Tag: NCAA Basketball

San Jose State drops conference opener to Fresno State 73-53

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans won two games in a row, but ended 2018 with a loud thud following a three-game losing skid on a Bay Area road trip. Moreover, it was up to SJSU to open up 2019 on a positive note in a rivalry game versus the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Event Center Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, the result was negative to say the least.

Prior to the tipoff, Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau announced his starting lineup of Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry.

The Spartans won the tip and the game went underway in San Jose. Barry made a layup in the paint to get things started, but Nate Grimes tied the score at two apiece and Noah Blackwell put the Bulldogs up 5-2 with a 3-pointer at the 18:56 mark of the first period. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Fresno State responded to the Spartans’ first bucket of the game with a 9-0 run. But SJSU countered, thanks to Seneca Knight’s 3 at 15:56.

The Spartans were back in business as Baumann followed suit with a 3 of his own and Ivey made a couple of layups on the fastbreak. SJSU cut Fresno State’s lead to six at 12:44. Steadman knocked down two jumpers in the paint to help the Spartans within two just 30 seconds later.

It was a little over 10 minutes when the home crowd realized Fresno State refused to go down without a fight if they haven’t already done so. Blackwell, DeShon Taylor and Sam Bittner poured in the points for the Bulldogs, who led 26-19 with 8:27 left.

Soon, the game turned into a rather feisty exchange of 3s. Both teams hit 3s of their own, beginning with Ivey. New Williams responded. Then, Barry answered. The score was 29-25 Spartans with 6:33 left.

With 3:29 left, Fresno State led 31-25 at the final media timeout of the first. If anything was in favor of the Spartans, Ivey led the home team with seven points.

Still, Fresno State refused to back down. The Bulldogs went on a whopping 16-0 run to close out the first with a 47-25 lead. The Spartans went to the locker room in hopes of coming up with a successful plan to gain a much-needed advantage in the second half.

Both teams exchanged leads in a back and forth second period, but the Spartans’ offense gained some traction in the half. There was a good amount of 3s, free throws, jumpers and layups.

Fast forward almost 10 minutes later, and the Spartans’ shooting pretty much went cold except for Steadman’s 3 with 6:03 left in the second. With a little over two minutes left, Zach Chappell made a pair of free throws on the fastbreak to pull the Spartans within 19. But, Fresno State let the clock wind down, and SJSU lost by a final score of 73-53.

The Spartans head to Reno for a road tilt against the No. 6 Nevada Wolf Pack Wednesday, January 9 at 8:00 pm PT on CBS Sports.

San Jose State opens up conference play Wednesday vs. Fresno State

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball concluded their nonconference portion of the schedule with a lowly 3-9 record. The Spartans now turn their attention to Mountain West teams for conference play, starting this Wednesday against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Justin Allegri will have the play-by-play call for the Mountain West Network and KLIV 1590 AM.

Here’s what you need to know before Wednesday’s rivalry game:

Game #13
Fresno State (9-3) at San Jose State (3-9)
Wednesday, January 2 at 7:00 pm PT
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all the San Jose State men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the “Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

What would a Spartans’ win mean?
SJSU is 0-5 in conference openers since joining the league prior to the 2013-14 season. Two of those losses were at the hands of Nevada while the other three were against Utah State, including last season in a 86-72 loss in Logan, Utah. A win would also be the fourth of the season, tying last season’s overall total.

On the other had, Fresno State has a 1-5 record in MW openers.

Peace out, 2018! 
After two close and promising losses at Stanford and Cal, the Spartans closed out the nonconference slate on a bitter note as they were held to a season-low 45 points in a 75-45 loss at Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif. SJSU finished the nonconference slate 3-9.

Sharpest shooter in the west (and nation)
Sophomore Noah Baumann ranks second in the nation in three-point FG percentage. He is touting a 56.6% clip on 30-of-53 shooting. He is also averaging 2.5 3’s per game, which ranks in the top-10 in the MW.

Baumann is averaging 14.8 points per game in the last five games and is touting a gaudy 60% clip from 3-point range (18-30).

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10″ forward is averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game and ranks fourth in the MW with 9.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks 42nd nationally in rebounds per game and 39th in defensive rebounds per game. He has 5 double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the MW and has scored in double figures in 11-of-12 games, including 10 straight.

Staff shakeup
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Oh my, Oumar! 
Senior center Oumar Barry is playing his best basketball as a Spartan as of late. Against Bethune-Cookman, he finished with a then-career-high 13 points and 7 rebounds. He followed that up with his most dominating performance at SJSU as he recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his first-career game with double digit rebounds. Barry also blocked 2 shots and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line to help the Spartans to a win.

