The NCAA tournament's only team with a losing record is moving up its bracket.
Terrence Woods, the nation's most prolific 3-point shooter, found his touch in the second half Tuesday, leading Florida A&M to a 72-57 victory over Lehigh in the play-in game.
The Rattlers (15-16) will make the one-hour drive to Columbus for a first-round game Friday against Kentucky, hoping to do much better than their three play-in predecessors.
Northwestern State, Siena and North Carolina-Asheville fell hard in their first-round games against top seeds, losing by an average of 26 points.
To make matters worse, two of Florida A&M's guards ended the game with noticeable limps. Woods bruised his thigh in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic tournament title game Saturday, and had trouble making shots in the first half.
His stride and his shot got better as the game went along. Woods finished 5-of-10 from behind the arc with 21 points.
Tony Tate also hurt his leg in a pileup and had to leave the game temporarily. He grimaced often and finished with nine points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Even with their limps, the Rattlers had more than enough.
Lehigh (20-11) led for less than a minute in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1988. The Patriot League winner fell to 0-14 in the NCAA tournament.
The atmosphere at the University of Dayton Arena was typical for the tournament's opening game. Small contingents of family and friends sat behind the benches and cheered each score.
Woods led Division I with 139 3-pointers last season, the fourth-highest total in NCAA history. He led the nation again this season with 129, shooting 39.8 percent from behind the arc.
In the second half, Woods found his touch. He came off a screen and hit a 3-pointer between two defenders, sparking a nine-point run that built the lead to 16 points midway through the half. Lehigh was only 2-of-15 from the field as Florida A&M pulled away.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two