Arizona is headed to the College World Series Championship series, as they defeated Florida State, 10-3. The Wildcats have yet to lose in Omaha (they have won nine in a row) and will most likely throw Kurt Heyer to start the championship series on Sunday at 8pm ET on ESPN2. Arizona will be playing for their fourth national championship, first since 1986.

It was a rematch of last Friday night’s ten inning victory for Arizona (in which Heyer yet again threw a gem deep into the game). Heyer scattered nine hits and three walks over 7.1 innings. He allowed two runs and struck out three. Heyer leads the nation with 153 innings (the most in Division I since 2006).

It started out so well for Florida State, as Sherman Johnson led off the game with a hard hit ball to left-center. He hustled right out of the box and headed to second base but was thrown out (he appeared to be safe on the replay).

Things went downhill from there.

Joey Rickard led off the bottom of the first inning with a single off FSU freshman starter Brandon Leibrandt. Johnny Field followed with a ball hit right back to Leibrandt. Double play right? WRONG. He threw the ball into centerfield.

Then the wheels fell off. Three hits, two more errors, a sac fly, and two walks put six runs on the board for Arizona. FSU was on their second pitcher (Leibrandt only recorded one out), as they would use a CWS record-tying eight total pitchers in the game.

Robert Refsnyder hit a solo homerun and Bobby Brown followed with a two-run homerun two batters later in the 4th inning. Refsnyder went 3-for-4 in the win.

*The Seminoles finished at 50-17. No other team has played in the CWS as many times without winning a championship (21st appearance).

Florida State received solid pitching from the very beginning and some timely offense as they sent UCLA home from the College World Series. The Seminoles won 4-1 and will face Arizona in a rematch on Thursday at 5pm ET on ESPN2. They will need to beat the Wildcats twice to reach the championship series.

FSU got on the board in the very first inning with just one hit (a James Ramsey one out single). Stephen McGee and Justin Gonzalez walked with the bases loaded to force in two runs.

The Seminoles put up another two-spot in the 4th inning on Jayce Boyd‘s bases loaded bunt single. An error on the play scored the second run.

That was more than enough offense for the pitching staff for FSU. Veteran Scott Sitz started and allowed one run on five hits over 6.2 innings. He surprisingly struck out eight (he is not a strike out pitcher). No strikeout was bigger than the three in a row he picked up in the 6th inning with a run in for UCLA and the bases loaded.

Sitz was followed by big man Hunter Scantling, who threw 1.1 perfect innings of relief. Closer Robert Benincasa came on in the 9th inning and retired the Bruins in order, including two strikeouts and the final one looking to end the game.

On offense for FSU, it was once again the top three in the order that did the damage. Sherman Johnson, Devon Travis, and Ramsey went a combined 6-for-9 with four runs scored and four walks (and zero strikeouts).

» Continue reading “FSU Gets Rematch with Arizona, Bounces UCLA”

Stony Brook became the first team eliminated from the College World Series, as they were pummeled by Florida State, 12-2.

FSU got on the board in the very first inning on a double steal. James Ramsey was thrown out trying to steal second base, but after Sherman Johnson stole home.

Then came the top of the 3rd inning which killed any enthusiasm the Seawolves may of had. With two outs and nobody on base, FSU strung together three straight singles. The last by Ramsey drove in a run. Jayce Boyd then hit a ground ball to short that was thrown away, and two runs scored. After a walk to Stephen McGee, Justin Gonzalez crushed the pitch into the bullpen beyond the left field wall for a two-run homerun. That gave the Seminoles a 7-0 lead.

In the 4th inning, Devon Travis hit a two-out, two-run homerun to increase the Seminoles lead to 9-0. The first nine FSU runs came with two outs.

Stony Brook got on the board in the bottom of the 5th inning against freshman starter Mike Compton. Pat Cantwell drove in the first run on a ground out and Willie Carmona followed with an RBI single (he had two very hard hit balls in the game).

Compton allowed those two runs on six hits over six innings. The FSU bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three innings.

