No. 13 Iowa State holds off Texas Tech 76-69

Associated PressJan 7, 2016, 12:16 AM EST

(AP Photo/Justin Hayworth)

AMES, Iowa (AP) With just 17 minutes left, Iowa State star Georges Niang was whistled for what would’ve been his fourth foul.

The officials quickly reversed the call – a decision that likely saved the Cyclones.

Matt Thomas scored a career-high 22 points, Jameel McKay had 19 points with 14 rebounds and four blocks and 13th-ranked Iowa State held off Texas Tech 76-69 on Wednesday for its first Big 12 win.

Georges Niang scored all of his 14 points in the second half for the Cyclones (12-2, 1-1 Big 12). They nearly blew an 18-point first-half lead before a crucial late flourish put away the Red Raiders.

“Georges is obviously a huge, huge key to our team. We need him on the floor,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.

The Cyclones needed Thomas too.

He gave Iowa State a much-needed cushion with a step-back 3 with 1:33 left. Monte Morris followed with an alley-oop pass to Abdel Nader to put Iowa State ahead 74-65 with 1:07 left.

Justin Gray scored 14 points for the Red Raiders (11-2, 1-1). They were playing their first true road game.

“We struggled in the first half…but we showed a lot of heart and a lot of toughness,” Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said.

Texas Tech was brilliant to start the second half though, chopping a 10-point deficit to 54-52 after the Cyclones opened 3 of 16 from the field.

Thomas and Niang helped Iowa State keep Tech at bay with crucial 3s, with Niang giving the Cyclones a 65-60 lead with 4:35 left.

“We just weren’t getting consistent stops until late in the game,” Thomas said. “We just have to grind it, show grit.”

When Niang went to the bench with two fouls after just 2 minutes, Tech’s chances for an upset seemed to rise.

Niang’s teammates picked him up, putting the Red Raiders in a huge early hole.

Iowa State ripped off 11 straight points midway through the first half, jumping ahead 31-13 by pounding Texas Tech in the paint. The Red Raiders responded with a 10-0 run, forcing Niang back in. He promptly picked up his third foul on a charge, but the Cyclones were able to stay ahead 40-30.

Texas Tech got within a possession on a few occasions, but Niang’s strong second half was too much to overcome.

“We gave ourselves a chance, just couldn’t pull it out,” Smith said.

TIP-INS

Iowa State: Niang entered play as the only player in the nation with at least 1,700 career points, 550 rebounds and 325 assists. He also racked up his 23rd straight double-digit scoring game after a scoreless first half..The Cyclones came into the game averaging 14.1 fouls per game, the fewest in the nation. They were called for 15.

Texas Tech: The loss knocked coach Tubby Smith back below .500 at Tech. He’s 38-39. … Toddrick Gotcher had 12 points and eight assists, and Norense Odiase had 11 points…

PIVOTAL MOMENT

Thomas has excelled since replacing the injured Naz Mitrou-Long in the starting lineup, and his crucial late 3 showed how much his confidence has risen. Thomas shook off the oncoming defender and found the space needed for an open look. “I’m finding my rhythm,” Thomas said. Thomas is averaging nearly 13 points a game since entering the starting lineup.

COURTSIDE

Despite losing its first league game, Texas Tech showed it might be a handful in the league this season. The Red Raiders shot 43 percent despite hitting just 2 of 15 3s. “We didn’t panic, and that looks good going forward,” Gotcher said.

WHAT’S NEXT

Iowa State hosts Baylor on Saturday.

Texas Tech plays at No. 1 Kansas on Saturday.

Providence hires Kim English as next basketball coach

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 4:39 PM EDT

Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Providence hired Kim English on Thursday as its next basketball coach, quickly moving to fill the opening left after Ed Cooley left to take the job at Big East rival Georgetown.

English becomes the 16th coach in school history. Cooley resigned from Providence on Monday following 12 seasons. He complied a 242-153 record with the Friars that included seven appearances, but just three March Madness victories.

The 34-year-old English was 34-29 in two seasons at George Mason, leading the Patriots to a 20-13 record this past season. It was the first time the school reached the 20-win milestone since 2016-17.

