Daymond John: NCAA Tournament 'Is The Modern-Day Version Of Slavery’

Shark Tank star Daymond John spoke with TMZ Live on Friday and condemned the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness tournament calling it “modern-day slavery.” Watch his comments below.

Norfolk State wins MEAC Tournament, headed to the NCAA tournament

For years, the Norfolk State men’s basketball team has fought tooth and nail to get back to the Big Dance only to fall short every time.

On Saturday afternoon, that all came to an end.

Tournament MVP Joe Bryant scored 17 points in leading North No. 2 seed NSU to a 71-63 win over North No. 3 seed Morgan State in the MEAC Tournament final. The Spartans won their second-ever MEAC title, taking the lead from the Bears midway through the first half on Saturday and never giving it up.

NSU held Morgan State to just 39 percent shooting, including 3-of-17 from the 3-point line. Along with Bryant, senior Kashaun Hicks added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds, and senior Devante Carter tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Carter was named to the all-tournament team along with Bryant.

The Spartans also won the MEAC title in 2012 when they went on to defeat No. 2 seed Missouri in their first NCAA Tournament appearance. After the MEAC Tournament moved to Norfolk Scope in 2013, NSU had advanced to the finals twice in the previous seven years it was fully held (last year’s championship was cancelled due to COVID-19), in addition to three other semifinal appearances.

NSU ended that championship drought while improving to 16-7 on the year. The Spartans led by double digits most of the second half on Saturday, and the Bears (14-8) got no closer than six late in the game.

The Spartans will find out their seeding and opponent in the NCAA Tournament, held this year in Indianapolis, on Sunday with the NCAA Selection Show beginning at 6 p.m. live on CBS.

“We knew Morgan State wouldn’t go away,” said head coach Robert Jones, who was named the MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Coach. “Coach Broadus is a good friend of mine, and we said all year that we were the two best teams in this league. We showed it tonight.

“It was a dogfight the whole time. We watched their first two games, and they were down by nine at the half, so we just said this wasn’t going to be the third game in a row.”

Indeed, NSU led by seven at the half. Bryant caught fire in the second period, scoring 10 points before the first media timeout as NSU stretched its lead to 13. The junior had a 3-pointer and a 3-point play for the Spartans as their lead went back to double digits. A 17-8 run was ultimately capped by buckets from senior Kyonze Chavis and sophomore Nyzaiah Chambers for a 16-point lead, 56-40, with 13 and a half minutes to go.

NSU’s largest lead of the game stood up. The Bears tried to make a run, getting as close as 11 before Bryant’s corner 3-pointer put an end to that. Morgan State was able to get the deficit to single digits late in the last few minutes, but Hicks had a pair of breakaway dunks on a full-court press to keep MSU from getting any closer than six.

The Bears were led by all-tournament honorees De’Torrion Ware (16 points, five rebounds) and Lagio Grantsaan (13 points, eight rebounds). They finished with a 42-34 edge on the glass.

It was a back and forth game in the early going before a dunk from Chambers on a nice feed from senior Mustafa Lawrence at 10:44 to put NSU ahead for the rest of the half. Carter hit a 3-point shot, and Lawrence also sank one for a six-point lead, 24-18, with less than eight minutes to go in the half.

After a 3-point play from Ware, NSU turned around and scored eight straight for a double-digit lead. Hicks had a pair of baskets during a quick 8-0 run, and Lawrence finished it with three free throws to make it 34-24.

Thanks to a late 3-pointer from Chavis, the Spartans went into the half nursing a 37-30 advantage.

NSU shot 42 percent for the afternoon, 47 percent in the second half, hitting seven 3-pointers along the way. The Spartans forced 18 turnovers and held a 24-10 edge in points off turnovers.

Lawrence added eight points while hitting all five of his free throw attempts. Chavis tallied seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Prairie View A&M wins SWAC tournament headed to NCAA Tournament

The Prairie View A&M Panthers (22-12) defeated the Texas Southern University Tigers (21-13) 92-86 to win the SWAC (South Western Athletic Conference) and a spot in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers were led by guards Gary Blackston and guard Dennis Jones, both of whom scored 17 points. Forward Devonte Patterson led the team in rebounding with six boards and chipped in offensively with 10 points.

