ncaa basketball
Is it OK to pray for your team to win?
Mar 6th
Does theology address this kind of winning? Does God take sides in a ball game? Is it right to pray to win? Does goodness ever have anything to do with winning?
That’s the Question of Faith Kentucky.com posed to their Faith Blog Network participants.
Tennessee Vols stun No. 2 Kentucky
Feb 28th
The 19th-ranked Volunteers withstood a furious rally by the supremely talented Wildcats and scored the final nine points for a 74-65 Southeastern Conference victory.
Kentucky erased a 19-point lead in less than 12 minutes, tying the score on a DeMarcus Cousins slam with 2:10 left. But the Wildcats (27-2, 12-2) didn’t score again, thanks to a series of turnovers and bad shots forced by the scrappy Vols (21-7, 9-5).
“They’re a good team — a great team, really — but they’re not unbeatable, especially in our house,” said UT senior wing J.P. Prince, who scored six of his game-high 20 points in the final 94 seconds. “We’ve been through a lot this year, but we’re still standing, and we can still beat anybody. And we just showed that.”
Tennessee won’t be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but it has now beaten half the probable field of No. 1s. First it was Kansas, now it’s Kentucky. Both in Thompson-Boling Arena, both holding on late, both with the help of huge three-pointers from near the same spot on the court. Skylar McBee did the honors in the last minute against Kansas, Hopkinsville, Ky., native Scotty Hopson did it to the Wildcats.
Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin grounded in faith
Mar 24th
Here’s an article on Blake Griffin, the standout basketball player leading the Oklahoma Sooners in the NCAA basketball tournament.
The story talks about Blake being homeschooled in a Christian family, the faith he embraces, and the quiet bond he has with brother and teammate Taylor Griffin.
Homeschool became an alternative to what the Griffins view as an America less and less open to the presence of God in our lives.
“We’ve deviated (in America) from our past to where we are right now. Here’s a nation founded on the opportunity for freedom of religion, and every time you look around, there’s people saying God has to be taken out of this, out of this,” says father Tommy Griffin.
Kansas’ Mario Chalmers finds inspiration in Bible verses
Apr 10th
Mario Chalmers was one of the heroes in Kansas’ victory over Memphis for the NCAA championship Monday night, sinking a clutch three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
According to ESPN online columnist Pat Forde, Chalmers carried a little something extra in his pocket. With just over two minutes left in the game -– before Kansas mounted a nine-point comeback en route to a 75-68 overtime win -– Chalmers looked at two verses he had written on a piece of paper: Psalm 46:10 and verse 1.
Verse 10 of Psalm 46 counsels, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Verse 1 reminds: “God is a refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.”
“We were in trouble at that time,” Chalmers added.
Tarheel’s Quentin Thomas: "God is enough"
Apr 10th
Quentin Thomas ended his North Carolina career Saturday night as the winningest player in the Tarheels’ storied history.
But the senior guard said his personal faith in Jesus Christ was enough to help him overcome the career-ending loss to Kansas.
“I keep my faith in good times and bad. God is enough for me and I know I’m strong through Him,” Thomas said.
Thomas was a part of 117 North Carolina wins and is the only member of the current team who played on the 2004-05 national championship squad.
He said he hopes to play professionally somewhere next season or perhaps go into ministry.
- BPSports.net
Tennessee’s Alexis Hornbuckle lifts Lady Vols
Apr 8th
Tennessee’s Alexis Hornbuckle doesn’t shy away from big shots. In the lowest scoring game in Final Four history Sunday night, the PK (“preacher’s kid”) scored the winning basket of the game with only .07 seconds left putting the Tennessee Lady Vols over the top against LSU, and setting them up to play for the National Championship game against Stanford tonight.
Tennessee had been struggling with their injured star player and All-American, Candace Parker, in obvious pain. Their hopes for another national title seemed to be slipping away and Alexis Hornbuckle was blaming herself. The senior guard best known for being one of the top defensive players in the country also takes pride in being able to carry her share of the load offensively, so she frets when her shot is not falling.
She missed her first seven shots before making a putback with less than a second remaining to beat LSU 47-46 and send Tennessee into Tuesday night’s NCAA championship game.
In the title game, Hornbuckle’s defensive assignment will entail guarding Stanford star Candice Wiggins, who’s averaging 27.4 points per game during the tournament and is the biggest reason the Cardinals are playing for the championship for the first time since 1992.
Related: Candace Parker wins Naismith Award