First round pick and speedy Stony Brook centerfielder Travis Jankowski finally picked up a hit in the CWS. He collected a single in the 5th inning.

The first three hitters in the FSU order (Johnson, Travis, and Ramsey) went a combined 7-for-13 with six runs scored and six RBIs.

*FSU will face the loser of tonight’s Pac 12 showdown between UCLA and Arizona on Tuesday night at 8pm ET on ESPN.

**After watching the Seawolves win at LSU last weekend in the Super Regionals, I was really disappointed with their play in the College World Series. They were never really in either of their games in Omaha. Now they are two and BBQ. But they did gain a HUGE following.

The College World Series got underway in Omaha on Friday afternoon with the Cinderella team, Stony Brook, facing UCLA. Maybe the first trip to Omaha got the better of the Seawolves, as they lost to the Bruins, 9-1.

UCLA jumped on Stony Brook starter Tyler Johnson in the very first inning. He allowed five runs on five hits and walk in that inning. He fell behind just about every hitter.

Meanwhile, Stony Brook could do nothing against UCLA starter Adam Plutko. He allowed just one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out seven. Freshman reliever David Berg came on and threw two hitless innings of relief.

UCLA leadoff hitter Beau Amaral collected two hits, as did Kevin Kramer. Jeff Gelalich, Pat Valaika, and Kevin Williams each drove in two runs in the win. For the Seawolves, Maxx Tissenbaum collected two of the team’s five hits.

» Continue reading “UCLA, Arizona Win on Day 1 of College World Series”

Kentucky is still basking in the glow of their National Championship win, but the rest of us have already started thinking about next year’s basketball season. One indication that we’re moving forward: the matchups have been set for the 14th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Nov. 27-28.

All 12 games will be featured on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, and the programs will be playing for conference bragging rights and the Commissioners Cup.

The 2012 Challenge involves nine teams ranked in an ESPN.com early preseason top 25, which as we all know means next to nothing. Tons of things could occur between now and October, but I would be remiss not to list the rankings associated with the ACC and B1G teams, five of which are in the top 10: No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 NC State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State. The only thing that might be accurate is that four out of five come from the Big Ten, but I’m not biased or anything.

The ACC won the first 10 Challenges while the Big Ten captured the Commissioner Cup for the last three years, including an eight to four win advantage over the ACC last year. In the event of a 6-6 tie, the Commissioner’s Cup will remain with the conference that won the previous year. In case you’re not following, that means it stays with the Big Ten.

2012 Challenge Fun Facts:

- Duke, which has won 11 of its 13 Challenge games, will host Ohio State in the quest for an event-record 12th victory. Duke lost to Ohio State last year and to Wisconsin in 2009.

- Four of the games will feature first-time Challenge matchups: Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin, Maryland at Northwestern, No. 9 Michigan State at Miami and Georgia Tech at Illinois.

- In addition to first-time Challenge games, several of the teams are infrequent opponents: Michigan State and Miami have never met; Northwestern and Maryland played one other time, a Northwestern victory in 1958; Virginia and Wisconsin split its two games, Virginia in 1975 and Wisconsin in 1999; and Illinois has defeated Georgia Tech in six of its seven games, including the last one in 2001.

- Eleven teams between the two conferences played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament: Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia from the ACC, and Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.

- Boston College and Penn State and Nebraska and Wake Forest will follow first-time Challenge meetings with a second consecutive matchup.

- Five of the games will mark three-time Challenge matchups: North Carolina at Indiana (Indiana win in 2001 and North Carolina in 2004), NC State at Michigan (Michigan win in 2003 and NC State in 2006), Ohio State at Duke (Duke win in 2002 and Ohio State in 2011), Iowa at Virginia Tech (won by Virginia Tech in 2006 and 2009) and Purdue at Clemson (Purdue win in 2003 and Clemson in 2007).

- Three and one more: Minnesota and Florida State will meet for the fourth time (Minnesota won in 2000 and Florida State in 2004 and 2007).

