November 8, 2010 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH — All summer, his fellow coaches asked Pitt’s Jamie Dixon why he agreed to play an opponent like Rhode Island in the season opener. For most of Monday night’s game, Dixon was asking himself the same question.

Brad Wanamaker scored 24 points, Ashton Gibbs had 22 and Pittsburgh (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 AP) survived an upset scare in the nation’s first Division I game of the season, rallying from eight points down to beat the Rams 83-75.

Pitt ended a sluggish first half in the 2K Sports Classic opener by scoring nine consecutive points over the final 1:21 after Rhode Island went ahead 36-28. The Panthers then wore down Rhode Island with their size, defense and the experienced play of the backcourt of Gibbs and Wanamaker to offset the Rams’ 14 3-pointers.

Delroy James scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half for Rhode Island, which trailed 76-74 with 1:41 to play before Pitt finished it off by making seven of eight free throws.

“There’s a reason why teams don’t want to play them, especially on Nov. 8,” Dixon said. “You don’t want your first game to be against a team that presses and shoots 3s. They made some tough 3s and kept the game close, but we made free throws and got baskets when we needed to get them.”

Pitt won its 14th consecutive season opener, eight under Dixon, and its 48th straight at home against a non-conference opponent. Gilbert Brown added 10 points and redshirt freshman Talib Zanna, starting for the injured Nasir Robinson, had nine points and 11 rebounds in his first college game.

Akeem Richmond scored 16 points and Nikola Malesevic had 13 for Rhode Island, which lost despite making 14 of 31 from 3-point range to Pitt’s 3 of 16. The Rams, outrebounded 45-32, lost their 23rd straight to a ranked opponent and still haven’t beaten a Top 5 team in 12 years.

Pitt knew Rhode Island wouldn’t be the usual rollover opponent that many ranked teams play in their opener, and the Rams — 26-10 last season while reaching the NIT semifinals — weren’t as their uptempo style and pressure defense kept it close.

“This felt like a tournament game,” Wanamaker said. “It was intense, and usually you don’t play a team this good in the first game. But I think it will help us.”

The Rams’ biggest lead came on Will Martell’s basket 90 seconds before halftime but, right about then, Pitt began showing why it hasn’t won fewer than 25 games each of the last five seasons.

“We wanted to take it right at them but, sometimes, that comes with the territory,” Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said of the momentum-shifting run.

Gibbs converted a three-point play ahead of Wanamaker’s layup. Lamar Patterson’s first career basket, a dunk off Wanamaker’s feed, gave the Panthers a 37-36 halftime lead, their first since they led 13-11.

“We started making layups,” Dixon said. “We charted that we missed nine layups in the first half. From that point on, we made them.”

Still, Pitt — with four returning starters from its surprising 25-9 team of last season — never led by as many as three points until Gibbs’ steal and drive with 15:08 remaining made it 48-45. The teams traded leads nine times early in the second half, with Rhode Island’s final lead coming at 50-48 after James made two free throws and one of his five 3-pointers.

Travon Woodall’s free throw gave the Panthers the lead for good at 54-53, and they opened leads of as many as eight before two late 3-pointers by James made it close.

“You’ve got to take what they’re giving you, and they were giving us the 3,” said James, who was recruited to Rhode Island by new Pitt assistant Pat Skerry.

Dixon likes playing early season exempt tournaments because they give his team extra games during a time they normally would be practicing. But they can create matchups that the coaches of highly ranked teams generally prefer to avoid early in a season; in 2003, Pitt had to rally to avoid losing to Georgetown, Ky., of the NAIA in an exempt tournament.

Pitt was guaranteed of playing in the tournament’s semifinals Nov. 18 in New York even before playing Rhode Island. The Panthers play Illinois-Chicago in their second home game of the event Wednesday.

April 1, 2010 | AP Press

NEW YORK – Dayton players danced at midcourt and then lingered on ladders as they cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden.

Forgive these Flyers for taking a little extra time to soak it all in. They’re not as accustomed to trophy ceremonies as the North Carolina team they had just beaten.

Marcus Johnson scored 20 points and Dayton denied last year’s national champs another title, topping the Tar Heels 79-68 Thursday night to win the NIT.

“This game kind of is a capsule of our season,” coach Brian Gregory said. “Started off great, had some tough times and then just kind of fight through, and ended up very successful at the end.”

NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen said Thursday no decision has been made about the future of the postseason NIT, which is operated independently by the NCAA.

“Might be a fitting way to end it, for us to win it,” Gregory said.

How down-and-out were these Tar Heels heading into the postseason? When the 32-team NIT draw was announced, they opened at 35-1 odds to win the title.

