Latest news with #MidwestRegion
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Here's how much average Midwest gas prices rose from last week
Regional gas prices rose last week and reached an average of $3.03 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, up from last week's price of $2.98 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average fuel price in the Midwest region slightly rose about 2 cents since last month. According to the EIA, gas prices across the region in the last year have been as low as $2.81 on Dec. 9, 2024, and as high as $3.48 on July 29, 2024. A year ago, the average gas price in the Midwest region was 9% higher at $3.32 per gallon. >> INTERACTIVE: See how your area's gas prices have changed over the years at . The average gas price in the United States last week was $3.17, making prices in the Midwest region about 4.6% lower than the nation's average. The average national gas price is higher than last week's average of $3.12 per gallon. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's tally of prices in the Midwest states includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Average Midwest gas prices rose from last week
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama vs Purdue basketball date set: Here's what we know about marquee rematch
Alabama vs Purdue basketball date set: Here's what we know about marquee rematch Nate Oats' Alabama Crimson Tide will face Purdue basketball for the third straight year when the two teams meet in the 2025 nonconference schedule. A date for the Boilermakers' trip to Tuscaloosa as part of a home-and-home series was confirmed by the school Tuesday. Alabama and Purdue will meet Thursday, Nov. 13 at Coleman Coliseum. Since the game is in Tuscaloosa and both teams finished the 2024-25 season ranked in the top 15 in the major polls, it's hard to imagine Alabama-Purdue won't make it to one of ESPN, ESPN2 or SEC Network. Purdue finished 24-12 overall and went 13-7 in regular-season Big Ten play last season, including an 87-78 win over Alabama in the fourth game of the season on Nov. 15 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell 62-60 to the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars in the Sweet 16 of the Midwest Region in Indianapolis. Alabama finished 28-9 (13-5 SEC) and made it to the East Region finals (Elite Eight) of the tournament before falling 85-65 to No. 1 seed Duke. The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 6 in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll this year. Purdue was ranked No. 12 in the Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the AP poll. The Tide and Boilermakers have met 10 times dating back to 1976. Purdue leads the all-time series, 7-3. This year's matchup will mark the third straight year the schools have met in the nonconference schedule. Alabama fell 92-86 to Purdue in December 2023 in Toronto. Alabama is also scheduled to face the Arizona Wildcats as part of its 2025 nonconference schedule. The Tide and Wildcats will meet on Dec. 13 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, it was announced last week. Per Oats' custom, Alabama will have one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Tide are scheduled to face Illinois in Chicago in nonconference play and make another trip to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival. Another marquee opponent from the ACC will await Alabama in the annual SEC/ACC Challenge, which pitted the Crimson Tide against North Carolina last season. Keep up with Alabama's busy offseason by visiting Roll Tide Wire's 2025-26 roster and transfer portal tracker. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Houston's defense carries Cougars into 7th Final Four with 69-50 March Madness win over Tennessee
INDIANAPOLIS — Houston's relentless, harassing defense had Tennessee's shooters dancing around. Now, the Cougars are two-stepping it back to Texas. L.J. Cryer finished with 17 points, Emanuel Sharp scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the nation's stingiest defense delivered a historic NCAA Tournament performance, leading top-seeded Houston past second-seeded Tennessee 69-50 on Sunday for the Midwest Region title and its seventh trip to the Final Four.
