AAC Basketball

Houston remained red hot with a 68-53 victory over Illinois in the second round of the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The fifth-seeded Cougars have won 11 of their past 12 games since a brief two-game losing streak in mid-February to reach the Sweet 16. That run of success includes winning the AAC tournament and their March Madness opener, an 82-68 triumph over UAB on Friday.

While the No. 4 seed Fighting Illini escaped an upset bid from 13th-seeded Chattanooga on Friday, they weren't able to overcome a strong UH squad in the round of 32. They finish with a 23-10 record, the program's third straight year topping 20 wins.

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Key Stats

Taze Moore (UH): 21 points, 7 rebounds

Jamal Shead (UH): 18 points, 3 assists, 3 steals

Kyler Edwards (UH): 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Kofi Cockburn (ILL): 19 points, 8 rebounds

Alfonso Plummer (ILL): 8 points, 2 steals

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Houston Defense Steals The Spotlight

Houston plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, and when it's able to pair that with suffocating defense, the Cougars look like a national championship contender. Just ask Memphis, which was held to a minuscule 53 points on 63 possessions in the AAC title game.

The Cougars were locked in on that end of the floor in the first half. They held the Illini to 36 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes, including a 4-of-13 mark from three-point range.

UH made it clear from the opening tip it was going to heavily tilt its defensive game plan toward Cockburn, who entered the day averaging 21 points through 27 games this season. It compressed the defense toward the paint and forced Illinois to work on the perimeter.

What a save.
What a finish.
Wow.@UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/LpfhXNvpwK

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022

It was highly effective early, as the Illini had just 13 points at the final media timeout of the first half. Their offense showed signs of life right before halftime with a trio of threes to keep the game within reach.

Houston never relented, though. Its ability to deny early pass entries to the paint was a game-changer, and it left the Illinois offense stagnant and looking for answers.

The game wasn't nearly as lopsided as the final score would suggest, but the Cougars forced the Illini to work hard on every single possession, and eventually, their own offense was able to heat up and pull away.

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Cockburn Doesn't Get Enough Help

Cockburn is the engine that made the Illinois offense run all season. He's averaged 13.7 shots while shooting 59.5 percent from the field. The fact he walked into the locker room at halftime with just three shot attempts was an issue.

The Illini knew that wasn't a recipe for success and started feeding him the ball early in the second half. He attempted four field goals and two free throws in the first five minutes after the break to help get the game tied.

Kofi Cockburn SLAMS it down. @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/JHoxIyUCY9

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022

While Cockburn finally got rolling in the second half, the rest of the Illini offense didn't follow suit. No other player reached double figures in scoring.

Illinois finished the game shooting 35.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent on threes. Even when it was able to create some open looks in the second half, it failed to knock them down.

The game continued to hang in the balance, and one hot streak of shooting could have flipped the game in the No. 4 seed's favor, but that never arrived, and Houston took advantage to move on.

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What's Next?

Houston advances to face either No. 1 seed Arizona or No. 9 seed TCU in the South Region's Sweet 16. The Wildcats and Horned Frogs are scheduled to tip off at 9:40 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The UConn Huskies became the latest No. 5 seed to fall, suffering a 70-63 upset loss to the No. 12 New Mexico State Aggies in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Junior guard Teddy Allen poured in a game-high 37 points to lead the way for the Aggies, who improved to 27-6 this season.

NEW MEXICO STATE CLOSING OUT UCONN https://t.co/0MpB1VkXOo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 18, 2022

UConn, which finishes the year at 23-10, joins Iowa as the No. 5 seeds to go down on Thursday.

New Mexico State blitzed UConn early, putting together a 17-6 run over the final 6:15 of the first half to take a 32-22 lead heading into halftime. The Aggies led by as many as 14 early in the second half before the Huskies clawed their way back into the game.

UConn managed to tie the game a couple times but never took the lead. The Huskies evened things up for the first time at 52-52, but Clayton Henry answered with a three-pointer. The game was tied again at 58-58 with just over two minutes left, but Allen drilled a triple on the ensuing possession to put New Mexico State in front for good.

Allen carried the Aggies on his back Thursday as no other player on the team scored in double figures. But New Mexico State was boosted by an efficient performance from beyond the arc, shooting 11-of-17 (64.7 percent). Allen was also the only player on the team to get to the free-throw line, shooting a perfect 13-of-13.

