Chris Beard’s head coaching stops include time at community colleges in Seminole State and Fort Scott, a level that demands coaches travel to places far and wide and often unknown to discover players.
Basketball
Musiette McKinney from The Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach heard that Chris Beard, the Arkansas-Little Rock basketball coach, was in town to interview for the UNLV job that Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin didn’t want and she was so excited.
One of the first reports out of Cincinnati said little Sammi, the 9-year-old daughter of Mick Cronin, weighed heavily in his decision to stay at the school. Of course she did, and you would think UNLV would have realized this before putting all eggs in Cronin’s basket.
Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin wasn’t the best fit for UNLV, certainly not in terms of personality and style of play for the money being offered. But that doesn’t mean the best fit isn’t still out there.
The Pac-12 might have stunk up the bracket during this NCAA Tournament, but the one remaining representative appears more than capable of atoning for the sins of its brethren. It appears capable of winning the whole darn thing.
Not every day of the NCAA Tournament is a surprise party. It is possible for teams to continue to advance in March without much stress or sweat.
It appears UNLV is in the process of offering Lon Kruger-type money to its leading candidate, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin. Problem: It’s not Lon Kruger.
A majority of bettors are banking on Oregon being better than Duke, and Dana Altman getting the better of Mike Krzyzewski, in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup Thursday. Around 65 percent of the spread wagers are on the Ducks as 3-point favorites.
With a full beard, unique name and rock-solid game, Thomas Walkup was set to be in the media spotlight in the Sweet 16. Central Casting could not have picked a better tough guy to put on screen.
It took a long time for Buddy Hield to heat up. But once it happened, Hield scalded another underdog with upset hopes. Teases are the theme of today’s NCAA Tournament action.
It’s not going to be difficult to top what happened Friday — it’s going to be impossible. We just witnessed one of the craziest days in NCAA Tournament history.
There are 16 games today, presenting more entertainment and more opportunities to make money. The bad news is the most recent 16 games put a lot of bettors in a money pit. But bouncing back is part of this exercise.
Sports bettors are known for blowing smoke when it comes to exaggerating wins and downplaying losses. But blowing smoke is not permitted at the Westgate anymore.
March is a star search. It’s about buzzer-beating shots, comebacks, giant killers and teases. A short time after two No. 5 seeds were chopped down, top-seeded North Carolina was clinging to a one-point halftime lead. And then Arizona was blown out. Welcome to the NCAA Tournament.
It’s not really a stunner, but it’s a great story. Makai Mason, a little sophomore guard, lifted little Yale to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win in its first appearance since 1962.
