Siena coach walks through imaginary post-game handshake line after brawl against Rider

In a bizarre scene after the Rider vs. Siena matchup Tuesday night in Albany, Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos ended up walking down an empty post-game handshake line extending his arm and shaking the hands of imaginary players from the Rider squad. 

  

The two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals had just finished a game highlighted by fights, ejections and even Patsos going at it with Rider coach Kevin Baggett. 

After Siena's 78-68 win, Patsos followed protocol by walking the traditional line shaking the hands of the non existent Rider team grabbing air.

Classic video of Siena coach Jimmy Patsos shaking hands with air as Rider walks off without showing sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/WHtmc9WTEq

— Zach Bye (@byesline) January 18, 2017

Things started to get out of hand with 2:03 to play when a fight broke out involving Siena's Marquis Wright and Rider's Anthony Durham. Patsos and  Baggett then got into it, with Baggett ultimately attempting to walk into the Saints' huddle and having to be forcibly restrained by his assistants.

ICYMI: here's video of Anthony Durham of Rider punching Siena's Marquise Wright in the face. Wow. What a sequence to end the game tonight. pic.twitter.com/jJuyZASliU

— Zach Bye (@byesline) January 18, 2017

The two players were ejected from the game and both coaches were each dealt technical fouls.

Then, with 10 seconds remaining in the game, Baggett called a timeout where it seems as though he instructed his players to walk off the court at the end of the game without shaking hands. The Bronco players followed their orders and, after the horn sounded, walked off the court leaving the handshake line vacant.

Despite all the noise and confusion, Patsos formed a handshake line without his own players and went through the routine.

Was it good sportsmanship or rubbing it in? Who cares? It's funny.

Siena wins 78-68. Rider walks off, no handhakes. Jimmy Patsos does the handshakes on his own, anyway. pic.twitter.com/iV4Ko2zmWo

— Michael Kelly (@ByMichaelKelly) January 18, 2017

Shamorie Ponds leads St. John’s to 76-73 win over No. 13 Butler in Big East opener

Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final 9.1 seconds, as St. John’s upset No. 13 Butler 76-73 in the Big East opener for both teams at Carnesecca Arena Thursday night.

“I was just confident. I was confident going to the foul line and saying, ‘I’m going to make these two free throws,’” the Brooklyn-bred freshman said after the victory.

The Red Storm (7-7, 1-0), coming off last week’s overpowering 33-point win at Syracuse, came back from a ten point deficit with the Bulldogs (11-2, 0-1) before taking the lead at 72-71 on a free throw by Malik Ellison with 14.1 seconds left.

St. John’s kept the ball on the second miss and Ponds was fouled. He made two free throws before Tyler Lewis of Butler countered with the same at 6.7 seconds left. Ponds added two more with 6.2 seconds to go. Kelan Martin of Butler let a shot go from half-court at the buzzer that hit the rim before giving the young Red Storm team its first Big East victory of the season.

Tie game!!!! Malik Ellison with the steal and score to knot it at 69! pic.twitter.com/DknCw8SWqF

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 30, 2016

“He’s a really phenomenal player, but he also has that (calm and cool) personality,” Johnnies coach Chris Mullin said of Ponds. “That is his demeanor on and off the court.”

Bashir Ahmed added 19 points for the Red Storm.

Tyler Wideman had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs, and Martin scored 13.

The win ended Butler’s four-game winning streak over the Red Storm and stopped a streak of losses in St. John’s last four conference openers.

St. John's embarrasses Syracuse with 93-60 rout at the Carrier Dome

St. John's handed Syracuse its worst loss in the 36-year history of the Carrier Dome, after the Red Storm overpowered the Orangemen (excuuuse me, the Orange) 93-60 on the famed court.

Wednesday night's 33-point win marked the second largest victory by St. John's over Syracuse and was the first time that a Jim Boeheim-coached team has lost five non-conference games in the regular season.

Syracuse fans even booed their beloved Orange off the court before it was all over after Boeheim waved the white flag and emptied his bench with almost three minutes to go.

Three St. John’s players scored in double figures, the Red Storm scored 32 points on 19 Syracuse turnovers and outscored the Orange 36-12 from beyond the arc in overwhelming their former Big East rivals. But not before the game turned into lob city for the Storm.

It was lob city in the Carrier Dome tonight! Full highlights on the St. John's Red Storm YouTube page! #SJUBB #WeAreNewYorksTeam pic.twitter.com/R4sOJEFMDi

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 22, 2016

“I didn’t get them ready to do what they needed to do. We just didn’t execute on defense or offense. St. John’s did. That was the game,” Boeheim said. “This is on me, not the players.”

