The brackets are set, flights are booked and a record six America East basketball teams are playing in postseason tournaments. With six games over the next five days, and the possibility of even more games!, America East will be blogging all the action. Keep checking back here as we give you the inside scoop on all six teams and their postseason experiences, including press conferences, practices, sightseeing and any celebrities we come across along the way. As always, you can also follow us on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Good luck to all the teams!
Wednesday,
March 24
9:10 p.m.: VCU used an 18-6 run to start the second half and held off Boston U., 88-75, to advance to the CBI Championship Series. Jake O'Brien led the Terriers with 20 points, while seniors Carlos Strong and Tyler Morris, who both made their final collegiate appearance each had 16. Bradford Burgess led VCU with 19 points, while Joey Rodriguez had 19 and Larry Sanders finished with 18. Thanks for following the AE postseason blog during the past week. Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com for basketball news throughout the summer.
8:05 p.m.:It was a high scoring first half in Richmond and Boston U. holds a slim 43-42 advantage at the break. This comes as no shock as the two teams have combined to average 89.8 points per game in the tournament. America East's leading scorer, John Holland, leads the Terriers with 13 points, while Jake O'Brien has 12. Larry Sanders paces the Rams with 10. The second half is about to get started. Remember the winner of this game advances to the College Basketball Invitational Championship Series, which will be best-of-three format, and will face either Princeton or St. Louis.
1:45 p.m.: If you thought America East teams were done in the 2010 postseason, you'd be wrong as the Boston University
men's squad faces VCU in the semifinals of the College Basketball
Invitational tonight at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on HD
Net, which is available to select cable and satellite subscribers
with HD nationwide. Fans can also listen to the action on WWZN. The Terriers will be without the program's third all-time leading scorer Corey Lowe, who has left the team and will not return. Boston U. fared fine without him in a win over Morehead State Monday, putting up 91 points. The Terriers have been the highlight in one the best postseasons America East men's basketball has ever had.
Tuesday, March 23
10:36 p.m.: After falling to the Irish, 84-66, arguably the Catamounts' best season came to an end. Senior center Alissa Sheftic continued to play stellar, finishing with a team-high 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Kendra Seto also scored 14 points for the game. Unfortunately, Notre Dame's press forced Vermont into a season-high 25 turnovers, which eventually did the Catamounts in, despite jumping out to the early lead. Four seniors finished their careers tonight, including Sheftic, Sofia Iwobi, Courtnay Pilypaitis and May Kotsopoulos. Sheftic reflected back on her Vermont career at the postgame press conference saying this season had been the proudest moment of her whole life. The Catamounts will take their charter flight home tonight at midnight where those four will return no longer student-athletes. We'll return later with more reflections on the season.
8:15 p.m.: Vermont is down at the half, 42-33, but the Catamounts started off strong, taking an early 20-10 lead. Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins picked up the pace though for the Irish, showing everybody why she was last year's Gatorade national high school player of the year. At the half, she leads all scorers with 19 points, also with five steals. The usual suspects for Vermont are struggling. Kendra Seto leads the Cats with 11 points, including 3-for-4 from downtown long-range.
6:50 p.m.: We're 20 minutes away from arguably the biggest game in Vermont women's basketball history as they take on No. 2 seeded Notre Dame, with tip at 7:16 p.m. ESPN will have whip around coverage on ESPN2 along with all the other second round games being played tonight around the country. Those in the Burlington area will be able to see the full game, while others can view the game in its entirety at ESPN360.com. Alastair Ingram will have the call on WVMT radio, while live stats will also be available here. Good luck to the Catamounts!
4:50 p.m.: Boston University flew to Richmond, Va. today in preparation for tomorrow night's meeting with Virginia Commonwealth tomorrow night in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. St. Louis and Princeton will square off in the other semi, with the winners playing a best-of-three series next week. The Terriers have averaged 93.5 points in their two early round victories over Oregon State and Morehead State. Check out Championship Central at GoTerriers.com for for more info on last night's win over the Eagles and tomorrow's game against the Rams.
2:34 p.m.: For complete transcripts of yesterday's press conferences with Vermont and Notre Dame, click here.
2:23 p.m.: For Vermont, who averaged 1,227 fans for home games this season, playing in front of over 6,000 fans in their first round NCAA contest Sunday was a thrill. Besides the UConn game early in the season which drew nearly 9,000 fans, none of the Catamounts' other games, home or away, came even close. However, there's a bit of negativity in South Bend towards the "only" 6, 153 fans in attendance on Sunday. The 9,149-seat Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center was empty by the Irish's standards. Interesting to see what tonight's attendance will look like, especially considering Vermont fans probably won't be able to travel in the same numbers they did Sunday due to the second round game being midweek.
1:31 p.m.: The Vermont Catamounts will play for a Sweet Sixteen berth tonight at Notre Dame, and they won't be happy unless they make another historic step for the women's basketball program. They'll have to get through a tough, well-rounded Notre Dame team without a lot of flaws first, a team which has a history of Final Four appearances. But veteran Head Coach Muffet McGraw knows that her Fighting Irish can't look past the energetic Catamounts. Not only has Vermont's guard play been impressive, but the Catamounts' defense has been stellar during their string of 11 wins over their last 12 games. The only loss during that period was to Hartford at Chase Arena in the regular season finale.
Monday, March 22
9:23 p.m.: What a game that was. Despite a furious effort by Morehead State, the America East men's basketball season will continue on as Boston University held off the Eagles, 91-89, in overtime to advance to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. The Terriers, who will play again Wednesday, do not yet know their opponent or location of that game but will face either Princeton or VCU, which were also both winners tonight, or the winner of the Green Bay-St. Louis contest, which just tipped off. It's the first time an America East squad has won mulitple postseason games in one season.
