NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight Preview

Written by Bob Bonett

The Pioneers’ run to the Men’s Basketball Division II Elite Eight this year has been nothing short of – well – perfect. Post has cruised through their schedule to date, racking up 30 consecutive wins to enter the National Quarterfinals as the second-ranked team in the nation. Yet, while ECC Coach of the Year Tim Cluess, ECC Player of the Year Jonathan Schmidt, and East Regional Tournament MVP Nick Carter have seen their fair share of solid competition – Bentley, Bridgeport, and Adelphi just being a few – the Long Island-based school has yet to run into a force of Findlay’s caliber. The Midwestern school, based in Findlay, Ohio, managed to improve on their 28-5 2007-08 season that saw a trip to the Sweet 16, posting the only other undefeated regular season in the nation this year at 33-0 – a record that garnered the Oilers the No. 1 ranking in the nation. This evening’s 8:30 p.m. game in Springfield, Mass., has all the makings of an epic thriller. It will just be the second meeting between undefeated teams in the Elite Eight in Division II history, and will only be the third time that the top two teams in the nation square off after the Sweet 16. So, without further ado, here’s a look at the game Wednesday evening between the Oilers and Pioneers: The Studs: Since the postseason began for Post, coach Cluess’ crew has transformed from a team led by Schmidt to a balanced scoring force. Granted, Carter, Kevin Spann, Kenny Burkes, Roberto Macklin and the rest of the squad all contributed during the season. However, up until now, opposing coaches had to game plan against Schmidt. That is no longer the case. While Schmidt is the conference's Player of the Year, averaging more than 19 points per game, it's the hustle play of players such as Macklin and Spann, and the hot hands of Carter and Burkes that have the Pioneers this deep in the postseason. As coach Cluess was adamant about while on the phone on his way up to Springfield, Findlay does certainly distribute the ball, with five players averaging double-figures. However, over in Ohio, it is all about Josh Bostic. A senior forward, Bostic earned National Player of the Year honors, averaging 18.1 points, 6.1 boards and more than two steals per game -- and he shoots 40 percent from downtown. But, his late-season performance is the most impressive. Bostic scored 37 points in Findlay’s Sweet 16 overtime victory, and averaged an absurd 27.3 points per game during the Midwest Regional. The Styles: For Post, everybody knows what to expect: a fast-paced brand of basketball, with triple-digits not out of the question. Post scored over 100 points five times this season, and averaged 86.3 points this season, outscoring opponents by an average of almost 24 points. Findlay, according to Cluess, will bring a style that the Pioneers have not seen yet this year. The Pioneers head coach said the Oilers don't remind him of any of the competition Post played this year. However, Cluess again stressed that Findlay will distribute the ball and not rely solely on Bostic to carry the team. Thus, while the numbers may cause some to compare Bostic and the Oilers to Teairez Stennis and Bridgeport, Bostic’s supporting cast is far deeper. In addition, Findlay is the best defensive team the Pioneers will have seen this year. Along with a scoring average of close to 80 points, the Oilers surrender just 59.2 points per game, and hold their opponents to under 42 percent from the field. The Sweet 16: Post’s win in the East Regional was unquestionably their most impressive of the season. Down 37-24 at the half, and then 42-34 after Bentley jumped out to a 5-0 run in the second half, the Pioneers began an incredible comeback with 19:26 on the clock. Led primarily by the hot hands of Carter (21 points) and Burkes (23 points), the Pioneers finished the game on an uncanny 58-34 streak to advance to the Elite Eight by a final of 82-76. As impressive as the Pioneers’ win was in the Sweet 16, the Oilers’ was dramatic. Taking on the nation’s 18th-ranked team, Bellarmine, Findlay got all they could handle, battling into overtime before winning, 89-86. The game featured 10 lead changes and 11 ties before Findlay finally managed to attain the victory. As mentioned above, Bostic dropped 37 points in the win, and garnered Regional MVP for his efforts. He was aided by Tyler Evans, who scored 14 points and hit four of his five 3-point attempts (Bostic also went 4-6 from deep). Nathan Hyde, a sophomore guard, was third on the team in scoring with 11 points. Some FYIs: As opposed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tourney, the D-II Tourney is not set up seeding-specific following the Regionals. Thus, the top two teams in the nation will square off prior to the National Finals. Pioneers’ coach Cluess said, “It might make more sense to take on the top-ranked team in the finals, but this is how the tournament is set up.” Only three undefeated teams in history have won the national championship: Evansville in 1965, Cal State-Bakersfield in 1993, and Fort Hays State in 1996. Findlay and C.W. Post have never played each other in the history of the two programs. The Pioneers arrived in Springfield on Monday by bus, and received just under an hour to practice on Tuesday. Findlay has actually lost one game this year. However, it was an exhibition, and was against a team currently in the D-1 Sweet 16: Xavier. The Oilers actually managed to fall by only three to the Musketeers, 79-76, but trailed throughout most of the game before the Atlantic 10 team inserted a handful of players off their bench. Hot New Update Daily Home

