Keith Bogans

Profiling Kentucky’s Keith Bogans

by Phil Kasiecki

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not for the senior leader on the team that finished the regular season with 23 straight victories and was a clear favorite heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Keith Bogans didn’t end his college career the way he wanted to, as Kentucky lost to Marquette in the Midwest regional final on Saturday by a score of 83-69. Not only did the Wildcats not finish the season as planned, especially after they passed on cutting down the nets after winning the SEC Championship, but Bogans struggled mightily with a high ankle sprain sustained in their win over Wisconsin on Thursday.

Bogans had 15 points on 4-11 shooting, but didn’t look like he belonged on the court at times. An excellent athlete, he didn’t have the quickness, explosiveness, or body control he normally has, and lacking that, he was also an uncharacteristic liability on defense as Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles torched the Wildcat defense. They shot 56% against a Kentucky team that entered the game allowing opponents to shoot just over 41% on the season and just over 39% in the first three NCAA Tournament wins.

Despite the ending, Bogans is a great testament to a kid staying in school, improving his game and growing up as a basketball player. While many want kids to stay in school just for the sake of it, Bogans would have made a mistake had he not withdrawn from the NBA Draft two years ago. Despite averaging 17 points per game and shooting 36% on three-pointers, he likely would not have been drafted. At 6’5″, he is more of a small forward than a shooting guard, and he did not shoot the ball consistently well, especially as he too often settled for three-point shots instead of trying to go to the basket.

Last year was a disappointing junior season, as he struggled to shoot the ball amidst a season of turmoil in the program. He scored 11.6 points per game, but shot under 40% from the field and 31.5% on three-pointers, numbers that would make one initially wonder what he was doing declaring for the NBA Draft after his sophomore year. On the plus side, he reversed the trend he had with assists and turnovers, recording a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio.

Head coach Tubby Smith challenged Bogans to be the senior leader of this team entering this season, and the native of Alexandria, Virginia, one of many pupils of legendary coach Morgan Wootten, responded emphatically. He was the SEC Player of the Year and an All-American as the Wildcats’ leading scorer and led in steals, but he did much more than just put up numbers. He scored his points in the flow of the offense, played solid defense, handled the ball when needed, and he scored in more ways than the jump shot, which was a problem in his early years since he too often settled for three-point shots.

Bogans is now a better NBA prospect than he was when he declared for the draft two years ago. He’s not exactly lottery pick material, but he should be drafted and now has what it takes to hang around the league for a while. He’s a good athlete and a strong wing player whose jump shot has improved as well as his shot selection, has become a better scorer and knows how to use his talents, and his overall improvement shows that he can get better and is very coachable.

He tried to tough it out on Saturday like any competitor would, and perhaps a little too much. At times he tried using his hands to fend off a defender on the drive, and he couldn’t stop his momentum a few times and nearly got called for charges. He didn’t have his legs under him and his shooting suffered, all to the point where Tubby Smith might have been better off sitting Bogans and trying to win with a healthy body out there like Antwain Barbour.

Bogans finishes his career as the fourth all-time leading scorer at Kentucky with 1,923 points, which is no small feat at the school with a great tradition. Along the way this season, he passed players such as Tony Delk and Jamal Mashburn, as well as former teammate Tayshaun Prince. He also finishes second in career three-pointers made and first in three-point attempts.

Keith Bogans made his mark on Kentucky basketball, despite not ending the way he and others would have it. He led a great season, one where we saw that Kentucky is doing just fine despite recent turmoil, and he goes out a winner regardless of the result of his last game.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 30th, 2003

by Phil Kasiecki

Keith Bogans tried. He really tried. But he just didn’t have enough, and part of it was mental, as is often the case with an injury. He lacked the quickness, explosiveness, and body control he normally has, looking nothing like the senior leader who was SEC Player of the Year and the driving force behind the 26-game winning streak Kentucky brought into Saturday’s Midwest regional final against Marquette.

Dwyane Wade stole the show in this one with a triple-double (29 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists), and Marquette shot over 56% from the field en route to an 83-69 win. For good measure, Wade had four blocks as well. He didn’t do it alone, as Robert Jackson had 24 points and 15 rebounds in controlling the paint, and freshman Steve Novak had five three-pointers en route to 16 points.

Bogans had 15 points, but they didn’t come without a major struggle as he shot 4-11 from the field and was a defensive liability. Gerald Fitch also had 15 in the losing effort.

Marquette (27-5) took the game over in the latter part of the first half, finishing on a 35-12 run to take a 19-point lead at the break, and they did not slow down in the second half. Kentucky (32-4) never got closer than 12.

The West regional final in Anaheim was every bit the great matchup it was expected to be, a rematch of an earlier meeting this season. When No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 Kansas met in Lawrence, it was a tale of two halves as Kansas led by 20 at one point and by 13 at the half, only to see Arizona storm back to win going away, 91-74. This time, the Jayhawks got a measure of revenge, holding on for a 78-75 win to advance to the Final Four for the second year in a row and get the program’s 1,800th win.

As in the first game, Kansas (29-7) had big leads in this one, as they led by 16 in the first half before Arizona (28-4) scored the last 13 points of the half to make it 38-35 at halftime, then they led by 14 in the second half before Arizona ran off 16 unanswered points to take the lead at 58-56 with 10:32 to play.