9:16 p.m.: Is this deja vu? Again after holding a seven point lead, Morehead has closed the margin to three at 87-84 with 23.1 seconds left.
9:04 p.m.: Boston U. has scored the first five points of OT after Jeff Pelage dove to the hoop and hit a layup and Jake O'Brien, who now has 18 points and nine boards, canned his fifth three of the night. Terriers lead 81-76 with 2:42 left in the first extra sesson.
9:04 p.m.: This one's heading for overtime tied at 76 after regulation. Jake O'Brien got a good look from the top of the circle with 2.5 seconds left but it hit the side of the rim and bounced off. Carlos Strong has a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while Maze Stallworth has 24 and is 7-for-11 from deep for the Eagles.
9:00 p.m.: Carlos Strong misses a pull-up 17-foot jumper but Kenneth Faried knocks it out of bounds so the Terriers still have it. They will be inbounding from the baseline with 8.5 seconds to go.
8:56 p.m.: It just got interesting here at Case Gym. The Terriers held a five point lead and the ball with 38 seconds left but Valdas Sirutis missed two free throws and Morehead drilled a three down the other end to make it 76-74 with 30.5 seconds left. The Eagles stole the inbound pass and Steve Peterson converted a pair of free throws to tie the score at 76 with 28.5 second remaining. Terriers just called a 30 second timeout to talk it over and will be inbounding the ball from in front it their bench with 20.3 seconds left and shot clock off.
8:45 p.m.: Usually, Boston U. is the team that has players in foul trouble towards the end of a game, but tonight it's Morehead State which is having issues. Brandon Shingles fouled out with just three points, while big man Les Simmons and Demonte Harper each have three. Jeff Pelage has three for the Terriers, who have had their lead cut to four at 71-67 with 3:35 left after five straight Eagle points.
8:36 p.m.: Boston U. has extended its lead to 10 at 66-56 with 6:38 left in regulation and is still shooting 50 percent from 3-point land for the game (11-for-22).
8:20 p.m.: Behind a 9-2 run on a pair of three-pointers by Carlos Strong and one by Brendan Sullivan, the Terriers have a 55-51 lead with 11:34 remaining in the contest. Strong is now up to 17 points and has hit 4-of-6 three-point tries.
7:52 p.m.: It was an entertaining half of basketball at Case Gym. Boston U. takes a 38-37 lead into the locker room after Carlos Strong canned a three-pointer from the top of key. He has 11 points, while Jake O'Brien leads all Terriers with 12 points and also has six rebounds. Maize Stallworth has 12 for Morehead State, who shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) in the first period and canned 7-of-13 three-point tries. Boston U. hit 6-of-12 three-point attempts, but only shot 35.5 percent overall (11-for-31).
7:40 p.m.: Boston U. has scored 19 of the game's last 27 points to cut the deficit to one (29-28) with under four minutes left in the first half. After starting just 2-for-15 from the floor, the Terriers have hit 7 of their last 15 attempts.
7:21 p.m.: The Morehead State press is giving Boston U. fits in the early going. The Terriers already have five turnovers and trail 17-7 nearly midway through the first half. Boston U. is shooting only 2-of-15 from the field.
7:20 p.m.: We're
just underway at Case Gym. Morehead State started senior Brandon
Shingles and junior Demonte Harper at the guards, senior Maze
Stallworth, junior Kenneth Faried and sophomore Steve Peterson down low.
For Boston U., its the same starting five they've featured for the last
month with Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong at the guards, John Holland
and Jake O'Brien at the forwards and Jeff Pelage in the middle. We
should also note Corey Lowe is not in uniform for the Terriers. Two of
three officials tonight, Ray Perone and Brian Dorsey referee America
East games in the regular-season and officated the first two rounds of
the NCAA tournament. The other is Tim Kelly.
7:08 p.m.: We're just underway at Case Gym. Morehead State started senior Brandon Shingles and junior Demonte Harper at the guards, senior Maze Stallworth, junior Kenneth Faried and sophomore Steve Peterson down low. For Boston U., its the same starting five they've featured for the last month with Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong at the guards, John Holland and Jake O'Brien at the forwards and Jeff Pelage in the middle. We should also note Corey Lowe is not in uniform for the Terriers. Two of three officials tonight, Ray Perone and Brian Dorsey referee America East games in the regular-season and officated the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. The other is Tim Kelly.
5:45 p.m.: While Vermont and Stony Brook dropped their postseason openers, Boston University trounced Oregon State, 96-78, in the first round of College Basketball Invitational Wednesday. As a result, the Terriers host Morehead State in the quarterfinals of the CBI tonight at 7 p.m. at Case Gym. BU, the second America East school to host a postseason game this season after it hosted just once before and that came in 1987, can become the first America East school to win multiple games in a single postseason with a win over the Eagles. Morehead State, which produced Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, has won five of its last six games and has posted 24 wins, one shy of its program record. Watch the game on BU All-Access, listen on WZZN where Doug Brown and Brian Maurer have the call and follow live stats. We'll have updates and analysis from Case throughout the game.
2:23 p.m.: Vermont had its press conference earlier this afternoon, and Notre Dame just finished theirs. It sounds like Irish Head Coach Muffet McGraw is concerned by the size of Pilypaitis and the quickness of Kotsopoulos and how they match up with the Notre Dame guards. On the other side, Vermont Head Coach Sharon Dawley has been preaching "One Chance": limit the offensive boards so that Notre Dame only gets one chance on each posession. Yesterday, 10 of the Irish's 40 rebounds came on the offensive glass. All the local media were at the earlier Vermont conference, which actually lasted longer than Notre Dame's. You can tell they are intrigued about this Catamounts team, their poise, their veteran leadership and what a win tomorrow night could mean for the program, the University and the America East.