NCAA Division II men's basketball Elite Eight tournament set to begin in Springfield

by The Republican Sports Desk

Tuesday March 24, 2009, 9:13 PM

Staff photo by DON TREEGERBrian Toomey, of North Brookfield, attaches Elite Eight banners to the MassMutual Center scoreboard Tuesday, March 24, 2009. The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament quarterfinals are Wednesday.

By JEFF THOMAS
jthomas@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD - No one is happier than Augusta State University men's basketball coach Dip Metress at the absence of Winona (Minn.) State in the Elite Eight.

Over the last three years since the NCAA Division II men's basketball championship returned to Springfield, Winona State has sent home eight teams, most recently Augusta State in last year's national championship game.

The Jaguars wouldn't mind taking over the mantle as the team to beat in the Elite Eight.

MORE ELITE EIGHT

• UNBEATENS: Findlay, CW Post meet in 1st round
• WHERE'S THE 2010 TOURNEY?: Springfield makes final pitch
• COMPLETE COVERAGE: MassLive.com's D2 championship page

Augusta State and Christian Brothers will play the first of four games Wednesday at the MassMutual Center, tipping off at noon. Cal Poly Pomona will face Southwest Minnesota State University at 2:30, Gannon University, of Erie, Pa., will go up against the University of Central Missouri at 6, followed by Long Island University-C.W. Post and University of Findlay (Ohio) at 8:30.

"A lot of people are happy Winona's not here," Metress said. "Hopefully, if we're fortunate to advance, our experience will help later on, but for now we've got to focus on Christian Brothers."

Augusta State (29-4), of Augusta, Ga., had Winona State's Warriors on the ropes last year, leading by as many as 16 points in the second half. For the game, the Jaguars shot 57.1 percent from the floor.

The problems were rebounding and turnovers, which gave Winona State a bevy of more shot attempts. Winona State had 40 of its 69 field goal attempts in the second half, while Augusta State took only 28 shots.

Twenty-one offensive rebounds and only seven turnovers helped the Warriors, while the Jaguars had two of their eight offensive rebounds in the second half and 11 of their 17 turnovers in the second 20 minutes.

It wasn't the way Metress would have preferred to end the season, but he knows his players learned a thing or two that should carry over to this Elite Eight.

"I think our returning guys are more excited this year because they know what a great experience it was, and part of the great experience was playing three games," Metress said. "And our new guys listened to our returning guys who came up here last year and were shellshocked a little bit."

The Jaguars have three starters returning from last year's team, including 7-foot center Garret Siler, who made the all-tournament team along with Tyrekus Bowman, now playing professionally in Portugal.

"We lost two starters, but we return the big fella (Siler) and the Australian Ben Madgen, and our guards played some," Metress said. "Six of our guys played big roles, but four of them had real prominent roles."

Siler is a force. In the title game last year he had 20 points and five blocked shots.

This year, he leads the nation in field goal percentage at 79.1. He's averaging 16 points and 7.9 rebounds a game, and ranks 10th nationally in blocked shots at 2.7 a game.

Siler's height and size (300 pounds) will be a big test for Christian Brothers and its big gun, 6-8 center Nick Kohs, but the Princeton offense run by the Buccaneers will be a challenge for the Jaguars.

"That's not our way in the South, not in our part of the country," Metress said of the Princeton offense. "They have a unique style. Three of the last four teams we've played we played a style we haven't seen all year.

