Minggu, 31 Maret 2019

Bruce Pearl Is the Heartbeat of Auburn's Underdog Final Four Run - Bleacher Report

Bruce Pearl and his team celebrate Auburn's first Final Four berth.
Bruce Pearl and his team celebrate Auburn's first Final Four berth.Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Symbolism in the NCAA tournament doesn't get much better than the way Auburn slapped its name on the bracket, affirming that it is indeed headed to a Final Four for the first time in school history.

Performing the honors was Chuma Okeke—the Tigers' most valuable performer two days earlier. But Okeke was in a wheelchair Sunday after he tore his ACL during the upset over the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. A late arrival for the regional final, he didn't come to the arena until the second half, but his timing delivered inspiration perfectly.

And "better late than never" is a fitting mantra for Auburn as it takes aim at winning a national championship next week.

The Tigers rose from the ashes this postseason, beating the then-No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers at the SEC tournament and then keeping the momentum going against some of college basketball's most heralded programs.

In succession, Auburn has taken down Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky—all teams with marquee basketball pedigrees.

Until now, its significant basketball history was pretty much limited to the Charles Barkley era in the '80s. And back on Feb. 23, when Kentucky crushed Auburn by 27 points, no one could have predicted Sunday's thrilling overtime win.

Hoping to ease the sting after that blowout loss, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl told his humiliated crew, "That's a Final Four team."

Wrong. Kentucky had all the ingredients to be a national champion, but Auburn had the bigger heart and came up huge when it mattered most.

"I wasn't mad at them," Pearl explained at a Saturday press conference. "We got hit in the mouth and we got beat up. But we didn't let it define us."

Their definition is now tied to Sunday's 77-71 victory that came against all odds.

The Tigers' ability to survive without Okeke against a bigger Wildcats team loaded with future NBA talent speaks volumes about their perseverance, and also about their coach.

Pearl has had his issues—including NCAA infractions while at Tennessee that put him out of the game for three years—but he's one of college hoops' best in-game coaches right now.

The Okeke injury meant finding a way to replace the 20 points and 11 rebounds he had against North Carolina. 

Early on, it looked like Auburn wouldn't be able to solve that equation. The Tigers, who usually live or die with their shooting from beyond the arc, hit only one of their first nine three-point attempts while the Wildcats came charging out of the gate for an 11-point lead.

Auburn never did come alive on long-range shots and finished only 7-of-23. A stark contrast from its 13 and 17 triples against Kansas and North Carolina, respectively, that alone should have ended the hopes of a team dependent on threes.

But though they were considered mostly an offensive machine coming in, the Tigers found other ways to close the gap. Horace Spencer and a swarming defense stuffed Kentucky's final shots in regulation to give Auburn another five minutes of life.

Jared Harper and Bryce Brown combined for 50 points and proved, yet again, that no one gets to the Final Four without a strong backcourt. The more experienced duo dominated Kentucky’s all-freshman backcourt of Tyler Herro, Ashton Hagans and Keldon Johnson, who were a combined 2-of-11 on threes.

Bruce Pearl takes the final snips as the net comes down.
Bruce Pearl takes the final snips as the net comes down.Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The outsized Tigers also played high-alert defense that generated a whopping 10 steals against a team that forgot to value the ball.

Now headed to the Final Four, they haven't dropped a game since that lopsided defeat to the Wildcats. They looked vulnerable after struggling to outlast New Mexico State in their NCAA tournament opener, but they've been steamrolling ever since. They beat the Jayhawks by 14, and their margin against the top-seeded Tar Heels was a shocking 17 points. 

Pearl welcomed the chance to play three consecutive powerhouses.

"To have an opportunity to get Kansas, North Carolina and maybe Kentucky, what a better way of having an opportunity to make history [can there be] than to have that road to the Final Four?" Pearl said Saturday.

It's a year for rookie head coaches in the Final Four, as Virginia's Tony Bennett and Texas Tech's Chris Beard are also going for the first time.

