Howard ranks third in the MEAC with 12.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Zennia Thomas averaging 3.0. Norfolk State makes 43.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.1 percentage points higher than Howard has allowed to its opponents (35.8%). Howard averages 5.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.5 more makes per game than Norfolk State allows.
Colorado State defeats Utah State in Mountain West semifinals 83-72
Nique Clifford had 26 points in Colorado State's 83-72 victory over Utah State on Friday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals. The No. 2-seed, Colorado State will play fifth-seeded Boise State in Saturday's championship game. The Broncos upset top-seeded New Mexico in Friday's first semifinal.
UC Irvine beats Cal Poly 96-78 in Big West Conference Tournament semifinals
Bent Leuchten had 21 points in UC Irvine's 96-78 victory against Cal Poly on Friday in the Big West Conference Tournament semifinals. UC Irvine, the tournament's No. seed, will face top-seeded UC San Diego in Saturday's championship game.
Degenhart and Boise State knock off top-seed New Mexico in MWC Tournament semifinals 72-69
Tyson Degenhart led No. 5 seed Boise State with 22 points and Andrew Meadow sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining as the Broncos upset top-seeded New Mexico 72-69 on Friday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals. Degenhart shot 8 for 14 (2 for 7 from 3-point range) and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Broncos (24-9). Emmanuel Ugbo scored 17 points and added five rebounds and three blocks.
Clemson’s Brownell ‘disappointed’ after team locked out of lockerroom at halftime of ACC semifinal
The 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers trailed No. 13 Louisville 33-28 at halftime of Friday night’s semifinal game at the ACC Tournament and were in need of some in-game adjustments. Clemson players wound up sitting on the cement floor outside of the locker room while coach Brad Brownell addressed his team. Whether it was coincidence or not, Clemson did not play well early in the second half, eventually falling behind by 15 after going more than six minutes without a field goal.
Panthers road trip continues against Montreal squad fighting for playoff spot
The Florida Panthers will be looking to make it a perfect visit to Canada when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Fresh off Thursday’s 3-2 victory in Toronto, the Panthers will continue their nearly two-week road trip against the Canadiens squad desperate to keep pace in an extremely tight playoff race.
Entering play Saturday, Montreal is a single point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers, who are tied with 70 points for the final Wild Card spot in the East, though currently Columbus holds the tiebreaker with a game in hand on New York.
Montreal has been playing some solid hockey of late, and it’s been what has prolelled them back into the thick of the Wild Card hunt.
After enduring a stretch between January and February in which the Habs lost eight of nine, things have turned around significantly since the 4 Nations break for Montreal.
They’ve picked up points in eight of nine and are hoping to build on the 6-1-2 run that has, at least for now, saved their season.
The next week will go a long way toward Montreal maintaining their position as a playoff hopeful, as they’ll face Florida, the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.
Ottawa and Colorado are currently holding playoff spots while the Islanders are four points back of the final Wild Card spot and fighting for every point they can get.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s matchup in Montreal:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Tomas Nosek
Gus Forsling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis
Scratches: Jonah Gadjovich, Brad Marchand
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No. 2 Houston shuts down No. 17 BYU for a 74-54 victory in Big 12 Tournament semifinals
Emanuel Sharpe scored 26 points, LJ Cryer had 20 and second-ranked Houston stifled No. 17 BYU in a 74-54 victory Friday night that moved the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.
No. 1 Duke holds off furious North Carolina rally to win 74-71, reach ACC title game without Flagg
After North Carolina cut a 24-point, second-half deficit to one, Ven-Allen Lubin had two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to potentially give the Tar Heels (22-13) the lead. But he missed the first and had the second made free throw waved off after teammate Jae’Lyn Withers stepped in the lane too early.
Jamiya Neal’s 19 lead Creighton over UConn 71-62 in Big East Conference Tournament
Solomon Ball led the Huskies (23-10) in scoring, finishing with 13 points. Liam McNeeley added 13 points for UConn. Hassan Diarra had 11 points and six rebounds.
No. 5 Alabama routs No. 15 Kentucky as SEC’s top 4 seeds all advance to tourney semis
Labaron Philon scored 21 points and fifth-ranked Alabama never trailed in routing No. 15 Kentucky 99-70 on Friday night to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
Edwards scores 21, No. 13 Louisville defeats No. 10 Clemson 76-73 to reach ACC championship game
Terrence Edwards scored 21 points, J’Vonne Hadley added 20 points and nine rebounds and No. 13 Louisville beat No. 10 Clemson 76-73 on Friday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.
Rice, Queen help No. 11 Maryland rout No. 24 Illinois 88-65 in Big Ten quarterfinals
Rodney Rice scored 26 points, Derik Queen had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 11 Maryland routed No. 24 Illinois 88-65 on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Lendeborg’s 30 points lead third-seeded UAB past No. 6 seed East Carolina 94-77 in AAC quarterfinals
Yaxel Lendeborg's 30 points led third-seeded UAB past sixth-seeded East Carolina 94-77 on Friday in the American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals. UAB will take on No. 2 seed North Texas in the second of Saturday's semifinals. Lendeborg added 20 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and four blocks for the Blazers (21-11).
Ejiofor powers No. 6 St. John’s past No. 25 Marquette 79-63 into 1st Big East final since 2000
Zuby Ejiofor scored a career-high 33 points, a St. John’s record in the Big East Tournament, and the sixth-ranked Red Storm pulled away from No. 25 Marquette 79-63 on Friday night to reach the conference championship game for the first time in 25 years.
UConn-Creighton game at Big East tourney ends with heated skirmish
A scuffle broke out at the end of Creighton's victory over UConn in the Big East Tournament semifinals on Friday night after Jamiya Neal threw down a needless dunk for the Bluejays in the final seconds. Huskies guard Hassan Diarra shoved Neal in the chest and appeared to square up with his fists for a split second as the two were face-to-face. Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner separated them by pushing Neal away as whistles blew and players came streaming off the benches at Madison Square Garden.