Arizona State looks for upset
Arizona State women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne outlined her plan for trying to pull off an upset against unbeaten Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament. “We’re thinking of shooting about 80%,” she joked. “We feel like that will do it.” The ninth-seeded Sun Devils will indeed have to be almost flawless today if they’re going to knock off the Fighting Irish in Toledo, Ohio. Notre Dame has been to three consecutive Final Fours and has won its last 14 games this season by double digits. The Irish (33-0) are a No. 1 seed for a third consecutive season and did not show signs of slowing down in Saturday’s 51-point win vs. Robert Morris in the first round.
ST. JOHN’S, LADY VOLS SEEKING FASTER STARTS
St. John’s and Tennessee proved throughout the postseason they can bounce back from slow starts, but they’d rather not have to make a habit of it. Tennessee, the top seed in the Louisville regional, erased double-digit deficits in each of its three Southeastern Conference tournament victories and was tied early in the second half of its 70-46 first-round win vs. Northwestern State. St. John’s trailed at halftime in each of its last three games and rallied from 11 points down in its 71-68 opening-round triumph vs. Southern California. Both know they must get off to faster starts today when they meet in a second-round matchup. St. John’s will try to beat the Lady Vols on their home floor. Tennessee is 53-0 in NCAA tournament home games.
BURKHOLDER SPARKS JAMES MADISON TO VICTORY
James Madison coach Kenny Brooks learned early Sunday that Kirby Burkholder, the Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, had been up most of the night with an upset stomach. “If anybody could push through it, Kirby could,” Brooks said. Burkholder responded with 28 points and 18 rebounds to lead No. 11 seed James Madison to a 72-63 win vs. sixth-seed Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament in College Station, Texas. It was the first tournament win since 1991 for James Madison. “It’s unbelievable,” said Brooks, who was on the James Madison’s men’s team the last time the women got a tournament victory. “It just shows you how tough she is.”
uAnother 11th seed advanced as Cassie Peoples’ 21 points lifted Florida past sixth seed Dayton 83-69 in State College, Pa. The Gators, who had all five starters score in double figures, play third seed and host Penn State on Tuesday. “We’re all focused for game two,” Peoples said, “but for games three, four and five. However long we keep going.”