"So we'll make adjustments, and obviously we've got the big guy we've got to deal with and guard him," he added. "With that unique style you always give them the edge, but at this stage you stick to what got you here, and you make some slight adjustments during the game."

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Class 1A boys' basketball tournament

David Joles, Jm - Star Tribune

Cass Lake-Bena's Martin Wind (center) is on the verge of reaching 300 assists this year.

Minnesota Transitions of Minneapolis is on the verge of becoming the state's single-season highest-scoring team. It enters the state tournament averaging 103.5 points per game.Here are the top 10 storylines.

By RON HAGGSTROM, Star Tribune

Last update: March 25, 2009 - 8:00 AM

More from Prep Sports

• Libby dishes it out for Jefferson
• O'Brien grows in more ways than one
• South notebook: Lightning girls end up in third place once again
• North notebook: Centennial's Nipe fights through the pain
• Class 2A boys' basketball tournament

1.Most people probably didn't expect Ellsworth (27-3) to even return, much less have a chance to defend its back-to-back state titles after the graduation of the state's career boys' leading scorer Cody Schilling. The No. 6-ranked Panthers have lost three games by a total of 10 points.

2.The upper half of the bracket is loaded. The four teams -- Granada-Huntley-East Chain (26-0), Minnesota Transitions (28-2), Chisholm (29-1) and Bethlehem Academy (28-2) -- finished the season as the top four ranked teams in Class 1A.

3.The top three teams from last year's tournament field -- champion Ellsworth, runner-up Minnesota Transitions and third-place Cass Lake-Bena -- are all back this year.

4.If defense wins championships, then this class will be interesting to watch. Six teams in the field allow under 51 points per game. They are Chisholm (41.2), Bethlehem Academy (43.7), Ada-Borup (48.5), Sebeka (49.7), Granada-Huntley-East Chain (50.0) and Ellsworth (50.8).

5.Sebeka is the only team in the field making its first state tournament appearance. The only other two tournament appearances in school history were in baseball (1993 and 2007).

6.Minnesota Transitions is on the verge of becoming the state's single-season highest-scoring team. It enters the state tournament averaging 103.5 points per game. Cass Lake-Bena owns the record of 96.84 set in 2007.

7.Drew Mathews and Jordan and Adam Clark are the first second-generation players to play for Bethlehem Academy coach Franz Boelter. Their fathers, John Mathews and Tim Clark, also played for Boelter.

8.Cass Lake-Bena junior guard Martin Wind is five assists away from becoming the seventh player in state history to hand out at least 300 assists in a season. The single-season record of 340 was set last year by Bryce Tesdahl of Crosby-Ironton.

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CIF basketball finals moving to Bakersfield

California Interscholastic Federation executive director Marie Ishida announced Saturday that next year's state basketball finals would be in Bakersfield because of a scheduling conflict at Sacramento's Arco Arena, which has hosted the event the past 12 years.

The only positive coming from the news is that a change of setting perhaps could boost shooting percentages.

After 10 games at Arco, I staggered out into the Sacramento night Saturday with the sound of rattling rims reverberating through my head. The 20 teams playing for state titles combined to shoot 36.7 percent from the field. That includes a sizzling-hot Windward-Los Angeles team that made 53 percent of its attempts in a 69-53 victory over St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda in the Division V boys final.

The only thing worse than the shooting percentages was the quality of the games.

If it were not for the Salesian-Richmond and Bishop Montgomery-Torrance Division IV boys final that ended with a buzzer-beater by the Pride and Mater Dei-Chula Vista's comeback victory over Modesto Christian in the Division IV girls championship, the finals would have amounted to a series of drama-less games.

Regardless of the entertainment value, though, the finals still resonated in the way they provide closure to historic seasons for so many students and coaches - win or lose.

Monte Vista-Danville girls coach Ron Hirschman's team was getting blown out at the end of the Mustangs' loss to Long Beach Poly, but he still was calling out plays to his bench players as he hugged his seniors coming off the court.

The postgame news conferences had the usual emotion. Sacred Heart Cathedral seniors Kevin Greene and Jerry Brown eloquently reflected on four-year varsity campaigns that were filled with friendship and personal growth.

