Hoops

Aussie "NCAA Div 1 College Watch" - 2011/12 Season

A couple more to add for next season...

Joining Jordan Hickert at Eastern Washington next season are fellow Aussies Daniel Hill (NSW/AIS) and Venky Jois (VIC).

Sorry, but I don't really follow the women's side of things...

Aussie big man James Hunter (NSW) has signed a national letter of intent to join fellow countrymen Brock Motum and Dexter Kernich-Drew at Washington State for next season.

More accolades for some Aussies...

Oregon State's Rhys Murphy (3.77 Psychology) headlined the Pac-12 All-Academic first team, whilst team mate Angus Brandt and Shane Harris-Tunks of Colorado were honourable mentions.

At Colorado's team awards, graduating Senior Nate Tomlinson was named as the team's best defender...and is someone worth considering for a prospective NBL team for next season...

Catch up...

Washington State lost to Pittsburgh 65-71.
Motum did not play.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and went did not take a shot but had 1 assist and no turnovers in 2 minutes.

Washington State lost to Pittsburgh 53-57 (Game 2 - CBI Final) - Series tied 1-1
Motum did not play - ankle.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and scored 3 points on 1/2 shooting (1/2 3PT) to go with 1 rebound and no turnovers in 4 minutes.

Washington State defeated Pittsburgh 67-66 (Game 1 - CBI Final)
Motum did not play - ankle.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and had no stats in 3 minutes.

In other news...

Both Matthew Dellavedova and Ryan Broekhoff was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press on Monday.

Matthew Dellavedova earned honorable mention All-America honors from NetScouts Basketball. He was one of only five of the 30 players selected to the first, second or third teams or honorable mention who weren’t from one of the “power” conferences.

Thanks for that...I was wondering why his disappeared frm the roster...not a good way to end a college career as this was his last season.

Brock Motum started the game with 4 points on 2 minutes before going down with an ankle injury from which he never returned. His Cougars still managed to defeated Angus Brandt’s Beavers comfortably to make the CBI final and remain the last standing team featuring an Aussie in the D1 post-season.

Today’s results:

Butler lost to Pittsburgh 62-68 (SF CBI)
Aldridge did not play.

Oregon State lost to Washington State 55-72 (SF CBI)
Brandt started and scored 5 points on 1/6 shooting (0/1 3PT, 3/3 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and no turnovers in 28 minutes.
Murphy did not play.
Motum started and scored 4 points on 2/3 shooting alongside no other stats as he went down with an ankle injury after the first two minutes of the game and did not return.
Kernich-Drew did not play.

Old Dominion lost to Mercer 72-79 (QF CIT)
Iliadis did not play.

Next game is Tuesday next week (Australian time):

- Washington State vs Pittsburgh (Game 1 – CBI Final) (Motum & Kernich-Drew)

Brock Motum was at his devastating best in racking up a game-high 25 points in a comfortable CBI quarter final win. Brandt was also in fine form as he had a new career-high 22 points in an easy win in the same tourney. Aldridge’s Butler also progressed.

Yesterday’s results:

Oregon State defeated TCU 101-81 (QF CBI)
Brandt started and scored a new career-high 22 points on 7/10 shooting (2/2 3PT, 6/7 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and no turnovers in just 18 minutes!
Murphy came off the bench and had just 1 steal in 2 minutes.

Washington State defeated Wyoming 61-41 (QF CBI)
Motum started and scored a game-high 25 points on 9/16 shooting (0/1 3PT, 7/8 FT) to go with 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 31 minutes.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/2 shooting to go with 1 turnover in 4 minutes.

Butler defeated Pennsylvania 63-53 (QF CBI)
Aldridge did not play.

Next games are on Thursday Australian time:

- Butler vs Pittsburgh (SF CBI) (Aldridge)
- Oregon State vs Washington State (SF CBI) (Brandt, Murphy, Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- Old Dominion vs Mercer (QF CIT) (Iliadis)

Just 1 team with an Aussie remains in the NCAA Tournament – NC State with the red-shirted Vandenberg. Interestingly, in the CBI tourney, 3 teams featuring Aussies are in 3 different quarter final games being played today.

Results from Sunday (Australian time):

#5 New Mexico lost at #4 Louisville 56-59 (3rd Rd NCAA)
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 1 point on 1/2 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 turnover in 11 minutes.
Greenwood started and went scoreless on 0/4 shooting (0/3 3PT) but had 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 turnovers in 27 minutes.

#11 Colorado lost at #3 Baylor 63-80 (3rd Rd NCAA)
Tomlinson started and went scoreless on 0/1 shooting (0/1 3PT) but had 2 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 25 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 3 points on 1/3 shooting (1/2 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 14 minutes.

Yesterday’s results:

#11 North Carolina State defeated #3 Georgetown 66-63 (3rd Rd NCAA)
Vandenberg – red shirt.

#9 Saint Louis lost to #1 Michigan State 61-65 (3rd Rd NCAA)
Ellis came off the bench and scored 5 points on 2/7 shooting (1/6 3PT) to go with 1 assist and no turnovers in 13 minutes.

USC Upstate lost at Old Dominion 56-65 (2nd Rd CIT)
Kok did not play.
Iliadis did not play.

Today’s games:

- Oregon State vs TCU (QF CBI) (Brandt & Murphy)
- Washington State vs Wyoming (QF CBI) (Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- Butler vs Pennsylvania (QF CBI) (Aldridge)

It was heartbreak for the Gael’s today as they fell to Purdue. Trailing for the majority of the game and by as much as 13 points with around 6 minutes to go, SMC roared back into contention to steal the lead on a triple from Page (his first FG of the game) with less than a minute to go. However a brain fade from Steindl resulting in a travel violation when inbounding from out of bounds gave Purdue the opportunity that allowed them to steal back the lead. A Page triple attempt air-balled, and another three-ball as time expired by Jones missed and the Gael’s lost by 3 ending what was a ground-breaking season.

Delly had 12 points and 5 rebounds, with his 8th assist taking him to No. 2 on school single-season assist charts at 212, moving past Mickey McConnell (2010-11, 206). Delly also moved into No. 10 on school single-season scoring charts at 512, moving past David Sivulich (1997-98, 504) and Sam Hill (1969-70, 506. Young had a season high 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

In a day of upsets where two number 2 seeds got bundled out, NC State caused one of their own by knocking out San Diego State. Saint Louis also recorded a good win despite a quiet scoring night from Ellis.

Today’s results:

#11 North Carolina State defeated #6 San Diego State 79-65 (2nd Rd NCAA)
Vandenberg – red shirt.

#9 Saint Louis defeated #8 Memphis 61-54 (2nd Rd NCAA)
Ellis came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/6 shooting (0/3 3PT) to go with 3 rebounds and no turnovers in 17 minutes.

