Liberty has hired Marquette assistant coach Dale Layer to replace Ritchie McKay as Liberty’s coach. Layer had worked on McKay’s staff with the Flames during the 2007-08 season before moving to Marquette this past season.

Canisius assistant coach Lazare Adingono resigned April 2 after he was arrested Feb. 10 and charged with second-degree assault and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Adingono was on leave since late February.

No. 3 Villanova looked more like the dominating program that is nearly accustomed to deep NCAA Tournament runs than No. 2 Duke did in a 77-54 beatdown in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats’ defense kept Duke off balance for the entire game and held explosive junior swingman Gerald Henderson to seven points on 1-of-14 shooting.

Sophomore guard Nolan Smith and junior swingman Gerald Henderson made five critical free throws in the final minute to give No. 2 Duke a 74-69 win against mistake-prone No. 7 Texas. The Blue Devils’ defense minimized the long-range threat of senior guard A.J. Abrams, holding Texas’ best shooter to two three-pointers.

Dionte Christmas played all 40 minutes for No. 4 Temple and led the Owls with 29 points in a 69-64 win against No. 7 Duquesne

No. 1 Xavier failed to make a field goal for nearly seven minutes late in the second half, and No. 4 Temple escaped with a 55-53 win. No. 7 Duquesne got 24 points from senior guard Aaron Jackson and freshman guard Melquan Bolding to lead the Dukes to a 77-66 win against No. 3 Dayton.

No. 8 Providence’s defense stepped up late to help the Friars rally for an 83-74 win against No. 16 DePaul. No. 5 Marquette crushed No. 13 St. John’s 74-45 by out-working the Red Storm for loose rebounds and out-shooting St. John’s from the field. No. 7 West Virginia jumped out to a 20-5 lead after the first 10 minutes and led by as much as 20 in the second half en route to a 74-62 win against No. 10 Notre Dame. Junior guard Eric Devendorf scored 19 points in the second half to help lead Syracuse to a 89-74 victory.

No. 2 Portland State junior forward Julius Thomas dunked the winning basket with three seconds to go in the game to give the Vikings a 79-77 Big Sky championship against No. 6 Montana State.

Sam Perkins takes us on a fun trip around the America East, with some dunks and some laughs.

The Cat Came Back: Arizona coach Lute Olson has reinstated senior guard Chris Rodgers, giving the Wildcats more firepower on the perimeter. Olson had indefinitely suspended Rodgers in January for disciplinary reasons. He did not offer details but indicated that Rodgers’ attitude did not fit well with the team. Olson […]