2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule:

Tue, Nov 27

No. 13 North Carolina at No. 1 Indiana

No. 6 NC State at No. 5 Michigan

No. 25 Minnesota at Florida State

Maryland at Northwestern

Iowa at Virginia Tech

Nebraska at Wake Forest

Wed, Nov 28

No. 8 Ohio State at No. 15 Duke

Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin

No. 9 Michigan State at Miami

Purdue at Clemson

Georgia Tech at Illinois

Third round action got underway on Sunday with the first upset of the day and a double-digit seed reaching the Sweet 16. The ACC and Big East got the day started and ended the night.

NC State 66, Georgetown 63: NC State took control of the game at the end of the first half when the Wolfpack went on a 15-2 to run, capped by a CJ Leslie steal and dunk to end the half. The key was getting all the Georgetown bigs in foul trouble.

However Georgetown got back into the game late, helped out by NC State misses from the free throw line (they made just 19-of-31 and missed four in the final minute). Even Scott Wood, a 92% free throw shooter, missed two.

Georgetown had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds and got a good look at the basket, but Jason Clark’s three pointer was an airball at the buzzer.

Three NC State players finished with 14 points: Wood, Leslie, and CJ Williams. Leslie hauled in eight rebounds. Lorenzo Brown finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. For the Hoyas, Hollis Thompson finished with 23 points, while Clark had ten points.

The 11-seed Wolfpack is headed to the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Region in St. Louis. They will face the 2-seed Kansas, who survived Purdue (who led for all but the final minute of the game). The game will be played on Friday, March 23^rd at 10:17pm ET on TBS.

» Continue reading “ACC Sends Two Teams to Sweet 16″

Three B1g Ten teams played yesterday, and three Big Ten teams will advance to the Sweet 16 next week. So far, Michigan is the only team to fall, and two more teams will have the chance to advance today: #1 MSU and #10 Purdue.

#2 Ohio State vs. #7 Gonzaga

The Bulldogs gave the Buckeyes a good game, but in the end Big Ten play triumphed. This was the first time the two teams have ever met, and John Stockton sat in the stands to watch his son’s team get knocked out of the Tourney in the 73-66 win.

For more on this game, check in with our Zags correspondent on the Big Dance Crashers, or our Ohio State expert on the Poisonous Nuthouse.

Ohio State will face the winner of Cincy/Florida State in the Sweet 16 next week.

#5 Vanderbilt vs. #4 Wisconsin

The Badgers had a bit of a schizophrenic season, so some might be surprised that Bo Ryan led his team to the Sweet 16 yet again. It was defense that did the trick in the 60-57 win for Wiscy, not to mention five guys in double digits. Jordan Taylor had a team-high 14, which is a relatively low number, but they also held Vandy to the same standards, with Festus Ezeli having sharing the same team high for the Commodores.

Staying right at their average of just 8 turnovers also helped Wisconsin. Ryan Evans was able to grab a rebound and get fouled with 2.1 seconds left, and made one free throw to give Wiscy a 3-point lead. Vandy tried to launch the ball at the last second, but fell short in tying up the game.

Up next, Wisconsin will play Syracuse next week.

#5 Indiana vs. #12 VCU

Sadly, VCU won’t be the Cinderella again this year, though they should be proud of making it to this game with that upset over Wichita State. Shaka Smart and his guys gave Indiana a run for their money throughout the whole game, but in the end the Big Ten got the win, 63-61.

Will Sheehey was the unlikely hero, making a jumper with 15 seconds left to put the Hoosiers on top with 12.7 seconds to go. VCU then missed a last-second 3 that would’ve been the first buzzer beater success of the Tourney, but it fell short. The VCU Rams will head home, and questions will swirl about Smart’s future.

Christian Watford and Cody Zeller each had 16 points in the win, and while Brad Burgess for VCU had 15 points, he had just 3 in the second half. Indiana clamped down on the defense, and will advance to the Sweet 16.

Indiana will face Kentucky next,which is a matchup Wildcats fans are dying for. I’m sure they haven’t forgotten Watford’s bucket at the end of the game to give Indiana a win over the then-undefeated No. 1 team in the country. Kentucky is going to be ready for revenge.