#7 Saint Mary’s lost to #10 Purdue 69-72 (2nd Rd NCAA)
Steindl started and scored 6 points on 3/6 shooting (0/2 3PT) to go with 5 rebounds and 2 turnovers in 28 minutes.
Dellavedova started and scored 12 points on 3/10 shooting (1/5 3PT, 5/5 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 turnovers in 40 minutes.
Page started and scored 5 points on 1/8 shooting (1/6 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 29 minutes.
Young came off the bench and scored 12 points on 6/8 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 1 turnover in 16 minutes.
Hodgson – red shirt.

Tomorrow:
- #5 New Mexico @ #4 Louisville (3rd Rd NCAA) (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- #11 Colorado @ #3 Baylor (3rd Rd NCAA) (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)

New Mexico advanced today in overcoming Long Beach State in the NCAA tournament. Greenwood was influential all game, including nailing 4/4 from the line down the stretch to help ice the win. He ended up with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks! Bairstow was also handing with 7 points off the bench.

Colorado also went through to the 3rd round after surviving a late scare from UNLV. Tomlinson and Harris-Tunks were solid contributors in the win.

Today’s results:

#16 UNC Asheville lost at #1 Syracuse 65-72 (2nd Rd NCAA)
Pal did not play.

#5 New Mexico defeated #12 Long Beach State 75-68. (2nd Rd NCAA)
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 7 points on 3/3 shooting (1/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.
Greenwood started and scored 12 points on 3/5 shooting (2/4 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers.

#11 Colorado defeated #6 UNLV 68-64 (2nd Rd NCAA)
Tomlinson started and scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting (0/1 3PT) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers in
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/2 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers in a foul plagued

USC Upstate defeated Kent State 73-58 (1st Rd CIT)
Kok did not play.

Tomorrow’s games:

- #11 North Carolina State @ #6 San Diego State (2nd Rd NCAA) (Vandenberg)
- #9 Saint Louis @ #8 Memphis (2nd Rd NCAA) (Ellis)
- #7 Saint Mary’s vs #10 Purdue (2nd Rd NCAA) (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson)

Another award for Broc Motum!

Brock Motum Earns NABC District Honors

Brock Motum has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 20 First Team.

The organization divides all Division I schools into 24 districts. District 20 is made up of all 12 Pac-12 teams and each district has both a first and second team named by the NABC. Motum is joined on the first team by Jorge Gutierrez of California, Oregon State's Jared Cunningham, Terrence Ross of Washington and Arizona's Solomon Hill.

Motum, a 6-foot-10 center, currently ranks seventh in WSU's record books for single-season scoring with 584 points. He also ranks tied for seventh with 209 field goals made. He has 584 points and 209 rebounds, becoming just the third Cougar all-time to record 500 points and 200 rebounds in a season.

Today’s results:

Valparaiso lost at Miami (FL) 50-66 (1st Rd NIT Tourney)
Broekhoff started and scored an equal game-high 18 points on 6/15 shooting (2/9 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 turnovers in 38 minutes.

Wofford lost at Pittsburgh 63-81 (1st Rd CBI Tourney)
Faithfull did not play.

Butler defeated Delaware 75-58 (1st Rd CBI Tourney)
Aldridge came off the bench and had no stats in 1 minute.

Oregon State defeated Western Illinois 80-59 (1st Rd CBI Tourney)
Brandt started and 10 points on 4/5 shooting (1/1 3PT, 1/1 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 turnovers in 22 minutes.
Murphy did not play.

Albany lost to Manhattan 79-89 (1st Rd CIT Tourney)
Devlin came off the bench and was scoreless on 0/2 shooting but had 1 rebound, 1 assist and no turnovers in 8 minutes.
Hooley – red shirt.
Rowley came off the bench and scored 10 points on 4/6 shooting (2/2 FT) to go with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 turnover in 30 minutes.

American lost to Buffalo 61-78 (1st Rd CIT Tourney)
Fisher came off the bench and had no stats in 2 minut

Tomorrow:

- #16 UNC Asheville @ #1 Syracuse (2nd Rd NCAA) (Pal)
- #5 New Mexico vs #12 Long Beach State (2nd Rd NCAA) (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- #11 Colorado @ #6 UNLV (2nd Rd NCAA) (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)
- USC Upstate vs Kent State (1st Rd CIT) (Kok)

Everyone has an opinion - that's the beauty of a forum such as this!

For what it is worth, I would pick Greenwood over Drmic in a team if given the choice.

However Greenwood struggled with an ankle injury in the first half of the season and this certainly dampened his ability and impact to influence the result of games whereas Drmic had a major impact on whether Boise State was able to compete...and that is probably what tipped me towards Drmic based on the season just played. Another way to tlook at it as well, Drmc was an honourable mention in the MWC awards whereas Greenwood did not get a mention.

And the post-season tournamets are now underway...

Motum was once again at his best in leading the Wazzu with a game-high 24 points with 7 rebounds in a convincing win.

Today’s results:

Washington State defeated San Francisco 89-75 (1st Rd CBI Tourney)
Motum started and scored a game-high 24 points on 8/13 shooting (1/2 3PT, 7/7 FT) to go with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 turnovers in 34 minutes.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and went scoreless son 0/1 shooting (0/1 3PT) and had just 1 foul in 4 minutes.

Old Dominion defeated Coast Carolina 68-66 (1st Rd CIT Tourney)
Iliadis did not play.

Utah Valley lost to Weber State 69-72 (1st Rd CIT Tourney)
Sinclair did not play.

Tomorrow’s games:

- Valparaiso @ Miami (FL) (1st Rd NIT Tourney) (Broekhoff)
- Wofford @ Pittsburgh )1st Rd CBI Tourney) (Faithfull)
- Butler vs Delaware (1st Rd CBI Tourney) (Aldridge)
- Oregon State vs Western Illinois (1st Rd CBI Tourney (Brandt & Murphy)
- Albany vs Manhattan (1st Rd CIT Tourney) (Devlin, Hooley & Rowley)
- American vs Buffalo (1st Rd CIT Tourney) (Fisher)

A few more teams featuring Aussies will take part in post-season action in either the NIT, CBI or CIT as follows:

NIT: (All dates are Australian time):

Mar-15
- #7 Valparaiso @ #2 Miami (FL) (Broekhoff)

CBI Teams (All dates are Australian time):

Mar-14
- Washington State @ San Francisco (Motum & Kernich-Drew)

Mar-15
- Butler vs Delaware (Aldridge)
- Oregon State vs Western Illinois (Brandt & Murphy)
- Wofford @ Pittsburgh (Faithfull)

CIT Teams (All dates are Australian time):

Mar-14
- Old Dominion vs Coastal Carolina (Iliadis)
- Utah Valley @ Weber State (Sinclair)

Mar-15
- Albany vs Manhattan (Devlin, Hooley & Rowley)
- American vs Buffalo (Fisher)
- UC Santa Barbara @ Idaho (Thomas)

Mar-16
USC Upstate vs Kent State (Kok)

Selection Sunday has now been run and is done...All the teams I listed in the previous post made it!

