Wichita State Wins N.I.T. And Hopes Best Is Ahead

Everyone knows not to run with scissors. But how about dancing?

Having just won the National Invitation Tournament championship by defeating Alabama, 66-57, the giddy Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall already had scissors in hand to cut down the net while accepting his N.I.T. watch. As a recording of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” played, he swung his hips on the Madison Square Garden floor, tapped his feet and cut the air with his scissors.

Before a small but partisan Shockers crowd of 4,873, Wichita State (29-8) won the N.I.T. for the first time in 12 appearances. The seniors Graham Hatch and J. T. Durley led Wichita State with 12 points apiece. Hatch, who called the night magical, made all four of his 3-point attempts and was named the tournament’s outstanding player.

“A special group of guys that deserve everything they now have coming to them,” Marshall said of his team.

The Crimson Tide, which ranked seventh in the country in scoring defense, frustrated the Shockers into 10 first-half turnovers with full-court pressure. But when Alabama’s leading scorer and rebounder, JaMychal Green, sat out for eight minutes after committing his fourth foul with 11 minutes to go, the Crimson Tide lost firepower.

What had been a tight game swung Wichita State’s way for good when Hatch made two 3-pointers to open a 12-point lead with three minutes remaining.

“I was just thankful to be there for my team when they needed me,” Hatch said. “I can die a happy man now.”

Tony Mitchell led Alabama (25-12) with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

After missing out on the Missouri Valley Conference’s automatic bid to the N.C.A.A. tournament, which Marshall said “decimated” his players, the Shockers ended the season on a positive note.

Wichita State, the No. 4 seed in the N.I.T., beat Nebraska of the Big 12, Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference, College of Charleston of the Southern Conference and Washington State of the Pac-10 on the way to the title game against Alabama of the Southeastern Conference. The Shockers, who beat Washington State by 31 points in the semifinals, won their five N.I.T. games by an average of 13.4 points.

Half the teams that played in the last four N.I.T. championship games have since earned an N.C.A.A. seeding of No. 3 or higher. Five of the top eight seeded teams in this year’s N.C.A.A. tournament (No. 1 Ohio State and the No. 2’s Florida, Notre Dame, San Diego State and North Carolina) advanced to the N.I.T. semifinals in the past three seasons.

“It should bode well for our future,” Marshall said.

Having set a program record for victories Tuesday, the Shockers can consider themselves a part of the Garden history that mesmerized Marshall when he first walked the halls this week — past photos of Mick Jagger and Red Buttons performing.

Nearby, a snapshot of the 1970 N.B.A. champion Knicks caught Marshall’s eye. The picture included two former Wichita State players, Dave Stallworth and Nate Bowman. Another alumnus, Xavier McDaniel, played for the Knicks in the 1991-92 season.

As Wichita State’s cheerleaders danced like the Rockettes in the postgame celebration, and Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “New York, New York” played on the public-address system, Marshall danced again. This time with a net in hand.

CONNECTICUT LOOK TO UPSET SAN DIEGO STATE ON TSN2

Anahemim, CA (Sports Network) - An epic season for the San Diego State Aztecs moves forward tonight as the team clashes with the Connecticut Huskies in the West Regional Semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

It's a game that you can catch on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt.

Back home in the Golden State, the second-seeded Aztecs have far exceeded the success of any season previous to 2010-11, standing at 34-2 and having finally won a game in the NCAA Tournament after showing a 0-6 record heading into the event. The Mountain West Conference Tournament champions, the Aztecs defeated Northern Colorado in the second round of the tourney last week with a 68-50 final in Tucson, but then needed double-overtime to dismiss a pesky Temple Owls group over the weekend, 71-64.

As for the third-seeded Huskies, they improved their record to 16-1 in their opening-round games in the NCAA Tournament since 1990 with their 81-52 romp over Bucknell at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. just days after UConn turned the Big East Conference on its ear by winning five games in five days in order to capture the tournament title in New York City. Head coach Jim Calhoun, who is in his 25th season with UConn, guided his group to a hard- fought 69-58 victory against fellow Big East member Cincinnati last Saturday in order to advance to the Sweet 16.

For the Aztecs, getting this far in the postseason at the Division I level is new territory, but for UConn it is nothing new as the team owns NCAA championships from both 1999 and 2004 and is now 46-27 overall in the event all-time.

The winner of this first-ever meeting between these two schools will clash with the winner of the Duke/Arizona matchup on Saturday for the right to move on to the Final Four in Houston next weekend.

