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June 13, 2009  by Scott Brand

As a former University of Rhode Island (URI) graduate (1983-1987), I wanted to write an article regarding my 25-year working relationship and friendship with former URI head Men’s Basketball Coach Brendan Malone, who is presently an Orlando Magic assistant coach.

Given the timeliness of Brendan Malone’s current affiliation with the perhaps NBA Championship bound Orlando Magic as an assistant coach, I thought you may be interested in reading an article on him and perhaps my continued friendship with him.  Since my dad’s passing last year, I have rejuvenated my long standing friendship with former URI Coach Brendan Malone. 

He has offered me words of remorse since the passing of my father Hal Brand, who he maintained a pen-pal relationship while coaching the Ram’s in the 80’s. And he has also given me career advice on approaching former boss Isaiah Thomas at FIU for a potential job. But most of all he is just plain fun to talk to just like he was in 1987 with Carlton “Silk” Owns and Gavin Scotti as the up and coming coach of a young but surging team after experiencing a series of bite nailing losses in the last seconds.

“We won ugly,” said Malone, after the Magic defeated the Celtics to force a Game 7. “We shot 56% from the foul line, had a 2 to 1 Assist to Turnover ratio, but managed to make the big plays at the end.”

I still get the same “rush” talking to him and believe he should be acknowledged as such in some manner considering it is topical and it is summer and College Basketball news is relatively slow in the Greater Kingston area.

Below is a little synopsis of my continued relationship with Brendan as the assistant manager of the Rhode Island Basketball team and continued friendship.

In the fall of 1983, when the University of Rhode Island announced the
hiring of head men’s basketball coach Brendan Malone, Scott Brand, a URI
freshman and Syracuse University (SU) basketball fan, believed Christmas
arrived early in Kingston, Rhode Island. Being an Orangeman fan his
entire childhood, since his sister attended SU, Scott was well aware of
the Malone legacy.

Malone started his impressive coaching career as head basketball coach of the legendary Power Memorial High School in New York City, which was Kareem Abdul Jabaar’s Alma Mater.  After winning three titles, Malone continued his career path in upstate New York with the Syracuse Orangemen, as an assistant coach and recruiting mastermind. At Syracuse, Malone was known as the man who lured high school sensation Dwayne “Pearl” Washington to play for the Orangemen. Washington, at the time was considered the most highly decorated high school recruit in the nation.

It didn’t take long for Scott to pay Malone a visit at his office in Keaney Gymnasium and introduce himself.  It was a brief meeting and the two traded Orangeman anecdotes. Scott would have volunteered his service that day to Malone’s rebuilding efforts; however, he was a member of the men’s varsity tennis team.  But when the tennis season ended later in the fall, Scott bee-lined to Malone’s offices and rendered his services as an assistant team manager.

Brand interviewing Malone in the New York Knicks locker room in 1989 In his new capacity, Scott quickly gravitated towards the development of sports promotions that were staged to attract fans to the games and ultimately encourage visiting blue-chip high school recruits to sign-on with URI like future stars Kenny Green and John Evans.  A “Slam Dunk Contest, a “Silly Pets Tricks Show,” and a monthly newsletter were just some of Scott’s contributions to the Malone basketball program. During the course of his involvement, Scott developed a strong bond with Malone on both a professional and personal level.  Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Scott’s dad, Hal, started writing Malone letters offering words of encouragement for his challenging rebuilding efforts. Hal was surprised to receive detailed correspondence back from Malone and a pen-pal friendship flourished. 

Fast-forward to Hal’s 70th birthday where Scott produced a video in tribute to his dad reaching this vaulted milestone.  There was never a question in Scott’s mind that Malone would be featured in the video wishing his dad a Happy Birthday. And once again Malone, then Detroit Piston’s assistant basketball coach, rose to the occasion.  Despite the fact that it had been 11-years since Scott had worked with Malone, he still maintained his friendship. Malone reciprocated by producing a video-tape situated in the Detroit Piston press conference facility, where he wished Hal a Happy 70th Birthday.