And while Dayton has been a regular in this event, it was strange to see North Carolina on the college basketball undercard this time of year. One of the sport’s true heavyweights, the Tar Heels own five NCAA national championships, including an 89-72 victory over Michigan State in last year’s title game.

Tom Izzo and the Spartans are back in the Final Four, set to play Butler in Indianapolis on Saturday. North Carolina was left to chase a consolation prize following a 16-16 regular season wrecked by injuries, leaky defense and a string of embarrassing losses.

The blue bloods from Tobacco Road still have one NIT title, which came in 1971.

Every time North Carolina got close in the second half, Dayton had a response.

Tar Heels guard Marcus Ginyard missed a contested layup that could have tied it at 59, and Paul Williams hit one of his four 3s on the other end with 7:46 left.

A 3-pointer by Graves cut UNC’s deficit to 67-63 with 3:37 remaining, but Chris Johnson countered with a 3 of his own and a follow-up dunk to put Dayton up by nine with 2:50 to go.

North Carolina, which committed 15 turnovers, never got closer than five the rest of the way.

“Our guys played with great toughness and desire,” Gregory said. “We answered everything they threw at us.”

This was Dayton’s 22nd appearance in the NIT, second only to St. John’s (27). The Flyers also won it in 1962.

March 31, 2010 | AP Press

ST. LOUIS – Virginia Commonwealth had pretty simple motivation to finish off the best-of-three CBI championship without a Game 3.

“Just trying to get home,” said Jamie Skeen, who hit a pair of crucial baskets in the final two minutes of the Rams’ 71-65 victory over Saint Louis on Wednesday night. “If we win, we get to go home.”

Top reserve Brandon Rozzell scored a career-high 27 points and was 4-for-7 from 3-point range, helping VCU beat Saint Louis for the second time in three nights.

“We wanted this to be our last game,” Rozzell said. “We kept that in mind.”

Saint Louis (23-13) led by nine at halftime and again early in the second half before fading with a roster of freshmen and sophomores. Game 3 would have been Friday night in St. Louis.

“It was a great experience for us,” coach Rick Majerus said. “It was an honor to play in it. We didn’t have a good year, we had a great year.”

Skeen added 16 points and six rebounds and Joey Rodriguez had 13 points for the Rams (27-9), who compensated for an off-game by leading scorer Larry Sanders. He was in foul trouble much of the game and held to three points and four rebounds. Sanders had 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 68-56 victory Monday in Richmond, Va.

First-year coach Shaka Smart said before the game he discussed finishing the year on a five-game winning streak. The Rams finished fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association and lost only twice in their final 12 games, both times to CAA champion Old Dominion.

“We talked about this as the knockout game,” Smart said. “For a while it didn’t look like there was going to be anybody knocking anybody out.

“It was won on the defensive end,” Smart said.

Willie Reed had 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Saint Louis. Freshman Corey Remekun added career-bests with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Billikens, who finished 18-4 at home.

Cody Ellis was held to three points, eight below his average, on 1-for-9 shooting. Saint Louis was 2-for-18 from 3-point range for a two-game total of 7-for-38.

“Cody’s had a great year; he hit that freshman wall,” Majerus said. “We get so many open shots and we can’t hit.

“I told these guys, ‘You’ve got to be able to make shots.”

Another guard, Kyle Cassity, had four assists and a steal in 33 minutes but didn’t attempt a shot because of an undisclosed injury.

“Cassity was just like a dying dog,” Majerus said. “I applaud the kid, he kept wanting to play.”

VCU outscored Saint Louis 9-2 to pull away from a 61-all tie with 3:04 remaining, with Remekun finally scoring for the Billikens with seven seconds left. Rozzell’s previous best was 20 points against College of Charleston on March 22.

Saint Louis had appeared to seize control with 7:18 to go in the half on a five-point play — Sanders’ second foul plus a technical that put the Billikens ahead 23-20. Saint Louis led 33-24 at the break.

March 31, 2010 | AP Press

NEW YORK – North Carolina wrapped up last season by cutting down the nets during a championship celebration, and the goal all along has been to do it again this year.

The Tar Heels will have their chance Thursday night, under much different circumstances.

Deon Thompson had 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping North Carolina survive a frantic final few seconds and defeat Rhode Island 68-67 in overtime Thursday night in the NIT semifinals.

Will Graves added 14 points and Tyler Zeller had 13 for the Tar Heels (20-16), who will try to make bittersweet history against Dayton by becoming the first school to follow a national title with an NIT championship at Madison Square Garden.

