#_author:Matt Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Kentucky is the Vegas favorite to win it all in 2018

The first day of the offseason is upon us, which means it is not too early to look ahead to the 2017-18 season.

The early forecast, at least from the guys in the desert, is that Kentucky is the favorite to win it all next season, coming in with 10-1 odds, according to VegasInsider.com.

The No. 2 favorite? That’s a six-way tie, with Louisville, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova and Gonzaga all getting 12-1 odds.

Seven other teams follow with 20-1 odds.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: It’s not too late to get in the game]

Kentucky’s backcourt duo of De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk declared for the NBA draft, but if we’ve learned anything about the Wildcats under John Calipari, there is no time for rebuilding. Calipari has the consensus top-ranked recruiting class on its way to Lexington yet again, welcoming in a five-man haul that features no player ranked lower than 32nd among the top prospects for the class of 2017.

All six of the teams getting 12-1 odds crack the top-10 of The Dagger’s way-too-early top 25 for the 2018 season, a list that is topped by — you guessed it — Kentucky.

Arizona and Wichita State are both preseason top-five teams in The Dagger’s early rankings, and both are among the group of seven teams that Vegas has given 20-1 odds to.

If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can go with one of the 23 teams that is getting 300-1 odds to win it all — a group that includes TCU, Ohio State and Texas.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

John Calipari’s Kentucky team is the Vegas favorite to win it all in 2018. (AP)

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Where was Michael Jordan on Monday night?

There was a noticeable absence from North Carolina’s celebrations in the desert on Monday after the Tar Heels beat Gonzaga to avenge last year’s title-game loss.

Where was Michael Jordan?

The man behind the crying memes, the “Ceiling is the Roof” line and, of course, Dean Smith’s first national title was nowhere to be found during the Heels’ 71-65 win, after attending last year’s devastating loss to Villanova in Houston.

Watch: Michael Jordan's reaction to Villanova buzzer-beater was all respect https://t.co/R07QprzIxK pic.twitter.com/dfwCNvbq7v

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) April 5, 2016

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: It’s not too late to get in the game]

UNC coach Roy Williams shared his theory on Monday with USA Today:

“He’s superstitious like I am,’’ Williams told USA TODAY Sports, while adding that he had not had a chance to see if Jordan had left him a congratulatory voicemail. “He came last year, and we lost.”

Jordan had addressed the Heels in their locker room last year in wake of defeat, which was against NBA rules, since he owns the Charlotte Hornets.

In any event, Jordan’s presence has undoubtedly been felt around his alma mater. His now-infamous “Ceiling is the Roof” line took place on campus at halftime of the Heels’ regular-season ending win over rival Duke, as he was announcing that UNC’s football team would be outfitted in Jordan apparel in the 2017 season.

Jordan and the school have both had fun with the reaction to that slip of the tongue, with Jordan Brand even using it as a shout-out to the Heels after winning on Monday.

Ceiling. Roof. ???? pic.twitter.com/xjlKR5g1lu

— Jordan (@Jumpman23) April 4, 2017

For what it’s worth, the G.O.A.T. proved prescient: Including that Duke game, UNC finished the season 8-1 en route to its sixth championship — the same number Jordan won during his NBA career.

Michael Jordan did not attend UNC’s title-game win after being there for last year’s loss. (AP)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More NCAA tournament coverage from Yahoo Sports: • Everyone thought the title game refs were bad … even LeBron • Way-too-early Top 25 for the 2017-18 college basketball season • Joel Berry II wins NCAA tourney’s Most Outstanding Player award • UNC couldn’t fill its student section, so ASU students stepped in

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

South Carolina grinds its way past Mississippi State for first national title

South Carolina won its first national title Sunday, beating Mississippi State. (AP)

No. 1 seed South Carolina got coach Dawn Staley her long-awaited national title Sunday, taking control early and withstanding several second-half punches to beat No. 2 seed Mississippi State, 67-55, to win the women’s Final Four.

The Gamecocks went old school, eschewing the long ball and instead dominating inside. They controlled the paint throughout the night, with A’Ja Wilson proving too much to handle. The junior forward finished with 23 points off 9-for-15 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Wilson’s offensive rebound and putback off a Allisha Gray miss with 1:39 to go finished off a late 8-0 run and extended South Carolina’s lead to 66-52.

Wilson was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

“I really can’t even put into words the feeling of how much it meant to win this game for Coach,” Wilson told reporters during the postgame press conference. “She’s put in so much time, so much sweat, just voiced her voice into us. Just prepping for times like this.

“I think she really helped our confidence, to get over this hump that we were going through with adversity, stuff like that. It really means something special to kind of bring this back home, especially for such a great person like Coach Staley.”

Staley subbed out Wilson and the rest of the Gamecocks’ regulars to a standing ovation with 41.4 seconds to go, with Wilson overcome with emotion on the bench in the game’s final seconds.

The win marked the program’s first ever national title, and it marked the first for Staley as a player or coach. Staley, who played at Virginia from 1988-92, had made three Final Fours and one national championship game as a player, never crossing the finish line. Her performance in the 1991 Final Four earned her most outstanding player honors despite the defeat, making her the last player to earn MOP in a losing effort.

“It means that I can check off one of the things that has been a void in my career,” Staley said at the postgame press conference. “It’s one of two opportunities that I saw women play when I was younger. National championship games and Olympics. Those were the things that I held dear and near to me when I was growing up, because those are the things that I wanted. That’s what I saw. That’s what I was shooting for.