Through the years, Scott would call Malone on occasion to catch-up and automatically the former Ram coach would faithfully begin the conversation by enquiring about Hal.  On September 7th, 2008, Hal passed away and shortly thereafter, Scott contacted Malone to inform him.  Malone, now an assistant basketball coach for the Orlando Magic, offered Scott his condolences and the two began reflecting on the early 80’s when Malone set the tone for one of the most successful URI basketball teams in history by bringing in notable stars like Carlton Owens, Kenny Green, Tom Garrick, and John Evans. 

After Malone’s departure, the same team he hand-picked, nearly reached the NCAA Final Eight two-years later, upsetting nationally ranked Missouri and Syracuse before falling to Duke by one-point. All those Malone coached one-point losses and his infusion of new recruits created the perfect storm for the Ram’s unlikely run in the 1987 season. 

Scott was surprised and flattered to learn that Malone had only been in contact with two other people affiliated with the URI basketball program since his departure nearly 25-years ago.  And Brand was in good company with URI stars Tom Garrick and Kenny Green as the three people to maintain contact with the former Rhody coach. Scott felt proud hearing that from his life-long role-model, but unfortunately this time it was bitter-sweet since he could not share the news with his best-friend Hal.   

April 14, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI – Top assistant Chris Mack will succeed Sean Miller as Xavier’s head basketball coach, a university spokesman said Tuesday.

The formal announcement will be made at a news conference on Wednesday, Xavier spokesman Tom Eiser said. Eiser declined any additional comment.

Miller left last week to take the head coaching job at Arizona. Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski had interviewed several candidates.

Mack has no head coaching experience but close ties to the program. He played for Xavier and was a two-time captain before graduating in 1992.

He was director of basketball operations at the Jesuit school from 1999-2001, and spent three seasons as an assistant to Skip Prosser at Wake Forest before returning to Xavier as an assistant coach in 2004. He was an assistant for all of Miller’s five seasons as head coach.

Xavier finished 27-8 last season and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament before losing to Pittsburgh. The Musketeers will lose only two players from that team to graduation.

The Musketeers have advanced to the round of eight twice in the past six years. They have won three straight Atlantic-10 regular season titles, growing in national prominence while replacing coaches who leave for bigger schools.

Xavier has enjoyed a stretch of consistent growth under coaches Pete Gillen, Prosser, Thad Matta and Miller, who was promoted when Matta moved on to Ohio State.

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April 6, 2009 | AP Press

Sean Miller of Xavier has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona, ending the Wildcats’ sometimes frustrating search for a high-profile replacement for Hall of Famer Lute Olson.

The university announced the hiring on Monday after a confusing few hours in which it was first reported by several media outlets that Miller had turned down the job.

The 40-year-old coach met with Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski and informed the school he was leaving after five years, then told the players in a meeting later in the afternoon.

“I did my best to follow my heart,” Miller said.

He was scheduled to be introduced Tuesday at a news conference in Tucson.

“It’s been an exhaustive week, but it’s a good day to be a Wildcat,” Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood said. “We believe we’ve brought in the best young coach in the country, a proven winner who will take this program into the future.”

University of Arizona president Robert Shelton called Miller “absolutely the right person to lead our program forward.”

Miller led the Musketeers to the Elite Eight last year and received a contract extension through the 2017-18 season. Xavier reached the round of 16 again this season.

The hiring came four days after Tim Floyd turned down Arizona’s offer and decided to remain at Southern California.

In an emotional farewell meeting at Xavier on Monday, Miller praised the Cincinnati school.

“I cannot say enough good things about this place,” he said. “It defines who I am to a large degree.

Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski called Miller “a terrific coach, a great friend.”

“He has helped bring us to the point where we are poised to be the very best we’ve ever been in our history,” Bobinski said. “We believe we are on the cusp of our greatest basketball ever.”