“We enjoyed playing the last Monday night last year, and you know, we play the last Thursday night this year,” coach Roy Williams said. “Playing the last Monday night is better, there’s no question about that. But I do believe that if you’re playing — if they keep playing until there’s only one team standing — it’s very important to be that one team.”

The Tar Heels have played with a sense of desperation during the NIT, almost as if they have a chip on their shoulder, and that was borne out when they scored the final five points of regulation to force overtime.

In the extra session, North Carolina had possession with about 5 seconds left and the shot clock about to expire when Larry Drew II forced up a shot. The rebound eventually wound up in the hands of Rhode Island’s Lamonte Ulmer, who lost control of the ball as he rushed up court moments before the buzzer sounded, never coming close to getting off a shot.

Rhode Island coach Jim Baron thought he had been tripped and a foul should have been called, an opinion that North Carolina coach Roy Williams readily supported.

“We got the rebound and we were aiming to push it down the other end,” Baron said. “I thought there was some contact and he tripped.”

Ulmer finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Rhode Island (26-10), which was trying to reach the NIT championship game for the first time since the 1945-46 season. Keith Cothran scored 23 points and Delroy James finished with 13.

“Those guys played with a tremendous amount of heart,” Baron said. “That’s why I told them how proud I was, they put it all out there.”

The final seconds of overtime mirrored a frenetic end to regulation.

The game was tied 59-all when James missed two free throws with 28.6 seconds left. North Carolina tracked down the rebound and, after a timeout, Drew allowed the shot clock to run down to 6 seconds before taking a closely guarded 3-pointer that never had a chance.

“One of the players said in the locker room, ‘Sometimes it helps to win ugly,’” Williams said, “and we did win ugly today.”

Defense played a big part in it.

The Tar Heels ended up with 27 offensive rebounds and 60 total, compared to 45 for the Rams. Rhode Island also turned the ball over 18 times, including that critical miscue with the seconds ticking down in overtime.

“We didn’t execute very well and you hate to end the game like that in such an ugly way,” Drew said, “but sometimes that’s how it is in the game of basketball.”

It sure was a strange sight to see North Carolina, the bluest of the bluebloods, playing on a Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden — especially when the most important games are being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Injuries and inexperience combined to send the Tar Heels’ season spiraling out of control, and they didn’t recover until their chances of making the NCAA tournament — and defending the title they earned by beating Michigan State last March — had disappeared entirely.

Relegated to playing in a tournament for also-rans, the Tar Heels went on the road to defeat Mississippi State and Alabama-Birmingham before knocking off a Rhode Island team that had the best RPI of any program that failed to make the NCAA tournament.

The season still ended up being a success for Rhode Island, which could have matched the school record for wins in a season had it won the NIT championship.

The Rams’ faithful certainly turned out in droves for the semifinals, easily outnumbering the Tar Heels fans clad in baby blue. They kept cheering until the final turnover in overtime, imploring a veteran team for one more night in the spotlight.

Instead, it will be North Carolina playing for yet another championship.

Even if it’s not what anybody expected.

“You know, I have a great appreciation of this tournament, I have a great appreciation of the tradition, the history of the NIT,” Williams said. “If you win this tournament, you have to feel good about it.”

March 30, 2010 | AP Press

NEW YORK — Chris Johnson scored 22 points, including five key free throws down the stretch, and Dayton held off Mississippi 68-63 in the NIT semifinals Tuesday night.

Marcus Johnson added 12 points for the Flyers (24-12), who slowed Mississippi’s high-scoring offense and advanced to the championship game for the first time since winning their second NIT title in 1968.

Next up, Dayton has a chance to end a disappointing year on a high note.

Picked to win the Atlantic 10 Conference before the season, the third-seeded Flyers will play Thursday night against the winner of Tuesday night’s second semifinal between Rhode Island and 2009 national champion North Carolina. A victory by Rhode Island would make it an all-Atlantic 10 final.

Terrico White had 19 points for the second-seeded Rebels (24-11), eliminated in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the second time in three years. Ole Miss was beaten by eventual champion Ohio State in 2008.

With New York Giants quarterback and former Ole Miss star Eli Manning sitting in the second row, near the Rebels’ bench, Mississippi’s Murphy Holloway had a chance to tie it at 64 with 35.8 seconds left. But he missed the second of two free throws, and the Rebels never scored again.

London Warren hit one of two free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining, extending Dayton’s lead to two. Trevor Gaskins drove through the lane for Ole Miss but came up short on a twisting layup, and the Flyers grabbed the rebound.

Chris Johnson’s two free throws made it 67-63 with 11.2 seconds to play. On the other end, London Warren knocked the ball out of Chris Warren’s hands and out of bounds. Chris Johnson then stole the inbounds pass, got fouled and hit one of two free throws for the final margin.

