San Jose State women advance to semifinals of tourney
San Jose State’s breakthrough season keeps getting better, as the Spartans advanced to the semifinals of the women’s Mountain West Tournament with a 67-48 win over UNLV on Monday in Las Vegas.
Ayzhiana Basallo, the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, scored a teamhigh 18 points to help the No. 4 seeded Spartans advance to face top-seed Fresno State tonight.
The Spartans (19-11) have experienced the biggest turnaround in the nation this season, improving their victory total by 13 after going 6-24 a year ago. The 19 victories are the third-most in the history of the program.
SJSU matched its highest-ever seed for the MW Tournament at No. 4, and after a slow start, used a 10-0 run in the second quarter to pull away from UNLV. The Spartans also had a 14-0 run in the fourth quar- ter to complete their third victory over the Lady Reb- els this season and win their fourth in a row overall.
Raziy Potter and Megan Anderson each added 12 points for the Spartans.
SJSU is chasing the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Spartans’ last postseason appearance was the AIAW Regionals in 1981. TOPPING THE POLL >> As women’s basketball teams finish up their regular season and turn their attention to the conference tournaments, South Carolina, Baylor and Oregon remain a step above everyone else.
The Gamecocks stayed at No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll released Monday, receiving 27 of 30 first- place votes from the media panel. Baylor was second, getting two first-place votes. Oregon had the final one to stay at No. 3.
“I do think that in all the chaos of this season with changes to No. 1, the top three as they stand right now have been the most consistent in their excellence,” longtime poll voter LaChina Robinson said.
The three teams all easily won their conferences, with South Carolina and Baylor going undefeated in the SEC and Big 12. Barring some major slip-ups or surprises, the trio is expected to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and then play close to home in the Sweet 16.
Louisville moved up one spot to No. 4, with UConn rounding out the top five.
Stanford tumbled three spots to No. 7 following backto-back conference losses to Oregon on Monday and Arizona on Friday. The Cardinal avoided its first threegame skid since 2001 with a 55-44 win over No. 24 Arizona State on Sunday.
NO. 5 UCONN 80, SOUTH FLORIDA 39 >> Megan Walker scored 23 points and No. 5 UConn completed its seventh consecutive undefeated American Athletic Conference regular season.
Men
A string of losses to unranked opponents led to upheaval in the AP Top 25 this week.
Kansas kept winning, strengthening its grip on No. 1.
The Jayhawks were the unanimous choice for the top spot in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday, receiving all 64 votes from the media panel.
Gonzaga was No. 2, with Dayton, Baylor and San Diego
State rounding out the top five. The Aztecs, No. 9 Maryland and No. 18 Iowa were the only other teams to hold their place after a week in which nine Top 25 teams lost to unranked opponents.
Kansas moved to No. 1 for the second time this season a week ago after knocking off previously top-ranked Baylor. The Jayhawks remained atop the poll after beating Oklahoma State and rival Kansas State.
NO. 4 BAYLOR 71, TEXAS TECH 68, OT >> Jared Butler stole the ball and hit two free throws with 11.6 seconds left in overtime, helping Baylor hold off visiting Texas Tech in their Big 12 Conference matchup.
MaCio Teague hit a 3 for Baylor after stepping back behind the line and just beating the shot clock with 1:13 left in overtime.
NO. 12 DUKE 88, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 69 >> Freshman Cassius Stanley scored 14 of his 18 points after halftime as Duke took over in the second half to beat North Carolina State.
Fellow rookie Vernon Carey Jr. added 17 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 63% after halftime and had a run of 17 straight scoring possessions to build a big lead. Duke also dominated the Wolfpack on the glass (4627), while its move away from its man and pressure defenses to deploy a zone late in the first half took N.C. State out of its early aggressive rhythm.