Miller indicated the chance to win a national title helped lure him to the Pac-10 school.

“I would never leave Xavier unless it was a place where I really felt you could win a national championship,” Miller said. “When I say that, it does not mean you can’t win one here. [Arizona] is a place that has done it before, and has a quarter century worth of excellence.”

Arizona won the NCAA championship under Olson in 1997 and has made three other trips to the Final Four.

In a news release, the university said terms of the contract would be available at Tuesday’s news conference. It is believed the school was offering at least $2 million per year and may have sweetened the proposal to seal the deal. Its announcement made clear that the money would come from “athletic department-generated revenue” and not from taxpayers or the school’s general fund.

Miller had a 120-47 record in five seasons at Xavier, guiding the team to the NCAA tournament four times. This year’s team went 27-8 and made it to the East Regional semifinals before falling to Pittsburgh.

He flew to Albuquerque, N.M., on Sunday to meet with Livengood and Shelton. Miller returned to Cincinnati later in the day aboard a private jet owned by an Arizona booster.

Miller will inherit a program with an elite reputation but short on talent because of its tenuous coaching situation.

Olson took a leave of absence in the 2007-08 season but planned to return last fall. Just before the season started, he retired for health reasons.

Russ Pennell took over as interim coach with the understanding that he would not be Olson’s permanent replacement. Pennell guided the team to a 21-14 record and the program’s 25th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

The Wildcats made a surprising run to the Midwest Regional semifinals before being routed by Louisville. Two prominent members of the team, juniors Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, are expected to leave for the NBA. Junior point guard Nic Wise also may turn pro.

That would leave Miller with a major rebuilding job because the program has essentially missed two recruiting seasons, not counting the current one.

Miller signed a 10-year contract extension with Xavier after the team went 30-7 and reached the regional finals in 2007-08. He was making $850,000 per year, but insisted money was not a factor in the move.

Miller was an assistant to Arizona State coach Herb Sendek and the two remain close friends. He was lead assistant to Thad Matta for three seasons at Xavier before taking over when Matta left in 2004.

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March 31, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Seniors Dionte Christmas of Temple and Saint Joseph’s Ahmad Nivins have earned Honorable Mention All-America honors by the Associated Press.

Named the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Nivins shot 61.2 percent (205-of-335) from the field and joined former George Washington standout Alexander Koul (1995-97) as the only players in A-10 history to lead the league in field goal percentage three consecutive years. The 6-9 forward from Jersey City, N.J., also led the A-10 in both rebounding (11.8 rpg.) and minutes (39.34 mpg.) while finishing third in the league in scoring (19.2 ppg.).

Tabbed the A-10 Player of the Week five times this season, Nivins scored 20 or more points 14 times in 2008-09 and led the conference with 22 double doubles. He finished his SJU career as the third leading scorer in school history and the sixth leading rebounder with 1,789 points and 955 rebounds, respectively.

Christmas is the first Temple standout to earn All-America status since Mardy Collins also garnered Honorable Mention All- America as a senior in 2005-06.

A finalist for the Naismith Trophy and the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, Christmas led the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring with a 19.5 average to become the only player in league history to accomplish the feat three times. The two-time first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection ended his brilliant career with 2,043 points to rank fourth on the Owls’ all-time scoring list. The 6-5 guard also set a new school record for three-pointers in a season (107), eclipsing his own mark (104, 2007-08), and career (319), breaking Lynn Greer’s record of 305 career three-pointers made (1997-02).

The Philadelphia native also became the first Owl player to record three consecutive 600-point seasons, finishing the season with 662 points. That total stands as 13th on Temple’s all-time single season points list. Christmas won three A-10 Player of the Week awards is his senior season, pushing his career total to 10, third most in league history. Only Xavier’s David West (14.’00-03) and Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson (13, ‘01-04), both National Players of the Year as seniors, have earned more A-10 Player of the Week honors.

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March 26, 2009 | AP Press

BOSTON, MA – Levance Fields pointed Pittsburgh in the right direction just in time — as usual.

