FAMU coach Alex Wood talks media policy, end-of-season Celebration Bowl

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M head coach Alex Wood still has changes he's implementing for the Rattlers, and he's starting with the way the team interacts with the media.

Practices are now closed after the first 10 minutes and players can't speak to the media without permission from both him and the university's sports information department. Assistant coaches, aside from the offensive and defensive coordinators, are off-limits.

Wood said moving forward, he will "absolutely" be the voice of the Rattlers.

"Without question, we want one message going forward," he said.

"I think to stay on-message and stay on-script, so to speak, it's easier when it's controlled by one. We won't expose our coaches or our players without some prior notice. I don't want coaches to just get grabbed and start things. We talk about it, but things happen."

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Hampton U. hopes late season success is springboard for next season

HANPTON, Virginia -- If such a quality as exhausted enthusiasm exists, Hampton University's men's basketball team displayed it Friday.

The Pirates arrived back at campus Friday afternoon following a four-day, two-city whirlwind in which they won the second NCAA tournament game in program history, went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the country, and heard their names mentioned on radio and TV broadcasts all over the nation.

"Amazing," forward Quinton Chievous said. "Just bonding with my teammates. Playing in the NCAA tournament, winning the MEAC championship. It's been a fun and amazing experience that I'll remember forever, and we're a part of history."

Hampton's NCAA tournament trip actually concluded a 10-day journey in which the Pirates overcame an inconsistent regular season and the loss of their leading scorer and rebounder to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament title.

"I think the biggest joy for any coach is watching his players finally get it and become a team," coach Ed Joyner Jr. said. "Over the last two weeks, they got it."

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Moses, Chatters finish in top 10 at Louisiana Classics

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana -- Xavier University of Louisiana freshmen Joseph Moses III and Drew Chatters earned top-10 finishes Friday in the Louisiana Classics track and field meet.

Moses placed fourth in the men's 200-meter dash in 21.87 seconds. Chatters was eighth in the women's javelin with a mark of 35.52 meters (116 feet, 6 inches).

Xavier's Devante Bailey (22.86) was 19th in the men's 200. Three placed in the women's 200: Devinn Rolland (25.69) was 13th, Clarke Allen (26.31) was 22nd, and Katelyn McMorris (27.25) was 27th.

The two-day meet will conclude Saturday at Louisiana-Lafayette's Cajun Track / Soccer Facility. Field events will begin at 9 a.m., followed by track events at 2 p.m. The final event, the men's 1,600 relay, is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Nuggets, Rush win on road against ranked Carey teams

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams won dual matches Thursday against William Carey. The Gold Nuggets won 5-1, and the Gold Rush won 5-2.

The Gold Nuggets (11-7), ranked seventh in the NAIA, earned their first victory of the season against a ranked opponent. The Gold Rush (9-3), ranked sixth, are 4-1 this season against ranked teams.

William Carey's women (6-6) are 20th in the NAIA, and its men (6-5) are 21st.

Nour Abbes and Caroline Vernet won in doubles and singles for the Nuggets. Vernet clinched with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Sara Valero Marin.

Abbes rallied to defeat Audrey Leitz 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Abbes is 41-2 in singles during her XU career, 24-2 this season.

Jordan Harrell clinched for the Gold Rush when he defeated Gleb Bilyalov 6-3, 6-3. Kyle Montrel and Tushar Mandlekar won in doubles and singles. Montrel and Nikita Soifer's 8-1 victory against Nick Georgian and Carlos Lopez Ruiz gives Montrel a 12-0 doubles record this season, 8-0 with Soifer.

XU's men will travel to Troy, Ala., to play Troy at 3 p.m. Friday and Columbus State -- ranked sixth in NCAA Division II -- at 11 a.m. Saturday. Next for the Gold Nuggets will be Southern Miss at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at XU Tennis Center.