Auburn will also finally get some athletic attention for something other than the football exploits of Cam Newton and Bo Jackson, which may not be an entirely good thing.

At a time when recruiting scandals are making national headlines, Auburn's program may get a closer look than it wants in the coming week. Two Auburn assistant coaches have been implicated in an FBI investigation of college recruiting, and Pearl served that three-year, show-cause penalty because of violations he committed at Tennessee.

But if he could find a way to undo Kentucky while playing short-handed, he'll also be able to handle whatever scrutiny comes his way. 

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https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2828852-bruce-pearl-coaching-masterpiece-key-to-auburns-final-four-run

2019-04-01 01:23:34Z
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They did it for Chuma - Rivals.com

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  1. They did it for Chuma  Rivals.com
  2. Kentucky Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers: 1st Half Highlights  NCAA March Madness
  3. Opinion: Other teams might be better, but no team tougher than Auburn in this March Madness  USA TODAY
  4. Okeke ignores pain, watches Auburn get win  ESPN
  5. UK Fans Enjoy KC, Prep For Auburn Match-Up  LEX18 Lexington KY News
  6. View full coverage on Google News

https://auburn.rivals.com/news/they-did-it-for-chuma

2019-04-01 01:52:52Z
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Answering Zion's big NBA draft questions now What's next for the consensus No. 1 pick before - ESPN

Duke phenom Zion Williamson likely played his final college game Sunday, in a 68-67 loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. So what's next?

We've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson, whose combination of productivity, athleticism, competitiveness, skill and feel for the game makes him the runaway favorite for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Combine that with his sheer star power and it's easy to see why no other prospect is currently under consideration at the top -- regardless of which team wins the Zion lottery May 14.

Williamson can sit tight until draft night after his freshman season, as he'll be under no obligation to prove anything before he hears his name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on June 20. Picking an agent will be his camp's first line of business, though there's a chance someone close to the family gains certification and negotiates his sneaker deal.

It's highly unlikely Williamson will do more than a photo shoot at the facility of whatever team ends up with the No. 1 pick, as it's his call if he wants to submit to a medical examination for NBA teams. It's also up in the air if we'll see anything more than a token appearance from Williamson at the NBA combine in May, outside of perhaps some media obligations.

Basically, since Williamson is such a clear top pick, fans can forget about seeing him with a basketball in his hand until NBA summer league in Las Vegas in early July. -- Jonathan Givony

More: Mock draft | Top 100 prospects | Traded picks Insider


Who has the best chance to draft Williamson?

Short answer: The New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Longer answer: Plenty of teams can convince themselves they have some shot.

This is the first year with the new lottery rules, making it much less likely that a league-worst team such as the Knicks lands the No. 1 pick -- and much more likely that a team in the middle jumps up.

Here are the new odds for the 14 lottery slots compared to the old ones:

And with a little more than five games to go for each team, here are the projected lottery odds, via ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

  • The Chicago Bulls still have a small chance of jumping into that group of three sharing an equal 14 percent chance to land Williamson. But even if they don't, under the new system they'll hold a 12.5 percent chance to snag No. 1.

  • The Dallas Mavericks (top five) and Memphis Grizzlies (top eight) both owe protected picks, but if they jump up to No. 1, that won't be a concern. The protected picks will roll over to next season.

  • The Philadelphia 76ers should enter the lottery with one of the worst odds to select Williamson, as they own the Sacramento Kings' pick if it lands at No. 1. What once looked like one of the best trade assets in the league, the Sacramento pick will have a less than 2.0 percent chance of moving up to No. 1 after the Kings' surprising playoff push.

These new odds are a big reason why you don't see teams freaking out about every win down the stretch costing them a chance at such a talented prospect. This is going to be a massive toss-up.


Is this an unprecedented sneaker recruitment?

The first step for Williamson's emerging marketing profile will be landing a massive sneaker endorsement deal. His star power and explosive game are expected to place him among the highest annual earnings for rookies ever, right alongside the seven-year Nike deals that LeBron James signed for $87 million and Kevin Durant signed for $60 million.

