HUSKIES MAY BE TOP DOGS
UConn rolls over Arkansas to pull one win from Final Four
UCONN 88 ARKANSAS 65
Jordan Hawkins scored 24 points for UConn and the Huskies pulled one step from the Final Four with an 88-65 rout of Arkansas in a West Region Sweet 16 matchup Thursday.
The fourth-seeded Huskies (28-8) will play the winner of UCLA or Gonzaga in an Elite Eight game Saturday in Las Vegas. Arkansas’ season ended at 22-14.
UConn played like a team capable of winning its fifth NCAA Tournament title and first since 2014. The Huskies have outscored their three March Madness opponents by 62 points.
They won their first two games by outscoring Iona and Saint Mary’s by a combined 86-49 in the second half. UConn surged early against Arkansas with a 14-point run and took a 46-29 lead into halftime.
The Huskies never trailed and led by as many as 29 points when they went up 62-33. Arkansas answered with a 10-point run in just 27 seconds, but the outcome was never in doubt.
UConn, which has won nine of its past 10 games, shot 57.4% compared to 31.7% for Arkansas. The Huskies dominated inside by outrebounding the Razorbacks, 43-31, and outscoring them, 42-24, in the lane.
Adama Sanogo scored 18 points, Alex Karaban 11 and Nahiem Alleyene 10 for UConn. Sanogo, who also pulled down eight rebounds, has scored 71 points in 75 minutes this tournament.
Anthony Black led Arkansas with 20 points, Ricky Council IV scored 17 and Nick Smith Jr. 11.
Arkansas, which was seeded eighth, was in the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row.
COACH WON’T TAKE OFFENSE
Alabama coach Nate Oats said Thursday he was not offended by comments Nick Saban made regarding Saban’s handling of a football player’s arrest in contrast to how the top-ranked Crimson Tide has dealt with the controversy surrounding All-American freshman Brandon Miller.
Saban on Monday suspended freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell after his arrest on a drug charge.
In handing down the punishment, Saban said, “everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions.” He added, “there’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The “no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time” comment was perceived by many to be directed at Oats, the Alabama basketball coach who hasn’t disciplined Miller for being at the scene of a Jan. 15 fatal shooting involving a former teammate in Tuscaloosa.
Oats initially said Miller was “in the wrong spot at the wrong time” during the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris. Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder in Harris’ death, and police reports state that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun ahead of the shooting.
Miller has not been charged with any crime. His attorney claims the forward never handled the gun and didn’t know it was going to be used for a crime. Miller, who has a security guard with him at the NCAA Tournament because of threats he’s received, is cooperating in the investigation.
Oats said he spoke with Saban Monday night, adding that he did not take Saban’s remark as direct criticism.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” Oats said during a Thursday news conference. “He has been tremendously supportive of our program since he got here. He says it all the time.”