“Kim English is the ideal choice to lead our men’s basketball program, and I am delighted to welcome him to the Providence College community,” school president Father Kenneth Sicard said in a statement. “He is a proven leader with an impressive record of commitment to the holistic development of student-athletes in programs that reflect his work ethic, integrity, and passion for excellence. Those characteristics reflect the ideals of Providence College, and I am excited for the future of Friar men’s basketball under Kim’s leadership.”

George Mason president Gregory Washington said it would begin a national search to replace English.

Cooley’s 242 wins as Friars’ coach were second only to Joe Mullaney’s 290 victories that came over two different stints with the Friars.

This will be English’s second head coaching job.

He played college basketball at Missouri and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round in 2012. But his NBA tenure was short and he was waived in 2013. He had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in 2014 and also played two years professionally overseas.

English began his coaching career as an assistant under Frank Haith at Tulsa in 2015 and spent two seasons there before being hired by Tad Boyle in 2017 as an assistant coach at Colorado. Then in 2019, former Friars coach Rick Barnes brought English to Tennessee as an assistant coach, where he stayed until being hired by George Mason.

Providence athletic director Steve Napolillo said he consulted with both Barnes and former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese before making the decision to hire English.

“I wanted to find an individual who represented passion and integrity as well as the many other values of Providence College. That led me to Kim,” Napolillo said. “Kim is known as one of the best recruiters in the country and he is a rising star in college basketball. He has had success at every level of basketball as a player and a coach. I look forward to our program reaching new heights and having the opportunity to work with him as my teammate for many years to come.”

Report: Notre Dame closing deal with Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:15 AM EDT

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame is finalizing a deal to make Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry its new men’s basketball coach, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details were still being completed and needed school approval.

Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001.

The Nittany Lions beat Texas A&M and were eliminated by Texas in the second round.

Notre Dame has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Fighting Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season with Notre Dame

The Irish finished 11-21.

Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Division III Hanover College in Indiana.

He was the head coach at Indiana University South Bend, an NAIA school located in the same city as Notre Dame, from 2005-07.

He later worked as an assistant coach at Butler and Purdue, with a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics in between.

ESPN first reported Notre Dame was close to a deal with Shrewsberry.

Armando Bacot says he’s returning for fifth season at North Carolina

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:12 AM EDT

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina forward Armando Bacot is returning to play a fifth season for the Tar Heels.

Bacot announced his decision Wednesday, giving North Carolina fans a bit of good news after the Tar Heels failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-11 Bacot is North Carolina’s career leader in rebounds, double-doubles and double-figure rebounding games.

Bacot led North Carolina to a runner-up finish in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and his decision to return was a major reason the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25.

The Tar Heels didn’t come close to meeting those expectations. They went 20-13 and opted against playing in the NIT. Bacot earned Associated Press All-America third-team honors and averaged 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds.

He averaged 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds in 2021-22. He capped that season by becoming the first player ever to have six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament.

Bacot participated in North Carolina’s Senior Night festivities this year. He has a fifth year of eligibility because of the waiver the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ed Cooley takes over at Georgetown with lofty aspirations

Associated PressMar 22, 2023, 6:03 PM EDT

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

WASHINGTON – Ed Cooley’s task at Georgetown is to bring a once-storied program back to prominence in a competitive conference that has three teams still part of March Madness in the Sweet 16.

Cooley’s lofty aspirations go beyond lifting the Hoyas up from the bottom of the Big East Conference. After leaving Providence, which he took to the NCAA Tournament seven times in 12 years, he already is talking about trying to coach Georgetown to its first championship since 1984.

At his introductory news conference Wednesday that felt like a pep rally, Cooley said he wanted current and former players to envision cutting down nets and watching “One Shining Moment” with the nets hanging around their necks. He promised wins – many of them – and plotted a path forward that he knows will involve some tough times.

“It’s a process, and the process now, because you have a changing landscape in athletics, you’ll have an opportunity to probably move it quicker than you would have 10, 20 years ago,” Cooley said. “We’re going to lose some games. It’s OK. Losing’s part of growth. But over the course of time, it will pay off.”

Georgetown has lost a lot the past couple of years under Patrick Ewing, who was fired earlier this month after six seasons. The team went 7-25 this season after going 6-25 last season and lost 37 of 39 games in Big East play.