Here is the schedule:

NCAA Tournament Schedule (All dates are Australian time)

EAST (Boston) – Pittsburgh (16-Mar)
- #16 UNC-Asheville @ #1 Syracuse (Pal)

SOUTH (Atlanta) – Albuquerque (16-Mar)
- #11 Colorado vs #6 UNLV (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)

WEST (Phoenix) – Portland (16-Mar)
- # New Mexico vs #12 Long Beach State (Bairstow & Greenwood)

WEST (Phoenix) – Columbus (17-Mar)
- #9 St. Louis @ #8 Memphis (Ellis)

MIDWEST (St. Louis) – Columbus (17-Mar)
- #11 North Carolina State @ #6 San Diego State (Vandenberg)

MIDWEST (St. Louis) – Omaha (17-Mar)
- #7 Saint Mary’s vs #10 Purdue (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson)

The teams heading to the NCAA Tournament with Aussies in their teams:

Confirmed
- UNC-Asheville (Pal) - Big South Champion
- #18 Saint Mary’s College (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson) - West Coast Champion
- New Mexico (Bairstow & Greenwood) – Mountain West Champion
- Colorado (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks) – Pac-12 Champion

Teams with a chance at possibly receiving an at-large bid:
- Saint Louis (Ellis)
- North Carolina State (Vandenberg)

New Mexico never trailed as they booked a ticket to the big dance after overpowering #21 San Diego State. Greenwood had 6 points and 10 rebounds whilst Bairstow had 7 points and 2 steals in the great win.

Colorado are also dancing after their stunning run in the Pac-12 tournament culminated in another upset win, this time over Arizona by just 2 points. In their first year in their new conference, the Buffs won 4 games in 4 days – the first time they had done that in their program’s 111 year history. It was also their first tournament final since 1993 and it will be their first time to the NCAA tournament since 2003. Tomlinson was solid and Harris-Tunks was a good support in coming off the bench with 6 boards.

North Carolina State and Sain Louis’ runs ended in the semi finals. Both teams will have to rely on at-large bids to make the NCAA tournament and both are right on the ‘bubble’. UC Santa Barbara’s chances were shot down by NCAA tournament bound Long Beach State.

Today’s Results:

New Mexico defeated #21 San Diego State 68-59 (Final Mountain West Tourney)
Greenwood started and scored 6 points on 2/7 shooting (2/5 3PT) to go with 10 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in 31 minutes.
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 7 points on 2/6 shooting (3/4 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 2 steals and no turnovers in 21 minutes.

Colorado defeated Arizona 53-51 (Final Pac-12 Tourney)
Tomlinson started and scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting (0/2 3PT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 27 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/4 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 14 minutes.

UC Santa Barbara lost at Long Beach State 64-77 (Final Big West Tourney)
Thomas came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/1 shooting to go with 1 assist and no turnovers in 2 minutes.

North Carolina State lost at #4 North Carolina 67-69 (SF ACC Tourney)
Vandenberg – red shirt.

Saint Louis lost to Xavier 64-71 (SF A-10 Tourney)
Ellis came off the bench and scored 10 points on 3/4 shooting (2/3 3PT, 2/3 FT) to go with 2 rebounds and 1 turnover in 25 minutes.

Seattle defeated Portland State 93-84.
TJ Diop did not play.

Tomorrow: no games featuring any Aussies.

North Carolina State had a big win over Virginia today to increase their chances of making the NCAA tournament as a team on the bubble. Aussie centre Jordan Vandenberg has an injured shoulder and has apparently received a medical red-shirt for this season.

Colorado is on the cusp of winning the Pac-12 tournament in their first season after upsetting #1 seed California. Tomlinson had 10 points in a polished performance for the Buffs who are now a single win away from the NCAA tournament.

UC Santa Barbara are in the same boat as Colorado in needing to win the Big West final to make the NCAA tournament and have that chance to do so.

Today’s Results:

New Mexico defeated #20 UNLV 72-67 (SF Mountain West Tourney)
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 1 block and 1 turnover in 18 minutes.
Greenwood started and scored 4 points on 2/6 shooting (0/3 3PT) to go with 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 turnover in a foul plagued 31 minutes.

Oregon State lost at Arizona 61-72 (SF Pac-12 Tourney)
Brandt started and scored 2 points on 1/5 shooting (0/1 3PT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 21 minutes.
Murphy came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/1 shooting to go with 2 rebounds and no turnovers in 1 minute.

Colorado defeated California 70-59 (SF Pac-12 Tourney)
Tomlinson started and scored 10 points on 2/3 shooting (2/3 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 3 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 31 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/1 shooting but had 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers in 11 minutes.

UC Santa Barbara defeated Cal Poly 64-52 (SF Big West Tourney)
Thomas did not play.

Utah Valley lost to N.J.I.T. 78-88 in OT (SF Great West Tourney)
Sinclair did not play.

North Carolina State defeated Virginia 67-64 (QF ACC Tourney)
Vandenberg – red shirt.

Saint Louis defeated La Salle 78-71 (QF A-10 Tourney)
Ellis came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/7 shooting (0/3 3PT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 16 minutes.

Tomorrow’s games:

- New Mexico vs #18 San Diego State (Final Mountain West Tourney) (Greenwood & Bairstow)
- Colorado @ Arizona (Final Pac-12 Tourney) (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)
- UC Santa Barbara @ Long Beach State (Final Big West Tourney) (Thomas)
- North Carolina State @ #4 North Carolina (SF ACC Tourney) (Vandenberg)
- Saint Louis vs Xavier (SF A-10 Tourney) (Ellis)
- Seattle vs Portland State (TJ Diop)

Great article on Delly...

Matthew Dellavedova: St. Mary's heart and mind

In the Pac-12 tournament, Oregon State had a massive win over higher seeded Washington to advance to the semi finals. Brandt had 8 points on 50% shooting before he fouled out. Colorado also progressed after a nail-biting 1 point win over Oregon, but not before they blew an 8-point lead and then falling behind by 3 with 1:36 to go!

New Mexico comfortably accounted for Air Force in the MWC tournament, Bairstow and Greenwood logging solid numbers. However the excitement was with Dmric and Boise State as they almost upset #21 San Diego State. It took a an amazing buzzer-beating fall-away triple from the Aztecs to earn the win. Drmic who had a team-high 19 points, was huge down the stretch, nailing 4/4 from the line but it was a huge 5 seconds stretch where he contested what ended up being a SDSU missed breakaway dunk and then hitting a triple of his own to create a 5-point turnaround.