“When I couldn’t get it done in college, I thought that was it. I never wanted to be a coach. I never wanted to, you know, be sitting where I’m sitting. Dave O’Brien, the late Dave O’Brien, the athletic director at Temple University, saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He asked me to come and be a part of changing the program at Temple.

“From then on, I really can’t see myself doing anything other than what I’m doing, impacting the lives of young people, and also being able to check this box off in my career. I’m really grateful and thankful that he made this possible.”

The win also marked the extension of a run of collegiate athletic glory for the state of South Carolina: Coastal Carolina won the College World Series last June, Clemson won the College Football Playoff in January and the Gamecocks captured the women’s basketball national title Sunday — one day after their counterparts on the men’s team saw their season end in the men’s Final Four.

South Carolina achieved the crown in unconventional fashion, becoming the first title-game winner in 15 years to not hit a 3-point shot, as the Gamecocks had just three attempts from long range. They instead bullied the Bulldogs down low, out-rebounding them 40-27 and blocking eight shots to the Bulldogs’ three. They outshot the Bulldogs as well, hitting 45.5 percent of their shots to MSU’s 34.5 percent.

The loss marked the end of a charmed run for the Bulldogs, who had taken the sports world by storm Friday night with their overtime upset of UConn, snapping the Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak. The biggest reason for that win, Morgan William, had an off night in the finale, shooting just 2-for-6 from the floor and finishing with 8 points and four assists. The 5-foot-5 point guard was kept in check throughout the night by South Carolina’s Bianca Cuevas-Moore.

“I am so proud of her maturation process,” Staley said of Cuevas-Moore on the podium. “We’ve had her for three years now, she could’ve easily walked away from all of this, walked away from the discipline, walked away and went back to New York, because some of her New York people were trying to get her to come back. But she stayed. The very thing that makes Bianca Bianca is that she stayed.

“Now look at her: She’s a national champion.”

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Putting UConn’s 111-game win streak into perspective

It had to end at some point. And, more often than not, these things tend to end in dramatic fashion.

The University of Connecticut‘s record 111-game win streak came to a close on Friday with Morgan William’s overtime buzzer-beater for Mississippi State in the Final Four, sending the sports world into a frenzy.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

But being a day removed helps give us all perspective, and what the Huskies had done over the course of the past three seasons was simply remarkable.

Consider:

This was UConn’s second streak of 90 or more wins; the men’s record, held by UCLA, lasted just 88 games, from Jan. 19, 1971 to Jan. 19, 1974.

Keeping with the college theme: The biggest college football win streak was Oklahoma’s, as the Sooners won 47 games from 1953-57.

North Carolina women’s soccer may rival UConn the most: The Tar Heels went 103 straight contests without a loss from 1986-90. Then, they went 101 games without a loss from 1990-94.

Tennis star Martina Navritilova won 74 straight singles matches in 1974.

The longest NBA win streak? The Los Angeles Lakers won 33 games across the 1971-72 season. And who can forget the Patriots’ 18-game streak coming to a close at the hands of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII?

“You’re slowly seeing, you know, how good women’s basketball is,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, whose team takes on Mississippi State in the title game Sunday night. “It takes probably UConn losing for you to really appreciate what’s taken place over the past few years. I’m hoping that it continues, and people can really see the layers that are beneath what UConn has been able to do over the past decade.”

As for some more perspective behind the Huskies’ streak …

Of their 111 wins, 108 were by double-digits.

UConn has won 80 straight American Athletic Conference games, meaning it hasn’t lost a league game since the actual league was formed in 2013-14.

Additionally, UConn won 61 games by 40 or more points, beat 29-straight ranked teams and has still won 38-straight road contests.

Of course, like Friday’s defeat, UConn’s previous loss came in overtime as well, at the hands of Stanford in 2014. That means one streak is still alive: The Huskies have not lost a game in regulation since March 12, 2013, when they fell to Notre Dame, 61-59.

Yes, UConn still has a 160-game unbeaten streak in regulation.

UConn’s 111-game win streak won’t be forgotten anytime soon. (AP)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More Final Four coverage from Yahoo Sports: • UNC coach’s folksy lingo keeps players loose • Pat Forde: How David is slaying Goliath in college basketball • How a Final Four star became the nation’s top defender • Why UConn coach smiled after 111-game win streak ended

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Why Geno Auriemma was smiling after the buzzer-beater that ended UConn’s 111-game win streak

He may have captured 11 national titles and been a part of two separate win streaks that topped 90 games, but through his 32 years as a college head coach, Geno Auriemma has been on the losing end 135 times, too.

And so when Morgan William drilled an overtime jump shot Friday that beat the buzzer, put Mississippi State in the national title game and handed UConn its first loss in 865 days, the Huskies’ coach could do nothing but muster a smile.

A big one, with a slight shake of a head and a long embrace with friend and Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer.

Even Geno Auriemma couldn't believe Morgan William's buzzer-beating shot. pic.twitter.com/9H9jMt1zbH

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 1, 2017

How did he not collapse at the reality of his team’s record 111-game win streak coming to an end? What was going through his mind as the 5-foot-5 Bulldogs guard let it fly with seconds to go, giving MSU the 66-64 upset of all upsets?

