Barton 80, Cal State-San Bernardino 79
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -Anthony Atkinson made a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining Thursday night to lift Barton to an 80-79 victory over Cal State San Bernardino in an NCAA Division II semifinal.
The Bulldogs (30-5) won their 20th straight game to advance to the title game Saturday against defending champion Winona State, a 90-85 overtime winner over Central Missouri. Winona State has won 57 straight games.
Alejo Barovero led Barton with 22 points, and Atkinson and Bobby Buffaloe had 19 apiece.
Ivan Johnson scored 19 points for the Coyotes (26-6), and Prentice Harris added 17.
Trailing by as many as seven points during the second half, Barton took a 75-73 lead on Barovero's 3-pointer with 3:06 left. Geoffrey Clayton's three-point play with 2:49 remaining tied the score at 76-76. The teams exchanged baskets before Johnson's free throw gave the Coyotes a 79-78 lead.
Brian Leggett's free throw for the Bulldogs tied the game with 25 seconds left. Following a defensive stop on Clayton, Atkinson grabbed the rebound with 4.6 seconds left, raced up court and was fouled. He made the first of his two foul shots.
The Coyotes could not advance the ball after Atkinson's second shot rolled off the rim and Barton moved on to its first NCAA Division II championship game.
The Coyotes took their largest lead, 56-49, after David Reichel's 3-pointer at 13:44. But Barton, which played and won nine overtime games this season, scored seven straight points, capped by Barovero's free throw at 11:29.
Cal State Bernardino, which led the nation this season with 393 steals (12.5 per game), outscored their opponents 66-24 in points off turnovers during the quarterfinals and semifinals.
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Xavier expected to lock up Miller through 2015-16
Xavier is expected to extend coach Sean Miller's contract through 2015-16, a source close to the Musketeers told ESPN.com.
Xavier was expected to announce the extension Thursday night.
Miller's original deal had him coaching through the 2009-10 season and then he was given an extension to 2010-11.
Miller coached the Musketeers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before an overtime defeat to Ohio State last weekend in Lexington.
The return of Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski for his second stint played a role in Miller's decision, the source said.
Miller was considered a popular name for possible Big Ten openings.
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March Madness: It's time for a pool party
By STEPHANIE K. WHALEN, swhalen@delcotimes.com
03/15/2007
Super Bowl Sunday might still be the preeminent day on the gaming calendar, but basketball enthusiasts could argue the NCAA Basketball Tournament is more fun. As opposed to a handful of competing teams within the National Football League, the annual basketball tournament has 64 college teams battling for one National Championship title.
Some of those teams were unknown to the general public before today, when the first round of Division I men's basketball games kick off "March Madness."
Psychologists agree the tournament doesn't actually make its viewers "mad," despite the betting frenzy it creates in offices, high school homerooms, bars and college dorms. Most would categorize March Madness as "harmless fun."
Others, like recovering compulsive gambler Arnie Wexler, admit the competition isn't "fun" for everyone.
"March Madness is not just a sporting event," said Wexler, who operates a gambling consulting firm in New Jersey.
"It's part of a nationwide media hype. You read so much about it and hear so much about it on the radio and on TV that it hypes up a lot of addicted gamblers, because compulsive gambling is an impulse disorder."
Odds are slim that throwing a few bucks into an office pool would make you a gambler for life, Wexler said. But even a $5 bet on a basketball pool could spell disaster for an addicted gambler.
"If you ask an alcoholic, most will tell you their addiction started with a shot of beer. Some drug addicts started their addiction with a hit of marijuana," he said.
"It's the same thing for some compulsive gamblers."
Speaking from personal experience, Wexler could remember his first big win, even though it was $54. It wasn't the amount of money that hooked him. It was how it made him feel after winning.
"That night gave me the belief that I could be a winner from gambling and eventually become a millionaire. I can still recall that high feeling walking out of the racetrack that night," he said.
Eventually, the need to gamble took over his life.
Paul Stewart, of Ridley Township, on the other hand, said he doesn't bet much in general.
Yet Wednesday, he was contemplating betting in a basketball pool at work, even though he doesn't know much about March Madness - or even college basketball for that matter.
If he chose to bet in his office pool, Stewart would be contributing to an estimated $4 billion nationally in wagers before the tournament wraps up April 2.
"For me, the allure is seeing everyone at work getting their teams all lined up and seeing everyone's names posted on the board year after year. I want to be a part of the fun," he said.
"If I can throw $20 at the Powerball without knowing what numbers are due, I can throw $10 at something I know equally as much about."
Bettors should use caution if betting online, according to a survey conducted by the ePolicy Institute and the American Management Association. The survey found 26 percent of bosses have fired employees for improper Internet use, and 76 percent are monitoring Web connections.
Additionally, Nielsen/NetRatings found about one million more people visited sporting sites while at work than from home during last year's NCAA tournament.
Perhaps that's why Websense, a California Internet company, said in a press release this week "midsize companies can expect to see a considerable drain on employee productivity and network bandwidth during the NCAA tournament."
Forbes.com said consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has estimated March Madness will cost $3.8 billion in lost productivity, because of the increasing number of sports betting Web sites and free footage online.
This year, CBS SportsLine, in partnership with CBS Sports, CSTV and NCAA, is once again offering its NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) service to registered users ages 13 and older. The service provides live streaming video from 56 games online free of charge. It was launched for free for the first time last year, providing more than 19 million video streams to five million visitors.
