Photo credit: @marchmadness
On the Sports Headlines podcast with Tony:
#1 Are all of Tony’s brackets broken? Tony talks about his prediction in the Sweet 16 and who’ll be the last team standing.
#2 What benefits do you see to having injuries to Golden State Warriors? Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Green and Curry are expected to come back on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
#3 Pitcher Jeff Samardzija has given up three homers in one inning twice in two games and is struggling to have a decent spring outing. He’ll be in the rotation for the regular season, but what is happening with Samardzija and giving up the long ball?
#4 A’s pitcher AJ Puk has gone down with biceps soreness and has no major structural damage. He’s listed as day-to-day.
#5 The Giants certainly have the offense coming into the season with big boppers like Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen, Joe Panik, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, and Pablo Sandoval, just to name a few. But the Giants’ pitching staff is still a concern coming into the season.
Tony Renteria does the Sports Headlines podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @StanfordMBB
On the NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal podcast with Matt Harrington:
#1 Stanford (19-15) got by the BYU Cougars 86-83 in close fashion last Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion to take the first step towards the Big Dance.
#2 Reid Travis led Stanford with 25 and 14 rebounds. Travis has been solid all season.
#3 The Cougars had defeated St Mary’s before losing to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament, but it shows beating St. Mary’s, how potent BYU was and Stanford battled to edge them out.
#4 The Cougars got within two points with nine seconds left in the contest as the Cardinal were leading 85-83 towards the end. BYU made two last shots from the field, but could tie the ball game.
#5 It’s off to Oklahoma State (20-14) Monday night as the Cardinal try to advance it’s a 4:00 pm PDT start
Matt Harrington does podcast commentary on Stanford basketball during March Madness at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @NovaMBB
On the NCAA March Madness Podcast with Michelle:
1 Michelle, the choices for the NCAA committee for a top seeded school selection was easy when North Carolina or Duke didn’t win in the ACC tournament?
2 Virginia (31-2) has clinched for a No.1 overall seed. They won the ACC in a sweep of the tournament that puts them up by four games. The Cavs had a most impressive record against quadrant one opponents going 12-1.
3 Villanova (30-4) and Kansas (27-7) won their conference tournaments. Kansas who won their title are 18-3 going up against the top two quadrants and swept Xavier and got wins from Tennessee and Gonzaga no easy tasks.
4. Michelle’s final thoughts.
Michelle Richardson invites you to listen to the March Madness Podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @UNMLOBOS
By: Ana Kieu
LAS VEGAS — This year, the San Jose State Spartans were handed a first-round exit for the third year in a row, but most, if not all, Spartan fans and alumnus were understanding of first-year head coach Jean Prioleau’s struggle because who reaches perfection in their debut year?
Anyways, let’s take a look at the semifinals of this year’s Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. Both games were broadcast live on CBS Sports Network: No. 1 Nevada Wolf Pack faced the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs on Friday at 6:00 pm PT, while the No. 7 Utah State Aggies took on the No. 3 New Mexico Lobos at 8:30 pm PT.
No. 1 Nevada vs. No. 5 San Diego State
The Nevada Wolf Pack were seeking revenge against the San Diego State Aztecs and what better way to do it than battling it out on the court in the semifinals of the MW Tournament?
Just five minutes into the opening half, Nevada trailed San Diego State 15-9. Aztecs guard Trey Kell put his defender in the popcorn machine and then found fellow guard Devin Watson for a 3-pointer.
The Aztecs continued to pour in the points in a successful attempt to suppress the Wolf Pack. Watson got his third triple and later stepped in for the jumper. Meanwhile, Kell hit a couple of threes. Wolf Pack forward Jordan Caroline led his team in scoring with seven points, but they continued to trail 34-16 with 7:55 to go in the half.
The Aztecs carried a whopping 55-25 lead over the Wolf Pack at the half. According to Stats by STATS, SDSU led No. 22 Nevada by 30 points, which marked their largest halftime lead by an unranked team against a ranked opponent since the Butler Bulldogs led 43-10 at the half against the No. 23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
The Wolf Pack got on the board first in the second half. Wolf Pack guard Kendall Stephens hit a layup just 14 seconds into the half. Yet, Nevada continued to trail SDSU 55-27 and basically succumbed to a large deficit throughout the half.
