He muscled his way into the lane for a layup, and then gave Alabama a 68-64 lead with 6:48 left with a pair of free throws.
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Ahead of Virginia Tech’s NCAA Tournament matchup with Alabama, I spoke with Caleb Turrentine, the editor of Bama Hoops Hype, to get some intel on the Crimson Tide. This contest will tip off at 12:10 p.m., airing nationally on CBS with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Reggie Miller and Dana Jacobsen describing the action. The Hokies, who made their first back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament since 1985-86, are still seeking their first tournament win since 2007. The Wildcats aren’t deep. They had seven Quadrant One wins, but a trio of Quadrant Three Losses.
Top-seeded Villanova (31-4) crushed Radford 87-61 on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
It has certainly caught the attention of veteran Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
“He’s the whole package for that team”, Brunson said.
The Wildcats knocked down 14 three-pointers Thursday night, with Mikal Bridges sinking three and five of his teammates swishing two each. That’s an absurd statistic. Tech went from having a chance to be down one point, 78-77, if they called a blocking foul, to being down 79-74 after they called a charge and Buzz Williams got a technical. Honestly, few teams in the country have a chance to beat Villanova if it’s making 3s consistently.
Tech’s Robinson stood toe-to-toe with probable National Basketball Association lottery pick Collin Sexton.
Alabama is through to the NCAA tournament’s round of 32, and it’s mostly thanks to a blue-chip freshman guard whose name isn’t Collin Sexton.
Alabama will need Sexton’s best effort of the season to make it to next week. What they do exceptionally well, however, is execute.
But as the biggest attractions in this season’s loaded rookie class, Petty and Sexton have finally found their groove and it’s meant only good things for the surging Crimson Tide.
Both Wilson and Bibbs had incredible careers at Virginia Tech with insane ups and downs, but this is where the rollercoaster pulls into the station and they get off the ride. The senior point guard has had his share of ups and downs. Alabama can’t do that against Villanova.
The neck-and-neck second-round battle saw 10 ties and 10 lead changes throughout, but the Crimson Tide’s three-straight field goals and free-throw shooting down the stretch allowed UA to hang on for the win.
Alabama’s point guard Collin Sexton played a feisty and aggressive game on Thursday.
John Petty kept up the hot shooting he developed late in the SEC Tournament.
That’s easy to do when you’re as fast as Sexton, but Petty felt like a stabilizing force when Bama needed one most. Donta Hall, who was a game-time decision, added 10 points.
Tournament betting favorite Villanova is rolling against Radford in the first round. Johnson helped spell Sexton at times, and scored 8 points in 10 minutes off the bench.
In fact, in a seven game stretch from January 28 through February 21 that coincided with the loss of redshirt junior guard Phil Booth (fractured bone in his right hand), the Wildcats surrendered 79 points per game.
But in the second half, the ball rarely left Sexton’s hands.
Alabama sophomore Braxton Key isn’t overwhelmed by the moment approaching Saturday morning.
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(Boise) – Keita Bates-Diop, Kam Williams and C.J. Jackson combined to score 66 points, and Ohio State held off South Dakota State for an 81-73 win. He had 1 assist and 1 rebound. “I can speak to his talent, but yeah – we’ve played against a bunch of guys that are competitive”.
