Arizona wins, Miller will stay on as coach
He denied reports of paying Ayton
TUCSON, Ariz. — With coach Sean Miller back on the job and Allonzo Trier reinstated, No. 19 Arizona clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 title with a 75-67 victory over Stanford on Thursday night.
Trier, reinstated by the NCAA after a two-game suspension, added 18 points for the Wildcats (23-7, 13-4 Pac-12) and Deandre Ayton, the freshman who leads the Pac-12 in scoring and rebounding, had 12 points and 10 boards.
When Arizona hastily called a news conference before Thursday’s game, it appeared Miller’s tenure in Tucson could be coming to an end.
Instead, the coach vehemently denied a report claiming he discussed a six-figure payment to a recruit. Less than three hours later, the school president announced Miller will remain as the Wildcats’ coach.
“We have no reason to believe Miller violated NCAA rules or the law,” university President Robert C. Robbins said after an Arizona Board of Regents meeting Thursday afternoon. “We will continue to pursue every avenue of inquiry available to us during this active and federal investigation to fully understand the facts.”
After a one-game absence, Miller was back on the sidelines. The McKale Center crowd stood and cheered as Miller entered the arena.
ESPN reported last Friday, using anonymous sources, that the FBI had Miller on a wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to Ayton to attend the school.
“There was no such conversation,” Miller said. “These statements have damaged me, my family, the university, Deandre Ayton and his incredible family.”
Robbins said he and athletic director Dave Heeke decided to keep Miller on after having face-to-face discussions with the coach and going over investigations conducted by the school and federal authorities.
“Coach Miller is our coach,” Robbins said. “He has a contract and we’ll be moving forward.”
In its report, ESPN said Miller was caught on the FBI wiretap discussing the payment for Ayton with Christian Dawkins, a runner for ex-NBA agent Andy Miller.
Ayton and his family denied receiving any money from Dawkins and Miller issued a statement last Saturday saying he was confident he would be vindicated. He took it a step further on Thursday.
“I cannot remain silent on media reports that have impugned the reputation of me, the university and sullied the name of a tremendous young man, Deandre Ayton,” Miller said. “Let me be very, very clear: I have never discussed with Christian Dawkins paying Deandre Ayton to attend the University of Arizona. In fact, I never spoke to or met Christian Dawkins until after Deandre publicly announced he was coming to our school. Any reporting to the contrary is inaccurate, false and defamatory. I’m outraged by the media statements that have been made and the acceptance by many that these statements were true.”
Men
No. 1 VIRGINIA 67, LOUISVILLE 66: In Louisville, Ky., De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer as time expired gave Virginia a victory over Louisville (19-11, 9-8) on Thursday night in a wild finish that made the Cavaliers (27-2, 16-1) the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to go 9-0 on the road in league play. No. 10 CINCINNATI 78, TULANE 49: In New Orleans, Kyle Washington had 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Cincinnati (26-4, 15-2) clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference title. Tulane is 14-15, 5-12.
Women
No. 12 TENNESSEE 64,
AUBURN 61: In Nashville, Tenn., Rennia Davis scored 16 points and banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing with a half-second lift, lifting Tennessee (24-6) to a win over Auburn (14-15) in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
State schools
LONE STAR CONFERENCE: To win the league tournament, Eastern New Mexico (11-16) will have to do it the hard way as the eighth seed in an eight-team tournament that tips off today in Denton, Texas. The Greyhounds face top-seeded West Texas A&M (25-3) in a 8:30 p.m. contest.
The game, along with the other three men’s quarterfinals, was moved to Denton, Texas, from Frisco, Texas due to a facility issue at Dr Pepper Arena.
On the women’s bracket, the game between West Texas A&M and Midwestern State was suspended at halftime and will resume today in Frisco.
The remaining two women’s games that were postponed on Thursday (Tarleton State vs. Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State vs. Texas Woman’s) will be played today at 2:30 and 6 p.m., respectively in Frisco.