Aztecs center Kameron Rooks made some notable moves in the paint to help his team to a 70-43 lead with 9:55 to go in the half. Also, Aztecs forward Malik Pope threw down a dunk in a stellar completion of a tremendous play just a little over 40 seconds later.
The Aztecs had this semifinal game from start to finish and advanced to the championship game with a 90-73 win over Nevada.
Final stats: SDSU–FG%: 28-54 (51.9%); 3FG%: 8-23 (34.8%); FT%: 26-34 (76.5%). Nevada–FG%: 27-68 (39.7%); 3FG%: 7-29 (24.1%); FT%: 12-17 (70.6%).
No. 7 Utah State vs. No. 3 New Mexico
The Utah State Aggies upset the Boise State Broncos, but were they able to repeat against the New Mexico Lobos in the semifinals of the MW Tournament?
These two teams went back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the first half. However, New Mexico had the upper hand as they led Utah State by one (9-8) at the 14:16 mark of the half.
These two teams were tied at 12 apiece midway through the half. Then, USU went on a 11-0 run since the 14-minute mark and went ahead of UNM during a span of 4:01. Lobos guard Troy Simons hit a 3-pointer to end the Aggies’ lengthy run.
The Lobos went on a massive 17-0 run and closed out the half with a free throw from forward Sam Logwood. Meanwhile, the Aggies went cold out of the blue. The Lobos led the Aggies 37-25 at the half.
The Aggies continued the cold streak in the second half. The Lobos went on a 6-0 run to start the half.
After Makuach Maluach threw down a dunk, USU snapped out of their pointless streak and went on an 8-0 run that was ended by a jumper from Joe Furstinger at the 11:52 mark.
There was a timeout on the floor and the Lobos led the Aggies by 16 points, 75-59, with 3:56 to go in the half. The Lobos continued to hold onto its lead and guard Antino Jackson added a three with 18 seconds left in regulation.
The Lobos advanced to the championship game, where they will take on the Aztecs.
Final stats: USU–FG%: 24-57 (42.1%); 3FG%: 7-24 (29.2%); FT%: 13-16 (81.3%). UNM–FG%: 28-54 (51.9%); 3FG%: 7-24 (29.2%); FT%: 20-25 (80.0%).
Notes
Wolf Pack’s projected lineup: Charlie Todley, John Jones, Elijah Cooks, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Elijah Foster, Hallice Cooke, Lindsey Drew, David Cunningham, Kendall Stephens, Jordan Caroline, Josh Hall and Justin Brent.
Aztecs’ projected lineup: Devin Watson, Adam Seiko, Trey Kell, Michael Sohikish, Jalen McDaniels, Max Montana, Matt Mitchell, Jordan Schakel, Malik Pope, Nolan Narain, Jeremy Hemsley and Kameron Rooks.
Lobos’ projected lineup: Chris McNeal, Sam Logwood, Antino Jackson, Mike Mondragon, Joe Furstinger, Makuach Maluach, Jachai Simmons, Dane Kuiper, Vladimir Pinchuk, Troy Simons and Anthony Mathis.
Aggies’ projected lineup: DeAngelo Isby, Koby McEwen, Sam Merrill, Crew Ainge, Julion Pearre, Quinn Taylor, Alex Dargenton, Justin Bean, Brock Miller, Daron Henson, Diogo Brito, Dwayne Brown Jr. and Abel Porter.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack and Lobos will meet for the final of the Mountain West Tournament on Sunday at 3:00 pm PT.
By: Joe Lami
The Stanford Cardinal played their final game of the 2013-2014 season on Sunday night after they were defeated by Connecticut 75-56 in Nashville. The Cardinal were seeking their third National Championship in school history and their first one since 1992, however they fell short in their sixth trip to the final four in the past seven years. Sunday also marks the third time in four years that the Cardinal have fallen in the National Semi-Final.
The Cardinal controlled much of the first half. The Huskies got on the board first with buckets from Bria Hartley and Moriah Jefferson to go up 4-0. Chiney Ogwumike got on the board first for the Cardinal with a jumper of her own. Connecticut would get the lead back up to four, until Stanford went on a 7-0 run to give them their first lead of the evening with 16:09 remaining in the half. The Cardinal held the lead for 12 minutes until Stephanie Dolson tied it up at 22 with four minutes remaining. The 12 minutes marked the longest stretch of time this season that Connecticut had trailed. Stanford pushed their largest lead to six, marking the second highest lead a team had on Connecticut all season. The Huskies continued their run, extending it to 14-0 before Stanford was able to answer with a bucket of their own. UConn went into the half with a 28-24 lead.
