Radford advances with First Four win
Travis Fields Jr. and Ed Polite Jr. each scored 13 points to lift Radford to its first NCAA tournament win, 71-61 over Long Island Brooklyn in the First Four on Tuesday night at Dayton, Ohio.
Carlik Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Highlanders (23-12), who will face No. 1 seed Villanova (30-4) on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Radford, the Big South Conference champion, is making its third tournament appearance and first since 2009.
Brooklyn stayed within striking distance for much of the game and got to within a point with five minutes left, but a 9-1 surge by the Highlanders allowed them to close it out.
The Blackbirds (18-17) went without a field goal in the last seven minutes and shot 30.4% from the field in the second half. Both teams were plagued by turnovers.
Jashaun Agosto scored 16 points and Raiquan Clark had 14 for the Blackbirds, who are winless in seven trips to the tournament.
Virginia’s Hunter is sidelined
Virginia forward De’Andre Hunter, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s sixth man of the year, will sit out the NCAA tournament because of a broken left wrist.
The school said Hunter suffered the injury during the ACC tournament. He will have surgery Monday.
Hunter, a redshirt freshman, averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 33 games.
The Cavaliers, the top seed in the tournament, open play Friday night against Maryland Baltimore County in Charlotte, N.C.
Miami’s Brown isn’t ready to play
Miami guard Bruce Brown Jr.’s injured left foot is healing faster than expected, but coach Jim Larranaga said the sophomore won’t play Thursday against Loyola of Chicago.
Brown sat out 11 games before receiving medical clearance Monday to remove his walking boot and rejoin practice. He underwent surgery Feb. 1.
Big East extends commissioner
The Big East Conference extended the contract of Commissioner Val Ackerman through June 2021.
The three-year extension was announced three days after the conference played its men’s basketball tournament at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the 36th consecutive year. Six of the 10 teams received bids to the NCAA tournament.
Villanova, a current No. 1 seed, won the NCAA title in 2016.
Four Big East teams received bids to the women’s tournament.