As many as six brands will look to sign him, including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, Puma and Anta. The expectation is that Williamson will sign his deal before the May 14 draft lottery, when the draft order will be set.

"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro said. "I would put them all on go."

Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan at Nike in 1984 and later looked to offer James a $100 million contract at Adidas. Sources at multiple brands across the industry expect Williamson's deal to potentially reach that astronomical tier. -- Nick DePaula


Williamson is the best prospect since ... ?

In February, I posed the question of who was the most recent college prospect we'd seen as promising statistically as Williamson. According to my consensus NBA draft projections, which utilized both the player's statistics translated to their NBA equivalent and where the player ranks in Givony's top 100, I found only Anthony Davis in 2012 ahead of Williamson in my database, which includes most top college prospects going back as far as 2003.

At that point, I speculated that Williamson might be able to pass Davis if he were able to play at the same level over all of Duke's remaining games. His knee injury prevented that possibility, and because Williamson's numbers were down a small amount -- most notably on defense, where he averaged just 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks after returning as compared to 2.2 and 1.8 before his injury -- his projection slipped a small amount.

Nonetheless, Williamson will still enter the draft as the best collegiate prospect since Davis by my projections. -- Kevin Pelton

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http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26387847/answering-zion-big-nba-draft-questions-now

2019-04-01 00:05:23Z
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Okeke ignores pain, watches Auburn get win - ESPN

Auburn forward Chuma Okeke's left knee was in so much pain that he planned to watch the Tigers' NCAA tournament regional final Sunday against Kentucky from his hotel and await the return flight to Alabama.

It was late in the first half that Okeke realized he needed to be at Sprint Center.

The sophomore told a member of the Auburn staff that he'd changed his mind, and Okeke was soon being wheeled into the building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He finally made it to the floor at the under-16-minutes media timeout, and watched the rest of the Tigers' 77-71 overtime victory from behind the Auburn bench.

It was a surprise to his Tigers teammates. Horace Spencer told ESPN's Michele Steele that Okeke said in a text before the game that he was in pain and would watch the game offsite with his family.

"I just think he had to be there,'' Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.

Anfernee McLemore said "it was just a big courage booster inspiration to see him out there and just supporting us."

"Our goal out there today was just do it for Chuma. That was our only focus. I feel like we did and made him proud," Bryce Brown said.

Okeke took part in the celebration as he placed a stamp with Auburn's name in the Final Four slot on a bracket on the court and was handed the Midwest Regional trophy.

Okeke is scheduled to have surgery on his torn ACL, which he hurt in the team's Sweet 16 victory over North Carolina, on Tuesday. It's unclear whether he plans to accompany the Tigers to Minneapolis for the Final Four next weekend.

Auburn lost twice to Kentucky during the regular season with Okeke, its top rebounder and third-leading scorer, in the lineup.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26410970/okeke-ignores-pain-watches-auburn-get-win

2019-03-31 23:44:52Z
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Answering Zion's big NBA draft questions now What's next for the consensus No. 1 pick before - ESPN

Duke phenom Zion Williamson likely played his final college game Sunday, in a 68-67 loss to Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. So what's next?

We've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson, whose combination of productivity, athleticism, competitiveness, skill and feel for the game makes him the runaway favorite for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Combine that with his sheer star power and it's easy to see why no other prospect is currently under consideration at the top -- regardless of which team wins the Zion lottery May 14.

Williamson can sit tight until draft night after his freshman season, as he'll be under no obligation to prove anything before he hears his name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on June 20. Picking an agent will be his camp's first line of business, though there's a chance someone close to the family gains certification and negotiates his sneaker deal.

It's highly unlikely Williamson will do more than a photo shoot at the facility of whatever team ends up with the No. 1 pick, as it's his call if he wants to submit to a medical examination for NBA teams. It's also up in the air if we'll see anything more than a token appearance from Williamson at the NBA combine in May, outside of perhaps some media obligations.