Results:  Men    Women 


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Rattlers Picking Up On New Philosophies During Spring Drills

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  – The Florida A&M football team took to drills at 5:45 a.m. in Bragg Memorial Stadium for the second day of spring football. The team looked sharper after going through their previous day of drills under new head coach Alex Wood. The team went through roughly a two hour workout.

After warmup, under the direction of Russell Barbarino, the team broke into segments for position drills. The team went through 7-on-7 drills, followed by 11-on-11.

FAMU quarterback Carson Royal has quickly grasped many of the concepts of the new offense and is pleased with the new system. “It’s really fast-paced and there’s a lot going on, so you really just have to slow it down mentally and make sure everyone is in the right position. We’re starting out with the basics right now, so making sure that as a team we get the tempo going and are in the right place is a key,” he said.



The pace is borderline frantic. At that time in the morning, only the FAMU Army ROTC cadets are up and moving around. The Rattlers football coaches rival their intensity though, barking and engraving their system into the minds of the football squad, much like sergeants drill their troops.

The team will hold their first Saturday practice tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Bragg Stadium. The practice will last approximately two hours, providing the coaches with a glimpse of the personnel and their ability to grasp Martin Spieler’s offense and Theo Lemon’s defense. Wood patrols all aspects of practice pacing back and forth between segments working on quality control.

Linebacker Akil Blount expressed his pleasure with what he is seeing. “I am happy with what I am seeing from the offense. As a defender, I look at what they are doing and it will be difficult to defend if it is executed properly,” he said.

Royal feels the team is excited about the possibilities of the new systems. “As a team we love it. Everyone has positive reinforcement when the coaches are talking about the plays and everyone has a great mentality going into practice. This morning we started out a little slow, but we got the tempo going and that’s what we really need. This offense is very exciting and I’m sure our fans will enjoy it too. It gets plays going and with just a small break between plays, it will give the crowd something to see and hopefully catch some defenses off guard,” Royal said.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

TSU Lady Tigers' Season Ends at Kentucky, 97-52

LEXINGTON, Kentucky  --  Brianna Lawrence poured in 16 points, but the Tennessee State women’s basketball team’s historic season ended, Friday, with a, 97-52, loss to Kentucky in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Briana Morrow added 11 points for TSU (18-13), while UK (24-9) had six players finish in double-figures led by Linnae Harper’s 16.

The Lady Tigers shot 26 percent for the game (18-of-69) and had 26 turnovers. UK edged the Lady Tigers in rebounds, 52 to 34, and went to the free throw line 42 times.

Lawrence got TSU off to a good start by nailing the team’s first jumper of the game, but the hoop was part of a 1-for-13 start from the field for the Lady Tigers. The TSU dry-spell allowed UK to go on a 19-1 run to take a 16-point lead early in the contest.

Jayda Johnson finally ended the stretch with a corner three-pointer with 11:33 to go in the first half, but the Wildcats responded with 10 straight point to move ahead, 29-6.

Lawrence provided the highlights of the first half for the Lady Tigers and canned back-to-back three-pointers. Her second cut the lead to 21 with 6:19 to play before halftime.

The Wildcats eased up on the full-court press to end the first period, allowing Tennessee State to string together an 11-3 run that featured three-point shots from Rachel Allen, Johnson and Lawrence.

UK scored the last five points of the half and went into the locker room ahead, 50-25.

TSU was just 9-of-34 (26 percent) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes, but was deadly from deep, nailing 6-of-12.

Like the opening half, TSU got on the board first to begin the second with a Chelsea Hudson layup, but UK immediately countered with a pair of free throws on the other end to re-gain momentum.

The Wildcats later went on a 12-2 run to pad the lead to 40 when UK’s Alexis Jennings converted on a layup at the 8:46 mark. The Lady Tigers responded by scoring six straight points thanks to a technical foul on UK. The ensuing free throws made the score, 82-48, with 7:33 to go in the game.

The Wildcats closed the game on a 13-3 run and walked away with a 45-point win.

Tennessee State’s season comes to a close in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, while Kentucky moves on to face Dayton, Sunday.