Yesterday’s Results:

Boise State lost at #21 San Diego State 62-65 (QF Mountain West Tourney)
Drmic started and scored a team-high 19 points on 5/10 shooting (3/5 3PT, 6/7 FT) to go with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 38 minutes.
Hadziomerovic did not play.

New Mexico defeated Air Force 79-64 (QF Mountain West Tourney)
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 6 points on 6/8 free throws to go with 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 22 minutes.
Greenwood started and scored 8 points on 2/6 shooting (1/4 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 30 minutes.

Oregon State defeated Washington 86-84 (QF Pac-12 Tourney)
Brandt started and scored 8 points on 3/6 shooting (1/2 3PT, 1/3 FT) to go with no other stats before fouling out in 12 minutes.
Murphy did not play.

Colorado defeated Oregon (QF Pac-12 Tourney)
Tomlinson started and scored 3 points on 1/5 shooting (1/3 3PT) to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 36 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 4 points on 2/3 shooting to go with 1 rebound and 2 turnovers in 10 minutes.

Pacific lost at Santa Barbara 52-72 (QF Big West Tourney)
Llewellyn came off the bench and scored 6 points on 2/2 shooting (2/2 3PT) to go with 1 rebound and 1 turnover in 10 minutes.
Thomas came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/2 shooting to go with no other stats in 5 minutes.

North Carolina State defeated Boston College 78-57 (1st Rd ACC Tourney)
Vandenberg did not play.

Today’s games:

- New Mexico vs #20 UNLV (SF Mountain West Tourney) (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- Oregon State @ Arizona (SF Pac-12 Tourney (Brandt & Murphy)
- Colorado @ California (SF Pac-12 Tourney (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)
- UC Santa Barbara vs Cal Poly (SF Big West Tourney) (Thomas)
- Utah Valley vs N.J.I.T. (SF Great West Tourney) (Sinclair)
- North Carolina State @ Virginia (QF ACC Tourney) (Vandenberg)
- Saint Louis vs La Salle (QF A-10 Tourney) (Ellis)

Another accolade for Delly and Motum...they have both been named an all-district selection by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Dellavedova is the only player from the West Coast Conference on the 10-person team.

Dellavedova and Motum are joined on the team by Jared Cunninghan from Oregon State, Kyle Fogg from Arizona, Jamaal Franklin from San Diego State, Jorge Gutierrez from Cal, Orlando Johnson from UC Santa Barbara, Terrence Ross from Washington, Casper Ware from Long Beach State and Tony Wroten from Washington.

The NCAA tournament dreams for Nicholls State, UTSA and Washington State are now over, but Oregon State lives to fight another day…

Motum was his consistent self, racking up a team-high 18 points alongside 6 rebounds, reaching the 200-rebound plateau for the season...he becomes just the third Cougar to notch 500 points and 200 rebounds in a single-season joining Steve Puidokas (1974-75) and Larry Beck (1955-56). He has also reached double-digits in scoring in 29 of WSU's 31 games this season.

Hill and Nujic combined for 25 points but it was not nough to help get the Roadrunners over the line in OT.

Today’s Results:

Nicholls State lost at Texas-Arlington 48-96 (QF Southland Tourney)
Smith-Hyde started and scored 1 point on 0/5 shooting (0/3 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 turnover in 21 minutes.
McBeath started and went scoreless on 0/5 shooting (0/4 3PT) but had 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover before fouling out in 11 minutes.
Prest did not play.

UTSA lost at McNeese State 74-78 in OT (QF Southland Tourney)
Hill started and scored 12 points on 4/9 shooting (0/2 3PT, 4/10 FT) to go with 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 turnovers before fouling out in 38 minutes.
Nujic came off the bench and scored 13 points on 4/10 shooting (1/4 3PT, 4/5 FT) to go with 2 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 25 minutes.

Oregon State defeated Washington State 69-64 (1st Rd Pac-12 Tourney)
Brandt started and scored 5 points on 2/7 shooting (1/2 3PT, 0/1 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 22 minutes.
Murphy came off the bench and had just 1 foul in less than 30 seconds.
Motum started and scored a team-high 18 points on 6/10 shooting (2/2 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 5 turnovers in 34 minutes.
Kernich-Drew did not play.

Colorado defeated Utah 53-41 (1st Rd Pac-12 Tourney)
Tomlinson started and went scoreless on 0/3 shooting (0/3 3PT, 0/1 FT) but had 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover in 33 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and did not take a shot but had 1 rebound, 1 block and no turnovers in 10 minutes.

Tomorrow:

- Boise State @ #21 San Diego State (QF Mountain West Tourney) (Drmic & Hadziomerovic)
- New Mexico vs Air Force (QF Mountain West Tourney) (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- Pacific @ Santa Barbara (QF Big West Tourney) (Llewellyn & Thomas)
- Oregon State @ Washington (QF Pac-12 Tourney) (Brandt & Murphy)
- Colorado @ ORegon (QF PAc-12 Tourney) (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)
- North Carolina State vs Boston College (1st Rd ACC Tourey) (Vandenberg)

After leading at half time, Valpo dropped the Horizon League tournament final and with it possibly their only chance of playing in the NCAA tournament. Broekhoff had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

Eastern Washington who has Aussie Hickert coming off the bench was not unable to create an upset despite leading by 5 at the half time break and will now miss the NCAA tournament.

Today’s results:

Valparaiso lost to Detroit 50-68 (Final Horizon League Tourney)
Broekhoff started and scored 13 points on 5/9 shooting (1/3 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers in 37 minutes.

Eastern Washington lost to Montana 66-74 (Final Big Sky Tourney)
Hickert came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/1 shooting (0/1 3PT) and had 1 turnover with 3 fouls in 7 minutes.

Richmond lost at La Salle 72-80 (1st Rd A10 Tourney)
Duinker came off the bench and recorded just 1 foul in 2 minutes.

Tomorrow:

- Nicholls State @ Texas-Arlington (QF Southland Tourney) (Smith-Hyde, McBeath & Prest)
- UTSA @ McNeese State (QF Southland Tourney) (Hill & Nujic)
- Oregon State @ Washington State (1st Rd Pac-12 Tourney) (Brandt, Murphy, Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- Colorado vs Utah (1st Rd Pac-12 Tourney) (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)

Anthony Drmic rounded out an impressive Freshman season by named honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference.

Drmic, Marks Earn All-Conference Recognition

Drmic, a 6-foot-6, 196-pound guard/forward, has started each of his 28 games played this season, tied for second-most by a freshman in school history (Chris Childs; 1985-86). He set Boise State’s single-season record for 3-pointers by a freshman (54), passing Coby Karl (49; 2003-04), and is also the highest-scoring freshman in 18 years, currently ranking fourth on the freshman single-season scoring list (329).

