Sports briefs
Smith fired
by Memphis
Tubby Smith has been fired as Memphis men’s basketball coach after two seasons amid dropping attendance and donations to the athletic department.
Smith told reporters he was no longer coach as he left a meeting Wednesday with Memphis President M. David Rudd and athletic director Tom Bowen.
Smith went 40-26 at Memphis, including 21-13 this season. The Tigers won seven of their final nine games before losing Saturday 70-60 to No. 8 Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.
He came to Memphis in April 2016 as one of only two coaches to lead five different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Now 66, Smith leaves without taking Memphis to any postseason tournament in his two seasons. Smith is 597-302 with a national title with Kentucky in 1998.
Smith went 19-13 in his first season and followed that with a major roster turnover bringing in 11 new players.
Attendance dropped to 6,225 this season, Memphis’ lowest attendance since 1969-70 and putting the university at risk of missing out on a $800,000 payment from the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies who control the FedExForum. The Commercial Appeal also reported donations to the athletic department dropped $1.1 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year.
Penny Hardaway is a top candidate to replace Smith.
A Memphis native, Hardaway played at then-Memphis State between 1991 and 1993. Hardaway currently coaches an AAU team and also coaches Memphis East High School, which will be playing for a third straight Tennessee Class AAA title this week. Forward James Wiseman, the No. 2 prospect in 2019 nationally, plays for Hardaway on both teams.
College softball
California University hit five home runs, including two by junior Taylor Robblee, in a 13-1 victory over Post (Conn.) Wednesday before suffering a 3-1 loss to No. 20 Indianapolis at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.
The Vulcans are 5-7 on the season.
In the NIT
Markus Howard scored 22 points, and Marquette held on to beat Harvard 67-60 on Wednesday night in the first round of the NIT despite three turnovers in the final minute.
The Golden Eagles held a seemingly comfortable nine-point lead with 1:20 left when the Crimson’s pressure defense created three steals.
But Harvard managed just two points off the mistakes after Justin Bassey missed two foul shots and threw the ball away after the final steal with 21 seconds left.
Marquette went 4 of 4 from the line the rest of the way.
Andrew Rowsey added 15 points but shot 4 of 13 from the field. Reserve forward Jamal Cain added 11 points and six rebounds for the Golden Eagles (20-13), who moved on to play Oregon on Sunday in the next round.