“Kind of some of the things I already said about how many times that’s happened going the other way, you know?” Auriemma said at the podium afterward. “Things happen for a reason, you know? So I just kind of shook my head. This kid’s had an incredible run, so when it went in it was almost like, of course, of course it’s going to go in.”

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

How else could you capture a moment more than a year in the making, after UConn sent Mississippi State home in last year’s Sweet 16 in embarrassing fashion, 98-38?

How else could you deal with an experience foreign to six of your players, freshmen and sophomores who have never dealt with defeat at the college level?

How else could you process a game that featured deficits your team never faced before, comebacks your team never had to make before?

Through the perspective of a 1,126-game coaching career, for one. Perspective that leads to appreciation, something you try to impart on players who know only winning.

“It’s been quite a fun ride,” junior guard Kia Nurse said at the podium. “It’s been a challenge. I think we handled it pretty well. It was something that we hadn’t — roles we hadn’t been in, circumstances we hadn’t been in. Unfortunately, it came short.

“But the people that we did it with, the help that we got from the coaches, that’s irreplaceable.”

It was more than just a win streak coming to an end, of course — it was the end of a season, and with it, the end of a stretch of four-straight national titles.

So seniors Saniya Chong and Tierney Lawlor close their careers on losing notes, while the rest of the roster gears up and tries to start another streak.

Even if that’s not, as Auriemma puts it, real life. Losing is real life, he says. Friday was real life. What his players had just gone through was a normal college experience. How they respond, he adds, will be the most important part of all.

“She’s had an amazing run so far,” Auriemma said of William, who scored 41 in the game before this one. “And look: Nobody’s won more than we’ve won. So I understand losing, believe it or not. We haven’t lost in a while, but I understand it, and I know how to appreciate when other people win.”

With that, Auriemma was finished with the lessons for the night, ready to go about figuring out how to avoid Loss No. 136 for as long as humanly possible.

Geno Auriemma embraced Morgan William after the MSU guard beat UConn at the buzzer. (Getty)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More Final Four coverage from Yahoo Sports: • UNC coach’s folksy lingo keeps players loose • Pat Forde: How David is slaying Goliath in college basketball • How a Final Four star became the nation’s top defender

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Mississippi State shocks UConn, ending Huskies' record 111-game win streak as Bulldogs advance to title game

Do you believe in miracles?

Don’t laugh — this might have been the greatest upset of them all.

Mississippi State stunned the sports world Friday, as Morgan William’s jumper at the buzzer ended the latest UConn dynasty in dramatic fashion, giving the Bulldogs a 66-64 overtime win in the Final Four.

“i live for moments like this,” William told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. “UConn, I mean, they’re an incredible team, and for me to make that shot against them, it’s unbelievable. I’m still in shock right now, but I wanted to take the shot — I wanted to take the shot — so I took the shot and I made it.”

[Watch Geno Auriemma’s priceless reaction to MSU’s game-winning shot here]

The Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak is officially over, and the defeat could not have come at a worse time, as their loss in the national semifinals drops them to 36-1 and ends their reign of four straight national titles.

How absurd was the streak? And how much more absurd is the fact that it came to an end at the hands of the Bulldogs in Dallas?

Consider:

UConn’s 22-13 deficit at the end of the first quarter was, at the time of the game, the Huskies’ largest deficit of the season, and the first time they trailed at the end of the first quarter since they faced Texas on Dec. 4.

UConn’s 29-13 deficit in the second quarter marked the Huskies’ biggest deficit of their streak.

UConn’s 36-28 halftime deficit marked just the fourth time the Huskies trailed at halftime during the streak, and only the second time this season. (They had trailed Florida State by four at the half earlier this season.)

The 48-48 score entering the fourth quarter marked the first UConn entered the fourth quarter in a tie game during the streak.

Oh, and just for good measure: These two teams met last season in the Sweet 16 … with UConn winning by 60 points.

On and on you can go with the numbers, which make what Mississippi State just pulled off all the more remarkable.

“Sometimes there’s not really much you can say,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma told ESPN’s Holly Rowe before the fourth quarter. “You just have to go out there and play. Time for talking’s over. This is the Final Four. We came out in the second half and actually got some movement on offense, people were helping each other get open, it wasn’t just 1-on-1, 1-on-1, 1-on-1, which is what happens when you become a little tentative.

“Give Mississippi State all the credit in the world, they did that to us — some of it was our fault, but a lot of it was because of what they’re doing. And now that we’ve got a sense of how we’re going to do it, I think we’ll be all right.”

Instead, the fourth-quarter became a tight affair, with both teams missing free throws and the period finishing in a 12-12 tie, overtime coming only after UConn’s Gabby Williams rejected Morgan William’s shot attempt near the basket before time expired.

The Bulldogs had jumped out to a 16-point lead early and withstood a UConn rally that saw the Huskies take the lead in the third quarter. MSU re-took the lead by as many as four in the fourth quarter, then went back-and-back forth down the stretch.

With 26.6 left in overtime, Katie Lou Samuelson hit two flagrant free throws to tie the game at 64 and give UConn the ball back, presumably for the last shot. But the Huskies shot early with the ball, giving the Bulldogs one last chance with 12.3 seconds to go.

Did they ever take advantage of the last chance, with the 5-foot-5 William beating the buzzer to shock the world.

MSU will face South Carolina in Sunday night’s national title game, an all-SEC affair. The Bulldogs will enter that game after doing what no team since did since Stanford did on Nov. 17, 2014: Beat UConn.