FINAL STATS BOOK

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Gone but never forgetting, Hampton relishes NCAA chance

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Hampton University's basketball players don't understand the fascination with, well, them. They don't get why people all across the country are saying they've got Jesus on speed dial. Or what's so funny about them going through their pre-game walkthrough in their hotel lobby.

The Pirates were the lone team to enter the NCAA tournament with a sub-.500 record, yet they're about to face brighter lights and a bigger stage than they could possibly have imagined two weeks ago. They'll be the first team to face unbeaten Kentucky in this NCAA tournament, the first of a few obstacles to a perfect season for the Wildcats.

They know a 16 seed has never beaten a 1 seed; they know their situation is even more unique than most. They're about to become a historical footnote.

Knowing the odds and embracing the exposure, Hampton opened its doors to USA TODAY Sports for a look at their pre-game preparation and approach, beginning the moment the team arrived at the arena Thursday night.


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Top-seeded Gamecocks too much for Savannah State

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — There would be no 62-point margin of victory, not this time. But South Carolina still had too much size, too much depth, and too much home support to be denied in the opening round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

The top-seeded Gamecocks dominated in the paint, and turned a close game into a runway with a 21-1 second half run that knocked out 16th-seded Savannah State 81-48 Friday at Colonial Life Arena. Third-ranked USC plays either No. 8 seed Syracuse or No. 9 seed Nebraska in the second round Sunday at 7 p.m.

The Gamecocks (31-2), the top seed in the Greensboro Regional, are now one win away from their third trip to the Sweet 16 in as many seasons. Hosting the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002, South Carolina also ran its home winning streak to 33 games.

USC beat Savannah State by 62 points when the two teams met in December in Columbia, but from tipoff it was clear this would be a different game. The MEAC tournament champions were within 13 at the half, and despite the Gamecocks’ dominant inside presence were still within 10 with 15:55 remaining in the game.

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TSU bows to Southern Miss in WNIT

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Texas Southern started strong against Southern Miss in its Women's National Invitation Tournament opener, leading by as many as 13 in the first half.

But the Lady Tigers were quickly overwhelmed in the second half.

Southern Miss opened the second period on a 14-3 run to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and poured on the offense from there en route to defeating TSU 79-69 before a crowd of 1,358 Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum.

PHOTO GALLERY

Tamara Jones had game highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds for Southern Miss (23-10), which outscored TSU 46-26 in the second half after trailing 43-33 at halftime.

"I thought Southern Miss made a great adjustment at halftime to our zone defense," TSU coach Johnetta Hayes-Perry said. "I also thought we did a poor job defensively in the second half."

Brianna Sidney scored 22 points, and Diamonisha Sophus added 16 for TSU (19-11).

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No ASU spring ball adds confusion to Hornets' nest

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Usually when a school has spring break, the football team gets a break from spring practice.

Alabama State is the exception this year.

The Hornets aren't allowed to have spring practice or a spring game due to poor Academic Progress Rate reports sustained under former coach Reggie Barlow. This further begs the question of why would Brian Jenkins take this job.

Alabama State offered him less money than he was making at Bethune-Cookman. He's following Barlow who was asked to resign two months after signing a contract extension. On top of that, Jenkins won't have a spring practice, something coaches greatly value.

NCAA associate director Michelle Hosick said ...

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Southern baseball team looks to bounce back; series against Texas Southern starts Friday

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern returns to Lee-Hines Field on Friday for the first time since it nearly beat No. 1-ranked LSU on Tuesday night.

The weekend series against Texas Southern was moved up because of anticipated rain later in the weekend. The series begins with a doubleheader Friday, with games at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., and concludes with a single game at noon Saturday.

Jaguars coach Roger Cador hopes this team responds to the 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Tigers the way his 1999 team responded to a similar loss to LSU.

“We won a whole bunch of games in a row after that, and we went on to win (the Southwestern Athletic Conference title),” Cador said Thursday. “I don’t know if these kids are like the kids in 1999. We’ll see.