For the second straight game, the orchestrator of the offense took the big shots himself, hitting a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left, then scoring off his steal as the top-seeded Panthers reached the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier on Thursday night.

One more win and they’ll be headed to Detroit for the Final Four.

“We came in expecting to win two games,” Fields said before acknowledging the obvious: “It was dramatic.”

The star point guard provided the drama in Pitt’s previous win, 84-76 over Oklahoma State. That game was tied at 74 with 2:42 left. Then Fields made a layup and a 3-pointer and the Panthers never trailed after that.

Pitt knows the late-game strategy by now.

“Give Levance the ball,” Big East co-player of the year DeJuan Blair said with a laugh.

The last time Pitt was in a regional final was in 1974 when it lost to eventual national champion North Carolina State and star David Thompson 100-72.

“It definitely was big for the players, the coaches and the city,” said Sam Young, who led Pitt with 19 points. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for, for a long time.”

Pitt (31-4) trailed 54-52 before Fields connected. He then poked the ball away from B.J. Raymond and went in for a layup with 23.9 seconds to go.

“It’s just sad that we had to go out the way we went out,” Xavier’s Derrick Brown said. “The season we had, it was about toughness and finishing what we do. And we didn’t finish.”

Fields did, scoring 14 points, while Blair had 10 points and 17 rebounds in the East semifinal victory. The Panthers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit.

Pitt plays Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s second semifinal between second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

“We’re a confident group,” Fields said. “We haven’t played our best basketball, but the good thing is we’ve found a way to make plays when we’ve needed them.”

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-8) was led by Raymond with 15 points and Derrick Brown with 14.

“I thought the shot Levance Fields hit is all about [the poise of] senior point guards,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller, who knows something about that.

He was a star point guard at Pitt from 1987 to 1992 and is second in school history in assists.

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon made it to the round of eight for the first time in his six years on the bench after losing in his other two trips to the round of 16. Xavier fell short in its bid for a third berth in the regional finals in six years.

“They pushed us around in the first half, but we responded in the second half like we usually do,” Dixon said. “Like I’ve said before, I never get tired of seeing Levance take big shots. He’s made them year after year.”

Trailing 37-29 at halftime, Pitt scored the first nine points of the second half — and Xavier missed its first 10 shots — as the Panthers took a 38-37 lead with 14:33 left.

But the Musketeers recovered and went ahead 54-52 with 1:50 remaining when Dante Jackson cut to the basket for a layup.

Fields then had the ball past midcourt before it went into the backcourt off a defender. Fields retrieved it, dribbled into his own end and fired up the go-ahead shot over Jackson.

“We ran our go-to play,” Fields said. “I did a little bit of an in-and-out move, got him on his heels a little bit and took the shot. Once I got him back, I took the open shot. I had confidence in it.”

Jackson thought he could stop him.

“I thought I had a pretty good challenge,” he said.

Fields was in the right place again when Raymond lost control of his dribble. Fields got the ball, pushed it forward and dribbled ahead of the field to put the Panthers up by three.

Xavier’s Terrell Holloway made a free throw with 16 seconds left, but Young hit two just three seconds later. After a missed 3-pointer by Brown, Brad Wannamaker made one more free throw for Pitt with 2.6 seconds left.

The Musketeers went just 7-for-29 from the field in the second half when they were outscored 31-18.

But they were solid late in the first half. With the score tied at 27, Xavier outscored Pitt 10-2 in the last three minutes of the half to take a 37-29 lead. Brown started the surge with a 3-pointer and sank another one that made it 35-29.

Blair struggled offensively inside and finished with just two points and four rebounds in the first half. He had eight points and 13 rebounds after that.

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BOSTON (AP) — Xavier should have outgrown the stigma of being a “mid-major” team with its success in NCAA tournaments.

Right, coach Sean Miller?

“How would you define that?” he asked.

Good question.