The Endeavor Hills, Victoria, Australia, native is the only freshman to rank in the league’s top 20 in scoring, ranking 15th at 11.8 points per game. The mark also ranks third all-time for a Boise State freshman. Drmic leads all conference freshmen in rebounding (ninth; 4.9) and 3-point field goals per game (eighth; 1.93).

Washington State University men's basketball junior Brock Motum was named All-Pac-12 First Team and the league's Most Improved Player of the Year.

Motum Named Pac-12 Most Improved Player and First Team All-Conferenc

Motum is Washington State's first conference Most Improved Player, while picking up his first Pac-12 honors, appearing on the league's 10-man first team. The 6-foot-10 forward finished the regular season second in the Pac-12 in scoring and 40th in the nation with 18.1 points per game, while leading the league in conference games only with 20.7 points per league game. He also is the only Pac-12 player to rank in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding (6.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (195-355, .549). Motum becomes WSU's fourth-straight first team all-league honoree and the sixth since 2006-07 (Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low-2007, Taylor Rochestie-2009, Klay Thompson-2010, 2011).

Have you voted for Delly in the Bob Cousy Award yet???

Vote 1 for Delly
(by clicking on this link)

Delly was also named the WCC Tournament Most Valuable Player and to the All-WCC Tournament team which was:

Doolin (San Francisco)
Harris (Gonzaga)
Jones (Saint Mary's)
Pangos (Gonzaga)
Dellavedova (Saint Mary's) - MVP

Delly's awards so far to date this season:
• 2012 WCC Regular Season Champions
• 2012 WCC Player of the Year
• 2012 All-WCC First Team
• 2012 WCC Tournament Champions - auto bid for NCAA Tournament
• 2012 All-WCC Tournament Most Valuable Player
• 2012 All-WCC Tournament Team
• 2012 First All-American Academic Team
• 2012 All-WCC Academic Team
• 2012 Finalist for Bob Cousy Award (Award for PG’s – one of only 11 nominees)
• 2012 AT&T Midseason 30 Watch List for the Naismith Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award

Wow – what a game…SMC will be dancing for the second time in 3 years after winning the WCC Tournament today in overtime against #25 ranked Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s nearly shot themselves in the foot by allowing the Zag’s to force overtime in regulation on a huge triple with seconds to go. However Delly and Page did not miss a free throw in OT to ensure the Gael’s booked a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Delly had an equal game-high 22 points with 4 assists, whilst Page had 16 in a game to remember. It is worth noting that the last time the Gael’s won the conference tournament back in 2010, they ended up going all the way to the sweet 16…

Gaels Make History With WCC Title Game Victory

Today’s results:

#18 Saint Mary’s defeated #25 Gonzaga 78-74 in OT (Final WCC Tourney)
Steindl started and scored 4 points on 1/6 shooting (1/5 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and no turnovers in 36 minutes.
Dellavedova started and scored an equal game-high 22 points on 8/21 shooting (2/6 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 turnovers in playing all 45 minutes.
Page started and scored 16 points on 5/11 shooting (3/7 3PT, 3/4 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers in playing all 45 minutes.
Young came off the bench and had just 1 assist in 1 minute.
Hodgson – red shirt.

Southern Utah lost at South Dakota State 47-63 (SF Summit League Tourney)
Massey started and scored 7 points on 3/8 shooting (0/1 3PT, 1/4 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 38 minutes.
Heuir started and scored a team-high 14 points on 5/13 shooting (1/3 3PT, 3/7 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 3 assists and 3 turnovers in 38 minutes.

Wednesday’s games:

- Valparaiso vs Detroit (Final Horizon League Tourney) (Broekhoff)
- E Washington @ Montana (Final Big Sky Tourney) (Hickert)
- Richmond @ La Salle (1st Rd A10 Tourney) (Duinker)

NCAA Tournament teams featuring Aussies:

Confirmed
- UNC-Asheville (Pal) - Big South Champion

Possibility of receiving an at-large bid
- #18 Saint Mary's (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson)
- New Mexico (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- Saint Louis (Ellis)
- Valparaiso (Broekhoff) - least likely to receive an at-large bid
These teams can gain automatic entry by winning their conference tournaments.

Still possible of securing automatic bids if they win their conference tournament:
- #18 Saint Mary's (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson) - already in final being played today
- Valparaiso (Broekhoff) - already in final being played tomorrow
- E Washington (Hickert) - already in final being played tomorrow
- Southern Utah (Massey & Heuir) - already in SF being played today
- New Mexico (Bairstow & Greenwood) - already in QF
- Colorado (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)
- Saint Louis (Ellis) - already in QF
- Richmond (Duinker)
- Oregon State (Brandt & Murphy)
- Washington State (Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- UTSA (Hill & Nujic)
- North Carolina State (Vandenberg)
- UC Santa Barbara (Thomas) - already in QF
- Pacific (Llewellyn) - already in QF
- Nicholls State (Smith-Hyde, McBeath & Prest)
- Boise State (Drmic & Hadziomeroic) - already in QF

So is it any clearer which Aussies are likely to make the final 64, LC?

How reliable do you think Joe Lunardi is?

Saint Mary's has moved up in the ESPN/USA Today national poll to #18, whilst they are the first team outside the top 25 in the Associated Press poll ahead of today's WCC Tournament Final.

Interestingly, ESPN/USA Today has Saint Mary's ahead of today's grand final opponent Gonzaga (#25) whilst the AP poll has Gonzaga at #24 ahead of the Gael's! I guess today's game is thew tie-breaker!

Both New Mexico and Saint Louis are in amongst the teams not far outside of the top 25.

Aree Vart - it's been good to see Greenwood have back-to-back very good games - it will do wonders for his confidence levels as they head into the conference tournament.

Old Dominion, Albany and Hartford all lost their conference tournament semi finals and therefore their chances at taking part in the NCAA tournament. For Hartford it was literally ‘heart-break’ as they went agonisingly close to upsetting Vermont in double overtime!

However Damon Heuir helped keep Southern Utah’s hopes alive by scoring 23 points alongside 3 rebounds and 5 assists to help lead his team to a narrow come-from-behind 2 point victory. The T-Birds trailed by 11 with 3:12 left in the game before reeling off a 14-1 run that included a triple from Heuir to tie the game late as they went on to claim a miraculous win!

Today’s results:

Old Dominion lost at Drexel 51-68 (SF CAA Tourney)
Iliadis did not play.