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
March Madness highlights: Auburn joins Houston in men's Final Four; UCLA, South Carolina women advance
March Madness continued Sunday with four more Elite Eight games in the men's and women's NCAA tournaments. The men's Final Four is set: Houston rolled past Tennessee in the Midwest Region final, and top overall seed Auburn beat Michigan State in the South Region final. Those winners will join Duke and Florida next weekend in San Antonio. In the women's bracket, defending champion South Carolina outlasted Duke to return to the Final Four for the fifth straight season, and Lauren Betts and UCLA held off Flau'jae Johnson and LSU to reach the national semifinals for the first time in program history. Two more teams will punch their tickets Monday night. Here are the brackets for the men's and women's tournaments. Continue reading for highlights and analysis from Sunday's games. The men's Final Four will tip off Saturday at 6:09 p.m. with a game between Auburn and Florida, which defeated the Tigers in February. Then, in a game scheduled to tip off at 8:49 p.m., Duke will take on Houston. The contests will take place at San Antonio's Alamodome. With Johni Broome leading the way — and showing toughness — top-seeded Auburn got past No. 2 seed Michigan State, 70-64, to win the South Region. The Tigers move on to the second Final Four in program history and will face SEC rival Florida in a national semifinal. Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and he made a dramatic return to the court after briefly going to the locker room in the second half with arm, elbow and ankle injuries. Michigan State got the steal it needed and got the ball to the right shooter — Jaden Akins — but he missed a three-pointer from the left corner and Auburn grabbed the rebound. After a made free throw, the Tigers retained a 70-61 lead with under 30 seconds to play. Another Jaden Akins three-pointer has his Michigan State squad down by a 69-61 margin with less than a minute to play. If the Tigers can take care of the ball, this may come down to their ability to hit clutch free throws. Jaden Akins may have saved Michigan State's season, at least for the moment, with a three-pointer made with only 2:15 to play. That cut the Spartans' deficit to nine points, 64-55, and kept them in striking distance of what would still need to be a remarkable comeback. Auburn is up by 12 over Michigan State by under four minutes to play and has received a major lift with the return of Johni Broome, who promptly grabbed a rebound and hit a three-pointer. The Spartans have made just 3 of 17 from deep. To a roar from Auburn fans, Johni Broome has not only returned from the locker room but he's back on the court. Broome was said to have an ankle injury as well as an issue with his right elbow. The CBS telecast reported he received an X-ray examination in the locker room. The Spartans are still down by 10, at 52-42 with 7:30 left to play, but they will go to the line for free throws after a break. It remains to be seen when or if Johni Broome will return to the game for Auburn. He was last seen heading to the locker room to receive additional treatment on his injured arm. Johni Broome briefly left the game with a right shoulder injury, then returned but quickly fell to the court with another apparent arm injury. The game paused as he remained on the floor, getting treatment, before walking slowly back to the bench. Auburn is finding success with Johni Broome setting a screen near the top of the key, slipping it and getting the ball for drives straight down the lane. He made a tough layup on one of those possessions and dunked through traffic on another. Broome has a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Michigan State cut its deficit to five points early in the second half before an Auburn mini-run pushed it up to 10. Then a Jaxon Kohler made the score 40-32 as a TV timeout arrived with under 16 minutes to play. The Tigers' Chad Baker-Mazara ended a run of eight straight missed shots from deep by his team. With a nine-point halftime lead, Auburn is 20 minutes away from making it four out of four No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four. Since the NCAA men's tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, this has happened just once. In 2008, top-seeded Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA made the national semifinals, with the Jayhawks emerging triumphant. ESPN's Holly Rowe, who had reported during LSU's game that Aneesah Morrow broke her nose, subsequently corrected that to say it is not fractured. 