Minus any Pittsburgh teams, college basketball fans can still find local connections to NCAA Tournament
The 2026 NCAA Tournament field might be bereft of Pittsburgh teams, but the same couldn’t be said of connections to the city. Players and coaches with local roots, plus transfers from Pittsburgh-area teams, can be found all across the 68-team bracket, with First Four showdowns getting underway Tuesday and Wednesday....
Kennesaw State, Texas, NC State and Queens all notching firsts in the NCAA Tournament West Regon
Amir Abdur-Rahim will always hold a special place in Kennesaw State’s basketball history. Not only was he the first coach to lead the Owls to the NCAA Tournament, Abdur-Rahim set an example by the way he lived his life and coached his players. So when Kennesaw State reached the tournament...
Unbeaten UConn joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as No. 1 seeds for women’s NCAA Tournament
UConn was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday and enters March Madnes s needing six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in school history. The Huskies (34-0) are looking for their 13th national title and becoming the first team to repeat...
Tim Benz: VCU hoping to benefit from Pittsburgh pixie dust after A-10 Tournament winVideo
The coach from Philadelphia, whose team wears black and gold, beat the Flyers (with a guy named L’Etang) at PPG Paints Arena to win a basketball championship. A lot of that fails to compute, right? But there was no such confusion as to how coach Phil Martelli Jr. and his...
Duke, Arizona, Mich, Florida get top seeding for March Madness, Miami (Ohio) squeaks in as 11 seedVideo
Duke received the top overall seed for March Madness on Sunday, followed by Arizona, Michigan and Florida, each of whom would love a repeat of last season when all four No. 1s made it all the way to the Final Four. The top line was the most predictable thing to...
VCU silences Dayton supporters, wins Atlantic 10 tourney at PPG Paints Arena
As the confetti began to fly Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena following No. 2 seed VCU’s triumphant 70-62 victory against No. 4 Dayton in the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament championship game, a familiar figure silently thumped his chest. Phil Martelli Sr. is Saint Joseph’s former longtime coach with...
Duke edges Virginia for 2nd straight ACC Tournament title under Jon Scheyer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Isaiah Evans scored 20 points, Cameron Boozer made two free throws with 3.9 seconds to seal the game and No. 1 Duke defeated No. 10 Virginia, 74-70, on Saturday night for its second straight ACC Tournament championship under coach Jon Scheyer and its third title in the...
Brayden Burries scores 21 as Arizona holds off Houston in Big 12 final rematch
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arizona guard Jaden Bradley had just emerged from the locker room, his left wrist tightly taped after a collision left him holding it in pain. Koa Peat was mired in foul trouble, and Houston was making a big run in the Big 12 Tournament title game...
Zuby Ejiofor leads St. John’s to rout of UConn for 2nd straight Big East tourney title
NEW YORK — Zuby Ejiofor had seven blocks, nine rebounds and three steals to anchor a tenacious defensive performance that carried No. 13 St. John’s to its second straight Big East Tournament championship Saturday night with a 72-52 blowout of sixth-ranked UConn at Madison Square Garden. Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins...
A-10 Tournament notebook: Duquesne’s Dru Joyce III hopes team gets NIT call
Duquesne is among a handful of teams the Atlantic 10 is pushing for inclusion into the National Invitation Tournament’s 32-team field, which will be revealed Sunday night. Coach Dru Joyce III welcomes the opportunity. “I haven’t talked to the players, but I spoke to each of our coaches, individually, and...
VCU earns convincing win over Saint Joseph’s, returns to A-10 championship game
VCU is back in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game for a fourth straight time, and the Rams got there with an impressive showing in the semifinals. One day after holding on in the final minute to beat Duquesne in the quarterfinals, Terrence Hill Jr. scored 18 points on 8-of-10...
Michigan hits 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to sink Wisconsin in Big Ten semifinals
CHICAGO — Yaxel Lendeborg made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, and No. 3 Michigan beat Nick Boyd and No. 23 Wisconsin, 68-65, on Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship. Aday Mara scored 16 points and Elliot Cadeau had 15 as top-seeded Michigan (31-2) avenged its...