Mississippi State pulled off arguably the greatest upset in women’s basketball history, shocking UConn. (AP)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More Final Four coverage from Yahoo Sports: • UNC coach’s folksy lingo keeps players loose • Pat Forde: How David is slaying Goliath in college basketball • How a Final Four star became the nation’s top defender • Why UConn coach smiled after 111-game win streak ended

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Stars come out in Dallas for women’s Final Four

The women’s Final Four drew plenty of big names to Dallas. (AP)

Dak Prescott quarterbacked the Cowboys to the top seed in the NFC after a college career that at one point saw him place Mississippi State atop the national rankings. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to that Prescott, decked out in a Bulldogs basketball jersey, is on-site Friday in Dallas to cheer his alma mater on at the women’s Final Four.

.@dak feeling GOOD after quarter one. @HailStateWBK pic.twitter.com/L0md4ykw0H

— SEC (@SEC) April 1, 2017

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

Prescott was joined by fellow NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, who was on-hand to cheer for his sister Anna, who is a freshman guard at Stanford.

Just passed Russell Wilson in tunnel here at women's FF. His sister, Anna, is a freshman at Stanford.

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) April 1, 2017

There was other star power in the house as well, including former NBA big man Antonio Davis, whose daughter Kaela is a junior guard at South Carolina.

Proud dad and former @NBA player, Antonio Davis, awaits as his daughter Kaela Davis and the @gamecockwbb make thei… https://t.co/7mST4HSa6k pic.twitter.com/7VLjadROIn

— The Sportstyle (@thesportstyle) March 31, 2017

Additionally, Condoleezza Rice and Robin Roberts are in attendance as well.

The @StanfordWBB fan base is STRONG. Former Secretary of State, @CondoleezzaRice is in D-Town tonight. #FearTheTree #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/vNJURLDKci

— espnW (@espnW) April 1, 2017

Look who stopped by after the game! #Gamecocks @RobinRoberts #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/j6EM6F1mW1

— GamecockWBB (@GamecockWBB) April 1, 2017

Perhaps they’ll catch a glimpse of history, as undefeated UConn trailed by as many as 16 points early to Mississippi State.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

UConn falls behind by 16 early to Mississippi State

Mississippi State is taking it to UConn early. (AP)

Mississippi State has given UConn all it can handle and then some, as the Bulldogs utilized a 14-0 run across the first and second quarters to build a lead as large as 16 in the second semifinal game of the Final Four.

The Huskies immediately answered with a 12-0 spurt to cut what was once a 29-13 deficit to 29-25 midway through the second quarter, but there remains plenty of work to be done.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

UConn trailed 22-13 at the end of the first quarter, with the nine-point deficit marking its biggest deficit of the season. The Huskies had never even trailed at the end of the first quarter in a game since they faced Texas on Dec. 4.

If UConn is to extend its win streak to 112 and play for a 12th national title Sunday against South Carolina, it will have to continue its climb out of an early hole and hit the glass hard: Mississippi State is leading the rebounds 17-10.

In any event, this is much more entertaining than these two teams’ meeting in the Sweet 16 a year ago, when UConn won 98-38.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

South Carolina seizes control in third quarter to top Stanford, advance to title game

South Carolina topped Stanford to advance to Sunday’s title game. (AP)

The top-seeded University of South Carolina will be able to bask in its basketball glory for at least one more day, as the Gamecocks stormed back from a nine-point halftime deficit in the Final Four on Friday to top second-seeded Stanford, 62-53, and advance to Sunday’s national night game.

The Gamecocks — whose men’s team faces Gonzaga in the men’s Final Four on Saturday — will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal game between UConn and Mississippi State.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

Here are three takeaways from South Carolina’s triumph in Dallas:

1. The game turned in the third quarter. Stanford went into halftime up 29-20, but the Cardinal’s offense disappeared in the third quarter. That, of course, can be attributed in part to South Carolina’s defense, and the Gamecocks’ offense did its part to take advantage of the Cardinal drought as well. They outscored Stanford 21-8 in that pivotal third frame and continued to control the game in the fourth quarter, finishing the Cardinal off late to advance.

“The biggest adjustment was speeding up the game,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “We couldn’t play at that pace, shoot the ball the way we were shooting the ball. We had to figure out a way in which to create some easy buckets in transition. I thought we pressured the ball when we came out of halftime.

“During the middle of the third quarter when they got settled in with how we were playing, we went to a zone. I thought the zone bothered them a little bit, forced them to take some outside shots, and they missed. They missed a lot of shots in the third quarter that we capitalized on. That was all because of the pace of the game changed.”

2. A’Ja Wilson and Allisha Gray led the way. Wilson finished with 12 points and 19 rebounds, corralling every loose ball in her path. Gray finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, hitting five straight shots in the second half at one point and finishing the night 7 of 14 from the field. Tyasha Harris was the only other Gamecock player in double figures, with 10.

“I just kind of let the game come to me, whatever category it is on the stat sheet,” Wilson said. “I want to make an impact on my team any way I can. Tonight obviously was kind of rebounding.”

3. Stanford’s impressive run comes to an end. The Cardinal advanced to the Final Four by coming back from 17 down to beat top-seeded Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. They had trailed by seven or more points in five of their previous six games entering Friday’s semifinal. So Stanford was far from out of it once South Carolina took control in the second half. But the combination of cold shooting and a very limited Karlie Samuelson proved to be too much to overcome for the Cardinal.