R.J. Cole led UConn with 20 points in the loss. Adama Sanogo was the only other player to reach double digits with 10 points. The Huskies struggled with their outside shot, connecting on just 7-of-23 three-point attempts (30.4 percent).

The ninth-seeded Memphis Tigers defeated No. 8 seed Boise State Broncos 64-53 in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on Thursday at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

DeAndre Williams' 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting led the Tigers. Jalen Duren added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. 

Memphis led 38-19 at halftime and held Boise State to 31.5 percent shooting for the game.

However, the Tigers went cold in the second half. Boise State's Abu Kigab, who didn't score before halftime, took advantage and dropped 20 second-half points.

The Broncos sliced the Memphis lead to 58-53 and had a chance to cut the deficit to one possession after Boise State big man Tyson Degenhart grabbed a defensive rebound off a Duren miss with 55 seconds left.

However, Memphis guard Alex Lomax swiped at the ball, and Duren grabbed possession before making a layup for a 60-53 advantage.

Memphis forces a HUGE turnover and Jalen Duren capitalizes with a bucket 💪#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/KD0x07mhu7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

Memphis took control from there en route to the 11-point win.

This marked the first time that Memphis head coach and Orlando Magic legend Penny Hardaway led the Tigers in the NCAA tournament. He's guided Memphis to four straight 20-win seasons during his tenure, which began in 2018.

Boise State made its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.

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Notable Performances

Memphis F DeAndre Williams: 14 points, 5 rebounds

Memphis C Jalen Duren: 10 points, 11 rebounds

Memphis G Alex Lomax: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Boise State F Abu Kigab: 20 points, 2 steals

Boise State F Mladen Armus: 3 points, 11 rebounds

Boise State F Tyson Degenhart: 8 points, 4 rebounds

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Memphis' Strong First Half Provides Enough Cushion for Win

It was all Memphis in the first half, as the Tigers doubled the Broncos' point total and held on late for the win.

Early on, Lomax found Williams in transition for an easy bucket and 8-4 edge:

Oh my, Deandre Williams 💥 @Memphis_MBB pic.twitter.com/E3Om23Xn5B

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Boise State fought back to tie this one at 12, but Memphis then rolled off an 8-0 run.

Undeterred, Boise State kept clawing away, and it appeared to change the momentum with this Max Rice steal and three-pointer to slash the lead to 22-17:

Max Rice for 3️⃣! @BroncoSportsMBB pic.twitter.com/Y5hLI05SZZ

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

But Memphis closed the half on a 16-5 run.

Emoni Bates, the highly touted recruit who has been sidelined since January with a back injury, notably hit a big three to put Memphis up 27-17.

Emoni Bates checks in for the first time since January and knocks down a three 👌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/I4wKkKQ1un

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

The second half got hairy for Memphis, but it was Lomax who guided them to victory.

It was an emotional day for Lomax, who appeared to suffer an ankle injury late in the first half after hitting a three to put Memphis up 38-19:

Memphis guard Alex Lomax goes down with an ankle injury after hitting a three plus a foul.#MarchMadness@GoTigers247 pic.twitter.com/hHuyK5OqAD

— Carter Bahns (@carterbahns) March 17, 2022

However, he gutted it out in the second half, notably coming up with the defensive play of the game leading to Duren's aforementioned layup to go up 60-53.

Lomax, whose history with Hardaway stems from well before their time at Memphis, spoke with Andy Katz postgame:

Memphis native Alex Lomax has been playing for Penny Hardaway since he was in the 6th grade.

Today, he led Memphis to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2014. He dedicated the win to his former coach Desmond Merriweather, and his grandmother. @iamalo02 https://t.co/s3PPsze3Kw

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 17, 2022

Now the Tigers are moving on after securing Hardaway's first NCAA tournament win.

    

Boise State Fights Hard, Falls Short in 2nd Half

To the Broncos' credit, they didn't wilt in the second half when Memphis started the final 20 minutes up 19. Rather, the Broncos' team defense shined as Kigab put on an absolute show.

Emmanuel Akot got Boise State off on the right foot with a little trickery:

Emmanuel Akot with the wide open slam‼️ @BroncoSportsMBB pic.twitter.com/PgtpkAhdD0

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Landers Nolley II made a jumper to put the Tigers up 40-21 with 18:29 left in the second half.