Steve Snyder, chief operating officer for CBS Interactive, said Wednesday in a press release the goal for MMOD is to be "year in and year out the bellwether online video event by which all others are judged."
"March Madness on Demand is one of the most successful initiatives the NCAA and the CBS Corporation has implemented when you couple evolving technology and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship," said Greg Shaheen, senior vice president for basketball and business strategies at the NCAA, in a press release.
@ DelcoTimes 2007
Cardinals please Pitino, clinch second place in Big East
March 4, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A year ago, during Louisville's tumultuous transition to the Big East, coach Rick Pitino wondered if the Cardinals truly belonged in one of the nation's toughest conferences.
He doesn't wonder anymore.
The 16th-ranked Cardinals capped their remarkable turnaround season with an 86-71 win over Seton Hall on Sunday, propelling Louisville (22-8, 12-4) into second-place in the Big East and erasing any lingering doubt Pitino had about his team's toughness.
"We're now a legitimate Big East team, and we weren't last year," Pitino said. "In just eight months we've changed that whole mindset."
It's a mindset Pitino thinks will serve the Cardinals well in the upcoming Big East Tournament, and one they showcased against a game Seton Hall squad that hardly looked like a team playing out the string.
The Pirates (13-16, 4-12) nearly matched the Cardinals shot for shot -- and blow for blow -- in a physical game that saw plenty of pushing and shoving, four technical fouls and an early exit for Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez. Gonzalez was ejected after picking up his second technical foul with 51 seconds remaining.
"We wanted to go down swinging, go down fighting," Gonzalez said. "That's what our team did all year. That was our identity."
By the time Gonzalez began the slow walk to the locker room, the Cardinals had finally shaken the Pirates, who stayed close behind a career-high 29 points from Brian Laing and some red-hot shooting. The Pirates made 10 of their first 13 3-pointers, but cooled off down the stretch, missing their last eight as Louisville relied on its depth to pull away.
"It was close, they tried to scrap it out," said Louisville guard Brandon Jenkins, who scored four points in his final game at Freedom Hall. "But in the end, this is something that can help us."
The Cardinals did an excellent job of holding onto the ball despite constant pressure by the Pirates, who lead the Big East in turnovers forced. Louisville gave it away just six times and shot 48 percent from the floor.
"We just wanted to keep our composure," said guard Terrence Williams, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Composure looked to be scarce early. Williams and Seton Hall guard Jamar Nutter had to be separated by officials after a brief shoving match.
"We weren't going to back down," Williams said. "I'm a Louisville guy and by pushing back I was saying we weren't going to back down."
"(The shoving) woke us up a little bit," Pitino added.
Louisville took control late in the first half with a 14-0 run that gave the Cardinals a 44-32 lead. But the Pirates rallied behind Laing, who fueled a 10-0 run to end the half.
"They kept fighting," Jenkins said. "They kept getting clean looks and knocking them down."
Eventually, Louisville's depth wore the Pirates down. Five Cardinals scored in double figures, including freshmen Edgar Sosa (18 points), Derrick Caracter (13 points) and Jerry Smith (10 points). Freshman forward Earl Clark added five points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals, who won their sixth in a row.
"We're very excited about the potential of our program, but we're nowhere near where we want to be," Pitino said. "We're playing real good basketball and I think you have to give a lot of credit to the four freshmen that have come in because they have made a dramatic difference in our ballclub."
The freshmen helped the Cardinals survive a series of second-half runs by the Pirates, scoring 11 consecutive points to give Louisville a 74-63 lead with 5:58 to go. Seton Hall fought back one last time, pulling within 74-69 on a jumper by Paul Gause.
That would be as close as it got for the Pirates. Clark hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Williams added a layup and Louisville closed the game on a 12-2 run, allowing Pitino to play rarely used seniors Chris Current and Brad Gianiny in the final minute.
"There were times we didn't expect to be 12-4," Pitino said. "As a matter of fact in the beginning of the year ... we were hoping for 10-6 (but) we ended the season very strong."
It's a strength the Cardinals hope will carry into the Big East Tournament.
"We feel like we have something to prove," Williams said. "A month ago, people didn't think we could go 12-4. People didn't think we'd make (the NCAA) Tournament. But we've got that hunger."
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Manhattan 71, Iona 65 Manhattan 71, Iona 65
Feb. 25, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -Antoine Pearson scored 16 points and reserve Brandon Adams had 15 to help Manhattan defeat Iona 71-65 Sunday in both teams' regular-season finale.
Darryl Crawford added 14 points and Guy Ngarndi 12 for the Jaspers (13-16, 10-8 Metro Atlantic), who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Mike Harris scored 18 points and Justin Marshall 13 for the visiting Gaels (2-27, 1-17), who lost the most games in one season in school history.
Both teams move on to the MAAC tournament later this week in Bridgeport, Conn. Iona plays in the opening round Friday against an opponent that was to be determined late Sunday, and Manhattan meets Siena in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Jaspers, who held Iona without a field goal over the opening 9:17, led 35-24 at halftime.
The Gaels narrowed the margin to 57-51 after Harris scored with 4:39 left, but never got any closer.
Manhattan was 33-for-42 from the foul line, and Iona was 30-of-46.
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