Kansas hopes to have Self back on bench
Bill Self’s status for Kansas’ opener in the NCAA Tournament was uncertain Wednesday, though assistant coach Norm Roberts said the Jayhawks remain hopeful he’ll be on the bench when they play Howard on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kansas’ Hall of Fame coach was discharged from a Kansas Cityarea hospital Sunday, where he’d been recovering after a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart.
Self attended practice Wednesday but did not participate in his team’s media availability. Roberts said Self also was at practice Tuesday and has been at all of the team’s meetings.
“He’s doing well, he’s getting better all the time,” Roberts said. “We’re hopeful, and everything is day-to-day with him, but if you ask our guys, he got after them pretty good today so he was doing really well.”
Arizona State ousts Nevada
DJ Horne had 20 points, Nevada transfer Desmond Cambridge Jr. added 17, and Arizona State scored the most points ever in a First Four game, burying Nevada 98-73.
Arizona State (23-12) led 53-26 at the half. Will Baker scored 17 for the Wolf Pack (22-11).
Fairleigh Dickinson advances
Ansley Almonor scored 23 points and Fairleigh Dickinson beat Texas Southern 84-61 in Dayton, Ohio. Fairleigh Dickinson (2015) advanced to the East Region to play top-seeded Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday. John Walker III led Texas Southern (14-21) with 22 points.
Extra security for Alabama star
Alabama star Brandon Miller was accompanied by an armed security guard to the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday because of threats directed his way, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said.
Miller name surfaced last month in court testimony involving the capital murder case of former Alabama player Darius Miles and another man, who are charged in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris on Jan. 15.
Sacred Heart women win
Kelsey Wood had 10 points and 11 rebounds, Ny’Ceara Pryor had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists and Sacred Heart (19-13) won its first women’s NCAA Tournament game with a 57-47 victory over Southern (18-15) in the First Four.
Boston an All-American again
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston became just the 10th player to earn Associated Press women’s All American honors three times.
Boston was joined on the first team by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, LSU’s Angel Reese and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes. DePaul sophomore Aneesah Morrow was named to the third team.