95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Tuesday, March 14, 2017
NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball – NCAA Tournament
Tonight
First Four – University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH
(16) Mount Saint Mary’s vs. (16) New Orleans, 6:40 p.m.
(11) Kansas State vs. (11) Wake Forest, 9:10 p.m.
NCAAMBB – Notre Dame confident after recent NCAA Tournament success
Notre Dame basketball is doing something its football team hasn’t been able to do in recent years: thrive in big games. The Fighting Irish, after advanced last weekend to the ACC title game for the second time in three years, head into the NCAA Tournament as the only team to make it to the Elite Eight each of the past two seasons.
NCAAMBB – NCAA Basketball dealing with weather
The late winter storm pummeling parts of the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast is playing havoc with the traveling schedules of teams participating in the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments. Villanova, the top overall seed in the men’s competition starting this week, left Philadelphia Monday afternoon on a flight to Buffalo, New York, to get ahead of the storm that’s projected to last three days. On the women’s side, top-seeded University of Connecticut doesn’t have to play until Saturday, giving Albany, Syracuse and Iowa State more time to travel.
NCAAMBB – Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona lead final AP poll
Villanova, the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, is No. 1 in the final Associated Press college basketball poll of the season. The Wildcats (31-3) were a runaway choice Monday, receiving 59 first-place votes from the 65-member media panel. Gonzaga (32-1), which received the other six first-place votes, and Kansas, two No. 1 seeds for the tournament, were second and third, but the poll and the selection committee disagreed on the fourth No. 1. Arizona was fourth in the poll, while North Carolina, the fourth No. 1 seed, was ranked fifth. Kentucky was sixth, followed by Duke, UCLA, Oregon and Louisville. This was Villanova’s eighth week as No. 1 this season. Fifteen teams were ranked the entire season, with Villanova and Kansas the only two who spent the entire season in the top 10.
NCAAWBB – UConn No. 1 in final AP women’s basketball poll of season
UConn has finished the season at No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the 14th time in school history. The Huskies (32-0) were the unanimous choice from the 33-member national media panel on Monday, sitting atop the poll for the last 15 weeks of the season. They’ve won 107 consecutive games and most likely will be the overall No. 1 seed when the women’s NCAA Tournament field is revealed Monday night. It’s the fourth straight year that the Huskies are the top team in the final poll. Notre Dame, South Carolina, Maryland and Baylor follow UConn. The Lady Bears dropped three spots to fifth after losing in the Big 12 title game to West Virginia last week.
NCAAWBB – Notre Dame seeded No. 1 in Lexington, Stanford is No. 2
Coach Muffet McGraw is hoping Notre Dame’s three regular season losses will have the Fighting Irish better prepared for adversity in the women’s NCAA Tournament. “We’ve been in some real battles and I think it really helped. I think the losses that we had, especially the Tennessee game, really made us better,” McGraw said shortly after the second-ranked Irish learned Monday night that they were the top seed for the Lexington Regional. The three losses are the most the 30-3 Irish have had entering the NCAA Tournament since they started a run of six straight top seeds with three losses during the 2011-12 season. Sixth-ranked Stanford, which knocked Notre Dame out of the tournament last season, is seeded second in the regional, No. 14 Texas is third and No. 18 Kentucky is seeded fourth. The Irish, who started the season for the first time ever at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, were dominated at home by top-ranked Connecticut 72-61 in December, beaten at North Carolina State 70-62 in the ACC opener later that month and lost 71-69 at Tennessee in mid-January.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Chicago Bulls 115, Charlotte Hornets 109
Pistons 106, Cavaliers 101 – Pistons overcome James, Cavaliers in 106-101 win
Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo had a season-high 20 in his return to the starting lineup and the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-109 on Monday night to snap a season-high, five-game losing streak. Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler each had 23 points for the Bulls (32-35), who got a needed win to boost their hopes of earning the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Rondo provided the spark for the Bulls in his first start since Dec. 30. Along with hitting a season-high three 3-pointers, he had six assists and seven rebounds. Jeremy Lamb scored 26 points filling in for Nic Batum (migraine), while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 22 and Kemba Walker 21 for the struggling Hornets. Marvin Williams had 13 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds.
Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Chicago Blackhawks at Montreal Canadiens, 7:30 p.m.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit 3, Washington 3, F/10 TIE
Chicago White Sox 9, Cleveland 5
Chicago Cubs 3, San Diego 1
Today
Detroit vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Milwaukee vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.
WBC – World Baseball Classic – Mexico eliminated; Netherlands beats Israel
In Tokyo, Didi Gregorius drove in five runs to lead the Netherlands over Israel 12-2 and hand the tournament debutants their first loss of the World Baseball Classic. Gregorius doubled in a run in the third when the Netherlands scored four to take a 6-0 lead. The designated hitter then hit a three-run homer in the fourth to make it 10-0. Mexico has been eliminated by virtue of a tie-breaker, runs allowed per inning played.
