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Playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time, Grambling State completed an epic second-half comeback to earn an 88-81 overtime win over Montana State in Wednesday's First Four matchup.
Grambling State trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before storming back behind a spirited effort from sophomore guard Jimel Cofer, who scored a team-high 19 points off the bench. Jourdan Smith and Antwan Burnett added 18 points apiece for the Tigers.
Grambling State will face Purdue, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, in the Round of 64 on Friday night. Taking on the Zach Edey-led Boilermakers will be no easy task, but the Tigers are hoping to ride the wave of Wednesday's surprising win to another upset.
After all, it was just a year ago that Purdue became the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Those on social media were excited by their first dose of March Madness thanks to Grambling State's comeback victory:
Games like this are shining examples of the spirit of March Madness. Grambling State refused to go down quietly and overcame an early barrage from a hot-shooting Montana State squad.
This game was also indicative of the fight in the Tigers, who overcame a 2-10 start to the season to win the SWAC regular-season title with a 20-14 record and emerge victorious in the conference tournament.
Fans will be hyped to see if Grambling State's Cinderella run will continue when it meets Purdue on Friday.
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A break in play was anything but for Arkansas-Pine Bluff during Wednesday's 83-64 loss to No. 19 Iowa State.
Early into the second half, Golden Lions head coach Solomon Bozeman called a timeout and made his players run from baseline to baseline before returning to the bench:
If Bozeman wanted to send a message to his team, then it may not have resonated. Arkansas-Pine Bluff trailed by 20 points, 44-24, when the timeout was called and did little to eat into the deficit for the remainder of the game.
When your team is en route to an eighth loss in nine games, sometimes drastic steps are required. Mid-game wind sprints may not be the most sensible strategy to deploy, though.
Shaqir O'Neal, the 18-year-old son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, has committed to play college basketball at Texas Southern.
He announced his decision in an Instagram post Friday.
"You can expect a lot of buckets," O'Neal said in an interview with Overtime (h/t ESPN's Myron Medcalf). "I'm trying to get to the league."
O'Neal also said he picked Texas Southern because he wants to help "change the narrative" about high-profile athletes pursuing a future at historically Black colleges and universities.
Shaqir's older brother Shareef is currently enrolled at LSU after spending two seasons at UCLA. He averaged 2.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 10 games during the 2020-21 campaign.
A 6'5" shooting guard, O'Neal is graduating from Union Grove High School this spring. He's rated as a 3-star prospect and No. 55 player at his position in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports composite rankings.
The Tigers currently compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Head coach Johnny Jones has gone 57-39 in his first three seasons with the program.
Texas Southern made the NCAA men's basketball tournament as a No. 16 seed this season after winning the SWAC tournament. It defeated Mount St. Mary's in the First Four game before losing to No. 1 seed Michigan.
Alabama State University named former NBA All-Star Mo Williams as its new head basketball coach Tuesday.
"We are excited about the direction of our men's basketball program as we moved forward into this new era," athletic director Jennifer Lynne Williams said in a statement. "Mo Williams checked the boxes that we were looking for in the next head coach of Alabama State men's basketball, and his passion and leadership speak volumes. He is no stranger to the South, having played high school basketball in Mississippi and college basketball in Alabama.
"I want to thank the (members of selection) committee for all of their hard work during this process, as they vetted many qualified applicants for the position. Over the last few weeks and during this national pandemic, they took time away from their daily schedules to find the right fit for Alabama State men's basketball."
Williams has been an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge since 2018. Northridge has gone 28-38 during Williams' tenure under Mark Gottfried, who coached him while he was at Alabama.
"It's a great day to be a Hornet," Williams said. "I am extremely excited to become part of the family, and I am looking forward to the challenge. Go Hornets!"
Alabama State went 8-24 in 2019-20, leading to the resignation of longtime coach Lewis Jackson. He led the program to two NCAA tournament berths in 15 seasons but had not posted a winning record since 2014-15.
Williams will be taking over the program at an uncertain time, given the coronavirus pandemic's threat to the upcoming college basketball season. College commissioners have said they will not resume sports until it is safe for the student body to return to campuses. It's unclear if it will be deemed safe to congregate thousands of students in a confined area until there is a vaccine, which is not expected until 2021.
A virtual press conference will be held next week to formally introduce Williams.
In competition, the most minute details can often have the greatest impact.
