Arkansas-Little Rock and South Florida pull off stunners
South Florida vs Villanova
South Florida trailed by 16 and had never beaten Villanova. South Florida was 9-22 and Villanova was 21-10. So how did it happen that South Florida was able to pull off the crazy win?
Villanova playing like they did in those 10 losses.
South Florida rallied from down 49-33 at the half and stun Villanova 70-69 to keep their improbable NCAA Tournament chances alive. Shaun Noriega scored 22 points and Anthony Crater made the 2 biggest baskets in his life to make the win possible.
Early on, Noriega was unstoppable. He hit 4 three pointers in a span of 3:03, giving the Bulls the 16-8 lead. Although Villanova would eventually tie the game, another Noriega 3 had USF riding high with the 26-21 lead.
However, the Bulls got tired and allowed a 19-3 run from Villanova, then a 7-0 run from the Wildcats. At halftime the Bulls trailed by 16, but in the second half, things would change.
3 free throws and a 3 from Noriega cut the deficit to 10, and then Jawanza Poland and Augustus Gilchrist chipped in, combining for 10 points to make it a 2 point game. With 25 seconds left, Villanova led 67-66.
On the inbound, the pass was floated high and stolen by Anthony Crater. Crater finished with the lay-up, then after Villanova regained the lead, Crater took it to the right side and finished with another layup to complete the shocking upset.
Arkansas Little-Rock vs North Texas
The defending Sun Belt Champion held a late 7 point lead and seemed to have the game locked up. They were on a big run. So again, how did they squander the lead and lose?
Solomon Bozeman drilled a 3 with 1.5 seconds left to power Arkansas Little-Rock over North Texas 64-63 and win the Sun Belt title.
The game was tied at the half and was going to come down to the last second. However, Bozeman only had 5 in the first half and was saving his best game for half 2, as we could see.
However, when North Texas went on a 7-0 run and took a 7 point lead with just 1:42 left, we all thought that the Mean Green would have another Sun Belt title in their pocket. But 6 free throws by the Trojans cut the deficit to one with just 46 seconds left.
Just when the game was getting close and it looked like Little-Rock would win, Josh White drilled a 3 pointer and gave North Texas a 62-58 lead. However, Matt Mouzy answered by taking a handoff and nailing another trey.
After a free throw was made by North Texas, Bozeman pulled up just behind the 3 point line and floated up a high shot. Somehow, it dropped into the hoop, providing a storybook ending for the Trojans.
Other conference championship games
Butler 59
Milwaukee 44
Oral Roberts 76
Oakland 90
Conference championship games tomorrow and predictions
6 PM PT
Montana 78
Northern Colorado 68
4 PM PT
Robert Morris 57
Long Island 66
Bubble Watch
Marquette vs West Virginia, 6 PM PT
Oklahoma State vs Nebraska, 9:30 AM PT
Iowa State vs Colorado, 11 AM PT
South Florida trailed by 16 and had never beaten Villanova. South Florida was 9-22 and Villanova was 21-10. So how did it happen that South Florida was able to pull off the crazy win?
Villanova playing like they did in those 10 losses.
South Florida rallied from down 49-33 at the half and stun Villanova 70-69 to keep their improbable NCAA Tournament chances alive. Shaun Noriega scored 22 points and Anthony Crater made the 2 biggest baskets in his life to make the win possible.
Early on, Noriega was unstoppable. He hit 4 three pointers in a span of 3:03, giving the Bulls the 16-8 lead. Although Villanova would eventually tie the game, another Noriega 3 had USF riding high with the 26-21 lead.
However, the Bulls got tired and allowed a 19-3 run from Villanova, then a 7-0 run from the Wildcats. At halftime the Bulls trailed by 16, but in the second half, things would change.
3 free throws and a 3 from Noriega cut the deficit to 10, and then Jawanza Poland and Augustus Gilchrist chipped in, combining for 10 points to make it a 2 point game. With 25 seconds left, Villanova led 67-66.
On the inbound, the pass was floated high and stolen by Anthony Crater. Crater finished with the lay-up, then after Villanova regained the lead, Crater took it to the right side and finished with another layup to complete the shocking upset.
Arkansas Little-Rock vs North Texas
The defending Sun Belt Champion held a late 7 point lead and seemed to have the game locked up. They were on a big run. So again, how did they squander the lead and lose?
Solomon Bozeman drilled a 3 with 1.5 seconds left to power Arkansas Little-Rock over North Texas 64-63 and win the Sun Belt title.
The game was tied at the half and was going to come down to the last second. However, Bozeman only had 5 in the first half and was saving his best game for half 2, as we could see.
However, when North Texas went on a 7-0 run and took a 7 point lead with just 1:42 left, we all thought that the Mean Green would have another Sun Belt title in their pocket. But 6 free throws by the Trojans cut the deficit to one with just 46 seconds left.
Just when the game was getting close and it looked like Little-Rock would win, Josh White drilled a 3 pointer and gave North Texas a 62-58 lead. However, Matt Mouzy answered by taking a handoff and nailing another trey.
After a free throw was made by North Texas, Bozeman pulled up just behind the 3 point line and floated up a high shot. Somehow, it dropped into the hoop, providing a storybook ending for the Trojans.
Other conference championship games
Butler 59
Milwaukee 44
Oral Roberts 76
Oakland 90
Conference championship games tomorrow and predictions
6 PM PT
Montana 78
Northern Colorado 68
4 PM PT
Robert Morris 57
Long Island 66
Bubble Watch
Marquette vs West Virginia, 6 PM PT
Oklahoma State vs Nebraska, 9:30 AM PT
Iowa State vs Colorado, 11 AM PT
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