NFL – Foles returning to Eagles as backup
The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with quarterback Nick Foles. The 28-year-old Foles returns to the team that drafted him and where he had his most success. He went to the Pro Bowl after having one of the best statistical seasons in NFL history in 2013. Foles will be Carson Wentz’s backup.
NFL – Ware retires after 12 year career
DeMarcus Ware won’t be returning to either the Dallas Cowboys or the Denver Broncos as expected. The 12-year NFL veteran is instead retiring from the NFL. Ware announced his decision Monday on Twitter. Next to a split image of the Cowboys and Broncos, Ware wrote, “After a lot of thought and prayer, I’ve decided to accept the unknown and retire from my NFL career.”
NFL – Pryor wants Cousins as QB
Terrelle Pryor doesn’t know if Kirk Cousins will be the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback, but he hopes so. Pryor signed a one-year deal with the Redskins last week hours after Cousins signed his franchise tender, and the day after the team fired general manager Scot McCloughan. Pryor wants Cousins to be the one throwing him the ball, but he doesn’t need that after what the versatile receiver went through with the Browns. “I played with six quarterbacks last year,” he said.
MHSAA – MHSAA releases new school classifications
The MHSAA’s updated enrollment figures for the 2017-18 school year have been released and a few schools will be seeing their class change for the next school year. Schools with an enrollment of 881 and above are Class A, Class B schools have an enrollment between 880-406, Class C from 405-204, while schools with an enrollment from 203 and fewer are Class D. Lakeshore will be moving back up to Class A, after two years in Class B. The Lancers made the Class B state finals in boys’ basketball during that time. With Lakeshore going back to Class A, that leaves Niles as the smallest school in the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference, Niles drops to Class B. St. Joseph continues to be the largest high school in Berrien County with an enrollment of 1,043, Watervliet Grace Christian High School sits at 23 students as the smallest in the county. The largest school in Van Buren County is Mattawan with 1,171. Edwardsburg is the largest in Cass County at 835. Basketball and volleyball are the two sports that use the Class system for their playoffs, but each school’s class rating is used in the formula used to determine the football playoffs. The full list of the MHSAA enrollment figures can be found on their website at mhsaa.com.
MHSAA – Denny Dock to be inducted in Michigan Football Coaches Hall of Fame
Retired Lakeshore football coach Denny Dock will be inducted in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame next Saturday, March 25th in Ann Arbor. Dock coached the Lancers from 1988-2013 also spent time as head coach at Hartford (1981-1983), and Dowagiac (1984-87). Over his career, Dock has a career record of 263-76 and 209-64 while at Lakeshore. Dock continues to serve as the Lakeshore softball coach, leading the Lancers to six state championships, the most recent in 2011.
MHSAA – Pittsford’s Clark AP Class D girls basketball player of year
Pittsford’s Maddie Clark has been named The Associated Press 2017 Class D all-state girls basketball Player of the Year. Clark is a top-10 student in her class with a 3.98 GPA, a state champion in discus and three-time all-state volleyball player. The 5-foot-10 forward averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3.5 steals per game. After a 61-36 victory over Hillsdale Academy in Pittsford’s Class D regional championship game on Thursday, Clark is now 100-2 in her four-year career. The senior was selected as the top player in Class D by a panel of nine Michigan sportswriters. Pittsford coach Chris Hodos was named the AP Class D Coach of the Year. Pittsford faces Michigan Lutheran tonight in the Quarterfinals. Michigan Lutheran’s Emily Witkowski was also named as a first team all-state player in Class D.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball – Regional Semifinals
Class B at Allegan
Wayland 67, Three Rivers 44
Benton Harbor 58, Battle Creek Harper Creek 44
- Benton Harbor scored early and often to dominate Battle Creek Harper Creek 58-44 to win the Class B Regional semifinal at Allegan High School. Tigers’ senior guard Roy Anderson led all scorers with 15 points, while Harper Creek’s junior guard Dom Gibson hit 14 in the losing cause. Benton Harbor advances to the championship game on Wednesday to face Wayland Union at 7 o’clock in Allegan.
Class D at Bellevue
DREAM Academy 61, Marshall Academy 50
Bellevue 64, Marcellus 49
Class C at Bangor
Quincy 64, Cassopolis 60
Kalamazoo Christian 53, Schoolcraft 47 – OT
Class A at Gull Lake
Kalamazoo Central 69, Holt 50
East Lansing 74, Battle Creek Central 50
Tonight
Girls Basketball – Quarterfinals
Class D at Battle Creek Harper Creek
Michigan Lutheran (23-2) vs. Pittsford (25-0), 7:00 p.m. 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
Class A at Lansing Everett
Kalamazoo Central (20-3) vs. East Kentwood (24-1), 7:00 p.m.
Class C at Portage Northern
Schoolcraft (20-5) vs. Pewamo–Westphalia (22-2), 6:30 p.m.
