Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews Lost For Season With Knee Injury
The complexion of University of Rhode Island,
The complexion of University of Rhode Island,
Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Will Brown knew all about Jamal Murray even before Albany played Kentucky Friday night in the season-opener for both teams.
“I’ll say it now before everybody jumps on the bandwagon, I think Jamal Murray might be the best player in the country,” the Albany coach told me before Kentucky beat his team, 78-65, at Rupp Arena. “He reminds me of a combination of Mark Jackson and Andre Miller with a jump shot because he can post you up, he’s got size, he can run a team and he can really shoot that thing.”
The projected No. 6 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Murray then went out and put up 19 points, eight assists and three steals in his collegiate debut.
Brown then reiterated his comment to me to the post-game media.
Rhode Island won its season-opener on Friday
Freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe missed Kentucky's season-opening
https://vine.co/v/iBM117n0t7n CAMP FOSTER, Japan (AP) -- The Armed
BY MATT CITAK
NEWARK — For Seton Hall, last year was a tale of two teams. Through the first half of the season, the Pirates were 13-3, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament well within their sight. However the team went 3-12 to finish the season and failed to qualify for the Big Dance. Entering his sixth season as Seton Hall’s head coach, Kevin Willard is still looking for his first visit to the NCAA Tournament.
During the season opener, it was unclear which Seton Hall team we’d see this year. In what was supposed to be an easy victory, Seton Hall was unable to pull away from Dartmouth in the first half before ultimately winning 84-67.
Isaiah Whitehead went for 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Derrick Gordon, making his Pirates debut, had 14 points and 5 assists, Khadeen Carrington scored 13 and Desi Rodriguez 12.
Heading into halftime, the Pirates were leading Big Green 39-33, a surprisingly small lead considering the Big East vs. Ivy League matchup, and looked like the team that finished last year 3-12.
By CHRIS BARCA
NEW YORK –– First year St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin has played in a Final Four, won an Olympic gold medal and given a speech in front of hundreds of his peers at his Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction.
And even with all the high-profile basketball situations he’s found himself in over the years, he still woke up Friday morning with a knot in his stomach.
“I’d say I was anxious and nervous,” Mullin said after the Red Storm topped Wagner 66-57 to win Friday’s regular season opener and the St. John’s legend’s coaching debut. “Before I left the house, I said to my wife ‘Can you believe I’m nervous for this game?’ She said ‘I don’t want to hear it.’”
After struggling last week in both exhibition contests, including a 90-58 loss to Division II program St. Thomas Aquinas, Italian point guard Federico Mussini paced the Johnnies with a game-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds, a pair of assists and just three turnovers.
Mussini also buried four of his six shots from beyond the arc, with his right-corner dagger with 1:12 remaining giving St. John’s a 60-54 lead they would never relinquish.
“I knew that when I was open, I had the shot,” Mussini said. “I need to shoot with confidence.”
