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Xavier Opens Big East with W

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Desmond Claude scored 26 points and ninth-seeded Xavier earned a 76-72 victory over Butler in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

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Claude and the Musketeers (16-16) advance to the conference tournament quarterfinals against No. 1 seed UConn. Voted the league’s most improved player, Claude scored at least 25 for the fourth time this season and hit 11 of his 20 shots.

Xavier made winning plays down the stretch. The Musketeers led for the final 11:12 and pulled away in the final minutes, taking a 75-68 lead on Dayvion McKnight’s strong drive to the rim and bucket with 53 seconds left.

Butler had a chance thanks to DJ Davis’ 3, cutting the deficit to 75-71 with 45 seconds left.

Posh Alexander split a pair at the line with 13 seconds remaining. After Alexander missed the second free throw, Butler got the offensive rebound after a lengthy review. But Davis lost the ball in the lane with four seconds to go.

McKnight scored 16 of his 20 in the second half and Xavier shot 51.5 percent in the final 20 minutes and 46.3 percent overall. Quincy Olivari hit three of Xavier’s seven 3s and contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Pierre Brooks scored 21 to lead Butler (18-14), which entered with a NET rating of 65 and likely needed at least one win in the tournament and some outside help to be invited to the NCAA Tournament.

Jalen Thomas and Posh Alexander, who appeared to suffer a scary right knee injury with about five minutes left in the first half, added 14 points apiece.

Xavier withstood Butler’s charge and held a 32-31 lead at halftime after Claude hit a floater in the lane with 28 seconds left.

After missing their first eight 3s, the Musketeers heated up with four 3s in the opening minutes of the second half to take a 46-43 lead on Claude’s triple just inside of the 16-minute mark.

Olivari’s 3 snapped a 54-54 tie with 11:12 left and his fastbreak layup made it 61-56 with 8:46 remaining.

–By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Philly’s Jensen Honored by USBWA

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association honored Mike Jensen, longtime college basketball writer and columnist for the Phildelphia Inquirer, as winner of the Jim O’Connell Award for excellence in beat reporting. Jensen will be recognized April 8 at the association’s annual awards luncheon in Glendale, Arizona, site of the Men’s Final Four.

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Originally from Peekskill, N.Y., Jensen covered basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 35 years, first on the high school beat, then colleges for 30 years as a beat writer and then a columnist. His 2017 Year of Philly Hoops Inquirer series spanned 55 parts with roughly 2,000 words appearing every Sunday in the Inquirer. He left the paper at the end of 2023 and now is writing a book on Philadelphia basketball.

“I’m way beyond honored by this,” Jensen said. “Jim O’Connell was a special man and a guiding light for how to conduct yourself in this business, in addition to being one of the funnier people on the planet.”

Jensen, a Vanderbilt graduate, won first-place Eclipse Awards for best enterprise or feature story in 2004 and ’06 for the sport of horse racing in a newspaper or magazine. He also covered soccer for the paper from 1989-2002, traveling to nine countries on five continents. Jensen recalls his best assignment, covering Temple under John Chaney for nine seasons, calling it “stealing money.”

“Mike is an original,” said USBWA President Brendan Quinn of The Athletic. “He arrived in Philadelphia as an outsider and ended up as a definitive voice on the city’s most parochial sport. No small task. Mike’s career combined dogged reporting with incredible writing and a high-level understanding of the game. He’s not only one of the best in the business, but also a better friend.”

The USBWA has annually recognized exemplary beat reporting each year since 2020 in the name of the late legendary Associated Press writer Jim O’Connell. The award is part of the association’s annual Best Writing Contest. Affectionately known as “Oc,” O’Connell was a USBWA president, is a member of the USBWA Hall of Fame and earned the Curt Gowdy Print Media Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s award given to media.