Chris Wright, Dayton’s leading scorer and rebounder, was held to nine points on 1-of-9 shooting. He pulled down 12 rebounds, though.

Chris Warren had 15 points and Holloway 12 for the Rebels, who averaged 88 points in their first three NIT games. They shot only 33.9 percent in this one, including 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Ole Miss also was hurt by a technical foul on Reginald Buckner with 3:09 left. He and Chris Johnson got tied up going for a loose ball, and Buckner threw a right forearm to Chris Johnson’s throat as they finally untangled.

Wright separated the players before Chris Johnson hit both free throws, pushing Dayton’s lead to 64-58.

Holloway then scored on a jump hook, and Chris Warren hit a pair of free throws to get the Rebels within two with 1:04 to go.

March 29, 2010 | AP Press

RICHMOND, Va. – Joey Rodriguez scored 14 straight points during a decisive second-half surge to lead Virginia Commonwealth past Saint Louis 68-56 on Monday night in the first game of the championship series of the College Basketball Invitational.
“Joey can get it going,” said Ram coach Shaka Smart. “The thing that makes him dangerous — he led the CAA in assists. He’s a rhythm shooter and came off ball screens into the lane.”

Saint Louis rallied to cut the deficit to 3 points with 14:30 left, but Rodriguez took over during a 14-4 run that gave the Rams a 55-42 lead with 11:55 to go. Rodriguez hit three 3-pointers during the burst, including one that turned into a four-point play.

“They got the game to three (points),” said Rodriguez, “and I tried to make plays for my team.”

Rodriguez finished with a game-high 22 points and six assists, and Larry Sanders added 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Rams (26-9), who led by as many as 20.

“We didn’t match their intensity level,” Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus said. “We got stretched out (on defense). We’re not used to rotational changing.”

Willie Reed scored 11 points, and Kwamain Mitchell and Cody Ellis added 10 apiece for the Billikins (23-12).

The teams will play Game 2 of the best-of-three series in St. Louis on Wednesday.

Sanders and Brandon Rozzell each had four points during a 13-4 run over the final 4:02 of the first half to give the Rams a 36-25 lead at halftime.

“The coaches told me to go out and be aggressive,” said Sanders. “I think (my play) has a huge effect on the game and my teammates. I’ve never finished the season with a win.”

Smart was happy with his team’s play.

“Most of the game, we were able to get the tempo at our pace,” he said. “We got our hands on a lot of basketballs tonight.”

Sanders scored 14 points in the first half.

“Larry was really good tonight,” Smart said. “He set the tone for the game.”

The Billikins were ahead 13-12 with 7:55 left in the half before the Rams hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions for a 21-15 lead.

March 26, 2010 | AP Press

SALT LAKE CITY – Long after the jump shots stop falling and their ballyhooed beards go gray, Kansas State players will look back on this game as one of the best they ever played.

Same for the guys at Xavier, hard as it was to appreciate after a heartbreaker like that.

Jacob Pullen — the guard who brought the phrase “Fear the Beard” to the Little Apple — hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second overtime to help K-State outlast Xavier 101-96 on Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.

An instant classic.

“It was two teams that didn’t want their season to end,” said Pullen, who finished with 28 points.

It added yet another dramatic chapter to an NCAA tournament that has already been crazy. This was the fifth game to go to overtime — and the second that went to double OT.

It looked as though Kansas State had it wrapped up when Pullen made a 3-pointer and two clutch free throws late in regulation to help the Wildcats take a pair of three-point leads.

After knocking off one so called mid-major, the second-seeded Wildcats (29-7) will play another — fifth-seeded Butler — on Saturday to try to make their first Final Four since 1964.

This is the first time Kansas State has made it this far since 1988.

The sixth-seeded Musketeers (26-9) were seeking their third trip to the regional finals in seven years. They missed, just barely, but it was hard to call anyone a loser on this night.

“As good a game as I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” coach Chris Mack said.

Trailing by three at the end of regulation, Xavier’s Terrell Holloway got fouled while heaving up a 30-footer with 5 seconds left and calmly made all three free throws. Xavier was down by three again at the end of the first overtime, but Jordan Crawford jacked up a 35-footer that hit nothing but net.

“It was just one of those moments,” Pullen said.

One that certainly belongs on YouTube, right beside Crawford’s dunk on LeBron James, for sure.

“It was an emotional roller-coaster,” Pullen said. “I hit a shot at the end of the game, I’m thinking, `That’s game. That’s the nail in the coffin.’”

