Q&A with Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman

There will be a mix of new and old on the roster of the defending MEAC champions this season. Nine players return from Morgan State’s NCAA tournament team, but Bears head coach Todd Bozeman is adding five new faces to the mix. Point guard Danny Smith (5-11, 190 pounds), combo guard Joe Davis (6-0, 180), shooting guard Jarrod Denard (6-2, 185), power forward DeWayne Jackson (6-8, 210) and center Anthony Anderson (6-10, 235) will all suit up for Morgan State this season.

Morgan State University Bears Coach Todd Bozeman has a new contract and a top-notch incoming class of multidimensional players.

Smith, a Randallstown native and Woodlawn graduate, will have two years of eligibility remaining after playing at Western Nebraska Community College the past two seasons. Davis, a junior from Warrensville, Ohio, sat out last year as a transfer from Cleveland State, where he averaged 8.8 points per game in his first two seasons. Denard was a highly touted shooting guard from Philadelphia’s Freire Charter School. Jackson, a Bowie High graduate, and Anderson, a LaPlata alumnus, both enrolled at Morgan one year ago and sat out as non-qualifiers. They will each have four years of eligibility remaining. Bozeman spoke with Recruiting Report recently about Morgan State’s incoming class.

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TSU tries to plug hole at cornerback

Tigers foursome works to replace NFL draft pick

Cornerbacks are supposed to apply pressure on receivers, but at Tennessee State, it's the cornerbacks who are under heavy pressure.The players vying for the starting cornerback assignments face extra scrutiny because the position was a glaring strength of the defense during the four years Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was on the roster.

The consensus All-American is no longer around. He was taken in the first round of the NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals, leaving several players with the challenge of carrying on TSU's tradition for strong cornerback play. "It's a little bit different back there now,'' defensive backs coach John Parker said. "It's hard to replace Dominique because he's such a great athlete. But we've got good people athleticism-wise. We've got some young ones and we're doing the best we can to get them ready to go."

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LSU runs by Jackson State

Photo: Jackson State University guard Carena Easley soaks in the NCAA experience.

Fowles said she believed No. 2-seeded LSU was closer to achieving that more in the final 20 minutes of play of Saturday’s first-round NCAA tournament game which the Lady Tigers administered a 66-32 victory over No. 15 Jackson State before 4,513 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (28-5) advances to face No. 7 Marist, a 76-57 winner over No. 10 DePaul. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN2. LSU, which has won 17 of its last 19 games, extended its string of NCAA first-round wins to 11, averaging a winning margin of more than 20 points.

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PHOTO GALLERY: http://www.2theadvocate.com/multimedia/16935551.html

MVSU Delta Devils understand odds they face tonight

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — No one has to tell the Mississippi Valley State players or coaches the odds they face tonight in the NCAA Tournament.

The stats are right there in black and white in the 2008 NCAA Final Four record book: 0-92. That's the record No. 16 seeds have posted against No. 1 seeds since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Delta Devils (17-15) would like to change that tonight when they play UCLA, which is 31-3 and favored by 32 points.

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Call a timeout on NCAA selection committee

Group's decisions defy expectations by creating situations that make very little sense

You want wacko? How about the NCAA selection committee putting a couple of Baltimore-area teams in the play-in game tomorrow night in Dayton, Ohio?

Instead of sending Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's to Dayton, maybe they should reconsider and bus the Eagles and Mountaineers to College Park now that Comcast Center is available. Maryland will be playing in the National Invitation Tournament at Minnesota.

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NCAA men tournament backet breakdown: Team-by-team analysis

Mount St. Mary's College vs. Coppin State University, Dayton, OH (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)

16a. Mount St. Mary's

LOCATION // Emmitsburg

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Northeast Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 18-14, 159th.

NCAA HISTORY // This is third appearance and first since 1999.

KEY PLAYERS // G Chris Vann (6-0, senior, 14.4 pts., 3.1 reb.); G Jeremy Goode (5-9, sophomore, 14.3 pts., 5.5 assists).

THE BUZZ // In the Northeast title game, Mount St. Mary's held Sacred Heart to 29 percent shooting, 10.5 percent from the three-point line.

16b. Coppin State

LOCATION // Baltimore.

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 16-20, 228th.

NCAA HISTORY // This is the fourth appearance, and first since 1997.

KEY PLAYERS // G Tywain McKee (6-2, senior, 16.6 pts., 4.3 reb.); F Antwan Harrison (6-3, senior, 9 pts., 2.3 reb.); F Julian Conyers (6-6, senior, 6.7 pts., 2.4 reb.).

THE BUZZ // Seeded seventh in the MEAC tournament, the Eagles won four games by a total of six points, capped by a stunning, 62-60 win over cross-town rival and regular-season champ Morgan State in the final.


UCLA vs. MVSU

16. Mississippi Valley State

LOCATION // Itta Bena, Miss.

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 17-15, 223rd.

NCAA HISTORY // This is fourth appearance and first since 1996.

KEY PLAYERS // F Carl Lucas (6-5/Sr., 12.7 ppg., 5.5 rpg.); C Larry Cox (6-10/Sr., 12.4 ppg., 8 rpg.); G Stanford Speech (6-3/Sr., 10.8 ppg., 2.6 apg.).

THE BUZZ // No SWAC team has won an NCAA tournament first-round game since Southern shocked Georgia Tech in 1993. Jackson State drew Florida last season and lost 112-69.