Kansas had foul trouble in the second half, as Aaron Miles picked up his fourth with 10:55 remaining, and Nick Collison picked up his fourth with 8:19 to play, but Kirk Hinrich was the story. He had 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, a nice change from the 1-9 showing he had on Thursday night. But he also got good help from Jeff Graves, who had 13 points and 15 rebounds, making several key plays down the stretch.

Jason Gardner closed out his college career with 23 points, while Luke Walton finished his with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

In the final seconds, Gardner dribbled up the floor and tried a three-pointer, but Hinrich blocked it. Walton recovered, got it back to Gardner for one last chance near the corner, but it went off the rim and Kansas held on.

Side Dishes

Washington State Hires Bennett: In a move reported earlier in the week, Washington State introduced former Wisconsin head coach Dick Bennett as their next head coach, replacing Paul Graham. Bennett led Wisconsin to the Final Four in 2000, but abruptly retired eight months later. The Cougars went 7-20, 2-16 in the Pac Ten this season.

Georgia Denies Releases to Prospects: The Associated Press reported that Georgia denied requests for releases from national letters of intent from two prospects who signed with the program in November. The stance the school is taking is that they would like Jordan Howell (Madison, AL) and Mohamed Abukar (San Diego, CA) to visit with the new head coach before deciding where they will go, according to associate athletic director Damon Evans. Evans did not know if the school’s three other signees, which include Atlanta native and top 50 prospect Corey Gibbs, have asked to be released to this point.

Kareem May Come Home: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has interviewed with Columbia about their head coaching position and would like to have it. The Hall of Famer grew up in New York before going to UCLA, so it would be a return home for him. Columbia fired head coach Armond Hill after the team went 2-25, the worst season in its 103-year basketball history. They finished the season by losing their last 18 games.

Tonight’s Menu:

Two more teams earn trips to New Orleans to fill out the Final Four.

• The East regional final in Albany features No. 1 Oklahoma taking on No. 3 Syracuse.

• The South regional final in San Antonio features No. 1 Texas taking on No. 7 Michigan State.

That’s all for now. Enjoy your Sunday!

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 29th, 2003

by Phil Kasiecki

Thursday night’s games were a tough act to follow, but the teams in action on Friday night sure did a good job.

In San Antonio, the first South regional semifinal was a dandy between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Connecticut. Behind the home crowd coming from about 80 miles away, Texas led for most of the game, including stretches where they took over the game and opened the lead up to double digits. They frustrated Ben Gordon, the Huskies’ leading scorer, for most of the night, as he wound up with 16 points on 6-15 shooting.

But Gordon and the Huskies didn’t throw in the towel. Texas scored six straight to open the lead to 62-48, but the Huskies roared back. They scored 11 straight as part of a 26-9 run to eventually take a 74-71 lead on a three-pointer by Gordon. The run was aided by T.J. Ford having to sit for five minutes after picking up his fourth foul, as the Huskies had cut the lead to 62-55 when he picked up the foul and took the lead just after he returned.

In the final minutes, Ford (13 points, 9 assists) made the difference as he returned to the game when it was tied at 71. The teams traded baskets until the game was tied at 76. Ford hit James Thomas (13 points, 15 rebounds), who got fouled and made both free throws for a 78-76 lead. At the other end, Taliek Brown (9 points, 7 assists) hit Marcus White for a wide open layup, but Brian Boddicker got there at the last second and got a hand on the ball, lodging it between the rim and the backboard for a jump ball.

Texas got the ball back from the possession arrow, then proceeded to make four more free throws in the closing seconds in an 82-78 win.

The Longhorns (25-6) were led by a career-high 27 points (10-18 shooting) from Brandon Mouton. Emeka Okafor led Connecticut (23-10) with 21 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks.

The second game was very similar between two recent national champions, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 6 Maryland. Michigan State lead most of the game, including by double digits well into the second half, but the defending national champs didn’t mail it in. The Spartans broke a 32-32 tie with a 15-2 run, eventually going up 54-40 on two free throws by Allan Anderson (10 points). The Terrapins then ran off 15 straight to take a 55-54 lead.

With 4.7 seconds left and the game tied at 58, freshman Paul Davis (team-high 13 points) worked on the baseline and made a tough shot off the glass to give the Spartans a 60-58 lead. After a timeout, Steve Blake dribbled up the middle and got a clean look at a three-pointer, but it went off the rim as time expired.

Michigan State (22-12) is now the highest remaining seed left in the tournament, not long after they were considered a bubble team. Drew Nicholas had 18 points to lead Maryland as the Terrapins finish their season at 21-10.

In Albany, the early East regional semifinal almost looked like a mismatch. No. 1 Oklahoma won 65-54 over No. 12 Butler, as the Bulldogs couldn’t stop Ebi Ere, who came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points on 11-19 shooting. The Sooners (27-6) also had their way on the offensive glass with 19 offensive rebounds, but Butler (27-6) kept it close for most of the game behind a 21-point, 8-rebound effort from Joel Cornette.

Injured guard Hollis Price had 12 points and 5 assists for Oklahoma, but the Sooners didn’t need much production from him. Ere and the frontcourt did the work.

The second game in Albany saw No. 3 Syracuse with a near-home game against No. 10 Auburn, a surprise entry in the Sweet 16 after upsetting No. 7 St. Joseph’s and No. 2 Wake Forest. Syracuse led throughout the game, including by 17 at one stage, but Marquis Daniels (game-high 27 points, 9 rebounds) and the Tigers stayed within striking distance, getting within three on two occasions in the latter part of the second half.

