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US Basketball Writers Honor Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Official News Release from the USBWA) – Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham, a freshman who electrified the Big 12 Conference and led the Cowboys’ late-season surge to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2009, was named winner of the 2020-21 Wayman Tisdale Award, honoring the National Freshman Player of the Year based on voting by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

The lone freshman on USBWA’s 2020-21 All-America first team, Cunningham led the Big 12 in scoring at 20.2 points per game and was a nine-time recipient of the Big 12 Player and/or Newcomer of the Week honor, the most by any player this season and the most in school history. A USBWA All-District VI selection, he is just the fourth Big 12 player to sweep the conference’s player of the year and freshman of the year awards and was the second-highest-scoring freshman nationally.

Cunningham won the Tisdale Award over three other finalists, all fellow USBWA All-Americans: Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, USC forward Evan Mobley and Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs. He is the fifth Big 12 player to win the Wayman Tisdale Award and the 22nd USBWA All-American from OSU, its first since Jawun Evans in 2017.

The award is based on regular-season performance. But Cunningham helped take the fourth-seeded Cowboys into the NCAA’s second round, falling Sunday night to Oregon State 80-70 to finish at 21-9 on the season. His 24 points against Oregon State playing all 40 minutes included four three-pointers. He scored 15 points in OSU’s first-round win over Liberty, including nine straight in the final minutes of its 69-60 win. He finished the season averaging 20.1 points on 43.8 percent shooting, with 62 three-pointers on 40.0 percent shooting outside the arc, 6.2 rebounds per game, 132 free throws made on 84.6 percent accuracy, and a team-high 94 assists and 43 steals.

Cunningham is Oklahoma State’s first USBWA All-American since Marcus Smart in the 2012-13. He joins a trio of previous USBWA National Freshman of the Year Award winners – Smart (2013), Texas’ Kevin Durant (2007) and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2008) – in an exclusive group of players to also be chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season. He became OSU’s all-time leading freshman scorer during the NCAA Tournament finishing with 544 points, only the program’s third player to score 500 points in a season. Should Cunningham declare his eligibility, he is expected to be among the top picks in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The Wayman Tisdale Award is voted on by the entire membership of the association. The USBWA has chosen a national freshman of the year award since the 1988-89 season. It was named the Wayman Tisdale Award in the 2010-11 season in honor of the late three-time USBWA All-American at Oklahoma and the first freshman to receive first-team All-America honors from the USBWA.

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

 

Big East’s Villanova & Creighton Advance to NCAA Sweet 16

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Official News Release from BIG EAST) – Villanova and Creighton, the BIG EAST’s top two teams in the regular season, have advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Championship. The Wildcats, who were ranked 18th in last week’s Associated Press poll, will meet Baylor, the top seed in the South Region, on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET. The Bluejays, No. 19 by AP, also meet a No. 1 seed, Gonzaga in a West Region semifinal at 2:10 p.m.

Gonzaga is ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, while Baylor is No. 3.

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Wildcat/Bluejay Similarities: Besides being ranked consecutively at 18th (Villanova) and 19th (Creighton) in the AP poll, both teams are No. 5 seeds in their respective regions and will battle the top seeds next. The venue for both teams this weekend will be the same, Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Both contests will be telecast on CBS. Villanova and Creighton each knocked off No. 12 seeds in the first round and No. 13 seeds in the second round.

Villanova and Creighton shared the BIG EAST regular-season title last year and both were locks for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, if it had been played.

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

SOUTH REGION
First Round – March 19
No. 5 Villanova 73, No. 12 Winthrop 63

Second Round – March 21
No. 5 Villanova 84, No. 13 North Texas 61

Regional Semifinals – March 27
No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 1 Baylor – CBS 5:15

WEST REGION
First Round – March 20
No. 5 Creighton 63, No. 12 UCSB 62

Second Round – March 22
No. 5 Creighton 72, No. 13 Ohio 58

Regional Semifinals – March 28
No. 5 Creighton vs. No. 1 Gonzaga – CBS 2:10

EAST REGION
First Round – March 20
No. 5 Colorado 96, No. 12 Georgetown 73
No. 10 Maryland 63, No. 7 Connecticut 54

PGA Tour: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Preview

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AUSTIN – The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, the only official head-to-head match play event on the PGA Tour schedule, returns to the PGA TOUR schedule after being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. This week, 64 of the top 69 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (as of March 15) are in the field, including every player in the Top 10.