Basically, since Williamson is such a clear top pick, fans can forget about seeing him with a basketball in his hand until NBA summer league in Las Vegas in early July. -- Jonathan Givony

More: Mock draft | Top 100 prospects | Traded picks Insider


Who has the best chance to draft Williamson?

Short answer: The New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Longer answer: Plenty of teams can convince themselves they have some shot.

This is the first year with the new lottery rules, making it much less likely that a league-worst team such as the Knicks lands the No. 1 pick -- and much more likely that a team in the middle jumps up.

Here are the new odds for the 14 lottery slots compared to the old ones:

And with a little more than five games to go for each team, here are the projected lottery odds, via ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

  • The Chicago Bulls still have a small chance of jumping into that group of three sharing an equal 14 percent chance to land Williamson. But even if they don't, under the new system they'll hold a 12.5 percent chance to snag No. 1.

  • The Dallas Mavericks (top five) and Memphis Grizzlies (top eight) both owe protected picks, but if they jump up to No. 1, that won't be a concern. The protected picks will roll over to next season.

  • The Boston Celtics should enter the lottery with one of the worst odds to select Williamson, as they own the Sacramento Kings' pick unprotected. What once looked like one of the best trade assets in the league, the Sacramento pick will have a less than 2.0 percent chance of moving up to No. 1 after the Kings' surprising playoff push.

These new odds are a big reason why you don't see teams freaking out about every win down the stretch costing them a chance at such a talented prospect. This is going to be a massive toss-up.


Is this an unprecedented sneaker recruitment?

The first step for Williamson's emerging marketing profile will be landing a massive sneaker endorsement deal. His star power and explosive game are expected to place him among the highest annual earnings for rookies ever, right alongside the seven-year Nike deals that LeBron James signed for $87 million and Kevin Durant signed for $60 million.

As many as six brands will look to sign him, including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, Puma and Anta. The expectation is that Williamson will sign his deal before the May 14 draft lottery, when the draft order will be set.

"In my lifetime, I think it's going to be the biggest bidding war ever done," former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro said. "I would put them all on go."

Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan at Nike in 1984 and later looked to offer James a $100 million contract at Adidas. Sources at multiple brands across the industry expect Williamson's deal to potentially reach that astronomical tier. -- Nick DePaula


Williamson is the best prospect since ... ?

In February, I posed the question of who was the most recent college prospect we'd seen as promising statistically as Williamson. According to my consensus NBA draft projections, which utilized both the player's statistics translated to their NBA equivalent and where the player ranks in Givony's top 100, I found only Anthony Davis in 2012 ahead of Williamson in my database, which includes most top college prospects going back as far as 2003.

At that point, I speculated that Williamson might be able to pass Davis if he were able to play at the same level over all of Duke's remaining games. His knee injury prevented that possibility, and because Williamson's numbers were down a small amount -- most notably on defense, where he averaged just 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks after returning as compared to 2.2 and 1.8 before his injury -- his projection slipped a small amount.

Nonetheless, Williamson will still enter the draft as the best collegiate prospect since Davis by my projections. -- Kevin Pelton

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http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26387847/answering-zion-big-nba-draft-questions-now

2019-03-31 23:34:28Z
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Kentucky vs. Auburn score: Surging Tigers shock Wildcats in OT to earn the first trip to Final Four in school history - CBS Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- No. 5 seed Auburn became the third program to punch its ticket to the 2019 Final Four, joining Virginia and Texas Tech after defeating No. 2 seed Kentucky 77-71 in a thrilling overtime win Sunday. 

It is the first ever Final Four appearance for Auburn, a program that's busting down doors under charismatic coach Bruce Pearl, and for Pearl himself. Pearl, in his fifth season at the helm of the Tigers program, will be the third first-time coach in college basketball's final weekend this season along with Virginia coach Tony Bennett and Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. 

The Tigers' upset vs. the Wildcats in the Midwest Regional final capped a three-game stretch of victories over the three winningest programs in college basketball history after Auburn defeated Kansas in the second round and North Carolina in the Sweet 16. 