Stanford fell apart in the second half, as Connecticut started the second half with a 5:46 16-3 run. The three points came from a rare three-pointer from Ogwumike. The run would be give enough of a lead for UConn to ride out the win. The Cardinal wouldn’t be able to fight their way back.
Amber Orrange led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points, she also added five assists in the losing effort. Ogwumike wrapped up her Stanford career with her 25th double double of the season, as the expected 1st overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft finished the game with 15 points and ten rebounds. Lili Thompson wrapped up the double figure Cardinal scorers with 12 points, eight of which came in the first half.
The Huskies saw all five of their starters get into double figures. Player of the Year nominee, Brianna Stewart led the way with 18 points. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis contributed 15 points, all of which came in the second half. Hartley shot four of 12 from the field to finish with 14 points. Both Jefferson and Dolson finished the game with ten points each to cap off the double digits scorers. Kiah Stokes also came off of the bench to add nine points in 22 minutes played, as the Huskies used only six players in 39-minutes of the game. In the last minute, substitutes Saniya Chong, Tierney Lawlor, Briana Pulido and Brianna Banks replaced the starting five.
Connecticut remains undefeated at 39-0 and advance to their school’s ninth National Championship. Next up for the Huskies is another undefeated team in Notre Dame (37-0), who beat Maryland 81-67 in the other National Semi-Final game. Tuesday will mark the first time ever, where two undefeated teams will battle it out for the National Title. Connecticut also joins their men’s team in the National Championship, as the men’s team will be going up against Kentucky for the men’s title. Both Connecticut team’s won the title in 2004, and have a chance to do it again just ten years later. They remain the only school to accomplish the feat.
Stanford finishes their season with a record of 30-4 and some uncertainty in next season, as it will be the first one since 2008 where an Ogwumike will not be on the team.
By: Joe Lami
STANFORD, Calif.–The Stanford Cardinal returned to Maples Pavilion, a regional host site for this year’s NCAA Tournament, on Sunday where they took on the Penn State Lady Lions in the regional semi-final. The Cardinal defeated the Lady Lions by the final score of 82-57.
The first half was neck and neck until about half way through. The Lady Lions went on a 7-0 run to get ahead of the Cardinal 23-19. The Cardinal were able to comeback with a 14-0 run of their own spanning a 5:12. The run would end when Ariel Edwards would hit a pair of free throws. Stanford would get five more points until the Lady Lions would be able to hit a field goal, as Edwards would nail a jumper with 2:47 remaining in the first half. Penn State was unable to hit a field goal for 6:48 which gave Stanford a big advantage, as their lead would be 38-27. The scoring drought would begin again until Edwards would be able to get a bucket and a foul with 13 seconds remaining in the half. Stanford went into the halftime break with a 44-30 lead.
After much control of the first half, the second half went fairly easy for the Cardinal, as then only surrendered 27 points to cruise to victory. The final minutes for the Cardinal allowed players that wouldn’t normally see minutes in the NCAA Tournament, as Briana Roberson, Jasmine Camp, Erica Payne and Erica McCall were able to jump in the game.
“Today was an ideal day for Stanford basketball” praised Chiney Ogwumike after the game.
Ogwumike led the way for the Cardinal once again, as she finished with 29 points. She also added 15 rebounds to get her 25th double double of the season, and ups her career total to 83. Amber Orrange was second in scoring for Stanford with 18 points. Lili Thompson and Mikaela Ruef both finished the game with 11 points. Ruef also added 13 rebounds to achieve the double double.
Edwards led the way for the Lady Lions, as she finished with 22 points. Dara Taylor and Talia East were the other Penn St. players to get into double figures, contributing 11 and ten respectively.
