THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE THREAD

Discussion in 'Men's College Basketball' started by EPJr, Mar 23, 2013.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Shabazz Napier clutch as No. 21 UConn edges No. 13 Cincy

    Sitting at home in the postseason a year ago is something that stuck with the Connecticut Huskies, and they are busy making up for lost time.

    Shabazz Napier hit a free throw with 11.1 seconds left as No. 21 Connecticut held off 13th-ranked Cincinnati 58-56 Friday night to advance to the American Athletic Conference tournament final.

    The Huskies (26-7) were barred from last year's tournament in the Big East and the NCAA tournament, and now they are back in their first tournament final since 2011 when they won the national championship. They will play another former Big East team for the inaugural American tournament title Saturday in No. 5 Louisville, a 94-65 winner over Houston.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546435
     
  2. truebluefan

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    No. 5 Louisville beats No. 21 UConn for inaugural AAC title

    Rick Pitino switched from coach to lobbyist the moment his Louisville Cardinals won their third straight conference tournament title.

    Of course, Pitino thinks the defending national champs deserve a No. 1 seed, even if he knows they likely won't get one.

    Montrezl Harrell had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and fifth-ranked Louisville beat No. 21 Connecticut 71-61 Saturday for the inaugural American Athletic Conference title in the Cardinals' lone season in the league.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546628
     
  3. truebluefan

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    SMU beats UC-Irvine 68-54 in NIT

    Cannen Cunningham scored 17 points to lead SMU to a 68-54 victory Wednesday night over UC-Irvine in the first round of the NIT, giving Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown his first college postseason victory in 26 years.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546960
     
  4. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    UConn holds on to outlast Saint Joseph's in overtime

    Turns out, Jim Calhoun left Connecticut in good hands.

    With Calhoun watching from the stands, the Huskies continued their winning NCAA tournament tradition thanks to a holdover player in senior guard Shabazz Napier and a new coach, Kevin Ollie.

    Napier shook off several misses -- including a 3-point attempt at the second-half buzzer -- to score nine of his 24 points in overtime in UConn's 89-81 win over Saint Joseph's in the second round of the tournament Thursday night. It came in Ollie's tournament debut behind the bench, two years after health issues forced Calhoun to step down, and a year after the Huskies were barred from postseason play because of academic sanctions.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546936
     
  5. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Louisville comes alive late to squeak past Manhattan

    Now everyone knows why Louisville coach Rick Pitino wanted nothing to do with Manhattan.

    Luke Hancock hit two huge 3-pointers in the final 1:19 to help Louisville finally shake free from tenacious Manhattan and win 71-64 in the NCAA tournament Thursday night.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546903
     
  6. truebluefan

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    Michael Dixon Jr., Joe Jackson fight off ninth-seeded Colonials

    The chant started with one player in the Memphis locker room. Tigers forward Shaq Goodwin picked up on it, and it spread to a few other players who clapped with each syllable.

    "Big-shot Mike!" they chanted.

    Nobody on George Washington's team was arguing.

    Top sixth-man Michael Dixon Jr. scored 19 points and hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help Memphis hold off the Colonials 71-66 on Friday night in the second round of the East Regional.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400546933
     
  7. truebluefan

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    Louisville tops Saint Louis, reaches Sweet 16 for 3rd straight year

    It's not always pretty with Louisville. And sometimes, it's ugly by design.

    The defending national champions shrugged off poor shooting, 19 turnovers and a subpar performance by star Russ Smith and still won handily Saturday to get back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.

    "Everything's not going to be sweet or pretty," Smith said after a 66-51 victory over Saint Louis. "We're just getting the job done."

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400548508
     
  8. truebluefan

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    Shabazz Napier scores 25 to lead No. 7 UConn past No. 2 Villanova

    In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament.

    Now, the seventh-seeded Huskies are off to the East Regional semifinals in New York City to see how much more bracket busting they can do a year after being barred from the postseason because of academic sanctions.

    Second-seeded Villanova became the highest seed to fall so far after Napier scored 25 points in leading UConn to a 77-65 victory Saturday night. The win came on the heels of another upset in Buffalo, where Dayton, the 11th seed in the South, beat third-seeded Syracuse 55-53.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400548494
     
  9. truebluefan

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    Steve Masiello to USF

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    South Florida has hired Manhattan coach Steve Masiello to a five-year deal, multiple sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

    Masiello, who played at Kentucky and was an assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, led the Jaspers to the NCAA tournament this season and a near-upset of the Cardinals in the second round last week.