"It's an honor to even be on the floor with those programs, and then when you play -- your kids play hard and play unselfishly and play together, obviously they're the Cinderellas of this tournament," Pearl said. "And that's what makes March so special, which team is it going to be?"

The Tigers (30-9) will face the Cavaliers, the No. 1 seed out of the South Regional on Saturday in Minneapolis in a national semifinal game.  

Auburn ran away in the overtime to outscore Kentucky 17-11, but that was not the case in the waning minutes of the second half. Neither team could muster much offense. The Tigers scored only one field goal over the final four-and-a-half minutes, which came on a game-tying layup from Jared Harper with 37 seconds remaining. 

Harper's role in giving Auburn extra time to win the game was vital. The 5-foot-11 guard played like a giant down the stretch. He finished with 26 points and five assists, and scored or assisted in 14 of the Tigers' 17 overtime points. Fellow teammate Bryce Brown's chipped in 24, and logged two steals in the extra frame.

"I feel like our team played well the whole second half, the whole overtime," Harper said. "I can't do what I did without having the support of my teammates and coaches."

Kentucky's PJ Washington, who began the NCAA Tournament on the bench due to a foot injury, scored 28 in the loss. Like Harper, he put his team on his back. Washington was 10 of 18 from the floor, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. For as hobbled as he was a week ago, the load he carried was admirable.

"They played aggressive and tough, they bumped, and it was a grinding kind of game," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "Two of their guys had 50 points. Think about that. They deserved to win the game. We got outplayed, got outcoached, and still had a chance to win the game. I thought we were going to win the game the whole way until the one or two plays in overtime. Never entered my mind we weren't going to win the game."

The Tigers were playing without forward Chuma Okeke, who injured his knee vs. the Tar Heels and will miss the rest of the NCAA Tournament. Auburn received an emotional lift when Okeke joined the team on the bench in the second half.

But Auburn's relentless and punishing attack inside and out was too much for even Washington to overcome. With each response, Auburn had a counterpunch waiting. And now the Tigers have in their hands a welcome punched ticket to their first-ever Final Four.

CBS Sports was with you for complete coverage of Sunday's game from Kansas City, Missouri, with our live blog below. If you are having trouble viewing the blog, please click here.

Auburn vs. Kentucky updates

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https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/kentucky-vs-auburn-score-surging-tigers-shock-wildcats-in-ot-to-earn-the-first-trip-to-final-four-in-school-history/

2019-03-31 22:00:00Z
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Michigan State's Matt McQuaid dunked on Duke and fans lost their minds - Detroit Free Press

With Duke's Zion Williamson playing against Michigan State basketball in the Elite Eight on Sunday, many might have predicted that he would provide the highlight-reel dunk that would show up on SportsCenter. 

Enter Matt McQuaid. 

The MSU senior made his presence known with a one-handed slam in the first half. 

Twitter was loving it and a few even wondered, "Zion who?"

We all are. 

[ Big Ten fanatics, check out our free Best of the Big Ten newsletter! Subscribe here. ]

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https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/2019/03/31/michigan-state-matt-mcquaid-dunk-duke/3327089002/

2019-03-31 21:54:00Z
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Reddish comes off bench for Duke vs. Spartans - ESPN

WASHINGTON -- Cam Reddish was not in the starting lineup for Duke's Elite Eight showdown with Michigan State on Sunday, but he was the Blue Devils' first player off the bench at the 17:59 mark in the first half, entering to a massive ovation from the crowd.

Reddish was a late scratch for Friday's win over Virginia Tech because of a left knee injury, but he practiced with the team Saturday and looked comfortable going through warm-ups before Sunday's tip.

Mike Krzyzewski said Reddish has been dealing with knee soreness similar to tendinitis, but has no structural damage to the joint. He wore a protective sleeve Sunday, but didn't appear to be favoring the injured knee.

Reddish is Duke's leading long-range shooter (87 3-pointers) and third-leading scorer overall (13.8 points per game). He's one of three Duke freshmen expected to be lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft.