Bishop Montgomery senior Justin Cobbs - a top-notch recruit headed to Minnesota - missed a free throw with 7.9 remaining and then made a defensive gaffe that allowed Salesian's Kendall Andrews to make a wide-open layup at the buzzer for a 65-64 win. Nevertheless, his future coach, Tubby Smith, (who was in attendance) probably learned something about the gifted guard. Cobbs exuded remarkable humility as he described the waning seconds.

"It was two bad things in the last 10 seconds," Cobbs said. "That's on me."

LACROSSE IN THE CITY: St. Ignatius' boys team was handed its first defeat by a California school since 2006 when it lost to Coronado 7-6 on Saturday in Southern California. The Wildcats, though, remain one of the top teams on the West Coast. According to Westsidelax.com, St. Ignatius (5-1) will host undefeated Mullen, the No. 2 ranked team in Colorado, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kezar Stadium.

CITY ALL-STAR GAMES: The second annual City All-Star basketball games will be April 20 at City College of San Francisco. Tournament organizers have added a girls game to the schedule.

by Will McCulloch

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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Stealing the spotlight

By David Downham

After upsetting the University of Tennessee on Sunday, the Ball State University women's basketball team was back at it in E.A. Diddle Arena, preparing for its second-round matchup with Iowa State University in the NCAA Tournament.

Ball State coach Kelly Packard and her staff endured a long night to prepare for the fourth-seeded Cyclones, but wished the Cardinals had more time to enjoy their historic win.

"I think our biggest challenge in the last 15, 16 hours, I've kind of lost track, is to allow our young ladies to enjoy, obviously, a phenomenal victory over Tennessee," Packard said. "It's just a shame that we can't live in that moment a little bit longer."

Packard said, however, that they realize they have the rest of the year to look back on some of the moments of the Tennessee game and their run.

"Right now is not the time to relive all of those," Packard said. "We have to smile and focus."

Iowa State defeated 13th-seeded East Tennessee State University 85-53 in the game prior to Ball State's 16-point win against the Lady Volunteers.

In their game Sunday, the Cyclones tied an NCAA Tournament record with 16 3-point baskets made in a game, led by guard Allison Lacey's six 3-pointers. Lacey - a junior from Australia - finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win.

"The things that we have to focus on however defensively are much different then the things we had to focus on defensively last night," Packard said.

Iowa State has four players who average 9.8 points or more per game on the season, led by senior guard Heather Ezell, who scored 11.8 per contest. The Cyclones also have three players who have made 50 or more shots from behind the 3-point arc this season.

Packard said there are "extreme differences in preparation" from Tennessee to Iowa State that Ball State must get ready for its game today.

"[Sunday] night, we were worried about containing drivers," Packard said, "[Sunday] night, we were worried about the lob pass inside. [Sunday] night we were worried about mismatches with our guards getting posted up and all those things. Now, all the sudden, we face a team that shoots the ball tremendously well, one through five."

Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly has plenty of Mid-American Conference experience. From 1988 to 1995, Fennelly was the head coach for the University of Toledo.

"I coached in the MAC for seven years, and I know exactly what their mindset is and how they are going to play," Fennelly said.

During his tenure with Toledo, Fennelly compiled a 166-53 record overall and a .797 winning percentage in MAC play.

Fennelly, who mentioned the name "Cinderella" when describing Ball State, has been a finalist three times for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award and was runner-up for the Associated Press' Women's Coach of the Year behind Tennessee's Pat Summitt.

"To have coached in the MAC as long as I did, I understand the enthusiasm that they are playing with and the effort that they are going to give in the underdog role," Fennelly said.

Ball State senior guard Porchia Green, who was named the player of the game with her 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals against Tennessee, said the support of the Ball State fans gave the team a chance to play tonight.

"Ball State fans held it down [Sunday] night," Green said. "Even though it was that little square, that section, they were loud. We're just proud and happy for their support for following us all the way."

Ball State and Iowa State have played in multiple sports but not women's basketball.