Albany lost at Stony Brook 55-57 (SF America East Tourney)
Devlin came off the bench and scored 3 points on 1/1 shooting (1/1 3PT) to go with no other stats in 2 minutes.
Hooley came off the bench and had 1 assist with no turnovers in 1 minute.
Rowley came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks and no turnovers in 18 minutes.

Hartford lost at Vermont 73-77 in 2OT (SF America East Tourney)
O’Neill did not play.
Wroe came off the bench and scored 1 point on 1/2 free throws to go with 2 rebounds and 1 turnover in 11 minutes.

Southern Utah defeated Oakland 84-82 (QF Summit League Tourney)
Massey started and scored 9 points on 4/8 shooting (0/1 3PT, 1/1 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 37 minutes.
Heuir started and scored 23 points on 8/13 shooting (2/3 3PT, 5/6 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 36 minutes.

North Carolina State defeated Virginia Tech 70-58.
Vandenberg did not play.

Tomorrow’s games:

- #21 Saint Mary’s vs Gonzaga (Final WCC Tourney) (Steindl, Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson)
- Southern Utah @ South Dakota State (SF Summit League Tourney (Massey & Heuir)

Game recaps from the Valparaiso and Saint Mary's team websites:

Crusaders Down Butler, Advance to HL Title Game!

Gaels Headed To WCC Final... Again!

Ryan Broekhoff showed why he was the Horizon League Player of the Year as he led his #1 seeded team to the tournament final (against Detroit) whilst extinguishing Butler’s hopes of a return to the NCAA tournament. Broekhoff recorded a massive double-double with game highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds- his 16 boards were a new career-high! The Crusaders are now just 1 win away from a guaranteed ticket to the NCAA tournament…

…as are the #21 Saint Mary’s College who progressed to their 4th straight WCC Tournament Final (and face the winner of Gonzaga vs BYU) after toughing out a win over San Francisco. Three Aussie starters combined for more tha n half of SMC’s score, with Steindl scoring a team-high 19, Delly racking up 17 and 7 assists, and Page with 10 points.

Also worth noting is that UNC-Asheville became the first team featuring an Aussie to earn a confirmed ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Chudier Pal who has played little in coming off the bench all season will get a taste of March Madness!

Greenwood earned bragging rights over fellow Aussie junior World Champ star Drmic as New Mexico defeated Boise State. Greenwood followed up his career-high previous game by nailing 15 points alongside 5 rebounds and 3 assists compared to Drmic’s 7, 4 & 2.

Washington State rounded out their Pac-12 regular season with a win due to Motum’s game-high 27 point outing, 16 of which came in the second half. UTSA managed to also win their last game before their conference tournament, but it was largely due to Nujic’s 17-point effort in coming off the bench rather than Hill’s heroics this team around.

Today’s results:

#21 Saint Mary’s defeated San Francisco 83-78 (SF West Coast Tourney)
Steindl started and scored an equal team-high 19 points on 6/15 shooting (6/14 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers in 37 minutes.
Dellavedova started and scored an 17 points on 3/6 shooting (1/3 3PT, 10/10 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover in 40 minutes.
Page started and scored 10 points on 3/5 shooting (2/3 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes.
Young came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/1 shooting (0/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 8 minutes.
Hodgson – red shirt.

Saint Louis defeated Duquesne 75-60.
Ellis came off the bench and scored 10 points on 4/7 shooting (2/5 3PT) to go with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 29 minutes.

UNC-Asheville defeated Virginia Military 80-64 (Final Big South Tourney)
Pal did not play.

American lost at Lehigh 66-85 (SF Patriot League Tourney)
Fisher came off the bench and had no stats in 1 minute.

Wofford lost to West Carolina 59-82 (QF Southern Tourney)
Faithfull did not play.

Old Dominion defeated Delaware 88-74 (QF CAA Tourney)
Iliadis did not play.

Albany defeated New Hampshire 63-45 (QF America East Tourney)
Devlin came off the bench and scored 4 points on 1/2 shooting (2/2 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and no turnovers in 12 minutes.
Hooley – red shirt.
Rowley came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/4 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in 21 minutes.

Utah Valley lost at North Dakota 56-57.
Sinclair did not play.

Boise State lost at New Mexico 61-76.
Drmic started and scored 7 points on 3/10 shooting (0/6 3PT, 1/1 FT) to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 35 minutes.
Hadziomerovic did not play.
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 1 point on 1/2 free throws to go with 1 block and no turnovers in 9 minutes.
Greenwood started and scored 15 points on 4/7 shooting (3/6 3PT, 4/6 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and no turnovers in 30 minutes.

Colorado lost at Oregon State 69-83.
Tomlinson started and scored 4 points on 1/2 shooting (0/1 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and no turnovers in 29 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/1 shooting (0/3 FT) but had 2 rebounds and 2 turnovers in a foul plagued 16 minutes.
Brandt came off the bench and scored 7 points on 2/2 shooting (1/1 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 block and 1 turnover in 17 minutes.
Murphy did not play.

Lafayette lost at Bucknell 52-79 (SF Patriot League Tourney)
Trist started and scored 2 points on 1/5 shooting to go with 1 rebound and 3 turnovers in 16 minutes.

Nicholls State lost to SE Louisiana 58-68.
Smith-Hyde started and scored 2 points on 1/1 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in 24 minutes.
McBeath started and scored 7 points on 2/7 shooting (0/3 3PT, 3/3 FT) to go with 11 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks and no turnovers in a foul plagued 35 minutes.
Prest – did not play.

Idaho State lost at E Washington 75-81 (QF Big Sky Tourney)
Kostur did not play.
Hickert came off the bench and scored 3 points on 1/3 shooting (1/3 3PT) to go with 6 rebounds, 1 block and no turnovers in 12 minutes.

Washington State defeated USC 43-38.
Motum started and scored a game-high 27 points on 12/21 shooting (1/2 3PT, 2/6 FT) to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 turnover in 38 minutes.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and scored 4 points on 2/2 shooting to go with 1 turnover in 8 minutes.

UTSA defeated Texas-Arlington 97-88.
Hill started and scored 6 points on 2/3 shooting (2/2 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 20 minutes.
Nujic came off the bench and scored 17 points on 5/9 shooting (2/5 3PT, 5/7 FT) to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in a foul plagued 27 minutes.

Hartford defeated Boston U 53-49 (QF America East Tourney)
O’Neill did not play.
Wroe came off the bench and recorded just 1 foul in 2 minutes.

Butler lost at Valparaiso 46-65 (SF Horizon League Tourney
Aldridge came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting (0/1 3PT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in 13 minutes.
Broekhoff started and racked up another double-double, scoring game-high 19 points (2/3 3PT, 5/6 FT) to go with 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers in 33 minutes.

Pacific lost at Cal Poly 38-67.
Llewelyn came off the bench and had no stats in 2 minutes.