Barry followed up with another double-double against Stanford (15 points, 10 rebound). After playing 38 career games without recording a double-double, he now has 2 in the last 4 games.

Barry then scored a career-high 18 points before fouling out with 4:36 to play at Cal and led the team with 11 points at Saint Mary’s. In his last 5 games, he leads the team with 14.8 points per game and is averaging 7.6 rebounds.

Longstanding rivalry
The longstanding rivalry between Fresno State and San Jose State will see the 172nd game of the series played on Wednesday. The series dates back to Dec. 18, 1916 in a 58-32 Spartan victory. Since then, SJSU has posted a 53-31 record in home games.

The Bulldogs enter the game currently third in the MW standings at 9-3. Their last game was a 64-60 loss to Utah Valley, which snapped a 7-game win streak, among the longest in the nation at the time. A pair of Bulldogs are averaging 18 points per game in Braxton Huggins and Deshon Taylor, ranking in the top-6 in the MW scoring standings. Fresno State is led by first year head coach Justin Hutson.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal loses to Seattle, so big preparations to take on USC on Thursday

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris:

#1 The Cal Bears had a 18-point deficit on Saturday against the Seattle Redhawks (12-3) and rallied, but just couldn’t get the win.

#2 It was stated for Cal, the loss marks one of the darkest days for the Bears. Why is that?

#3 Bears head coach Wyking Jones said that he has to do a better job preparing the team from now on. Morris works he tells us what steps Jones has to take to get ready for a game.

#4 Seattle helped top the Bears with Morgan Means’ 24 points and Myles Carter’s 26 points. Once you have two players shooting in the 20s, that could do a lot of damage to your defense.

#5 The Bears host the UCLA Bruins for a Thursday night thriller to open the Pac 12

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAAB podcast with Daniel Dullum: Costly losses for UCLA, ASU, Illinois, Wisconsin; Good day for Stanford, UCSB, Saint Mary’s; plus more

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bruinsnation.com photo: UCLA Bruins (7-6) head coach Steve Alford contemplates as the Bruins drop their fourth straight game to Liberty (11-4) on Saturday.

On the NCAAB podcast with Daniel:

1 Men’s Hoops: Potential costly losses by UCLA, Arizona State, Illinois and Wisconsin

2 Good day for Stanford, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Saint Mary’s

3 Rick Pitino picks up win in EuroLeague debut with Panathinaikos

4 Women’s Hoops: UConn still No. 1 after tough road trip

5 There’s no need to expand the D-1 Football Playoffs

Catch Daniel each week for the NCAA podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: 18-point rally not enough to catch red-hot Redhawks in Cal’s latest loss

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calbears.com photo: The Cal Bears guard Paris Austin (3) takes a drive against the Seattle Redhawks guard Terrell Brown (23) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Saturday night

On the Cal podcast with Morris and Michael:

The Bears (5-7) fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half, only to rally, but ultimately lose to Seattle, 82-73 at Haas Pavilion. The loss concluded Cal’s non-conference schedule without providing much belief that they can right the ship with Pac-12 play next up beginning Thursday at UCLA.

Coach Wyking Jones surely didn’t get any assurances from his team that they’ll be engaged come Thursday, not after they led 2-0 Saturday, only to fall behind 21-4 with 12:11 remaining before halftime. The Redhawks with the win notched their win loss record to 12-3.

Morris and Michael do the Cal Bears basketball podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford squeezes past Long Beach State 93-86

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gostanford.com photo: Stanford Cardinal Josh Sharma goes up for the throwdown against the Long Beach Matadors at Maples Pavilion on Saturday night

by Joey Friedman

PALO ALTO — Coming off a loss to an outstanding San Francisco Dons team on the road, Stanford (now 7-5 on the season) returned to Maples Pavilion for their final game of the 2018 calendar year and their final game of the non-conference schedule against Long Beach State (now 5-10 on the season). Star freshman guard Cormac Ryan remained out for the third consecutive game with an ankle injury, giving freshman Jaiden Delaire his first career start in the win. Stanford was successful in avenging last year’s road loss to the Long Beach State 49ers by the score of 93-86.

The game remained tight throughout the first half as copious turnover and fouls committed by both teams stunted any runs. The Cardinal and The Beach exchanged small advantages with Josh Sharma and KZ Okpala leading the team with 9 and 8 points in the half, respectively. Sharma also collected 10 rebounds in the first half, setting a career record. Stanford would take a 37-36 lead to halftime.

