Hoopville - Mountain West Conference

BYU Junior Testing the Waters: BYU forward Trent Plaisted will make himself eligible for the NBA Draft but will not make his final decision on remaining in the draft until the withdrawal date comes in June. His decision to delay hiring an agent will preserve his last year of eligibility if he decides to return to school. He averaged 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in leading BYU to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title. [4/13/08]

Alford Given Extension: New Mexico coach Steve Alford has been given a three year extension through the 2015-16 season. In his first season, he led the Lobos to a 24-9 record and tied a school record for regular season victories. New Mexico finished third in the Mountain West Conference at 11-5 and went on to play in the NIT. [4/02/08]

Horned Frogs Bring Christian to Texas: TCU has hired Kent State coach Jim Christian to be the Horned Frogs' coach, replacing Neil Dougherty, whom the school fired earlier in March. Christian led Kent State to a 138-58 record in six seasons, and the Golden Flashes won at least 20 games each season, making the NCAA Tournament twice. The Golden Flashes lost to UNLV in the first round this season. TCU has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1998 and has only one 20-win season in the past six years. [3/31/08]

Midwest Region - Second Round: No. 8 UNLV hung with No. 1 Kansas for a little more than a half before the Jayhawks suffocated the Runnin' Rebels' upset bid with stifling defense. UNLV made only 12 shots from the floor in the game, remaining close by hitting 27-of-34 free throws. But Kansas' depth helped the Jayhawks score in waves and overpower the Rebels. Junior guard Mario Chalmers led the Jayhawks with 18 points and four rebounds. Kansas shot 58 percent from the field in an efficient effort.

No. 3 Wisconsin got some hot shooting and dominant defense to beat No. 11 Kansas State 72-55 and move into the Sweet 16. Sophomore guard Trevon Hughes was 8-of-14 from the field and led all scorers with 25 points. Michael Beasley and Bill Walker had 41 points combined, but the Badgers held the rest of the team to 14 points. Kansas State struggled from the field, shooting only 39.6 percent and missing every three-point attempt. Beasley finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. [3/22/08]

Midwest Region - First Round: No. 1 Kansas had no troubles handling No. 16 Portland State in an 85-61 first-round victory. The Jayhawks were led by junior guard Brandon Rush, who had 18 points and hit four three-pointers. Kansas was hot from the perimeter, hitting 12-of-25 three-pointers. The Vikings struggled to score against the Jayhawks' defense, shooting only 38.2 percent from the field. After building a 23-point halftime lead, Kansas cruised in the second half. The Jayhawks will play UNLV in the second round.

No. 3 Wisconsin didn't obliterate No. 14 Cal State Fullerton, but the Badgers slowly ground the Titans into submission in a 71-56 victory. Senior center Brian Butch had 14 points and nine rebounds, and the Badgers had 27 more rebounds than the Titans did to outwork Cal State Fullerton for the win. Wisconsin had nearly as many offensive rebounds as the Titans' had total rebounds. Junior guard Josh Akognon, a Washington State transfer, had 31 points for the Titans. The Badgers will play Kansas State next.

Michael Beasley and No. 11 Kansas State won the battle of freshmen phenoms against O.J. Mayo and No. 6 USC. The Wildcats also delivered the first upset of the NCAA Tournament with an 80-67 victory. Beasley finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds despite being saddled with three fouls during the second half. He picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game. Mayo played well for the Trojans, finishing with 20 points and five assists. The Trojans couldn't stop Kansas State on the glass as the Wildcats finished with 18 offensive rebounds.

No. 9 Kent State needed 20 minutes to get going on offense, and by the time the Golden Flashes started hitting shots, they were out of the game. Kent State matched an NCAA Tournament record for scoring futility in a half, putting up only 10 points while falling behind by 21 points to UNLV in the first half. The Runnin' Rebels shot better than 50 percent in the 71-58 win, and junior forward Joe Darger led UNLV with 18 points. [3/20/08]

West Region - First Round: No. 1 UCLA annihilated No. 16 Mississippi Valley State 70-29 in the most lopsided game of the first round. Freshman center Kevin Love was the only player from either team to score in double figures, posting 20 points and nine rebounds. The Bruins' starters played no more than 26 minutes in the blowout. The Delta Devils made only nine shots the entire game and collected 29 rebounds to UCLA's 50. Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute did not play for the Bruins after injuring his ankle during the Pac-10 Tournament last weekend.

No. 15 Belmont almost became the fourth No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to beat a No. 2 seed. No. 2 Duke needed a coast-to-coast layup by sophomore guard Gerald Henderson to give the Blue Devils a decisive 71-70 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Bruins had two opportunities to win in the closing seconds but turned it over with four seconds remaining and missed a half-court desperation shot at the buzzer. Henderson led the Blue Devils with 21 points and eight rebounds. The Blue Devils will play West Virginia in the second round.

No. 14 Georgia finally ran out of gas against No. 3 Xavier but not before giving the Musketeers a scare. Xavier won 73-61 after erasing an 11-point deficit in the second half. The Bulldogs struggled to score in the final minutes of the game while Xavier was solid from the free throw line, finishing 27-of-33. Senior forward Josh Duncan led Xavier with 20 points. Georgia reached the NCAA Tournament by winning four SEC Tournament games in three and a half days, including two games in one day after a tornado forced the SEC to cancel a night game between the Bulldogs and Kentucky.

The young Boilermakers played enough defense to hold down No. 11 Baylor and give No. 6 Purdue a 90-79 win. Five Boilermakers reached double figures, led by sophomore guard Keaton Grant with 17 points. The Bears struggled in the first half and fell behind by 20 points early in the second half before making a run to trim the lead to about 10 points. Purdue was 15-of-18 from the free throw line, which helped prevent Baylor from seriously threatening down the stretch. The Boilermakers will play Xavier in the second round.