UC Santa Barbara defeated UC Davis 90-43.
Thomas came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/1 shooting but had 3 rebounds, 1 block and no turnovers in 6 minutes.

Tomorrow’s games:

- Old Dominion @ Drexel (SF CAA Tourney) (Iliadis)
- Albany @ Stony Brook (SF America East Tourney (Devlin, Hooley & Rowley)
- North Carolina State @ Virginia Tech (Vandenberg)
- Southern Utah @ Oakland (QF Summit League Tourney) (Massey & Heuir)
- Hartford @ Vermont (SF America East Tourney) (O’Neill & Wroe)

Today’s results:

Butler defeated Milwaukee 71-49 (2nd Rd Horizon League Tourney)
Aldridge came off the bench and scored 2 points on 0/1 shooting (2/2 FT) to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 turnovers in 11 minutes.

Tomorrow:

- #21 Saint Mary's vs San Francisco (SF West Coast Tourney) (Steindl,Dellavedova, Page, Young & Hodgson)
- Saint Louis @ Duquesne (Ellis)
- UNC-Asheville vs Virginia Military (Final Big South Tourney) (Pal)
- American @ Lehigh (SF Patriot League Tourney) (Fisher)
- Wofford vs West Carolina (QF Southern Tourney) (Faithfull)
- Old Dominion vs Delaware (QF CAA Tourney) (Iliadis)
- Albany vs New Hampshire (QF America East Tourney) (Devlin, Hooley & Rowley)
- Utah Valley @ North Dakota (Sinclair)
- Boise State @ New Mexico (Drmic, Hadziomerovic, Bairstow & Greenwood)
- Colorado @ Oregon State (Tomlinson, Harris-Tunks, Brandt & Murphy)
- Lafayette @ Bucknell (SF Patriot League Tourney) (Trist)
- Nicholls State vs SE Louisiana (Smith-Hyde, McBeath & Prest)
- Idaho State @ E Washington (QF Big Sky Tourney) (Kostur & Hickert)
- Washington State @ USC (Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- UTSA vs Texas-Arlington (Hill & Nujic)
- Hartford @ Boston U (QF America East Tourney) (O’Neill & Wroe)
- Butler @ Valparaiso (SF Horizon League Tourney) (Aldridge & Broekhoff)
- Pacific @ Cal Poly (Llewelyn)
- UC Santa Barbara vs UC Davis (Thomas)

Today’s results:

Winthrop lost to Virginia Military 55-75 (SF Big South Tourney)
S Diop did not play.

Sacred Heart lost at LIU Brooklyn 68-80 (QF Northeast Tourney)
Akinpetide did not play.

USC Upstate lost to FLA Gulf Coast 61-71 (QF Atlantic Sun Tourney)
Kok did not play.

CSU lost to UNC-Asheville 64-91 (SF Big South Tourney)
Muo started and scored 8 points on 3/5 shooting (2/3 3PT) to go with 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 26 minutes.
Pal came off the bench and had no stats in 1 minute.

Oregon State defeated Utah 77-67.
Brandt started and scored 8 points on 2/3 shooting (4/4 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 1 steal and no turnovers in 17 minutes.
Murphy came off the bench and scored 2 points on 1/1 shooting (0/2 FT) to go with 1 rebound and no turnovers in 3 minutes.

Pacific lost at UC Santa Barbara 61-76.
Llewellyn did not play.
Thomas came off the bench and did not take a shot but had 2 rebounds and no turnovers in 1 minute.

Washington State lost at UCLA 46-78.
Motum started and scored an equal game-high 18 points on 6/15 shooting (0/4 3PT, 6/9 FT) to go with 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 29 minutes.
Kernich-Drew came off the bench and scored 2 points on 0/2 shooting (0/1 3PT, 2/4 FT) to go with 2 assists and no turnovers in 11 minutes.

Colorado lost at Oregon 81-90.
Tomlinson started and scored 11 points on 4/8 shooting (3/6 3PT) to go with 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 turnovers in a foul plagued 32 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 6 points on 3/3 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 12 minutes.

Tomorrow’s games:

- Butler @ Milwaukee (2nd Rd Horizon League Tourney) (Aldridge)

Some noteworthy stats...and for mine - the best 4 performed Aussies playing D1 hoops this season:

Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s College (West Coast Conference)
15.4ppg, 3.3rpg, 6.5apg, 45.4 FG%, 36.1 3PT%, 83.8 FT% , 37.0mpg

Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso (Horizon League)
14.8ppg, 8.4rpg, 2.3apg, 1.3spg, 0.9bpg, 48.8 FG%, 39.6 3PT%, 78.4 FT%, 32.2mpg

Brock Motum, Washington State (Pac-12)
17.8ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.8apg, 55.5 FG%, 40.3 3PT%, 73.3 FT%, 32.3mpg

Anthony Drmic, Boise State (Mountain West Conference)
12.0ppg, 4.9rpg, 2.1apg, 1.2spg, 38.1 FG%, 32.7 3PT%, 73.7 FT%, 30.1mpg

And the 5th member of my All-Aussie First team is:

Jeromie Hill, Texas-San Antonio (Southland)
12.7ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.4apg, 0.8bpg, 0.9spg, 48.8 FG%, 42.0 3PT%, 60.0 FT%, 30.7mpg

The next 5 to round out my All-Aussie top 10 as All-Aussie Second team are:

Cody Ellis, Saint Louis (Atlantic 10)
Corey Maynard, Bryant (Northeast)
Mathiang Muo, Charleston Southern (Big South)
Angus Brandt, Oregon State (Pac-12)
Nate Tomlinson, Colorado (Pac-12)

Honourable mentions got to:

Clint Steindl, Saint Mary's College (West Coast)
Jorden Page, Saint Mary's College (West Coast)
Damon Heuir, Southern Utah (Summit League)
Matt Massey, Southern Utah (Summit League)
Joel Naburgs, Stetson (Atlantic Sun)
Trian Iliadis, Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic Association)

Dellavedova is my Aussie D1 College Player of the Year.

Drmic is my Aussie D1 College Freshman of the Year

Motum is my Aussie D1 College Most Improved Player

Ellis is my Aussie D1 College 6th Man of the Year

And the accolades keep coming for Matthew Dellavedova.

Delly has now been named as a member of the AT&T Midseason 30 Watch List for the Naismith Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award.

http://www.smcgaels.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=205389332

The midseason 30 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the 2011-12 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy, presented by AT&T, will be awarded at the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four in New Orleans.

Whilst he has not won yet, last year's winner was Jimmer Fredette, and previous notable winners include Bill Walton, Johnny Dawkins, Tim Duncan & Kevin Durant.