Xavier still had 9.7 seconds left, though, and needed to go the length of the court and make a 3-pointer. Martin called on the familiar strategy of trying to foul before a Xavier player could take the shot.

Clemente and Chris Merriewether were hacking away at Holloway (26 points), but no whistle came — until Holloway, feeling the slaps, heaved up a shot from 30 feet and got the whistle with 5 seconds left. Hit all three free throws — and the first overtime was on.

“Denis tried to foul beforehand, but the ref didn’t see it,” Pullen said. “And then Chris went to foul again, and Holloway made a smart play and put the ball up.”

K-State’s inside team of Curtis Kelly (21 points) and Jamar Samuels (14) did most of the damage in the first OT to make it 87-84 with 18.1 seconds left. But, proving that no three-point lead is safe against Xavier, Crawford spotted up from 35 and made it to force the decisive OT. The sophomore finished with a career-high 32 points.

“When you make a couple of them shots, you do kind of start to think that it’s meant to be,” Crawford said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.”

Xavier led 93-91 with 1:23 left in the second overtime. Exhausted and in foul trouble, the Musketeers had no answer for Pullen at the end. He hit an open 3 from the top of the key for a 94-93 lead with 1:09 left. Jason Love made one of two free throws on the next possession, then Pullen hit the next 3 to make it 97-94.

Pullen and Clemente then combined for four straight free throws over the last 24 seconds to ice the game.

When it was finally over, K-State fans, who made the 1,000-mile trip from Manhattan, Kan., chanted “K-S-U! K-S-U!” Love stood near the foul line and drooped his head — dispirited and exhausted, certainly taking little consolation that he was part of an instant classic.

A game that nonetheless featured 53 fouls, as the refs tried to gain control of a meeting between opponents who were playing for the fourth time in four seasons. The first three were brutal contests that weren’t particularly close or fun to watch.

The fourth one — a masterpiece, especially for Pullen, who played 40 minutes, and Clemente, who played 48 and has less than 48 hours to get ready for Butler.

“I expected it to be a hard-fought game. I didn’t expect it to be like this,” Martin said. “But they were phenomenal. And our guys were pretty good, too.”

March 24, 2010 | AP Press

ST. LOUIS – Kwamain Mitchell scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, leading Saint Louis to a 69-59 victory over Princeton on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational.

The Billikens (23-11) will play Virginia Commonwealth (25-9) in the best-of-3 championship series beginning Monday.

Mitchell triggered a 16-4 run over the final 7:25 of the first half to put Saint Louis ahead to stay, 38-29.

Willie Reed added 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Billikens, who won for the 11th time in 14 games. It was his ninth double-double this season.

Kareem Maddox paced Princeton (22-9) with 16 points and Douglas Davis added 14. The Tigers had their six-game winning streak snapped.

The 69 points were the second-most given up by the Tigers this season. Princeton entered allowing an NCAA-low 52.8 points per game.

March 24, 2010 | AP Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Chris Johnson scored 18 points and Dayton used a strong start to beat Illinois 77-71 in an NIT quarterfinal Wednesday night.

The third-seeded Flyers (23-12) advanced to play Mississippi on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. They also joined Rhode Island in the semifinals, giving the Atlantic 10 Conference two of the four teams remaining in the tournament.

Dayton jumped out to a 23-9 lead behind excellent shooting and never let up. The Flyers shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 8 of 18 from 3-point range.

The Illini’s struggles to get back on defense led to quick, easy baskets for Dayton. Illinois trailed by as many as 16 points before cutting it to four with 18 seconds left.

Johnson was 4 for 11 from the field but 9 of 10 at the foul line.

Demetri McCamey had 13 points and 10 assists for No. 1 seed Illinois (21-15).

March 24, 2010 | AP Press

Hofstra coach Tom Pecora has agreed to become the new basketball coach at Fordham. He will be introduced at a news conference Thursday.

Pecora was on Fordham’s campus in the Bronx, N.Y. on Wednesday, a source told ESPN.

Pecora coached Hofstra the last nine seasons, compiling a 155-126 record that included four 20-win seasons and three NIT appearances. He’s a former assistant to Jay Wright.

Hofstra finished 19-15 after a first-round loss in the CBI. However, the Pride won nine of their final 10 regular-season games to give itself a boost into the postseason.

Fordham finished 2-26 last season, 0-16 in the Atlantic 10. Former coach Dereck Whittenburg was fired five games into the season, his seventh at Fordham. Interim coach Jared Grasso finished the season.

Since 1991-92 Fordham has had one season with a record over .500. It joined the Atlantic 10 in 1995, and since then Fordham has an overall record of 134-292.