R.J. GLASPER sidelined for Golden Eagles.
FAYETTEVILLE — Oral Roberts guard RJ Glasper, a senior graduate transfer from Forrest City, will miss the Golden Eagles’ NCAA Tournament game against the University of Arkansas on Saturday night because of a season-ending knee injury he suffered last month.
Glasper tore an anterior cruciate ligament in Oral Roberts’ 80-74 victory at North Dakota State on Feb. 6.
Before the injury,
Glasper started the first 18 games. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and
29.1 minutes per game.
Glasper, who began his college career as a walkon at Arkansas and then transferred to Arkansas Tech University where he played for three seasons, scored 14 points when the Razorbacks beat the Golden Eagles 87-76 at Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Dec. 20.
He transferred to Oral Roberts after being a threeyear starter for the Wonder Boys and averaging 18.7 points and 5.5 assists over 82 games.
Carlos Jurgens, a 6-5 sophomore averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds, has replaced Glasper in the Golden Eagles’ starting lineup.
Casual look
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman was dressing casually for games long before his college peers began doing it this season during the coronavirus pandemic.
Musselman began wearing polo shirts — as he has done for every game in
his two seasons at Arkansas — when he was Nevada’s coach. He wore polos in his last three seasons of four as the Wolf Pack’s coach.
“I do own a suit,”
Musselman said Wednesday on an NCAA media call when asked if he plans to keep dressing casually for games after this season. “I hope to never wear it the rest of my life.
“If I never have to put a tie on again the rest of my life, I will be extremely happy. Where I grew up in
San Diego, suits, hard shoes and ties are not cool. I’m all for the polo game.
“If we advance, if we are fortunate enough to continue to play, you will never see me in a suit.
Matter of fact, the first time
I wore a polo in an NCAA game, I actually asked the NCAA representative the day prior to the game if it was OK if I did that in this tournament. I got the thumbs up, so I never looked back.”
Not Legend
Arkansas freshman forward Jaylin Williams knows he bears a resemblance to musician
John Legend.
The point was made on a widespread public level
Sunday when model
Chrissy
Teigen, the wife of Legend, posted a
Tweet with a screenshot of Williams in his No. 10 jersey playing defense against Texas
Tech.
Wrote Teigen: “Number 10. Gulp not it.”
Williams was asked about the celebrity shout-out, even if it was by number.
“I saw it and was like, ‘Wow, OK,’ ” Williams said. “I just kind of sat there and laughed at it.
“People say [he resembles Legend] all the time. It’s kind of just one of those things that I’m used to hearing by now.”
Gonzaga favored
Unbeaten and topseeded Gonzaga (28-0) is the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament in updated odds released by BetOnline.ag this week.
The Zags are listed as a 7-5 favorite, with fellow No. 1 seed Baylor listed next at 7-2. Michigan, the other No. 1 seed still alive, is thirdfavorite at 17-2, followed by Houston (9-1) and Alabama (12-1).
Loyola Chicago, a No. 8 seed that knocked out No. 1 seed Illinois last Sunday, is next at 14-1, followed by Florida State (16-1), Arkansas (20-1) and Southern Cal (20-1).
The longest odds belong to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts (66-1), which has beaten No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 7 seed Florida to reach a Sweet 16 matchup against the Razorbacks.
Odds for the rest of the final 16 are: Creighton, Oregon and Villanova (33/1), UCLA (40-1), Oregon State (50-1) and Syracuse (50-1).
Baylor is a 2-3 favorite to win the South Region, followed by Arkansas (21), Villanova (5-1) and Oral Roberts (25-1).
MOP odds
BetOnline.ag has installed Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs as a 9-2 favorite to win Most Outstanding Player honors with the NCAA Tournament whittled down to 16 teams.
Suggs’ Gonzaga teammates Corey Kispert (5-1) and Drew Timme (112) are the next favorites, according to the site.
Arkansas freshman Moses Moody is well down the list with 40-1 odds to win Most Outstanding Player and is as the only Razorback listed.
The Baylor trio of Jared Butler (6-1), MaCio Teague (14-1) and Davion Mitchell (16-1) come behind Gonzaga’s top players, along with Loyola Chicago’s Cameron Krutwig (16-1) and Houston’s Quentin Grimes (16-1). Rounding out the top 10 candidates are Michigan’s Franz Wagner (22-1) and Hunter Dickinson (22-1).
Alabama’s Jaden Shackleford (25-1), Jahvon Quinerly (33-1) and John Petty Jr. (33-1) all slot in ahead of Moody, who is just above the 50-1 duo of Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim and Chris Duarte.
Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas, the NCAA’s leading scorer at 24.5 points per game, had the lowest odds among listed players at 80-1.