O’Connell served as the AP’s national college basketball writer from 1987 until shortly before his passing in 2018. He was a fixture at all the sport’s major events, from the Final Four to the Big East Tournament to the Maui Invitational. He covered eight Olympics and worked as a desk supervisor, overseeing the entire sports operation for the world’s largest news-gathering organization.

Jensen joins a list of other outstanding writers as a winner of this award that includes the late Terry Hutchens, Mike Waters, Emily Giambalvo and Geoff Grammer.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.

USBWA JIM O’CONNELL AWARD WINNERS
2020: Terry Hutchens
2021: Mike Waters
2022: Emily Giambalvo
2023: Geoff Grammer
2024: Mike Jensen

Celtics Beat Jazz in Get-Away Game

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SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 38 points and Derrick White made 7 of 11 3-point attempts and scored 24 points as the Boston Celtics wrapped up a five-game road trip by beating the Utah Jazz 123-107 on Tuesday night.

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It was the third straight victory for Boston, which lost the first two games of the trip.

Jrue Holiday added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Celtics, who made 20 of 49 3-pointers (40.8 percent).

Boston led by seven entering the final quarter and seized control by scoring the first 15 points of the fourth. Utah’s first points of the period came on a Jordan Clarkson layup that made it 113-93 with 5:34 to play.

Keyonte George scored 26 points to lead the Jazz. Utah received 21 points from Clarkson and 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Collin Sexton.

The Celtics were missing Jaylen Brown (sacroiliac strain), Al Horford (toe sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring strain).

Utah played without Lauri Markkanen, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a right quad contusion.

Boston made nine 3-pointers in the opening quarter and led 44-33 after 12 minutes. The Celtics later had a 52-35 lead, but Utah went on a 15-2 run and trailed 54-50 with 6:07 left in the first half. An 8-0 spurt helped Boston build a 16-point lead late in the second quarter, and the Celtics owned a 72-57 advantage at halftime.

The Celtics made 14 of 25 3-pointers in the first half. White and Sam Hauser each had four treys by halftime. It was the 15th time Boston has scored at least 70 points in the first half of a game this season.

Utah was within two points when a Clarkson basket cut Boston’s lead to 93-91 with 36.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but the Celtics scored the final five points of the frame and had a 98-91 edge entering the fourth.

–Field Level Media

BIG EAST Names Award Winners

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NEW YORK – (March 11, 2024) The BIG EAST Conference announced the winners for four individual awards for its 2023-24 men’s basketball season.

For the third season in a row, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Desmond Claude of Xavier was chosen BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Hassan Diarra of Connecticut has been selected for the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Creighton’s Steven Ashworth has been tabbed the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.

The league’s head coaches make the selections and they are not permitted to vote for their own players. The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: BIG EAST Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday, March 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The BIG EAST Media Award will also be presented.

Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 senior center from Florissant, Mo., is the third player in BIG EAST history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors three times. Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning won three times (1989, ’90, ’92) and former Hoya Patrick Ewing won four times (1982, ’83, ’84, 85). This season, Kalkbrenner is the BIG EAST’s blocked shot leader in league games with a 3.4 mark. His 2.97 blocked shot average in all games ranks third nationally. Kalkbrenner is an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection.

Xavier’s Claude, a 6-6 sophomore guard, has improved across the board for the Musketeers. As a freshman, he was used in a sixth-man role and averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds. This year, Claude brought his scoring mark up to 16.0, his rebound average up to 4.1. His assist/turnover ratio improved from 1.24 to 1.50 and his free throw shooting went from 57.1 percent to 79.2 percent. This season, he has scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games compared to five in 35 games last year.

UConn’s Diarra has been a most effective sixth man for the regular-season champions. A 6-2 senior guard, he is playing 19.1 minutes per game and is averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He is shooting 77.8 percent from foul line and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. Diarra has 72 assists while committing only 33 turnovers. In addition to his offensive contributions, he often draws a top defensive assignment.

