Roundup: Sean Miller, Allonzo Trier return as Arizona clinches share of Pac-12 title
Arizona president Robert C. Robbins and AD Dave Heeke said in a joint statement that Sean Miller will stay on as men’s basketball head coach. This Pac-12 Networks Newsroom link also includes Sean Miller’s press conference in which he vehemently denied any wrongdoing with regards to an ESPN report claiming that Miller was caught on a wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to secure the services of DeAndre Ayton. For its part, ESPN is standing by its reporting (The Arizona Republic). This is far from over (oh yeah, the Wildcats beat Stanford to clinch a share of the Pac-12 title Thursday night and Allonzo Trier returned; a lot going on in Tucson).
A lot of good action from Thursday’s first round of the 2018 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, with two games decided by one possession. One such contest was USC just getting by Washington State, defeating the Cougs 47-44 to set up a quarterfinal bout with Stanford. Welcome back to the roundup, Sarah Kezele.
Click on the link to watch our Jill Savage chat with Arizona State’s Kianna Ibis after the Sun Devils dominated rival Arizona 76-47 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tourney.
Malachi Flynn was “incredible” in leading Washington State to an upset over Oregon, recaps Theo Lawson in his gamer. Flynn went off for 28 points in the Cougs’ 78-76 win over the Ducks.
Horrible resume loss at Washington State Thursday night for Oregon men’s basketball, and Tyson Alger writes that the Ducks’ at-large chances are pretty much shot after the defeat to the Cougs.
Following an opening-round loss to Colorado, Utah women’s basketball will probably have to settle for the WNIT, writes Jim Hoehn (The Salt Lake Tribune).
Washington men’s basketball clung on to its NCAA Tournament hopes by beating Oregon State 79-77 Thursday night in Seattle, writes Percy Allen. The Dawgs are now in a four-way tie for third at 10-7 in the Pac-12; a loss to the Beavs would have been damning.
Mechelle Voepel of ESPN features Oregon State women’s basketball center Marie Gülich, who has improved leaps and bounds during her time in Corvallis (going up against Ruth Hamblin in practice every day will certainly help one get better). The third-seeded Beavers get Arizona State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tourney on Friday.
Read this feature story on UCLA’s Monique Billings’ budding modeling career off the court, courtesy of Thuc Nhi Nguyen, who explains Billings’ “smize,” or smiling with her eyes.
Former Stanford football quarterback Keller Chryst is transferring to Tennessee and will be eligible to play straight away as a grad transfer (CBS Sports).
Cal softball pitcher Kamalani Dung threw a perfect game in her hometown of Honolulu to lead the Golden Bears to a 4-0 win over UTEP.
Colorado football’s 2018 season opener has been moved to Aug. 31, up to a Friday from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, Sept. 1 (BuffZone.com). The Buffs kick off 2018 against in-state rival Colorado State.