'Heard them say it was 'busted' but I guess they meant bleeding and busted open,' Rowe wrote on X. Morrow also told reporters her nose was not broken. Auburn has a 33-24 halftime lead over Michigan State on the strength of 17 points from star forward Johni Broome, who has made seven of nine shots and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jase Richardson's nine points paced the Spartans. All other players have combined to make 12 of 49 field goal attempts. To no one's surprise, a Tom Izzo team is showing some toughness and refusing to get simply blown off the court. That's the good news: Michigan State has stopped the bleeding after top-seeded Auburn took a lopsided early lead. However, the Spartans are still down by eight, 27-19, with 3:28 to go in the first half. They need better shooting. To LSU's credit, it never let the game get away completely, but UCLA was ultimately able to keep the Tigers at bay for a 72-65 win. The Bruins, who held the No. 1 seed in the Spokane 1 Region, were thus able to emerge from it and reach the Final Four. Auburn built its early lead to 23-8 before going through a scoring drought that has allowed Michigan State to score seven unanswered points and cut its deficit to 23-15. Even with the recent spurt in what has been a game of runs thus far, the Spartans have made just five of 21 shots, with 2 of 12 from deep. What a terrible end to her collegiate career for Aneesah Morrow. She had just two points with no rebounds after her nose was broken. Had she not been injured, LSU might very well have knocked off UCLA, which squeaked by, 72-65. Lauren Betts finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. UCLA advances to its first Final Four. Auburn is on a 14-0 run to grab a 20-8 lead. The Tigers have made nine of 14 shots, compared to 3 of 13 for Michigan State. LSU has not helped itself one bit with some poor offensive decisions — Kailyn Gilbert has killed her team with quick shots, going 0 for 7 — but it's hard to find flow when you're playing against five players plus the refs. Of all people, it's Aneesah Morrow, she of the broken nose, who just fouled out. Auburn grabbed an early 4-0 lead, then Michigan State went on an 8-2 run to take a brief lead. With over four minutes played, it's 10-8, Tigers, after Miles Kelly made a pair of baskets for them. Auburn star Johni Broome has six points on 3-of-3 shooting. LSU cannot get a call and absolutely everything is going UCLA's way. The Bruins had not scored a field goal since the 6:54 mark but the refs did everything they could to keep the Bruins alive. Gabriela Jaquez bailed them out with a three-pointer at the 1:30 mark. It's 62-55 with 1:14 to go. Flau'jae Johnson scored six straight and LSU made a terrific defensive stand for an 8-0 run to make it 56-53 at the 3:00 mark. Give UCLA credit for this: Its ball movement and action have been terrific. The Bruins have 14 assists on 20 field goals, and they have stretched and pulled LSU's defense in all directions. But just like that, Flau'jae Johnson has come alive to trigger a 6-0 run for her team — and LSU forced four UCLA turnovers to cut it to 56-51 with 4:17 to go. Auburn, the top seed in the South Region, has tipped off its game against No. 2 seed Michigan State. The Tigers got to this round with a win over Michigan, while the Spartans got past Mississippi. MSU Coach Tom Izzo is trying to reach the Final Four for the ninth time. There is a real dissonance for a basketball fan who goes back and forth between the NCAA men's and women's games: The officiating on the men's side is much closer, the players much better protected. Too often, fans of the women's games have to watch rugby-like contact, which affects the quality of offense. This bloodbath is a six-point game. UCLA leads 51-45 with 8:08 to go. Aneesah Morrow is back on the court, but clearly tentative. This is a real shame and it's on the refs for not getting a grip on Lauren Betts's physical play earlier. When you forearm an opponent hard enough to snap her chin back, when your elbow is high enough to connect with a chin, it's time for refs to step in. ESPN reported on its game telecast that Aneesah Morrow suffered a broken nose and nevertheless would return to the game, despite not having a protective mask to wear. Aneesah Morrow went down on the floor, badly shaken up — just as LSU cut UCLA's lead to five. Bruins center Lauren Betts piled into Sa'Myah Smith, whose head snapped back and hit Morrow in the face. Morrow has a bloody nose. Betts used a forearm and made enough contact to whip Smith's head back. Yet there was no foul? Come on. Morrow has been LSU's most reliable player today: She has 13 points and seven rebounds and has been critical in limiting Betts and keeping her team's hopes alive. LSU was down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but the Tigers cut LSU's lead to 46-41 by the end of the third quarter. Flau'jae Johnson scored eight points during the rally, but LSU standout Aneesah Morrow had to go to the locker room with an apparent injury to her face. It's hard to describe how flat-footed and stagnant LSU has looked on offense: The Tigers are up to 14 turnovers, nine from their backcourt. Yet they caught a break: Flau'jae Johnson was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three free throws to cut it to single digits, 44-37. Houston became the third men's team to move on to the Final Four, advancing with a comfortable 69-50 victory over Tennessee. After a dismal first half in which they scored 15 points, the Volunteers fought to avoid a blowout in the second half, energized by Jordan Gainey. He was the only