Creighton’s Ashworth has made an immediate impact with his sportsmanlike play and his steady production. A 6-1 guard transfer from Utah State, he took over the starting point guard on a team that enters this week’s BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Bluejays are 23-8 overall and 14-6 in league play. Ashworth is averaging 10.5 points and 4.1 assists. His assist average ranks ninth in the conference. 

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

BIG EAST Most Improved Player

Desmond Claude, Xavier

BIG EAST Sixth Man Award

Hassan Diarra, Connecticut

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award

Steven Ashworth, Creighton

Celtics Look to Extend Road Streak

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SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be looking to extend their road winning streak to three games when they face the slumping Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

After beating Phoenix 117-107 on Saturday, the Celtics earned a 121-99 victory at Portland on Monday. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 26. Sam Hauser came off the bench to make 6 of 10 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 22 points.

“We just played hard, made the right reads on offense, knew our personnel on defense and made a lot of shots,” Hauser said. “I had a rough first half but turned it around in the second half. Once you see a couple (shots) go, the rim gets bigger and you get more confidence.”

Jrue Holiday (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) sat out Boston’s win over Portland. Al Horford scored 11 points against the Trail Blazers but may not be available against Utah since he typically does not play on back-to-back nights.

Tuesday’s contest will be the final game of Boston’s five-game road trip. The Celtics opened the trip with losses to Cleveland (105-104) last Tuesday and Denver (115-109) on Thursday.

Utah has lost two in a row, five of its last six and 10 of its last 12. The Jazz trailed by 39 points in the first half of Saturday’s 142-121 loss at Denver. Utah outscored the Nuggets 44-24 in the third quarter to pull within 14 but failed to get any closer. Denver made 19 of its 32 3-point attempts in the game.

“Obviously when you’re down 39 points at one point it’s a long road back to win the game, but I do think the second half is something we can build on,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

Utah’s Lauri Markkanen has missed the last three games with a right quadriceps contusion. Markkanen is averaging 23.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 51 games this season.

Utah’s Walker Kessler returned to the lineup against Denver after missing four games with a right foot sprain. Rookie Keyonte George scored 29 points against the Nuggets, and fellow rookie Brice Sensabaugh made 7 of 11 field-goal attempts for 16 points.

“I think both of those guys (George and Sensabaugh) … the best thing is they show a tremendous amount of confidence in themselves,” Hardy said. “They have a tremendous amount of confidence in each other — the way they speak to each other during the game and encourage each other. The way they feed off each other I think is a positive. They both know there’s a lot of work to be done, though. To get to the level they want to get to, to be a team that’s competing for a championship, those guys are really going to have to up their level.”

The matchup will be the second game between the Celtics and Jazz this season. Utah shot 36.2 percent from the field (34 of 94) and 17.6 percent from behind the 3-point line in a 126-97 loss at Boston on Jan. 5. The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 36 points in the first half.

Tatum led Boston with 30 points in the win. Utah, which turned the ball over 18 times in the game, received 17 points, five rebounds and five assists from Markkanen.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Drill Blazers, Brown 27 Points

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PORTLAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jaylen Brown recorded 27 points, six rebounds and five assists and the Boston Celtics became the first NBA team to reach the 50-win mark this season with a 121-99 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points and eight assists and Sam Hauser scored a season-best 22 points off the bench for Boston.

Payton Pritchard added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Al Horford had 11 points and three blocked shots and Derrick White contributed 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Celtics.

Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their past 11 home games.

Anfernee Simons scored 17 points, Jerami Grant added 14 and Scoot Henderson had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Portland.

Boston won for the 13th time in its past 15 games despite playing without Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Jrue Holiday (knee).

The Celtics shot 49 percent from the field, including 15 of 40 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Portland connected on 44.8 percent of its shots and was 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Boston led 79-60 with 7:44 left in the third quarter after a 7-0 run.

The Trail Blazers answered with a 15-5 charge, and Grant’s three-point play pulled Portland within 84-75 with 1:36 remaining in the third. The Celtics scored the final four points of the stanza for a 13-point lead.