Long Beach State’s lead with the score 45-43 was their last of the night as Stanford caught fire and, on the back of a pair of Oscar da Silva 3-pointers, went on a 13-1 run, which put the score at 56-46 with less than 14 minutes left in the game.

The Beach didn’t go quietly, however. Stanford’s free throw shooting down the stretch allowed for the 49ers to crawl back to within two points with under a minute to go. Bryan Alberts, who finished with 22 points (6-13 from beyond the arc), nailed a pair of 3s while Temidayo Yussuf, who finished with 13 points (5-7 from the field), added 6 points of his own in the closing minutes to narrow the gap. Towards the end of the game, Stanford shot 5-19 from the charity stripe.

Down by 3 and with a chance to tie the game with under 10 seconds left in the game, Long Beach State head coach Don Monson tried to call a timeout to presumably set up a play for his team on offense but was unsuccessful at getting the referees’ attention. Subsequently, Long Beach State threw up a poor, air-balled shot on their final possession. Monson was understandably irate with the referees which drew a pair of technical fouls and an ejection from the court. Stanford padded their lead in the closing seconds with the fouls shots.

Josh Sharma finished the game for the Cardinal with his first career double-double. He set career-highs in both points and rebounds, blowing his previous career highs out of the water. He finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Daejon Davis, who had 17 points and 5 assists for the Cardinal, left the game with an apparent ankle injury with about seven minutes left in the game. Head coach Jerod Hasse said he does not know the extent of the injury.

KZ Okpala and Jaiden Delaire each had 20 points and 10 points, respectively, in the win.

What’s next?
Stanford will open Pac-12 Conference play with the LA schools as the Card head south for games at UCLA on January 3rd and at USC on January 6th.

Long Beach State opens Big West Conference play at home against UC Davis after they face Bethesda at home on January 5th.

San Jose State gets blown out by Saint Mary’s 75-45

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball had hoped to wrap up its Bay Area road trip with a win over Saint Mary’s at McKeon Pavilion Saturday evening. A win would mean the Spartans’ two-game losing skid would come to an end. While there was a sign of hope for the Spartans in the early minutes of the game, their wish wasn’t granted Saturday.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with this starting lineup: Brae Ivey, Noah Baumann, Craig LeCesne, Michael Steadman and Oumar Barry.

After the tip, the game went underway at McKeon Pavilion. The early score wasn’t in favor of the Spartans, but they battled back from a 9-0 deficit, thanks to Ivey’s corner trey. Then, they tied the game 14-14 at the 14:51 mark of the first period.

San Jose State, however, fell behind from there. The Spartans trailed 22-17 at the second media timeout. Baumann led the Spartans with 5 points at the time. Fast forward to the final media timeout, where the Spartans trailed 38-17 with 3:25 left on the clock. SJSU didn’t score in the last 10 minutes and 46 seconds, which was sad like the sadness LeCesne had cope with this past week. LeCesne recently lost a close friend, Emil Isovic. Isovic collapsed during a game and died at a hospital Wednesday.

SJSU had no choice but to shrug off the horrific ending as Saint Mary went on a whopping 26-0 run to end the first. The Spartans trailed the Gaels 44-14 at halftime.

Saint Mary’s continued to stay hot at home. Tanner Krebs’ shooting remained on fire as he was 5-7 in 3-point field goals with 15 points. SJSU trailed 50-23 at the 15:29 mark of the second period.

The Gaels outshot the Spartans 47 percent to 37 percent with 7:47 left in the second. Krebs’ fiery shooting remained in tact as he was well on his way to a season-high 20 points. The Gaels’ defensive effort versus the Spartans was strong to say the least.

The Spartans lost to the Gaels 75-45. SJSU fell to 3-9, while Saint Mary’s improved to 9-6.

SJSU will return to the Event Center to host rival Fresno State on Wednesday, January 2 at 7 pm PST.

San Jose State to wrap up Bay Area road trip against Saint Mary’s on Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State men’s basketball will wrap up their Bay Area road trip against their final nonconference foe of the season, the Saint Mary’s Gaels, when they travel to Moraga for a 5 pm tipoff. Justin Allegri will have the Spartans’ radio call on KLIV 1590 AM.

Game #12
San Jose State (3-8) at Saint Mary’s (8-6)
Saturday, Dec. 29, 5:00 p.m. (PT)
McKeon Pavilion
Moraga, Calif.

Live stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the ‘Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

A win would mean…
SJSU is looking for their first win over the Gaels since Nov. 26, 2000, which was a 82-68 rout. A win would also be the fourth of the season, tying the team’s 2017-18 total for the whole year.