Memphis didn't make a field goal for the next 9:09 of game time, with a pair of free throws its only points during that stretch.

Boise State slowly but surely chipped away at the lead, with the team's leading scorer in Kigab hitting a tough layup to make the score 42-35 in Memphis' favor.

Tough bucket from Abu Kigab and the Broncos are fighting back 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uzN3b4Ubm2

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

The Tigers offense woke up from that point, but Kigab kept the Broncos in the game. He scored 16 more points after that layup as he and the Tigers kept fighting back and forth. Lomax continued to be a thorn in the Broncos' side in the second half, finding Williams for two and a 51-43 lead.

Duren ➡️ Lomax ➡️ Williams for the jam 💥 @Memphis_MBB pic.twitter.com/ExZSZefdqA

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Boise State cut the Memphis lead to five points on two different occasions, but the 19-point halftime edge proved too difficult to overcome. Still, it was a great second-half effort for the Broncos, who finish the season with a 27-8 overall record.

      

What's Next?

Memphis will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 16 seed Georgia State Panthers.

That second-round game will go down Saturday in Portland at a to-be-determined time.

Hansel Enmanuel, a high school basketball player who has gone viral for his impressive skills, said Friday that he has received a scholarship offer to play college basketball at the University of Memphis.

According to On3's Joe Tipton, Enmanuel, who had most of his left arm amputated as a child, now has three scholarship offers from Division I schools with Memphis being the highest-profile institution to date. Enmanuel has also received offers from historically Black universities Bethune-Cookman and Tennessee State.

Enmanuel, who was born in the Dominican Republic, is a 6'4" guard and senior at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.

An accident when he was six years old resulted in the amputation of his left arm below the shoulder.

Enmanuel is rated by 247Sports as a 3-star prospect and the No. 34 combo guard in the recruiting class of 2022.

Enmanuel's highlight reels show off his impressive skill set, including shooting three-pointers with a unique stroke and throwing down emphatic dunks.

Enmanuel has also gotten himself on the radar by recently appearing in a video for rapper J. Cole's Dreamer brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIs0t-lYBn8?

On3 estimates that Enmanuel has a name, image and likeness (NIL) value of $1.2 million, which is the third-highest among current high school basketball players.

With college athletes now able to profit from NIL deals because of new NCAA rules, Enmanuel should have no shortage of endorsement opportunities.

University of Memphis men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway issued an apology for his expletive-filled rant directed toward the media after Thursday's home loss to SMU.

Hardaway posted a video Friday on Instagram saying he let his "emotions get the best of" him: 

Penny Hardaway has issued an apology, via Instagram, to the University of Memphis, his players and the fans. pic.twitter.com/AQqtdgnYGo

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 22, 2022

Memphis entered the 2021-22 season with sky-high expectations. It was ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press preseason poll and reached as high as No. 9 amid a 5-0 start.

The Tigers have gone just 4-8 over their past 12 games, however, and the loss to SMU extended their current losing streak to three.

Injuries and COVID-related absences have started to take a toll with two of the team's top four scorers, DeAndre Williams and Landers Nolley II, missing the clash with the Mustangs.

The main point of Hardaway's rant centered around the unfairness of judging either the team or his coaching performance based on games where they are missing key players.

"It is what it is, man. I don't like to get out of character. We're hurt, man," he told reporters. "Our roster is depleted right now of guys that can definitely make a difference and help the young guys get through this. Right now they're having to learn on the fly. It's hard."

Nevertheless, the former NBA All-Star guard added it was also important to fight through some adversity.

"We gotta be tougher as a group. We gotta stop feeling sorry for ourselves when things aren't going right and just keep fighting," Hardaway said. "Right now we're not fighting. This isn't a Memphis team. We're not fighting hard enough for the entire game."

While there's no doubt the absences have hurt Memphis, a lot of teams have been forced to juggle their rotations during a season heavily impacted by COVID-19 over the past few months.

The Tigers must get hot down the stretch to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament—they're likely on the outside looking in at the 68-team bracket—and at that point they can press the reset button and hope their talent shines through during March Madness.

Hardaway has posted a 72-40 record across three-plus seasons leading the Memphis program and has consistently delivered strong recruiting classes, so he shouldn't be on the hot seat despite the fact that this season has yet to meet expectations.

Former Connecticut men's basketball head coach Kevin Ollie has won his arbitration case against the school. 

