Claremore Daily Progress

Breaking News

Sports

March 18, 2013

NCAA MEN'S BB: Kentucky headlines NIT Tournament

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky — This season, Kentucky is headlining another tournament.

The Wildcats, last season's national champion, will have to settle for trying to win the NIT.

The Wildcats aren't the only SEC team snubbed by the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Alabama and Tennessee also missed the cut, marking the first time in 39 years that the Wildcats, Crimson Tide and Volunteers were left out of the same NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats (21-11) and Crimson Tide (21-12) are No. 1 seeds in the NIT, along with Southern Mississippi and Virginia.

The Wildcats, who struggled to live up to lofty preseason expectations, went 4-4 in their final eight games without freshman star Nerlens Noel, who had his season ended early with a knee injury that required surgery.

Kentucky, which played in the last two Final Fours under fourth-year coach John Calipari, becomes the 20th defending national champion to be left out of the NCAA tournament field and first since North Carolina in 2010.

The Wildcats will play at eighth-seeded Robert Morris on Tuesday because Rupp Arena is unavailable to the Wildcats. The second and third round of the NCAA tournament is being played in Lexington.

Alabama was likely done in by late road losses at Florida and Ole Miss - which made a surprising run to the SEC tournament title. The Tide beat Tennessee in the conference tournament but lost a rematch with the Gators on a neutral court.

"We felt like we needed to play our way in and we weren't fortunate enough to do that. We're thankful to have a chance to participate in the postseason,'' Alabama coach Anthony Grant said.

Southern Miss (25-9) lost in double overtime to Memphis in the Conference USA title game with an NCAA bid on the line. The Golden Eagles will host Charleston Southern on Wednesday.

"We believe we should have been in the NCAA tournament, especially when you see some of the other teams that got in,'' Southern Miss coach Donnie Tyndall said. "But there's still opportunity for us and I believe we'll bounce back.''

Virginia (21-11), which was blown out by North Carolina State in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, hosts Norfolk State on Tuesday.

Tennessee (20-12) is a No. 2 seed and hosts Mercer on Wednesday.

Maryland, Baylor and Massachusetts are also No. 2 seeds, with the Minutemen in line to host third-seeded Iowa if both teams advance.

"It's definitely a good thing for us to be able to continue playing. That's always an honor and a blessing,'' Iowa junior Devyn Marble said. "We're looking forward to it and making sure we stay focused and take care of business. We're going to come in with the same focus and mindset we'd have if they were a Big Ten team.''

Florida State will face Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, and Saint Joseph's will host St. John's in an intriguing matchup in Philadelphia.

 

Text Only
Sports
  • Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again

    Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts was not at her best on Sunday. The defending USA Softball Player of the Year didn’t give up a run in her two and two-thirds innings of work, but she was far from the dominant pitcher who tossed a no-hitter last week.

    May 20, 2013

  • Sooners claim regular season finale with win over K-State

    Oklahoma managed to end the regular season on a positive note Sunday. Kolbey Carpenter went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs to help power the Sooners to a 7-3 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Chamberlain's curtain call only the beginning

    The chant reaching near-deafening levels, Lauren Chamberlain finally realized what she was supposed to do.

    Moments after blasting a three-run home run that broke open what had been a close regional final, the sophomore tepidly stepped up out of the dugout and waved to the home crowd, enjoying the first curtain call of her career.

    May 20, 2013

  • OU's dominant victory a shining example of how tough Sooners are in softball

    On the first day Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso thought it was better to go with Michelle Gascoigne over Keilani Ricketts against Arkansas’ bats, the Sooners beat the Razorbacks by five runs.

    A day later Gasso had the same thought. OU prevailed by 13 runs.

    May 20, 2013

  • Cowboys fall short in Big 12 regular season finale

    Oklahoma State University played catch up the entire game of Saturday’s series finale with West Virginia at Allie P. Reynolds, and never could quite get over the hump.
    The Cowboys would respond after each Mountaineer score but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost the finale 5-4 on Senior Day.

    May 20, 2013

  • Referees stop Lake Eufaula Classic with South on top

     It was an outcome unlike any in the 29 years of the Lake Eufaula Classic, and a bruise different than any player has ever departed with.

    Officials, following the second serious skirmish of the game, walked off the field and the game was called, the South leading the North 12-10 at Paul Bell Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Grand Junction Bound: Connors State advances to JUCO World Series

    All season long, Connors State coach Perry Keith has said his team was winning a lot of ball games ugly.

    On Saturday, the game between the Cowboys and No. 1 Delgado (La.) was anything but as Connors beat the Dolphins 3-1 to capture the South Central district championship and a berth in next week’s NJCAA College World Series.

    May 20, 2013

  • Young Americans waste no time qualifying for Indy 500

    Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script.
    No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped.
    On a day devoid of tension and rumors, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans - Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal - who easily had the two fastest cars on the track.

    May 20, 2013

  • NCAA WOMEN'S BB: Texas Tech hires OSU assistant Candi Whitaker

    Texas Tech has hired Oklahoma State assistant Candi Whitaker to coach its women's basketball team.
    The school announced Monday that the former Lady Raiders player would return to her alma mater as coach. The move comes about a week after Kristy Curry left for Alabama.

    May 20, 2013

  • Pacers, Heat start bracing to square off again

    A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments.
    Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.
    The Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers won't begin until Wednesday night, but there's already signs that the animosity present throughout last season's Miami-Indiana second-round series will likely return this time around.

    May 20, 2013