 3-pointer by JP Pegues with 2.4 seconds left.

Texas A&M had no answer for Penn State’s stifling defense and 3-point acumen of Funk, who hit 8 of 10 from deep to help send the Aggies home.

GAMES TO WATCH

No. 5 Miami (25-7) vs. Drake (27-7), Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET (TBS). The game features two conference players of the year, Miami’s Isaiah Wong in the ACC for the regular-season co-champions, and Drake’s Tucker DeVries from the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champs. DeVries is averaging 19 points while Wong leads the team in scoring (16.2 points per game), assists and steals. Drake made the Elite Eight three years running, though it has been a while (1969-71).

No. 6 Kentucky (21-11) vs. No. 11 Providence (21-11), Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET. (CBS). Led by last year’s AP player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, the Wildcats are trying to avoid back-to-back first-round exits after that infamous defeat to Saint Peter’s. The Friars, meanwhile, went to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual champion Kansas. They’re led by Kentucky transfer Bryce Hopkins.

GO DEEPER

Gun violence has cost lives and disrupted college sports all season, touching some of the top programs in college basketball, including Alabama. Coaches have been thrust into uncertain and unwelcome roles in trying to navigate the topic — as well as the fallout from the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

On a lighter note, if you feel you know March Madness pretty well, try this 25-question trivia quiz put together by AP.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The NCAA Tournament is filled with great players and the AP All-America team is a good place to get familiar with the names. It’s also an event where guys you’ve never heard of — no offense, Drake — can take a star turn. Guard play is always going to be important (see: Baylor, 2021 title winner) and there are some NBA prospects in the mix.

Bet on this, too: Some player — maybe more than one — will have a chance to join the mustachioed Doug Edert (remember Saint Peters’ inspiring run last year?) and find a way to cash in on their celebrity.

BETTING GUIDE

Who’s going to win the national championship? The betting favorites this week to reach the Final Four are Houston, Alabama, Purdue and either Kansas or UCLA, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

MARCH MADNESS CALENDAR

Selection Sunday set the bracket matchup s for the First Four and first- and second-round games that stretch from Florida to California. Sweet 16 weekend will see games in New York City (East Region), Las Vegas (West), Kansas City, Missouri (Midwest), and Louisville, Kentucky (South).

Where is the Final Four? In Houston, on April 1, with the championship game on April 3. Basketball aficionados, take note: The women’s NCAA Tournament will hold its Final Four in Dallas, a four-hour drive up the road from Houston.

Can’t get enough March Madness? Well, there is talk about expanding the tournament despite a host of challenges. Enjoy the 68-team version for now!

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

As Reported by Marin Independent Journal

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By The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Langborg lifted Princeton to its first lead with 2:03 to play and the Tigers used a late-game run to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 on Thursday.

The 15th-seeded Tigers (22-9) scored the final nine points, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champion scoreless over the final 4:43.

Tosan Evbuomwan scored 15 points in Princeton’s first tournament victory since beating UNLV in 1998 when current coach Mitch Henderson was a player for the Tigers.

Princeton advanced to play seventh-seeded Missouri in the second round of the South Region.

Azuolas Tubelis scored 22 points for the Wildcats (28-7), who haven’t won a tournament game in consecutive years since 2014-15.

It marked the third straight year and 11th time overall that a No. 15 seed won a first-round game. Arizona is the only school to be on the wrong end of one of those upsets twice, also losing to Steve Nash and Santa Clara in 1993.

MISSOURI 76, UTAH STATE 65

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Missouri used a second-half scoring spurt from Kobe Brown to win its first NCAA Tournament game in 13 years, beating Utah State.

Brown hit three 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes to fuel a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead.

The seventh-seeded Tigers (25-9) held on from there, stopping a six-game tournament skid with their first win since beating Clemson in the first round in 2010. Missouri advanced to play 15th-seeded Princeton.

The 10th-seeded Aggies (26-9) have dropped their last 10 tournament games since beating Ohio State in the first round in 2001. The loss was also the 11th straight for a Mountain West team in the NCAAs.

The game was close for most of the second half until Brown and D’Moi Hodge took it over midway through the second half by scoring 20 straight points for the Tigers.

FURMAN 68, VIRGINIA 67

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round loss.

Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, the Paladins (28-7) advanced to the second round in the South Region, where they will play fifth-seeded San Diego State on Saturday.

Furman earned its first tournament berth since 1980 by beating Chattanooga for the Southern Conference title, capping a season-long quest to redeem itself after losing the league’s automatic berth to the Mocs on a 35-foot buzzer-beater in last year’s Southern final.

In the aftermath of that loss, Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell both decided to return for their fifth seasons with the Paladins. Slawson took over the game when Bothwell fouled out with just over six minutes remaining, scoring nine consecutive points to turn a 54-48 deficit into Furman’s first lead of the game, 57-54, with 5:02 to go.

Slawson, the Southern Conference player of the year, finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Kihei Clark threw a bad pass that Garrett Hien intercepted at midcourt with 7 seconds to go, setting up Pegues’ go-ahead basket, his only 3 of the game.

Virginia (25-8) was eliminated in the first round as the higher-seeded team for the third time in its past four NCAA tournaments. Kadin Shedrick led the Cavaliers with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

SAN DIEGO STATE 63, CHARLESTON 57

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Matt Bradley scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded Charleston.

The Aztecs (28-6) won their first game in the Big Dance since 2015 — ending a four-game losing streak — and snapped an 11-game skid for the Mountain West Conference.

The Cougars (31-4) lost for the first time in six weeks and have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1997.

San Diego State advanced to face 13th-seeded Furman on Saturday.

