95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Friday, March 17, 2017
NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball – NCAA Tournament
Last Night
(5) Notre Dame 60, (12) Princeton 58
(12) Middle Tennessee 81, (5) Minnesota 72
(8) Wisconsin 84, (9) Virginia Tech 74
(8) Northwestern 68, (9) Vanderbilt 66
(11) Xavier 76, (6) Maryland 65
(4) Purdue 80, (13) Vermont 70
(4) Butler 76, (13) Winthrop 64
(5) Iowa St. 84, (12) Nevada 73
(5) Virginia 76, (12) UNC-Wilmington 71
(4) Florida 80, (13) ETSU 65
(1) Villanova 76, (16) Mount St. Mary’s 56
(1) Gonzaga 66, S. (16) Dakota St. 46
(7) Saint Mary’s 85, (10) VCU 77
(3) Florida St. 86, (14) Florida Gulf Coast 80
(4) West Virginia 86, (13) Bucknell 80
(2) Arizona 100, (15) North Dakota 82
Notre Dame 60, Princeton 58 – Notre Dame hangs on to beat Princeton 60-58
Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and Notre Dame survived a first-round NCAA Tournament scare by pulling out a 60-58 win over Princeton. The West Region’s 12th-seeded Tigers had a chance to pull ahead on their final possession, but Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer just before the final horn. Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound and was fouled. The Fighting Irish (26-9) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead. Guard Matt Farrell scored 16 points, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with Notre Dame up 59-58. Spencer Weisz led the Tigers with 15 points. The Ivy League champion Tigers (23-7) had a 19-game winning streak.
NCAAMBB – MSU looks to rebound from last year’s early exit
Michigan State is making its 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance one year after losing in the first round as Number 2 seed. The Spartans hope to make amends for last season’s disappointment against a Miami Hurricanes team that has won at least one tournament game in its last three appearances.
NCAAMBB – Mich. understands fate helped them make it to Indy
Just over a week after a harrowing aborted takeoff of their team plane resulted in the aircraft skidding off the runway on March 8th,
Michigan is riding a four game win streak. The Wolverines will be taking on an Oklahoma State team that comes in having lost three in a row. Tip-off is at 12:15 p.m. in Indianapolis.
NCAAMBB – Indiana fires Tom Crean after 9 seasons
Indiana coach Tom Crean has been fired after nine often lackluster seasons. Athletic director Fred Glass announced the decision Thursday as the NCAA Tournament was beginning. Crean won two Big Ten regular-season championships over the last five seasons but went 18-16 this year and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in
nine years _ including each of his first three seasons after taking over a gutted team following an NCAA scandal. The 50-year-old Crean went 166-135 at Indiana overall.
NCAAWBB – Women’s NIT
Last Night
Michigan 67, Kent State 60
NCAAWBB – Women’s NCAA Tournament
Today
(9) Michigan State vs. (8) Arizona State, 7:00 p.m. Columbia, SC
(16) Robert Morris vs. (1) Notre Dame, 7:00 p.m. South Bend, IN
NBA – Dwyane Wade out for rest of season with elbow injury
Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade will miss the rest of the season with a fractured right elbow. The Bulls said an MRI revealed the fracture. Wade was injured in the fourth quarter of the game against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night. He collided with Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph and said after the game that he felt his elbow pop. Wade averaged 18.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first season with his hometown Bulls. But the homecoming has been marred by a 32-36 record that has the Bulls out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference amid discord in the locker room. The Bulls have lost six of their last seven games. They next play at Washington on Friday.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
Toronto Raptors at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 2, Ottawa Senators 1
Detroit Red Wings 5, Arizona Coyotes 4 – Shootout
Blackhawks 2, Senators 1 – Panik’s power-play goal lifts Hawks past Senators
Richard Panik scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, lifting the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. Panik scored on the power play on a one-timer off a pass from Patrick Kane with 3:01 remaining. Duncan Keith also scored and Scott Darling made 33 saves to help the Blackhawks get their second straight win. Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa, and Mike Condon finished with 26 saves as the Senators squandered a chance to move in to first place in the Atlantic Division. The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the third as Keith’s shot eventually found its way across the goal line. Turris tied it on a one-timer from the right side on a power play with 8:37 remaining.
Red Wings 5, Coyotes 4 – SO – Nyquist, Red Wings top Coyotes 5-4 in shootout
Gustav Nyquist’s shootout goal gave the Detroit Red Wings a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Petr Mrazek stopped all three Coyotes shots in the shootout and finished with 22 saves, and the Red Wings won for just the second time in seven games. Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Green and Tomas Tatar each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. Andreas Athansiou added two assists. Mrazek stopped Coyotes shootout ace Radim Vrbata, who has 45 career goals in the tiebreaker, the most in NHL history. The Red Wings are 8-0 in shootouts this season. Alex Goligoski had a goal and an assist, and Vrbata, Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun also scored for the Coyotes, who snapped a three-game win streak. Josh Jooris had two assists and Mike Smith had 29 saves.