With the impressive NCAA tournament showings by Xavier, Memphis and Gonzaga this decade — all still in the tournament from non-BCS conferences — “mid-major” is hardly synonymous with early elimination.

So when Xavier takes on Pittsburgh from the tough Big East in an East Regional semifinal Thursday night, the team with the better performance and not the stronger conference should prevail.

“You can say we’re a mid-major, but we feel we’re an elite level program and that’s what we try to focus on,” Xavier scoring leader B.J. Raymond said Wednesday.

The Musketeers reached the round of eight in 2004 and 2008 and are in the tournament for the eighth time in nine years. Memphis lost in the championship game last year and is in the round of 16 for the fourth straight year, the longest current streak.

And Gonzaga is in the round of 16 for the fifth time in 11 straight NCAA tournaments, though it lost in the first round the past two years.

The Big East has a record five teams in the round of 16 from the group of seven that made the tournament. Pitt, the regional’s top seed, has been hardened by the physical style it encountered game after game. But that may not be a huge edge against a taller Xavier team, the regular-season champion in the Atlantic 10.

“I don’t think there’s any advantages, really. You’ve got to play against good people, I think, in any conference,” Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said. “There’s 16 good teams left, very good teams. It may build in some ways character with the teams you play, but at the end of the day it’s who is playing well two weeks, three weeks after the conference (tournament) is over.”

Pitt (30-4) had all it could handle in the first round against East Tennessee State before beating the No. 16 seed in the regional, then topped Oklahoma State 84-76. The Panthers are in their sixth straight NCAA tournament under Dixon but haven’t advanced beyond the round of eight in the other five.

“No game is guaranteed in the tournament,” Pitt point guard Levance Fields said. “Being No. 1 seed, everyone is gunning for you. We think we did a great job taking the team’s best shot and making plays we needed downthe stretch to win the game.”

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-7) advanced with wins over Portland State and Wisconsin after going just 5-5 in its previous 10 games.

And now it must face a Pitt team with an outstanding point guard in Fields, a powerful rebounder in DeJuan Blair and a dangerous scorer in Sam Young, who had 32 points against Oklahoma State.

“Where it really starts and stops is to be physical ourselves, to not allow them to dominate us on the glass,” Miller said. “Our defense in general is what has allowed us to have 27 wins. It’s why we’re here and what we just did last weekend. Our greatest strength will be tested against, to me, the best at doing it.”

But the Musketeers are bigger — three of their starters are taller than the Panthers’ tallest, Blair — and have greater depth. So Pitt’s regulars must avoid foul trouble.

Fields is most concerned about Xavier’s size.

“They’re really tall at every position,” he said. “We’ve got to do a great job of boxing them out and not giving them second-chance opportunities.”

Pitt is rested after playing just two games since losing to West Virginia in the first round of the Big East tournament on March 12. So any bruises from the battering the Panthers took against Big East teams should be healed by now.

“Our practices are very intense, very tough. Guys leave bleeding most of the times just from drills we run. And it gets you ready for the games,” Fields said. “DeJuan had a little fall the last game, but he’s fine. So everybody is good.”

Fields is the latest point guard to excel at Pitt. His assists-to-turnover ratio is second-best in the nation. He recently passed Brandin Knight for most assists in one season at the school.

In fourth place on that list? The current coach of Xavier, who played at Pitt from 1987 through 1992.

“Coach did play there, everybody knows that,” Raymond said. “It’s the elephant in the room. But we’re just going to focus on trying to do our best and play at the highest level.”

Even if they’re not in one of the highest-rated conferences simply because they’re not in a BCS football league.

“To me, it’s so much more about your program than the name on the front of your jersey and what you stand for than whether you’re in this conference or that conference,” Miller said. “And I think college football and college basketball are completely different when it comes to that.”

March 25, 2009 | AP Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Stefon Jackson scored 34 points and Texas-El Paso went on a 10-0 run after Richmond closed within two in the second half Wednesday night and the Miners beat the Spiders 81-69 to reach the College Basketball Invitational finals.