But Carmelo Anthony came alive in the second half, where he scored all 18 of his points. The Orangemen missed a few free throws, but made enough plays to hold off a late barrage of three-pointers by Auburn in a 79-78 victory to advance to the Elite Eight. The Tigers (22-12) were right there at times, but could never get over the hump against the Orangemen (27-5).

The Big East led the way in the first two rounds, as all four of its teams made the Sweet 16, but the Big 12 rules the Elite Eight as all three of its remaining teams advanced and Syracuse is the only Big East team. In fact, the Big 12 is the only conference with more than one team in the Elite Eight.

Side Dishes

Bogans Questionable: As expected, Kentucky senior Keith Bogans sat out practice Friday after suffering a high ankle sprain in Thursday night’s 63-57 win over Wisconsin. The SEC Player of the Year said there is no way he could have played a game on Friday, but he will try if it heals sufficiently by Saturday’s regional final against Marquette.

Shoulder Surgery Ahead: Purdue guard Kenneth Lowe, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, will have surgery on his dislocated shoulder next month. He sustained the injury on February 22 against Ohio State, but was able to play in the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament games. Lowe was also the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.6 points per game. Purdue head coach Gene Keady expects Lowe to be out of basketball action for four months.

Tar Heels Meet With AD: A group of North Carolina’s players met with athletic director Dick Baddour on Thursday, and they met with him individually on Friday to talk about the program and head coach Matt Doherty. Baddour reiterated that he supports Doherty, and Doherty said he initiated the idea so that players will talk about any concerns internally instead of with the media. The Tar Heels went 19-16 this season, losing in the quarterfinals of the NIT.

Tonight’s Menu:

Two teams will earn trips to New Orleans for the Final Four today.

• In the Midwest regional final, No. 1 Kentucky takes on No. 3 Marquette in Minneapolis.

• The West regional final is a rematch of an earlier game this season, as No. 1 Arizona takes on No. 2 Kansas in Anaheim.

That’s all for now. Enjoy your Saturday and the first two regional finals!

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Friday, March 28th, 2003

by Brian Seymour

When the pairings for the NCAA Tournament were announced, most pundits pointed at a possible pairing in the national semifinals between Kentucky and Arizona.

Well, after both schools posted wins Thursday night in regional semifinal contests, that dream matchup is now one step closer to happening — though Kentucky’s victory was particularly costly.

Arizona removed a lot of doubts left by its close shave against Gonzaga in a 88-71 thumping of Notre Dame in a West Regional semifinal, while Kentucky posted a 63-57 victory over Wisconsin, but may have lost Keith Bogans in the process.

Arizona, who will face Kansas in Saturday’s West Regional final, pulled away from the Irish with a 22-3 run late in the first half to take a 47-29 lead. Notre Dame (24-10) would get no closer than 10 points for the rest of the game. Jason Gardner scored 19 for the Wildcats (28-3) and Luke Walton had 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Torin Francis scored 25 points for Notre Dame on 10-of-11 shooting from the field and added 10 rebounds. It was the first loss in the tournament for a Big East school.

The “other” Wildcats (32-3) are reeling after the loss of Bogans, their leading scorer and one of the main reasons UK has now won 26 straight games. Marquis Estill picked up the slack with 28 points, the only Wildcat in double figures. Bogans, who suffered a high ankle sprain late in the first half, is reportedly questionable for the Midwest Regional final Saturday against Marquette.

Wisconsin (24-8) was close throughout the entire game and had even closed to within 56-55 with 1:34 remaining, but Kentucky was able to get a big offensive rebound and putback on the next possession and the Badgers were done. Kirk Penney led Wisconsin with 20 points.

In the night’s other set of regional semifinals, No. 2 Kansas defeated No. 3 Duke 69-65 and No. 3 Marquette scored a mild upset of No. 2 Pittsburgh, 77-74.

The encounter between Kansas and Duke was hyped all week as a potential classic and it would have been hard for both teams to live up to those expectations, though it was a back-and-forth affair that kept viewers on the edge of their seats even if it wasn’t the most crisply played game of the season.

Both teams made plenty of mistakes down the stretch, but Kansas was able to take advantage of some poor shooting and turnovers by the Blue Devils (26-7) down the stretch. But the big story for the Jayhawks (28-7) was the play of Nick Collison, who scored 33 points, pulled down 18 rebounds and helped make up for another poor performance from Kirk Hinrich, who was 1-of-9 from the field and was benched with foul trouble in the second half.

Dahntay Jones scored 23 points for Duke, which had a poor shooting guard of its own — freshman J.J. Redick, who was a horrible 2-of-16 from the field, including 1-of-12 from the 3-point line.

Marquette (26-5) got a huge basket from Dwayne Wade with 32 seconds left to give the Golden Eagles a 75-72 lead. Scott Merritt added two free throws with 11 seconds left for Marquette, which survived an errant 3-pointer by Brandin Knight in the game’s final seconds to take the victory.

Wade scored a game-high 22 points for Marquette and Knight scored 16 points and added 11 assists for the Panthers (28-5).