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26410393/reddish-comes-bench-duke-vs-spartans

2019-03-31 21:46:20Z
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2019 Elite Eight: Schedule, times, TV channels for the NCAA tournament - NCAA.com

March Madness 2019, so far         First Four, Tuesday, March 19         Fairleigh Dickinson 82, Prairie View A&M 76 March Madness Live 6:30 pm truTV Dayton, OH Belmont 81, Temple 70  March Madness Live 9:00 pm TruTV Dayton, OH First Four, Wednesday, March 20         North Dakota State 78, NC Central 74 March Madness Live  6:30 pm truTV Dayton, OH Arizona State 74, St. John's 65 March Madness Live 9:00 pm truTV Dayton, OH First round, Thursday, March 21         Minnesota 86, Louisville 76 March Madness Live 12:15 pm CBS Des Moines, IA LSU 79, Yale 74 March Madness Live 12:40 pm truTV Jacksonville, FL Auburn 78, New Mexico State 77 March Madness Live  1:30 pm TNT Salt Lake City, UT Florida State 76, Vermont 69 March Madness Live 2:00 pm TBS Hartford, CT Michigan State 76, Bradley 65 March Madness Live  2:45 pm CBS Des Moines, IA Maryland 79, Belmont 77 March Madness Live 3:10 pm truTV Jacksonville, FL Kansas 87, Northeastern 53 March Madness Live 4:00 pm TNT Salt Lake City, UT Murray State 83, Marquette 64 March Madness Live 4:30 pm TBS Hartford, CT Florida 70, Nevada 61 March Madness Live 6:50 pm TNT Des Moines, IA Kentucky 79, Abilene Christian 44 March Madness Live 7:10 pm CBS Jacksonville, FL Villanova 61, Saint Mary's 57 March Madness Live 7:20 pm TBS Hartford, CT Gonzaga 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 49 March Madness Live 7:27 pm truTV Salt Lake City, UT Michigan 74, Montana 55 March Madness Live 9:20 pm TNT Des Moines, IA Wofford 84, Seton Hall 68 March Madness Live 9:40 pm CBS Jacksonville, FL Purdue 61, Old Dominion 48 March Madness Live 9:50 pm TBS Hartford, CT Baylor 78, Syracuse 69 March Madness Live 9:57 pm truTV Salt Lake City, UT First round, Friday, March 22         Iowa 79, Cincinnati 72  March Madness Live 12:15 pm CBS Columbus, OH Oklahoma 95, Mississippi 72 March Madness Live 12:40 pm truTV Columbia, SC Texas Tech 72, Northern Kentucky 57 March Madness Live 1:30 pm TNT Tulsa, OK UC Irvine 70, Kansas State 64 March Madness Live 2:00 pm  TBS San Jose, CA Tennessee 77, Colgate 70 March Madness Live 2:45 pm CBS Columbus, OH Virginia 71, Gardner-Webb 56 March Madness Live 3:10 pm truTV Columbia, SC Buffalo 91, Arizona State 74 March Madness Live 4:00 pm TNT Tulsa, OK Oregon 72, Wisconsin 54 March Madness Live 4:30 pm TBS San Jose, CA Washington 78, Utah State 61 March Madness Live 6:50 pm TNT Columbus, OH Duke 85, North Dakota State 62 March Madness Live 7:10 pm CBS Columbia, SC Houston 84, Georgia State 55 March Madness Live 7:20 pm TBS Tulsa, OK  Liberty 80, Mississippi State 76 March Madness Live 7:27 pm truTV San Jose, CA North Carolina 88, Iona 73 March Madness Live 9:20 pm TNT Columbus, OH UCF 73, VCU 58 March Madness Live 9:40 pm CBS Columbia, SC Ohio State 62, Iowa State 59 March Madness Live 9:50 pm TBS Tulsa, OK Virginia Tech 66, Saint Louis 52 March Madness Live  9:57 pm truTV San Jose, CA Second round, Saturday, March 23         LSU 69, Maryland 67 March Madness Live 12:10 pm CBS Jacksonville, FL Kentucky 62, Wofford 56 March Madness Live 2:40 pm CBS Jacksonville, FL Michigan 64, Florida 49 March Madness Live 5:15 pm CBS Des Moines, IA Florida State 90, Murray State 62 March Madness Live 6:10 pm TNT Hartford, CT Gonzaga 83, Baylor 71 March Madness Live 7:10 pm TBS Salt Lake City, UT Michigan State 70, Minnesota 50 March Madness Live 7:45 pm CBS Des Moines, IA Purdue 87, Villanova 61 March Madness Live 8:40 pm TNT Hartford, CT Auburn 89, Kansas 75 March Madness Live 9:40 pm TBS Salt Lake City, UT Second round, Sunday, March 24         Tennessee 83, Iowa 77 (OT) March Madness Live 12:10 pm CBS Columbus, OH North Carolina 81, Washington 59 March Madness Live 2:40 pm CBS Columbus, OH Duke 77, UCF 76 March Madness Live 5:25 pm CBS Columbia, SC Texas Tech 78, Buffalo 58 March Madness Live 6:10 pm TNT Tulsa, OK Virginia Tech 67, Liberty 58 March Madness Live 7:10 pm TBS San Jose, CA Virginia 63, Oklahoma 51 March Madness Live 7:45 pm truTV Columbia, SC Houston 74, Ohio State 59 March Madness Live 8:40 pm TNT Tulsa, OK Oregon 73, UC Irvine 54 March Madness Live 9:40 pm TBS San Jose, CA