“But I told them, ‘Why would you want to play like that, then go back to playing the way you had been?’ ”

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NCAA women’s tournament: ASU unfazed by challenge

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Alabama State women’s basketball coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said her players have been great listeners all season long.

That trait has helped to give the Hornets the opportunity to represent their school at 12:30 p.m. Saturday when they take on Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Tallahassee.

ASU (17-14) earned the automatic bid by winning the SWAC Tournament in Houston and is the No. 15 seed in the Greensboro Regional. Florida State (29-4) enters the game as the No. 2 seed, its highest seed in school history.

Freeman-Jackson said her team will not be intimated by the daunting task.

“They believe in our system,” Freeman-Jackson said. “They know how to persevere and take advantage of opportunities afforded to them. They’re really working hard and really believe in one another.”

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Hey, Hampton fared better than some against Kentucky

PHOTO GALLERY: 
Kentucky takes easy win over Hampton, 79-56

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — After midnight in a cramped and lighthearted locker room, Hampton University guard Breon Key looked into his phone, stood from his chair and began reading aloud a list that included Kansas, Texas, UCLA, Louisville, Providence, Buffalo . . .

Those would be the previous Kentucky opponents Hampton had outscored while taking their uphill turn against the mighty Wildcats on Thursday night in the round of 64 of the NCAA tournament. In fact, among the 35 games that have resulted in 35 Kentucky wins since Nov. 14, the No. 16-seeded Pirates had scored more than 20 Kentucky victims and tied one in their 79-56 first-round loss at the Yum! Center.

They had weathered the occasion with aplomb. They had trailed by 35 points midway through the second half, but they narrowed that considerably from there, and they didn’t suffer any outsized horror such as what happened on Dec. 20 to UCLA, which fell behind Kentucky 24-0 at the outset.

“A pretty great experience,” Hampton guard Brian Darden said. “The atmosphere. Playing against the number-one team. You get to test yourself, see how well you do.”

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MACU makes 14 3's, eliminates Gold Rush 84-70 at nationals

KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Xavier University of Louisiana's men's basketball season ended Thursday after an 84-70 loss to Mid-America Christian in the opening round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

Junior guard Morris Wright scored 22 of his career-high 27 points in the second half for the Gold Rush (24-10), ranked 19th in the coaches poll and unseeded in the tournament.

The Evangels (24-10), ranked and seeded 13th, made 14 3-pointers and won in their first trip to the NAIA's national tournament. Jerrick Massenburge, one of five double-figure scorers for MACU, made 4-of-4 3-pointers in the second half and scored 17 points.

MACU, from Oklahoma City and the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season champion, scored the first eight points and never trailed. The Evangels led 38-28 at halftime and 77-53 after Massenburge made his final 3-pointer with 6:41 remaining.

Wright scored 10 points in the final 7:37 and led Xavier in a closing 17-7 run.

Sydney Coleman had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Gold Rush. Anthony Goode and RJ Daniels scored 11 apiece. Daniels had a game-high nine points in the first half.

Semar Farris scored 16 points for MACU. Chris Runnels scored 12 points, and Josh Smith and Brock Hunter had 10 apiece.

Wright's basket at 10:25 of the first half rallied Xavier to 16-15, but the Evangels scored the next 11 points, including 3-pointers by Jarius Wilson and Reggie Davis.

Xavier never was closer than seven points in the second half, when Goode made three free throws at 17:05 to make it 42-35. MACU led by double digits for the final 13:05.

The 14 3-pointers matched the most surrendered by an XU team in the last nine seasons. It was the 12th time this season that MACU made 10 or more treys.

Xavier shot 50 percent from the floor, its second-best ever in 20 games at nationals, and 59.3 percent in the second half. MACU shot 46.6 percent overall.

MACU will play fourth-seeded Freed-Hardeman or unseeded Missouri Valley at 8 p.m. Friday in second round. The championship game of the 32-team, five-round event will be Tuesday.