It's why basketball fans have creatively manufactured unique means of distract opposing players at the free-throw line—going so far as to recruit Olympic gold-medal swimmer Michael Phelps or even dressing as scantily-clad Dr. Seuss characters.
What Southern University's Chris Thomas was confronted with at the charity stripe was just as (or possibly more) original.
With his team down by 11 late in the first half while facing Holy Cross, the sophomore guard took a deep breath, stepped up to the line...
...and was met by a chorus of "Happy Birthday" echoing around the arena.
No, it wasn't Thomas' big day. No, he didn't miss.
The tune may have sufficiently unsettled the Jaguars as a unit, however, as the Crusaders managed to secure a 59-55 First Four victory over Southern.
Sounds like the perfect present for any Holy Cross fan actually celebrating the anniversary of their birth.
At six games under .500 and 11-19 against the spread on the season, the Cal Poly Mustangs are still favorites in their First Four matchup against the Texas Southern Tigers in Dayton on Wednesday night.
The prize for the winner? A date with the only undefeated team left in the country, the Wichita State Shockers, in the Midwest Region.
Spread and total points scored betting line
The Mustangs opened as surprise two-point favorites, and that line has held up. The total was 131. (Compare lines and consensus on the Odds Shark matchup report)
Odds Shark computer pick
72-69 Texas Southern
Why pick Cal Poly to cover the spread
After going a disappointing 6-10 in the Big West this season, the Mustangs woke up and won three straight games, upsetting the top two seeds, to win the conference tournament and make the Big Dance for the first time ever.
Cal Poly starts three seniors and can play a little defense, holding foes to 63 points per game and 43 percent field-goal shooting this season.
Why pick Texas Southern to cover the spread
The Tigers finished tied for second in the SWAC this season, then won the conference tournament to earn their first NCAA berth since 2003.
Powered by monster-in-the-middle Aaric Murray, TSU has won nine games in a row. The Tigers start four seniors and are led by a coach who's tasted the big time before in Mike Davis. He guided Indiana to the national championship game 12 years ago, and that big-game experience could be the difference if this one stays close.
Smart betting pick
Texas Southern owns a nine-game winning streak, while Cal Poly is six games below .500. But the Mustangs are favored by two points, which is apparently an oddsmaker swipe at the quality of the SWAC.
However, Murray can be a handful. Just ask Temple players who watched him go off for 48 points back in December. One star player often makes the difference in a game like this. Take the Tigers plus the points.
Power rankings
Cal Poly Mustangs: No. 81
Texas Southern Tigers: No. 93 (per Odds Shark power ranks)
March Madness betting trends
Note: All spread and betting line data powered by Odds Shark—download the free Lines and Bet Tracker app in the Apple Store and on Google Play.
The long nightmare is over for Grambling State.
The Tigers finally snapped their 45-game losing streak against Division I opponents, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:
In even better news for Grambling State, the victory came in a Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown against Alcorn State. The game wasn’t even that close, as the Tigers controlled the pace of play throughout the contest and won 95-80.
Junior A’Torri Shine led the way with 19 points, Terry Rose added 18 points, Antwan Scott scored 16 points and eight rebounds, and Remond Brown finished with 12 points.
The main difference in the game was the Tigers’ red-hot mark from behind the three-point line, as they went 12-of-20 from downtown as part of a 61 percent shooting clip from the field.
Grambling State was also impressive at the free-throw line, where it finished 21-of-25.
LeAntwan Luckett led Alcorn State with 20 points, but it is probably of little consolation considering his squad is the first Division I team to fall victim to the Tigers since Alabama A&M on March 3, 2012.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, perhaps with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, points out that it was the biggest win of the night in college basketball:
Grambling State does have one other victory on its resume for the 2013-14 season, but that came against Central Baptist, which is not in Division I.
The Tigers will look to stretch their new winning streak to two games the next time out against Texas Southern. Texas Southern is 9-13 on the season, so it’s not an impossible task.
Still, considering Grambling State just beat its first Division I team in 45 tries, it may be a bit much to ask for a second straight victory.
Mississippi Valley State University suspended men's basketball head coach Chico Potts indefinitely on Friday, pending an investigation into his arrest earlier this month for domestic violence charges.
Assistant coach Marcus Thomas will serve as head coach while the university undertakes its investigation.
