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NCAA tournament bracket analysis: UNC leads blue blood-laden South Region
The South Region is clearly the sexiest of the four regions, as all three blue bloods in the region, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 UCLA, are among the most decorated teams in college basketball history. More
No. 3 Tar Heels mystified by flat performance in 76-67 loss
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Roy Williams thought Assembly Hall put on a perfect show Wednesday night.
Fans roared when Cubs outfielder and former Hoosiers star Kyle Schwarber was introduced as honorary game captain. They made Chicago Blackhawks national anthem singer and Indiana alum James Cornelison feel right at home by cheering through his performance of the song. The fans stayed on their feet most of the night and did whatever they could to keep the Hoosiers on track for their fifth straight home win against a top three team.
Then there was the curious case of Williams’ Tar Heels.
Seven days after returning from a four-game Hawaiian road trip, one on which they trailed for a combined total of 16 seconds, No. 3 North Carolina never led and spent most of the game trying to fight its way out of a double-digit deficit before finally losing 76-67 to No. 13 Indiana.
Williams was understandably unhappy.
”We were not ready to play,” he said. ”We did not shoot free throws, we didn’t rebound the basketball, we didn’t get the loose balls, At the half, they had more second-chance points – they had five or six fast-break points – and we had none. Everything, everything (went wrong).”
Usually,…
No. 13 Hoosiers hold on to upset No. 3 North Carolina 76-67
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) OG Anunoby scored 16 points, James Blackmon Jr. had 14 and Robert Johnson added 11 Wednesday night, leading No. 13 Indiana past No. 3 North Carolina 76-67 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The Hoosiers (5-1) have won two straight since last week’s stunning loss to little-known IPFW.
In that game, Johnson struggled, Blackmon injured his knee and Anunoby tried to play through an illness. This time, they helped Indiana start fast and fend off the Tar Heels‘ second-half charges to close it out. Anunoby was injured at the end of the game and needed help to get to the locker room.
There was no immediate word on what Anunoby’s injury was though he appeared to land awkwardly after a dunk with 1:36 to go.
”The way he played tonight is the way we expect him (Anunoby) to play on a consistent basis,” Johnson said. ”The way he came out determined to get on the…
Allen leads No. 5 Duke past Michigan State 78-69
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Grayson Allen keeps putting up huge numbers for No. 5 Duke. Imagine how much more impressive they might be if he were healthy enough to practice.
Allen scored 24 points, Luke Kennard added 20 and the Blue Devils beat Michigan State 78-69 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Allen has been dealing with lingering foot injuries for the past two weeks, with coach Mike Krzyzewski saying he hurt his toe before the Penn State game on Nov. 19 and limped through the Rhode Island game the next day. He checked out of the Appalachian State game early three days ago when he reinjured the toe.
”Grayson does not practice one second,” Krzyzewski said. ”So when he’s out on that court, it’s a gutty performance. … That kid has played unbelievably, and he’s limping.”
Amile Jefferson had 17 points and 13 rebounds while freshman Frank Jackson finished with 11 points and keyed a timely 11-0 run for the Blue Devils (7-1), who won their fourth straight despite shooting just 27 percent from 3-point range.
Eron Harris scored 14 points for Michigan State (4-4). Playing their first game as an unranked team since March 2015, the Spartans had 18 turnovers – ”Too much AAU ball, not enough college ball,” coach Tom Izzo said. Star freshman Miles Bridges was held to 11 points – six fewer than his team-leading average – on 4-of-13 shooting.
”I didn’t think Miles played as hard as he’s been playing,” Izzo said. ”He’d been playing hard, and just got caught…
March Madness’ Top 10 Players, Ranked by PeekScore
Taylor University’s Silent Night
At Taylor University (PeekYou school search here) in Upland, Indiana, the Friday night before December finals is deemed “Silent Night.” During that evening’s basketball game, the crowd remains completely, eerily quiet until Taylor scores its tenth point of the game; at which time, well… The video above explains it far better than we could.