9:49 a.m.: Looking back at the postseason so far, we had five straight days of postseason play. And now with Boston U.'s CBI win and yesterday's NCAA win for the Vermont women, we're guaranteed seven consecutive days of America East in the postseason! While today is gameday for the Boston U. men when they take on Morehead State at Case Gym tonight, the Vermont women will be hard at work preparing for the Fighting Irish. Just like on Saturday, the NCAA requires the Catamounts to attend a press conference, which is scheduled for 12:20, while practice is scheduled for 1-2:30 p.m. However, unlike Saturday, the NCAA practice session today is closed to the public and media.
Sunday, March 21
5:31 p.m.: By the way, anybody looking for some alternative pronunciations for Vermont's guard duo, check out this ESPN highlight clip. Good for a chuckle!
5:27 p.m.: The Catamounts are going to be celebrating tonight! After the biggest win in the program's history earlier today, Vermont watched the #2 Notre Dame-#15 Cleveland State game at the Joyce Center. The Fighting Irish won, 86-58, setting up a Tuesday night matchup with the Catamounts. As May and Courtnay said during their post-game press conference, they weren't going to be content with just getting to the NCAAs--they were pretty determined to win a game too, and they will busy tomorrow preparing for their second-round contest.
2:17 p.m.: Catamounts win, 64-55! It's the first upset of the women's tournament as seven-seeded Wisconsin falls to tenth-seeded Vermont. It is the program's first-ever win in six appearances, giving America East its third tournament win in five years (Hartford in 2006 and 2008). The group of about 100 Catamounts fans that made the trip are ecstatic, as are the players and the coaching staff. UVM will face the winner of the next game between Notre Dame and Cleveland State on Tuesday night at 7p on ESPN2. We'll be back with more after the press conferences!
1:18 p.m.: It's halftime in South Bend and Vermont holds a 33-25 lead over Wisconsin. The Catamounts look good, especially on defense where they already have six steals and five blocks, while forcing the Badgers into nine turnovers. Senior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis is leading the way with 11 points, three assists and three steals. Unlike on the men's side where there have been some huge upsets, the women's tournament hasn't seen any yet. All 16 higher-seeded teams won their first-round games yesterday, and all the games currently in action on going the same way--except for this Vermont-Wisconsin game. If the Catamounts can hang on, they'll be first upset of the 2010 tournament! About to back underway now!
11:59 a.m.: We're about 20 minutes from tip here at the Joyce Center and there is a high sense of anticipation for this game in Vermont circles as they feel prepared for this game after gaining experience at UConn and having played a tough non-conference schedule with trips to N.C. State and Boston College. Remember the four times an America East team (men's or women's) has won an NCAA game in the last 15 years (Drexel men '96, Maine women '99, Hartford women '06, Vermont men '05) they were making their second consecutive trip to the tournament and lost by a double-digit margin.
Saturday, March 20
10:20 p.m.: There are few college
campuses that immediately inspire awe when you walk on them, but
University of Notre Dame is certainly one. Was fortunate to be invited
by Vermont's Assistant Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Sue
Hagens to the team's private tour of Notre
Dame Stadium earlier today. We congregated in the print press pox,
which can seat an astounding 350 writers for a game, where Coordinator
of Stadium Personnel, Cappy Gagnon, who graduated from the University in
1966 and has worked there for the last 15 years, shared the history of
the stadium, stories from decades of Irish football and answered
questions about anything and everything Irish. One of the more
interesting items he shared was that among the more than 86,000 people
who are in the stadium on a gameday are two U.S. Postal Inspectors due
to the frequency of tickets being stolen in the mail. When this happens
the true ticket holder usually receives duplicate tickets after a claims
investigation, but when fans show up with the original tickets, the
inspectors are brought into the mix to determine if mail theft has taken
place. After the session, I walked around campus so get closer looks at
the game Golden
Dome and Touchdown
Jesus or Three-Point Jesus as Irish women's coach Muffet McGraw
calls it to recruits.
9:36 p.m.: For more coverage of today's Hartford game vs. LSU, here's an NCAA photo gallery, highlights, boxscore and postgame quotes. Looking forward to tomorrow's NCAA game between Vermont and Wisconsin, the two teams appear more similar than today's NCAA game. Vermont has caught Wisconsin's eye as a battle-tested team more worthy than last year's 16 seed. Once again, Catamount senior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis led Vermont into into the postseason, and now she will try to lead the team to the program's first-ever NCAA Championship win. The Catamounts and Badgers will meet up tomorrow at the Joyce Center on Notre Dame's campus with a tip-off of 12:21 p.m. on ESPN2.
4:20 p.m.: One of the highlights of last night's Vermont- Syracuse contest was the dueling high flying dunks by the Orange's Wes Johnson and Marqus Blakely. On Thursday, Johnson acknowledged Blakely's ability. "I just saw the top ten dunk he had," he said. "I know he's a freak and I think he
leads his team in all five categories. So he's a great athlete. So he
can come into the BIG EAST and be an impact to any team he's on in the
BIG EAST. I know that. He's an animal." Blakely may have delivered his best dunk yet last night as captured by the excellent Burlington-based photographer, Brian Jenkins. This one came late in the first half on the fast break off an overhand flip feed from Nick Vier and even brought Syracuse fans to their feet. All Andy Rautins could do was watch Blakely soar to the rim.
