Wednesday March 16th Local Sports

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s basketball sophomore Keegan Murray has been voted a first team All-American by the Associated Press (AP). The announcement was made on Tuesday.

Joining Murray on the first team are Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

After going 52 years without an AP All-American, head coach Fran McCaffery has recruited and coached a first-team All-American each of the last three seasons (Luka Garza in 2020 and 2021; Murray in 2022).

The Associated Press is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, and Sporting News). Murray was named to the first-team All-America squad by Sporting News last week with USBWA and the NABC expected to make their announcements in the coming weeks.

Murray (6-foot-8, 225 pounds) ranks first in the country in Player Efficiency Rating (38.2); fourth in points per game (23.6); 32nd in field goal percentage (.555); and 45th in blocks per contest (2.0) and double-doubles (10). His 23.6 points per game average is tops among players from a major conference.

Murray is the only player nationally to average 23+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 2+ blocks this season and one of three players from a major conference with those averages over the last decade.

 

 

 

BUFFALO — Richmond coach Chris Mooney says the Spiders have turned the page to Thursday’s game against Iowa. Richmond stunned Davidson Sunday in the Atlantic 10 title game and takes the 12th seed into Thursday’s Midwest Regional game in Buffalo against the fifth seeded Hawkeyes.

Over the years there have been plenty of 12 seeds win in the opening round but Mooney says he is more focused on what it will take for his team to win.

Mooney says a key for the Spiders will be limiting turnovers and getting to loose balls.

Mooney says guarding Iowa forward Keegan Murray will be a chore.

Mooney says the Hawkeyes put a lot of pressure on their opponents with their offense.

Tipoff on Thursday is scheduled for 2:10 with the pre-game show starting at 1 o’clock on AM-1300 KGLO.

 

 

 

 

ST. LOUIS — The UNI Panthers open the NIT tonight with a visit to St. Louis. The Panthers are 19-11 and made their only NIT appearance in 2012. Out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Billikens are 23-11 under coach Travis Ford.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson. This game will match two outstanding scorers. UNI junior AJ Green averages nearly 19 points per game and has 84 three pointers while Billiken freshman Gibson Jimerson averages more than 16 points per game and has 83 three pointers.

Jacobson says there are a lot of similarities between the two teams.

 

 

 

 

IOWA CITY — The NCAA women’s basketball tournament could feature a Cy-Hawk rematch in the Sweet 16. Iowa is seeded second in the Greensboro region and Iowa State is seeded third. If both hold serve at home this weekend with two wins they would meet in the regional semifinal. The Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes 77-70 in Ames back on December 8th.

That’s Iowa sophomore Caitlin Clark. Center Monika Czinano says there is a lot of work to do before a rematch could even happen.

The Hawkeyes open the tournament on Friday at home against Illinois State. ISU standout Ashley Jones says they are focused on Friday’s opener and not who they could play down the road.

You can hear the Iowa-Illinois State game on AM-1300 KGLO starting at 2:45 on Friday afternoon.

 

 

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Sonny Gray is quickly trying to get settled with the Minnesota Twins. The newly acquired starting pitcher worked out with his new team for the first time Tuesday after passing his physical exam. Gray was acquired on Sunday in a trade with Cincinnati. The Twins have indicated they’ll make more moves after adding Gray. The 32-year-old right-hander went 7-9 with 155 strikeouts and a 4.19 ERA in 135 1/3 innings for the Reds in 2021. The Twins were planning to let Gray ease into his first day in camp. Gray pushed for more work.