Texas Southern advances in 18-point rout
The TSU Tigers, led by Demontrae Jefferson’s 25 points, beat North Carolina Central 64-46 in their NCAA Tournament First Four contest. The Tigers will now face Xavier:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tubby Smith has been fired as Memphis men’s basketball coach after two seasons amid dropping attendance and donations to the athletic department.
Smith told reporters he was no longer coach as he left a meeting Wednesday with Memphis president M. David Rudd and athletic director Tom Bowen.
Memphis issued a statement saying only that an agreement of “separation” had been reached in the “best financial interest” of the university with details still to be finalized.
Smith went 40-26 at Memphis, including 21-13 this season. The Tigers won seven of their final nine games before losing Saturday 70-60 to No. 8 Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
Smith, 66, is 597-302 with a national title with Kentucky in 1998. He also has worked at Tulsa, Georgia and Minnesota.
Former Memphis star Penny Hardaway is a top candidate to replace Smith. He currently coaches an AAU team and also coaches Memphis East High School.
Odds and ends
Virginia will be without De’Andre Hunter, the ACC’s sixth man of the year, for the NCAA Tournament because of a broken left wrist. Hunter, a 6-7 swingman, suffered the injury during the ACC Tournament. Hunter, a redshirt freshman, averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds and led the Cavaliers in scoring on six occasions. … Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta has withdrawn from the Georgia coaching search after becoming the first known candidate to interview for the job. Lingering back problems were an issue in Matta’s 13 years at Ohio State. Georgia fired Mark Fox on Saturday.