Side Dishes

Harrick to resign as UGA coach: According to ESPN.com, Georgia head coach Jim Harrick will resign as coach of the school in a negotiated settlement which will allow Harrick to receive his remaining base pay, broadcast payments and a Nike payment, totaling almost a quarter million dollars, not bad coin for merely destroying another basketball program in scandalous fashion.

Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley showed a flair for understatement in remarking on the dismissal/resignation, saying “the entire situation has been, and is, regretable for the athletic program and the university.”

Harrick, whose son was fired in the wake of the scandal as well, was dismissed from UCLA for falsifying expense reports and is also being investigated by the University of Rhode Island for improprieties during his two-year tenure as head coach at that school.

In a prepared statement Harrick announced he would retire from coaching, though it’s hard to imagine any school wanting him to run their basketball program. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how Georgia overlooked the slime trail that followed the Harricks from Los Angeles to Rhode Island to Athens, but that’s a story for another day.

Floyd mulls his next move: The decision of former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls head coach Tim Floyd could be the first domino that will determine who starts filling the first of the open head coaching positions in college basketball. According to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, Floyd has been offered the coaching position at Clemson and has also interviewed at Penn State.

After Floyd determines if he’s going to take one of those two jobs, hold out for a better job or take another year off from coaching, some of the other positions will open and we’ll see how the offseason coaching carousel shakes out.

NIT update: The field for the semifinals is set and St. Johns is staying home for a chance at the crown. The Red Storm (18-13) posted a 79-71 home win over UAB (21-12) in an NIT quarterfinal and will play on their sometime home floor at Madison Square Garden in the NIT’s semifinal round. The other semifinal was a 63-58 overtime win for Minnesota (18-12) over Temple (18-15) in Philadelphia. The Red Storm and the Golden Gophers are joined in the NIT semifinals by Georgetown and Texas Tech, who won on Wednesday.

Tonight’s Menu

Four more teams earn berths into the Elite Eight and four more go home.

• The seed numbers may be low, but the intensity will be high when two of the last three teams to win the national championship — No. 6 Maryland and No. 7 Michigan State — meet in a South Regional semifinal in San Antonio. Tipoff is 9:50 p.m. (Eastern).

• The other South Regional semi should also be an exciting contest as No. 1 Texas gets a bit of a home court advantage against No. 5 Connecticut in a 7:27 p.m. (Eastern) contest.

• The only real Cinderella left in the field are the recently overexposed No. 12 seeded Butler Bulldogs, who will be tested severely in an East Regional battle in Albany, NY against No. 1 Oklahoma at 7:10 p.m. (Eastern). Overhyped or not, the Bulldogs can play. Expect a fierce battle and a lot of good defense.

• Finally, another school enjoying some home cooking is No. 3 Syracuse, which faces No. 10 Auburn in front of what should be a friendly crowd in Albany at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern).

NIT is Madness

The NIT: A Different Kind of Madness

by Adam Shandler

Renewed rivalries. Close contests. Clutch coaching. Final-second heroics.

Ah, the NIT.

How’re you doing in your NIT pool? What? You don’t have one? You say you haven’t been following? Well, what have you been doing to push off the withdrawal shakes between last Sunday and Thursday?

Much like its younger, more-publicized brother (yes, the NIT has been around a lot longer), this year’s ConAgra NIT has had its share of classic moments, superb performances and fantastic finishes.

What, you don’t believe me? It’s true! With all the NIT has had to offer this year, it should no longer be dubbed “the Not Important Tournament.” Hey, stop laughing. I’m serious! Okay, keep laughing, but I submit the following evidence to change your mind:

Iowa Skirts By Valpo: What a way to open up a tournament. Iowa, which won only four of its last 14 games, got a a game-winning jumper with 11 seconds left from senior Chauncey Leslie. The bucket not only propelled the then 15-13 Hawkeyes into the 1st round, it also ended an Iowa drought of over five minutes without a basket. Leslie gets a Great Performance nod for his decisive deuce, 15 points and senior leadership. Senior leadership…now there’s a term you don’t hear much about in college hoops.

Rhode Island Comes Back Against the Hall: When Seton Hall’s bubble burst on Selection Sunday the Pirates vowed to use the NIT to prove the committee wrong. Well, for about 14 minutes they did, until their 17-point lead evaporated and Rhody stormed back for a 61-60 victory. Dawan Robinson hit for 15 of his 17 points in the second half — including the game-winning three-pointer with just 4 seconds left.

Kann Cans FTs To Upend UIC: Five seconds left. Game tied. Your heart is pounding. You’re at the foul line. If you match this description, chances are you’re Western Michigan’s Anthony Kann, who hit 1-of-2 free throws in the waning moments to give his Broncos a 63-62 opening-round W over Illinois-Chicago.

This was the Broncos first NIT victory in its basketball history.

How ‘Bout Them Owls: It’s just not the postseason without seeing a hoarse and disheveled Jon Chaney occupying the bench. Temple has rolled through this tournament with a lot of poise. First, the Owls disarmed fellow Phil-towner Drexel in the opening round. Then, David Hawkins goes off for 36 points and Temple wastes tournament favorite Boston College, 75-62. Rhode Island was the next victim, 61-53, and the Owls screeched into the quarterfinals against Minnesota, a game to be played on Thursday night. If Temple can knock off the Gophers, they’ll make it to the — ahem — Final Four.

Not bad for a team that came into the bracket just two games over .500.