NOTES: It was the final XU game for Coleman and Goode, the team's only seniors. Both were second-team All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference this year . . . Xavier has lost six consecutive first-round games at nationals. The only XU victory at nationals since 1973 was in the 2007 first round . . . Xavier is 4-16 all-time in 16 appearances at nationals . . . This was Xavier's fifth consecutive appearance at nationals, a school record . . . This is the final season of Mid-America Christian head coach Willie Holley, a 1970 graduate of Louisiana-Monroe who is 812-526 in 43 seasons.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information DirectorXULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Albany State interim football coach Dan Land liked what he saw from Rams

ALBANY, Georgia — Albany State football fans got a taste of what they’re going to see this fall from interim head coach Dan Land and the Rams football team Thursday night as they held their annual Blue & Gold Scrimmage game at the Coliseum.

#It was the Gold Crush offense that was able to come back in the second half and defeat the Dirty Blue defense 34-31.

#The Rams are in the process of filling a void left by former quarterback Frank Rivers, who was able to lead the team to the SIAC championship game during his team his two seasons. They have three prospects to replace him, two of which played in the scrimmage — former Monroe standout Charles Stafford and Caleb Edmond, who backed Rivers up last season.

#In his first pass during the seven-on-seven warmup, Stafford completed a bomb for about 15 yards. In the second quarter, Edmond got tangled up with a few defensive linemen, appeared to be going down but at the last second completed a shovel pass and turned what would’ve been a sack into a 20-plus yard gain. Edmond also completed a beautiful 39-yard touchdown pass in the third and finished with no interceptions. Stafford had two in the contest.

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COMING FULL CIRCLE: Savannah State women's basketball Cedric Baker gets a homecoming in South Carolina

COURTESY SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
HEAD COACH CEDRIC BAKER

COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- Savannah State coach Cedric Baker is about as comfortable as a man can be expected to be, considering the circumstances.

Comfortable, considering he will be taking his women’s basketball team against the third-ranked squad in the country, an opponent that defeated his squad by 62 points already this season.

Baker sees today’s date against top-seeded South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a homecoming. He coached at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., and coached and played at his alma mater, Voorhees College, in Denmark, S.C., about 50 miles away.

The 12th-year SSU coach hopes to see friends and former players at USC’s Colonial Life Arena for the 5 p.m. tipoff.

“There’s going to be great karma in South Carolina,” Baker said. “It’s great going home and gives me a chance to reflect on those who have supported me along the journey.

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Southern hopes ban ends in fall

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The end date for Southern’s NCAA postseason ban is still unknown, but Jaguars Athletic Director William Broussard said Monday that he hopes it will come before the end of the current probationary period.

In January, the NCAA extended the Southern postseason ban through Nov. 1, but said it could be lifted earlier if the subcommittee evaluating the Jaguars’ Academic Progress Rates case is satisfied that the university has submitted the proper data.

The NCAA instituted a postseason ban on all Southern athletic programs in November, 2013 because the university submitted “unusable data” in its documentation of student-athletes’ APR.

During the past 15 months, the Jaguars have responded to numerous NCAA requests for additional information and instituted new campus-wide protocals for compiling such data. But so far the university has been unable to satisfy the NCAA.

“I don’t think people understand just how much we have to do,” Broussard said as he spoke to the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday.

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Arizona Shoots Past Texas Southern

• Photos: Arizona has no problem with 15th-seeded Texas Southern

PORTLAND, Oregon -- The weight of national championship aspirations did not slow second-seeded Arizona on Thursday, as the Wildcats breezed to a 93-72 victory over No. 15 Texas Southern.

The Wildcats (32-3) zipped to a 15-2 lead in the game’s first five minutes, snuffing any possible drama and turning the game into a bench-emptying exhibition of Arizona’s depth. By halftime, it was 54-33, and Arizona had made 20 of 29 field-goal attempts (69 percent) and all 12 of its free throws. The Wildcats shot 60 percent for the game.