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https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2019-03-31/2019-elite-eight-schedule-times-tv-channels-ncaa-tournament

2019-03-31 21:20:46Z
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Kentucky vs. Auburn score: Tigers shock Wildcats in OT to earn first trip to Final Four in school history - CBS Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Another game, another thrilling finish in the Elite Eight.

After two Saturday night gems that saw Virginia and Texas Tech advance to the Final Four in close shaves, Sunday afternoon picked up right where the late night festivities ended on Sunday. No. 5 seed Auburn became the third program to punch its ticket to the 2019 Final Four, joining UVA and Texas Tech, after defeating No. 2 seed Kentucky 77-71 in a thrilling overtime win. 

It is the first ever Final Four appearance for Auburn, a program that's busting down doors under charismatic coach Bruce Pearl, and for Pearl himself. Pearl, in his fifth season at the helm of the Tigers program, will be the third and final first-time coach to be among college basketball's final grouping this season along with Virginia coach Tony Bennett and Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. Duke and Michigan State play Sunday, and coaches from both programs have both made appearances in the Final Four.

Auburn was led by Jared Harper's 26 points and Bryce Brown's 24. Kentucky star PJ Washington, who began the NCAA Tournament on the bench due to injury, scored 28.

CBS Sports was with you for complete coverage of Sunday's game from Kansas City, Missouri, with our live blog below. If you are having trouble viewing the blog, please click here.

Auburn vs. Kentucky live updates

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2019-03-31 21:01:00Z
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Duke vs. Michigan State odds: Advanced computer model locks in 2019 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 picks, predictions - CBS Sports

Two college basketball blue-bloods collide Sunday when 1-seed Duke and 2-seed Michigan State meet in a highly-anticipated  2019 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 matchup. Tip-off from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., is set for 5:05 p.m. ET. This star-studded showdown features two Hall of Fame coaches, as Duke's Mike Krzyzewski holds a distinct advantage over Michigan State's Tom Izzo. In fact, Krzyzewski boasts a remarkable 11-1 record against Izzo, including a 3-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. However, in those 12 meetings, each team covered six times. Now, the pair will meet with a trip to the 2019 Final Four on the line. Coach K's Blue Devils are favored by two in the latest Duke vs. Michigan State odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 150.5, down three from the opener. Before making any Duke vs. Michigan State picks of your own, see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $4,000 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It's also on fire in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, calling 14 of the Sweet 16 teams straight-up. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now the model has dialed in on Duke vs. Michigan State. We can tell you it is leaning under, and it also says one side of the spread cashes in more than 50 percent of simulations. That one is only available at SportsLine.