4:10 p.m.: Here's the transcript from Vermont's news conference earlier today, as well as photos from it's practice. We mentioned how the Catamounts seemed loose and were stressing having fun on this trip. That was evident in the game of knockout that broke out during practice. Said May Kotsopoulos earlier in the day, "People
that don't know us don't know that we like to dance a lot in the locker
room, on the bus, during our warm-ups, you know have a good time, joke
around. People that see that may think that we're not serious, but
that's how we play our best, when we have fun. I think tomorrow will be a
bigger deal for us to have a good time and just relax. For a lot of
our players this is a dream come true, and tomorrow we will try and
enjoy ourselves as much as possible."
2:05 p.m.: The Hawks fall to LSU, 60-39. The seniors--Jenna Peterson, Diana Delva and Kacey Pratt-- received a standing ovation as they were replaced on the floor with under 2 minutes to go in the game. Hartford ends its season with a 27-5 record. We'll be back with more postgame information later this afternoon, including photos, boxscore and postgame quotes.
1:11 p.m.: Vermont is about to take the court at the Joyce Center for its open practice. Courtnay Pilypaitis, May Kotsopoulos and head coach Sharon Dawley were just on the dais for their news conference. You can definitely tell they are focused on being relaxed and trying to have fun while also getting their work in for their biggest game of the season. While Wisconsin is no slouch of an opponent by any means, it's certainly a stark contrast to last year when UVM was a No. 16 seed and had the daunting task of facing UConn in Storrs. We'll have a full transcript of the news conference later on and break down some of their thoughts throughout the day.
1:07 p.m.: The Hawks trail 29-15 at the half to LSU. LSU is strong inside and has already forced several Hartford shotclock violations. Hartford does have a history of comebacks this season. They were down 13 points to eventually win at Sacred Heart. The very next game, they came back from a 12 point deficit to defeat St. Joseph's, so this 14-point deficit is not insurmountable. The Hawks will have to shoot better and take care of the ball better in the second half, having shot only 30% and turned the ball over 13 times in the first 20 minutes.
12:05 p.m.: And the Hartford starters will be Doherty, Peterson, Delva, Elliott and Smith. The officials are Beverly Roberts, Angelica Suffren, Dan Outlaw and Karen Gruca as the standby.
11:59 a.m.: Just a couple minutes away from 12:06 tip! The Hartford pep band has already played the National Anthem. Game will be live on ESPN2 and on espn360.com. For live stats, visit here, and listen to Amy Lawrence and Brian Irizarry on WWUH here.
11:33 a.m.: We're just over 30 minutes from tip-off inside Cameron! Here's a photo of the sendoff at the hotel just a bit earlier. As we mentioned earlier this morning, Hartford has been successful in the NCAAs before. The Hawks defeated Temple as an 11 seed in 2006, and then two years ago defeated Syracuse as a 10 seed. So, Hartford has been here before and knows what to do to pick up a W in the NCAAs. Hartford leads all America East teams with the two NCAA wins. Maine also won an NCAA game in 1999, a win over Stanford as a 10 seed.
8:56 a.m.: After a few hours sleep in Buffalo, we're now in Cincinnati waiting for a connecting flight to South Bend where the Vermont women have their open practice/media session later today. The 'Cats news conference will be at 12:20 p.m. with a one hour practice to follow at 1 p.m. We'll have much more on this later and also look back at last night's men's contest. Check out the recap, box score, news conference quotes and photos from Vermont's battle with Syracuse.
8:14 a.m.: We're having a sendoff from the hotel for the team as it makes its way over to campus a little later this morning, but until then, here are the transcripts of the press conferences yesterday.
8:02 a.m.: Good morning, it's gameday for the lady Hawks! Hartford is having a pregame meal of breakfast at the hotel right now. The big meal of note, though, was last night's dinner. The team and all its supporters headed over the steakhouse Ruth's Chris in Durham for a special meal last night. Being a little superstitious, the Hawks thought a dinner at Ruth's Chris may bring them a little luck for today. That's because two years ago at the 2008 NCAA Championship in Baton Rouge when the Hawks upset Syracuse in the first round, guess what the team did for dinner the night before? You guessed it, Ruth's Chris. The choices were filet mignon, seared salmon or stuffed chicken, but most everybody in that private room with the team went with the filet. And the sinful chocolate cake! Great service, great meal, great night, hoping for great results today!
Friday,
March 19
11:50 p.m.: The Orange zone defense proved too much for the Catamounts to overcome as Cuse pulled out a 79-56 victory at HSBC Arena. A gritty effort from UVM given they were down 25 early with six minutes left in the first half and outscored SU by two from that point.
11:30 p.m.: UVM has played Syracuse virtually even this half and trails 58-44 with 7:38 left in the half. Blakley is one rebound shy of his 18th double-double of the season and has 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals to this point. Evan Fjeld is approaching one as well and has 11 points to go with seven rebounds.
11:00 p.m.: Here are some first half numbers. Vermont shot 29.4 percent (10-of-34) for the half but made 7-of-14 attempts to close the frame. Syracuse shot 48.4 percent (15-of-31) for the half and outrebounded the Catamounts 23-17. Marqus Blakely is four for his last five from the floor after starting 0-for-4 and leads Vermont with nine points and six boards. Scoop Jardine is Syracuse's leading scorer with 11.
10:44 p.m.: Vermont closes the half on a 15-2 run to make it 37-25 at the break. The run was highlighted by three highight reel dunks by Marqus Blakely. Great resilency shown by the 'Cats in a hostile enviornment.
10:30 p.m.: A 20-2 Syracuse run has the Orange up 35-10 with six minutes left in the first. SU is shooting 60.9 percent (14-for-23) while UVM is just 4-for-26 (15.4 percent). Scoop Jardine has 10 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting.
