Travis leads Cardinal to NIT win over BYU
Reid Travis scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Michael Humphrey added 11 and 14 as Stanford topped BYU 8683 on Wednesday night in the first round of the NIT at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford will play at Oklahoma State on Monday in the next round.
Travis gave Stanford (1915) a 69-58 lead on a dunk with 7:09 remaining, but the Cardinal didn’t hit another field goal until freshman Daejon Davis sank a contested 3-pointer at the 1:48 mark.
Stanford led by 10 with 36 seconds left but BYU (24-11) wouldn’t go away. TJ Haws made a steal at 13.5 on an inbounds pass, and Elijah Bryant hit a long 3-pointer to pull BYUto 8583. DaejonDaviswent 1 of 2 at the line for a three-point lead. Bryant was fouled at 5.7 before he could get off a potential tying 3-pointer, and Haws grabbed the second free-throwmiss, raced to the 3-point line but was just off on a 3-pointer.
UTAH 69, UC DAVIS 59 >> Justin Bibbins scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, andUtes (20-11) coach Larry Krystkowiak was ejected in the first half as they overcame an 11-point deficit to beat the Aggies. UC Davis (22-11) was led by A.J. John’s 11 points. The Utes will play LSU (18-14) in the second round of the NIT.
USF 72, COLGATE 68 >> Matt McCarthy had 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Dons won their CBI opener.
The Dons play host to Utah Valley on Monday. WASHINGTON 77, BOISE STATE 74 >> Jaylen Nowell scored 25 points, and Matisse Thybulle added 18 as the Huskies held off the Broncos in Seattle. The Huskies (21-12) will travel to Saint Mary’s (295) onMonday in the second round.
NCAA tournament
SYRACUSE 60, ARIZONA STATE 56 >> Freshman Oshae Brissett had a doubledouble and led the Orange’s second-half comeback and the last team to make the NCAA tournament held on in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. The 11thseeded Orange plays No. 6 seed TCU (21-11) on Friday in Detroit in the Midwest Region. Syracuse (2113) prevailed in a matchup of teams that started fast and then faded onto the tournament bubble. Arizona State (20-12) opened the season with 12 wins. The Sun Devils went 8-12 the rest of the way.
Kodi Justice had 15 points for Arizona State, which hasn’t won a tournament game since 2009. TEXAS SOUTHERN 64, NC CENTRAL 46 >> The Tigers (16-19) became the first team with a losing record to win a tournament game, which was also its first ever tournament win in the First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. Demontrae Jefferson, a 5-foot-7 guard, scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lift No. 16 seed Texas Southern. The Tigers started the season 0-13 and didn’twin a game until Jan. 1. Now they move on face No. 1 seed Xavier on Friday.
Donte Clark had 18 points, and Trayvon Reed added 10 points and eight boards for Texas Southern. The Tigers slipped into the First Four by getting hot and winning the Southwest Athletic College tournament.
ARIZONA KEEPS FOCUS ON COURT >> The strain of a tumultuous season could have caused Arizona’s players to cave under the pressure, coach Sean Miller to give up and walk away. Instead, it hardened the Wildcats’ resolve.
Off-the- court issues. Injuries. Suspensions. When the ball went up in the air, none of that mattered. Banding together and winning became everything.
“Sometimes when adversity strikes it can really rally a group of people, can bring out a closeness that maybe you otherwise would not have felt,” Miller said. “And I believe that about our team.”
Miller’s immediate future at Arizona came into doubt the penultimate weekend of the regular season, when an ESPN report alleged that he was heard on an FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to get Deandre Ayton to attend the school. Miller sat out one game and three practices, his career in Tucson appearing to be over. In amonumental shift, Miller made a statement strongly denying the report and the university president announced later that day he would remain as coach.
The Wildcats open the tournament in Boise, Idaho, today against Buffalo. DAVIDSON WANTS TO WIN FORCURRY>> Ten years ago, Stephen Curry became Stephen Curry at the NCAA tournament. He averaged 32 points a game in leading Davidson within one basket of the Final Four. Now, the 12th-seededWildcats are back. They’ll face the fifth-seeded Kentucky today in Boise, Idaho, a team which makes a regular deep run in the tournament, but a program that starts five freshmen and has been learning on the fly this year.
Davidson is 16th in the country in 3-point attempts, trying more than 27 per game. As Kentucky coach John Calipari said, “If they make 20, it’s been a heck of a season for us.” Calipari said his inexperienced teamwill have to stay patient on defense and unselfish on offense a formula that helped Kentucky shoot 16 percentage points better than opponents in winning the SEC tournament.
“Steph Curry is around our program 24 hours a day,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “The imprint that he put on our program is probably the greatest imprint that any alum could put on a program or a school.” MATTAOUTOFRUNNINGFOR GEORGIAJOB>> Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has withdrawn from the Georgia coach search after becoming the first known candidate to interview for the job. Matta told ESPN “I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point” to take the job. MEMPHIS MOVES ON FROM SMITH >> Tubby Smith has been fired as Memphis men’s basketball coach after two seasons amid dropping attendance and donations to the athletic department. Smith went 40-26 at Memphis, including 21-13 this season. The Tigerswon seven of their final nine games before losing Saturday 70- 60 to Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.