Yardbarker
Yardbarker
x
First Four: Howard-Wagner Preview & Props
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA Tournament officially begins Tuesday night with the First Four opener in Dayton, Ohio, where a pair No. 16 seeds square off for the right to meet West Regional top seed North Carolina.

The Wagner Seahawks (16-15) battle the Howard Bison (18-16) in a matchup of the lowest two seeds in the field of 68.

THE LINES

Howard is a consensus 3.5-point favorite, entering the NCAA Tournament as the 67th seed after knocking off Delaware State to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

Meanwhile, Wagner, seeded 68th, entered the eight-team Northeast Conference field as the sixth seed and earned its way into the NCAA brackets by beating second-seeded Merrimack in the final.

The Bison have won seven of their past eight games and have been backed by 64 percent of the spread-line money at BetMGM. Their -175 moneyline also has drawn 61 percent of the money, while Wagner's +145 ML has been backed by 52 percent of the total bets.

The Over/Under at the book has shifted from 127.5 to 128.5, with the Over garnering 62 percent of the money.

THE HISTORY

This is just the second all-time meeting between the schools, with Wagner earning a 79-54 win in the 1997-98 season.

THE NEWS

Second-year coach Donald Copeland guided Wagner to a 7-9 finish in league play. The Seahawks had to win three straight on the road against the top three seeds in the conference to clinch their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003, when they lost to Pitt in their lone all-time appearance.

"This was always the expectation," Copeland said of reaching the NCAA Tournament. "Those (league) games prepared for us what we faced, these adverse situations. We had been through them, and we handled them better."

Guard Tahron Allen led the Seahawks to the stunning conference run, playing all 40 minutes while scoring a game-high 22 points and adding seven rebounds in the title game. Allen is averaging 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.

The Seahawks, who had just seven healthy players for the NEC final, are led by junior guard Melvin Council Jr., who averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists to earn All-NEC first-team honors.

Council also played all 40 minutes in the tournament final and finished with 12 points and four rebounds.

The Bison also are making a run at a Cinderella story. They upset No. 1-seed Norfolk State in the MEAC semifinals before taking down Delaware State 70-67 in the finals, led by guard Jordan Hairston's 18 points.

Howard is led by Bryce Harris, their all-MEAC first-team selection. The junior guard leads Howard in scoring (16.6) and rebounding (7.6) this season. Harris and Seth Towns added 16 apiece for the Bison in the title game win.

"We really shot the 3-point basket well in the first half, but they made adjustments at the half," Howard head coach Kenneth Blakeney said. "This allowed Bryce more room inside and that proved to be very effective for us down the stretch.

Marcus Dockery, a junior guard, was an All-MEAC second-team selection, shooting an impressive 41.2 percent from 3-point range and knocking down a team-leading 93 triples this season.

THEY SAID IT

--"It definitely feels unreal. I'm still processing this. The love I'm getting from my school, the family, the people I've known since I was young, it's definitely unreal." --Allen

--"In all of my years of coaching and being around basketball, I have not seen a season like this. We used 13 different lineups due to injuries and COVID." --Blakeney

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

TODAY'S BEST

Virginia Men’s Basketball Starting Five: An All-21st Century Lineup
College Basketball

