BYU forward Khalifa observing Ramadan fast
Aly Khalifa will set his alarm for 4:30 a.m. Thursday, a witching hour for a college kid if ever there was one, and roll out of bed for the same breakfast as always: scrambled eggs, yogurt, some fruit, all washed down with a whole lot of water. It will be the last he eats or drinks for nearly 16 hours.
Then he will pray, prostrating in accordance with Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims.
NCAA notebook
It is a fast Khalifa is embarking on willingly, yet one that carries with it unusual challenges for him. The energy the 6-foot-11 forward from Alexandria, Egypt, will expend on the court against Duquesne cannot be replenished until much later in the day, after darkness sets in.
“Not going to lie,” Khalifa said Wednesday. “I’m real thirsty right now. That’s the hardest part.”
Yet Khalifa is putting faith in God — and the BYU training staff.
Cougars coach Mark Pope has provided guidance. Michael Davie, the school’s director of sports science, has been monitoring his weight and hydration. Robert Ramos, the director of sports medicine, is providing solidarity — “He’s doing it with me,” Khalifa said. “Rob was like, ‘I got you.’ ”
All-Americans
All-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark of Iowa was named for a third consecutive year to The Associated Press’ women’s All-America team. She is joined by Stanford’s Cameron Brink, Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers, and freshmen Juju Watkins of USC and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame. Watkins and Hidalgo became the fourth and fifth freshmen to make the first team, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and UConn’s Maya Moore and Bueckers.
Wednesday men’s games
Grambling rallied from 14-point deficit in the second half, forcing overtime on Jimel Cofer’s layup with 37 seconds left in regulation and outscoring Montana State by seven in extra time for an 88-81 win in the First Four at Dayton, Ohio.
•Tristan da Silva Scored 20 points and Colorado (2510) won its first NCAA tournament game in three years with a 60-53 win against Boise State.
Wednesday women’s games
Mara Neira scored 14 points and Big South champion Presbyterian won a low- scoring First Four game against Sacred Heart, 49-42. Presbyterian is the smallest school in the tournament with 955 undergraduate students. Its reward: A date with No. 1 South Carolina.
• Vanderbilt, making its first NCAA appearance since 2014, defeated Columbia, 72-68, in a First Four game in Blacksburg, Va. Iyana Moore scored 22 points, and Sacha Washington had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Vanderbilt (239).