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Kyle Lofton of St. Bonaventure, left, and Jimmy Bell Jr. of St. Louis vie for recovery during an NCAA college basketball game at the Atlantic 10 men’s tournament on Saturday, March 6, 2021, in Richmond, Virginia. (Alexa Welch Edlund / Richmond Times – Dispatch via AP)
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Kyle Lofton of St. Bonaventure, left, and Jimmy Bell Jr. of St. Louis vie for recovery during an NCAA college basketball game at the Atlantic 10 men’s tournament on Saturday, March 6, 2021, in Richmond, Virginia. (Alexa Welch Edlund / Richmond Times – Dispatch via AP)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The most recent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (all Eastern time):
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17:30
The NCAA Tournament’s unique elimination format creates many emotional scenes in virtually every game, as losing teams deal with the reality that the season is over.
St. Boaventure guard Jaren Holmes spoke eloquently about the matter while discussing teammate and good friend Kyle Lofton, who was crying at the end of a 76-61 loss to LSU.
“The phrase is as if men do not cry, but I believe that real men do,” said Holmes. “Real men show emotion, and this is the true demonstration of a man, one who wears his heart on his sleeve. He does this every time he goes on the court and every time he is in the locker room with us.
“It is a difficult loss, but we will get better with it … and we will remember it for the rest of our lives, sharing this moment together. We will probably laugh about it 20 years from now … about how we were crying. “
The loss occurred almost three weeks after university president Dennis DePerro died of complications from COVID-19.
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4:10 pm
Michigan’s highlight, Isaiah Livers, wore a #NotNCAAProperty shirt written at the opening of the Wolverines’ NCAA Tournament against Texas Southern.
The hashtag is part of a social media effort to raise awareness of inequalities in college sports.
Livers, who is out with a foot injury, is one of the few prominent players in the Big Ten leading the movement. Players have been pushing the NCAA to change the rules that prohibit college athletes from making money for things like endorsements, sponsorship deals and personal appearances.
The National College Players Association issued a statement on Wednesday detailing the goals of the players, which included meetings with NCAA President Mark Emmert and the opportunity to meet with lawmakers who are working on passing laws that can set parameters for association rules on image or similarity of name.
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3:40 pm
Colorado striker Jabari Walker was at ease with the advice of a longtime NBA player who happened to be his father.
Samaki Walker told his son to just go and have fun.
That would definitely count as fun: Jabari Walker hit 5 out of 5 in the 3-point range and finished with 24 points when fifth-placed Buffaloes passed Georgetown 96-73.
“He called me and said, ‘I’m not going to fill your ears with anything. Just tell yourself to play your game without stress, ‘”said Walker. “That’s what I went there and did.”
Samaki Walker played in Louisville before embarking on a 10-year career in the NBA, which included a championship with the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers.
One more piece of advice from his father: “He just told me it was a great platform and not to come here under any pressure. Just do what I have to do, play the game I play. Nothing special. Do the little things like I always do, and eventually everything will work out. “
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3:10 pm
The State of Florida advanced with a 64-54 victory over UNC Greensboro, despite being only the eighth team since 2009 not to score a 3-point basket in an NCAA tournament.
The Seminoles lost all nine attempts beyond the arc. Before Saturday, the last team not to score a 3-point basket was Kentucky in their first round win over Davidson in 2018.
The teams are 5-3 since 2009 in the NCAA games, when they don’t score 3. Kansas has done this twice and won both games.
The last time the state of Florida did not hit the perimeter in any game was a defeat in 2018 in the state of North Carolina.
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15:00
Florida guard Tyree Appleby “looks fine, looks normal” after suffering a laceration in the head in the opening round, but coach Mike White said it will be a decision at the end of the game against 15th-ranked Oral Roberts on Sunday South region.
Appleby inadvertently elbowed early in the second half while playing defense against Virginia Tech and ended up bleeding all over the court. He staggered into the locker room and went back to the bench area in overtime to see number 7 crocodiles win a 75-70 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The 1.80 meter junior finished with six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
White said on Saturday that Appleby had a “happy smile on his face” and a bandage on his forehead.
White offered less information about suspended striker Omar Payne, who was left out of the NCAA debut because of an “internal situation”.
Payne was kicked out of the SEC’s tournament quarterfinals at the start of the second half for a flagrant foul of 2 against John Fulkerson of Tennessee. Fulkerson suffered a concussion and facial fracture and did not play in Tennessee’s loss to Oregon State.
White declined to say whether Payne’s suspension was related to an elbow at Fulkerson.
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14h40
NCAA spokesman David Worlock said in a tweet that Colorado’s Jabari Walker is the 16th player in the history of the NCAA tournament to shoot 100% from 3 points in a game while making at least five attempts. Walker had a 5 out of 5 long distance in a 23-point first-round victory over Georgetown.
John Goldsberry of UNC Wilmington holds the record for most attempts at 3 points without losing in an NCAA Tournament game. He made all eight attempts in a 75-73 loss to Maryland on March 21, 2003.
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14h25
Georgetown’s end-of-season spurt is over. Fifth-placed Colorado took the lead with 11 points out of 3 in the first half and crossed to a 96-73 victory over Hoyas in the east.
Freshman Jabari Walker had a career record of 24 points to lead Colorado, who went 16 to 25 long distance – that’s 64% – was 34 out of 56 on the ground. Colorado also had 27 assists. D’Shawn Schwartz scored 18 points and scored four of his five 3s in the first half to put Colorado in cruise control.
Trained by former star Patrick Ewing, Georgetown reached March Madness with a streak of four wins over four days at the Big East Tournament, but he was no match for the Buffaloes.
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12:45 pm
The second full day of the NCAA Tournament is underway. Georgetown started by kneeling during the national anthem.
The Hoyas crossed their arms and kneeled during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the opening game against Colorado.
Trained by former star Patrick Ewing, Georgetown is a seed 12 after making March Madness with a streak of four wins in four days at the Big East Tournament.
Seed No. 1 Gonzaga and Michigan will also be in action on Saturday.
Friday’s action featured three big surprises – taken by No. 12 from the state of Oregon, No. 13 from North Texas and No. 15 Oral Roberts. Two of the upset victims – Ohio State and Purdue – were from the Big Ten.
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