Recently named a finalist for National Player of the Year honors, the amazing Kemba Walker had another huge game for the Huskies last weekend as he delivered a game-high 33 points in the 11-point win over Cincinnati in the nation's capital. Walker knocked down a decent 8-of-20 from the floor but a far-more-impressive 14-of-14 at the free-throw line for a team that connected on 25-of-30 collectively at the charity stripe, compared to just 10-of-14 for the Bearcats. Jeremy Lamb added 14 points, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 10 points off the bench and Alex Oriakhi a team-best 11 rebounds, but the big man in the middle missed on all six of his field goal attempts and finished with just four points. Oriakhi, who ranks second in the Big East in rebounding with almost nine per game, has accounted for a combined 21 rebounds in the first two games of the tournament for the Huskies, but he has been a forgotten part of the offense in terms of scoring with just 13 points after scoring in double figures in all but one of the team's five contests in the conference tournament. Clearly, the scoring has become even more crucial for Walker as the season has worn on and as one of the nation's leaders in that department with 23.6 ppg now is not the time to defer to anyone else anyway.

Playing in their first overtime game of the season, the Aztecs needed some strong efforts in the paint to get them over the hump against the Temple Owls on Saturday in Tucson. Billy White responded with a double-double consisting of 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as four of the SDSU starters scored in double figures. Kawhi Leonard dropped in 16 points and cleared nine rebounds, followed by Malcolm Thomas with 13 points and nine boards as well, while Chase Tapley tallied 12 points on a solid 4-of-5 shooting behind the three-point line. However, for the second time in as many games, starting guard D.J. Gay had a hard time shooting the ball as he converted just 3-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-4 behind the three-point line. Although, the game was not a complete loss for Gay as he registered nine points, six rebounds and five assists in 50 minutes of action. In the team's first-ever NCAA Tournament win two days earlier, Gay was limited to just five points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor and still the Aztecs cruised to the win so one has to assume that once he gets into gear SDSU will be that much tougher to slow down. As important as Gay is to this group, Leonard continues to be the one that opponents have to keep sight of as they plan for how to stop the All- MWC First Team selection and one of the top defenders in the conference in 2010-11 as well. Leonard, who played 46 minutes against the Owls, isn't flashy but he does get the job done and is a potential double-double waiting to happen. 

Marcum experiences tight shoulder

PHOENIX -- Right-hander Shaun Marcum exited his outstanding start against the White Sox on Thursday after only three innings and complained of a tight shoulder. It's an issue that would usually be considered minor if so many of his teammates were not dealing with their own medical matters.

"It's frustrating. We're this far along, we've got two weeks left [until Opening Day] and it seems like everybody is going down," Marcum said. "I want to be one of the guys who stays healthy and is able to play when it's my time.

"Then again, it is Spring Training. I'd rather miss two weeks of Spring Training than two months of the season. That's the way I'm looking at it right now."

The best case scenario, Marcum said, is that he misses a day or two before resuming his routine. He is slotted as the Brewers' No. 2 starter, debuting April 2 against the Reds.

Marcum probably would have been No. 3 or 4 had Zack Greinke not cracked a rib playing pick-up basketball earlier this spring. The Brewers are already facing limited options to replace Greinke at the start of the season, and would be further stretched if Marcum, their other major offseason acquisition, were to miss time.

"There's definitely concern there," manager Ron Roenicke said. "Geez, we're in a tough spot if he's down for a while."

Marcum, added in a December trade with the Blue Jays as part of Milwaukee's starting rotation makeover, has been dealing with periodic bouts of shoulder tightness all spring, and reported a stiff neck in recent days, Roenicke said.

But Marcum felt fine during his first two innings of work against the White Sox. He allowed his only hit to Alexei Ramirez leading off the third inning when Brewers left fielder Mark Kotsay lost a fly ball in the sun, then retired the next three hitters in order.

Somewhere between the second and third innings, Marcum's shoulder began to tighten. After a chat with head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger, Marcum left the game.

"We don't want to push it and take a chance of doing something stupid," Marcum said. "It's been a battle all spring." It's been a battle in the past as well. Marcum underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2008 and missed all of 2009. He bounced back in 2010 with the Jays, going 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 31 starts and 195 1/3 innings.

He offered this bit of perspective about his early exit:

"If it's the regular season, especially August, September, I'm pitching through it and not saying a word," he said.

It has been a tough first four weeks of Spring Training for Milwaukee's medical staff, which has treated possible Opening Day starter Greinke for a cracked rib, catcher Jonathan Lucroy for a fractured finger, center fielder Carlos Gomez and reliever Manny Parra for stiff backs, right fielder Corey Hart and left fielder Ryan Braun for rib-cage strains, second baseman Rickie Weeks for a tight groin, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for a sore quadriceps and reliever Takashi Saito for a tight hip and hamstring. They also nursed closer John Axford back from food poisoning and have been closely monitoring LaTroy Hawkins as he makes his way back from shoulder surgery.

That's not even the full injury report, but merely the list of players originally penciled into the Opening Day roster. All have either exited a Cactus League game early, had an outing pushed back or missed a game or more entirely.

Marcum is holding out hope that his absence will be short.

"This may be one of those things where we take a day off or two of throwing and get the tightness out of there," Marcum said, "then pick back up right where we left off and get ready for April 2."