Virginia Men’s Basketball Starting Five: An All-21st Century Lineup

In the thick of the offseason, let’s dive into the last 25 years of Virginia men’s basketball and discuss who cracks the starting five of the 21st Century. With no Ralph, who takes the center spot? Will it be 2019-dominated or spread across the 2000s? I’ll reveal each player, followed by a list of their accolades and a skinny as to why they belong in the top rung. *I’ve grandfathered Roger Mason and Travis Watson into this list, despite the fact that they started their careers in Charlottesville prior to 2000. Guard: Ty Jerome (2016-2019) Accolades: Second-Team All-ACC (2019), NCAA All-Tournament Team (2019) Backup: J.R. Reynolds (2003-07), London Perrantes (2013-17), Reece Beekman (2020-24) Jerome is the runaway pick for this slot despite Reynolds’ one-two scoring punch with Singletary, Perrantes’ longevity with some high-achieving Cavalier squads and Beekman’s defensive chops. The 6’5” New York native captured the program’s first NCAA Championship in 2019 and was selected with the 24th pick in the subsequent NBA Draft, leaving Charlottesville after his junior season. While the numbers aren’t jaw-dropping when compared to ‘Hoos of the 2000s, Jerome dissected defenses with his savvy, methodical style of play and finished with a career-high 13.6 PPG and 5.5 APG his final year. Clutch play against the likes of Purdue, Auburn, and Texas Tech cements Jerome’s case as the starting point guard for this all-21st Century team. He is too good to be overlooked. Guard: Sean Singletary (2004-08) Accolades: 3x All-ACC First Team, 2004-05 All-ACC Freshman Team Backup: Kyle Guy (2016-19), Sylven Landesberg (2008-10) While Singletary missed the party of the 2010s, he was busy pacing Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao’s teams as an elite scorer and Duke slayer. No Cavalier since has matched Singletary’s 19.8 PPG clip, and he twice hit the 19.0 PPG threshold. Despite his smaller size (6’0”), I’ll give the advantage to Singletary over the likes of Kyle Guy and Sylven Landesberg because of his strength as a passer and scorer. I would be remiss if I did not include Singletary in this starting five — a bright spot of the 2000s — even if he’ll likely concede ball-handling duties to a national champion in Jerome. Also a clutch player, Singletary etched himself into John Paul Jones immortality with a buzzer-beating jumper to upend the Blue Devils, 68-66 (OT), in 2007. Guard: Malcolm Brogdon (2011-2016) Accolades: 2015-16 ACC Player of the Year, 2015-16 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2015-16 First-Team All-American, 2014-15 Second-Team All-American, 2015-16 NABC Defensive Player of the Year, 2x First-Team All-ACC Backups: Roger Mason (1999-2002), Joe Harris (2010-14) The easiest pick of them all, Brogdon spearheaded Bennett’s magical emergence in the mid-2010s and led the ‘Hoos to Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight appearances in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The 6’5” shooting guard led Virginia in scoring across three consecutive seasons (2013-2016) and garnered a host of honors in his senior campaign as evidenced by a 18.2 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 39.1% 3PT statline. Brogdon’s basketball IQ on the other side of the court also earned him the NABC’s Defensive Player of the Year title in 2016. One can only look to center Ralph Sampson as a more decorated ‘Hoo, as the Atlanta native was instrumental in bringing Virginia basketball back into the forefront of national conversations. Forward: De’Andre Hunter (2016-19) Accolades: 2018-19 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2018-19 Third-Team All-American, 2019 NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2017-18 All-ACC Freshman Team, 2017-18 ACC Sixth-Man of the Year Backups: Travis Watson (1999-2003), Anthony Gill (2013-16), Sam Hauser (2019-21) The groups start to get a bit thinner as we advance from Virginia’s stacked backcourt lineage, but Hunter headlines the bigs. Although a smaller power forward option, Hunter’s defensive versatility at Virginia and his gamewrecking ability (i.e. Texas Tech) cannot be overlooked. He burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2017-18, having notably given then-No. 4 Duke fits until a wrist injury derailed the rest of his season and proved to cost the ‘Hoos in the Big Dance. One of the “trio” alongside Jerome and guard Kyle Guy, Hunter looked like a man amongst boys in his final campaign; moreover, he checks off our clutch criterion thanks to an overtime layup against Purdue and three-pointer late into regulation against Texas Tech — both season-saving moments in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He and Brogdon will provide a physical, defensive boost for this starting five. Forward: Mike Scott (2007-12) Accolades: 2011-12 First-Team All-ACC Backup: Akil Mitchell (2010-14), Jay Huff (2017-21) An early Bennett product and a Virginia native, Mike Scott steadily improved in his five years in Charlottesville and capped off an illustrious career with an 18.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG statline in 2011-12. Scott, a terrific low-post scorer, provides an uber-athletic duo with Hunter in the frontcourt, even if we’ll be without a true center in the lineup. Arguably, no position is weaker, however, than that of the center spot from 2000 on. It would also be a mistake to pass up his efficiency on the interior and his strength on the glass. If Scott is overwhelmed by centers, we can roll out the 7’1” Huff or 6’8” Mitchell — a defensive guru who pestered opponents despite his size. Another NBA veteran alongside Jerome, Brogdon, and Hunter, Scott played for four different teams over ten years. 21st Century Starting Five, in summary: G: Ty Jerome (2016-19) G: Sean Singletary (2004-08) G: Malcolm Brogdon (2011-16)* F: De’Andre Hunter (2016-19)* F: Mike Scott (2007-12)* * = redshirted at least one year at Virginia