UTEP (22-12), in its third season under Tony Barbee, will play Oregon State or Stanford, who played later in the later semifinal, in a best-of-three series beginning March 30.

“My team came out focused and ready to play and to get to the championship of the CBI,” Jackson, the lone UTEP seniors, said. “We executed everything Coach Barbee prepared for us.”

Richmond (20-16) didn’t score for more than four minutes after Ryan Butler’s driving layup pulled them to 58-56 with 7:59 to play. During the drought, coach Chris Mooney was ejected for drawing his second technical foul for arguing what he thought was poor officiating.

David Gonzalvez led the Spiders with 24 points.

“Man, he’s really good,” he said of Jackson, one of the nation’s leading scorers with a 24.3 average. “We knew he was good going right, but I don’t think we had any idea how good.”

UTEP, which outscored Richmond 26-14 at the line, had already rebuilt its lead to 63-56 on three free throws by Jackson and Randy Culpepper’s basket when Justin Harper appeared to score on a dunk for the Spiders. But the officials waved it off, calling Harper instead for a charge, and then compounded Mooney’s frustration by calling a foul on an apparent block by Richmond’s Jarhon Giddings at the other end. As Mooney peeled off his jacket, he was tossed.

“The second one, I didn’t say anything,” Mooney said, adding that he apologized to the team for getting ejected. “I think it’s probably more cumulative if I’m asking for too many calls, but I certainly didn’t swear or raise my voice or anything like that.”

Jackson made both free throws, making it 65-56 with 4:44 to play, and it was over.

Culpepper added 19 points for the Miners.

Giddings scored 10 in his final game as the Spiders’ lone scholarship senior.

The Miners used a 15-5 run to open a 28-16 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Culpepper had six points in the burst and Jackson four. After the Spiders scored nine straight points to get within 28-25, Jackson scored 10 more in a 14-8 run to end the half.

March 23, 2009 | RichmondSpiders.com

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Kevin Anderson drilled a pull-up jumper with nine seconds remaining to seal a 74-72 win over the College of Charleston in the CBI Second Round at the Robins Center Monday night. Richmond, which reached 20 wins for the 16th time in school history, advances to the Semifinals Wednesday.

Anderson finished with 21 points and the Second Team All-Atlantic 10 sophomore guard moved into 10th-place on the Spiders’ single-season scoring with 920. Anderson was nine-of-17 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, dished five assists with one turnover in 38 minutes on the court.

He reached the 20-point mark for the sixth-straight game and eighth time in the last 11.

Richmond (20-15) will learn is next opponent late Monday night as the bracket’s four remaining teams get re-seeded. Stanford has already dispatched Wichita State tonight, 70-56, with Northeastern at UTEP and Vermont at Oregon State set for 10 p.m. ET tipoffs.

David Gonzalvez added 15 points and Ryan Butler scored 10 for the Spiders, while Darrius Garrett played his second big game for Richmond off the bench with six points (on three-of-three shooting), four boards and three blocked shots.

A layup by Tony White with 15:03 remaining cut Richmond’s lead to just 43-42, but Richmond embarked on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes and built its largest margin of the game at 59-46. Anderson and Gonzalvez each scored five in the spurt.

The Bobby Cremins-led Cougars, who finished second to Davidson in the Southern Conference, would not go quietly and trimmed the lead to just two with 42 seconds left thanks to back-to-back baskets from Dustin Scott and a put-back layup from White.

But with the ball in his hands and his team up 72-70, Anderson milked the clock down to the final seconds before driving to the near-side elbow and drilling his patented floater in traffic for the decisive basket with 9.3 on the clock.

Richmond called timeout and Jermaine Johnson tipped in his own miss on the ensuing possession with three seconds left, Charleston called timeout then fouled Anderson. The sophomore missed the front-end of the 1-and-1, leaving the Cougars only a desperation heave at the buzzer that fell short.