Stern will talk to Magic about Van Gundy comments

NBA Commissioner David Stern says he doesn't plan to talk to Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy about critical remarks Van Gundy made about him - he will speak to Magic team executives about the comments.

Stern made his remarks Thursday during an interview on ESPN Radio in response to comments Van Gundy made earlier this week in defense of Magic center Dwight Howard.

"I'm going to engage in a private discussions at this point with his franchise," Stern said Thursday on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd." "I actually am not going to talk to Stan Van Gundy. I'm going to talk to the ownership of the team."

Howard served a one-game suspension earlier this week after receiving his league-leading 16th technical foul.

Van Gundy responded to reporter's question about whether the Magic had addressed their concerns to NBA officials about the frequency Howard has been fouled this season. He took a shot directly at the league's top brass.

"This is the system David Stern and his minions like," Van Gundy said. "So that's the system you have. ... I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinion or free speech or anything. So I'm not really allowed to have an opinion. So it's up to him.

"He decides and he likes the system he has."

Stern, who fined Van Gundy $35,000 in January for critical comments about officiating, insinuated that he wouldn't fine the coach for his latest remarks.

"Because he tried to make it so personal, I'm not going to do anything about it this time," Stern said. "...It didn't bother me personally. I see somebody whose team isn't performing, whose star player was suspended, who seems to be fraying."

Stern also added: "... Whatever the pressures are that Stan is feeling, that he fell to whatever position he's in to say something like this, it made me sad."

He said he doesn't expect similar comments from Van Gundy going forward.

"I would render a guess ... that we won't be hearing from him for the rest of the season," Stern said. "When he stops and reads what he said and realizes what he did, he will say no more."

Jefferson Carries Nets Into 2nd Round

LONDON -- The New Jersey Nets are still far away from their Russian owner's goal of making the team a global brand and NBA champion. But for now, at least, they're the league's most successful team in games played in Europe.

Brook Lopez scored 25 points and New Jersey ended a six-game losing streak with a 116-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday in the first regular-season game on the continent.

Kris Humphries had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Deron Williams earned his first win since being acquired from the Utah Jazz last week, adding 16 points and 11 assists.

"Happy with my first win as a Net," said the All-Star guard, who played despite injuries to both hands - a strained right wrist and bruised left hand. "We had a lot of energy today. We were all a little worried about how the trip would affect us, fatigue would set in. But we had a lot of energy. We had definitely some bright spots, some guys played great for us tonight."

Perhaps the brightest spot came from the bench.

Toronto led 81-78 at the end of the third quarter, but Jordan Farmar hit two straight 3-pointers to start the fourth, and Sundiata Gaines added seven points in a decisive 20-6 run sparked by the Nets reserves.

"They were huge for us in the second half," Lopez said. "They gave us a huge lift, pretty much blew open the game for us."

Lopez and Williams did the rest, combining for 11 points after coming back on to make sure Toronto never pulled closer than five.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto (17-45) with 30 points and Andrea Bargnani added 23.

Williams had his fourth straight double-double since joining the team, and he and Lopez showed signs they can turn into the type of formidable duo the franchise hoped for.


"Our chemistry grows every game by the boatload," Lopez said.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said before the game that he plans to sit down with Williams in London and get the guard to commit to a long-term future with the club, saying the two share a common goal of being "No. 1." The two have only had a brief opportunity to chat so far, after a loss in San Antonio last week.

"Mr. Prokhorov met me in San Antonio and we talked for a couple of minutes, but in that short couple of minutes he definitely got me excited also about the move and the future of this franchise," Williams said. "I'm sure we'll have more chances to sit down and talk and get to know each other."

The Nets and Raptors will face each other again at the O2 on Saturday, as the NBA decided to bring regular-season games to Europe for the first time as part of its push to increase its fan base on the continent. The O2 has hosted preseason games for the last four years.

The attendance for Friday's game was an announced sellout of 18,689, but there were some empty seats.

"I loved the crowd," said Bargnani, who was the highest-scoring European player on the night. "I really felt the excitement. I was nervous in the first half. I think it's going to be better tomorrow."

The unusual venue meant the public announcer had to do some extra work, explaining some of the basic rules every now and then to the British crowd - like pointing out that a player fouled while shooting gets two free throws.

And with crowd support split between the two teams - despite the Nets being listed as the home team - players had the rare experience of being booed by rival fans before every free throw, and then cheered by their own supporters if the shot was good.

While the game featured two teams with losing records and lacked a nailbiting finish, there were plenty of highlights. Lopez provided two of the biggest in the first half, first driving through the lane for a one-handed dunk to cut Toronto's lead to 39-34, and then jumping over Leandro Barbosa for an alley-oop slam on an assist from Williams to give his team a 42-41 lead.

"These games are great for global basketball, great for the NBA," said Williams, who scored all but two of his 16 points in the second half. "And I thought the crowd tonight was great, they cheered for both teams pretty equally. When both teams did something good out there, they liked it. And I hope this is just the start of many, many more games."