Georgetown-Carolina Revisited: No, it wasn’t 1982. There was no Patrick Ewing, no Michael Jordan. But there was Rashad McCants and there was Mike Sweetney. Georgetown-Carolina, played on Wednesday night, still had that old spark. Drew Hall drained the Hoya-lifting three with 58 seconds left to give Georgetown a 73-70 lead. Craig Escherick’s team held on for the 79-74 win and a semi-final berth in this tournament.

The General Has Returned: Though he won’t be wearing his red sweater –’scuse me, Indiana-red sweater — Bobby Knight will be back pacing the sidelines during the NIT semifinals. This marks his sixth NIT final four appearance in his 37-year coaching career.

Behind Knight, Texas Tech will be making its first appearance in any kind of postseason basketball final four.

In 1979, Knight led the Hoosiers to an NIT title with a 53-52 win over in-state and Big Ten rival Purdue.

Convinced yet? Or do I have to come back during next week’s semifinals?

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Thursday, March 27th, 2003

by Brian Seymour

There was a time when a postseason matchup between Georgetown and North Carolina would have been cause to disregard everything and tune in to whatever network was lucky enough to carry the contest.

My, how times have changed.

Still, Wednesday night’s NIT quarterfinal meeting between the Hoyas and Tar Heels — a rematch of the 1982 NCAA title game — was not without excitement.

Georgetown’s Drew Hall hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left to give the Hoyas (18-14) a 73-70 lead and they held on for a 79-74 win over the Tar Heels, who finish the year at 19-16.

Georgetown earns a spot in next week’s NIT semifinals with the win, its third straight on the road in the tournament. Mike Sweetney scored 22 points for the Hoyas.

Rashad McCants scored 26 points for the Tar Heels, who saw a once-promising season — one that started with a preseason NIT championship — come to an end.

In Wednesday’s other quarterfinal, Texas Tech reached 20 wins for the season with a 80-72 home win over Georgia Tech, keyed by Andre Emmett’s 29 points.

The Red Raiders (20-12) went on a 13-1 run to break open a tie game with 12:45 left. The Yellow Jackets (16-14) battled back to cut the lead to six with 1:15 left, but were never able to close the gap. Barry Elder led Georgia Tech with 26 points.

The NIT’s two other quarterfinals — St. John’s at UAB and Temple at Minnesota — are tonight.

Side Dishes

Former Wisconsin coach heads to WSU: Former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett has agreed to become coach at Washington State University, according to ESPN.com. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, as it was assumed that Bennett would remain retired after he had resigned as Badger coach in November 2000, months after leading the team to the Final Four. Bennett’s son Tony, an assistant coach with the Badgers, would likely accompany his father as an assistant according to the report, though official details of the contract or other specifics aren’t known. A press conference is tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

Younger Sutton interviews with Clemson: Sean Sutton, an associate head coach at Oklahoma State and son of head coaching legend Eddie Sutton, has interviewed for the vacant coaching position at Clemson. The 34-year-old has been an assistant at OSU since 1994.

Tonight’s Menu

The Big Dance gets back into swing tonight with some pretty compelling matchups and one likely blowout.

• The night’s premier matchup is a West Regional contest in Anaheim, CA between No. 2 Kansas and No. 3 Duke, two schools with a combined five national championships and thousands of victories between them. That game is scheduled for a 9:50 p.m. (Eastern) tipoff.

• The other West Regional game finds No. 5 Notre Dame looking to shock No. 1 Arizona, who may or may not suffer a hangover from its epic win over Gonzaga last weekend. Tipoff is 7:27 p.m. (Eastern).

• The likely candidate for blowout of the night is the Midwest Regional game in Minneapolis between No. 1 Kentucky and No. 5 Wisconsin at 7:10 p.m. (Eastern). If the Badgers can keep the contest within 10 points it’ll be somewhat of a surprise.

• Finally, the nightcap in Minneapolis should be a good one — No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Marquette, scheduled to tipoff at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern). The Panthers and Golden Eagles have both been among the most impressive teams in the tournament who don’t have “Wildcats” for a nickname.

Rhode Island NIT Action

March Madness a Big Hit in Rhode Island

by Phil Kasiecki

Basketball is a hit in Rhode Island. Or at least, it was, for a few nights anyway.

No team from Boston made the NCAA Tournament, making it a disappointing year in Beantown, but all three of Rhode Island’s Division I teams made postseason play in the NIT. Brown lost its first game, but Providence and Rhode Island each made it to the second round before bowing out, and each school also got two home games along the way. Most recently, the schools each had one on back-to-back nights.

The Friars beat College of Charleston on Saturday night, 69-64, in front of a half-full Dunkin’ Donuts Center that at times got as loud as it has been all season long. The place erupted when sophomore forward Rob Sanders came in alone on a breakaway and threw the ball off the backboard for a dunk – all while head coach Tim Welsh couldn’t bear to watch. After the game, his expressions were just as priceless.

“I didn’t think he’d go to that… depth,” he said, with laughter from others present. “When his juices are flowing, he’s hard to stop, and tonight he was pumped up.

“I’m glad it wasn’t on TV, because it would be on many clinics throughout the country, how to run a fast break.”

Asked if he yelled at Sanders for it during the timeout just after the dunk, he summed up the crowd.

“That’s pretty hard to do – when you come out and the whole building is on its feet, and you’re going to yell at a guy,” Welsh said. “I didn’t say anything. We might discuss it tomorrow though.”