The major factor in the Stanford win was allowing Maggie Lucas to only score six points. Lucas, the Big Ten player of the year, was averaging 21.5 points per game coming into the contest. This was only the second time this season where Lucas was held under ten points. The last time occurred when the Lady Lions lost to Notre Dame at home on December 4. Thompson was assigned to defend against Lucas, and she was a major factor. “She was forced to take tough shots all night” claimed Penn State Head Coach, Coquese Washington. Thompson later added that the key to shutting Lucas down was to limit her touches.
The Cardinal will continue their run on Tuesday with hopes of advancing to the Final Four, as they will take on North Carolina, who defeated South Carolina 65-58 in the other regional semi-final.
By: Joe Lami
The Stanford Cardinal will be returning to Maples Pavilion next weekend as they will be continue on to the Sweet Sixteen, after a victory over the Florida State Seminoles on Monday afternoon. The second-seeded Cardinal defeated the tenth-seeded Seminoles 63-44 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Seminoles grabbed an early seven-point lead, as they went on a 7-0 run to start the game in the first 1:52. It wasn’t until the 18:08 mark where Amber Orrange was able to get things started for Stanford with a field goal. The largest lead for Florida State was stretched to eight points at the 12:31 mark, when the Seminoles had the 14-6 lead. However, this is when the Cardinal were able to turn the game around, as Stanford went on a 26-2 run, including a 13-minute scoring drought for Florida State to end the half. Stanford went into halftime with a 32-16 lead.
Stanford would also control the second half as well, outscoring the Seminoles by three points to complete the victory.
All-time Pac-12 leading scorer, Chiney Ogwumike, led things for the Cardinal as she finished the game 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points. She ended the game just one rebound shy of the double double. Lili Thompson had another outstanding performance, as she contributed 14 points in the win, including a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity strike. Bonnie Samuelson completed the list of players that got into double figures, as she came off the bench to score 11, with nine points coming from beyond the arc.
Florida State was able to achieve something that few teams have been able to do against Stanford this season, and that is to out-rebound the Cardinal. The Seminoles won the rebound battle 35-32 with 12 of them coming on the offensive side of the glass. Natasha Howard, Brittany Brown and Kai James all finished the game with seven rebounds for FSU. Howard was also the Noles leading scorer, as she finished the game with nine points.
The Cardinal will be returning to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in a row, and now they will be coming back to their home floor for possibly the next two games. Up next for the Cardinal will be the winner of Penn State and Florida, before what is expected to be an Elite Eight matchup with the number one seed in the region, South Carolina.
By: Joe Lami
The Stanford Cardinal started what they are hoping to be a long NCAA Tournament run on Saturday afternoon with a win. They defeated the South Dakota Coyotes by the final score of 81-62. The Cardinal were given a number two seed after they were defeated by USC in the semi-finals of the Pac-12 tournament. Their opponent, South Dakota, earned the 15-seed after they won the Summit Conference Tournament. The Coyotes also had a record of 19-14 coming into the contest.
South Dakota held the game close for the first seven minutes of the game, and actually held a two point lead at the 17:56 mark, but at the 13-minute the Cardinal gained the lead and they kept it for the rest of the game. The Cardinal led the game 42-27 going into the halftime break. They then outscored the Coyotes 39-35 in the second half to earn the 81-62 victory.
It was a huge day for Senior star Chiney Ogwumike, as she became the all-time Pac-12 leading scorer in the contest. She only need one-point to gain the feat, as she finished the last contest tied with Candice Wiggins. Ogwumike finished the game with 22 points, and eight rebounds in the 35 minutes played. She led all scorers in the effort.
Bonnie Samuelson came off of the bench to tie her career high, as the Junior Guard sunk six of ten shots from beyond the arc to net 18 points. Lili Thompson scored 11 points and brought down six rebounds in her first NCAA Tournament contest. She also went 50% from three-point land, as she went three of six from beyond the arc. Amber Orrange was the other Stanford player to get into double digits in scoring, as she finished the game with ten points.
South Dakota had a bright spot in the loss, as Nicole Seekamp finished the game with 22 points, shooting 9 of 13 from the field. She also finished the game with five rebounds.
Stanford only has one more team in front of them before they can return to their home court, Maples Pavilion, as part of Regionals. The tenth seed Florida State Seminoles will be the Cardinal’s next opponent, as they defeated Iowa State on their home floor earlier Saturday 55-44. The Round of 32 contest is set for Monday at 3:30 PST.
