New Mexico

MSU expert columnist predicts Spartans-Lobos game in NCAA Tournament

Published

4 days ago

March 23, 2025

MSU expert columnist predicts Spartans-Lobos game in NCAA Tournament

Who does Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal like in this NCAA Tournament game between the Spartans and Lobos?

Will Michigan State basketball move on to the Sweet 16 on Sunday night? Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal has some thoughts on that and how this second round NCAA Tournament matchup between the Spartans and Lobos will play out.

Michigan State will battle No. 10 seed New Mexico in a second round NCAA Tournament matchup from Cleveland on Sunday night. The game is scheduled to tip off around 8:40 p.m. ET, with the winner moving on to the Sweet 16.

The Spartans relatively handled No. 15 seed Bryant in their first round matchup on Friday, winning the game by more than 20 points in the end. New Mexico used a dominant second half effort to upset No. 7 seed Marquette in their first round matchup.

As far as New Mexico goes, Couch believes the Lobos possess arguably the best player on the floor in this matchup. New Mexico star guard Donovan Dent is a game-changer and is who Couch focused his Lobos analysis on — see a bit of that below:

“Dent makes the Lobos go. The ball is in his hands a lot — he has one of the higher usage rates in college basketball — but it’s for good reason. He’s a multi-level scorer and shot-maker, and 40% 3-point shooter who only takes about two per game. He does a lot of his work getting to his spots inside the arc and getting downhill and to the rim. He operates one of the most uptempo offenses in college basketball, though it didn’t look like it against Marquette.”

As far as the game goes and how Michigan State can handle Dent, here’s what Couch had to say:

“The Spartans’ were overly amped for their first-round game and it showed with some wild missed shots and missed assignments early on. That should be out of their system. I like this matchup for MSU. Dent is a terrific guard, but MSU has a lot to throw at him.”

How does Couch ultimately see this game playing out in the end? Does he like Michigan State to move on to the Sweet 16 or their season come to a close on Sunday? See his full analysis and prediction on the Lansing State Journal.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Source link

Click to comment

New Mexico

Report: Richard Pitino to bring New Mexico coaching staff to Xavier

Published

6 hours ago

March 26, 2025

Press Room

Report: Richard Pitino to bring New Mexico coaching staff to Xavier

Xavier made it official Tuesday night when it announced the hiring of Richard Pitino as its next head coach.

Xavier’s offseason can start with Pitino forming his staff, and the process is already underway.

According to Geoff Grammer, who covers the Lobos for the Albuquerque Journal, Pitino’s staff at New Mexico have already accepted a move to Xavier.

“Richard Pitino plans to take (and they’ve accepted) the entire coaching staff with him − assistant coaches Isaac Chew, Tarvish Felton, Aaron Katsuma, Davie Pilipovich − with him at Xavier,” Grammer said in a social media post Wednesday, adding that Chew would be a candidate to replace Pitino as New Mexico’s head coach.

Chew just finished his fourth season on Pitino’s staff at New Mexico and was promoted to associate head coach in April 2024. He has previous assistant coaching experience at Murray State, Missouri, Marquette, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Grand Canyon, according to his coaching bio.

Felton had a 10-season run at Utah State before serving as the associate head coach at Fresno State for four years. He has been with New Mexico since 2022.

Katsuma spent five seasons at Colorado State (four as director of basketball operations) before joining New Mexico as an assistant for back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Katsuma was on Pitino’s staff at Minnesota for four total seasons.

Pilipovich has over 35 years of coaching experience. He was the head coach at Air Force for eight seasons from 2012-2020.

In Austin, Sean Miller was introduced as the next head basketball coach at Texas on Tuesday afternoon. Miller said he’s planning to bring “a number” of staff members at Xavier to Texas, according to David Eckert of the Austin American-Statesman.

Source link

New Mexico

Breaking: Xavier hires Richard Pitino from New Mexico

Published

17 hours ago

March 26, 2025

Press Room

Breaking: Xavier hires Richard Pitino from New Mexico

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

There will be a father and son in the Big East, and they’re both named Pitino!

Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s head coach and Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, is leaving New Mexico to take the same position at Xavier, sources confirmed to Fox Sports on Tuesday night.

After the 42-year-old took New Mexico to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, beating Marquette this year in the first round after a 26-7 regular season, Pitino increased his stock significantly and was in the mix for both the Villanova and Xavier positions.

Musketeers athletic director Greg Christopher was enamored by the upside of Pitino, who tried the high-major route at Minnesota but was let go in 2021 after eight seasons on the job. Going to Albuquerque led Pitino to reignite his career, going 88-49 over the last four seasons, winning the Mountain West Tournament in 2024 and charging the program to a regular-season title this year.

This move only adds to the family atmosphere and tradition of the Big East. The fact that we will see at least two (and perhaps three) showdowns between Rick and Richard Pitino is phenomenal for the league and its storylines. Father has outdone son in their four meetings, with Rick owning a 3-1 record, including St. John’s beating the Lobos this past November.

But Richard was well in position for a high-major job in this cycle. After Villanova did not extend an offer to him despite being very much in the mix – with Maryland’s Kevin Willard and a mystery candidate out there for the Wildcats – Christopher extended the offer to Pitino. And now he’s heading to the state of Ohio to take over a Xavier program that has been a staple in the NCAA Tournament the majority of the last two decades.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

College Basketball

Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Source link

New Mexico

Measles cases rise to 370 in Texas and New Mexico | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2025

Press Room

Measles cases rise to 370 in Texas and New Mexico | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

FILE PHOTO

A sign reading “measles testing” is seen as an outbreak in Gaines County, Texas, has raised concerns over its spread to other parts of the state, in Seminole, Texas, on Feb. 25. Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico rose to 370 today, the states’ health departments said, an increase of 19 infections since their previous reports four days ago, as the United States deals with one of the largest measles outbreaks in the past decade.

Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico rose to 370 today, the states’ health departments said, an increase of 19 infections since their previous reports four days ago, as the United States deals with one of the largest measles outbreaks in the past decade.

Cases in Gaines County, the center of the current measles outbreak in the U.S. that started in late January, rose to 226 from 211 cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.

The total from the two states has surpassed last year’s nationwide count of 285 infections, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since March 21, New Mexico has reported one additional case, bringing its total to 43, while Texas reported 18 more cases, totaling 327 in the state.

Most of New Mexico’s cases were reported in Lea County, which is adjacent to Gaines County in Texas.

In Texas, 325 cases were among people who were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, up from 307 reported previously. The latest New Mexico case is among the 31 infected individuals from the state who were not vaccinated.

“It’s going to take time (to control this outbreak), unfortunately, because there are still people who are resistant to receiving a vaccine,” said Tammy Camp, a pediatrician in Texas.

In a health advisory on March 7, the CDC said that the risk for widespread measles in the U.S. remained low.

Diego Hijano, infectious disease specialist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, said he agrees with the CDC’s assessment as a lot of areas still have a high vaccination rate.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years sown doubts about the safety and efficacy of immunization, said last month he recognizes the serious impact of the current measles outbreak in Texas and that the government is providing resources, including vaccines.

Source link