Syracuse’s previous worst loss at the Dome was by 24 points against Seton Hall in 1998.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and was the third straight for St. John’s (6-7) over Syracuse (7-5) in three years.

St. John’s coach Chris Mullin was at a loss to explain his team’s dominating performance.

“I really can’t explain it, especially with the game we’re coming off (a 92-76 loss against Penn State). We’ve been up and down. The one thing about our team is that we’re young, we’re inexperienced,” said Mullin. “When you get effort and energy and share the ball, and do the right things, at some point things will work.”

The game was tied at 14 with 12:17 to go in the first half. From that point on, the Red Storm outscored Syracuse 79-46 — 54-31 in the second half. Syracuse climbed to within six early in the second half on six straight points from Dajuan Coleman, but St. John’s answered with six and ran away after that.

Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s with 21 points. Bashir Ahmed added 20 points and Malik Ellison 16.

Ellison scored eight straight points on two 3-pointers and put-back to tie the game at 12. The game was tied at 14 when the Red Storm went on a 19-4 run to take a 33-18 lead. The Red Storm hit four consecutive 3-pointers in a span of 1:36 during the run. St. John’s held a 39-29 halftime lead.

Cal State Northridge (5-10) self-imposes postseason ban for 2016

Cal State Northridge's men's basketball team, currently ranked 284 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index, has self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2015-16 season.

The ban comes from a series of incidents going back to November 2014, when the university withheld a group of basketball players from games for potential violations of team rules and university policy, according to a release from athletic director Brandon Martin.

"CSUN has a proud tradition of athletic excellence and an absolute commitment to the success of our student-athletes," Martin said. "Our actions today demonstrate the values on which our athletic programs are built."

The exact nature of the violations were not announced, however the school acknowledged "serious violations" in its men's basketball program, announcing the self-imposed penalty Wednesday ahead of what the NCAA might ultimately decide.

Coach Reggie Theus also commented on the ban.

"I'm pleased that we are moving forward," Theus said. "As I've said all along, this incident was an opportunity for our student-athletes and the team to come together in a time of uncertainty. And that's what they've done. While I am disappointed for our current men's basketball players who are impacted, I look forward to moving past this matter, and I am confident the basketball program will be successful both on and off the court in the years ahead."

Given the Matadors' low ranking in just about every computer-rated category, this largely only affects their ability to play in the Big West Tournament — which will now be cut down to an eight-team playoff.

CSUN did not detail what the allegations were or what the investigation found, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other federal and state privacy rights. 

However, a player involved in the situation told The Los Angeles Times that he and several teammates were summoned last fall to Martin's office, where they were told that the school was investigating suspicious exam results pertaining to a particular online course.

The player spoke to The Times on the condition that he would not be identified because of the sensitivity of the allegations.

"They were all the same grades," said the player, who denied wrongdoing. "They somehow thought we were cheating."

The Matadors haven't reached an NCAA Tournament since 2009 and are probably better known for their cool blacktop-themed home basketball court than the play on it.

Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond to reunite on St. John’s coaching bench

St. John’s will be reuniting two of the three members of the infamous Run TMC trio from the 1990s Warriors teams on its coaching staff and, if Red Storm basketball is only two-thirds as exciting as that legendary group, St. John's fans are in for a treat.

Chris Mullin had already become the Red Storm’s new head coach, returning to his alma mater following time spent in the NBA as a Hall of Fame player and also as a team executive. Now Mullin has hired former Golden State Warriors teammate Mitch Richmond — himself a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame —  to serve the program as a special assistant, the school announced Tuesday afternoon.

All that’s missing from the popular Run TMC Warriors teams of the early 90s now is Tim Hardaway. In 1990-91, Richmond, Mullin and Hardaway averaged a combined 72.5 points, the second-best output by three players on one team in the league’s history.

“I am really excited to begin this new chapter of my basketball career at St. John’s University,” Richmond said in a statement. “Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to learn from great coaches who were mentors on and off the court. I look forward to passing along this knowledge and putting in the work to help elevate this program. Mully and I were always coaches on the floor, so I am thrilled to join him for this new venture.”

And there won’t be a better shooting coaching staff in the country. Richmond, has spent time as a scout with the Warriors, will be Mullin’s special assistant, a role similar to the one Gene Keady held on former coach Steve Lavin’s staff.

“Mitch is committed to helping us build this program and develop an environment for sustained success at St. John’s,” Mullin said. “He has tremendous basketball insight, a vision for the game and a passion to share his knowledge. Obviously, his experience in different roles throughout his career as a player, scout and mentor will have an impact in many areas.”