NFL – Lions re-sign long snapper Muhlbach
The Detroit Lions have re-signed long snapper Don Muhlbach. The team announced the move Wednesday. Muhlbach is entering his 14th season, all with Detroit. He ranks fourth on the Lions’ list with 196 games played and needs five more to pass linebacker Wayne Walker for third place. Detroit’s special teams played a big role in helping the team reach the playoffs last season. Matt Prater made several important kicks, and Sam Martin averaged 44.2 net yards per punt.
Olympics – IOC sets up group to look at double 2024-2028 Olympic picks
IOC President Thomas Bach says “all options are on the table” to award an Olympic Games to both Los Angeles and Paris. Bach says the IOC board asked its four vice presidents to “explore changes” in the Olympic bidding process and report back in July. Bach has repeatedly hinted at picking both LA and Paris by awarding 2024 and 2028 Summer Games hosting rights at the scheduled 2024 vote in Lima, Peru, in September. Bach says the IOC has “two excellent candidates,” and the four-man working group will make proposals to the board and full membership. They meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, where LA and Paris will present their 2024 hosting plans. A full IOC meeting can change the Olympic Charter which says host cities must be picked seven years in advance.
Olympics – North Korea plans to participate in ice hockey event in South
South Korean Olympic organizers say the North Korean women’s ice hockey team has registered to compete in an international event in the South next month. The organizing committee for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics said Friday it will work with the government to prepare for the potential North Korean participation in the group rounds for the Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. Seoul’s Unification Ministry says North Korean athletes haven’t competed in South Korea since the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. The ministry says it has yet to receive a request from the North for approval of its athletes to compete in the South. The relations between the rival Koreas have significantly worsened over the past year after a series of nuclear tests and rocket launches by North Korea.
Olympics – Fukushima confirmed as venue for Tokyo 2020 baseball
Organizers on Friday confirmed that baseball and softball games for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held in Fukushima, an area hit by the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster. The International Olympic Committee approved the use of Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium as an additional venue for baseball and softball. The IOC and Tokyo organizers have been eager to use the games as a symbol of recovery from the 2011 disaster that hit Japan’s northeastern region including Fukushima, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo, where entire communities fled after meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. More than 18,000 people died or went missing after a massive earthquake and tsunami. The stadium, which has hosted professional baseball games in recent years, will be renovated for the games. Yokohama Stadium, some 40km (24 miles) from Tokyo, will be the main stadium for the baseball and softball competitions.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit 5, Atlanta 3
Chicago Cubs 4, L.A. Dodgers 0
Today
N.Y. Yankees vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.
NCAAHKY – College Hockey – Big Ten Tournament, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Yesterday – Quarterfinals
Penn State 4, Michigan 1 (Michigan’s final game at Joe Louis Arena, all-time record of 106-52-5)
Ohio State 6, Michigan State 3 (MSU’s final game at Joe Louis Arena, all-time record of 88-65-8)
Today – Semifinals
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State, 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota vs. Penn State, 8:00 p.m.
AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Chicago Wolves at Grand Rapids Griffins, 7:00 p.m.
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Indy Fuel at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m.
MHSAA – Warren Cousino’s Fletcher AP Class A girls Player of Year
Warren Cousino’s Kierra Fletcher has been named The Associated Press Class A girls Player of the Year in Michigan. The 5-foot-9 combo guard, averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals to help Cousino make a return trip to the Final Four this weekend. The senior will play next year at Georgia Tech. Fletcher is joined on the all-state first team by Jordan Walker of Muskegon Mona Shores, Deja Church of Southfield A&T, Ellie Taylor of Midland Dow, Maddy Watters of Rockford, Autumn Kissman of Mason, Camree Clegg of Wayne Memorial, Destiny Strother of Flint Carman Ainsworth, Moira Joiner of Saginaw Heritage, Alisia Smith of Lansing Waverly and Lazurea Saunders of East Kentwood. The team is selected by a panel of nine sportswriters. Skip Stevenson of Walled Lake Western was named Coach of the Year.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Girls Basketball – State Semifinals at Michigan State University
Class C
Detroit Edison 54, Flint Hamady 31
Pewamo-Westphalia 64, Maple City Glen Lake 51
Class D
Pittsford 57, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 39
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary 64, Engadine 59
Today
Girls Basketball – State Semifinals at Michigan State University
Class A
Warren Cousino vs Flushing, 1:00 p.m.
East Kentwood vs Southfield A & T, 2:50 p.m.
Class B
Detroit Country Day vs Marshall, 6:00 p.m.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep vs Freeland, 7:50 p.m.
Saturday
Girls Basketball – State Finals at Michigan State University
Class D – 10:00 a.m.
Class A – 12:00 p.m.
Class C – 4:00 p.m.
Class B – 6:00 p.m.