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Reigning FedExCup champion and World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is seeking his seventh WGC victory. Johnson’s six WGC titles are second only to Tiger Woods (18). The 2018 WGC semifinalist Justin Thomas is making his first start on Tour since winning THE PLAYERS Championship.

There are five players who qualified but will not compete: Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland.

Is Match Play a different game? Maybe so as no player has won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and gone on to win the FedExCup in the same season (best result: Luke Donald, (No. 3) in 2011.

Back in 2019: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play champion Kevin Kisner holed a 20-foot birdie putt to close out Matt Kuchar, 3 and 2, to capture his third PGA Tour title and first World Golf Championships victory. In the 2019-20 season, the South Carolina native made 21 starts, qualified for each of the three FedExCup Playoffs events and finished No. 23 in the FedExCup standings.

THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: World Golf Championship

COURSE: Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas

ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,108 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $10,500,000/$1,800,000

DEFENDING Champion (2019) Kevin Kisner – (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS of Event: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Available/Winner Share: 2,989/500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedEXCup @DellMatchPlay

TV COVERAGE: Wednesday, March 24 – Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26: 2:00pm to 8:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28 – Early coverage on Golf Channel from 10:00am to 2:00pm and the switch to NBC for 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Saturday and 3:00pm to 7:00pm EDT on Sunday.

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups on Wednesday-Thursday and Friday from 10:15am to 8:00pm (EDT); Saturday from (8:30am-2:00pm (EDT) only.

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Wednesday –Thursday – Friday – 2:00pm to 8:00pm (EDT); then Saturday, March 27 from 10:00am to 6:00pm EDT and Sunday, March 28: (11:00am to 7:00pm (EDT)) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

World Golf Championship-Dell Tech Match Play Odds

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AUSTIN – Published odds for this week’s World Golf Championship Match Play

Bryson DeChambeau 12-1
Justin Thomas 12-1
Dustin Johnson 14-1
Jon Rahm 14-1
Rory McIlroy 20-1
Collin Morikawa 22-1
Sungjae Im 25-1
Jordan Spieth 25-1
Paul Casey 25-1
Patrick Reed 25-1
Viktor Hovland 28-1
Patrick Cantlay 28-1
Tony Finau 28-1
Xander Schauffele 28-1
Webb Simpson 28-1
Daniel Berger 28-1
Tyrrell Hatton 33-1
Jason Day 35-1
Cameron Smith 35-1
Louis Oosthuizen 40-1
Sergio Garcia 40-1
Hideki Matsuyama 40-1
Joaquin Niemann 40-1
Scottie Scheffler 40-1
Will Zalatoris 40-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 40-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 50-1
Jason Kokrak 50-1
Lee Westwood 50-1
Corey Conners 50-1
Kevin Kisner 50-1
Abraham Ancer 50-1
Tommy Fleetwood 50-1
Si-Woo Kim 66-1
Russell Henley 70-1
Max Homa 70-1
Billy Horschel 80-1
Matt Wallace 80-1
Shane Lowry 80-1
Ryan Palmer 80-1
Harris English 80-1
Bubba Watson 80-1
Lanto Griffin 80-1
Brian Harman 80-1
Brendon Todd 100-1
Marc Leishman 100-1
Carlos Ortiz 100-1
Matthew Wolff 100-1
Kevin Na 100-1
Ian Poulter 100-1
Victor Perez 100-1
Talor Gooch 125-1
Matt Kuchar 125-1
Kevin Streelman 150-1
Sebastian Munoz 150-1
Robert MacIntyre 150-1
J.T. Poston 150-1
Antoine Rozner 150-1
Dylan Frittelli 150-1
Erik Van Rooyen 150-1
Bernd Wiesberger 150-1
Mackenzie Hughes 200-1
Andy Sullivan 200-1
Adam Long 250-1

NBA: Celtics Lose in Overtime

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MEMPHIS – Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant scored 29 points and added nine assists to lead the Grizzlies over the visiting Boston Celtics, 132-126, in overtime Monday. Morant hit three of four free throws in the closing seconds of OT to preserve Memphis’ third win in four games.

