Sabtu, 06 April 2019

Final Four: Auburn vs Virginia under way in Minneapolis - WVTM13

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Final Four: Auburn vs Virginia under way in Minneapolis  WVTM13

The betting public is split on Virginia and Auburn in the first game of the Final Four.

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https://www.wvtm13.com/article/final-four-betting-public-is-split-on-virginia-and-auburn/27063119

2019-04-06 22:37:00Z
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Final Four 2019 picks: Auburn vs. Virginia, Michigan State vs. Texas Tech predictions in NCAA Tournament semifinals - CBS Sports

After a grueling college basketball season trimmed the list of possible champions from 351 to 68 in a matter of weeks, we've now gone from 68 down to the Final Four. That's right, one of the best weekends in college basketball is here with an unusual quartet of teams vying for the right to be the 2019 NCAA National Champions in Virginia, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Auburn.

We could be looking at a first-time champion in the 81st edition of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State is the only one of the teams remaining to have won a national championship, winning in 1979 and 2000.

Texas Tech has the highest margin of victory in the tournament, winning by an average of 15 points, but is the underdog against Michigan State. Do our CBS Sports experts expect the Red Raiders' run to continue? Meanwhile, can Auburn, who has never even reached a Final Four, keep its Cinderella season alive against the vaunted Cavaliers?

Our experts were all asked to pick the winners for each Final Four game -- both straight-up and against the spread -- and most of them are on the same page.

Check out all of our predictions below, and be sure to visit our NCAA Tournament picks guide for expert picks throughout the tournament.

Saturday's Final Four

No. 1 Virginia (-5.5) vs. No. 5 Auburn -- 6:09 p.m. on CBS: This is a game that will be a battle of pace. Virginia only allowed opponents to take 52.1 field goals per game, meanwhile Auburn 61.1 field goals attempted per game. Virginia will try to take care of the ball and force shots late in the shot clock. The Tigers will look to force turnovers and get shots up quickly. Another key point in this game will be how efficient Auburn is on 3-pointers. The Tigers average over 11 3-pointers made per game, the third-highest mark in college basketball. Virginia is ranked fourth in the country, only allowing opponents to shoot 28.7 percent from 3-point range. Pick: Virginia -5.5

So who wins Auburn vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Auburn vs. Virginia spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its college basketball picks, and find out.  


No. 2 Michigan State (-3.5) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech -- 8:49 p.m. on CBS: Michigan State is coming off of a one-point win over Duke in the Elite Eight in which it forced 17 turnovers. This is a matchup of two elite defenses. Texas Tech and Michigan State are both ranked in the top-three of defensive field goal percentage. Who's offense will be able to create better shots, Cassius Winston and the Spartans or Jarrett Culver and the Red Raiders? Pick: Texas Tech  +3.5

Who wins Texas Tech vs. Michigan State? And which side of the spread hits in more than 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texas Tech vs. Michigan State spread you should back, all from an advanced computer model that's up over $4,000 the past two seasons.  

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2019-04-06 21:15:00Z
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Charles Barkley delivers passionate speech to Auburn locker room - 247Sports

Charles Barkley delivers a speech to his alma mater, Auburn, before the Final Four. (Photo: CBS)

MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a statue of Charles Barkley outside Auburn Arena.

Every day Auburn’s basketball players walk by that statue as they enter the arena to lift weights, practice and play games.

But the Auburn legend’s presence is not limited to a statue. The NBA Hall of Famer is around the basketball team as much as possible. He attends several games each season, and ever since Bruce Pearl became coach there in 2014, he has been more active with the team.

Now, with a national championship in sight in the first Final Four appearance in Auburn history, Barkley is imparting wisdom to the players he calls “his kids.”

“I’ve had an amazing life as a basketball player,” Barkley told the Tigers in an undated video released here by CBS Sports in Minneapolis. “My number’s retired at Auburn, my number’s retired in Philadelphia, my number is retired with the Phoenix Suns. But you know what? I never won a championship. Never won a championship. I have to live with that forever. You guys got a chance to do that. And it's hard as hell to win a championship. It is hard. But you guys did the hard part just getting here.