“It was rough, frustrating,” Cardinal forward Erica McCall said. “But my teammates talked to each other the whole time. I’m really proud about how we kept communicating. I mean, kept shooting. Unfortunately they didn’t go in. We battled back in the fourth quarter. Alanna (Smith) hit big shots. I’m glad we battled, even though shots didn’t go in.”

Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer said the Cardinal got out of sync without Samuelson at full-strength.

“She scores for us. She defends. She takes charges,” Vanderveer said. “She couldn’t move. We tried. She wanted to play. We wanted her to play. One of the first possessions, Gray really took it right at her. Then we went with Bri. Psychologically and physically, it was a challenge.”

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Stanford’s Karlie Samuelson (ankle) carried off floor in Final Four

Karlie Samuelson exited the national semifinal with an apparent ankle injury. (AP)

Stanford senior Karlie Samuelson was carried off the court by two teammates late in the first half of the Cardinal’s Final Four game against South Carolina, but the 6-foot guard returned to action for the start of the second half.

Samuelson gave it a go for just more than a minute in the third quarter before exiting the game again, this after she landed awkwardly on her right ankle during a drive with 4:38 left in the second quarter and Stanford up 21-15.

Welcome back, Karl.#GoStanford #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/k6QU6zxXdV

— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) April 1, 2017

ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe said on the broadcast during the third quarter that Samuelson asked Stanford brass at halftime to let her try to play in the second half, and that she was doing calf raises upon returning to the bench in order to keep her ankle loose.

Rowe had reported earlier after the injury that Samuelson waved off a stretcher in the tunnel and walked back to the locker room on her own.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

“I don’t know anything,” Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer said of Samuelson’s status during the halftime TV interview, adding: “We hope that Karlie’s OK, re-tape her, but we need other people to step up and we need to take care of the basketball.”

Samuelson is Stanford’s third-leading scorer (12.8 ppg), and she shoots 48.5 percent from the floor and a team-best 49 percent from 3.

She could face her younger sister, Katie Lou Samuelson, in the national title game Sunday if both Stanford and UConn win Friday night to advance.

Stanford led South Carolina 29-20 at halftime.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Which NBA prospects helped their draft stock the most this NCAA tournament?

Before March Madness, we took a shot at naming the 10 best NBA prospects entering the NCAA tournament. Now that the Final Four is upon us, let’s look at the guys who have done the most these past two weeks to improve their NBA stocks, starting — alphabetically, of course — with a big guy from Eugene.

Jordan Bell, Oregon

How does a national championship hopeful make up for the loss of its defensive leader right before the tournament? Bell has made that answer look easy, as the 6-9 junior has gone for 12.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks so far — while shooting 73.3 percent from the floor.

For perspective, Bell averaged 10.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks before the tourney. The junior just might be playing himself into a fringe-first round selection.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

The Musketeers were left for dead toward the end of the regular season, finishing 1-7 against teams not named DePaul. Then, as an 11th seed, they knocked off No. 6 Maryland, No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona before succumbing to No. 1 Gonzaga in the Elite 8.

Bluiett, a junior who had flirted with the draft last season, was the biggest reason for the resurgence, averaging 21.3 points in the tourney and hitting on 41.4 percent of his 3-point tries, putting an injury-ravaged Xavier team on his back in what might have been his last call.

Tyler Dorsey, Oregon

Like Bell, Dorsey has come up big for the Ducks when it has mattered most. In fact, his tear began during the Pac-12 tournament, as the 6-4 sophomore has gone for 23.6 points across his last seven games while shooting at a ridiculous 62.4 percent clip from the floor.

How improbable is that? Dorsey averaged 12.4 points off 42.5 percent shooting before the league tourney. That’s how you play your way onto NBA scouts’ radars.

De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky

Fox was already likely going to be a lottery pick before the dance, but his four-game performance was impossible to ignore this March: The point guard averaged 21.3 points off 50 percent shooting, to go with 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals in the Wildcats’ run to the Elite 8.

The freshman’s 39-point output in a Sweet 16 win over a loaded UCLA team was a tournament freshman record, and it left no doubt about Fox’s capabilities. His passionate postgame media session after losing to UNC won’t hurt with NBA execs, either.

Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

The Badgers senior was no stranger to March, and he made his last dance memorable, averaging 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists across three games, while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor.

Those were huge increases over Hayes’ season averages of 13.5, 6.5 and 2.8 (and 45 percent shooting), and on top of that, the 6-7, 245-pounder scored the go-ahead bucket late to beat top overall seed Villanova in the second round. Hayes put Wisconsin on his back in overtime of its Sweet 16 loss to Florida with Bronson Koenig hobbled, undoubtedly helping his draft stock in his collegiate finale.

Kansas’ Frank Mason and Oregon’s Jordan Bell both likely improved their draft stocks this month. (Getty)

Frank Mason III, Kansas

At one point in the second half of the Jayhawks’ finale against Oregon, Mason had accounted for more than half of his team’s total points. The point guard was the only one who showed up for the top-seeded Jayhawks, and his tourney line of 22.3 points (50.8 percent shooting), 4.5 rebounds and 6 assists when the lights were brightest should help the senior get drafted this June.

Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina

Now this is how you close a collegiate career: By averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2 steals and one block per tourney game while lifting your seventh-seeded team to its first ever Final Four.