On Monday night, over 7,000 showed up on two days’ notice as the Friars took on Big East rival Georgetown. The Friars led for most of the first half, before the Hoyas took the lead in the second half. Hoya All-American Mike Sweetney picked up his fourth foul with 14:22 left, but his time on the bench was not a problem as Georgetown outscored Providence 14-8 during the nearly 8 minutes that he sat. The teams combined for 44 turnovers and shot a combined 36.7% from the field as Georgetown would pull out a 67-58 win.

The Friars finish the season at 18-14, and Welsh enjoyed the season with the players he had.

“Our guys were very focused to keep playing,” Welsh said after Saturday night’s win. “They want to keep playing this season. They’re excited about having another home game on Monday, they’re excited about playing Georgetown. I don’t have to give any speeches about playing in the NIT – they’re fired up, they want to keep going.”

The Friars will head into next season with a lot of positives. They lose just one senior from a team that finished strong and showed excellent chemistry. Sophomores Ryan Gomes and Rob Sanders will be the keys in the frontcourt, while Donnie McGrath and Sheiku Kabba start in the backcourt. McGrath hit the wall after an excellent first couple of months, but he’s a competitor and will be fine running the show next season. The Friars also signed a good class, headed by versatile perimeter player Dwight Brewington and scoring guard Gerald Brown. Brewington is the better of the two and should see significant minutes right away, as he can play any of the three perimeter positions.

In addition to the players, Welsh appreciated the fans who came out and had much to say about others who helped the games succeed as they did behind the scenes.

“I’m going to have to take the whole ticket office out to dinner, that’s for sure, because they’ve been working overtime,” he said. “The ticket office people are in there until 9:30 at night, and last time I looked I don’t think they’re getting paid overtime.

“People around here are excited about the whole NIT, and I am too, and so are the kids, and the kids feel it.”

Meanwhile, south of the state capital, the resurgent University of Rhode Island saw postseason play for the first time since their NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999. The Rams knocked off Seton Hall last week on a late three-pointer by Dawan Robinson, then took on Temple Tuesday night at the Ryan Center.

The Rams started out making some shots early, and eventually built up a 29-20 lead late in the first half. But the Owls came back to score the last 10 of the half, and in the second half the Rams never attacked the matchup zone and shot just 24%, dropping their season finale 61-53 to finish the season at 19-12.

7,214 people showed up for the game, the third-largest crowd ever at a game in Kingston, and they meant business. On many occasions during the game, the crowd noise was almost deafening, making for an atmosphere never before seen in Kingston. Perhaps the ultimate show of the crowd support came when the game ended on Tuesday night: the players stayed out on the court for a minute, while the fans cheered loudly for them even though they had just lost to end the season. The fan support was not lost on head coach Jim Baron or senior Howard Smith.

“The crowd was absolutely magic,” Baron said. “I can’t thank them enough, the community, the student body, the alumni, families that put their children to the games… it was electric.”

“For the fans, to give us a standing ovation after a loss in the last game… that’s where the joy came in, because they obviously appreciated what we did,” Smith said. “And we appreciate what we got from them, because without them we wouldn’t have had a couple of wins, so we thank them a lot. But for them to stand up and give us a standing ovation, that was big, and I felt that.”

Baron thought this year’s team could be good, but winning 19 games and making the NIT surprised even him. He had no hard numbers, but expected the team to be competitive and improve, which he certainly got.

“No, never in my wildest dreams,” Baron said when asked if he imagined this season turning out as it has. “It’s absolutely incredible. But that’s how this game is.

“It’s tremendous to think of where we came from, and where we’re at. Going into the second round of postseason and to see a sellout the way we did, it was absolutely tremendous.”

Smith also reflected on the program’s rise late in his career, as he was at Rhode Island when the team struggled to 5-25 and 7-23 seasons under Jerry DeGregorio.

“Going from 8 to 19 wins, you can’t be upset about that,” Smith said. “That’s what the young guys are looking at next year, to work even harder.

“I’m thankful for being on the team that got 19 wins and went to the postseason, because I never experienced that my first three years. And I’m very glad that the young kids had a lot of experience, so when next year comes and they’re in the same predicaments, you know, they’ll be more poised, more aggressive, and they’ll pull some wins out.”

All the while, Smith, whose father was in Desert Storm, remembered current events as well.

“I’m playing, and in the middle of the game, everything goes still because, I mean, there’s something out there bigger than what’s going on,” he said. “Thankfully, we can take people’s mind off of it for 40 minutes.”

Temple head coach John Chaney, who looked to be a little more energetic than he was in his first visit to the Ryan Center, also appreciated the fan support the Rams had after being asked if he paid any attention to the students who were on him most of the night.

“You got some good fans here, real good fans,” he said.

Indeed they do. For three nights, March Madness hit Rhode Island, and the Ocean State welcomed it with open arms.

Esherick: “The best conference in the country”

After Monday night’s win, Georgetown head coach Craig Esherick minced no words about the quality of the Big East Conference in light of what transpired during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

“We beat a good team, a good Big East team, a team that is from the best conference in the country on the road,” Esherick said, before elaborating. “We beat a very good team that is playing well from the best conference in the country on the road, and I think our guys need to be very proud of how they played.”

When a writer kidded him about his statements, he did not back off.