Only five different Wildcats scored for No. 10 Arizona, which ran out of gas in a 75-65 loss to No. 7 West Virginia. The Mountaineers were on fire from long range, hitting 11-of-19 three-pointers to extend their lead every time Arizona threatened to take the lead. Junior guard Alex Ruoff was especially timely with his five three-pointers and team-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Chase Budinger led the Wildcats with 23 points, and Arizona's bench contributed only three pointers as the starters played nearly the entire game.

No. 9 Texas A&M won a tight match up with No. 8 BYU 67-62 as junior swingman Josh Carter dumped 26 points on the Cougars. He hit six three-pointers and finished 10-of-16 from the field. Senior forward Joseph Jones contributed a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies shot better than 50 percent from the field and collected most errant shots with a 36-23 rebounding advantage. [3/20/08]

Horned Frogs Cut Ties With Dougherty: TCU has fired coach Neil Dougherty after six mostly unsuccessful seasons. Dougherty had a 75-108 record as the Horned Frogs' coach. His best season was a 21-14 run to the NIT in 2004-05. Dougherty came to TCU after working as an assistant coach at Kansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Drake. [3/18/08]

Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship: No. 2 UNLV protected its home court by beating No. 1 BYU 76-61 for the Mountain West Conference championship. The Runnin' Rebels won at home for the second consecutive season against higher-seeded BYU. The Cougars had an early lead but let it slip away early in the second half, and they struggled to make shots after halftime. Junior guard Wink Adams led UNLV with 23 points. The Runnin' Rebels protected the ball well, committing only six turnovers. [3/15/08]

Mountain West Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 4 San Diego State stayed tight with No. 1 BYU until the final minutes, but the Cougars prevailed 63-54. The duo of junior swingman Lee Cummard and junior forward Trent Plaisted combined for 39 points and 10 rebounds to lead BYU. The Aztecs struggled to shoot from everywhere, especially three-point range, where they hit only 3-of-17 attempts.

No. 2 UNLV set up a rematch of last season's Mountain West championship game with BYU after beating No. 6 Utah 61-55. Junior guard Wink Adams had 20 points and eight rebounds, and senior swingman Curtis Terry added 20 points and five rebounds. UNLV committed only four turnovers in the game to help overcome a 39.3 percent shooting game. [3/14/08]

Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: A day after picking up its first conference win of the season in an opening round game against No. 8 Wyoming, No. 9 Colorado State lost its last conference game of the year in an 89-62 blowout against No. 1 BYU. The Cougars used a 15-9 run to end the first half with a six-point lead after the Rams kept it closer early. Then BYU blew open the game in the second half. Junior guard Lee Cummard led BYU with 18 points.

The Cougars will play No. 4 San Diego State in the semifinals after the Aztecs beat No. 5 Air Force 53-49. The Aztecs survived a rough second half in which they scored only nine points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. Air Force kept the game close down the stretch, but junior forward Lorrenzo Wade helped keep the Falcons at bay by making four free throws in the closing seconds. Junior forward Ryan Amoroso led San Diego State with 15 points.

No. 2 UNLV won an 89-88 thriller in Las Vegas against No. 7 TCU. The Runnin' Rebels got a three-point play from junior guard Wink Adams with 3.4 seconds remaining to steal victory from the torrid-shooting Horned Frogs. TCU made a Mountain West Conference Tournament-record 17 three-pointers as the Horned Frogs shot 73.9 percent from beyond the arc. Adams led UNLV with 29 points, including three three-pointers.

UNLV will play No. 6 Utah in the semifinals. The Utes dispatched No. 3 New Mexico 82-80 in overtime as junior Luke Nevill dunked the eventual game-winning basket with 20 seconds remaining. The 7-1 center then rejected New Mexico's attempt at a game-winner at the other end. Nevill led the Utes with 26 points and eight rebounds. [3/13/08]

Mountain West Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 9 Colorado State shocked No. 8 Wyoming 68-63 to win its first conference game of the season. The Rams used a 17-4 run in the second half to rally from a seven-point deficit. Wyoming shot 35.7 percent from the field. Colorado State advances to play top-seeded BYU in the quarterfinals. [3/12/08]

Boylen Resents Last-Second Dunk: Utah coach Jim Boylen received a reprimand from Mountain West Conference officials for criticizing Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer. Boylen was upset that the Cowboys had a last-second dunk to make a 70-64 game 72-64. The Utes had essentially conceded defeat, and Boylen thought Wyoming would simply run out the clock. [3/06/08]

Kruger Boots Lawrence for DUI: UNLV coach Lon Kruger has dismissed guard Marcus Lawrence after the sophomore was arrested Friday for driving under the influence. Police arrested Lawrence after responding to a one-vehicle accident at 7:30 a.m. Kruger said Lawrence has run out of second chances after three or four incidents. Lawrence averages 1.4 points and 2.3 assists in 13.9 minutes per game. [2/20/08]

Lobos Pick Preferred Casino Advertiser: New Mexico officials have picked the Laguna Pueblo's Route 66 Casino Hotel as an exclusive gaming sponsor of Lobo athletics. The school signed a five-year $2.5 million deal that will give the tribal casino rights to advertise in the Pit, University Stadium and other Lobo athletic facilities. The casino, located about 25 miles from Albuquerque, will also be able to sponsor other athletic activities. New Mexico's president said he does not foresee any problems with the deal because the casino does not offer any sports betting. [2/15/08]

Aztecs Suspend Spain: San Diego State coach Steve Fisher has indefinitely suspended junior forward Kyle Spain for violating team rules. He did not describe the violation. San Diego State plays at TCU today. Spain averages 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. [2/09/08]