The Delta Devils are coming off of a 5-23 season, one season removed from their appearance in the First Four of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Western Kentucky. After that NCAA appearance, head coach Sean Woods left to take the head coaching job at Morehead State, resulting in the promotion of Potts, who had been with MVSU for four years as an assistant coach.
Potts will be suspended with pay while the school looks into his arrest and domestic violence charges. The move is wise for the school: It allows it to get all the facts before making a final decision, and it allows the team to have some measure of stability in the meantime with Thomas taking over head coaching duties for the duration of the investigation.
Given the circumstances, MVSU did what was best for the basketball team and for the school overall.
While the uncertainty will be another obstacle to overcome for a team looking to bounce back from a tough season, all is not lost for the Delta Devils. Potts had signed two players from top high school programs in neighboring Alabama earlier this year, James Currington and Artis Cleveland. They will look to contribute immediately, and their arrivals will provide some much needed good news.
The MVSU Delta Devils may be down, but as their scrappy performance en route to the 2012 NCAA tournament showed, they can never be counted out.
Workflow is down, Dick Vitale’s blood pressure is up and just about everybody is filling out brackets this week in preparation for the NCAA tournament, which kicks off with the infamous play-in game between Winthrop and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
ARPB is making their first ever tournament appearance this year and therein lies the problem. The selection committee never should have put them in the play-in game out of respect for the tournament and giving this school their first true experience at The Big Dance.
Tonight’s game will be played in Dayton, Ohio at the University of Dayton Arena, not at an NCAA tournament site. The winner will advance to have the distinct pleasure of losing to Duke University in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday.
Winthrop has a deep tournament history, shocking college basketball two years ago as an 11-seed when they defeated sixth seeded Notre Dame in a 74-64 upset.
Now, both these teams are fairly even and ARPB certainly has as good a chance as any to take down the Eagles of Winthrop and move on to actual tournament play in Jacksonville, but putting them in a situation where they would be denied that opportunity is something the selection committee should be ashamed of.
For their first time in the dance, the Golden Lions should be at an actual tournament site, getting schmoozed and treated like NCAA darlings, the cinderella of the South region and the Jacksonville site. They should be exalted as the team that gets first shot at mighty Duke and be asked “what if” questions for the day leading up to the tournament.
“What if the #16 seed can take out a #1 for the first time?”
“What if Duke really is the weakest #1 seed and maybe the Golden Lions will be in the right place at the right time?”
“What exactly is a Golden Lion? Aren’t all lions kind of golden?”
The ARPB story is actually a fantastic and inspirational one. The Lions started the season by losing eleven straight games. They finally broke into the win column on January 4th, their first game of the new year. On that day, they squeaked by Mississippi Valley State University in a 69-68 overtime win. Two days later, they beat Alabama A&M before losing their 12th game out of 14 on January 11th to Alabama State.
But the most significant thing about the first 14 games on the Golden Lions’ schedule was not the 12 losses. It was the fact that all fourteen were played on the road, away from the cozy confines of H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where the team plays its home games.
Imagine having a basketball team on campus that begins a season in earlier November, but never plays at home until three and a half months later in mid-January? Talk about road warriors.
After starting 0-12, ARPB won five of six and then finished season by winning 11 of 12, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in the final against Texas Southern last Saturday.
Their story as road warriors takes on new meaning when considering the schedule they played, traveling to NCAA tournament teams Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, UTEP and Georgia Tech. ARPB also played big time programs like Michigan, Oregon, Arizona State and Colorado. Why was everyone so afraid to play at Clemmons Arena? Is ARPB really that big of a giant killer, having never played in the NCAA tournament?
The Golden Lions finished the season having played a whopping 20 of their 29 games on the road. Having just nine home dates would have to be debilitating to any fledgling program. Too bad for the people of Pine Bluff. They were denied plenty of good basketball from a NCAA tournament qualifier.
Nothing against Winthrop or any other team in the tournament, but why couldn’t the other three 16-seeds be in the play-in game over first time dancer ARPB? East Tennessee State (8 appearances), Lehigh (3) and Vermont (3) surely wouldn’t mind giving the Golden Lions a true NCAA tournament experience.
The real problem with this unfortunate situation lies with the decision the NCAA made a few years ago to go to 65 teams just to get in one last bubble team. The bi-product ended up being that team 65, the loser of the play-in game, doesn’t really go to the tournament at all.
The SWAC should proud to cheer on their representative tonight and hopefully the rest of America is behind those Golden Lions. I know I will be.