Johnson scored 15 to lead four in double-figures for Charleston, which ended its season 27-9.

The fast-paced game featured just 21 total fouls and 12 combined free throws attempts, while each team turned the ball over just nine times.

Richmond jumped out of the gate quickly and opened a six-point lead at 18-12 when Francis Cedric Martel slammed an alley-op pass from Anderson. Another dunk by Kevin Smith brought the Robins Center crowd to its feet and put Richmond up 30-23 with 5:56 left in the first.

College of Charleston would cut the lead to 33-31, but the Spiders closed the half with a 6-2 run and took a 39-33 lead into the break.

March 23, 2009 | Andy Katz – ESPN

EAST REGIONAL (BOSTON)

No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 4 Xavier, Thursday, 7:27 p.m. ET

No. 1 Pitt

How did the Panthers get here? Pitt had the most trouble of any of the favorites. The Panthers were dangerously close to becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16. The 10-point win over East Tennessee State doesn’t tell the whole story. This game was extremely tight down to the final minutes. You could see how the Panthers were playing not to lose, before figuring out how to win.

Pitt had the most difficult second-round game of any of the top seeds. Oklahoma State was more than capable of knocking off the Panthers. The Cowboys were able to run with Pitt by making plenty of early shots, and they had the Panthers fighting for every possession late before Pitt was able to pull away in the final minutes for an 84-76 victory.

Who’s hot? Sam Young. The senior forward may be the most talented and maligned stud of any remaining Sweet 16 team. Young poured in 32 points for the Panthers in the win over the Cowboys. He didn’t score as much (14) but was dominant on the boards (13) in the win over ETSU.

Who’s not? Junior guard Jermaine Dixon is just 1-of-7 in two NCAA games so far. Dixon needs to be more productive to take some pressure off Levance Fields on the perimeter.

What does it mean for the program? Pitt has its best chance to win a national title with co-Big East Player of the Year DeJuan Blair and seniors Young, Fields and Tyrell Biggs. Coach Jamie Dixon has been a model of consistency in his six seasons. But getting to the Sweet 16 isn’t enough. The Panthers haven’t been past this round under Dixon. Winning one more game won’t change the reputation of Dixon as a solid coach who hasn’t been to the Final Four. But the perception certainly would change for the Panthers if they can win two more games and get to Detroit.

Drama factor so far? Pitt is making sure its fans are paying attention. The Panthers haven’t cruised for multiple four-minute periods, let alone a game. The Panthers are earning every victory, and if they win the East Regional, they will feel like they’ve earned every bucket.

No. 4 Xavier

How did the Musketeers get here? Xavier was sent to Boise and the games didn’t get much national play. But much like they did earlier in the season, the Musketeers quietly manufactured wins — an 18-point victory over No. 13 Portland State and an 11-point win over No. 12 Wisconsin.

Xavier has had an interesting season. The Musketeers were lucky early with a half-court shot to beat Virginia Tech; were poised in a win over Memphis in the same event in Puerto Rico; were humbled by 18 against Duke in New Jersey; and then went on cruise control for a spell before bumps in the Atlantic 10 saw them lose four of their final five road games. But beating Portland State and Wisconsin to get to the Sweet 16 is more than admirable for this crew.

Who’s hot? Not really anyone, but if we must pick one for a team that is getting by with a little bit from everyone, then B.J. Raymond gets the nod. He scored in double figures in both games but is a combined 9-of-22 in the tourney, including 5-of-14 on 3s.

Who’s not? Junior forward Jason Love has struggled in the NCAAs. He had four fouls in just 16 minutes in the win over Wisconsin and didn’t make a field goal. Love did last 26 minutes in the first game and scored eight points with two fouls in 26 minutes. But the onus is on Love to stay on the court to bang with the big boys from Pitt.