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Playing without two of their top three players –  Jayson Tatum, who sat out due to an illness, and Kemba Walker, sidelined due to left knee injury management – the Celtics dropped their fifth game of seven since returning to action following the annual NBA All-Star break.

Jaylen Brown scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and finished with nine rebounds and five assists for Boston while reserve Jeff Teague, who started for Tatum, had 26 points and six assists.

Jonas Valanciunas contributed 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds as the Grizzlies secured a split of the two-game season series against Boston. Dillon Brooks scored five of his 24 points in overtime to help the Grizzlies outscore Boston 15-9.

Red Sox Spring Training Notes (Mar. 23)

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FORT MYERS – In yesterday’s 10-4 win at Tampa Bay, four of Boston’s eight hits went for extra bases, including Home Runs by Christian Arroyo, Michael Chavis, and Bobby Dalbec. In the 3rd inning, Arroyo and Chavis homered on consecutive pitches.

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Dalbec and Chavis each hit their sixth HR of spring training yesterday, the most in the Grapefruit League and tied with LA Dodgers slugger Corey Seager for most in the majors.

The Red Sox are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games of Grapefruit League action. There are only nine days left until MLB Opening Day. Boston leads the Grapefruit League in runs (121), AVG (.271), HR (32), doubles (40), OBP (.356), and SLG (.498)… They have hit 8 more HR than any other team in the Grapefruit League.

Today marks the seventh of nine scheduled Grapefruit League meetings between the Red Sox and Atlanta Braves (currently tied, 3-3). The clubs will close out their spring training schedules against each other on 3/29 in North Port and 3/30 at jetBlue Park. The Sox and Braves will play each other 4 times in the regular season, with 2 games at Fenway Park (5/25-26) and 2 at Truist Park (6/15-16).

 

David Levy Becomes a Genius

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NEW YORK – (Official News Release) – Genius Sports Group, a  provider of sports data and technology powering the sports, betting and media ecosystem, has appointed sports industry pioneer David Levy as its new Chairman. In his new role, Levy will lead the Board’s oversight of Genius’ operations and strategy.

Levy is one of the most respected figures in the global sports industry, with a career spanning a range of leadership positions; including President at Turner Broadcasting, Inc., and senior advisor roles at Raine Group and Arctos Sports Group respectively.

During his 30-year tenure at Turner, Levy played an instrumental role in defining and expanding the company’s media rights and securing long-term partnerships with the NBA, MLB, NCAA and PGA. He also assumed executive oversight for increased investment in original premium content across the portfolio. He negotiated a variety of multi-faceted agreements, each representing a significant change extending far beyond traditional television rights.

In 2010, Levy orchestrated a landmark NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball deal, partnering with CBS for multi-media rights, including exclusive televised rights to the 2014 Final Four and National Championship Game in 2016. This marked the first time in the event’s history that these key games were televised by a cable network. In 2017, under Levy’s guidance, Turner added to its portfolio of premium sports properties by acquiring rights to UEFA, including UEFA Champions League, Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. In 2018, Turner programming was nominated for 33 Emmy Awards.

In the Genius announcement, Levy said: “The capture and analysis of data has become fundamental to the rapid progression of the sports and media sectors. Genius is central to this unique ecosystem and is consistently leading the sports data and technology industry’s development. I am thrilled to join the business at such a historic time and look forward to working as part of the team.”

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports Group, said: “With his incredible track-record working with many of the biggest names in sports and media, David’s appointment as Chairman is the latest historic milestone in Genius Sports Group’s growth journey.”

“The worlds of sports, media, advertising, betting and streaming are converging rapidly and David’s unique expertise and experience will be invaluable to positioning Genius and our partners at the forefront of this trend,” he added.