Ante Brzovic led Charleston with 12 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Larson added 11 points, and seventh-year senior Dalton Bolon finished his college career with 10 points.

MARYLAND 67, WEST VIRGINIA 65

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Maryland overcame a sluggish start and a final heave at the buzzer by Kedrian Johnson to beat West Virginia.

Johnson led all scorers with 27 points, but his potential winner bounced off the side of the rim as the horn sounded, allowing the eighth-seeded Terrapins (22-12) to advance.

Maryland, led by Julian Reese with 17 points and nine rebounds, meets top-seeded Alabama in the South Region on Saturday.

Neither team could pull away over the final 20 minutes, and a late traveling call on Jahmir Young gave West Virginia (19-15) a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer. But the ninth-seeded Mountaineers could not find anyone open beyond the arc, forcing Tre Mitchell to bank it in under the basket.

Young was fouled but made only one of two free throws. West Virginia got the ball in the hands of the guy it wanted, only to have Johnson come up short.

ALABAMA 96, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 75

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, and the NCAA Tournament’s top seed won easily even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.

The Crimson Tide (30-5) set aside their off-court distractions and buried 10 first-half 3s in a predictably easy win over the 16th-seeded Islanders (24-11) at Legacy Arena, less than an hour from campus.

Miller, the All-American who has been beset by questions about his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting, sat out the final 14 minutes and missed all five field goal attempts.

Alabama advanced to play eighth-seeded Maryland. The Tide coasted after leading 54-34 by the half.

Nick Pringle scored 17 points and had a season-high 13 rebounds. Mark Sears made three 3s in a 58-second span of the first half and scored 15 points.

Trevian Tennyson led the Islanders with 20 points. Isaach Mushula scored 16 and Owen Dease 14.

WEST REGION

KANSAS 96, HOWARD 68

DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) — Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas, which allowed absent and recovering coach Bill Self to rest during an easy victory over Howard.

Self is still recovering from a recent heart procedure.

Gradey Dick had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the freshman’s first NCAA Tournament game. K.J. Adams Jr. scored 13 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 11 points for the Jayhawks (28-7), who will play Arkansas in the second round on Saturday.

Kansas, which has won 16 consecutive first-round games, is trying to become the first repeat NCAA winner in 16 years.

Shy Odom had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bison (22-13), who were making the program’s first tournament appearance since 1992.

ARKANSAS 73, ILLINOIS 63

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and Arkansas survived some anxious moments in the second half against an Illinois team that wouldn’t go away.

Devo Davis had 16 points for the eighth-seeded Razorbacks, who used relentless defense and rebounding to build big leads but couldn’t get comfortable until the final minute. Arkansas (21-13) faces top-seeded Kansas on Saturday.

Terrence Shannon Jr., held scoreless the first 16 minutes, finished with 20 points to lead the Illini (20-13). It was the first time in five tournament appearances since 2011 that Illinois didn’t make it out of the first round.

The Razorbacks were up double digits in the middle of the first half, but no lead has been safe this season. In seven games they blew leads with scoring droughts of five minutes or longer. That didn’t happen this time.

NORTHWESTERN 75, BOISE STATE 67

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern past Boise State in the Wildcats’ second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn’t be one-and-done.

Northwestern never trailed in a game that was close most of the way and advanced to play either UCLA or UNC Asheville.

The 10th-seeded Broncos (24-10) are still searching for their first tournament win, losing their opener for the ninth time in as many tries. Max Rice scored 17 points to lead Boise State and Naje Smith added 14.

Chase Audige added 20 points for the Wildcats and Ty Berry scored 13, including three 3-pointers.

EAST REGION

DUKE 74, ORAL ROBERTS 51

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Roach matched his career high with 23 points, and No. 5 seed Duke beat Oral Roberts in the school’s first NCAA Tournament game since Jon Scheyer took over as the Blue Devils’ coach.

Dariq Whitehead added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-8), winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Roach also scored 23 in the ACC title game victory over Virginia.

Scheyer helped Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski win two of his five national titles as a Duke player and assistant. In his first NCAA Tournament game as Krzyzewski’s replacement, Scheyer led Duke to a 10th consecutive win and a second-round matchup against either fourth-seeded Tennessee or No. 13 seed Louisiana-Lafayette.

Oral Roberts (30-5), a 12 seed, entered the tournament on a nation-leading 17-game winning streak but was unable to replicate its success of two years ago, when the Golden Eagles upset Ohio State and Florida during a surprising run to the Sweet 16. Summit League player of the year Max Abmas was limited to 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

MIDWEST REGION

AUBURN 83, IOWA 75

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Auburn beat Iowa.

The ninth-seeded Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston or Northern Kentucky.

The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes (19-14) twice got within four points in the second half but came no closer.

Auburn had five players score in double figures. Wendell Green Jr. had 15 points, and Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson each finished with 11. Allen Flanigan scored 10.

Payton Sandford scored 21 points for Iowa. Kris Murray had 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and nine rebounds. Filip Rebraca scored 14 points.

TEXAS 81, COLGATE 61

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and No. 2 seed Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate.

Rice made five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half, helping the Longhorns get off to a fast start. Marcus Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Texas (27-8) shot 13 for 23 from 3-point range while advancing to a second-round matchup against Penn State or Texas A&M.

In another inspired performance under interim coach Rodney Terry, Rice and the Longhorns picked the perfect time to get hot on the perimeter against the nation’s leading outside shooting team. They matched their season best for 3-pointers made.

Keegan Records and Ryan Moffatt each scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Raiders (26-9), who went 3 of 15 from long range fell to 0-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

As Reported by Marin Independent Journal