What does it mean for the program? Xavier continues to be one of the top-20 programs in the country. The Musketeers are to the Atlantic 10 what Memphis is to Conference USA and what Gonzaga is to the WCC. Xavier is now the team to beat every season in the A-10. Reaching the Sweet 16 for the third time since 2004 is a testament to the coaching of Thad Matta (who left Xavier for Ohio State in ‘04) and current coach Sean Miller. Getting to the Elite Eight with a win over Pitt would be quite a feat, considering this squad was never projected to be within 40 minutes of the Final Four this season.

Drama factor so far? There were anxious moments against the Badgers as the Musketeers trailed at the half. But the Musketeers outscored Wisconsin 24-12 over the final nine minutes to roll to a comfortable win.

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March 22, 2009 | AP Press

MINNEAPOLIS — The long arms of Cole Aldrich forced the Dayton Flyers down for a rough landing.

Aldrich, the 6-foot-11 Kansas sophomore, posted a triple-double with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead the defending NCAA champions past the 11th-seeded Flyers 60-43 in the second round Sunday.

Shaquille O’Neal set the NCAA tournament record with 11 blocks in a game for LSU in 1992. Shawn Bradley had 10 in 1991 for BYU. Aldrich’s feat was, officially, the sixth triple-double in the history of the tournament.

Sherron Collins had 25 points to pace the third-seeded Jayhawks (27-7), who moved on to play the USC-Michigan State winner in the Midwest Region semifinals next Friday in Indianapolis.

Chris Wright had 10 points for Dayton, which shot a woeful 22.2 percent for the game.

This was Dayton’s lowest scoring total of the season. The Flyers shot 9-for-40 in the first half, and the misses didn’t stop there. Mickey Perry’s layup cut the Kansas edge to 35-30 midway through the second half, but with Aldrich getting a brief break on the bench Tyrel Reed sank a 3-pointer and Collins followed with a layup to stretch the lead back to 10.

During a 10-minute stretch, with Aldrich gobbling up those wayward shots and swatting some of them away before they even got to the rim, the Flyers went 3-for-20. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks — who weren’t in rhythm offensively and sure needed Aldrich’s altering presence underneath on defense — ran away.

The Flyers (27-8), one of four teams given at-large bids from conferences other than the big six, already had their first NCAA tourney win since 1990 but they were after more than that.

A few dozen Michigan State fans wearing dark green got an early start on their cheering, standing and clapping with Dayton’s fight song. Flyers coach Brian Gregory has deep ties to MSU, having served as an assistant under Jud Heathcote and then Tom Izzo. He found inspiration from their presence at the Metrodome this weekend, the latest stop on his attempt to rebuild this program into a perennial tournament team.

Wright and Charles Little shot a combined 16-for-27 in the first round, a 68-60 victory over West Virginia, but all of the Flyers were way off at the beginning of this game. They’re so fast and such high jumpers that sometimes they play out of control, and few of their early looks at the basket could fairly have been called good shots.

UD was 1-for-12 from the floor at one point, going more than 6 minutes without a make, until freshman Luke Fabrizius swished the first of his two 3-pointers to cut the Kansas lead to 13-7. The TV microphone on Dayton’s rim was cranked way up for a few possessions, exaggerating each brick with a fittingly amplified clang.

The Jayhawks didn’t seize their opportunity to build a big advantage. Collins was in his usual get-to-the-lane high gear, scoring 14 points before halftime, but Kansas missed nine of 11 attempts from 3-point range and, worse, seven of 10 foul shots.

Aldrich was all over the boards, but after an early series of putback, tip-in and up-and-under layup on three straight possessions, he stopped attacking the basket with the same aggression and had two passes out of the post go for turnovers. He did, however, convert a three-point play after relentlessly staying with the rebound of his own miss and give the Jayhawks a 29-23 lead at the break.

The official list of NCAA tournament triple-doubles dates to 1986, when steals and blocks were formally added as statistics. Assists were added in 1984. Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson had a handful of unofficial triple-doubles before the stats were streamlined. The last one was in this building, actually, by Dwyane Wade for Marquette in the 2003 regional final win over Kentucky.