Still, Arizona prides itself as a top defensive team, and Coach Sean Miller, happy with the result, was not satisfied with the method, which allowed Texas Southern’s guard-heavy lineup to shoot 47 percent from the field.

“I know we won by a big margin,” Miller said. “But we have high aspirations, and in this tournament, you don’t get a second chance.”

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Morgan State stabbing suspect claims self-defense, gets bail

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The Morgan State University student charged with critically wounding another student during a fight could be released on bail, after his attorney argued that he has a "significant" self-defense claim.

District Court Judge Nathan Braverman set a $500,000 bail on Thursday morning for Carlos Mars, a 19-year-old Morgan student who is facing attempted first-degree murder and other charges for his role in a campus fight Tuesday afternoon.

Police initially said three people were stabbed, and university officials identified them as university football players. Officials later said two were stabbed and one was hurt by other means. Officials also said that the most seriously injured student was a former player who is not on the team this year, and the other stabbing victim was a student who is trying out for the team this spring. Cosca said others were hurt who are not known to police.

A District Court commissioner had initially ordered Mars held without bail.

Rebecca Cosca, a Silver Spring-based attorney, told Braverman said Mars was part of a "big brawl" involving several people. "This was a situation where he was trying to protect himself and his friends," she said.

Mars cooperated with police, telling his version of the events. Cosca said at least one of Mars' friends, who attended the court hearing, had also been cut during the fracas, but not by Mars.

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Hampton University Pirates: ‘Little Buck’ ready for the big stage

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky  -- Ed Joyner Jr., the head coach at Hampton, can usually tell right away if somebody knows him or his family.

“If somebody calls me ‘Little Buck,’ then they know me,” Joyner said by telephone on Wednesday from Louisville, where his 16th-seeded Pirates will play top-seeded and undefeated Kentucky tonight in the NCAA Tournament.

Joyner, a Winston-Salem native, is known as Little Buck by family members and around the CIAA and MEAC. That’s because he comes from the Joyner family coaching tree that was started by his father, Ed “Buck” Joyner, and uncle, Steve Joyner Sr.

Buck Joyner is an assistant at Livingstone, the two-time defending CIAA champions, and Steve — Buck’s brother — is the head coach at Johnson C. Smith; Steve needs two wins next season to reach 500 for his career.

As Little Buck navigates his second time on the big stage, he has already made a name for himself — thanks to a comment he made about playing Kentucky. Before the Pirates (17-17) played Manhattan in the play-in game on Tuesday, Joyner joked that he’d have to get Jesus on speed dial if the Pirates were to play Kentucky.



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Stillman axes athletic events

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Stillman College plans to cancel many non-conference athletic events and play only Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests, the school announced on its website Thursday.

“Like most private institutions around the country, Stillman Athletics acknowledges the financial challenges facing the college at this time and has embarked upon cost-saving measures,” a message on the Stillmanathletics.com website said. “These measures included the cancellation of non-conference events and do not jeopardize the postseason eligibility of the Tigers and Lady Tigers.”

Neither Stillman President Peter Millet nor Cassandra Moorer, the school's interim athletics director, were available for comment. Moorer was named interim athletics director last August.

Stillman's 2015 football schedule has not been released, but no games are expected to be canceled. .

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Behind Texas Southern, a Lowly Conference Rides High

PORTLAND, Oregon — Among the few constants in college basketball is the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s position at the bottom. The conference, consisting of historically black colleges, is perennially the lowest-rated league in the country. Of the 351 teams ranked in the Basketball Power Index, only one SWAC team is higher than No. 261.

That is Texas Southern, seeded 15th in the West Region and matched against No. 2 Arizona on Thursday. And while it is unlikely that the Tigers (B.P.I.: 210) will become the first SWAC team since 1993 to win a round-of-64 game in the N.C.A.A. tournament, they have the attention of big-name programs.