Tatum and Hauser connected on back-to-back treys to boost Boston’s advantage to 101-83 with 8:40 left in the contest.

Hauser later buried a trey to push the lead to 115-95 with two minutes remaining as the Celtics closed out their seventh win in the past nine meetings with the Trail Blazers.

Brown scored 17 first-half points to help the Celtics hold a 66-52 lead at the break. Ayton scored 14 in the half for Portland.

Boston made six treys in the first quarter en route to a 37-28 lead. A dunk by Luke Kornet made it 50-33 with 7:47 left in the half.

Simons hit two 3-pointers during an 11-0 surge that allowed the Trail Blazers to move within 56-50 with 3:37 to play. The Celtics answered with a 10-2 run to make it a 14-point halftime margin.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Handle Suns; Tatum 29 Points

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PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and his teammate Jaylen Brown finished with 27 points to help the visiting Celtics avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season by beating the Phoenix Suns 117-107 on Saturday night.

Tatum scored 22 points in the second half, 13 of them in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix received a season-high 45 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists from Kevin Durant, who was 18 of 26 from the field. It was Durant’s fifth game with at least 40 points this season.

The Celtics were up by nine after three quarters and stretched the lead to 15 on a 3-pointer by Tatum with 9:19 to play. Phoenix trailed 107-102 following a three-point play by Durant with 3:55 left, but the Suns failed to get any closer.

Bradley Beal added 25 points for the Suns, who were seeking their third straight victory. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston’s Al Horford had nine points and 12 rebounds, and Luke Kornet came off the bench to contribute 14 points and six rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s starting center, was a late addition to the injury report and didn’t play because of hamstring tightness. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla termed Porzingis day-to-day.

Devin Booker (ankle) missed his fourth straight game for the Suns.

Boston ended the first quarter with a 9-2 run and led 31-26. The Celtics extended their lead to 15 points late in the second quarter and had a 62-50 advantage at halftime. Durant (20) and Brown (18) were the leading scorers in the half.

Phoenix trimmed Boston’s lead to 77-74 when Durant capped a 9-0 run by making a 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining in the third. The Celtics went on a 10-4 spurt after that, however, and led 87-78 entering the final quarter.

The teams will meet again Thursday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Celtics to Get Back on Track vs Suns?

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PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Phoenix Suns will attempt to hand the visiting Boston Celtics their third consecutive loss when the teams meet Saturday night.

Boston’s 11-game winning streak came to an end when the Celtics squandered a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in a 105-104 loss at Cleveland on Tuesday. After that, the Celtics suffered a 115-109 loss at Denver on Thursday.

Jaylen Brown had 41 points and 14 rebounds against Denver, but was 7 of 14 from the free-throw line. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, but Jayson Tatum had a rare off night and finished with 15 points.

“It stings,” Porzingis said. “It stings real bad, but I like that there’s a big margin that we can improve from this game. It’s not always going to go your way of course. You’re not always going to have perfect games, but what I like is there’s a margin for us to get better, to play better.”

Tatum was 5 of 13 from the field in 39 minutes.

“We talk all the time about respecting each other’s space and understanding the flow of the game,” Tatum said. “It’s not for me to hijack the game because it’s a national TV game and make it about me. Other guys had it going.”

Tatum (ankle) is listed as probable for Saturday’s game. Brown (sacroiliac) is questionable.

The Suns are hoping to have guard Devin Booker in the lineup Saturday. Booker has missed three games since he sprained his right ankle during a 118-109 loss to Houston on March 2 but was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. Booker is averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game this season.

Before his team’s 120-113 victory over Toronto on Thursday, Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said Booker is making progress and is day to day.

“He definitely wants to be back as soon as possible,” Vogel said. “We understand the big picture, and we’re going to bring him back when he’s ready.”