BSU vs. ISU

• Ball State is 1-0 against Iowa State in baseball
• Ball State is 0-1 against Iowa State in football
• Ball State is 0-1 against Iowa State in men's basketball
• Ball State is 2-4 against Iowa State in softball
• Ball State is 3-0 against Iowa State in women's volleyball

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Billy Packer still synonymous with NCAA tourney

Info PR: 7 I: 6,510,000 L: 0 LD: 119,246,899 I: 31100 Rank: 9 Age: Oct 12, 1999 I: 0 whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: no Rank: 984 Price: 1622202 Links: 9|4 Density

By:Keith Groller

If you're a college basketball fan over the age of 45, it's probably still strange to go through an NCAA basketball tournament without having Billy Packer around.It's especially so for Lehigh Valley fans, considering Packer's local ties.

Packer had done every Final Four since 1974, but he and CBS parted company last year and it's still hard to say who's idea that really was.

Is he missed on game coverage? That's for you to judge and perhaps a full evaluation should be delayed until the Final Four games are played April 4-6.

Let's just say his replacement as lead analyst, Clark Kellogg, hasn't earned a wing in the broadcasting Hall of Fame just yet.

What Kellogg has going for him, however, is that he hasn't been labeled as ''pro-this or anti-that'' just yet, the way Packer's biases -- real or imagined -- built up and eroded his sense of credibility and impartiality.

For instance, former 76ers GM and Duke man Billy King took a shot at Packer on NBC10's ''Sports Final'' late Sunday night.

After showing Packer predicting a Villanova win over Duke in the Sweet 16, King said, ''Billy Packer has always hated Duke. That's nothing new. He's Wake Forest guy.''

When you're around as long as Packer was, you're bound to engender that kind of animosity, and no, King wasn't kidding.

I'm sure Packer could have had a seat at the crowded ESPN college basketball set and been an asset considering his penchant for controversy, but he instead opted to stay involved with March Madness via a syndicated Sunday night show called ''Survive and Advance.''

Comcast SportsNet is showing it every Sunday night during the tourney.

If you can get away from the awkwardness of doing a college basketball show in a Vegas lounge and Packer's unfamiliarity with the No. 1 chair, this show has its share of insights and some unique guests such as Denny Crum, Bill Russell and David Thompson.

Bobby Knight is the co-host, and while he's as complex and polarizing as any personality we've had on the national sports stage, no one can dispute his basketball acumen.

When he talks Xs and Os, you should listen.

Knight is looking forward most to Memphis-Missouri and Duke-Villanova.

As for the Blue Devils and Wildcats, Knight said, ''Those are two teams that really play the game of basketball. They have good spacing on offense, good position on defense.''

Packer still thinks the best team in the tournament is Pitt, although he acknowledged the Panthers have been underwhelming in their two wins.

I don't know if ''Survive and Advance'' will survive and advance to a larger platform next year, but while he could always annoy and agitate, it's good to have Packer still involved -- to an extent -- in a phenomenon he helped to build.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Memory lane: Tonight, 30 years to the day of when it was played, RCN4 will show a replay of the 1979 PIAA Class 3A boys basketball title game between Allen and Valley from Pittsburgh. The game airs at 9 p.m. and features Bob Gehris as play-by-play man and Lou Sabler as analyst. Allen's appearance was part of a 10-year period when our boys teams often competed for state finals. These days, it's big news when we win a PIAA playoff game. It'll be especially interesting for Parkland fans to watch this game considering the several connections from this year's Trojans squad to the 1978-79 Canaries.

Dennis the menace: Somehow, Dennis Rodman has survived four rounds of firings on this year's edition of ''Celebrity Apprentice,'' but previews for next week's show bill it as a boardroom intervention as Rodman's drinking problems are brought to Donald Trump's attention. By the way, don't know what's harder to look at: Rodman's facial piercings or the six layers of Joan Rivers' face.

No timeout from TO: ESPN wasted no time getting the Bills and Terrell Owens on their Monday Night Football schedule. The Bills- Patriots open a season-opening MNF doubleheader on Sept. 14 with Raiders-Chargers to follow.

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Women's Basketball: Dominant second half enough for top-seeded Oklahoma

By Mark Emmert • memmert@dmreg.com

Iowa City, Ia. — Dominating one half was more than enough for top seed Oklahoma on Sunday.

