VILLANOVA’S MOORE WAS MISSED IN SEMIFINAL

An enduring image of the NCAA Final Four will be Villanova coach Jay Wright sitting on the bench with his arm around injured starting guard Justin Moore shortly before tip-off of the Wildcats’ semifinal matchup against Kansas.

His absence from the court was conspicuous during the first half, when Kansas quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead while Villanova’s offense looked stagnant.

Moore was a second-team All-big East selection this season. The 6-foot-4 Moore averaged 34.4 minutes, 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing in 36 games. But he tore his Achilles in the final minute of Villanova’s regional final victory win over Houston last weekend.

Moore was dribbling against a defender and appeared to slip and fall. He then went back down after trying to get up.

Before the game, Moore spoke about the emotional support he’s been receiving from his family, Villanova and beyond.

“It was great for me personally. I needed people by my side. I was feeling hurt and down,” Moore said. “Them saying they love me and they have my back and giving encouraging words, that really helped me.”

Well-wishers have included NBA star Kevin Durant, who experienced a similar injury while playing for Golden State in 2019.

“He called me right away. He facetimed me,” Moore said. “I wasn’t expecting that. I was still a little bit off from the medicine. That, right there, kind of snapped me out of it. It was a great feeling.”

“He was telling me that my career isn’t over. It’s just begun,” Moore continued. “An injury like this, a torn Achilles, you can come back from it. In previous years, people would think your career is over, but he was letting me know that my career isn’t over. He said I can always hit him up for advice.”

Albany coach suspended

Albany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings will serve a five-game suspension next season and pay a $25,000 fine for “inappropriate physical contact” with a player, the university announced.

The university’s investigation concluded that it was an isolated incident. Killings admitted his mistake, apologized and will keep his job, the school said in a news release posted on its website.

The investigation began in late February after officials were made aware of the allegation. The investigation confirmed that there was physical contact between Killings and a member of the men’s basketball team during a pre-game hype circle before a road game in late November. The incident was not reported until the administration received a complaint on Feb. 27.

Albany went 13-18 Killings’ first season. in