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Greg McDermott is back coaching Creighton after a brief suspension for racially insensitive comments. But either his team was actively protesting his reinstatement against Georgetown or it was just not ready to play as the Hoyas smacked the Bluejays, 73-48.
That has the Bluejays in a bit of a rough spot heading into their first-round matchup against UC Santa Barbara, one of the best low-major teams in the country.
In his Sunday writeup on the Gauchos, B/R s Kerry Miller put the team in recent historical context: UCSB finished the season in the top 75 on KenPom, which is no small feat. Only two other Big West teams have done that in the past eight years: 2018-19 UC Irvine, which upset Kansas State in the NCAA tournament, and 2015-16 Hawaii, which upset California in the first round of the dance. A continuation of that trend is a strong possibility.
Liberty embracing opportunity against No 11 Oklahoma State texasguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from texasguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
For the third consecutive year the Liberty Flames have won the ASUN Tournament, and with it, the conference’s March Madness auto bid.
But this team is different from the previous iterations that made waves on the national stage. Can the 2020-21 squad reach similar heights?
What’s New and What’s Still the Same?
Gone are nearly all the major contributors from the 2018-19 team that won 29 games and pulled off the classic 12-5 upset over Mississippi State. The gang came back for one more ride last season, winning 30 games and looking like they were going to be the “this upset pick is almost TOO trendy” team for 2019-20. But then March Madness was cancelled and all the seniors graduated.
Game Notes: Liberty faces Oklahoma State in 2021 NCAA Tournament first round matchup augustafreepress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from augustafreepress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.