Greenwood explored for a game and new career-high 22 points on a sizzling 7/9 shooting that included 5/7 from long range in just 19 minutes as UNM crushed Air Force. Greenwood opened the second half with 14 straight points that included 4 three’s and a long jumper without a miss! Good to see him get a confidence boost ahead of the MWC and NCAA tournaments.

Hill and Nujic were integral in UTSA’s win today – hill with a double-double fo 13 & 11, whilst Nujic had 13 & 5 and combined they had no turnovers.

Today’s results:

Boise State lost to #23 San Diego State 53-66.
Drmic started and scored 10 points on 2/6 shooting (0/4 3Pt, 6/10 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in a foul plagued 32 minutes.
Hadziomerovic came off the bench and had just 1 turnover in 4 minutes.

Winthrop defeated Campbell 71-55 (QF Big South Tourney)
S Diop did not play.

UNC-Asheville defeated High Point 86-61 (QF Big South Tourney)
Pal came off the bench and had no stats in 1 minute.

Lafayette @ Holy Cross (QF Patriot League Tourney)
Trist started and scored 6 points on 3/5 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 18 minutes.

Richmond defeated Dayton 82-71.
Duinker came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/3 shooting (0/2 3PT) but had 1 rebound and 1 turnover in 10 minutes.

American defeated Army 57-40 (QF Patriot League Tourney)
Fisher came off the bench and did not take a shot but had 1 steal and no turnovers in 4 minutes.

New Mexico defeated Air Force 86-56.
Bairstow came off the bench and scored 5 points on 1/4 shooting (0/1 3PT, 3/4 FT) to go with 7 rebounds and no turnovers in 18 minutes.
Greenwood started and scored a game and new career-high 22 points on 7/9 shooting (5/7 3PT, 3/5 FT) to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in just 19 minutes.

UTSA defeated Central Arkansas 73-60.
Hill started and racked up a double-double, scoring 13 points on 5/12 shooting (1/3 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 26 minutes.
Nujic started and scored 13 points on 5/10 shooting (1/4 3PT, 2/2 FT) to go with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers in 29 minutes.

CSU defeated Libert 88-74 (QF Big South Tourney)
Muo started and scored 9 points on 2/6 shooting (1/3 3PT, 4/4 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and no turnovers in 23 minutes.

Nicholls State lost at Northwestern State 61-92.
Smith-Hyde started and scored 9 points on 4/10 shooting (1/5 3PT) to go with 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 turnover in 36 minutes.
McBeath started and scored 3 points on 1/5 shooting (0/2 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 29 minutes.
Prest did not play.

North Carolina State defeated Miami (FL) 77-73.
Vandenberg did not play.

Seattle defeated Longwood 111-74.
TJ Diop came off the bench and did not take a shot but had 1 rebound and no turnovers in 10 minutes.

Tomorrow’s games:

- Winthrop vs Virginia Military (SF Big South Tourney) (S Diop)
- Sacred Heart @ LIU Brooklyn (QF Northeast Tourney) (Akinpetide)
- USC Upstate vs FLA Gulf Coast (QF Atlantic Sun Tourney) (Kok)
- Oregon State vs Utah (Brandt & Murphy)
- Pacific @ UC Santa Barbara (Llewellyn & Thomas)
- Washington State @ UCLA (Motum & Kernich-Drew)
- Colorado @ Oregon (Tomlinson & Harris-Tunks)

Today saw the commencement of Aussie involvement in post-regular season action in conference tournaments…

Today’s results:

Butler defeated Wright State 70-52 (1st Rd Horizon League Tourney)
Aldridge came off the bench and scored 3 points on 1/1 shooting (1/1 3PT) to go with 1 rebound and 3 turnovers in 8 minutes.

Saint Louis defeated Xavier 70-59.
Ellis came off the bench and scored 7 points on 1/5 shooting (1/3 3PT, 4/5 FT) to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and no turnovers in 23 minutes.

Idaho State lost at E Washington 64-77.
Kostur did not play.
Hickert came off the bench and went scoreless on 0/2 shooting (0/1 3PT) but had 1 rebound, 1 assist and no turnovers in 10 minutes.

Tomorrow:

- Boise State vs #23 San Diego State (Drmic & Hadziomerovic)
- Winthrop @ Campbell (QF Big South Tourney) (S Diop)
- UNC-Asheville vs High Point (QF Big South Tourney) (Pal)
- Lafayette @ Holy Cross (QF Patriot League Tourney) (Trist)
- Richmond vs Dayton (Iliadis)
- American vs Army (QF Patriot League Tourney) (Fisher)
- New Mexico vs Air Force (Bairstow & Greenwood)
- UTSA @ Central Arkansas (Hill & Nujic)
- CSU vs Libert (QF Big South Tourney) (Muo)
- Nicholls State @ Northwestern State (Smith-Hyde, McBeath & Prest)
- North Carolina State vs Miami (FL) (Vandenberg)
- Seattle vs Longwood (TJ Diop)

Dellavedova has also been named to the 2012 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Team!

http://www.wccsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022712aac.html

http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=101619&SPID=12536&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=205387953

Matthew Dellavedova has been named West Coast Conference Player of the Year!

After leading the Gaels to their first outright West Coast Conference regular season title since 1989, Saint Mary's junior guard Matthew Dellavedova has been named the WCC Player of the Year.

Matthew Dellavedova becomes the seventh player in the history of Saint Mary's College - and the second straight Gael (Mickey McConnell, 2011) - to be named West Coast Conference Player of the Year. A finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given annually to the nation's top point guard, Dellavedova leads the West Coast Conference in assists per game with 6.6, while ranking third in scoring at 16.4 points per contest during WCC play. He led this year's Gaels to a 14-2 WCC record - setting a new school mark for the most conference victories in a season.

http://www.wccsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022812aaa.html

http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=101619&SPID=12536&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=21400&ATCLID=205388615

Well done Delly!

Yep, great news for Ryan Broekhoff by being named Horizon League Player of the Year!

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/11497/broekhoff-named-hl-player-of-the-year-drew-coach-of-the-year/

http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/horizon-league-announces-mens-basketball-award-winners.html

Saint Mary's also is now #21 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and is on the cusp of the Associated Press top 25.

Today’s results:

Colorado defeated California 70-57.
Tomlinson started and scored 11 points on 4/8 shooting (2/5 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 36 minutes.
Harris-Tunks came off the bench and scored 4 points on 2/4 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and no turnovers in 12 minutes.

Oregon State lost to Oregon 73-74.
Brandt started and scored 16 points on 6/13 shooting (3/5 3PT, 1/2 FT) to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover before fouling out in 25 minutes.
Murphy came off the bench and had just 1 foul in 2 minutes.

Tomorrow: no games featuring any Aussies.

Wednesday’s games:

- Saint Louis vs Xavier (Ellis)
- Idaho State @ E Washington (Kostur & Hickert)