Thornwell, of course, was the SEC player of the year, so his burst hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere. But the way he’s led this year’s March darlings is quite the final act for NBA execs come draft time in three months, when the 6-5 guard could hear his name called midway through the second round.

D.J. Wilson, Michigan

A strong postseason showing could have Wilson, a redshirt sophomore, leaving Ann Arbor early. The 6-9, 220-pounder emerged during the Wolverines’ memorable run to the Sweet 16, averaging 16 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal per game in the NCAA tournament. He shot 42.9 percent from 3, a huge improvement from his regular-season showing (36.5), and we all know how much the NBA loves the stretch-four, which suits Wilson perfectly.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More March Madness coverage from Yahoo Sports: • Are the 2017 Tar Heels Roy Williams’ best North Carolina team? • How Gonzaga is changing the recruiting game • South Carolina coach is the world’s biggest Pitbull fan • Pat Forde: Lunatics are threatening to overtake Kentucky’s fan base

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Final Four coaches fail to crack top-10 list of highest paid

This year’s Final Four coaches have one thing in common: None is among the 10 highest-paid coaches in the NCAA tournament.

USA Today released its annual list of men’s college basketball coaches’ salaries among NCAA tournament teams Wednesday, and while the Bluegrass State duo of Rick Pitino and John Calipari tops all tournament coaches in total pay, Oregon’s Dana Altman is the highest-paid tournament coach whose team is still standing this season.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

Altman’s total pay of $2.651 million comes in at No. 11 nationally among tournament teams, leading all Final Four coaches.

Second among remaining coaches? Frank Martin, who took in $2.45 million from South Carolina this season, No. 18 overall.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams ($2,088,577) comes in at No. 24, while Gonzaga’s Mark Few ($1,629,083) is not far behind him at No. 30.

While Williams, a two-time national champion, may seem underpaid compared to his peers, it is worth noting that the Tar Heels boss, according to the report, “also has personal contracts with Nike and Learfield Sports for clothing/apparel and multi-media obligations, respectively, as well as permission from the school to receive pay for operating a camp and making speaking appearances.”

Pitino’s income of $7,769,200 was tops nationally, with rival Calipari being the only other coach to crack the $7 million barrier, at $7,435,376.

The only non-Power-5 coach cracking the top-10 is Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, whose $3,035,500 ranks No. 8 nationally. Few, at No. 30, is the next-closest tournament coach from a school outside the Power-5 or Big East.

Coaches you can expect to move up this list come next year — assuming they make the Big Dance — include No. 34 Will Wade ($1,400,000), No. 39 Archie Miller ($1,160,390), No. 41 Brad Underwood ($1 million) and No. 45 Kevin Keatts ($521,000), as each of those coaches took Power-5 jobs after this season.

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Kentucky, North Carolina lead AP’s all-time Top 100

Everyone knew Sunday’s instant classic between Kentucky and North Carolina was a battle of college basketball bluebloods.

We just didn’t know it featured the best programs of all-time.

That distinction came Wednesday courtesy of the Associated Press, which revealed its list of all-time Top 100 teams, with Kentucky and UNC coming in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]

Usual suspects Duke (No. 3), UCLA (4) and Kansas (5) round out the top-five, followed by Indiana, Louisville, Arizona, Syracuse and Cincinnati.

The AP counted poll appearances since the organization’s first poll in January of 1949, giving one point per appearance and two points per each No. 1 ranking. Of note: There is no postseason AP poll, so national titles didn’t factor into these rankings.

The Wildcats (1,111 points), Tar Heels (1,098) and Blue Devils (1,032) were the only programs to crack the 1000-point plateau.

The poll reflects the storyline surrounding this weekend’s Final Four as well, considering three of the tournament’s remaining participants fail to crack the all-time top 40 — Gonzaga (41), South Carolina (62) and Oregon (66).

When taking into account such large bodies of work, it is also always fun to see who else cracks this list, such as powers of decades past like San Francisco (48) or Loyola Chicago (98).

Also of note: Every ACC and SEC school made the list. (The ACC can probably also lay partial claim to No. 17 Maryland, too, considering most of the Terrapins’ history came in that league.)

Kentucky and North Carolina top the AP’s all-time top 100 list. (Getty)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @matt_fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Jeff Ruby will buy all Northern Kentucky students steak if team beats Kentucky

Northern Kentucky may be dancing in the first season it is eligible to, but the Norse are playing for more than just themselves.

They’re playing for steak. For everyone.

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

Well, at least for all of their undergraduate students.

Jeff Ruby, a Cincinnati restaurateur who owns a chain of steakhouses, has offered to buy a steak for all 15,000 NKU undergrads should their 15th-seeded squad knock off No. 2 seed Kentucky.

From Cincinnati’s WLWT5:

“Yes, this could get very expensive,” Ruby admits with a smile. “But it’s important to me to show support to our hometown organizations. NKU is a real asset to the community as they continue to produce extraordinary talented leaders for our region and beyond.”

Ruby estimates that this could end up costing him more than $1 million if the Norse win Friday.

Northern Kentucky students will have more to celebrate than just bragging rights if the Norse beat Kentucky. (AP)

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna

More on Yahoo Sports: • March Madness: Yahoo experts pick NCAA tourney winners • NBA bust Milicic: ‘I thought I was sent by God’ • Why the Patriots are already winning the offseason • Ranking the 68 best players in the 2017 NCAA tournament

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

The 10 best NBA prospects we’ll see in the NCAA tournament … and three we won’t

March is when careers are launched and dreams are realized, as this is a time for players to draw more attention to their budding careers.

