INSIDER
Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
Read full article: Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016Residents of one Georgia neighborhood are cleaning up homes flooded by tropical weather for the second time in eight years.
Clippers, Trail Blazers exchange 5 players in trade
Read full article: Clippers, Trail Blazers exchange 5 players in tradeThe Portland Trail Blazers traded Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, rookie Keon Johnson and a second-round pick in 2025.
Oregon State takes down Tennessee 70-56 as No. 12 seed
Read full article: Oregon State takes down Tennessee 70-56 as No. 12 seed(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)INDIANAPOLIS – Oregon State opened the season picked to finish 12th in its conference but instead won its first Pac-12 Tournament title. Roman Silva scored 16 points and Oregon State took advantage of Tennessee's icy perimeter shooting to become the latest No. 12 seed to win its opening NCAA Tournament game, beating the fifth-seeded Vols 70-56 in the Midwest Region Friday night. “We know there was some doubt and we had to ignore all that,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. Oregon State was picked to finish last in the Pac-12 and exceeded expectations by finishing sixth in the regular season.
Down 15, No. 6 Alabama rallies past Tennessee in SEC semis
Read full article: Down 15, No. 6 Alabama rallies past Tennessee in SEC semis6 Alabama rallied from a big deficit in the final 17 minutes to beat Tennessee 73-68 Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Volunteers trailed 69-68 when Davonte Gaines missed two foul shots with 25 seconds left. Yves Pons’ 3-pointer got Tennessee within 69-68 with 41.4 seconds left, but Quinerly added two free throws and Ellis two more with 3.7 seconds left to seal a tense game. Alabama: The Crimson Tide have thrived from long distance all season and weren’t about to change, even without Primo. It didn’t start well but ended better as Ellis hit a big 3 to help the Tide finish 7 of 28.
Vols beat Florida 65-54, earn No. 4 seed in SEC tourney
Read full article: Vols beat Florida 65-54, earn No. 4 seed in SEC tourneyTyree Appleby had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and Colin Castleton added 11 points for Florida (13-9, 9-7). 13 seed Vanderbilt in Thursday's second round. After being outrebounded 18-16 in the first half, Tennessee was plus-11 on the glass in the second. Florida had just 21 points after the break, its lowest-scoring half of the season. The Gators went into the game leading the SEC in free-throw percentage (.760, 37th NCAA), field-goal percentage (.472, 42nd NCAA) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.359, 78th NCAA).
Pons scores 17 as No. 18 Tennessee beats No. 15 Kansas 80-61
Read full article: Pons scores 17 as No. 18 Tennessee beats No. 15 Kansas 80-6118 Tennessee never trailed Saturday in beating 15th-ranked Kansas 80-61 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. This was just Tennessee's second win all-time against Kansas in six games. David McCormack led the Jayhawks with 17 points, Marcus Garrett added 15 and Jalen Wilson had 10. Kansas shot only 7 of 26 through the first 20 minutes and kept from being blown out by hitting 11 of 12 at the free throw line. Tennessee: The Vols have proven they can play stingy defense, and they dominated on the boards 38-23, scoring 14 second-chance points.
Alabama stuns No. 7 Tennessee 71-63 in physical battle
Read full article: Alabama stuns No. 7 Tennessee 71-63 in physical battleThe Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) turned a one-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage midway through the second behind Petty’s trio of 3s and two more long-range makes by Joshua Primo. Primo and Herbert Jones finished with 11 points, and Jahvon Quinerly scored 10. Tennessee (7-1, 1-1) struggled from the field the entire game, hitting 21 of 66 shots (32%). Alabama's 31-29 lead at the break happened with the Crimson Tide shooting 39% (12 of 31), while Tennessee struggled shooting 33% (11 of 33). UP NEXTAlabama: The Crimson Tide will be home Tuesday to face Florida, which beat LSU on Saturday.
Top freshmen forge their own paths in picking schools
Read full article: Top freshmen forge their own paths in picking schools(AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)Many of the nation’s brightest prospects in the most recent recruiting class didn’t necessarily select the most obvious schools. In the meantime, four of the top seven players chose Oklahoma State, Southern California, Stanford and Florida State. Jerry Meyer, the director of basketball scouting at 247Sports, says he noticed this trend starting in 2015. Barnes is ranked seventh in the 247Sports Composite and played high school basketball at Montverde (Florida) Academy. He was named the California male athlete of the year and the California basketball player of the year by USA Today.