College Sports: Tariq Owens will start for Texas Tech in the national championship against Virginia after arriving at the stadium in a sports shoe

MINNEAPOLIS – Tariq Owens (Texas Tech) started the NCAA championship game against Virginia despite a right ankle injury.

The 6-10 year old senior striker, who set a record for blocks for the school season, suffered a sprained ankle in the national semifinal against Michigan State. He was still not 100%. He arrived at us. The Bank Stadium in a walking boot after ankle rehab with sports coach Chris Williams every two hours.

Technical coach Chris Beard told CBS before the match that Owens would not have played under normal circumstances. The league match changed the equation, he said.

"It's the last Monday of college basketball, so he'll try," said Beard.

International game: Even with the growth of basketball around the world, there are still firsts.

Texas Tech goalkeeper and native of Italy, David Moretti, battled fellow countryman Francesco Badocchi of Virginia in the championship game.

"This has never happened before, so it's something we have to be proud of," said Moretti, who played a key role in the NCAA's win against Michigan and Gonzaga in the west region. "We know that a whole country is following us, I am sure they are proud of what we have done so far."

Shock hockey sticker: Mark Adams, Tech's assistant coach and de facto defensive coordinator, took a break from basketball to become the general manager of the minor league hockey team Amarillo Rattlers.

He admits that his knowledge of hockey was slightly lacking.

"It was a joke, I did not know anything about it," Adams said. "At one of my first meetings with the hockey coach, I asked him how much was a hockey stick." He talked about $ 25 or $ 30. 30 hockey sticks a year, so my budget of $ 500 a year has gone up to $ 25,000. "

Briefly: Among the influences that Adams has listed for his defensive philosophy in Dick Bennett, the father of Tony Bennett, coach of Virginia. Anthony Lynn, former coach of Texas Tech, sent his best wishes by video. … You have to go back 40 years for the last championship meeting of two teams that had never won a title. If 1979 tells you anything, it is that Michigan State and Magic Johnson have defeated Indiana State and Larry Bird.