The A-10 teams did not get into action until Friday. It was a so-so day, as the conference went 2-2.

Florida State 66, St. Bonaventure 63: A-10 Player of the Year Andrew Nicholson tried his best to single-handedly carry the Bonnies into the third round on Sunday. He scored a team-high 20 points, but FSU shut down the rest of his teammates. You can check out more of my recap HERE.

SLU's Kwamaine Mitchell

Saint Louis 61, Memphis 54: Memphis coach Josh Pastner said at the half that both teams were playing great defense, but his team needed to speed up the game. Problem is, SLU wouldn’t let them. The Billikens defense held Memphis to just 38.9% shooting and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. They also out-rebounded the more athletic Tigers, 31-36, which even made the announcers take notice.

Memphis went on a 9-0 run to take a 33-27 lead with 13:36 to go in the game. However, SLU went on a 12-2 run and never looked back.

Kwamaine Mitchell took over for SLU in the second half with 14 points (22 overall on 9-of-14 shooting). He also hit the three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 23-23 at the half. SLU also hit their free throws to seal the deal in the closing seconds.

Brian Conklin‘s play wasn’t pretty (eight turnovers), but he scored 16 points (10-of-11 from the free throw line). Dwayne Evans hauled in 11 rebounds.

For Memphis, Will Barton was the only player in double-figures with 16 points.

SLU pulled off the only 8-9 upset and move on to face the top seed in the West Region, Michigan State, on Sunday at 2:45pm ET on CBS. The Spartans beat LIU-Brooklyn, 89-67.

» Continue reading “NCAA Tournament: A-10 Teams go 2-2 in Second Round”

The ACC teams got underway on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. It was a wacky day, as the ACC went 3-2 on the day.

NC State 79, SDSU 65: ACC action in the NCAA Tournament got underway with the first game in the Midwest Region and the first upset of the day. Led by Richard Howell for most of the game, NC State dominated inside and kept the big three for San Diego State from scoring consistently. The Wolfpack also stepped up their defense with about five minutes left in the first half and continued that into the second half. NC State shot a whopping 58.5% from the field (compared to just 37% for SDSU).

Howell finished with 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting, while fellow big DeShawn Painter chipped in nine points off the bench. Others in double-figures for NC State were Lorenzo Brown (17 points), CJ Leslie (15 points), and Scott Wood (ten points). Brown also finished with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Chase Tapley had zero points at the half, but became more aggressive in the second half for the Aztecs to score 19 points. However Jamaal Franklin did most of his damage in the first half (13 of his 23 points). Xavier Thames scored just five points.

The Wolfpack (and their seven-player rotation) will face Georgetown on Sunday at 12:15pm ET on CBS, as the Hoyas beat Belmont, 74-59.

» Continue reading “NCAA Tournament: ACC Goes 3-2 in Second Round”

11-seed NC State upset 6-seed San Diego State

The day started off slowly, but with NC State and Norfolk State providing some exciting upsets, March Madness just got bracket-busting good.

Last night, #11 Colorado beat #6 UNLV, and that game, along with #12 VCU over #5 Wichita State, brought out the only upsets from the first day of Madness. It seemed like if this was the year you decided to be bold, your bracket isn’t looking so good.

The day began with #11 Texas facing off with #6 Cincinnati in the East Region. It looked like Cincy was going to have an easy go of it, leading 31-17 at the half. Texas must have heard a great speech in the locker room, because they shot much better in the second and tied the game up 52-52 with 3:30 to go. Despite the comeback, they couldn’t make it happen, and Cincy will move on to play Florida State on Sunday.

Up next, #11 North Carolina State gave #6 San Diego State a run for their money the entire game. SD State had a slight lead in the first, but NC State got back in there and took over the lead before halftime. By the end, the Aztecs ran out of gas and NC State got the one and only upset so far of the day, winning 79-65.