While Cooley at Providence was responsible for four of those defeats, the 53-year-old distanced himself from Georgetown’s recent run of losing.

“I don’t have anything to do what happened yesterday,” he said. “My job is to move us forward from today.”

Cooley’s mere presence is an acknowledgement that Georgetown needed a major change to become relevant again. After late Hall of Fame coach John Thompson’s 27-year-old run led to longtime assistant Craig Esherick succeeding him and then son John Thompson III and Ewing getting the head job, Cooley is the school’s first outsider in the position in a half-century.

His only connection to the Hilltop – beyond coaching in the Big East – is his daughter, Olivia, attending Georgetown. Cooley, a Providence native, said her desire to live in the Washington area played into his decision to leave for a conference rival.

It was certainly no accident that athletic director Lee Reed and school president John J. DeGioia used phrases like “new era” and “new chapter” when discussing Cooley. DeGioia said he believes Cooley will “uplift and restore this team” to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

“He has a proven record of success,” Reed said. “We knew we needed a leader, someone who understood our identity and could reimagine Georgetown basketball to fit today’s unique basketball landscape.”

That landscape, including players being able to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and more easily transfer schools, are the biggest changes Cooley has seen since landing his first head job at Fairfield in 2006. He expects to be aggressive, and given the high volume of Georgetown players coming and going via the transfer portal, could rebuild the roster in his image sooner rather than later.

“You have to find student-athletes that fit the way you want to play, your style of play, that fit you as a coach,” Cooley said. “We need to find players that can play for me that can attend Georgetown, not the other way around.”

Cooley acknowledged that some luck is needed but also stressed recruiting local talent to keep the best players in the region around. That’s just one building block to putting Georgetown back on the map, which Cooley wants the time and latitude to do.

“The word patience is always hard because everybody wants it and they want it right now,” he said. “Everybody wants it right now. Have a little bit of patience.”

Texas’ Arterio Morris plays amid misdemeanor domestic violence case

Associated PressMar 22, 2023, 12:56 PM EDT

Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports

AUSTIN, Texas — In a season when Texas fired coach Chris Beard after a felony domestic violence arrest, it has allowed a reserve guard to keep playing while he awaits trial on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

Second-seed Texas has advanced under interim coach Rodney Terry to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2008, and the Longhorns play No. 3 Xavier in Kansas City, Missouri.

Arterio Morris, a freshman who was one of the top recruits in the country last year, was initially scheduled to stand trial March 29, three days before Final Four weekend. Denton County prosecutors were granted a delay to an unspecified date.

Beard was fired Jan. 5, about three weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of a felony charge of choking his fiancée in a fight during which she also told police he bit, and hit her. She later recanted the choking allegation and the Travis County district attorney dismissed the case, saying prosecutors were following her wishes not to got to trial and that the charge could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Morris is charged with Class A misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury to a family member, which in Texas includes dating relationships. It stems from a June 2022 confrontation in the Dallas suburb of Frisco. The charge carries penalties ranging from probation and fines to up to a year in jail if convicted.

Morris’ attorney, Justin Moore, said the charges against Beard and the player are different.

“(Beard) was charged with a felony family assault,” Moore said. “That was far more serious as to what Arterio was alleged to have to committed. We maintain Arterio’s innocence.”

According to police, the ex-girlfriend said Morris grabbed her arm and pulled her off a bed, and later pulled the front of her sports bra, causing an injury to her neck and shoulder area. Police reported seeing a sizable bruise or scratch.

Texas officials declined comment. Beard said before the season that school officials he would not identify determined the freshman could play this season.

Moore defended Texas officials’ decision to not suspend Morris.

“I do believe Texas has taken this seriously. They’ve also allowed Arterio to enjoy his due process rights,” Moore said.

Morris has played in all 36 games this season, although his minutes and have been limited on a senior-dominated team. He averages nearly 12 minutes and 4.7 points per game. His biggest moment was a soaring alley-oop dunk against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game.

Attempts to reach Morris’ ex-girlfriend through family members were not successful. According to online records, prosecutors sought the trial delay to “procure witness availability.” Prosecutor Jamie Beck did not immediately return messages.