Last-second tip-in lifts Dayton over top-seeded Saint Louis, into Atlantic 10 title game
It happened so quickly, in the midst of so much chaos, that the biggest play of Amael L’Etang’s basketball career already resides inside his mind as more of a blur than clear-cut memory. L’Etang’s putback with 0.6 seconds to go lifted No. 4 Dayton over top-seeded Saint Louis, 70-69, in...
Seton Hill women’s basketball advances in playoffs with double-OT win
The Seton Hill women’s basketball team moved on in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Griffins advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional with an 88-85 victory in double overtime over Fayetteville State on Friday night at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. Hallie Cowan had...
No. 3 St. Joseph’s takes down Davidson, advances to A-10 semifinals
St. Joseph’s ensured the top four seeds will play in the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball semifinals with a 70-58 victory over No. 6 Davidson in a quarterfinal matchup Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. The No. 3-seeded Hawks (22-10) will play No. 2 VCU (25-7) at 3:30 p.m. Friday. No....
Tim Benz: Duquesne just missed the mesh point in Atlantic 10 tournament loss to VCU
Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III talked about it after his team’s final road game of the year, a 64-52 loss at Rhode Island. The Dukes’ defense held URI to just 9 of 25 shooting from the floor (1 of 11 from the 3-point arc) and 19 points in the...
Saint Louis’ Josh Schertz signs extension, believes Billikens have solid NCAA Tournament resume
Josh Schertz knows all too well about being on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Schertz, in his second season at Saint Louis, previously guided Indiana State to a 28-6 record heading into Selection Sunday in 2024, but the Sycamores had failed to win the Missouri Valley Conference...
No. 4 Dayton thwarts St. Bonaventure’s upset bid, reaches A-10 semifinals
Fourth-seeded Dayton held off a charge from No. 13 St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament Friday afternoon, securing a 68-63 victory at PPG Paints Arena. St. Bonaventure (17-17), which upset No. 12 La Salle and No. 5 George Mason in the first two rounds, had no...
Top-ranked Saint Louis rallies, survives against George Washington in A-10 quarterfinals
Saint Louis had already tipped off against George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals when news broke of Billikens coach Josh Schertz’s extension. So the top-ranked Billikens may have had some extra motivation vs. the No. 9 Revolutionaries on Friday at PPG Paints Arena, with a trip to the...
Tim Benz: Crucial 2nd-half decision, critical execution help Duquesne stay alive in A-10
It was clear that things were starting to wobble for the Duquesne Dukes in their second-round Atlantic 10 Tournament game Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. And it was clear why. A second-half lead over Rhode Island that was once 12 points had been cut in half with just over six...
No. 6 Davidson holds off Loyola Chicago in overtime in 2nd round of A-10 Tournament
It took a few extra minutes of overtime but No. 6 Davidson survived and advanced in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Sean Logan’s two baskets, and Josh Scovens’ short jumper in overtime helped the No. 6-seeded Wildcats earn a 64-59 win...
St. Bonaventure rallies around retiring coach Mark Schmidt, continues surprising A-10 run
Each passing day brings the possibility that Mark Schmidt’s coaching career will abruptly conclude. Schmidt, 63, who has led St. Bonaventure the past 19 seasons, is retiring at season’s end. As the Bonnies navigate the Atlantic 10 Tournament at PPG Paints Arena, the timing of Schmidt’s retirement is in the...
No. 13 St. Bonaventure upsets No. 5 George Mason in 2nd round of A-10 Tournament
The retirement tour will continue for St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. His No. 13-seeded Bonnies scored their second upset of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday, rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to take down No. 5 George Mason, 63-57, in a second-round game at PPG Paints Arena. St. Bonaventure...
No. 8 George Washington holds off No. 8 Fordham rally for Atlantic 10 tournament win
George Washington had a comfortable 21-point lead at halftime of its Atlantic 10 second-round game against No. 8 Fordham on Thursday afternoon. It got uncomfortable soon after the break. The ninth-seeded Revolutionaries held off a furious second-half comeback from Fordham for a 66-62 victory at PPG Paints Arena. “We knew...
Tim Benz: Coaching for an A-10 title in Pittsburgh will be special in many ways for Pitt alum Ricardo Greer
Shortly after Davidson’s R.J. Greer checked into a game at Dayton on Feb. 15, he rotated toward the opposing bench during an offensive sequence. One of the Dayton coaches was quick to yell out to his players on defense to track him into the corner. The Flyers’ coach didn’t need...
