DePaul snaps skid with 1st-round upset
Umoja Gibson made three free throws with 3.9 seconds left and Nick Ongenda blocked a layup at the buzzer to give DePaul a 66-65 victory against Seton Hall on Wednesday in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The 10-seed Blue Demons will face secondseeded Xavier in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday on FS1. DePaul had lost 12 consecutive games after upsetting then-No. 8 Xavier 73-72 on Jan. 18 at Wintrust Arena.
After Gibson gave DePaul the lead, Seton Hall’s Femi Odukale drove the length of the floor but had his layup at the buzzer blocked from behind by Ongenda. Initially, the block was ruled to be goaltending. But after a review the officials reversed their decision and DePaul had the win.
Javan Johnson hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Blue Demons (1022). Ongenda scored 15 points and blocked four shots. Jalen Terry made all four of his threes and had 14 points and Gibson finished with 10. Tyrese Samuel scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds for the seven-seed Pirates (18-15).
DePaul led 32-28 at halftime. Seton Hall grabbed the lead with 15 minutes left and led the rest of the half until Gibson’s free throws.
Ohio State 65, Wisconsin 57
Sean McNeil scored 17 points, Justice Sueing added 16 and the 13th-seeded Buckeyes held on to defeat the 12th-seeded Badgers to open the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center. Ohio State (14-18), which had a 27-point lead with 15½ minutes to play, faces fifth-seed Iowa in the second round at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Tyler Wahl had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Connor Essegian scored 11 for Wisconsin (17-14), which was considered a bubble team entering the tournament. Wisconsin has been to 22 of the last 23 NCAA Tournaments.
Minnesota 78, Nebraska 75
Dawson Garcia had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Ta’lon Cooper had 16 points to lift the 14th-seed Golden Gophers (9-21) past the 11th-seed Cornhuskers (1616) in an opening-round game of the Big Ten tournament. Minnesota faces sixth-seed Maryland at 8 p.m. Thursday
Alabama’s Miller speaks about murder
Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller spoke to reporters for the first time since his name was linked to the Jan. 15 scene in Tuscaloosa where 23-year-old mother Jamea Harris was killed, saying he will “never lose sight of the fact that a family has lost one of their loved ones.”
“This whole situation is just really heartbreaking, but respectfully that’s all I’m going to be able to say on that,” The Associated Press’ SEC player and newcomer of the year said.
Ex-Alabama player Darius Miles is charged with capital murder in the shooting. Prosecutors say he provided the gun used in the shooting to another man, Michael Davis, who shot Harris. Davis is also charged with murder. Miller’s name was brought up in court by authorities as having delivered the gun on the night of the shooting at Miles’ request.
Coaching news
Former Texas coach Chris Beard reportedly has emerged as the top candidate for the job at Ole Miss. Beard was fired in December after being arrested for an alleged domestic incident. Charges were dropped on Feb. 15.
Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who had been suspended recently for racially insensitive comments made toward one of his players, resigned shortly after the Red Raiders lost to West Virginia in the Big 12 tourney.