Tennessee player to make 50 percent of his shots and the Volunteers got within 50-40 at the 5:33 mark before the Cougars closed it out, shutting down a team that had averaged 74 points a game. LSU's Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams are a combined 5 for 16 from the field with nine turnovers. And their team is loafing. This is the most uncharacteristic performance from a Kim Mulkey squad in a long time. Some sarcasm out of the small but loud Houston contingent. As Tennessee fans head for the exits, the red pocket behind the Cougars bench bellows: 'S E C! S E C!' A dig at the conference to which their latest vanquished opponent belongs. LSU jogged down the floor, and the result was another deep make from UCLA, this one from Gabriela Jaquez. Kim Mulkey called timeout again, livid at her team, down 43-29. The Tigers are letting their lack of offense affect their entire effort, and they could get embarrassed if this continues. After Tennessee closed to within 10 points at 50-40, Houston had quite the answer. The Cougars made three three-pointers in as many attempts, including one from well beyond the arc, then hit another. The score is 62-47 with under three minutes to go. LSU followed an airball with a flat-footed, fumble-fingered turnover to start the second half, and UCLA capitalized with a three from Londynn Jones. The Bruins are making shots: They've hit 6 of 11 from the arc to lead by 11, and Kim Mulkey just took a timeout with hands on her hips. The Tigers are seriously off, and if they don't get right this will snowball. I hate it when women's teams don't make shots. The great thing about the Caitlin Clark era at Iowa, and about Connecticut every year, is that NCAA tournament games are determined by makes instead of misses. But so far today the games are being determined by some unsightly offense. A case in point: Aneesah Morrow opened the second half for LSU with an airball. Strictly speaking, LSU can rally for a win against UCLA without Mikaylah Williams turning things around, but it sure would help if she did. The Tigers' third-leading scorer, at 17.5 points per game, Williams has just two today on 1-of-6 shooting, and she has committed five of LSU's nine turnovers. Tennessee's sixth man Jordan Gainey is carrying his Volunteers around as if they're his carry-on luggage. While Gainey is 6 for 11, the rest of the team is 8 for 35, and the Vols are still warding off a blowout because of Gainey's efforts. At the half, top-seeded UCLA has a 31-25 lead over No. 2 LSU. Down by four points after the first quarter, the Bruins outscored the Tigers 22-12 in the second frame. Timea Gardiner was big off the bench for UCLA with a trio of three-pointers for a team-high nine points. LSU star Aneesah Morrow also has a team-high nine points. Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes isn't a screamer, but he was livid at the officials during the last timeout. Well, 'livid' for a mild-mannered man like Barnes. There haven't been many fouls called here, despite Houston's stifling defense, so I doubt that was the focus of his concern. Nevertheless, his team's down 15 with a Final Four appearance on the line. UCLA flamed the net from the three, hitting five of 10 attempts, while LSU was a mess offensively with nine turnovers. The Bruins outscored the Tigers 22-12 in the second quarter even with Lauren Betts on the bench with two fouls, and they go into the halftime locker room with a lead You wonder if Lauren Betts going to the bench with two fouls lulled LSU into complacency. There's been a significant drop in the Tigers' energy. 'Toughness, just toughness,' Kim Mulkey told ESPN of her team between quarters. 'This is the Elite Eight. We're here to stay.' She also explained her bouquet-like rig. 'I'm a Loosianana girl, this is the state flower.' LSU's offensive woes continue: the Tigers are just eight for 30 with seven turnovers, and they now trail even though UCLA's Lauren Betts has been on the bench. The Bruins are on a 12-2 run over the last four minutes, including a pair of three-pointers from Timea Gardiner. After scoring only 15 points in the first half, Tennessee has found some range, with Jordan Gainey leading the way in a mini-run. Gainey is the only Tennessee player shooting over 50 percent, making 6 of 10 shots, and has made 2 of 5 from three-point range. He leads Tennessee with 14 points. So far LSU and UCLA are not at all pretty. The Tigers lead, 13-9, at the end of the first quarter, after making just six of 20 shots. For the Bruins, Lauren Betts has six points and the rest of her team is just one for 10. Here in the second half, Houston big man J'Wan Roberts is no longer confined to the sideline with foul trouble. Back on the court, Roberts silenced a mini Tennessee run. The Volunteers had scored five straight to slice the lead to 36-20, until Roberts went to work inside, scored the layup and absorbed the contact. And one. Paige Bueckers is projected as the top pick in the WNBA draft, but keep an eye on LSU's forward Aneesah Morrow, who might be more bang for the buck, at No. 2. She's averaging a monstrous 18.8 points and 13.7 