[Tourney Pick’em is open! Sign up now | Bracket Big Board]

Who are the best future pros taking center stage in the NCAA tournament? And who are the best we won’t be seeing, thanks to struggling teams that won’t qualify for the tourney?

Glad you asked.

Grayson Allen, Duke

The Blue Devils junior never lacks for attention, but this March could provide another outlet for Allen to make headlines. As one of the go-to guys on a Duke team that, if healthy, has a realistic shot at winning the national title this season, Allen will likely carry a bigger load than he has in the past, especially in close situations.

Allen’s numbers are down across the board from his standout sophomore campaign, but he can restore faith with a strong showing over several games in the tournament, as he can now do for Frank Jackson and Jayson Tatum what Quinn Cook did for rookies like him during the 2015 national title campaign.

Lonzo Ball, UCLA

You have probably heard a thing or two about this guy. And you might not have seen him play all that much, given the late-night tips on the West Coast. But the Bruins point guard has lived up to the hype of his five-star billing by leading the nation in assists (7.8) and being the straw that stirs the drink for UCLA’s No. 2-ranked offense (per KenPom).

UCLA PG Lonzo Ball can make noise for both his team and his future this month. (Getty)

The Bruins play a fun brand of ball that is easy on the eyes, but they will be playing with the nation’s target on their backs as they take their show on the road. That could be good or bad, as Ball’s father’s outspoken support of his son will only up the ante for Ball to deliver on the big stage. And if the sharpshooter does that, well, who else would you want your favorite NBA team to draft this June?

[Tourney Pick’em is open! Sign up now | Bracket Big Board]

Miles Bridges, Michigan State

The Big Ten’s freshman of the year is the highest-scoring rookie (16.6) that coach Tom Izzo has ever had with the Spartans, answering the bell despite a midseason ankle injury that cost him six games. The 6-foot-7 former McDonald’s All-American is a force in the paint (8.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg) and from the perimeter (40.8 percent from 3), while showing tremendous passing ability.

It’s been an uneven year for normally March-reliable Sparty, which, despite currently sitting on the right side of the bubble, may still have some work to do. So how much longer MSU stays alive is anyone’s guess. But if the past few months are any indication, this will be the last call for Bridges to impress NBA teams before he is likely a lottery pick.

De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky

The freshman point guard has led the Wildcats to yet another SEC regular-season title, leading the team in assists while averaging 15.5 ppg. The shifty southpaw earned comparisons to NBA point guard and fellow lefty Brandon Jennings and he has shown a unique ability to get things done in traffic.

Fox can improve his outside shooting (21.1 percent from 3), but there is plenty to like about him, even in a guard-heavy draft.

Jonathan Isaac, Florida State

Isaac’s numbers have been solid (12.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg) for a Seminoles team that finished a remarkable second in the rugged ACC, and he is only going to get better. Yes, those ever-present draft buzzwords — “raw,” “upside” — are thrown around plenty when discussing Isaac, but how could they not be for a guy who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs just 210 pounds?

[Tourney Pick’em is open! Sign up now | Bracket Big Board]

The five-star freshman is as versatile as it gets, displaying a soft touch from outside (36.7 percent from 3) and a consistent-enough presence down low (1.5 blocks). Once he fills out that frame, though, he could be a matchup nightmare at the next level — something FSU hopes bears true these next few weeks on the national stage. (He nearly declared for the draft out of prep school last year.)

Josh Jackson, Kansas

Jackson, who will miss Kansas’ Big 12 conference tournament opener because of a one-game suspension, has the chance to both lead the No. 1 Jayhawks to the national title and then be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, much like former Jayhawk Danny Manning did in 1988. The reason both could happen is because the 6-foot-8, 207-pound Jackson is the ideal two-way player, chasing down shots (1.1 bpg) while harassing ball-handlers (1.6 spg).

Jackson was Rivals’ top-ranked prep player in 2016, and while he entered Lawrence with some questions about his shooting, his 51.1 percent clip (and 37.7 percent from 3) have minimized those concerns, at least for now. And with Kansas holding steady as one of the national title favorites, Jackson will have the chance to elevate his stock even more, at least for unfamiliar viewers.

Justin Jackson, North Carolina

Jackson won ACC player of the year honors this season, upping his scoring average from 12.2 ppg to 18.3 ppg. And while that can partly be attributed to the much bigger load he had to take on for the Tar Heels, there is no overlooking the fact that Jackson is a much better outside shooter now than he was before.

The 6-foot-8, 210-pounder nearly entered the draft last season after his sophomore year, but in returning to UNC he saw his 3-point shooting rise from 29.2 percent to 38.5 percent, all while attempting more than twice as many 3s per game this season. He passes and defends well, and the nation should see plenty of him as the No. 6 Heels look to make another deep tourney run.

Lauri Markkanen, Arizona

What’s not to love about a 7-footer who shoots 42.8 percent from deep? Markkanen has been everything he was made out to be with the Wildcats, as the freshman has poured in 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a night. The son of former Kansas player Pekka Markkanen, Lauri has over many years developed the reputation of a gym rat. Defending players at the NBA level will be the next challenge for Markkanen, but he is certainly ready to take the next step after a standout rookie campaign at Arizona.