10:14 p.m.: The'Cats have withstood an 11-0 run by Syracuse but trail 15-8 with 11:58 left in the first. The length of Syracuse is causing troubles for Vermont as its shooting just 3-16 to start the game. UVM just switched a 2-3 zone in attempt to keep Syracuse of getting to the rim, which it has done early on as 6 of its 15 points have come in the paint.
9:40: p.m.: Official game time is 9:55 p.m. Both teams warming up on court right now. No surprises in Vermont's starting five. It's Nick Vier, Garvey young and Maurice Joseph in Vermont's three guard set, joined by Evan Fjeld and Marqus Blakley at the forwards. For the Orange it's Brandon Triche and Andy Rautins at the guards, Wes Johnson and Kris Johnson at the forwards and Rick Jackson in place of Arinke Onuaku in the middle. Officials are Karl Hess, Richard Randall and Bret Smith.
8:33 p.m.: Vermont just arrived at HSBC Arena. One of the few teams I saw enter in shirt and tie as opposed to team sweatsuits. Both the 'Cats and Orange must be itching to get started. UVM had an early shoot around on the court this morning and watched the first half of the Robert Morris-West Virginia contest before heading back to the hotel. Follow the game from every angle with live stats, free video and UVM's radio coverage with Rob Ryan and Rob Levine on the call. We'll post the official game time once it is announced here. The FSU-Gonzaga game is being played at a good pace so it should be fairly close to the 9:40 estimated start time.
7:05 p.m.: Florida State and Gonzaga are on the floor warming up for their game, which tips in roughly five minutes. There is one America East tie-in from this matchup. America East Commissioner Patrick Nero and Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton were at the University of Miami at the same time together in the late-1990's. Nero served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Miami for seven years before becoming AD at Maine. Hamilton left Miami in 2001 to become head coach of the Washington Wizards. He has been in Tallahassee for the last nine seasons and led the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons.
5:03 p.m.: For Vermont fans wondering about the status of Syracuse's 6-foot-9, 260 pound center Arinke Onuaku, Jim Boeheim left no doubt in his availablity for tonight's contest yesterday. "He's being treated. He's still got pain when he puts pressure on his leg. So we've been practicing and playing and thinking that he would not be able to play tomorrow night. Beyond that, we still don't know. If we were able to win, whether he would be able to go Sunday, it's doubtful, in my mind. That's really where we stand with him. He's definitely not going to play tomorrow night. And that's the only definite that we have right now." Onuaku was injured in the Orange's Big East quarterfinal game and is averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and shoots 66.7 percent from the floor.
4:10 p.m.: As we inch closer to game time in Buffalo, we'd be reminisced not to mention that we ran into CBS announcer Gus Johnson during yesterday's open practice day. Johnson is here broadcasting today's action, along with former Maryland great Len Elmore. Of course it was that tandem that called Vermont's upset victory over Syracuse five years ago. Even though T.J. Sorrentine's 30-foot three-pointer that sealed the outcome in overtime stood on it's own as an epic NCAA moment, Johnson certainly immortalized it even further with his famous call. Orange coach Jim Boeheim is certainly not taking the Catamounts lightly this time around. "Vermont, we know, is a very good team," he said yesterday. "We know they played very well this year, particularly over the last part of the year. They've got a very, very good basketball team."
4:01 p.m.: The photo gallery of today's events in Durham are now online here, as well as up on the America East facebook page. The Hawks also have a pretty nice blog going themselves, run by their sports information gurus Dan Ruede, Sarah Cote and Keith Arsenault.
3:21 p.m.: Van Chancellor, LSU women's basketball head coach, isn't a stranger to Jen Rizzotti and her Hartford program despite having never played them. Chancellor coached Rizzotti for two seasons when he was head coach of the WNBA's Houston Rockets and he knows not to take a team led by her lightly. As The Advocate out of Baton Rouge reports, Chancellor knows that Hartford is "going to be a really hard-nosed team that reflect's (Rizzotti's) personality." The Tigers staff were pretty impressed by Hartford's second half against Vermont in the second half of the America East Championship game, even without Erica Beverly, who is out with an ACL tear sustained during the semifinals.
2:16 p.m.: The Hartford women just finished up their press conference and open practice on Duke's campus. Cameron is a lot more impressive than I imagined, as this is my first time down here, as well as Coach Rizzotti's first time. During open practice, Coach Rizzotti got to meet tomorrow's television announcers, Beth Mowins and Stephanie Ready, who were pretty interested in hearing about the Hartford
Hawks, who aren't typically in the national spotlight during the year. Rizzotti talked about their plan going up against the Tigers, and it's looking like Jackie Smith will get the assignment to cover national player of the year candidate Allison Hightower, a 6-0 guard out of Texas. Smith will have her hands full as Hightower averages 18.5 ppg and also has 62 steals on the season. It shows how highly esteemed Smith's defense is to Rizzotti, who really values players who know how to play defense. We'll be back in a bit with some more news and some photos of today's action in Durham.
The Hartford women in their open practice on Coach K Court at Cameron Indoor
Stadium on Friday in preparation for their NCAA game vs. LSU on Saturday.
1: 48 p.m.: Coming to you from courtside at a full HSBC Arena now. A lot of times these early games have spotty attendance despite being sold out as fans attend just the games their team is playing it, but not here. Just about every seat in this 19,100-capacity arena seems to be filled. After an early scare, West Virginia has pulled away from Morgan State and leads by 30. Clemson and Missouri are on deck. Don't forget you can watch all NCAA Tournament games for free via March Madness On Demand.