“My coach is here, Sonny (Smith), he's like a father to me. We didn't make it to the Final Four, he never made it to the Final Four. This is coach's first trip to the Final Four. He's been coaching forever.”

Sonny Smith coached Auburn for 11 years, reaching the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons while also leading he program to its first Elite Eight in 1986. Barkley played at Auburn from 1981 through 1984 before starting his tremendous NBA career that include gold medals in the Olympics and multiple playoff appearances.

But Barkley never won a title at Auburn or in the NBA.

“You guys don't know how hard it is to get here,” he said. “You guys done all the heavy lifting. But the one thing I want to tell you, man, seize this opportunity. You don't have to do anything different. You all played great to get here, but don't take this thing for granted.”

No. 5 seed Auburn (30-9) knocked off the three winningest programs in college basketball history in succession to advance to the Final Four — Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky. The Tigers play No. 1 seed Virginia (33-3) today at 5:09 p.m. CT on CBS.

Barkley is part of the analyst team for the Turner and CBS broadcasts during the NCAA Tournament and will be on stage here in Minneapolis during the game.

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https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/Charles-Barkley-delivers-passionate-speech-to-Auburn-locker-room-at-Final-Four-130938707/

2019-04-06 19:20:12Z
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Final Four 2019: Virginia vs. Auburn odds, picks, NCAA Tournament best predictions from proven model - CBS Sports

The 2019 Final Four is finally here, and Saturday night's action from U.S. Bank Stadium tips off at 6:09 p.m. ET with the No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers taking on the 5-seed Auburn Tigers in the latter's first-ever Final Four game. The latest Virginia vs. Auburn odds have the Cavaliers favored by six, up a half-point from where the line opened, while the over-under for total points is 132, up one-and-a-half after opening at 130.5. Virginia hasn't been to the Final Four since 1984 and it's never won a game there, so there's plenty of history on the line on Saturday. It's a new experience for all the coaches and players in this matchup, so before laying down any Virginia vs. Auburn picks of your own, listen to the 2019 Final Four predictions from SportsLine's projection model.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $4,000 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It entered the postseason on an 11-5 run on top-rated picks, and It's also on fire in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, calling Auburn's huge upset of Kentucky in the Elite Eight and nailing 14 Sweet 16 teams. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now the model has dialed in on Virginia vs. Auburn. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it also says one side of the spread has all the value. That pick is only available at SportsLine.

No defense has been as difficult to score on as Virginia's, a squad that has given up only 55.4 points per game, fewest in the nation. It's not just the team's methodical style of play, as opponents are also hitting just 28.7 percent of their 3-pointers. Even if a team finds a way to score on them, that doesn't mean the Cavaliers are doomed. In Saturday's regional final win over Purdue, the Boilermakers put up 75 points (including overtime) but Virginia still won by five. Virginia's first three opponents in the tournament averaged 52 points per game.

Virginia's offense is tough to handle too because it doesn't turn the ball over and scoring can come from nearly every place on the court. Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy combined for 49 points against Purdue, and in the team's four tournament games, the Cavaliers have been led in scoring by four different players.

But just because the Cavaliers are strong on both ends of the court doesn't guarantee they'll cover the Virginia vs. Auburn spread in the Final Four 2019. 

The model also knows that Auburn, playing in its 10th NCAA Tournament and second in a row, became the only team to defeat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in consecutive games in NCAA Tournament history. The Tigers hold a statistical advantage over the Cavaliers in scoring too. Auburn is 28th nationally at 79.6 points per game, compared to Virginia, which is 192nd with 71.3.

