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Wizards sign Livingston for remainder of season
Guard Shaun Livingston has signed with the Washington Wizards for the rest of the season after playing through a pair of 10-day contracts.
Livingston originally joined Washington on Feb. 26. He has played 10 games for the Wizards, including two starts, and is averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 assists in 15 1/2 minutes.
Washington is 21-45 and on a nine-game losing streak heading into its game at against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Friday night.
Kim English and Keith Ramsey each scored 20 points, and Missouri's swarming defense lived up to its reputation during an 86-78 victory over Clemson in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
Missouri forced 20 turnovers, nabbed 15 steals and stifled Clemson star Trevor Booker for 35 minutes. Booker finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the final game of his career. Demontez Stitt led Clemson with 21 points, Andre Young had 19 and Jerai Grant 12.
Laurence Bowers scored 15 points and J.T. Tiller had 10 points and five steals for Missouri.
Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown scored 17 points apiece and Pittsburgh avoided becoming the latest Big East powerhouse to get knocked off in the first round of the NCAA tournament, overcoming a slow start to rout Oakland 89-66 on Friday in the West Regional.
Brown's strong performance off the bench was a boost for the third-seeded Panthers (25-8), who are making their ninth straight NCAA appearance and have advanced to the round of 16 in five of the previous eight. They'll try to continue that streak Sunday against No. 6 seed Xavier, which defeated 11th seed Minnesota 65-54 earlier Friday.
Big center Keith Benson scored 28 points for the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies (26-9), who played much of the first half without starting forward Derick Nelson after an elbow from Panthers center Gary McGhee opened a cut over his left eye.
Keaton Grant ignited the decisive run that rallied fourth-seeded Purdue past No. 13 seed Siena 72-64 on Friday in the first round of NCAA tournament's South Regional.
Grant's 11 points to begin the second half opened up the inside for teammate JuJuan Johnson's 23 points. Johnson, the tallest player on either team at 6-foot-10, also tied a career high with 15 rebounds.
E'Twaun Moore added 12 points for the Boilermakers (28-5). They were steamed that even President Barack Obama had joined a national chorus predicting the Saints (27-7) would pull a first-round upset in the third consecutive NCAA tournament.
Video in the link above^.Gameday Sound - Pistons at Pacers
Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey and Coach Kuester take time to talk about tonight's game at Indiana.
"Everyone was saying we were Cinderella or it's an upset. Not us," sophomore Chris Wroblewski said Friday after the 12th-seeded Big Red dominated No. 5 seed Temple 78-65 in a game that wasn't even that close.
Dale scored 21 points and Wittman, the Ivy League player of the year, had 20 for the Big Red, who led the nation in 3-point shooting this season and have three other elements -- strong guard play, experienced leadership and a 7-foot center in Foote -- that make them a threat to play beyond the first weekend of the tournament.
Juan Fernandez and Ryan Brooks each had 14 points for Temple. Lavoy Allen added 11.
Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier kept its run of tournament success with a 65-54 victory over Minnesota in the first round of the West Regional on Friday.
Dante Jackson smothered the Gophers' best shooters on defense, Jamel McLean had 14 rebounds and Crawford provided the highlight plays for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.
Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 of his 19 points for Minnesota (21-14) in the first half, and the 11th-seeded Gophers went cold from 3-point range late.
The sophomore forward scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first half in helping West Virginia (28-6) roll to a 77-50 win over No. 15 seed Morgan State and avoid another Big East flameout in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Jones went 4-for-4 for nine points during a decisive 21-4 run over a 6-minute stretch in the first half. Devin Ebanks scored 16 and added 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers, who found another dimension to their offense after the Bears contained star guard Da'Sean Butler.
Reggie Holmes scored 12 points for Morgan State (27-10), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, which followed up its first tournament appearance last year with another bid this season. Kevin Thompson had eight rebounds and three blocks to go with nine points for the Bears.
The Pistons vs The Pacers
The 23-45 Pistons are in Indiana to take on the 22-46 Pacers tonight. Like it or not, this is a battle for Draft Lottery placement. You always root for your team to win, but in this case it wouldn’t be so bad if they did lose with the Pacers, who are little ahead of Detroit in ping pong ball status.
The biggest news is not the game, but who will be playing in it. Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace are Good to Go.
Tip is at 7:00 pm EST and will be broadcast on FS Detroit with the radio broadcast over at 97.1 The Ticket or follow the action online over at NBA.com.
Video in the link above^.Scouting Report - Indiana Pacers
Scott Perry talks with the Pistons Weekly's Pete Skorich about tonight's game against the Pacers.
Jon Leuer scored 20 points, including a jumper and two free throws in the final 17 seconds, and the fourth-seeded Badgers eked out a 53-49 win over the 13th-seeded Terriers in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
Trevon Hughes added 19 points for Wisconsin, including 12 of the team's first 21.
Jamar Diggs scored 11 of his 13 points in the first 5 minutes after the break, helping Wofford overcome an eight-point deficit. The Terriers, who made just seven of 25 shots in the first half, hit their first eight baskets to start the second and took a 38-37 lead.
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Game Thread 66: Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
Tip: 7:00 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit.
Probable Starters: DET - G: Will Bynum, Rip Hamilton; F: Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince; C: Jason Maxiell.
IND - G: Brandon Rush, Earl Watson F: Dahntay Jones, Troy Murphey; C: Roy Hibbert.