Per David Borges of The Hour, Ollie's attorney, Jacques J. Parenteau, said the school has to pay his client $11.2 million within the next 10 business days. 

Mark Irvings, the arbitrator in the case, ruled Connecticut violated the collective bargaining agreement in firing Ollie with "just cause" in March 2018. 

Ollie signed a five-year contract extension with the Huskies in May 2014 that tied him to the program through the 2018-19 season. 

In January 2018, the NCAA notified the University of Connecticut it had opened an investigation into the men's basketball program. 

The school announced on March 10, 2018, it had started the process of firing Ollie for just cause. The NCAA handed down discipline that included two years of probation and loss of a scholarship during the 2019-20 academic year for the program and gave Ollie a three-year show-cause penalty because of violations that were deemed to have "exceeded the allowable amount of activity" during the preseason.

Connecticut also vacated all of its wins from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. 

Per Creg Stephenson of AL.com, Ollie's show-cause penalty expires on July 2, 2022. He could potentially be hired by another school before that date, but it would have to meet with an NCAA infractions committee to justify the move.

After the NCAA discipline was announced, Ollie issued a statement through his lawyer saying he was "disappointed with the NCAA Committee on Infractions decision but not surprised that the Committee acted to support its member institution in the dispute" between the two parties. 

In a letter to the university shortly after his firing obtained by ESPN's Myron Medcalf, Ollie argued the school violated his "rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution" and he was seeking to receive the remaining money still left on his contract. 

Ollie spent six seasons as Huskies head coach from 2012-18. The 49-year-old went 97-79 with two NCAA tournament appearances, including a national title in 2013-14.     

The Memphis men's basketball team has minimized Rasheed Wallace's role with the team and removed him from in-person duties.

Head coach Penny Hardaway told reporters Wednesday that Wallace will serve as a consultant for the time being.

Penny didn’t close the door on Rasheed possibly returning in-person down the road.

Says Rasheed is “still a coach.” But said his in-person absence is a mutual decision based on “health and safety” concerns.

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022

Wallace, a four-time All-Star in the NBA, joined the Tigers in August as an assistant coach.

The exact reason for the move is unclear, though Hardaway confirmed on Jan. 12 that Wallace was in the COVID-19 protocols, thus taking him away from the team. He continued to work remotely with players through Zoom calls.

Star center Jalen Duren praised his contributions from afar.

More Jalen Duren on Rasheed Wallace: “Definitely a guy with a lot of energy and was a great mentor for the bigs when he was here and I definitely learned a lot from him.”

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022

The logic behind bringing Wallace onto the staff was obvious.

In discussing the hire, Hardaway highlighted the insight the 6'10" former forward might be able to impart upon the likes of Duren, Emoni Bates and DeAndre Williams.

In addition to helping the Detroit Pistons win an NBA title in 2003-04 and return to the 2005 NBA Finals, Wallace was a bit ahead of his time. He shot 33.6 percent from three-point range and averaged one made three-pointer per game. The 47-year-old would've been a perfect fit in today's game, which places a high emphasis on spacing the floor.

For Wallace, this was an opportunity to take the next step in his coaching career, but the partnership only made it a few months before hitting a roadblock.

This adds to an already disjointed season for the Tigers, one interrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak. Heading into Thursday's game against SMU, Hardaway's squad is 9-7 and tied for sixth in the AAC.

After losing two of their past three games, the Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team has fallen out of the Top 10 in the Associated Press rankings for the first time since 2005. 

In the latest AP Top 25 poll released Monday, the Huskies dropped four spots to No. 11. South Carolina (11-0) remained in the top spot and received all 29 first-place votes. 

Women's College Basketball 2021 AP Top 25 Poll (Week 7)

1. South Carolina (11-0)

2. Stanford (8-2)

3. Louisville (10-1)

4. Arizona (10-0)

5. North Carolina State (11-2)

6. Maryland (9-3)

7. Tennessee (9-1)

8. Indiana (9-2)

9. Michigan (11-1)

10. Baylor (9-2)

11. Connecticut (6-3)

12. Texas (8-1)

T13. Iowa State (11-1)

T13. Georgia (10-1)

15. Iowa (6-2)

16. Duke (9-1)

17. Georgia Tech (9-2)

18. South Florida (8-3)

19. BYU (9-1)

20. Notre Dame (10-2)

21. LSU (9-1)

22. Kentucky (7-3)

23. Texas A&M (9-2)

24. Ohio State (8-2)

25. North Carolina (10-0)

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Connecticut spent a record 313 consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10 dating back to March 7, 2005. 