Coach Mike Davis coached at Indiana for six seasons, leading the Hoosiers to the 2002 championship game. This season, Davis’s third with the Tigers, Texas Southern beat Michigan State and Kansas State on the road, part of an intentionally brutal nonconference schedule intended to make up for the anchor effect of playing in the SWAC.

“My vision for the program is to one day get it to the level of an at-large bid,” Davis said Wednesday.

The nonconference schedule included games at Indiana, Tennessee, Southern Methodist, Baylor, Florida, Gonzaga and Auburn. That helps the strength-of-schedule component of the rankings, of course. But the goal is winning.

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Timing is everything: Senior guard Ezinne Kalu has led Savannah State to the NCAA tournament

COURTESY SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- It was a timely announcement that paid off multiple times for Savannah State.

Ezinne Kalu learned she had the same birthday as former Tigers football star Shannon Sharpe when she came on a recruiting visit.

It was the same day SSU announced it would retire Sharpe’s No. 2 jersey later in the season.

“Coach, you’re going to do the same thing for me?” Kalu asked Tigers women’s coach Cedric Baker.

“You’re coming?” Baker asked.

“Coach, I’m coming,” Kalu said.

Baker remembers the conversation clearly. Mark the date — June 26 — the day the SSU women’s basketball program took a leap toward competitiveness. With Kalu in the lineup, the Tigers are 70-61. But without Kalu during Baker’s 11-year tenure, SSU has gone 56-138.

Before Kalu, the Tigers experienced 11 straight losing seasons. Now with Kalu leading the way, the women’s program finds itself mentioned with the nation’s elite. The Tigers will play top-seeded South Carolina at 5 p.m. on Friday in Columbia in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.

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NCCU raises its Tobacco Road profile

"I hope we proved to America that we’re not an HBCU, we’re a Division I basketball team.”

MIAMI, Florida — In its physical form, Tobacco Road is a 100-mile stretch that spans the distance between North Carolina, Duke, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

It’s a familiar landmark for the college basketball community, representing some of the biggest blue bloods of the sport and the incredible level of competition between the programs.

But after another year of North Carolina Central’s unprecedented success under coach LeVelle Moton, there’s another program fighting to erect a permanent mile-marker of its own along the historic trail.

If the program’s first perfect conference record wasn’t enough to earn respect and attention, surely Tuesday night’s performance in a 75-71 loss Miami in the first round of the NIT should certainly start some conversation about the Eagles.



“The truth of the matter is, no one expected them to do what they do or did what they did,” Moton said. “No one expected that team to go 16-0. You’re looking at a team that’s playing without their best post player, without their back up point guard, out with a broken foot.

“We just had to find a way. It’s tough for them to receive the proper respect. There was so much being said about Central not being deserving of an NCAA bid and there were flukes. It’s unfortunate that we can spend five or six months working to establish a body of work and no one cares except for one day in the tournament. Where else do they do that? "

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Hampton not counting on Jesus' help vs. UK

LEXINGTON, Kentucky -- Jesus never called Edward Joyner back, but Hampton University's basketball coach doesn't think it'll take divine intervention to knock off overall No. 1 seed Kentucky in Thursday night's round of 64 NCAA tournament game at the KFC Yum! Center.

Joyner had 297 text messages awaiting him after the Pirates, a No. 16 seed one game below .500, upset Manhattan in a play-in game Tuesday in Dayton. Some texts had to do with what's ahead – a date with 34-0 UK – but the coach's quote on the Wildcats caught on more.

"Hold on, I told y'all I had Jesus on speed dial," Joyner said, pretending to make a phone call. "Hey, Jesus. First of all, you can't play, so I am not worried about you being hot. OK? Fine. They want to know how much of a mountain and what are our odds. Hello? Hello? I guess he'll get back to me."

Joyner said Wednesday inside the Yum! Center that Jesus finally responded, but only via email. Hey, that's progress. And some words from above left him hopeful even as a 31-point underdog.



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