St. John’s also is expected to announce the hiring of its third assistant coach, Greg St. Jean — the son of former Warriors coach Garry St. Jean — which would complete a comprehensive staff that already includes experienced assistant coaches and top-notch recruiters Barry “Slice” Rohrssen and Matt Abdelmassih.

Since last spring, St. John’s has almost completely turned over its roster, bringing in nine new players. Now it's coaching staff will have all new faces too.

So charge up that old boom box, dust off those Bell Biv Devoe cassettes and lace up those Adidas, its fast break time in Queens.

Chris Mullin lands top NYC recruit Shamorie Ponds for St. John's: Report

In what can only be called laying a solid cornerstone for the future of St. John’s basketball, Chris Mullin landed one of New York City’s top players Tuesday when Shamorie Ponds, a 6-1 guard from Thomas Jefferson High in Brooklyn, verbally committed to the Red Storm program.

“It felt like a perfect fit,” Ponds said at a press conference. “It is close to home. I’m St. John’s No. 1 recruit for the class of 2016 and they are putting the ball in my hands.”

In landing Ponds, Mullin, the first-year coach, already has done what his predecessor, Steve Lavin, had a hard time doing — keep the city’s top talent in the city.

"It was a long process," Ponds said at Tuesday's presser. "I'm attending the University of St. John's."

And nobody seemed happier than Matt Abdelmassih — the Johnnies new assistant coach and recruiter.

Just jumped up and down as people looked at me weird at my hotel in Prague. Great day for St John's & NYC #sjubb

— Matt Abdelmassih (@mabde33) September 29, 2015

The smooth-shooting Ponds is a four-star recruit and is rated as a top 50 recruit nationally by recruiting services Rivals and Scout. Ponds made an official visit to the school last month.

Ponds picked the Red Storm over Providence and Creighton, and becoming the first top local player to join Mullin’s program.

“I guess I can set an example,” he said. “This is basically a dream come true. I always wanted to stay home, play in front of my family.”

Arizona recently expressed interest and Ponds had offers from the likes of Minnesota, Miami, South Carolina, Seton Hall and Oklahoma as well. But his hometown school won out.

“They love me here,” Ponds said. “There’s no arena like Madison Square Garden. [Mullin] said, ‘If you put on a show there, you can write your own ticket.’”

Ponds, a southpaw with a sweet 3-point stroke, is the highest-rated local player to pick St. John’s since Maurice Harkless committed to play there under former coach Steve Lavin in August 2011. 

Ponds led Jefferson to the city finals two years ago and the semifinals last year, when he averaged 25 points per game, 8.6 rebounds.

Chris Mullin, St. John's sign four-star forward Kassoum Yakwe: Report

Chris Mullin continued his quest to keep top New York area prospects from slipping away and on Sunday the first year St. John's head coach announced the signing of four-star forward Kassoum Yakwe from Long Island.

Yakwe, from Our Savior New American school,  is the highest-rated of nine recruits signed by Mullin's staff. The 6'7" forward is a consensus top-100 recruit who was rated as high as No. 57 by major recruiting services.

Yakwe, a native of Mali and originally in the class of 2016, will reclassify and enroll for the fall semester, the school announced. Yakwe chose nearby St. John's over Oregon. A talented shot-blocker and lanky athlete, Yakwe excels on the defensive end but has continued to develop his game offensively.

He averaged 10 points and four rebounds last year at OSNA while playing in the shadow of Cheick Diallo, a top-10 recruit who wound up at Kansas. But on the AAU circuit, Yakwe was named Nike Elite Youth Basketball League defensive player of the year, averaging 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks for the PSA Cardinals.

In five games at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament in July, Yakwe posted 9.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game and shot 67.9 percent from the field.

"We are excited to welcome Kassoum to St. John's University and our basketball program," Mullin said in a statement. "He possesses tremendous athleticism, has good instincts and will be a defensive presence. Kassoum is humble and has an endearing personality, which are important characteristics to team-building."

Yakwe is expected to be eligible for the Red Storm's 2015-16 season.

Kentucky's Devin Booker takes out cheerleader on baseline (VIDEO)

During Tuesday night's game between Kentucky and Tennessee in Knoxville, Wildcats guard Devin Booker took a hard foul while going for a layup and rolled right under a Tennessee cheerleader, knocking her for a loop.

This is called a clip in any rulebook.

After taking her out, like any good Kentucky gentleman, Booker followed up with an after-game tweet.