Oh, so close! 
For the second-straight game, SJSU fell just short in a tight game against a Pac-12 foe. The Spartans led at Cal for all but :02 seconds in the first half, and regained the lead in the second half. However, the Golden Bears went on to take control and prevailed 88-80.

The Spartans’ 80 points were the most against a D1 opponent this season and they shot a season-best 55.8% from the field. Oumar Barry had a career-high 18 points while Noah Baumann added 18 of his own. Michael Steadman tallied his fifth double-double of the season.

Sharpest shooter in the nation
Sophomore Noah Baumann leads the nation in 3-point FG percentage. He is touting a 57.1% clip on 28-of-49 shooting. He is also averaging 2.5 3s per game, which ranks in the top-10 in the Mountain West.

Baumann is averaging 14.0 points per game in the last five games and is touting a gaudy 60% clip from 3-point range (18-30). He is coming off a career-high six 3s at Cal as part of an 18-point performance.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10″ forward is averaging a team-high 13.7 points per game and ranks fourth in the MW with 9.7 rebounds per game. He also ranks 22nd nationally in rebounds per game and 25th in defensive rebounds per game. He has five double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the MW and has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games, including nine straight.

Staff shakeup
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Scouting the competition
The Gaels enter Saturday’s game with a 8-6 record. They had a four-game win streak in the first couple weeks of December with wins over Cal (84-71), Bethune-Cookman (93-61), New Mexico (85-60) and Cal State Fullerton (81-66) before falling to LSU, 78-74. The Gaels dropped their last game at Western Kentucky 71-68.

Junior guard Jordan Ford is one of the most dynamic scorers in collegiate basketball, ranking in the top-15 in four different categories: total points (third), total FG made (fourth), total FG attempts (seventh) and points per game (13th), which he leads the conference with 23.2.

Saturday’s meeting is the 82nd installment in the series that has been neck-and-neck throughout the years. The Gaels hold the overall advantage 43-39 and have won the last seven straight dating back to Dec. 4, 2001. The Spartans’ last win in the series was on Nov. 26, 2000 in a 82-68 victory in Moraga.

The Gaels are led by 17th-year head coach Randy Bennett.

Oh my Oumar
Senior center Oumar Barry is playing his best basketball as a Spartan as of late. Versus Bethune-Cookman, he finished with a then-career-high 13 points and 7 rebounds. He followed that up with his most dominating performance at SJSU as he recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds–his first-career game with double digit rebounds. He also blocked two shots and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line to help the Spartans to a victory.

Barry followed up with another double-double against Stanford (15 points, 10 rebounds). After playing 38 career games without recording a double-double, he now has two in the last three games.

Barry’s last outing saw a score of a career-high 18 points before fouling out with 4:36 to play at Cal. In his last five games, he leads the team with 14.8 points per game and is averaging 8.0 rebounds.

Conference play in the immediate future
Saturday’s game is the final nonconference bout for the Spartans before they buckle up for their MW slate. The first of nine conference home games will be played on Wednesday, January 2 as SJSU welcomes rival Fresno State to the Event Center at 7 pm.

San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu: Football coaching staff shakeup; Men’s basketball drops two road games

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Photo credit: youtube.com and @SJSUMBB

On the San Jose State podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. Linebackers coach Bojay Filimoeatu left SJSU to return to his alma mater, Utah State, on the same day of the Spartans’ Early National Signing Day. Filimoeatu was replaced by Scott White.

2. Two State Champion recruits, Adi Anderson and Stan Livingstone Jr., look to turn around SJSU football.

3. Anderson was among the dozens of players who were named to the all-Bay Area News Group football team.

4. After winning two straight home games, the Spartans’ men’s basketball team lost two in a row on the road. Can they turn things around at Saint Mary’s this Saturday?

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Joey Friedman: USF Dons were just too much for Stanford in last game; Cardinal get ready for Long Beach State

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photo from gostanford.com: Stanford’s Daejon Davis and the Cardinal hope to come off a frustrating loss to the USF Dons from last Saturday as they host Long Beach State at Maples Pavilion this Saturday Dec 29

The Dons (12-1) were led by Charles Minlend with 19 points, and Frankie Ferrari with 17. Jimbo Lull, USF’s 7-foot junior, hit double figures in rebounds for the first time in his career with 15; he also scored 11 points. Matt McCarthy added 10 points for the Dons.

It was the Cardinal’s first game at USF in 23 years, the first game on the USF campus since 1987, and the 68th meeting between the schools. Stanford leads the series 46-22.

Joey Friedman does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com