UConn Beats San Diego State, 76-59, to Win Its Fifth N.C.A.A. Title-Apr 3, 2023
UConn topped off one of the most impressive March Madness runs in history Monday night, clamping down early and breaking it open late to bring home its fifth national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State. Adama Sanogo (6'9''-F-2002) had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Tristen Newton (6'5''-G-2001) also had a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards for the Huskies (31-8), who became the fifth team since the bracket expanded in 1985 to win all six NCAA Tournament games by double-digits on the way to a championship. Coach Danny Hurley 's Huskies won the six games by an average of an even 20 points, only a fraction less than North Carolina did in sweeping to the title in 2009. UConn built a 16-point lead late in the first half, only to see the Aztecs (32-7) trim the lead to five with 5:19 left. But Jordan Hawkins (6'5''-G-2002) (16 points) answered with a 3 to trigger a 9-0 run and the only drama left was whether UConn would cover the 7 1/2-point spread and go 6-for-6 with double-digit wins. UConn set the stage for this one over an 11:07 stretch in the first half during which Coach Eric Henderson 's Aztecs didn't make a single basket. Unable to shoot over or go around this tall, long UConn team, they missed 14 straight shots from the floor. Keshad Johnson (6'7''-F) had 14 points for San Diego State, which came up one win short in this, its first trip to the Final Four. They went from leading by four to trailing by 11, and when they weren't getting shots blocked (Alex Karaban (6'8''-F-2002) had three and Sanogo had one) or altered on the inside, they were coming up short - a telltale sign of a team that was out of hops after that draining 72-71 buzzer-beater win over Florida Atlantic two nights earlier. Courtesy of: nbcnews.com
North Texas Edges UAB 68-61 to Claim NIT Title-Mar 31, 2023
North Texas (31-7) won a hard-fought battle 68-61 over UAB (29-10) to capture the NIT championship on Thursday night from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It was a back-and-forth affair in the second half between the two Conference USA foes, who met for the fourth time on the season in the NIT Championship, just the ninth time in NCAA history that teams have faced off in four head-to-head matchups. The Mean Green won three of the four meetings, including Thursday's title bout, to win the program's first NIT crown. North Texas raced to a 10-point lead at the break and appeared to be rolling towards a rather comfortable win, but UAB had other plans. The Blazers opened the second half on a 14-4 run to tie things at 41. UAB then led by as many as four, but it was North Texas who again clamped down on their opponent as they did against Wisconsin in the semifinal, outscoring the Blazers 23-12 in the final 9:16 to pull away and seize the victory. Mean Green guard and C-USA Player of the Year Tylor Perry (5'11''-PG) led finished with 20, 14 of which came in the second half, while his teammate Kai Huntsberry (6'3''-G) led North Texas with 21 points, six rebounds and two assists. Forward Aaron Scott (6'7''-G/F) also played well for North Texas, scoring 14 points and pulling down seven boards in the win. Perry hit a pair of big shots inside the final minute to keep the Blazers at bay, pushing the UNT advantage to six on both occasions. The Mean Green outrebounded the Blazers 36-30 and held them to just 36% shooting. UAB, winners of 12 of its final 14 games, were led by 2022 C-USA Player of the Year and 2023 first-team all-conference selection Jordan Walker (5'11''-PG-1999), who finished with 21 points and six assists. Forward KJ Buffen (6'8''-F-2000) was the other Blazer in double figures, scoring 11 points and recording seven rebounds. With North Texas finishing as the NIT champion, Conference USA improved to 18-2 as a league during the postseason tournaments. Florida Atlantic is in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament (4-0) and takes on San Diego State on Saturday night in Houston, UAB and North Texas were a combined 9-1, and Charlotte won four games to win the CBI last week. Rice went 1-1 in the CBI to round out the 18-2 mark. No conference has ever won all three postseason tournaments in the same season. Courtesy of: conferenceusa.com
Charlotte wins CBI title, holds off Eastern Kentucky 71-68-Mar 23, 2023
Aly Khalifa (6'11''-F/C-2001) scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, Montre Gipson (5'11''-PG-2000) made three 3-pointer in the second half, and No. 3 seed Charlotte held off No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky 71-68 on Wednesday night in the championship game of the College Basketball Invitational. Charlotte (22-14) finished the season with its most wins since the 2000-01 campaign, when it took down Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The 49ers were appearing in the postseason for the first time since earning an at-large bid to the 2013 NIT. Charlotte made eight of its first nine shots and led 18-5 as Eastern Kentucky only made two field goals in the opening eight minutes. Khalifa made all six of his shots in the first half to help the 49ers build a 42-24 lead at halftime after shooting 72% (18 of 25) from the field. EKU had five scoring droughts of at least 90 seconds in the first half. It was the fourth time in the tournament the Colonels trailed at halftime - before rattling off three straight overtime wins to reach the title game. Cooper Robb (6'1''-G), who played at Charlotte from 2018-20, made two 3-pointers during EKU's 12-5 run to open the second half. But Charlotte kept its double-digit lead until the 8:44 mark when EKU scored 13 unanswered points. Robb made a steal and raced the other way for a long 3-pointer to get EKU within 69-68 with 47.4 seconds left. Isaiah Folkes answered with a layup, off a nice pass by Montre Gipson, for a three-point lead with 16 seconds left. After a timeout, Robb had a 3-point attempt blocked by Brice Williams (6'7''-G) and Tayshawn Comer (6'1''-G) had another attempt for EKU but it came up short. Williams, averaging a team-high 14 points per game, finished with six points, five rebounds and two blocks for Charlotte. Montre Gipson added 13 points, Lu'Cye Patterson (6'2''-G-2001) had 11 and Folkes scored 10. Robb made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Eastern Kentucky (23-14), which had the third-most wins in program history. Michael Moreno (6'7''-F) added 14 points and Devontae Blanton (6'6''-SF), averaging a team-high 17.4 points, was scoreless in the first half and did not play after halftime. Isaiah Cozart (6'7''-F) was held to 10 points and four rebounds after securing a double-double in Eastern Kentucky's opening three tournament games. Cozart set a career-highs for points (20) and rebounds (17) in the opener, and he scored a career-best 31 points in the semifinals. The CBI trophy remains in the state of North Carolina after UNC Wilmington defeated Middle Tennessee last season. Courtesy of: cbssports.com
NCAA Division I All-Star Game Rosters 2023 Awards 2023-Mar 29, 2023
Best performed former Belmont University players in pro basketball in last week games-Mar 17, 2023
Best performed former Belmont University players in pro basketball in last week games
Courtesy of Eurobasket LLC
Every week we bring you a list of the top former Bruins players who continue their career in pro basketball.