Malik Monk, Kentucky

It wouldn’t be a list of NBA prospects without multiple Kentucky players on it, and Monk may be the cream of the crop this year. He leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.4 ppg) and is capable of ridiculous shooting outbursts. (See: Monk’s 47-point game in a win over UNC). Monk is just 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, but with the way the NBA game is played today, there’s no reason to think he can’t fit in as a natural shooting guard and contribute immediately wherever he ends up.

Jayson Tatum, Duke

There’s little to pick apart about Tatum’s game, as the freshman has adjusted extremely well to a loaded Blue Devils team after missing some time early with a foot injury. He’s 6-foot-8, 205 pounds and scores from anywhere, with a mid-range game that will flow nicely to the next level. Tatum knows how to use his size, and his 16 ppg and 7.3 rpg aren’t too shabby, either.

Three NBA prospects we won’t see in the tournament

Markelle Fultz, Washington

While it’s difficult to reach a consensus, Fultz’s name is the one that appears the most atop mock draft boards, so it’s a shame a national audience won’t get to see him on the big stage this spring. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound point guard checks all the boxes statistically: 23.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.2 bpg and 50.2 percent shooting. He’s young (won’t be 19 till late May) and has a ridiculous wingspan (reportedly 6-10). Alas, the Huskies went 2-16 in Pac-12 play this season.

Frank Ntilikina, Strasbourg (International)

In a draft that is loaded with point guards, Ntilikina might be a lottery pick. He is widely projected as the first international player off the board despite minimal reported production this season in France (4.9 ppg in 15.2 minutes). Still, he’s 6-foot-5 and 170 pounds, has a reportedly large wingspan and can defend either position. Let’s not forget he’s playing with grown men right now, too. His teammates include former collegiate standouts Matt Howard, Erik Murphy and Erving Walker.

[Tourney Pick’em is open! Sign up now | Bracket Big Board]

Dennis Smith Jr., NC State

The freshman point guard made the most of what was a lost season for the Wolfpack, who fired coach Mark Gottfried and went 4-14 in ACC play before bowing out of the first round of the league tournament Tuesday. Tasked with a heavy workload, Smith has posted 18.5 ppg and 6.3 apg, doing his best to answer shooting questions by firing at a 46.1 percent clip (and 36.9 percent from 3). He’ll have a much better opportunity to showcase his talents at the next level.

More on Yahoo Sports: • Dirk Nowitzki becomes 6th player to reach NBA milestone • Tim Brown: Meet the man with the worst job in sports • Amazing 360 video of the Chicago Cubs at spring training

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @matt_fortuna

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Former Penn State forward Joonas Suotamo is the new Chewbacca

Joonas Soutamo (21) has gone from guarding top NBA picks to starring in Star Wars. (AP)

One of cinema’s iconic franchises will now carry a distinct hardwood flavor.

Joonas Suotamo, a former Penn State basketball player, will play Chewbacca in the next Star Wars movie. Suotamo had doubled for Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca, in the 2015 movie “The Force Awakens.”

Suotamo announced the news Tuesday on Twitter, saying he is ecstatic about the opportunity and that he hopes to make Mayhew proud.

I'm ecstatic. It's official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V

— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017

He, of course, closed with a *Wookie fist bump.*

The 6-foot-10 Suotamo played three seasons for the Nittany Lions, from 2005-08, suffering an early foot injury that limited him before he graduated early to begin compulsory service in the Finnish military. The film and video major earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2007 and 2008, and he tallied 22 points and 28 rebounds during his collegiate career.

[Tourney Pick’em is open! Sign up now | Bracket Big Board]

Former PSU assistant Kurt Kanaskie, now at Air Force, recalled his recruiting efforts of Suotamo in a 2015 interview with PennLive’s David Jones.

“He was really fairly highly recruited. UCLA and USC were involved and we were really concerned about those schools because we knew he wanted to be in film.

“But it came down to us and Baylor. And Baylor had a connection to Europe at the time. [Baylor coach Scott] Drew had a lot of contacts.

“He’s just a great kid. Super student. And was really into filmmaking while he was at Penn State.”

Suotamo continued his hoops career overseas with the Espoo Basket Team from 2011-15, but Hollywood was never far from his mind. Suotamo had dressed as Ivan Drago from “Rocky” for a PSU preseason event in 2007, although he had his own doubts about a future in his chosen field due to personal circumstances, according to the school’s athletic website:

“I would love to be an actor,” he said. “But, It’s not possible. I am too tall. There are no roles for people as tall as me. So, I want to become a director. I want to direct people how to convey a certain meaning with your face and how to express your emotions.”

As it turns out, Suotamo has landed himself quite the role, even if he’s roughly four inches shorter than 7-foot-2 Mayhew. Suotamo reiterated his excitement about his new role Wednesday in an Instagram post.

Thank you for all the wonderful responses to yesterdays big news. I’m overwhelmed by the support. Thank you and love you all! Pic by @wohoo

A post shared by Joonas Suotamo (@joonassuotamo) on Feb 22, 2017 at 11:35am PST

The untitled Star Wars flick, which focuses on a young Hans Solo, will hit theaters May 25, 2018.

More on Yahoo Sports: • Teammate trolls All-Star Kyrie Irving’s flat-Earth belief • Ex-NFL star fired over wife’s Instagram pic • Tom Brady posts ‘suspect board’ in jersey heist case • Danica Patrick opens up about concussion battles

– – – – – – –

Matt Fortuna is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Matt_Fortuna