Head coach Byron Smith has led his team to the NCAA Tournament in his second full season as head men's basketball coach at Prairie View A&M University. This is only the second trip for the Panthers to the big dance after getting there once before in 1998.

North Carolina Central University headed to the NCAA Tournament

With a 50-47 win over the Norfolk State University Spartans (21-3), the North Carolina Central University eagles (18-15) won the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Championship game and punched their ticket to the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The Eagles were led by Raasean Davis, who was voted the tournament’s most outstanding player. Davis scored eight points and snagged 14 rebounds. Zacarry Douglas chipped in to help with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

It's the third straight title for NCCU, securing its third consecutive trip to the Big Dance. NCCU is the first MEAC team to win three straight tournament titles since North Carolina A&T won seven in a row from 1982-1988.

“Typical championship game,” NCCU head coach LeVelle Moton said. “We knew we were going to be in for a dog fight. We knew there were going to be some high highs and low lows.”

The Eagles, have now won four MEAC tournament titles in eight years of being a full MEAC member.

“This is what we do it for,” Moton said. “You try to push and squeeze all the juice out of the orange and get them to believe in themselves. I’m thankful that they believed in themselves this week.”

The Eagles will now wait to see who they’ll face during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, March 17.

Georgia State coach takes funny shot at President Obama after winning NCAA Tournament game

Yesterday Cinderella had her moment when underdog and 14th seeded Georgia State (I'm assuming it's in the state of Georgia, the US one not the Russian one) beat 3rd seeded Baylor 57-56. During the locker room celebration Georgia State coach, Ron Hunter got at President Obama for doing what everyone except maybe Georgia State players and coaches did. That would be picking Baylor to win the game. Check out his funny comments below:

Hampton beats Manhattan to win opening round NCAA Tournament game.

16th seeded MEAC champion Hampton and 16th seeded MAAC champions Manhattan played in the first game of the NCAA Tournament (the play-in game or a First Four game if you prefer) with Hampton coming out on top 74-64.

The Hampton Pirates were led by senior Quinton Chievous who scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Junior Reginald Johnson chipped in with 15 points.

With the win Hampton moves to 17-17 and gets to play the #1 overall seeded Kentucky Wildcats March 19 in the next round. This is Hampton's second ever win in the NCAA Tournament. They had better enjoy it because they want be getting that third win against Kentucky.

The Texas Southern Tigers are going to the NCAA Tournament!

The Texas Southern Tigers had locked up the SWAC Tournament title and are headed to the NCAA Tournament. Although they won the championship game over Southern University 62-58 they were already champions once they made the championship game, since Southern was ineligible for the NCAA's for academic reasons.

Texas Southern was led by Malcolm Riley who scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds. Madarious Gibbs added 12 points.

This makes back to back NCAA tournaments for the Tigers. Congratulations to TSU and good lick in the NCAA Tournament.

The 4 African American coaches to win NCAA Basketball Tournament championship.

First let me say congratulations to Kevin Ollie and the UConn Huskies for winning their fourth national championship by beating Kentucky 60-54. Not much was made of Kevin Ollie's race ( that's a good thing ) but that's because of those African American coaches that paved the way for him. Do you know who the other three black coaches to win NCAA national titles are? Find out below:

John Thompson: Georgetown Hoyas.

Thompson and his Hoyas beat Houston 84-75 in 1984 to win Georgetown's first national championship. The Hoyas would return to the national championship game the next year and lose in a classic game against Villanova.

Nolan Richardson: Arkansas Razorbacks.

Nolan Richardson would would the NCAA title in 1994 when his Razorbacks defeated Louisville 82-70. Nolan Richardson would get his team back to the final game in 1995 and lose to UCLA.

Tubby Smith: Kentucky Wildcats.

Tubby Smith would lead the Wildcats to a national championship in 1998 by beating Utah 78-69. The team would make the Elite Eight the next year.