By ALEX KLINE
As the college basketball regular season is on the verge of coming to an end, a number of important visits and moves in the recruiting world took place on Saturday.
**The big story of the day was the huge guest list for Kansas’s Border War against Missouri. The game, an instant classic won by the Jayhawks, 87-86 in overtime. had 2012 and 2013 Kansas commits Brannen Greene, Perry Ellis, Conner Frankamp and Landen Lucas in attendance.
NEWARK — Dane Miller didn’t need any added motivation for Saturday’s Garden State showdown between Rutgers and Seton Hall.
But he found it Friday in a tragic place when he learned during practice that a close friend of his from his hometown of Rochester, Siaquan Moore, had been stabbed three times in the upper torso following an incident outside of a nightclub early Monday morning.
Miller was under the impression that Moore, 21, had died Friday. Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester confirmed the death in a statement on Saturday.
“I just broke down [Friday],” Miller told SNY.tv and the New York Post after pouring in a season-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds as Rutgers beat Seton Hall, 77-72 in overtime, at The Prudential Center.
“I couldn’t really pull myself together. I felt like I had to come out and play for him.”
NEWARK — Seton Hall is now back squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
And they have their friends from down the New Jersey Turnpike to thank.
Dane Miller poured in a game-high 21 points and Gilvydas Biruta hit two clutch foul shots in the final seconds en route to 16 points as Rutgers snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Seton Hall 77-72 in overtime at The Prudential Center.
“Bad loss for a team that didn’t need one,” Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com told SNY.tv.
“Puts pressure on the DePaul game.”
NEW YORK — When the Big East Tournament starts the week after next at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s will be forced to play on the first day as one of the bottom eight seeds.
In order to make the NCAA Tournament for a second year in a row, the young Johnnies would have to win five games in five days a la Kemba Walker and company.
And while that scenario seems improbable for a team with only six recruited scholarship players, the Johnnies will be the only team at the event playing on their home court.
NEW YORK — When Tim Abromaitis went down for the season with a torn ACL during a practice on Nov. 25, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s first thought was, “I wanted to see if I could redshirt. Could I redshirt [too]?”
Things did not bode well for the Irish, who had already been picked ninth in the Big East Preseason Poll even before they lost their Preseason All-Big First Team guard.
But here we are three months after the Abromaitis injury and — surprise, surprise — the No. 20 Irish are in position for a double-bye in the upcoming Big East Tournament and a high seed in the NCAAs.
We have already focused in this space
**Hit the video above for Jeremy Lin’s presser at the All-Star Game.**
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Lin was as comfortable in front of a crowd as he is on the court.
Lin shared his story Friday in front of about 100 people during an entertaining press conference before playing in the Rising Stars Challenge consisting of rookies and second-year players.
Lin isn’t an All-Star, but he starred Friday in Orlando.
“Just to be here and to see the company and all the players that are here,” Lin said, “it’s just been unbelievable, and I’m just trying to take it all in and embrace it and enjoy it every step of the way.”