Genius Sports Group is the official data, technology and commercial partner that powers the global ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media. We are a global leader in digital sports content, technology and integrity services. Our technology is used in over 150 countries worldwide, empowering sports to capture, manage and distribute their live data and video, driving their digital transformation and enhancing their relationships with fans.

Red Sox: Spring Training Notes: Mar 22

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FORT MYERS – The Red Sox dropped a 9-4 decision to the Pittsburgh Pirates and have lost their last two games, after going 7-1-1 in their previous nine outings. The Sox are 8-2 at jetBlue Park and 2-6-1 on the road.

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Today marks the seventh of eight Grapefruit League meetings between the Red Sox and Rays (Boston leads, 4-2). Only three of the Sox’ first 72 games will be against the Rays (4/5-7 at home), as well as only six of their first 106. From 7/30-9/8, 13 of the Sox’ 36 games will be against Tampa Bay.

Including today, the Sox have four home games and five road games remaining in Spring Training as the 10-day countdown to opening day begins.

Notes: Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Rays manager Kevin Cash were teammates with the Red Sox in 2007 and 2008, helping lead BOS to the postseason in each year…The Sox won the World Series in 2007. … Cora was major league teammates with six current MLB managers: Cash, Aaron Boone (CLE, 2005), Craig Counsell (LAD, 1999), Gabe Kapler (BOS, 2005-06), Dave Roberts (LAD, 2002-04), and David Ross (BOS, 2008).

 

PGA Tour: The Honda Classic Review

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The Honda Classic: Review and Notes

THE YEAR of the 40s: Matt Jones won his second PGA Tour title in his 330th start and became the fourth winner in his 40s this season. He also became the sixth player this season to win more than six years after his previous victory.

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Jones converted his 54-hole lead/co-lead for first time on Tour, and finished with a five-stroke win which ties the largest margin of victory in tournament history.

Brandon Hagy earned his best career PGA Tour result on his 30th birthday, and in doing so, he moved up 101 spots in the FedExCup standings.

Sam Ryder played the famed “Bear Trap” in 3-under for the week, the best of any player who made the cut.

Chase Seiffert (T-3) at (-6) closed with 6-under (64), matching his career low (64/R4) at the 2018 Travelers Championship). He moved from T-41 to T-3 and carded his fourth score of 65 or better this season.

Brendan Steele (T-3) at (-6) recorded his second consecutive top-10 result at The Honda Classic (T-4) in 2020 and has five Top 15 finishes in last six starts at The Honda Classic.

The Honda Classic – Final Leaderboard

Matt Jones 61-70-69-68—268 (-12)

Brandon Hagy 69-62-76-66—273 (-7)

Five players at (-6)

Full Leaderboard (link)

For a subscription to PGA Tour Brunch – e-News on the Tour six days a week – please Click HERE.

Red Sox: Spring Training Update (Mar 21)

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FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – The Boston Red Sox had their 3-game win streak snapped on Saturday with an 8-2 loss at Atlanta. The Red Sox are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and 10-5-1 since beginning Spring Training 0-2. Boston has 10 games remaining in spring training before opening the regular season at home on Thursday, 4/1, against the Orioles.

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The Red Sox lead the majors in OPS (.854) and lead the Florida Grapefruit League in runs (107), AVG (.272), HR (29), doubles (35), OBP (.354), and SLG (.501).

The Red Sox have 35 active players remaining in Major League Spring Training camp, including 29 members of the 40-man roster and six non-roster invitees. In addition, LHP Chris Sale (60-day IL) and OF Franchy Cordero (COVID-19 Related IL) are on the injured list. Opening Day rosters must consist of 26 active players and must be submitted to MLB by noon (EDT) on Thursday, April 1.

Eleven members of the Red Sox’ 40-man roster/IL were not in the organization during the 2020 season and an additional five players on the 40-man were acquired in August 2020 including, Christian Arroyo, Nick Pivetta, Hudson Potts, Jeisson Rosario, and Connor Seabold.

Sox Manager Alex Cora announced that Eduardo Rodriguez will make his 1st career Opening Day start this season (4/1 vs. BAL). After missing the entire 2020 season with myocarditis, Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA, .195 opponent AVG, and 0.69 WHIP in three starts this spring.