Thursday March 17th Local Sports

TODAY:
AM-1300 KGLO — NCAA men’s first round in Buffalo — Iowa vs. Richmond — pre-game 1:00, tipoff 2:10

 

 

BUFFALO — The 16th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes look to continue a late season run this afternoon by taking on Richmond in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes are the fifth seed in the Midwest Regional after winning the Big Ten Tournament and coach Fran McCaffery’s team has been a trendy pick to make a deep tournament run.

After playing Big Ten teams for the past two and a half months the challenge now is to get ready for an unfamiliar opponent.

Richmond senior guard Jacob Gilyard is the all-time NCAA leader in steals and triggered a Richmond defense that stepped up last week in winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

McCaffery says Richmond’s experience is a concern. The Spiders have six players who used an extra year provided by COVID and four of them have topped more than a thousand points in their career.

After winning a Big Ten title, senior guard Jordan Bohannon would like to cap his career with a deep tournament run.

The Hawkeyes have won nine of their last 10 games, including four straight last week in Indianapolis to win the Big Ten Tournament. The Spiders are the 12th seed and are riding the momentum of a run to the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship. Hawkeye All-American forward Keegan Murray.

Tipoff this afternoon is 2:10 Iowa time, with the pre-game starting at 1 o’clock on AM-1300 KGLO.

 

 

 

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa men’s basketball sophomore Keegan Murray has been named second team All-America by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and first team All-America by The Athletic on Wednesday.

The NABC is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association, Sporting News, and NABC). In addition to today’s NABC honor, Murray has already been recognized as first-team All-America by Sporting News and the Associated Press, with the USBWA expected to make its announcement later this week.

Murray is also a Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award Semifinalist, a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Finalist, and named to the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Midseason List.

 

 

ST. LOUIS — UNI men’s basketball caught fire early and carried offensive momentum to the final horn as the Panthers defeated the Saint Louis Billikens 80-68 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday night in St. Louis. AJ Green led UNI with a game-high 21 points off of five made three-point baskets, while Trae Berhow knocked down six shots from beyond the arc for an 18-point performance with a team-high seven rebounds. The Panthers advance to the second round of the NIT to take on the Cougars of BYU on Saturday, March 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-104 on Wednesday night. Anthony Edwards had 20 of his 27 points in the second quarter to lead the early surge by the Timberwolves. LeBron James, playing through knee soreness, had just 19 points to lead the Lakers. They fell a season-worst 11 games under the .500 mark at 29-40.

 

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored twice and Jordan Greenway broke a third-period tie as the Minnesota Wild held on for a 4-2 win over the visiting Boston Bruins. After Minnesota had a few good looks on net during a shift from its third line, Greenway beat a sprawling Jeremy Swayman from the slot at the 7:56 mark of the third. It was Greenway’s sixth goal of the season and second in two games. It came after Boston climbed back from a 2-0 deficit following a pair of goals by Kaprizov. Craig Smith put the Bruins on the board late in the first period, and Brad Marchand’s power-play goal evened the score in the second.

 

 

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings began to pick away at their offseason to-do list as free agency formally opened. They re-signed punter Jordan Berry. They also agreed to contract terms with defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, tight end Johnny Mundt and interior offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann. Berry’s gross average of 46.5 yards per punt last season was the second-best in Vikings history. Phillips spent the last four years with the Buffalo Bills. Mundt played the last five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Schlottmann spent the last four years with the Denver Broncos.