The Sooners wore down Prairie View A&M to secure a 76-47 victory in a first-round NCAA women’s basketball tournament game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. But it took a 53-38 edge in rebounding and a 17-1 run early in the second half to help No. 4 Oklahoma (29-4) advance.

Prairie View, a No. 16 seed making just its second appearance in the tournament, kept the game close by getting 15 points apiece from guards Dominique Smith and Gatti Werema and making nine steals in the first half.

Oklahoma coach Sherri Coales was even forced to take a timeout after an
8-0 Prairie View run cut the deficit to 36-28.

“We were making ridiculous mistakes,” Coale said. “I told them just because Prairie View started picking us up (on defense) a little farther from the rim, it didn’t mean we had to speed our game up.”

Oklahoma point guard Danielle Robinson got the message. The sophomore finished with 15 points, six assists and no second-half turnovers.

“It was about poise and taking care of the basketball,” she said of the Sooners’ response to Prairie View’s run.

Oklahoma’s Amanda Thompson sat out with a hurt foot.

Box score: Oklahoma 76, Prairie View A&M 47

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Louisville, Pittsburgh Win to Reach NCAA Tournament Round of 16

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The University of Louisville and University of Pittsburgh rallied to win second-round games and put all four No. 1 seeds into the final 16 of the men’s college basketball tournament for the fifth straight year.

Louisville, the top seed in the Midwest Regional, trailed ninth-seeded Siena 63-59 with 7:45 left in Dayton, Ohio, before pulling out a 79-72 win. Pittsburgh, the No. 1 team in the East, beat No. 8 Oklahoma State 84-76 in Dayton, where the Panthers were behind by one point with less than four minutes remaining.

Louisville (30-5) and Pittsburgh (30-4) join fellow top seeds Connecticut (29-4) and North Carolina (30-4) in the regional semifinals, which are played March 26-27. The last time a No. 1 seed failed to advance to the round of 16 was in 2004, when Kentucky and Stanford were upset in the second round.

Defending champion Kansas also advanced to the final 16 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament today, as did Michigan State, Syracuse, Missouri, Xavier and Arizona.

North Carolina and Connecticut reached the third round yesterday along with Memphis, Purdue, Villanova, Duke, Gonzaga and Oklahoma.

The NCAA championship game is April 6 in Detroit.

Louisville used a 9-0 scoring run in the closing minutes to erase a four-point deficit and eliminate Siena.

Terrence Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Cardinals, who held the Saints scoreless for more than five minutes to take a 68-63 lead.

The top overall seed in the tournament, Louisville, next plays Arizona in a Midwest Regional semifinal in Indianapolis.

No. 12 Advances

Arizona beat No. 13 Cleveland State 71-57 in Miami to put a No. 12 seed in the final 16 for the second straight year. Western Kentucky and Villanova made the regional semifinals as 12th seeds last year.

Nic Wise had 21 points and eight assists for the Wildcats (21-13), the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament.

Pittsburgh trailed Oklahoma State 72-71 with 3:45 remaining before ending the game with a 13-4 scoring run.

Sam Young scored 32 points and Levance Fields added 13 points and nine assists for the Panthers, who also used a late surge to pull away from East Tennessee State in the first round.

Pittsburgh advances to an East Regional semifinal game on March 27 in Boston against fourth-seeded Xavier, which defeated No. 12 Wisconsin 60-49 in Boise, Idaho.

The Musketeers (27-7) got 15 points from B.J. Raymond and held the Badgers to 3-of-20 shooting from three-point range.

Second-seeded Duke will play No. 3 Villanova in the other East Regional semifinal.

Kansas Beats Dayton

Kansas, which lost all five starters from last year’s championship team, beat Dayton 60-43 in Minneapolis as Cole Aldrich had 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.

The last player to record a triple-double that included blocks in the NCAA tournament was Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 for Louisiana State University.

The Jayhawks (27-7), the third seed in the Midwest, head to Indianapolis to meet No. 2 Michigan State, which beat No. 10 Southern California 74-69 in Minneapolis after trailing by one point with less than six minutes left. Travis Walton scored 21 points to lead the Spartans (27-6).

Missouri, third in the West Region, overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 6 Marquette 83-79 in Boise and prevent the Big East Conference from having six teams among the tournament’s final 16.