11:44 a.m.: Cameron Indoor Stadium is open today and we've arrived safely into Raleigh-Durham Airport and driven over to campus. The weather, by the way, is even nicer than we could have imagined by just reading the forecast. Daffodils in full bloom, blossoming trees, birds chirping. It's been spring here for awhile! Don't think we would mind staying a few extra days if the Hartford women can pull the upset over seven-seeded LSU. Looking at the first few pages of LSU's postseason guide (which is a good inch and a half thick!), LSU and Hartford haven't had any common opponents this season and the two teams haven't met since 1992, their only other meeting. Hartford did, however, travel down to Baton Rouge for the 2008 NCAAs when it defeated Syracuse in the first round and played Texas A&M in the second round. There were eight teams playing at LSU that weekend, however the Tigers were in a different bracket than the Hawks, so they never met. Since then, beginning last year, the NCAA has changed up the format so that there are double the number of first and second round sites (16 rather than 8) and just four teams per set, hoping to send more regional teams to each site and therefore attracting more fans. Let's hope Cameron is packed for tomorrow's games! Off to the Hartford press conferences upstairs now and then to their open practice on Coach K Court.
11:40 a.m.: By now, I'm sure most of you have heard about Evan Fjeld's emotional 10 days. The third-team all-conference forward lost his mother to cancer last Tuesday, just four days before the America East title game. To the surprise of his teammates and coaches, Fjeld had been playing all season with the knowledge his mother's condition was getting worse and decided to share that with his team the night before she ultimately passed away. Of course Fjeld and the Catamounts downed Boston University last Saturday for the league crown and subsequent NCAA bid. For many, the moment that will stick in their mind was Marqus Blakely's thunderous dunk in the game's final minutes. For me, that moment came after the game, when Fjeld, instead of rushing the court with his teammates and hundreds of Vermont fans, leaped over the bench and embraced his father, Jon, the two of them in tears. The moment was featured as one of ESPN's.com's Moments of Joy, while today the New York Times has moving feature on the Fjelds and the common fight shared by assistant coach Matt Hahn, whose mother is undergoing her own battle with cancer.
10:40 a.m.: Good morning from Buffalo where you can certainly sense an excitement in the air. West Virginia fans have taken over the lobby at the media hotel and are getting ready for the first game of the day vs. Morgan State at 12:15 p.m. The only America East opponent for either of these teams during the season was UMBC, which fell to Morgan, 72-57, in both teams' season openers. There is another tie however. Vermont assistant Matt Hahn will be reunited with his father, Billy Hahn, who is an assistant for the Mountaineers. Zach Berman at the Washington Post wrote about their reunion.
Thursday, March 18
11:50 p.m.: Tomorrow we'll have a look back at Vermont's epic win over Syracuse in 2005, the touching story of Evan Fjeld and updates from 12 hours basketball at HSBC Arena.
11:30 p.m.: We're now less than 24 hours from Vermont's meeting with Syracuse in Buffalo. It's tough to take anything away from the Catamounts demeanor during their practice/media session today. Seem no different than at any point during the regular season. Marqus Blakely did mention it was nice to take a charter flight out to Buffalo, a much different experience than bus trips to Albany and Hartford amongst others in America East. Check out transcripts from both Vermont's and Syracuse's press conferences compiled by ASAP Sports. Didn't know it was possible to type that fast until I saw these guys in action.
9:51 p.m.: From Boston, now it's on to Durham, North Carolina where we'll meet up with the Hartford women's basketball team. For those of you who thought it was a gorgeous day here today in Beantown, check out this forcast at Duke: sunny, high of 74, 0% chance of precipitation. Now that's what I'm talking about. Better pack my flip flops tonight. We'll meet up with the Hawks for their news conference and open practice as they prepare for their first round NCAA matchup with #7 LSU slated for Saturday. We'll catch up tomorrow morning after we land in tobacco road!
8:50 p.m.: The Terriers fall to the Friars, 64-58. BU took its largest lead of the game with 12:00 to go in regulation by eight points, but Providence went on a tear to take a three-point lead and wore down the Terriers. BU looked gassed from there on out. Fortunately, BU returns a ton of experience for next year. They'll return seven of their top eight scorers for 2010-11. Great effort tonight and look forward to the future of this program.
7:51 p.m.: Tied game, 31-31 at Case. Boston U. hasn't looked in sync without Alex Young, but 12 points from Rookie of the Year Chantell Alford has been enough to put them in a good position thus far. Providence has much more size on the Terriers, but BU still has the 21-17 edge on the glass. Speaking of rebounds, senior Aly Hinton has nine tonight. Her second of the night gave her 700 for her career. Alford also broke the program single-season scoring record for a freshman as she only needed seven coming into the game. The previous owner of that record? BU's all-time leading scorer, Katie Terhune ('04), one of the two players' numbers retired and hanging from the ceiling at The Roof. Congrats to both Aly and Chantell!
6:48 p.m.: The BU band is here---as well as the Providence Friar---as both teams are on the floor shooting and warming up. In talking to some of the Boston U. staff here including Deputy Director of Athletics Drew Marrochello, it's looking if the Terriers win tonight, next Monday will be a twinbill with the ladies hosting Old Dominion in the second round of the WNIT at 5:30 and the men hosting Morehead State in the second round of the CBI at 8 p.m. Could be a busy night for BU Athletics, especially if fans and staff alike end up spending the weekend celebrating another Hockey East title!
6:29 p.m.: Here with you at Case Gym where the lady Terriers are warming up for their first round WNIT game against the Providence Friars. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00. Boston U. has had great homecourt advantage as of late, going 8-3 this season at home, and building a 20-game home winning streak against conference opponents spanning three seasons until a loss to Hartford on January 21 this year. To pull off a win tonight though, Boston U. will have to do so without second-leading scorer Alex Young who's out with a leg injury sustained during practice. Young averaged 14.5 ppg this season, including 18.5 ppg during the America East Championship which earned her a spot on the all-tournament team. As they have throughout the whole season, WTBU will broadcast tonight's action, and you can listen in live here. Live stats are also available here.