Senior guard Bryce Brown has come up big during the NCAA Tournament 2019, averaging 18.3 points over four games, including 25 against Kansas and 24 versus Kentucky. Junior guard Jared Harper is one of five SEC players all-time with 1,300 points, 500 assists and 200 three-pointers. He accounts for 38 percent of Auburn's offense through points and assists. He scored 26 points against Kentucky in the Elite 8.

So who wins Auburn vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Auburn vs. Virginia spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its college basketball picks, and find out.

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2019-04-06 19:38:00Z
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Divac, Sikma, 'T-Spoon' among Hall inductees - ESPN

Vlade Divac, Jack Sikma, Teresa Weatherspoon, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Westphal and Bill Fitch were among the 12 inductees named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Al Attles, Carl Braun, Chuck Cooper, Bobby Jones, the 1957-59 Tennessee A&I men's teams and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens women's program were also included in the Class of 2019, with the announcement made at the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis.

The class will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sept. 6.

Divac, who was selected via the International Committee, is currently the general manager of the Sacramento Kings. He had a storied FIBA career in addition to playing 16 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Kings. He is one of seven NBA players with 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.

"I'm overwhelmed by this honor," Divac said in a statement issued by the Kings. "As a young man, I never would have believed the opportunities afforded to me by this great sport. Basketball has looked after me for most of my life, and I've always done what I can to give back to this special community. It's been an unforgettable journey and I want to thank my family for their support."

Sikma, a three-time All-America selection at Illinois Wesleyan, helped guide the Seattle SuperSonics to their first NBA Finals during his rookie season in 1977-78. The seven-time All-Star fared even better in his second season, as the Sonics won their first NBA title. He is the only center in NBA history to have led the league in free throw percentage (.922).

Weatherspoon is a five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year who won an NCAA title with Louisiana Tech in 1988. The two-time All-America selection also won a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

After her playing career, in which she became the first WNBA player to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 assists, she led her alma mater as head coach from 2009-14, compiling a 99-71 record while guiding the Lady Techsters to two NCAA tournament appearances.

One of the finest defensive guards in NBA history, Moncrief played 10 of his 11 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he was a five-time All-Star and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. He was a four-time second-team All-NBA player and a first-team All-NBA selection in 1982-83 before chronic knee problems shortened his career.

Westphal was a five-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA first team in three seasons. He won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 before helping the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 1976. As a coach, he went 318-279 with a trip to the NBA Finals and two conference semifinals with the Suns.

Fitch won 944 games in his NBA coaching career, including a title with the Celtics in 1981. The two-time NBA Coach of the Year took on massive rebuilding projects in all five of his NBA stops, which explains his 1,106 losses and .460 career win percentage. In addition to the Celtics, he also coached the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets and LA Clippers, and he took all five teams to the playoffs.

Cooper, the first African-American drafted in NBA history, was selected by the special direct-elect Early African-American Pioneers Committee. He averaged 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while playing for the Celtics, Milwaukee Hawks, St. Louis Hawks and Fort Wayne Pistons from 1950-56.

Cooper, who died in 1984 at the age of 57, also played a season for the Harlem Globetrotters-like Harlem Magicians in 1956 before leaving basketball for good.

The 82-year-old Attles, the Golden State Warriors patriarch and a former coach and guard, was chosen as a contributor. He has been dealing with health issues this NBA season and recently left the hospital and returned home to his Oakland residence.

Braun, a guard, played 13 seasons in the NBA and was named to five consecutive All-Star Games (1953-57) as a member of the New York Knicks. He retired as the team's career scoring leader with 10,449 points, which still ranks fifth. He died in 2010 at the age of 82.

Jones, a forward, was NBA All-Defensive first team eight times with the Philadelphia 76ers and twice was ABA All-Defensive first team. In 941 games between the NBA and ABA, he averaged 20.2 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He was a member of Philadelphia's championship team in 1983.

The Tennessee A&I teams of the 1957-59 seasons, coached by John McLendon, were the first college teams at any division to win three consecutive championships -- winning the NAIA tournament the first two seasons before capping off the run with the NCAA men's Division I tournament title.