“I got proof now,” he said. “I just had a supposition before, I have proof now.”

Esherick’s remarks were no doubt aimed at the NCAA Tournament Selection committee, which took just four teams from the Big East for the NCAA Tournament and snubbed Boston College and Seton Hall. In turn, all four Big East teams advanced to the Sweet 16, giving the Big East more representatives than any other conference.

When the press conference was over, Esherick reiterated his earlier statements.

“Did everybody get that, what I said about what the best conference in the country is?” Esherick asked. “Everybody write that down now, the best conference in the country, the Big East.”

A Sweet Weekend

A Sweet Weekend Ahead

by Bill Thayer

After one wild weekend of tournament play, we are getting set for the Regionals, the always-popular sweet 16 and elite 8 games. Only 16 teams have a chance to win the national championship, some surprising (Butler, Auburn) and some not-so-surprising (Arizona, Kentucky). After seeing parts of every game the first weekend, I’ve compiled a list of every team’s chances to win it all, based on who they’ll be playing, where they’ll be playing, but more importantly, how they’ve played thus far. Here are those rankings, starting at the bottom.

16. Wisconsin

Why 16? Kentucky. Outside of the West Region, the Badgers have the toughest road to the national championship. They’ll have to overcome the juggernaut known as Kentucky on Thursday night before even getting a chance to play in the regional final. They are also the one team in the regional semis that had no business playing in this round. Tulsa had them beaten for 32 minutes before a furious comeback set up Freddie Owens game winning three. Bo Ryan is a great coach and has improved the program to the point where its no surprise to see them still alive. It would be a surprise, however, to see them playing Saturday.

15. Michigan State

Why 15? Matchups. They’ll have to face the defending national champions, and, if they overcome that threat, will most likely face Texas in San Antonio. The Spartans looked impressive in their wins against Florida and Coloraod and have quietly stayed under the radar. Tom Izzo’s 18-4 record in the tournament should show that he is one of the best coaches in March. MSU makes their living on their inside toughness, and as Maryland proved against Xavier, they have as many horses inside as any other tournament team.

14. Butler

Why 14? Size. Other than 6’9″ Joel Cornette, nobody in the Bulldogs rotation is taller than 6’7″. That could cause problems against most teams, especially the way Oklahoma freshman Kevin Bookout has played in the tournament thus far. Their outside shooting and ability at the line can keep them in any game and they have adapted an “Us Against The World” mentality, talking about their lack of respect after their wins against Mississippi State and Louisville. Darnell Archey and Brandon Miller may have been the best backcourt last weekend, leading the way for the Bulldogs to stay alive. If they stay close against OU, look for the Albany crowd to get behind 2003′s Cinderella.

13. Auburn

Why 13? Location. If they played Syracuse on a neutral court, the Tigers may have a great chance of reaching the East Regional Final. Alas, they’ll have to face a pro-Syracuse crowd in Albany. Anybody who didn’t know about Marquis Daniels learned the name as he powered the Tigers past St. Joseph’s in their first round OT thriller. He has plenty of support, but almost no experience. Cliff Ellis’ club has four second year players (three sophs. and one JUCO transfer) in their starting five. In terms of talent, they may be better than Syracuse, but the Orangemen faithful will turn the Pepsi Center into a mini-Carrier Dome.

12. Connecticut

Why 12? Turnovers. As has been the case all season long, the spotlight will shine on Emeka Okafor if the Huskies win, but if Texas knocks off Connecticut look for fingers to be pointed towards the backcourt. Taliek Brown has been hot and cold, and turns the ball over far too often. He’ll have to take care of every possession if he hopes to outplay T.J. Ford. Okafor’s defensive ability changes a large number of shots but it will be interesting to see how he’ll play against the Longhorns physical center James Thomas. Again, look for the San Antonio crowd to be pro-Texas, making this essentially a road game for UConn.

11. Marquette

Why 11? Energy. Marquette has already been through two emotional games in wins against Holy Cross and Missouri. I don’t know if they’ll have enough left in their tank to knock off Pittsburgh, who cruised against Indiana and Wagner. Dwyane Wade can take over a game, but he’ll face one of the toughest wing defenders in the nation in Julius Page, who will look to rough Wade up all 94 feet. If they are able to get through Pitt, its unlikely for them to have anything left against Kentucky.

10. Duke

Why 10? Experience. Standing in the Blue Devils way is Kansas, then either Arizona or Notre Dame. Duke’s freshmen have proved their worth this year, J.J. Redick is the team’s top shooter and has been a great complement to Dahntay Jones. Shelden Williams has been the biggest inside threat, and his development has coincided with the team’s success. Williams and Redick will have to face a pair of experienced players in Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison. This time of year, teams and players who have been there are more likely to advance, as they’ve already dealt with the pressures and rigors of March.

9. Notre Dame

Why 9? Depth. The Fighting Irish have relied on their perimeter game through the season, but Chris Thomas and Matt Carroll have to be wearing down. Arizona can throw a large number of players at them, changing looks throughout the game. Thomas will have to outplay Jason Gardner if the Irish have any chance to advance. Forget about reaching the championship game, Notre Dame will have to win a pair of difficult battles just to win the West. They just don’t have enough fresh legs to do so, although they looked very impressive in their win against Illinois.