Leo Lyons scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures for the Tigers (30-6), who advance to play No. 2 Memphis in Glendale, Arizona. Connecticut and No. 5 Purdue meet in the other West Regional semifinal.

Syracuse, seeded third in the South Region, defeated Arizona State 78-67 to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2004. Eric Devendorf scored 21 points to lead the Orange (28-9), which will face No. 2 Oklahoma in a third-round game in Memphis, Tennessee. North Carolina and No. 4 Gonzaga play in the other South Regional semifinal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

By Erik Matuszewski

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Special season: North Dakota State men's basketball team's ability to bounce back from early 3-OT loss said a lot

North Dakota State's Ben Woodside drives through the Kansas defense during the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament Friday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. David Samson / The Forum.

Perhaps Danny Kaspar knew more than most of us back on Dec. 12.

The Stephen F. Austin basketball coach was walking down a hallway of Drake University’s Knapp Center, about a half-hour after his team survived for a triple-overtime win against North Dakota State.

That’s when Kaspar approached NDSU’s Ben Woodside, slumped in a folding chair – exhausted from his incredible 60-point performance.

“We’ll see you in the NCAA tournament,” Kaspar told Woodside.

Sure enough.

On Friday morning, Kaspar’s team was in Miami playing Syracuse in an NCAA tournament game. At the same time, Woodside and NDSU were in Minneapolis playing defending national champion Kansas.

I mention this hallway meeting only because of what the Bison accomplished the next day in the Knapp Center. Fatigued and dejected from the triple-overtime loss, the Bison rolled to a 98-77 win over a talented Georgia Southern team.

It was big statement – as if the Bison were more than ready to do something special this season. They would lose only three more regular-season games – one a 61-57 setback at Southern Cal, a team playing today in the Metrodome in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Then came a three-week whirlwind of special accomplishments.

The Bison clinched The Summit League regular-season championship in their last regular-season game – becoming the first conference team since 2005 to claim a win at Oral Roberts University.

One week later, they played in their first Summit League tournament only 3½ hours away in Sioux Falls, S.D. – where nearly 2,000 Bison fans celebrated the dramatic championship win over Oakland (Mich.) University. Five days later, they learned they would be playing in their first NCAA tournament only 3½ hours away in Minneapolis – where an estimated 10,000 Bison fans watched them play Kansas.

“It was as if the stars were aligned for them,” said Oakland coach Greg Kampe, who said he would be cheering for the Bison to knock off Kansas.

It appeared the entire galaxy was lining up for the Bison with less than 12 minutes left of Friday’s game. That’s when Woodside exploded between two defenders on a drive that created a three-point play to cut the Jayhawks lead to 56-53.

“Wow,” CBS-TV sportscaster Gus Johnson announced to the national television audience that could hear the Bison fans erupt. “I tell you what, folks. This kid is a baller.”

With just over nine minutes left, another Woodside drive cut the Jayhawks lead to 58-55.

“He’s beating them at will,” said CBS announcer Len Elmore.

“Incredible,” Johnson announced, as the CBS scoreboard showed Stephen F. Austin losing to Syracuse 59-44.

Bob Huggins, whose West Virginia team was up next in the Metrodome against Dayton, was watching with interest from the sidelines. It was Huggins’ Kansas State team that survived an 83-81 scare against these same Bison two seasons ago in Fargo.

Woodside, who ended up with 37 points, raised his stock with NBA scouts. And even though the Bison could get no closer than three points before falling 84-74, they raised their stock as a Division I program.

There were some of us in press row who wondered how Kansas, relying on the two-man show of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, won the Big 12 Conference regular-season title. But it didn’t take long for most of us to realize that this Bison team was good – Division I good.

Woodside may have been exhausted that Dec. 12 night sitting in the hallway, after playing in all but four minutes of the 55-minute triple overtime. But on Friday sitting in the bright lights, after playing the entire 40 minutes, he wasn’t winded at all.

“This is the N-C-double A tournament,” Woodside said.

Indeed it was.

By: Kevin Schnepf, INFORUM

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Roy Jones Breaks Up Bobby Lashley and Jason Guida fight at Press Conference