Cleveland Guardians Slapped With Bad News Before Trade Deadline
MLB

Cleveland Guardians Slapped With Bad News Before Trade Deadline

The Cleveland Guardians are quite a mystery heading into the MLB trade deadline, as no one seems to know whether they will buy, sell or possibly even do nothing before July 31. The Guardians are hovering around .500, but they are still smack dab in the middle of the American League Wild Card race. That's in spite of losing 10 straight just before the All-Star break. Even with Cleveland remaining in contention, there are some who believe the Guardians might sell given their conservative nature, but talk show host Bruce Drennan has provided some rather bad news for the team in that regard: the players they might want to move don't have much value. “No top prospects for a big bat, and I don’t necessarily see us selling players, like Carlos Santana or Lane Thomas. What can you get in return?” Drennan said. Drennan has a point. Santana and Thomas are both impending free agents, and neither has been all that good this season. Santana owns a .665 OPS, and Thomas has been on and off the injured list while hitting just .160 on the year. Of course, the Guardians would surely be able to land a hefty return for players like Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase, but it does not seem like Cleveland is going to move either of those two stars. Perhaps the Guardians will surprise some people and go all in by adding pieces at the deadline, but that isn't exactly in their nature. We'll see what happens before the end of the months, but it stands to reason that Cleveland might just stand pat, as Drennan anticipates. Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie had three words for Angel Reese
WNBA

WNBA legend Lisa Leslie had three words for Angel Reese

Now in her second WNBA season, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese is averaging a league‑leading 12.5 rebounds along with 13.8 points, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. She recently returned from injury and immediately picked up where she left off, posting her 16th double‑double of the season (11 points, 11 rebounds) on Tuesday night even as her Chicago Sky fell, 91-68, to the Minnesota Lynx. Then, on Wednesday, Reese showcased her brand power on Instagram, posting a pregame photo dressed head‑to‑toe in Gucci with the caption, "Don’t worry about me… life is GUCCI @gucci #guccipartner." The image quickly lit up her feed and drew an immediate response from one of the game’s all‑time greats, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, who commented, “Yessss it is❤️." Despite flashes of elite play, the Sky have struggled mightily, standing at just 7-17 and sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference. Their 76.7 points per game rank 12th in the WNBA, and opponents are torching them for 86.8 a night (12th in the league). With head coach Tyler Marsh searching for consistency, every bright spot has been a welcome reprieve for a franchise that won the title as recently as 2021. Front and center among Chicago’s bright spots is Reese. Off the court, Reese has quickly built a burgeoning portfolio of endorsement deals, including Reebok, Calvin Klein, Beats by Dre, Amazon and now Gucci, underscoring her status as one of the WNBA’s brightest personalities. On the other side, you have Leslie, whose voice carries more weight than arguably anybody in women’s basketball. A three‑time league MVP, two‑time WNBA champion and Finals MVP and eight‑time All‑Star, Leslie helped define the league’s early years with the Los Angeles Sparks, including driving home the first dunk in WNBA history in 2002. A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer (class of 2015), she remains a global ambassador for the sport.

NASCAR insiders weigh in after Austin Hill's controversial move
NASCAR

NASCAR insiders weigh in after Austin Hill's controversial move

Austin Hill's controversial move in the closing laps of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has already been the topic of much discussion among those in the NASCAR industry. Hill appeared to intentionally wreck Aric Almirola on Lap 91 of the Pennzoil 250 after Almirola had gotten Hill loose in the previous corner during a battle for fourth place. While Hill was given a five-lap penalty for reckless driving, a suspension for the Aug. 2 race at Iowa Speedway could be in order. "I... you can see his gloves through the front windshield... and to be doing that at Indianapolis Motor Speedway of all places, is just not good," said Joseph Srigley of TobyChristie.com. "That should probably be a suspension, at least for next weekend at Iowa, if not longer. Yikes..." "Yeah, that’s probably gonna be a forced vacation for Austin Hill," said Christie. "Pretty egregious looking, and at a track like Indy, that’s a very dangerous move." "Maaaaaan not sure that's gonna hold up in NASCAR Court," said Eric Estepp of "Out of The Groove" in response to Hill's radio transmission. Hill told his team that he couldn't hang on to his car after the aforementioned contact from Almirola, though it appeared that the No. 21 Chevrolet was stable for a brief moment before he made contact with Almirola's No. 19. A suspension for Hill would also relieve the No. 21 team of all its playoff points, including any they might earn over the final five races of the regular season. Hill has won three races so far this season.