    He interviewed with new USF athletic director Mark Harlan on Monday.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...jaspers-become-head-coach-south-florida-bulls
     
  10. truebluefan

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    James Dickey resigns at Houston

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    James Dickey has resigned as coach of the Houston Cougars due to "private family matters," the school announced in a statement Monday, and ESPN.com sources say Houston Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson is being targeted as Dickey's replacement.

    Sampson was fired from Indiana in 2008 and hit with a five-year show cause by the NCAA after being caught making impermissible phone calls. He has since worked as an assistant in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and Rockets. Sampson has also been involved with NBA head coaching jobs.

    However, sources close to Sampson told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman that he misses the college game and is interested in the opening. One holdup, though, could be compensation.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...7415/james-dickey-steps-coach-houston-cougars
     
  11. truebluefan

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    Shabazz Napier, No. 7 seed UConn top Michigan St. to reach Final Four

    Shabazz Napier owed UConn.

    He could have transferred when academic sanctions barred the Huskies from the NCAA tournament his junior season. But the guard wanted to pay back the school for the joy of a national title his freshman year, for his struggles as a sophomore.

    Napier sure did that Sunday, carrying UConn back to the Final Four in front of thousands of roaring Huskies fans at Madison Square Garden. He scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half in a 60-54 upset of fourth-seeded Michigan State.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400549858
     
  12. truebluefan

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    Orlando Antigua new coach at USF

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    Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua has accepted an offer to become the head coach at South Florida, the school said Monday.

    The contract is for five years, sources said Monday.

    Antigua has been at Kentucky since 2009 and also was an assistant under Wildcats coach John Calipari at Memphis in 2008.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...tigua-accepts-offer-coach-south-florida-bulls
     
  13. truebluefan

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    SMU rallies past Clemson for NIT final berth

    Larry Brown already is the only head coach to win both an NCAA and NBA championship. Now he has a chance to add the NIT to his extensive resume -- in his old backyard, no less.

    Markus Kennedy scored 21 points, including the clinching three-point play, and SMU rallied from 13 down in the second half to beat Clemson 65-59 Tuesday night, sending its Hall of Fame coach into the NIT title game at Madison Square Garden.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400549370
     
  14. truebluefan

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    DeAndre Daniels sparks UConn to upset of Florida, title game trip

    Shabazz Napier looked up toward the Connecticut fans in the crowd at AT&T Stadium and held up one finger.

    The Huskies had just beaten overall No. 1 seed Florida 63-53 on Saturday in the Final Four. But Napier's gesture had another meaning.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400549976
     
  15. truebluefan

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    Shabazz Napier, UConn too much for Kentucky, seize national title

    Coaches and players left them. Others told them to go away.

    The guys who stuck around at UConn ended up with the last laugh and a pretty good prize to go with it: the national title.

    Shabazz Napier turned in another all-court masterpiece Monday night to lift the Huskies to a 60-54 win over Kentucky's freshmen and bring home a championship hardly anyone saw coming.

    Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400551234
     
  16. truebluefan

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    Shabazz Napier most outstanding

    Connecticut's exclusive club of elite guards welcomed a new member Monday night.

    Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the most outstanding player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky.

    "You're looking at the hungry Huskies," Napier told the crowd and TV audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you banned us."

    A year ago, the Huskies were preparing for their first season in the new American Athletic Conference after being booted from the Big East and not welcomed by any of the so-called power conferences. Jim Calhoun, who built the program, had left because of health problems. And most damaging -- the NCAA postseason ban had triggered an exodus of five key players to the NBA or other schools.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ecticut-huskies-named-most-outstanding-player
     
  17. truebluefan

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    Montrezl Harrell returning to L'ville

    Montrezl Harrell @MONSTATREZZ

    Been on my mind heavy but I love the feeling of being a Louisville cardinal an I will be wearing this for the next yr
     
  18. truebluefan

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    UConn, Kevin Ollie talk new deal

    UConn coach Kevin Ollie and the university are in negotiations to double his salary after Ollie led the Huskies to the national championship in April, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN on Friday.

    Ollie was paid $1.25 million this past season, his second as coach.

    He initially received a seven-month contract when he was hired to replace Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. In December 2012, Ollie was given a five-year contract worth $7.5 million.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...nn-huskies-kevin-ollie-talks-double-coach-pay
     
  19. truebluefan

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    Jermaine Lawrence transferring

    Sophomore forward Jermaine Lawrence is transferring from Cincinnati to be closer to his family.

    Lawrence said in a statement on Tuesday that his father is ill and he wants to go to a school closer to home. Lawrence grew up in Springfield Gardens, New York and attended Pope John XXIII High School in New Jersey.

    Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ine-lawrence-transferring-cincinnati-bearcats
     
  20. truebluefan

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