The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens, coached by Harley Redin, won 131 consecutive games from 1953-58. The program, which was the first four-year college to provide full scholarships for 13 female players, also won 19 titles -- 10 AAU and nine WNIT.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Tim MacMahon, Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-04-06 18:38:47Z
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Final Four 2019 picks: Auburn vs. Virginia, Michigan State vs. Texas Tech predictions in NCAA Tournament semifinals - CBS Sports

After a grueling college basketball season trimmed the list of possible champions from 351 to 68 in a matter of weeks, we've now gone from 68 down to the Final Four. That's right, one of the best weekends in college basketball is here with an unusual quartet of teams vying for the right to be the 2019 NCAA National Champions in Virginia, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Auburn.

We could be looking at a first-time champion in the 81st edition of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State is the only one of the teams remaining to have won a national championship, winning in 1979 and 2000.

Texas Tech has the highest margin of victory in the tournament, winning by an average of 15 points, but is the underdog against Michigan State. Do our CBS Sports experts expect the Red Raiders' run to continue? They were all asked to pick the winners for each Final Four game -- both straight-up and against the spread -- and most of them are on the same page.

Check out all of our predictions below, and be sure to visit our NCAA Tournament picks guide for expert picks throughout the tournament.

Saturday's Final Four

No. 1 Virginia (-5.5) vs. No. 5 Auburn -- 6:09 p.m. on CBS: This is a game that will be a battle of pace. Virginia only allowed opponents to take 52.1 field goals per game, meanwhile Auburn 61.1 field goals attempted per game. Virginia will try to take care of the ball and force shots late in the shot clock. The Tigers will look to force turnovers and get shots up quickly. Another key point in this game will be how efficient Auburn is on 3-pointers. The Tigers average over 11 3-pointers made per game, the third-highest mark in college basketball. Virginia is ranked fourth in the country, only allowing opponents to shoot 28.7 percent from 3-point range. Pick: Virginia -5.5

So who wins Auburn vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Auburn vs. Virginia spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its college basketball picks, and find out.  


No. 2 Michigan State (-3.5) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech -- 8:49 p.m. on CBS: Michigan State is coming off of a one-point win over Duke in the Elite Eight in which it forced 17 turnovers. This is a matchup of two elite defenses. Texas Tech and Michigan State are both ranked in the top-three of defensive field goal percentage. Who's offense will be able to create better shots, Cassius Winston and the Spartans or Jarrett Culver and the Red Raiders? Pick: Texas Tech  +3.5

Who wins Texas Tech vs. Michigan State? And which side of the spread hits in more than 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texas Tech vs. Michigan State spread you should back, all from an advanced computer model that's up over $4,000 the past two seasons.  

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2019-04-06 17:19:00Z
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Kings General Manager Vlade Divac Elected Into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | Sacramento Kings - Kings.com

Sacramento, CA – Today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Sacramento Kings General Manager Vlade Divac has been elected as part of the 12-member class of 2019. Divac becomes the 15th player in franchise history and the second during the Sacramento-era to earn a Hall of Fame induction.

Divac, currently in his fourth season as the General Manager of the Kings, is one of the most respected and revered individuals in franchise history. Prior to joining the Kings front office, Divac spent more than a decade serving the NBA and international sporting communities with the same distinction that solidified his reputation as a consummate teammate, player, humanitarian and overall difference-maker on and off the basketball court. His NBA career spanned 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (1989-90 – 1995-96, 2004-05), Charlotte Hornets (1996-97 – 1997-98) and Sacramento Kings (1998-99 – 2003-04). His jersey was retired by the Kings in 2009 and hangs in the rafters at Golden 1 Center.

“I’m overwhelmed by this honor,” said Sacramento Kings General Manager Vlade Divac. “As a young man, I never would have believed the opportunities afforded to me by this great sport. Basketball has looked after me for most of my life, and I’ve always done what I can to give back to this special community. It’s been an unforgettable journey and I want to thank my family for their support. I also want to express my appreciation to my teammates, coaches, staff, colleagues and fans who have played a significant role in helping me achieve this incredible recognition.”