Kevin Durant tossed in 35 points during Thursday’s win against Toronto. Grayson Allen set a franchise record by making seven 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 26 points (eight 3-pointers), all in the first half. He also made eight 3-pointers during Tuesday’s 117-107 overtime victory at Denver.

The Suns acquired Allen in a trade shortly before preseason training camp. After Thursday’s win, he was leading the NBA in 3-point percentage (47.5 percent).

“He knows his role in our system and he’s a great shooter,” Vogel said. “Everybody knew he was a good player when he was coming in, but he’s a great player. He’s playing phenomenally for us.”

Saturday’s contest will be the first of two meetings between Boston and Phoenix during the regular season. The teams will also play Thursday in Boston.

“They have had an incredible year thus far,” Durant said. “Best starting five in the league by far.

“They have a big lineup with versatile guys up and down the lineup. They’ve been around each other for a while, so they understand one another. Adding Jrue (Holiday) was huge. Adding Kristaps was huge. We have our work cut out for us. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

“I like where we are right now,” Durant said. “I think we can keep growing. That’s the best thing about it — we’ve still got room to grow as a team. We’re getting more and more comfortable as the day goes on.”

–Field Level Media

Sox: Bello Reaps $55m Extension

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FORT MYERS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox right-handed starter, Brayan Bello, agreed to terms on a six-year, $55 million extension, multiple media outlets reported. Per The Boston Globe, the deal includes a $21 million club option for a seventh season.

The reported contract comes on the heels of Red Sox offseason acquisition Lucas Giolito’s potential season-ending injury. ESPN reported Tuesday that initial imaging revealed a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his pitching elbow for Giolito.

Bello, who turns 25 in May, posted a 12-11 record with a 4.24 ERA in 28 games (all starts) last season. He struck out 132 batters in 157 innings but gave up 24 home runs.

That’s still an improvement from his first season with Boston in 2022. He was 2-8 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 games (11 starts).

“He’s an exciting, young starting pitcher that was acquired and developed internally. I think he embodies exactly what we’re trying to do,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said recently, per The Globe.

“We still think that his best years are ahead of him. We recognize some opportunities to further optimize the repertoire and we’re super excited about having him.”

–Field Level Media

Nuggets Beat Celtics, 115-109

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DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Denver’s Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his 20th triple-double of the season, and the host Nuggets overcame a big night by Jaylen Brown to beat the Boston Celtics 115-109 on Thursday night.

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Denver swept the season series and has won seven of eight out of the All-Star break. Jamal Murray scored 19 points, Aaron Gordon contributed 16 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Peyton Watson had 11 points each for the Nuggets.

Brown had 41 points and 13 rebounds, both season-highs, but missed seven free throws. Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points and Jrue Holiday added 12 for Boston.

The Celtics have lost consecutive games for just the second time this season.

Denver led 62-54 at halftime but Boston scored the first eight points of the third. The teams traded buckets before Denver went on a 14-5 run to go ahead 82-73 and took a 90-80 lead into the fourth quarter.

Murray dunked for the first points of the final period. The Celtics scored the next five points but Denver answered with four straight to restore a double-digit lead.

Porzingis hit a jumper to make it 101-93 and had a chance to pull closer when Tatum stole the ball from Murray but the Nuggets stole it back and turned it into a dunk for Gordon with 5:13 remaining.

Brown’s three-point play and a technical on Jokic gave the Celtics a four-point trip to cut it to 105-98. Porzingis hit a 14-footer to trim the deficit to five and Gordon had a putback dunk to make it 109-102.

Holiday got Boston within two with a pair of 3-pointers, Tatum missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Celtics the lead with 45 seconds left and Jokic fed Gordon for another dunk to make it 113-109 with 19.8 seconds remaining.

Derrick White missed a 3-pointer and Denver held on.

Murray hit a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to put the Nuggets ahead 30-28, and they didn’t trail the rest of the night.

–Field Level Media