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Thankfully, Houston Rockets not headed the Portland route

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This is good news for Rockets fans. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
Examining the top prospects that should spark new hope for Rockets at No. 3 overall

That was short. Last week the Portland Trail Blazers announced that its TV and radio broadcasters would cover the team’s road games remotely this season.

The decision was met with such fierce backlash by fans and local media that Trail Blazers president Dewayne Hankins went on the team’s flagship radio station only days later to announce that its broadcasters would be back on the road, live and in person, in 2022-23.

“I wanted to just kind of set the record straight on the broadcast piece,” Hankins said. “And just say we’ve heard you guys in the media, we’ve heard all the fans. We’re always trying to improve, we’re always trying to be that next-generation broadcast.”

I've never heard penny pinching and short-changing fans described as a "next-generation broadcast" before.

It got me thinking, is this league-wide strategy? Are the Rockets considering keeping their announcers in a Houston TV studio during road trips this season?

Not to worry. Here’s the deal from the Rockets TV play-by-play man Craig Ackerman.

SportsMap: When you heard of Portland's original plan to cover road games remotely, were you concerned that it may catch on with other teams, including the Rockets? Have you been assured that you're traveling to road games?

Craig Ackerman: I wasn't necessarily concerned it would catch-on league wide, but it was worrisome because we need to be on-site for every game and my hope is that remote broadcasting is behind us. Yes, we will be traveling to road games.

SM: Have you started preparing for the upcoming season, learning the roster, talking to staff, buying a season's worth of underwear for the road?

CA: I have started preparing for the season, updating my spotting boards, etc. But, I haven't purchased any new underwear … yet.

SM: You've had experience calling road games off TV because of Covid travel restrictions. Exactly what were the drawbacks? Can you give specific examples? Did you ever miss a critical play because TV didn't show it?

CA: For me, the biggest drawback is not feeling the atmosphere of the game. Being in a studio is a bit antiseptic and even though you have natural sounds in your headphones, it's impossible to truly replicate the energy of a building. Next, you are at the mercy of what's on your screen. We are basically seeing whatever the viewer is seeing and anything that happens off that screen is missed. For example, substitutions, coaches and players reactions. You also have to rely on your stats monitor for referee calls and it's a bit delayed when you aren't in the building and don't have the benefit of being able to get some of the info from the PA announcer. Last season there was a game (I believe it was in L.A.), where a foul or violation was called, but since it occurred a bit off camera and with the officials’ backs to us we weren't able to figure out what happened until one minute later. The stats monitor didn't provide that information and we and subsequently the viewers were very confused.

SM: When you're on the road, how much access to the players and coaches do you have?

CA: As much as we'd like. There are no restrictions. But I keep those interactions primarily within the practices and game times. I consider everything else the players/coaches personal time.

SM: Do you travel on the same plane with the coaches and players? Do you socialize with them on the plane? Do you stay in the same hotel as the team?:

CA: Yes, we travel with the team on the charter and stay at the same hotels. And yes, we do socialize from time to time on the plane.

SM: Do you get a per diem for expenses on the road like players get?

CA: I do get per diem, but it's not the same amount as the players receive.

SM: How long have you been calling Rockets games? Do you still get jet lag?

CA: The only time I've had any jet lag that I can remember was a trip to/from China in 2010. I've been calling games full-time since 2008 which began with radio. Then in 2015/16 I split calling home games on the radio and road games on TV. Last season was my first full season on TV after Bill Worrell's retirement.

SM: Who's the best interview on the current Rockets?

CA: Jae'Sean Tate.

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The Coogs are back in action Friday night. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Sixteen may be sweet, but it isn’t the only relevant number as the NCAA Tournament heads into the regional semifinals.

Here are some other numbers worth knowing for each team. These statistics will help you learn more about each of the remaining teams and could explain how some of them got this far.

EAST REGION

UCONN: In UConn’s second-round victory over Northwestern, Donovan Clingan became just the third player in tournament history to get 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks in a game. The others to do it were Hakeem Olajuwon for Houston in 1983 and David Robinson for Navy in 1986. The blocks also were the most ever by a UConn player in a tournament game.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs’ Sweet 16 matchup with defending national champion UConn will mark the fourth time that two teams have faced each other in the tournament a year after meeting in the final. The losing team from the championship won the rematch in one of the three previous instances, when Duke beat UNLV in a 1991 semifinal. Cincinnati won two straight championship games over Ohio State in 1961-62. Florida beat UCLA in the 2006 championship game and in a 2007 semifinal.

