Arkansas dismisses Heath as coach

Stan Heath can only wonder what next season would have been like at Arkansas.

“I feel a little disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to coach what I think was going to be my best basketball team,” Heath said Monday.

Heath was fired Monday after five seasons at Arkansas after losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. The Razorbacks made the NCAA tournament thanks to a late-season run, but that was not enough to save Heath’s job. Arkansas (21-14) lost to USC, 77-60, in the first round.

Heath’s record at the school was 82-71, but 31-49 in Southeastern Conference play. The Razorbacks were 7-9 in conference play during this regular season.

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John Calipari, who guided Memphis to the NCAA regional final for the second straight season, received a contract extension through 2012.

Memphis lost to Ohio State, 92-76, in the South Regional on Saturday. The Tigers finished 33-4.

Terms of the contract were not available.

Calipari is 181-63 in seven seasons at Memphis.

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Bill Grier was introduced as San Diego’s coach, taking over 2 1/2 weeks after Brad Holland was fired after 13 seasons at the West Coast Conference school.

It’s the first college head-coaching job for Grier, 43, who was on the Gonzaga coaching staff for 16 years.

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Utah is set to hire Michigan State assistant Jim Boylen.

A person close to Boylen confirmed the move to the Associated Press, requesting anonymity because the hiring wasn’t expected to be announced until today. Utah officials wouldn’t confirm the hiring ahead of the news conference.

It will be the first head-coaching job for Boylen, who has been an assistant to Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo the last two seasons after 13 years as an NBA assistant -- including 11 years with the Houston Rockets and stints with Golden State and Milwaukee.

Former Houston and Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Boylen called him with the news of the hiring.

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North Dakota State promoted assistant Saul Phillips to head coach.

Phillips, an assistant for the last three seasons, will succeed Tim Miles, who left to become coach at Colorado State.

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Jason Ray, the North Carolina student who performed as a mascot for the school’s basketball team, died three days after being struck by a car before an NCAA tournament game. He was 21.

Ray had been in critical condition at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey since the accident Friday afternoon. He was hit from behind while walking on a highway shoulder near his Fort Lee hotel after going to a nearby convenience store.

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The men’s NCAA tournament on CBS is averaging a 6.2 national overnight rating with a 13 share, up slightly from the 6.1/12 average at this juncture last year.

In Los Angeles, UCLA’s victory over Kansas on Saturday got a 6.9/18 and the UCLA-Pittsburgh game Thursday drew a 7.3/12.

USC’s loss to North Carolina on Friday got a 5.9/11.

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-- Larry Stewart