NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — While Mike Poole was helping his new team win in a rout on Saturday afternoon, his old team was getting beaten by an unlikely opponent.
Yes, Poole appears to have escaped Rutgers in the nick of time and now he’s looking for a positive ending to his college career at Iona.
“It’s great,” the 6-foot-5 Rosedale, N.Y., native told SNY.tv after putting up 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists as Iona crushed George Mason, 89-73.
By BEN BASKIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — It was a successful weekend in Brooklyn for No. 1 Michigan State, as they not only took home the championship in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic but their two top players also impressed NBA executives with their strong play.
Throughout the weekend Spartans 6-10 forward Adreian Payne and 6-4 guard Gary Harris displayed why many have them both pegged as first-round picks in the upcoming NBA draft.
Payne had an off-night on Saturday in Michigan State’s 87-76 victory over Oklahoma, as he was limited by early foul trouble and had only four points on 1-of-6 shooting. Yet the forward was still able to have an impact on the game as he pulled down seven boards, blocked two shots, and constantly forced double-teams that allowed some other Spartans to get involved in the action.
“Payne is such a good player,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “Obviously, the two fouls early helped reduce his minutes a bit…He’s a guy that even if he doesn’t score, he attracts attention that creates some opportunities for other guys to score. Thats what good players do.”
By BEN BASKIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — Seton Hall got a shot at redemption in the consolation game of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center on Saturday night, and they made the most of it.
After improbably blowing a late lead against Oklahoma on Friday, the Pirates played in another thriller against Virginia Tech and snuck away with a narrow 68-67 win.
For a short period at the end of the game it looked as if Seton Hall might suffer the same fate against the Hokies as they did against the Sooners, but this time around they managed to hold on to their lead. If the Pirates were looking for a way to forget about Friday night’s heartbreaker, earning a hard-fought win in another nail-bitter was the best way to go about it.
“It was great,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “These guys really bounced back. The way we lost last night was tough.”
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Ever since losing by 20 points to Andrew Wiggins and Kansas on Tuesday, Sean Armand wanted to get back on the basketball court.
The 6-foot-5 Iona guard was unhappy with his — and the team’s performance — in Lawrence and wanted to get back on the winning track.
Armand did that by dropping 30 points — 2 shy of his career-high — as Iona smacked George Mason, 89-73, Saturday afternoon at the Hynes Center in a game that was not as close as that score indicates.
“It motivated me a bunch,” the Brooklyn native said of Tuesday’s 86-66 loss at No. 2 Kansas.
“Kansas fans got a lot to say and everybody doubts our team but we got a lot to prove. We got a chip on our shoulder day in and day out in practice, in warm-ups and the game and we come out and fight every day.”
By BEN BASKIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — Michigan State is the No. 1 team in the country, and proved why yet again on Friday night with a dominating 96-77 win over Virginia Tech in the semis of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center.
Yet, you wouldn’t know it if you only paid attention to the coverage of the major media outlets.
That’s because the so-called freshman sensations are the hot topic in the NCAA this season. Jabari Parker of Duke, Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, Julius Randle of Kentucky and Aaron Gordon of Arizona are the names you constantly hear trumped on TV and written about in print. They are all the rage. And the heightened coverage they are getting is starting to irk the top-ranked Spartans a little bit.
“Yeah it pisses us off,” senior forward Adreian Payne told SNY.tv exclusively after he dropped a career-best 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting and added 10 rebounds in the win. “But we just use it for motivation. Aint nothing else we can do about it.”
By BEN BASKIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — It was quite the homecoming for Oklahoma sophomore guard Isaiah Cousins at the Barclays Center on Friday night, as the Mount Vernon native put in a season-high 19 points in his return to New York.
Cousins was efficient from all over the court, shooting 7-for-8 from the field — including a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc — as the Sooners came from behind to stun Seton Hall, 86-85. He also hit 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.
The 6-foot-4 Cousins got 10 of his points in a first half in which he didn’t miss a shot, helping the Sooners open up a 44-41 lead at the break.
But more importantly, Cousins came up big when the team needed him most. His layup in traffic with with 51 seconds remaining to cut the Seton Hall lead to five and sparked the Sooners 9-1 run to end the game, helping them earn the stunning comeback.
By BEN BASKIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — It all fell apart for Seton Hall in the semis of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center on Friday night, and it fell apart astonishingly quickly.
The Pirates lost an absolute heartbreaker to the Oklahoma Sooners, 86-85, blowing a seven-point lead in the last two minutes thanks in large part to three costly turnovers. And they may have lost forward Patrik Auda for an extended period, too.
“It’s unfortunate,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I’m really proud of these guys. They battled. You have to give Oklahoma credit. In the last 45 seconds they did a good job and created a couple turnovers.”