Is that Vol cheerleader alright? My bad.
— Devin Booker (@DevinBook) February 18, 2015

ASU fans distract free-throw shooters dressed as twerking animals (VIDEO)

After your team gets smoked by your in-state rivals, like Arizona State did 73-49 to Arizona on Jan. 15, fans must resort to anything to help their team win.

The Sun Devils were hosting the No. 6 Wildcats Saturday and, to distract the opposing team's free-throw shooters, a creative bunch of fans unveiled a black curtain behind the net releasing herd of twerking young men in various animal masks.

And yes, that was a unicorn — not Miley Cyrus. 

The silly ploy seemed to help and ASU went on to an 81-78 upset.

Jerian Grant single-handedly stops Notre Dame's students from storming court after beating Duke (VIDEO)

After No. 8 Notre Dame knocked off No. 4 Duke Wednesday night, the Fighting Irish fan base was ready to explode onto the court after beating the despised Blue Devils.

That was until they ran into Irish star Jerian Grant:

Grant, who was outstanding in the come-from-behind victory, played the role of traffic cop at mid-court by putting his hands up in the air. And, surprisingly, as the swell of fans came to the edge of the court, they saw Grant, and actually turned around.

What can't this guy do?

ND star Jerian Grant singlehandedly stopped fans from storming the court after beating Duke: http://t.co/CEgcZLFgdn pic.twitter.com/YQHqMtBWjy
— SB Nation (@SBNation) January 29, 2015

Duke's Okafor and Louisville's Harrell hug it out after scuffle (VIDEO)

On Saturday, there was a special episode of sportsmanship that occurred during the Louisville-Duke game at the KFC Yum! Center.

During the battle of the Top 10 teams, things got a little pushy between Cardinals junior Montrezl Harrell and Blue Devils freshman Jahlil Okafor during a tussle for the ball under the rim.

But cooler heads prevailed and the two opponents hugged it out instead of throwing down.

Aww. Hugs, not thugs.

Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan gets emotional after upset of Wisconsin (VIDEO)

Following Rutgers' 67-62 upset victory over No. 4 Wisconsin on Sunday, head coach Eddie Jordan couldn't help but get emotional during his post-game press conference and express his pent-up feelings about putting the embarrassment of a once-shamed basketball program behind him, his players and the school.

The tears seemed to be a long-awaited part of the healing process.

"I'm just happy for the community,'' Jordan said at the podium before pausing, covering his face with his hand and wiping his eyes.

Ten seconds went by before Jordan continued talking about what this win meant and his attempts to rebuild a program that only 20 months ago was the focus of a national scandal stemming from the Mike Rice player abuse controversy.

 "We've suffered and I'm just happy for everyone,'' Jordan said, his voice cracking as he tried to collect himself in a packed media room. "I'm happy for the state, our faculty and everyone who supports us. This is part of the healing process and what we've talked about.

"I love my school, I love this community and I'm happy for it.''

Jordan admitted he won't be able to put into proper perspective what the biggest upset in his second-year program's history means until "tomorrow morning when I wake up.''

"It means so much the next morning when you're by yourself and you ask, 'What happened?' '' Jordan said. "It's a great win for the program. Our crowd was here to witness it. Hopefully that taste in their mouths will make that happen more.''

"It wasn't so much about the win, it was about the crowd and what they expected and how long it's been,'' Jordan told Rutgers Athletics Director Julie Hermann — who has had her own ups and downs in Piscataway — later outside the team's locker room.

Hermann called it "an amazing win.''

[NY.com]

St. Bonaventure coach crashes scooter in handshake line (VIDEO)

St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt tore his Achilles a few weeks ago, and he's come to depend on a three-wheel scooter to keep him mobile during games.

After a 69-55 win over the Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday night, Schmidt made his way down the sideline to shake the hands of the opponents until he lost his balance and took a spill.

The Bonnies coach wasn't hurt but, I'm guessing that upgrade to a Big Wheel will have to wait.

Solid win for the #Bonnies. Tough ending for Mark Schmidt.

Een video die is geplaatst door Vinny Pezzimenti (@vinnypezz) op Jan 1, 2015 at 3:18 PST

SDSU's Dwayne Polee collapses on court during game (VIDEO)

San Diego State forward Dwayne Polee II suddenly collapsed on the court during a game against UC Riverside on Monday night and was tended to by a paramedic for several minutes before being stretchered off the court.

The crowd at Viejas Arena gave Polee a standing ovation as he was lifted onto the gurney after being hooked up to an electrocardiogram machine. Polee was conscious as he was wheeled off the court. While his teammates came over and gave him fist-bumps, the former St. John's player pumped his fists toward the crowd.