#9 Alabama kept it close with #8 Creighton from the start, and it looked like they might pull off the win. Alabama had a 10-point lead four minutes into the second half, but let it slip away quickly.  A Doug McDermott gave the Bluejay a 51-50 lead with just under 6 minutes to go in the game, and it was all birdies for the remainder.

Andrew Steele of the Crimson Tide made a layup to put them within 1 point with about 19 seconds to go. He then fouled Josh Jones, who missed two free throws, giving the Tide a chance for the win with just 9 seconds to go. Creighton had a foul to give, and used it.

Then, much to the confusion of many, coach Anthony Grant called a timeout for Alabama with 2.4 seconds to go. That gave the Tide just  seconds to get a shot off, which they did not. Josh Jones thought he was fouled on his final attempt, but the call never came, and the Bluejays got the win, 58-57. McDermott finished off with a double-double, making 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Not an upset, but certainly madness worthy. Creighton will play UNC Sunday.

As for #7 Florida vs. #10 Virginia, this was hardly even a game. Virginia was most certainly a bubble team, and played like one. The Cavaliers showed a little life at the beginning, but once the Gators took the lead with about 6 minutes left in the first half, they just kept going. Florida never slowed up and beat Virginia 71-45, thanks in part to the 14 points and 11 rebounds in the double-double effort from Bradley Beal. The Gators will play Norfolk State on Sunday.

The Bonnies were close, but not close enough.

#14 St. Bonaventure, led by Andrew Nicholson, was oh-so-close to an upset, and led for most of the game over #3 Florida State. The Bonnies led by as many as 10 points in the first, but FSU stopped kidding around and started playing in the second.

A Bernard James dunk by the Seminoles with under 7 minutes to go in the game tied everything up 52-52, and then Florida State kept scoring while St. Bonaventure did not. A 3 from Demitrius Conger (so there is another player on the team aside from Nicholson) put them within 3 points with 30 seconds to go, but the Bonnies couldn’t pull the trigger. The Seminoles survived a scare, 66-63, and will play Cincy on Sunday.

Next up, #3 Georgetown took on #14 Belmont in the Midwest Region. Both teams tend to make early exits as of late, which is more embarrassing for Georgetown than it is for Belmont. However, this wouldn’t be the year that the Belmont Bruins get to go to the second round (they’ve never done it before). Jason Clark’s 21 points helped give the Hoyas a 74-59 win over Belmont. They’ll face NC State on Sunday.

The No. 1 seed in the in the Midwest North Carolina followed Kentucky’s example, rather than Syracuse, and didn’t let #16 Vermont anywhere near a win. Four guys were in double digits, and Tyler Zeller had 17 points and 15 rebounds in the 77 to 58 win. UNC will play Creighton Sunday.

The last game before the break was a doozy, and had people yelling upset throughout. #15 Norfolk State was tied with #2 Missouri 38-38 at halftime, and the two teams traded leads all the way through the second half. A 15-seed hasn’t beaten a 2-seed since 2001, when Hampton (in the same conference as Norfolk State) beat Iowa State (in the same conference as Missouri).

# 15 Norfolk State had the biggest upset over #2 Mizzou

Norfolk State was up 4 points with 3 minutes to go, and Mizzou got nervous and continued to screw up. After a Tigers 4-minute drought, the Spartans went on a 12-2 run. Mizzou got a steal, a 3 and some free throws to tie the game up with under a minute to go.

Norfolk State takes the lead again, and with 10 seconds left a 3 from Phil Pressey but the Tigers down by just 1. But it just wasn’t enough. Missouri had a chance to go for the tie or the win down two with just 7 seconds left after a missed free throw, but couldn’t get the rebound. A jump ball went to Norfolk State, who missed both free throws, giving Mizzou the ball with 2.6 seconds to go and yet another chance. Missouri missed. Game over. Norfolk State gets the 86-84 win over Missouri. My bracket’s busted, but it’s still worth it. This was just the fifth time a 15 has beaten a 2.

Kyle O’Quinn got in on the double-double action with 26 points and 14 rebounds, and that’s a name you’ll hear a lot for the next few days.

Check back to the Neutral Zone for more updates as the Tournament continues!