The model has taken into account that Duke has won its past two games by a combined three points. The Blue Devils survived a second-half surge from UCF in the second round and then came from behind to beat Virginia Tech by two in the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils have had plenty of success against Michigan State in recent years, winning five consecutive games against the Spartans. The Blue Devils will need another clutch performance from their freshmen phenoms if they want to advance to the Final Four. Zion Williamson has scored 80 total points in three tournament games, while R.J. Barrett dropped 18 points and 11 assists against Virginia Tech. However, it was Tre Jones who led the charge for Duke against the Hokies. Jones went 5-of-7 from behind the arc for a career-high 22 points, and he'll need to be a main facilitator again on Sunday for the Blue Devils to have success. 

But just because the Blue Devils have plenty of firepower does not guarantee they cover the Duke vs. Michigan State spread in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

Michigan State, making its 22nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 33rd overall, has reached nine Final Fours and won two national championships. Michigan State also has the edge over the Blue Devils in field goal and 3-point percentage. The Spartans are 14th nationally in field goal percentage (48.6) compared to Duke, which is 28th at 47.7.

Their biggest edge is in 3-point shooting, where the Spartans are 24th overall (38.1 percent), while Duke is 331st at 30.7. Michigan State is led by Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston, who had 26 points in the first-round win over Bradley and is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points per game, seven assists and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

And Duke may be without star forward Cam Reddish, who is a game-time decision with a knee injury. Reddish sat out Duke's extremely tight victory against Virginia Tech on Friday.

So who wins Michigan State vs. Duke? And which side of the spread cashes in more than 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Michigan State vs. Duke spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its college basketball picks, and find out.

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https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/duke-vs-michigan-state-odds-advanced-computer-model-locks-in-2019-ncaa-tournament-elite-8-picks-predictions/

2019-03-31 19:28:00Z
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'Today was not our day', says unlucky Leclerc after Bahrain heartache - F1i.com

Third placed Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari in the post race FIA Press Conference.
© XPB 

Charles Leclerc was left ruing what might have been after missing out on what had seemed certain to be his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix race victory on Sunday in Bahrain.

Despite losing the lead at the start of the race, the 21-year-old from Monaco regrouped and fought his way back to the front in just four laps.

After that he appeared out of touch of his Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel, and the two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

But with over ten seconds in hand on lap 47, Leclerc told the pit wall that there was “something was seriously wrong with the engine”.

It left him limping the rest of the way to the line, during which time he was passed by both Hamilton and Bottas before the chequered flag.

“It happens. It’s part of motorsport,” Leclerc said after the race, admitting that of course he was "extremely disappointed" to miss out on the victory.

“I didn’t do a very good start, but then we were very strong all race long.

“Unfortunately today was not our day," he continued. “Very hard to take, but thank you to the team for the amazing car all weekend long.

"I’m pretty sure we’ll come back stronger," he insisted. "I’m confident that the team has done an amazing job to recover from the lack of pace in Australia."

Although he missed out on victory, Leclerc did end up with his first ever Formula 1 podium position after a late safety car prevented Red Bull's Max Verstappen from passing him in the final seconds.

Charles Leclerc (FRA), Scuderia Ferrari

"We’ve been very lucky in an unlucky situation," Leclerc acknowledged. "We had the safety car at the end, otherwise we would’ve finished even more rearward

"Also I don’t think we would’ve been okay with the fuel," he revealed.

"It’s a shame to only finish third. It’s part of racing, but we’ll come back stronger," he added. "Today, third wasn’t our place, but I’m happy anyway.

“As I have said a lot in the past, I am never looking at the result, I am looking at the potential to do better."

One of the first people to console Leclerc after the race finished was the man who had inherited the race win.

"I’m sure it was a devastating result for him," Hamilton commented. "He did such a great job, he had done the job to win race. He deserved to win."

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https://f1i.com/news/335172-today-was-not-our-day-says-unlucky-leclerc.html

2019-03-31 19:02:43Z
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