Notes: There are two storylines that make this game worth checking out. First and foremost, the Pistons are expecting the return of two of their most important players, Ben Wallace and Rodney Stuckey. Wallace has been nursing a sore knee and has missed the last eight games. Stuckey has missed the last six games since collapsing on the court in Cleveland. The Pacers are expecting to be without their best player Danny Granger, who took an elbow to the head in a game last week. The other reason to watch is the lottery implications. The Pistons are currently one game better than the Pacers in the NBA standings with 14 games remaining.
Last meeting: The Pistons were trounced in Indianapolis in early February, 107-83.
Rodney Stuckey, Ben Wallace are both on the acive list for tonight's game at Indiana. Both coming off the bench. Tip at 7, FS Detroit.
Danny Granger back in starting lineup for Pacers versus Pistons
Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger is back in the starting lineup for tonight's game against the Detroit Pistons.
Granger missed Indiana's game against Cleveland on Wednesday after being elbowed in the cheek during a game Tuesday. The Pacers said Thursday that he was out indefinitely.
Granger scored 25 points in each of the two meetings between the teams this season. The Pacers won both games easily.
Rose may play vs. Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, who has missed the past three games with a sprained left wrist, is questionable for Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bulls are trying to avoid extending their losing streak to 10. "I've got to see that he says, 'Coach, I can go;' 'Coach, I feel good enough to go,' " coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Or, 'It's still bothering me.'"The doctor will be there to evaluate, and then we'll make, hopefully, a smart decision and see how he feels. Obviously, all the guys want to go. But injuries are part of it. You've got to work through them."
Luol Deng (calf strain) and Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis) are out. Rose injured the wrist March 11 in Orlando, when Magic center Dwight Howard knocked him to the court.
NCAA Who? Pistons @ Pacers
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers, Mar 19, 2010 6:00 PM CDT
The biggest news tonight is that Rodney Stuckey will be returning from his confounding bout with dizziness. Ben Wallace might be back as well, so the Pistons will be at full strength.
Game Tips at 7:00 EST
Detroit Pistons: 23-45 (7-26 road)
Indiana Pacers: 22-46 (7-30 away)
Oppo Research
All of the hoops mania of the last two days was leading up to this, an epic matchup between the NBA's 25th and 26th best teams. It looks as though the Pacers will be without their best player. Danny Granger has done some damage against Detroit, but now that only damage done is to his face. Nothing like a good old face injury.
The Drama
I would pay any amount of money to see Josh McRoberts fly into the stands and deck a guy. Outside of that, there's not much here to avert one's eyes from the tournament.
Keys for Detroit
No spin moves for Stuckey -- Bad idea.
Don't use iPhones to watch the tourney -- Looking at you, Charlie V.
Play Daye - I'm going to cut and paste this for the rest of the season.
Question of the Game
Are the Pistons really going to push Stuckey and Big Ben? I mean, is it really worth something career threatening to play out these games?
Valuable Links
http://www.cbs.com/sports/video/?vs=NCA ... Basketball
Freshman Khris Middleton scored a career-high 19 points and fifth-seeded Texas A&M beat No. 12 Utah State 69-53 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament's South Regional
The Aggies (24-9) advanced to the second round for the fifth consecutive year. They will face No. 4 seed Purdue on Sunday.
David Loubeau added 12 points and B.J. Holmes had 11 for Texas A&M, which disrupted Utah State into one of its worst shooting performances of the season and dominated the rebounding.
Stuckey wants to 'see where he's at'
Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey is eager to start playing basketball again. He'd just rather not talk about anything else. Stuckey was expected to return to action Friday night in Indiana, his first game action since collapsing on the bench two weeks ago. "I'll play a little bit tonight just to see where I'm at," Stuckey said before the game. "I just don't like talking about it. That's just how it is. That's just how I am. I mean it happened, it's over."
The Pistons aren't just going to move on, though. Stuckey will not be subject to any limitations on playing time coach John Kuester said before the game, but the team will try to help Stuckey ease his way back into playing shape. "He's a full-go, but it's a situation that when he comes off the bench we're going to monitor him," Kuester said. "He hasn't played full bore for two weeks, so your wind is going to be a little different."Doctors cleared Stuckey for exercise last week after extensive cardiac tests. Last season, Stuckey missed two games after experiencing dizziness. His return adds another body to the Pistons' rotation, something that should help the Pistons as they try to snap a three-game losing streak. The Pistons have won just two of their past 12 games.
Stuckey is Detroit's second-leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. He's not the only player expected to return Friday night. The Pacers are expected to have All-Star forward Danny Granger back in the starting lineup, just two days after the team announced he would be out indefinitely after taking a shot to his upper right cheek in Tuesday night against Charlotte. Granger, Indiana's top scorer at 23.1 points, missed Wednesday night's game in Cleveland. "He's ready to go, he sure is," coach Jim O'Brien told reporters before the game.
Stuckey back as Pistons play Pacers
Rodney Stuckey returned to the Pistons' lineup tonight against the Pacers - exactly two weeks after he collapsed at Quicken Loans Arena and was carried from the arena floor on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask.
The Pistons also have Ben Wallace back in action tonight at Indiana.
The Pacers have won four straight times against the Detroit Pistons, and Danny Granger has played a large role in each of those victories. The Pacers will have to try to extend that streak without the services of their leading scorer, however, when the two Central Division rivals square off tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.