5:10 p.m.: Now courtside at HSBC Arena where Syracuse is taking the floor. This is by far the most populated this building has been for any of the practices today and virtually everyone is in Orange. Check out photos from today's session. We'll be adding more throughout the evening. Practice Day Gallery
3:40 p.m.: Heading down to HSBC Arena where Vermont will have its open practice and media session in a few hours. Buffalo has a metro-rail that runs through the city and is free of charge near the arena, a nice touch.
3:15 p.m.: With Robert Morris giving Villanova a major scare, it made me think what happened the last time America East received a No. 16 seed. It was 2006 when little-known Albany took on UConn, a No. 1 seed and the No. 2 team in the nation. Reciting a "Why Not Us" mantra to anyone that would listen, the Great Danes gave the Huskies all they could handle and held a 12-point second-half lead. “They shocked us
into such a state that they put us in a situation where
I witnessed our poorest offensive effort in 20 years at UConn,” Huskies
coach Jim Calhoun said postgame. “I never saw us look like that. They were
magnificent for the
first 30 minutes. We were equally magnificent for the final 10.” Unfortunately for Albany, UConn played to its potential in those final 10 minutes and pulled out a 72-59 win. “All five starters for UConn will be playing in the NBA one day,” Albany coach Will Brown said afterwards. “For us to
challenge them with six minutes left, that says a lot about our program.
Why not us? They believed. We had fun with it and it was a good ride.” Brown was pretty close to accurate as four UConn starters from that game are currently on NBA rosters and one, Rudy Gay, has developed into a superstar this season.
1:05 p.m.: Welcome to Buffalo
where luckily it's approaching 50 degrees and there's no snow on the
ground. This is the second time the America East champion has been sent
HSBC Arena. In 2000, Hofstra received a No. 14 seed and and fell to No. 3
Oklahoma State, 86-66. The game featured three players who went on to
the NBA in Oklahoma State's Desmond Mason and Hofstra's Craig "Speedy"
Claxton and Norman Richardson. The trio did not disappoint in this game,
combining for 70 points as Mason poured in 30, while Claxton and
Richardson each had 20. It was the first of back-to-back NCAA showings
for then head coach Jay Wright, who moved to Villanova in 2001 and has
brought the Wildcats back to prominence. Wright's probably a little
nervous right now. His squad, a No. 2 seed, is trailing Robert Morris,
17-11, three-quarters of the way through the first half in Providence.
9:40 a.m.: About to board a flight for Buffalo so will have more for you in a few hours but in case you haven't seen it, check out Vermont's Maurice Joseph and his brother, Syracuse's Kris Joseph, on ESPN First Take yesterday. The brothers will square off against each other in the NCAA first round tomorrow night.
8:48 a.m.: It's gameday for the Terrier women now! The Boston U. women, despite graduating four starters and their top four scorers from last season, are back in the postseason for the second straight season. They'll also be hosting a first-round WNIT game for the second straight year. This should be great experience for a very young team which surprised a lot of people with the level of their success this year. The Terriers host Providence from the Big East tonight at 7 p.m. at Case Gym. In other WNIT results last night, Old Dominion defeated American, 63-55. That's significant because if Boston U. wins tonight, it will have the opportunity to host Old Dominion in the second round since ODU's facility and staff are tied up with the NCAA Women's 1st and 2nd rounds. Anyway, let's see if the Boston U. women have similar results that their men's team had last night on the west coast. We'll have our answer in about 12 hours!
1:00 a.m.: Overall a good first day of postseason play for America East. Boston U. crushed Oregon State 96-78 in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational to earn its first postseason win since 1959. The Terriers will host Morehead St. in round two Monday at Case Gym. Also on Wednesday, while Stony Brook fell to Illinois, 76-66, in the NIT, the Seawolves kept it close throughout and drew a record crowd of 4,423 at Stony Brook Arena for the program's first-ever postseason and nationally televised contest. Tommorrow, we'll have updates from Buffalo as Vermont has its open practice/press conference day. Also tomorrow, women's action gets underway as Boston U. hosts Providence in WNIT action at Case Gym.
12:20 a.m.: Boston U's win over Oregon State was the league's fourth this season over a BCS-conference school. The Terriers also knocked off Big 10 foe Indiana this season, while Maine stunned Boston College and Vemont knocked off Rutgers.
12:08 a.m.: The Terriers hold on to a 96-78 win over Oregon State and advance to the second round of the CBI. John Holland, who struggled by his standards in the America East tournament averaging just 10 points, scored a game-high 28, while Tyler Morris added 18 and was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-pont land. Boston U. will host Morehead St. on Monday at Case Gym. We'll share the game time when we have it.
Wednesday,
March 17
11:39 p.m.: We're back and pleasantly surprised by what's going on in Oregon. Boston U. leads the Beavers, 85-57, with 6:22 remaining. Barring a major OSU comeback, the Terriers will have their first postseason win since 1959.
11:04 p.m.: Illinois pulls it out, 76-66, in a game that for the most part was even closer than the score indicated. Nice touch by the Stony Brook fans giving their team a standing ovation as they leave the court. We'll be back with some postgame analysis and BU-OSU updates shortly.
11:01 p.m.: Stony Brook not going down without a fight. Trail 72-64 with 34.5 seconds left.
10:59 p.m.: Boston U. leads Oregon State 46-27 at the half of their CBI first-round contest. John Holland leads all scorers with 14 points, while Tyler Morris has nine on perfect 3-of-3 shooting from three-point land.