“Vlade has been a transformational leader on and off the court for his entire career,” said Sacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “As an international basketball pioneer and global ambassador for the game, he has used his platform to make the world a better place for over three decades. From his efforts to start Basketball Without Borders to his lasting impact on how the game is played, he continues to serve as an inspiration and role model for players of all ages around the world. Congratulations to Vlade, Ana and his family on this prestigious distinction.”

Prior to joining the NBA, Divac began his professional career in 1986 with Belgrade-based club KK Partizan and would go on to be a key member of his country’s national team that took home multiple EuroBasket gold medals in 1989, 1991 and 1995. In the FIBA World Championship, he helped lead his teams to gold in 1990 and 2002. He earned a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics with the Yugoslavian national team and took home another Olympic silver with the Serbian national team in 1996. In 1991, Divac was named among FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players and in 2008 was named among the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. In 2010, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his play in international competition.

Divac joined the NBA in 1989 when he was drafted 26th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, earning 1989-90 NBA All-Rookie First Team honors, helping pave the way for European players to enter and contribute to the league. In 1996 he was traded by the Lakers to the Hornets for Kobe Bryant and spent two seasons in Charlotte before signing as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings in 1998.

The 2001 NBA All-Star has been recognized for his contributions to the Kings in the 2000s and for redefining the role of the modern NBA center. Known for his craftiness on the court and generosity off the court, he would go on to make indelible marks on the franchise. During his tenure, Divac helped the Kings reach the NBA Playoffs in six straight seasons (1998-99 – 2003-04) while capturing two back-to-back Pacific Division titles (2001-02, 2002-03), a franchise record 61 regular season wins in 2001-02 and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. His name adorns the franchise record book in several key categories during the Sacramento-era, including ranking third in rebounds (3,538), fourth in blocked shots (523), sixth in assists (1,693), eighth in both steals (453) and games played (454), and ninth in both points scored (5,176) and free throws made (1,209). In 2004, Divac signed as a free agent with the Lakers and played his final NBA season.

Divac is the first foreign-born and foreign-trained player ever to play more than 1,000 games for the NBA. He is one of just seven players in the history of the NBA to record more than 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, along with Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol. Over the course of his NBA career he averaged 11.8 points (.495 FG%, .235 3pt%, .692 FT%), 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game in 1,134 contests.

Divac has been a global ambassador of the game, using basketball as a platform to bring people together. In 2001, Divac helped to start the first-ever Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp in Europe when he reunited with former teammates from the Yugoslavian national team to work with 50 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro in Treviso, Italy. More than 15 years after his first camp, he returned to Serbia last summer to participate in the 17th and first-ever BWB in his home country. Since its inception, BWB has reached more than 3,200 participants from 127 countries and territories, with more than 55 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents.

From 2009 to 2017, Divac served as the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee and was named to the Olympic Order for his services to the Olympic movement in 2016. In 2000, Divac became the first foreign-born winner of the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, recognizing his service and dedication to the community. Together with his wife Ana, Divac founded the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation in 2007 to help refugees address housing needs, raising over $20 million and securing assistance for over 700,000 people. The Foundation is a continuation of their 30 years of humanitarian work, which began in the US with the Humanitarian Organization Divac.

Divac is joined in the Class of 2019 by Bobby Jones, Bill Fitch, Sidney Moncrief, Jack Sikma, Paul Westphal, the Tennessee A&I teams of 1957-59, Teresa Weatherspoon, Al Attles, Charles “Chuck” Cooper, Carl Braun and the Wayland Baptist University teams of 1948-82.

Enshrinement festivities are scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 7 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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https://www.nba.com/kings/blog/kings-general-manager-vlade-divac-elected-naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-fame

2019-04-06 17:50:59Z
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