ILLINOIS: Illinois has won six in a row, and Terrence Shannon Jr. has scored at least 25 points in each of those games. The 6-foot-6 guard has averaged 30.5 points and has shot 52.8% (56 of 106) from the floor during that stretch. He also shown an uncanny knack for drawing fouls during the streak. Over his last five games, Shannon has gone 51 of 58 on free-throw attempts.

IOWA STATE: Iowa State is allowing just 61.2 points per game to rank fourth among all Division I teams in scoring defense. Since falling 73-65 to Houston on Feb. 19, the Cyclones haven’t allowed any of their last 10 opponents to exceed 65 points. The Cyclones next face Illinois, which ranks ninth in points per game (84.6) and has averaged 91.3 points over its last four contests.

WEST REGION

ALABAMA: Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada were the first set of Division I teammates since 1996-97 to both have at least 410 points, 125 assists, 120 rebounds, 50 3-point baskets and 40 steals during the regular season. Sears is averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. Estrada has 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

NORTH CAROLINA: Armando Bacot had seven straight tournament double-doubles and six consecutive tourney games with at least 15 rebounds before he ended up with 18 points and seven boards in a second-round victory over Michigan State. His seven straight NCAA double-doubles matched Tim Duncan and Olajuwon for the NCAA record.

ARIZONA: Arizona’s first-round triumph over Long Beach State marked the 19th time this season the Wildcats had five different players score in double figures. No other Division I team had that many games this season in which five different players had at least 10 points.

CLEMSON: Each of Clemson’s first two tournament opponents has shot below 40% against the Tigers. Clemson won its first-round game by limiting New Mexico to 29.7% shooting, the lowest percentage the Tigers had ever allowed in an NCAA tourney game. Clemson now faces Arizona, which shot 52.8% in its second-round victory over Dayton.

MIDWEST REGION

CREIGHTON: Baylor Scheierman is the first Division I men’s player in history to have at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 3-point baskets. Scheierman, who is in his second season at Creighton after playing three seasons at South Dakota State, has 2,208 points, 1,250 rebounds, 578 assists and 352 3-pointers.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee is making its 10th Sweet 16 appearance – including its seventh in the last 18 years – but the Volunteers have never reached the Final Four and earned their lone regional final berth in 2010.

GONZAGA: Gonzaga is in the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time, the longest active streak of any Division I team. Going back to 1975 – the first year that all teams had to win at least one game to reach the Sweet 16 – the record for consecutive Sweet 16 appearances is owned by North Carolina with 13 straight from 1981-93.

PURDUE: Zach Edey is the first player since Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) in 1968 to have at least 50 points and 35 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field in his first two games of an NCAA Tournament. Edey has shot 67.9% (19 of 28) and has totaled 53 points and 35 rebounds in victories over Grambling State and Utah State.

SOUTH REGION

DUKE: Jared McCain has gone 10 of 17 from 3-point range through the first two rounds. In the Blue Devils’ second-round blowout of James Madison, McCain became the first freshman to score at least 30 points without committing a turnover in an NCAA Tournament game since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

HOUSTON: The Cougars showcased their depth by surviving a second-round matchup with Texas A&M in overtime even after four of their five starters fouled out. They became the first team to win an NCAA game while having at least four players foul out since 1987, when UTEP overcame foul trouble to beat Arizona.

MARQUETTE: Marquette owns a 75-29 record under coach Shaka Smart despite posting a negative rebound margin in each of his three seasons. The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded in each of their last eight games but have gone 5-3. They’re getting outrebounded by 3 boards per game this season. The only other Sweet 16 team with a negative rebound margin is North Carolina State (minus-0.8), which faces Marquette on Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mohamed Diarra has 6.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, but he’s averaged 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds over his last six. Michael O’Connell scored in double digits three times and totaled 14 3-point baskets in 31 regular-season games. He’s reached double figures in six of seven postseason games and has gone 12 of 22 from 3-point range during that stretch.

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