Latest news with #RJSmith
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
No. 16 seed Colorado deals No. 8 seed WVU's NCAA hopes a blow with 67-60 Big 12 tourney win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Elijah Malone scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, helping No. 16 seed Colorado deal No. 8 seed West Virginia's at-large NCAA Tournament hopes a massive blow with a 67-60 victory in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday. RJ Smith added 13 points for the plucky and persistent Buffaloes (14-19), who beat TCU in the opening round and now get a shot at second-ranked Houston — the top seed in the tournament — in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. The Mountaineers (19-13) were leading 46-37 with under 10 minutes to go when they turned it over on seven straight possessions. Colorado seized the momentum and ran off 15 points to take a 52-46 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left. West Virginia fought back to within 56-53 with 2:13 left, but Malone scored again in the paint and Smith buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Buffaloes a cushion they were able to hold until the finish. Javon Small had 23 points to lead the Mountaineers, who began the day No. 41 in the NET rankings, thanks in large part to their strong schedule. They have six Quad 1 wins, which is an important factor considered by the NCAA selection committee. Now, the Mountaineers have a long and tense wait for Selection Sunday. Takeaways Colorado coach Tad Boyle has made it clear he intends to return next season, but he certainly doesn't appear to be done with this season, either. There has never been a No. 16 seed in the Big 12 Tournament so his guys are making history. West Virginia will rue the 5-minute stretch in the second half when it continually turned the ball over. Several of them came as Colorado slapped on a full-court press, but others were silly half-court mistakes. Key moment Colorado's second-half run was the difference in the game. Key stats The Buffaloes were 18 of 22 from the foul line, including Andrej Jakimovski's clinchers with 10 seconds to go. Up next The Buffaloes play the Cougars on Thursday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and The Associated Press
Reuters
23-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Andrej Jakimovski helps Colorado stun Baylor
February 22 - Andrej Jakimovski scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists Saturday as Colorado rallied in the second half to upset NCAA Tournament hopeful Baylor 76-74 in Big 12 play at Boulder, Colo. RJ Smith added 13 points for the Buffaloes (11-16, 2-14 Big 12), who hit 58.3 percent of their shots in the second half and also made 13 of 17 free throws. Julian Hammond III contributed 12 points and Sebastian Rancik tallied 10 points. Norchad Omier stood out with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Bears (16-11, 8-8), his 15th double-double of the season and the 83rd of his career. But it wasn't enough to prevent his team from suffering a bad loss that could affect its NCAA hopes. Langston Love added 17 points, while Jeremy Roach and Jalen Celestine hit for 11 each. But second-leading scorer VJ Edgecombe, who was averaging 15 points per game, made just 2 of 9 shots and finished with eight points. Trevor Baskin's three-point play with 6:43 left gave Colorado the lead for good at 62-59, starting a 12-2 run that gave it a 10-point advantage with 4:32 left after two Bangot Dak foul shots. Edgecombe's follow dunk with 4.0 seconds remaining got Baylor within two but it didn't have enough time to finish the comeback. The main storyline prior to tip-off was whether Baylor could take advantage of a softer stretch late in the season with three of its next four games against teams with no realistic chance of earning an NCAA bid. But the Bears couldn't get off the mark right away, managing just 10 points in the first 10 minutes and falling behind 18-12 with 7:24 left when Smith converted a short jumper off Baskin's feed. Baylor finally gained some traction late in the half behind Love, who scored 10 points in the final 3:51. The last three came on a 23-footer from the wing with a second left, enabling the Bears to take a 32-30 edge to the break despite making only 9 of 36 attempts from the field.