"I said, 'Dwayne, you're going to be fine,'" coach Steve Fisher said after the game. "He said, `I'm OK coach. Tell them to win the game.'"

SDSU officials didn't immediately know what happened. Fisher said after the Aztecs' 61-33 victory that a doctor told SDSU head athletic trainer Tom Abdenour that Polee was "alert and responsive" after being admitted to a hospital.

Polee had missed a layup and teammate J.J. O'Brien scored on a tip-in for a 14-8 lead with more than 11 minutes left in the half. Polee turned and ran down the floor and collapsed face-first near the key opposite SDSU's bench.

Right after he fell, someone in the crowd hollered, "Call 911!" and teammates Matt Shrigley and Dakarai Allen quickly called for a timeout.

Polee's father and mother came out of the stands to be near their son. His father, Dwayne Sr., is director of player development at the University of San Francisco.

Michigan fan has the most fantastic mullet (PHOTO)

Joe Dirt would be proud of this Michigan fan who sports an amazing mullet at Saturday's game against SMU.

Or maybe the dude lost a bet on that embarrassing upset by NJIT a few weeks back?

This Michigan fan has the most amazing mullet - http://t.co/pCyTWyzlVI pic.twitter.com/7fEiSoyC3X
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) December 20, 2014

The Wolverines got shedunked by the Mustangs yesterday, so I 'spect the party in the back to keep on growing.

"I got the poo on me!"

Ref gets knocked out by player's elbow during tip-off (VIDEO)

Veteran basketball referee Rick Crawford was officiating the consolation game between LaSalle and Vanderbilt at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday. Shortly after the tip off, he was inadvertently struck in the face by Vanderbilt's center Damian Jones' elbow. 

Crawford immediately went down and was on the hardwood with both of his eyes open. Play was stopped and the crowd went silent as he and was quickly seen to be paramedics. Crawford was put in a neck brace and also suffered from bruises to his eye before he was stretchered off the court and taken to hospital. 

A Barclays Center spokesman said Crawford was talking as he made his way to the hospital and could remember what happened.

Deadspin noted that shortly after the incident, the Vanderbilt Men's Basketball team tweeted that "it looks like Crawford is coherent and moving extremities." 

The Vanderbilt Commodores went on to win the game 68-55. 

Here's to a speedy recovery, Craw.

Wisconsin's Sam Dekker punches basketball into teammate's head during celebration (VIDEO)

The Wisconsin Badgers got a big 68-65 win on Thanksgiving over the Georgetown Hoyas, helping them advance to the Battle 4 Atlantis Finals.

Wisconsin's Sam Dekker was so happy after the final buzzer he slammed the ball down before inadvertently punching it into teammate Nigel Hayes face.

If Hayes is wearing a protective face mask in the finals, we'll know who to blame.

Oregon player's easy fast-break dunk ends in epic fail (VIDEO)

Oregon's Elgin Cook looked like he was ready to make someone's highlight reel during a fast break Tuesday against VCU, but ended up making a blooper headline instead.

After coming up with a great steal around half court with his team down by five in the Legends Classic game, Cook looked like he was going to throw it down hard before deciding that maybe a layup was the better option.

Unfortunately, his body wasn't as quick as his mind and Cook missed the bunny too.

VCU went on to a 77-63 victory anyway.

UConn's Stefanie Dolson takes near-tumble while meeting President Obama (VIDEO)

It was a two-for-one celebration at the White House as the University of Connecticut men's and women's basketball teams met with President Obama marking both squads NCAA Championships last season.

Obama welcomed the two basketball teams Monday and all of the excitement — or more likely a pair of stiletto heels — almost knocked Stefanie Dolson off her feet.

As the players stood on risers while the President spoke and congratulated the coaches, the 6'5"  Dolson lost her footing and fell off.

Thanks to some quick steps with her arms out, the now nearly seven-foot Huskies center was able to avoid a total wipeout in her five-inch heels.

And no, she wasn't taking a selfie. 

It was a proud day otherwise for UConn as this is only the second time a school has won both titles in the same year.

Maryland baseball team has 'rock concert' during rain delay (VIDEO)

Rain delays can get pretty boring for baseball players,  especially college kids, which is why the Maryland Terrapins baseball team decided to have some fun while they waited for their game against the Pittsburgh Panthers to resume.

Luckily for fans, when the drizzle delayed the Terps game against Pitt on Saturday,  the players decided to stage an impromptu concert on the field. This included bats used as guitars and a shirtless dude adhering to that old Tommy Lee rule — if you play drums, you gotta be shirtless.