Avery Johnson’s second team has squeezed nearly every drop out of its talent, winning 12 games against SEC opponents between the regular season and the conference tournament.
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“I don’t think winning the SEC Tournament will have any say in what our seed is”, he said.
“It was a little smaller (gathering) as opposed to a year ago when we won the Big East”, junior guard Khadeen Carrington said.
Every year Kentucky faces questions about consistency and experience, and whether it will meet its potential, but this team is now 29-5 with wins over North Carolina and the best of the SEC, losing tough nonconference games to UCLA, Louisville and Kansas.
This marks the third-straight season head coach Kevin McGuff has taken the the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament. I’ll take the Pirates to advance in what’s essentially a pick ’em. They beat Arkansas, 68-51, led by De’Aaron Fox who had 18 points and was awarded the tournament’s MVP with 66 total points this week in Nashville in three games. “Dom is a spark plug”. “This tournament proved that he deserves to be on the national stage like that”. Michigan State will appear in its 16th NCAA Tournament and 13th in the past 15 seasons.
Kentucky whipped Arkansas 97-71 January 7 in Rupp Arena. The Commodores started the second half much like the first, with an 0 of 6 start from the floor, including 0 of 4 on 3-point attempts. “I think they understand what’s at stake”. The Tide stood within three points with 3:30 left when its terrific freshman forward, Braxton Key, went to the line for three free throws that could’ve tied the game.
After watching recruits play, Holloway will often tell them, “do you want the truth or the truth?” Bam Adebayo scored 17 points, including 10 in the first half, giving the Wildcats a boost in the post. Freshman guard Malik Monk added 17, and senior guard Dominique Hawkins scored 14.
“Postseason is about being able to make it hard for the other team”, Calipari said.
PRINCETON 71, Yale 59: Myles Stephens had a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds and Princeton won the inaugural Ivy League Tournament, beating Yale to clinch its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2011.
Adebayo paced Kentucky with 10 points, Hawkins had nine.
“We’re building our bench”, Caliapri said. But by the time they did a Wildcats player was already down and out. Monk tallied 13 points n the opening half and made two of Kentucky’s three shots from long range. Arkansas shot 42.6 percent, 22.2 from 3-point range. Arkansas players Dusty Hannahs and Moses Kingsley were later hit with flagrant fouls which some attributed to the throat slashing gesture.
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The Razorbacks August exhibition games tour of Spain expedited that process, Anderson said. Sometimes the temperament gets out of hand.
