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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 22.
  • With its 67-63 victory in overtime Saturday at Cincinnati, Seton Hall helped itself on two fronts.

    The Pirates, picked to finish 13th in the conference, cemented the No. 11 seed in the Big East Tournament and will now play No. 14 South Florida at 9 p.m. Tuesday instead of St. John’s at 2. The winner will play the No. 6 Syracuse Wednesday night at 9 on ESPN.

    In their lone meeting this year, the Pirates beat USF 75-60 on Feb. 25 in Newark.

    Seton Hall (16-14, 7-11 Big East) also remains alive for an NIT bid. A win or two in the conference tournament would help its stock even further.

    “I felt like that puts us right back in contention on the bubble for NIT,” Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez told WABC-770 radio. “I kept telling our kids, ‘If we win this game, we gotta be in the mix for postseason.'”

    **See St. Anthony Coach Bob Hurley talk about the state tournament here.

    **And read my Rivals story on Paterson Catholic guard Jayon James here.

    Paterson Catholic will get an emotional boost Monday when Fordham-bound wing Lance Brown suits up to play against St. Anthony in a can’t-miss semifinal showdown in the New Jersey North Non-Public B state tournament.

    The teams will tip at 6 at The CERC in Jersey City.

    “I’m playing,” the 6-foot-2 Brown, who underwent knee surgery Jan. 8, wrote Sunday night in a text message. “I feel real good. I practiced today and yesterday and it feels good. I’ve been icing it all day and night and I’m going to play.”

    In the last regular-season high school game this year on ESPN, Keith “Tiny” Gallon put up 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to lead unbeaten Oak Hill to a 69-63 victory over Montrose Christian at Georgetown (Md.) Prep.

    The 6-foot-9, 290-pound Oklahoma-bound Gallon battled it out in the paint all night with 6-10, 240-pound Villanova commit Mouphtaou Yarou, who finished with 24 points and 10 boards for Stu Vetter’s team. Gallon called Yarou a “beast” in his post-game interview with ESPN.

    Steve Smith’s Oak Hill team, No. 2 in the RivalsHigh 100, improved to 38-0, while No. 8 Montrose Christian dropped to 20-2.


    What a great week for rock ‘n’ roll in New York City.

    Van Morrison, Levon Helm, U2 and The Allman Brothers Band are all in town and I’m doing my best to see all of them before the Big East Tournament kicks in Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

    I’ve spent each of the last two nights at the new and improved Beacon Theater at 74th and Broadway, the best arena to see live music anywhere.

    DaShonte Riley, a 6-foot-11 senior center at Detroit Country Day School, has committed to Syracuse, according to multiple media outlets.

    Looks like a bit of a project. Check out his video highlights above.

    Riley, the No. 121 ranked recruit in the Class of 2009 and No. 18 center by Rivals, picked the Orange over Marquette.

    “As soon as I got home from the visit, I was ready to commit,” Riley told the Syracuse Post-Standard. “My mom told me to stay open-minded and explore my options. But at the end of the day, I knew where I wanted to go.”

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