rebounds a game and shoots nearly 50 percent from the field. Morrow has six career double-doubles in the NCAA tournament. UCLA's Lauren Betts just picked up her second foul in the final minute of the first quarter, for throwing an elbow. To return to Duke for just a moment, the more you think about it, the more it's remarkable that the Blue Devils had 16 empty possessions in the final 10 minutes against South Carolina, yet their defense was so ferocious that they still had a crack at a game-winning shot against the regnant team in the nation. When they get a little bit more offense, they are going to be something to reckon with. We have purple velvet. We have sequins. We have large appliqué flowers. We have very pointy spike heels. We have Kim Mulkey. Duke missed 12 shots in the final quarter, and had four turnovers. Can't beat South Carolina that way, even when you hold the Gamecocks almost 30 points under their average. But it was a hell of a try by the Blue Devils. It's halftime in Indianapolis and Houston looks ready to advance to the Final Four. The Cougars are stomping on cold-shooting Tennessee and hit the break leading, 34-15. The Vols, pressed and impatient, have made only six of their 28 field goal attempts, which equals just 21.4 percent. They're 1 for 15 from 3-point land. For much of the game, it appeared that there might not be a repeat NCAA champion this year, but South Carolina came on strong in the fourth quarter, overcoming Duke's defense and its own inaccuracies to win 54-50. The victory made South Carolina the first team to advance to Friday's Final Four, where the Gamecocks will play the winner of Monday's Texas-TCU game. Kim Mulkey's third-seeded LSU Tigers (31-5) hope to win a second national title in the last three years, but the eye injury sustained by Flau'Jae Johnson in the team's last game is a concern. Still, Mulkey expects she'll play against top-seeded UCLA (33-2). This is a rematch of the teams' 2024 Elite Eight game, a 78-69 win by LSU. Chloe Kitts hit the dagger free throws for a four-point lead and South Carolina advances to its fifth straight Final Four, running its NCAA Tournament record to 19-1. The final score was 54-50, and Duke will bemoan missed layups and two crucial turnovers in the final 90 seconds. It was right there for the Blue Devils, they just didn't execute. Ashlon Jackson threw up a desperate three — and it was an air ball. It was a quick shot and can't be what Kara Lawson wanted. Ooooooooh!!! Offensive foul on Bree Hall before the ball was inbounded! Duke has the ball with 29 seconds to either tie or win. Duke has two critical turnovers in the last 90 seconds, and South Carolina has the ball up 52-50 with 32.6 seconds left. The Blue Devils just got rattled and made two poor passes straight in the hands of the Gamecocks. They've still got a chance if they can make a stop. You know during timeouts when they play all the upbeat songs to get the crowd hyped up and dancing? Well, during this last timeout at the 4:52 mark and Shaboozey's tipsy song blasting through the arena, it feels dead. That's because the heavy Vols crowd is in no mood to sing and dance with their team struggling to score. Duke is two fouls and about one minute from being defenseless because of foul trouble. Look for Dawn Staley to go with her heavies down low the rest of the way. There is Jayden Donavan's fourth foul for Duke and she leaves the floor with 5:19 to go. Delaney Thomas also has four fouls. Look for South Carolina to go heavy inside. Duke finally gets one after what was nearly a five-minute scoreless stretch. Right now Duke is just chucking and begging for whistles, and South Carolina is taking advantage; the Blue Devils' are forcing it down low, quick-shooting and short-arming it, and have lost the nice sense of flow they had in the third quarter. They've missed five contested layups. South Carolina is on a 10-0 run to take the lead, 46-42. Duke can't nurse this game along with just defense. The Blue Devils have to make shots, and they continue to struggle to finish, shooting just 29 percent. That won't do it. Jayden Donovan is playing with three fouls for Duke. Keep an eye on that situation, because her imposing presence down low has been the factor in South Carolina's struggles to finish. Houston's J'Wan Roberts picked up his second foul at the 12:59 mark and wqass exiled to the bench for the time being. Thanks to an 11-2 run and the Volunteers' 2-for-13 shooting from the field, Houston is up 17-6. 