10:55 p.m.: Huge three-pointer by Mike Tisdale as shot clock expired to extend Illinois' lead to 68-59 with 1:22 left.
10:50 p.m.: It's a six-point game with 2:22 to play in Stony Brook as Illinois leads 65-59. No matter the outcome, this has been quite a day for the University with it's first postseason berth, first national TV appearance and a record crowd.
10:41 p.m.: Meanwhile out in Corvallis, Boston U. has opened a 44-24 lead late in the first half at Oregon State. The Terriers are shooting 57 percent from the field.
10:36 p.m.: Right when you think Illinois is going to pull away, Bryan Dougher drills a three-pointer from the left elbow extended to draw SBU within eight at the under-eight media timeout. Illini lead 59-51 with 7:41 to go.
10:28 p.m.: Just announced the attendance here and it's a facility-record 4,423. The previous high was 4,285 set in 2006 against Villanova.
10:14 p.m.: Illinois has opened the second half on a 10-3 run and leads 48-39 at the under 16 media timeout. It hasn't done much to quiet this capacity crown. There were conflicting reports on the capacity of Stony Brook Arena, but on all accounts this place is full. People are even standing on the track above the floor and there aren't many empty spaces there either. As soon as we get an official attendance, we'll pass it along.
10:05 p.m.: About to get underway in Corvallis where Boston University and Oregon State are meeting in the first round of the CBI. This is the Terriers' first postseason appearance since 2005 and the second straight year an America East school has visited OSU in the CBI. Last year, the Beavers edged Vermont, 71-70 in overtime, in the quarterfinals. While we're not at this one, we'll try to keep you as up-to-date as possible. Also check out one of the finest radio tandems in the league, WWZN's Doug Brown and Brian Maurer, to listen to all the action.
10:02 p.m.: Bryan Dougher leads SBU with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Chris Martin has nine and Muhammad El-Amin has seven. Mike Davis is a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and 15 points to lead Illinois, while Demetri McCamey has 10.
10 p.m.: Some halftime stats and observations from the first half: The Illini are shooting a blistering 61.5 percent and outrebounding the Seawolves, 17-11, just only lead by two. That's in large part to Stony Brook's defense which has produced seven steals, forced 10 Illinois turnovers and scored 15 points off those turnovers. SBU has already attempted 18 three-pointers in the first half after only averaging 16.7 attempts during the season.
9:47 p.m.: Battling through some computer issues here but in the meantime a great game has broken out. Illinois holds a slight 38-36 edge at the break.
9:30 p.m.: The pace has slowed down here a bit after both teams came out shooting well. Stony Brook is still hanging tough with the Illini midway through the first half. Illinois leads 21-18 with 7:49 left in the frame. Bryan Dougher leads the Seawolves with seven points. Mike Davis has nine.
9:08 p.m.: We're underway at Stony Brook what a start it is for the Seawolves. After a three-pointer by Muhammad El-Amin and layups by Bryan Dougher and Chris Martin, SBU leads 7-0 and forced Illinois coach Bruce Weber to call a timeout.
9 p.m.: One thing that
struck me this week was the amount of attention Stony Brook is getting
in Big 10 country. Paul Klee from the New Gazette in Champaign has been
covering the Seawolves from all angles. Talked to him earlier this week
and you could sense the intrigue about who Stony Brook is and what this
game means to the program. Check out his account of the scene at Stony Brook
Arena and other News Gazette coverage here.
8:30
p.m.: Coming to you live from courtside at Stony Brook Arena
now and the facility looks tremendous. Still 45 minutes
until game time and the entire student section is already filled with a
steady of flow of general fans coming in as well. The floor has
been redone and the television lighting was reinstalled. The America East
institutional banners have been moved back to their original home and
sit above the west end zone, while the last Red Zone sign that
identifies the student section sits above a full student section in the
east end. Talked to Stony Brook Associate AD/Senior Woman Administrator
Donna Woodruff about the amount of notice they were given from the NIT
that they would be hosting and she said they were finding out as the
announcement was made Sunday at 9. The result is quite a testament to
the work Athletic Director Jim Fiore and his staff have done this week.
5:15 p.m.:
As we approach Stony Brook's campus, some background on tonight's
venue for the first postseason game played in an America East gym since
1987. Tonight's contest will be the first played in Stony Brook Arena
since 2008. The arena, which served as SBU's home through the 2007-08
season, was due to get a $20 million facelift but when the economy took a
downturn, the project was frozen. In the meantime, the Seawolves have
played in Pritchard Gym, a 1,500-seat facility located upstairs from the
arena, for the past two years. But when Stony Brook got in position to
host the America East Championship game, school officials began looking
at options for bigger venues and if they had hosted the title game, it
would have been in the approximatley 4,000-seat Arena. Assistant AD for
facilites Todd Phelps and his staff did a tremendous job readying the
facility for tonight's national television contest. Check out a few
photos
from the Seawolves' practice yesterday.
3:30 p.m.: Postseason action finally kicks off tonight with a pair of games. Stony Brook hosts Illinois in a first-round NIT contest at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and Boston University visits Oregon State at 10 p.m. About to battle lovely New York area traffic and make the trek down the Long Island Expressway to Stony Brook for the Seawolves' NIT contest. This is a big deal for Stony Brook, which has never played in the postseason and never appeared on national television. The Seawolves are expecting a big crowd as 1,500 student tickets were quickly gobbled up. Those in Illinois and around the country are still talking about Cirque de Soliel costing the Illini a home game. Of course Bruce Weber and his staff were banking on an NCAA invitation. As the NIT's No. 1 overall seed, it appears his team just missed out.
3:15 p.m.: Welcome to the America East postseason blog. Hopefully, over the next few days, we can provide you some insight from behind the scenes as six teams take the court.