No. 10 Baylor now holds the longest active streak of consecutive weeks in the top 10 at 136. 

Connecticut announced Dec. 14 that Paige Bueckers, the reigning AP Player of the Year, is expected to miss eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear. 

She suffered the injury in the final minute of a Dec. 5 win over Notre Dame. 

In six games with Bueckers, the Huskies were 5-1 and averaged 62.3 points per game. They are averaging 59.7 points per game and have lost two of three games without the superstar sophomore. 

While head coach Geno Auriemma looks to find answers for UConn, Dawn Staley is doing everything right with South Carolina right now. The Gamecocks already have three wins over top-16 opponents: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland. 

This week will present a significant challenge for South Carolina. It will host No. 2 Stanford on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The reigning national champions have won four straight games, including a 74-63 victory over Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday.     

The University of Memphis announced Saturday's men's basketball game against the University of Tennessee has been canceled because of COVID-19 issues within its program.

The matchup between the Tigers and the 18th-ranked Volunteers, dubbed the Nashville Showcase, was scheduled to take place at Bridgestone Arena.

Memphis snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday with an impressive 92-78 upset over No. 6 Alabama. It was an important resume-building win for head coach Penny Hardaway's group.

The Tigers' matchup with the Vols was one of just three games against ranked opponents left on their schedule. Without it, they only have their two conference matchups with No. 14 Houston remaining, unless another team makes a surge from The American.

Depending how the rest of their season plays out following a 6-4 start, not getting an opportunity to take down the Volunteers could prove costly in their efforts to earn an NCAA tournament bid.

Meanwhile, UT was already on the court warming up for Saturday's game when word came down of the cancellation:

Vols walk off in disbelief after learning of the postponement of their showdown with Memphis. Team will scrimmage for the fans that are here at Bridgestone Arena @wvltrick pic.twitter.com/nJUAPSXjVA

— wvlt (@wvlt) December 18, 2021

The Vols are off to a promising 8-2 start highlighted by a win over then-No. 18 North Carolina in late November.

Tennessee's schedule gets tougher over the next few weeks as it prepares to host No. 8 Arizona on Wednesday before traveling to face the aforementioned Crimson Tide on Dec. 29.

With Saturday's cancellation, the Volunteers will continue to hold a 15-12 advantage in the all-time series between the in-state rivals.

Memphis men's basketball head coach Penny Hardaway provided a blunt assessment regarding his team's veterans following the Tigers' 67-63 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.

"Everybody's trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything," Hardaway said in an interview with Seth Davis of The Athletic.

"It's been miserable ... I'm going to have to be a complete assh--e from this point on and only play the players that care. The main reason we have these losses is the veterans don't want to take the young guys under their wings. They want it to be about them."

Hardaway also said that there was "so much negativity in our locker room with veterans being jealous."

Memphis began the season with high expectations after adding a pair of highly touted 5-star recruits in Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. The Tigers, who were No. 12 in the Associated Press preseason poll, rose to No. 9 after a hot start.

However, it's been all downhill after a 5-0 beginning. Memphis lost 78-59 to Iowa State and 82-79 to Georgia before falling to Ole Miss. The Tigers are in danger of falling out of the Top 25 entirely at this point.

In response to the skid, Hardaway promised changes to the starting lineup.

"I guarantee you we'll start winning because you're gonna see guys out there who care and will carry out the game plan," Hardaway said. "They might make mistakes, but there are not gonna be any character issues."

Saturday was a close game but an ugly one for Memphis, which shot just 38.8 percent from the field and 2-of-11 from three-point range. Bates and Duren combined to score just nine points on 2-of-13 shooting, and the Tigers committed 20 turnovers.

Ole Miss didn't fare well offensively either, but 20 points from Jarkel Joiner and 19 more from Matthew Murrell led the Rebels to the win.

Murray State is next on the schedule, with Memphis facing the Racers at home Friday. Murray State is off to a 7-1 start. The Tigers then have a pair of tough games with No. 16 Alabama and No. 13 Tennessee.

In other words, changes are a good idea for Hardaway as the team looks to stop this skid amid a tough stretch.