Live Friday: Top-seeded Houston cruises against Longwood
Houston guard Jamal Shead (left) grabs a loose ball in front of Longwood guard DA Houston (right) during the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 22, 2024. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
The eight NCAA men’s basketball teams in Memphis for the NCAA Tournament are in action today.
Top-seeded Houston Cougars cruise against Longwood
Houston guard Ramon Walker Jr. (left) grabs a rebound against Longwood during the NCAA Tournament game on Friday, March 22, 2024. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Those watching this one early on might’ve felt there was a chance.
When Longwood’s Johnathan Massie hit a 3-pointer about nine minutes into the game, it cut his team’s deficit to seven points and maybe offered it a glimmer of hope.
But the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (31-4) took that away quickly in an 86-46 win over the No. 16 seed Lancers (21-14) in a first-round matchup in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at FedExForum.
“It felt great to go back and work on our fundamentals, get back to doing the things that made us a good defensive team,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team got blown out by Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game less than a week ago.
Read MoreNCAA box score: Houston 86, Longwood 46
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| LONGWOOD | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Christmas | 28 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Granlund | 19 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tucker | 19 | 1-3 | 4-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Houston | 28 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Napper | 36 | 3-9 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Massie | 24 | 3-5 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Richards | 19 | 2-5 | 4-4 | 1-1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Zapala | 18 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Benard | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nziemi | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Esmeraldo | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sunderland | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 14-41 | 15-16 | 4-14 | 9 | 16 | 46 |
Percentages: FG .341, FT .938.
3-Point Goals: 3-13, .231 (Massie 2-2, Houston 1-3, Granlund 0-1, Richards 0-1, Christmas 0-3, Napper 0-3).
Team Rebounds: 6.
Team Turnovers: None.
Read MoreTexas A&M bullies Nebraska in NCAA Tournament 1st-round victory
Nebraska forward Juwan Gary (middle) battles for a loose ball against Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament game on Friday, March 22, 2024. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
As the chants rang through FedExForum, it became clear that the stage was set for Nebraska.
There was the majority red crowd. There was the soon-to-be national sensation Keisei Tominaga. There was history to be made.
Texas A&M wouldn’t allow it.
The No. 9 seed Aggies (21-14) knocked off the No. 8 seed Cornhuskers (23-11) 98-83 in a first-round matchup in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Memphis.
Read MoreNCAA box score: Texas A&M 98, Nebraska 83
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| TEXAS A&M | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Washington | 25 | 2-5 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Leveque | 8 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Obaseki | 30 | 8-17 | 3-5 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| Radford | 35 | 8-17 | 3-5 | 5-10 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
| Taylor | 26 | 8-14 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 5 | 4 | 25 |
| Carter | 28 | 5-9 | 2-2 | 2-7 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| H.Coleman | 26 | 4-5 | 2-2 | 2-5 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Garcia | 10 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Hefner | 8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| E.Lawrence | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 35-71 | 15-20 | 13-36 | 16 | 21 | 98 |
Percentages: FG .493, FT .750.
3-Point Goals: 13-24, .542 (Taylor 7-10, Obaseki 3-5, Radford 1-1, Carter 1-3, Washington 1-3, Garcia 0-1, Hefner 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 5.
Team Turnovers: None.
Read MoreClemson crushes New Mexico to win first NCAA Tournament game since 2018
New Mexico guard Donovant Dent (2) looks for an open teammate during the first-round NCAA Tournament game against Colgate in FedExForum March 22, 2024. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
What at once appeared to be a special season for Clemson has new life.
The No. 6 seed Tigers (22-11) toppled the No. 11 seed New Mexico Lobos (26-10) 77-56 in a first-round matchup in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at FedExForum.
Coach Brad Brownell’s team had jumped out to a 9-0 start to its 2023-24 campaign and was ranked as high as No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll in mid-December. Then, it went 12-11 and took a blowout loss to Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament ahead of Selection Sunday.
But the Tigers look to be rejuvenated. Their performance against the Mountain West’s Lobos — in which they won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2018 — certainly suggested so.
Read MoreNCAA box score: Clemson 77, New Mexico 56
| Read More |
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| COLGATE | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Moffatt | 27 | 3-5 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Records | 23 | 6-10 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Cox | 23 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Cummins | 23 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Smith | 30 | 3-8 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Woodward | 19 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Thomson | 15 | 5-6 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Jones | 14 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Louis-Jacques | 13 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Baker | 11 | 1-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Carlesimo | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S.Wright | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C.Wright | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 26-57 | 10-14 | 8-22 | 11 | 12 | 67 |
Percentages: FG .456, FT .714.
3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Smith 2-5, Jones 1-2, Moffatt 1-2, Baker 1-6, Records 0-1, Louis-Jacques 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 4.
Team Turnovers: None.
Read MoreTopics
FedExForum Baylor Colgate New Mexico Clemson Tigers Nebraska Texas A&M Houston Cougars LongwoodFrank Bonner II
Frank Bonner is the Memphis Tigers football beat writer. He is originally from Indiana but arrived in Memphis after spending two years in Tulsa, covering Oklahoma State football and basketball. He covered high school sports in Columbus, Indiana for two years before getting his Master’s degree in Sports Journalism at IUPUI. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University.
Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
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