'This is THE hardest game to win,' South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley told ESPN in the pregame. All the pressure is on the Gamecocks, who are trying to reach a fifth straight Final Four, and don't want to be the outfit that breaks the streak. Duke on the other hand is hungry and ambitious, with nothing to lose. But the Blue Devils are unproven. Staley just told ESPN, 'the game's gonna be won on the broken plays, loose balls.' She repeated, 'It's hard, it's hard, this game is hard.' Houston's defense is forcing Tennessee into rushed threes or off-balance interior looks. The Volunteers take a timeout, they might need a deep reset here: 1 for 11 with only four points through the opening eight-plus minutes. South Carolina appeared to get going with a nice four-point flurry on midrange jumpers from Ta-Hina Paopao, but Duke's Ashlon Jackson responded with another deeeeeep three, and at the end of a hectic third quarter the Blue Devils cling to a 42-38 lead. This is a shocking performance for the Gamecocks, who roll up 80 points a game. Pardon the Volunteers if they look at little tight. They've never beaten a No. 1 seed in six tries in the NCAA tournament. The most recent loss came last year to Purdue, also in the Elite Eight. Houston was seeded correctly at No. 1, but once again the Cougars have a disadvantage in this Indianapolis regional. So much orange covering the stands inside Lucas Oil Stadium (Knoxville's just five hours away from Indy), with one committed pocket of red behind the Cougars' bench. Duke has won four straight games when trailing at the half; thanks to ESPN's chyron for that interesting stat. The span includes the ACC title game and three NCAA tournament rounds. Gamers. Houston and Tennessee are meeting for the sixth time — and the first in the NCAA tournament — with the Volunteers holding a 3-2 edge. It also marks the meeting of Rick Barnes and Kelvin Sampson, coaches and longtime friends who happen to have the most wins without a national title. Barnes has 836 wins, Sampson 797. Kara Lawson is an old friend of yours truly, so there is an inherent bias, but she's looking like a future candidate for coaching awards. It's not just that Lawson made some adjustments to find open looks for her players, but she's got them looking relaxed. That's a neat trick with a Final Four trip at stake. Duke opens up the second half with seven straight points to take a 29-26 lead with some terrific movement, looking relaxed and in flow. Tennessee pulled out all the stops, hoping for a little Peyton Manning juju, hours before the Volunteers faced Houston with a Final Four berth on the line. For stat nuts: Duke's defense is on track to hold South Carolina nearly 30 points under its 80.5 average. One of the reasons the Gamecocks are so unproductive right now is their bench, which has chipped in just seven points. Normally, it's the highest scoring bench in the country, averaging a contribution of 41.5 points per game. But you know which team is No. 2 in bench contribution? Duke, which has gotten a dozen points from reserve Toby Fournier, its one reliable scorer so far. Duke had its own struggles offensively, going scoreless over the last 2:19, and shooting just 25.8 percent, including 2 of 8 from the three point arc. South Carolina scored just one point in the last 6:16 mark of the second quarter, with four turnovers in that segment. The Gamecocks lead just 26-22 at halftime, and the defensive pressure has been so great that both teams are rushing and short arming shots. If you like old time hockey, it's a hell of a game. South Carolina took a 26-22 lead over Duke after a first half marked by an abundance of traveling calls. The Gamecocks struggled to find an open shot for most of the half — as did the Blue Devils. But Duke, after trailing by 11, went on an 8-1 run late in the half to cut into South Carolina's lead. WOW! Ashlon Jackson of Duke just drained a deep three and the Blue Devils are suddenly on an 8-0 run to cut it to 25-22 after trailing by 11. South Carolina is in a four-plus minute scoring slump. The defensive pressure between South Carolina and Duke is so intense that there have been half a dozen travel calls so far. Boy, Duke is having trouble controlling the ball, and finishing. But it's a typical early problem. They fell behind North Carolina 11-0 the other night. 'Do y'all. The shots will fall,' Kara Lawson told her team. But you've got to have the ball to shoot it, and they've turned it over eight times, including three of their last four possessions. South Carolina has had some issues finding openings, but taken advantage of what's there: The Gamecocks are three of five from the arc, and that's basically the difference as they lead Duke, 25-14. That, and the efficiency of the bruising Sania Feagin in the post. She's finishing through contact in a way the Blue Devils haven't so far. The premium was on defense in the first quarter for South Carolina and Duke, and the result was somewhat messy, as they combined for eight turnovers — four apiece — and half a dozen fouls. The Gamecocks struggled find an open shot, while the Blue Devils were just 4 of 16. Duke's Jadyn Donovan picked up her second foul and took a seat on the bench with just over a minute left in the first quarter. For aspiring young coaches: Duke's Kara Lawson was of course a protégé of her college mentor Pat Summitt. She's described what she took from Summitt, and what made Summitt so great, better than arguably anyone. South Carolina is out to an eight-point lead over Duke, much to the displeasure of actor and Duke alum Ken Jeong. Duke has hit just one of seven shots to open its Elite Eight meeting with South Carolina, not a great sign. That number includes some point blanks off the glass. A defending champion with a No. 1 seed and 33-3 record might not seem vulnerable, but South Carolina is coming off a 71-67 victory over Maryland that 'was definitely a little messy,' freshman Joyce Edwards said. Now, the Gamecocks face second-seeded Duke (29-7), which shot 31 percent but held North Carolina to 38 points in a 47-38 win. INDIANAPOLIS — As his players did most of the talking, crowing about the merits of 'Tennessee basketball,' Rick Barnes mainly just sat there. In quiet reflection, Barnes, the Volunteers' coach for the past decade, rested his face on the palm of his hand during a postgame news conference. He thought only about gratitude. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The vitriol rained down on Hailey Van Lith last season. She had transferred to LSU and just wasn't the same player who averaged nearly 20 points as a junior at Louisville the season before. She had a career-low shooting percentage, and her points per game dropped to under 12, barely over her output from her freshman year. SAN FRANCISCO — With about three minutes remaining, it looked as if Florida would suffer a favorite's death. It's the worst way to go in the NCAA tournament, losing all that popularity in 40 minutes that no one saw coming. Kevin Willard is leaving his position as Maryland men's basketball coach after three seasons to take the same job at Villanova, according to people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, ending a saga that started just before the Terrapins began play in the NCAA tournament this month and stretched through their exit Thursday night in the Sweet 16. SPOKANE, Wash. — Geno Auriemma, the legendary architect of Connecticut's women's basketball powerhouse, bluntly laid out the potential pitfalls when a star suffers a season-ending injury: Sometimes the remaining players overcompensate by trying to replicate their more talented teammate's many contributions, and sometimes they remain frozen in 'mourning,' unable to turn the page. NEWARK — The widespread custom of disliking Duke, an art form practiced and cherished and honed by thousands if not millions, just reached some of its most challenging rapids to date. Disliking the Duke team that just reached the program's 18th Final Four would require a rarefied state of prudishness, confining a hater to an unusually misanthropic dungeon of attempted reasoning. For one thing, that person would have to set aside any appreciation whatsoever for, you know, basketball. When Sunday's games have ended, the men's Final Four will be complete — will it be all No. 1 seeds? — and the first two women's Final Four teams will have been revealed.
Miami Herald
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Houston clamps down on Tennessee, clinching return to Final Four
INDIANAPOLIS -- LJ Cryer delivered 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists as No. 1 seed Houston dominated early and pulled away late for a 69-50 victory over No. 2 Tennessee in the Midwest Region final Sunday. The Cougars (34-4) claimed their first Final Four berth since 2021 by throttling the Vols with the nation's best defense. Houston's man-to-man harassed Tennessee into missing its first 14 3-point attempts -- and 22 of its first 27 shots overall -- to build a 22-point lead that never got smaller than 10. Houston's quest for its first NCAA title-game appearance since 1984 will continue Saturday in San Antonio against Duke. The only other meeting between the Blue Devils and Cougars came in last year's Sweet Sixteen -- when Duke claimed a 54-51 win in Dallas. Emanuel Sharp scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 10 minutes for Houston, which never trailed. The Cougars won the boards by a 42-35 margin while forcing Tennessee into 28.8 percent shooting from the field and 5 of 29 from 3-point range. Jordan Gainey produced 17 points off the bench and Chaz Lanier added 17 to pace Tennessee (30-8), which came one step shy of its first Final Four appearance for the second year in a row. When Zakai Zeigler finally cashed a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in the first half -- ending their 0-for-14 start from long range -- the pro-Tennessee crowd issued a muted mixture of roars, exhales and Bronx cheers. Houston carried a 34-15 lead into halftime, which inspired Tennessee to start pressing full-court to force the action. Gainey did his best to get the Vols back into it -- drilling a 3-pointer, a putback, a driving scoop and another 3-pointer in a 2:23 stretch -- to slice Houston's lead to 44-30 with 13:19 to go. The Vols got as close as 50-40 on Darlinstone Dubar's free throw with 5:42 left. Sharp answered 13 seconds later with a triple. Gainey slashed to the hoop, but rimmed his lefty layup. Sharp and Mylik Wilson responded with 3-pointers to boost the lead to 59-42 with 4:04 to play and send some Tennessee fans to the exits -- ignoring the reminder by the public address announcer about the severe weather and tornado watch blanketing the Indianapolis area like the Houston defense. --Lindsey Willhite, Field Level Media Field Level Media 2023 - All Rights Reserved
