East Carolina's Parker Byrd, whose right leg was amputated below the knee after a boating accident three years ago, got his first hit as a college player when he singled in the Pirates' 12-0 win over William & Mary.
Emotions ran high on Friday night at Madison Square Garden as Creighton advanced to the Big East final over the two-time defending national champions in UConn.
The Bluejays were coasting to a victory and were able to dribble the ball out for the final seconds.
With the second-seeded Bluejays leading 69-62, they got a defensive rebound with under 10 seconds left, and Huskies coach Dan Hurley signaled for his team to let the clock run out without fouling.
However, Jamiya Neal took off streaking down the left sideline for a slam with 1.5 seconds remaining and hung onto the rim for a pullup. After his skirmish with Diarra, Neal waved his arms to fire up Creighton fans in the sellout crowd.
Huskies guard Hassan Diarra shoved Neal in the chest and appeared to square up with his fists for a split second as the two were face-to-face.Β
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner separated them by pushing Neal away as whistles blew and players came streaming off the benches at Madison Square Garden.
Order restored rather quickly, but the emotions were still tense after the game.
"I mean, they were already up with seven seconds left," Diarra said. "He didn't want to dribble the ball out. Went in for a fancy dunk. I just felt it was disrespectful to the game of basketball."
Neal admitted he "got caught up in the emotions of the game" and apologized.
Hurley and Bluejays coach Greg McDermott were already approaching each other along the sideline to shake hands when Neal took off for his dunk. McDermott appeared to apologize to Hurley immediately afterward, and again when the game ended.
Creighton and UConn have had their beef this year already. Hurley taunted Creighton fans last month after the Huskies brought home a road win, waving goodbye to the crowd and yelling out, "Two rings!"
The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers by 18 points last Friday, but they did it without any of their five starters.
The starting lineup is led by MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, yet he, along with the other four starters, all had the night off in their 107-89 victory.
Clearly, the Thunder were OK, but the NBA is investigating the matter for potentially violating the league's player-participation policy, according to ESPN.
It was the second game of a back-to-back, and this week, the Thunder had a stout schedule, including another back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets and a potential NBA Finals matchup against the Boston Celtics. (They split with Denver and beat Boston on the road.)
Saturday also starts another back-to-back for OKC against the Pistons and Bucks, both of whom own playoff spots.
The Thunder are 54-12, good for easily the top record in the Western Conference. It's easy to say they are playing the long game, as they have the No. 1 seed all but clinched. However, the NBA has begun to crack down on load management for players.
It was just the second time Gilgeous-Alexander missed a game this season, who was out due to what the team called "rest." However, OKC did list injuries for the other four starters.
Two years ago, the Dallas Mavericks were fined $750,000 for sitting players in a game, but that had been in a rather clear effort to tank for a better draft pick.
Later in 2023, the league voted in favor of a new player-participation policy, which would restrict teams from resting a star player during a nationally televised game or for the in-season tournament games.
The association was also set to investigate the Philadelphia 76ers amid Joel Embiid's absence earlier this season, and they are now being looked at due to Paul George and Tyrese Maxey missing games as their season continues to falter.
Teams are not allowed to have any players stop playing long-term unless they are dealing with injury.Β
The policy also states that players must play in at least 65 of the 82 regular-season contests on the schedule to be eligible for league awards, including MVP and All-NBA teams.Β
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
The players were locked out for several minutes, and head coach Brad Brownell had to address his team from the halls of Spectrum Center.
Brownell said that nothing like that had ever happened "at this level."
"Itβs disappointing, obviously," he added.
An ACC spokesperson said it is unclear how the door, which locks from the inside, wound up getting locked. The conference posts a security guard outside every locker room for every game, and there had never been any incidents reported before.
The ACC did add two minutes to halftime, but it seemed apparent that Clemson was at least a bit flustered to start the second half. They eventually fell behind by 15 after going more than six minutes without a field goal.Β
The Tigers finally got some momentum and cut the lead to two with a furious rally and had a chance to take the lead after Louisville was called for a shot clock violation.
But James Scott blocked Hunter's drive after switching off his man, Chucky Hepburn made one of two free throws with six seconds left to make a three-point game, and Chase Hunter's leaning three-point shot from 25 feet at the buzzer missed.
Terrence Edwards scored 21 points, JβVonne Hadley added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals. They will have to go against top-ranked Duke, who squeaked by longtime rival UNC in the semifinal without Cooper Flagg in order to get their first conference title.
The Sens are in good shape, but five teams within two points are vying for the second spot. Plus, full playoff projections, draft lottery standings, more.
The Caesars Sportsbook promo code POSTBETDYW offers usersΒ who bet at least $1 a return of 10 100% profit boost tokens, and target this best bet for Auburn vs. Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning in his return to the Tokyo Dome.
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