#1.Austin Luke (6'3''-G-1994, played in 2013-13, plays pro in Slovenia) led Helios Suns to a victory over the league leader Krka (17-3) 86-82 in the Slovenian Liga Nova KBM last Wednesday.
He was MVP of the game. Luke scored 20 points and added 3 passes in 30 minutes.
It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Helios Suns Domzale (9-0) is placed first in the Liga Nova KBM.
So far his team won all nine games in the Regular Season.
It's Luke's first season with the team.
He has relatively good stats this year 11.5ppg, 3.6rpg, 7.8apg and 1.1spg in 19 games he played so far.
#2. Experienced Alex Renfroe (6'3''-PG-1986, played in 2005-06, plays in Spain) contributed to Granada's victory against the closely-ranked Gran Canaria (10-15) 80-66 in the Spanish Liga Endesa on Saturday night.
He recorded 7 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists.
Coviran Granada (1-5) is placed 14th in the Liga Endesa.
It's Renfroe's first season with the team.
Renfroe has relatively good stats this year 10.9ppg, 3.7rpg, 5.6apg and 1.3spg.
He is a naturalized Bosnian.
#3.Amaze Egekeze (6'8''-F-1995, played in 2014-18, currently in Finland), who plays in the Finnish Korisliiga could not help Kataja (5-5) in their last game. Despite his good performance the fourth-placed Kataja (5-5) lost 87-101 on the road to the second-ranked Seagulls in the Places 1-6 group.
Egekeze scored 14 points and added 3 passes in 34 minutes.
There are only two games left until the end of the Second Stage. So now every game will be critical.
It's Egekeze's first season with the team.
He has relatively good stats this year 13.8ppg, 6.7rpg, 2.0apg and 1.1spg in 30 games.
Egekeze is a naturalized Nigerian.
#4.J.J. Mann (6'6''-SF-1991, played in 2010-14, plays pro in Germany) was not able to help Phoenix Hagen in their game against Titans (7-3) in the German ProA (second division).
Mann scored 8 points, grabbed 4 boards, dished 4 assists and stole 3 balls.
Phoenix Hagen was defeated 89-85 in Dresden by the leading Titans.
It's Mann's first season with the team.
He has relatively good stats this year 13.5ppg, 3.9rpg, 2.7apg and 1.4spg.
#5.Dylan Windler (6'7''-SF-1996, played in 2015-19, plays in the NBA) managed to help Cleveland Cavaliers in a victory against the Charlotte Hornets (22-49) 120-104 in the NBA on Tuesday night.
He scored only 2 points in 5 minutes on the court. It was his first game for Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
His team have a solid 44-28 record this season.
It's Windler's fourth year with the team.
#6.Nick Muszynski (6'11''-C-1998, played in 2017-17, currently in Germany) was not able to secure a victory for VfL Kirchheim Knights in their game against Uni Baskets in the German ProA (second division).
Muszynski scored only 4 points and added 5 passes.
His team was defeated 84-80.
This season he averages 6.4ppg, 3.1rpg and 1.1apg.
Other former Belmont University players, who play in pro basketball:
Kerron Johnson (6'0''-G-1990, played in 2009-13) played for PGE Spojnia Stargard in Polish EBL few monts ago Ian Clark (6'3''-G-1991, played in 2009-13) plays for Adelaide 36ers in Australian NBL Kevin McClain (6'3''-G-1996, played in 2015-19) played for FOS Provence Basket in French Betclic ELITE ProA last year Grayson Murphy (6'3''-G-1999, played in 2017-17) plays for Phoenix Hagen in German ProA
Notice: The list above includes only some of alumni playing currently in pro basketball. Check complete list of Belmont University basketball alumni.
Austin Luke (Slovenia) (Photo: @kirchheimkn)
Alex Renfroe (Spain) (Photo: @SanPabloBur)
Amaze Egekeze (Finland) (Photo: @Bcgoofficie)
CSC NCAA Division I Academic All-District Team -2023 Awards 2023-Feb 22, 2023
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Demetre Roberts (5'8''-PG) of FDU
D'Moi Hodge (6'4''-G-1998) of Missouri
Courtesy of Eurobasket LLC 
