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Entries for the ‘College Basketball’ Category

2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship preview – MSU vs UNC.

Only one team can win it all. Whoever does will say it was meant to be.
For the North Carolina players who skipped turning pro after last season, a championship was the only realistic goal. For the Michigan State players who are playing for more than just themselves in an economically battered state, this is starting [...]

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North Carolina dominates Oklahoma to advance to 2009 Final Four.

Tyler Hansbrough deferred to his teammates — just as he’d hinted he might.
This was no one-on-one matchup down low. Instead, North Carolina rolled past Blake Griffin and Oklahoma with a total team effort.
Ty Lawson scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina overcame a quiet game from Hansbrough to beat the Sooners 72-60 Sunday in the [...]

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Michigan State downs Louisville to advance to 2009 Final Four.

Even before Michigan State’s first game of the season, coach Tom Izzo gathered his players and spelled out their goal.
“Ford Field,” he wrote on a dry-erase board.
That part of the Motown mission is now complete.
The Spartans gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52 on Sunday to win the [...]

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2009 NCAA Elite Eight game preview – Oklahoma vs North Carolina.

One big man was last year’s national player of the year. The other appears poised to take his place.
Now, Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin will go head-to-head with a lot more at stake than any individual honor.
Hansbrough has led top-seeded North Carolina to within a victory of a second straight Final Four. But to get [...]

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Villanova stuns Pittsburgh to advance to 2009 Final Four.

It was physical. It was defensive. It was just the way they like it in the Big East.
With bodies clogging the lane and 3-pointers clanging off the rim, Scottie Reynolds made a half-court dash for a last-second basket to give Villonova 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh and send the Wildcats to their first Final Four since [...]

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UConn beats Missouri to advance to 2009 Final Four in Detroit.

Connecticut often overwhelms opponents with its size and strength.
Harried by the fighting Missouri Tigers, UConn needed something else: speed.
Enter 6-foot-1 freshman Kemba Walker, who matched a career high with 23 points as the top-seeded Huskies held off Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. UConn earned a trip to Detroit and extended the [...]

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Duke wins 2009 ACC basketball tourney with win over FSU.

Duke is back in a familiar position: champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The No. 9 Blue Devils swamped upstart Florida State with a barrage of 3-pointers on the way to a 79-69 victory in the title game Sunday, giving Duke its eighth ACC crown in 11 seasons.
Jon Scheyer scored 29 points, Gerald Henderson had 27 [...]

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Mississippi State wins 2009 SEC basketball tournament.

Mississippi State showed all those bubble teams from the Southeastern Conference how to get into the NCAA tournament.
Phil Turner scored seven of his 12 points in the final 1:35 Sunday, and the Bulldogs knocked off Tennessee 64-61 to win the SEC tournament championship and the league’s automatic NCAA berth.
Turner, who had 10 rebounds, hit a [...]

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2009 Big Ten tournament championship preview – OSU vs Purdue.

Just last week, Purdue was out of sync and scuffling, and didn’t look much like a NCAA tournament team.
It’s now making those frustrations a thing of the past.
The 24th-ranked Boilermakers look to win their first Big Ten tournament title Sunday when they meet Ohio State, which is coming off an impressive upset and seeking its [...]

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2009 ACC tournament championship preview – Florida St. vs Duke.

Duke was hoping for another shot at its biggest rival in the championship game of the ACC tournament. Instead, the ninth-ranked Blue Devils had better be prepared for pesky No. 22 Florida State.
The third-seeded Blue Devils look for a record-tying 17th ACC tournament title Sunday when they face the fourth-seeded Seminoles at the Georgia Dome.
Even [...]

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