8. Syracuse

Why 8? Offense. Offensively there are no threats other than Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara, which is difficult considering they are only freshmen. They had no business beating Oklahoma State but the Orangemen will get a huge boost playing in their backyard in Albany. Defensively they are difficult to prepare for, and they have one of the best players in the nation in Anthony, so the Orangemen have a great chance of advancing out of the East. But, if McNamara and Anthony go cold, their time in the dance will be short.

7. Maryland

Why 7? Defense. The Terrapins had problems all year long stopping outside shooting. In the first round, the Terps shut down Brett Blizzard but couldn’t contain John Goldsberry. Of all players, Goldsberry averaged four shot ATTEMPTS per game before hitting a tournament-record eight threes in the first round. Maryland was bailed out by Drew Nicholas before stifling David West in the second round. Playing in San Antonio will be difficult if they face Texas in the regional final. If the Terps run into Connecticut in a rematch of last year’s East Regional Final, they will have to find a way to contain Ben Gordon. Their second round performance showed that the defending champions will be a difficult out, but they’ll have to stop the three in order to find their way out of the South.

6. Oklahoma

Why 6? Interior Game. Kevin Bookout stepped up his play last weekend, but OU has been searching for a replacement for Aaron McGhee all season long. Butler doesn’t pose a threat inside, but Syracuse does. The Sooners could have problems matching up with 6’9″ Carmelo Anthony. The Sooners look to have the easiest road of any number one seed, but playing Syracuse in Albany will cause another issue for Oklahoma. In addition, they’ll need Hollis Price at 100%, as Price is the heart and soul of the Sooner squad. He refuses to let his team lose, but could have a tough time doing it if he’s on the sideline.

5. Pittsburgh

Why 5? Kentucky. I was really impressed watching the Panthers this weekend. They reminded me of Big Blue, as they play stifling in-your-face defense for all 94 feet. Julius Page flies from baseline to baseline and Brandin Knight gives them a great on-court leader. Look for them to pick apart a worn-down Marquette squad before facing off with Kentucky. If any team can shut down the Wildcats, it may be the Panthers. However, the way UK has looked, it is a task easier said than done.

4. Arizona

Why 4? Mentality. Arizona looked like they thought they were given a free pass to the Final Four in their first two rounds. That was, until Gonzaga gave them a wake up call. Jason Gardner and Luke Walton gives the Wildcats a pair of seniors who can carry them in late-game situations. Salim Stoudamire is one of the best pure shooters and a dangerous threat from the outside. They’ll have to win two difficult games to advance to New Orleans, where they could end up facing Kentucky before the championship game. That could give them three more chances to be worn down before championship Monday. For Arizona to win it all, they will have to believe they need to play 40 hard minutes, something Arizona hasn’t done in weeks.

3. Kansas

Why 3? Danny Manning. Call it the Manning Factor. Look at recent champions and you’ll see a senior leading the way. Maryland (Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter), Duke (Shane Battier), Michigan State (Mateen Cleaves, Mo Peterson), Connecticut (Ricky Moore) have been the most recent examples. Kansas has theirs in Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, two of the nation’s top players this season. While the Jayhawks struggled to defeat Utah State, they rebounded with a very impressive 32 point win against Arizona State. If the Jayhawks continue to play like they did last Saturday, they may find a way to get past not only Duke and Arizona in the West, but Kentucky in New Orleans.

2. Texas

Why 2? Homecourt. The Longhorns will be playing in front of a huge home crowd in the Alamodome this weekend. T.J. Ford will pace the Longhorns past Connecticut and into a showdown against Maryland. Look for the torch to get passed from the defending champions to the eventual champions in the South Regional Final. Texas may be one of three Big 12 teams in New Orleans. If that happens, remember this: Texas defeated Oklahoma twice this season and would face the Sooners a third time in the national semifinal.

1. Kentucky

why 1? Streaking. No team is on fire like the Wildcats. They have torn through any and all opponents since mid-December. Keith Bogans and Marquis Estill give them a pair of seniors but any of the five players who are on the court could be the go-to guy in late game situations. Gerald Fitch is as good of a rebounder as any other guard and Cliff Hawkins gives them great energy off the bench. They don’t have to go through a region as tough as the West, but they don’t get to play at home like Texas or Syracuse. Either way, look for UK to be playing in New Orleans in early April.

Reviewing the First Two Rounds

Reviewing the First Two Rounds

by Phil Kasiecki

Looking at the roster of the Syracuse Orangemen, you see several players who can beat you. There’s Carmelo Anthony, the super freshman we all know about. There’s Hakim Warrick, the sophomore forward who is an intriguing prospect in the mold of former Syracuse forward Damone Brown, and the Big East’s Most Improved Player this season. The team has one senior, Kueth Duany, an excellent athlete who can score on the move or from long range. And let’s not forget Gerry McNamara, another promising freshman who has run the show very well all season long and is automatic at the free throw line.

But none of them beat Oklahoma State on Sunday, even though they all had their moments. The bench won this game, with such big names as Billy Edelin, Josh Pace and Jeremy McNeil. After a terrible start, where the Orangemen fell behind 14-2 and trailed by double digits most of the first half, they came back to win going away, 68-56.

No slight to the three players mentioned – all are very capable Division I players, though McNeil normally plays limited minutes for good reason – but anyone who came to the FleetCenter this weekend didn’t figure to see these three players as the primary reason for Syracuse being in the Sweet 16.

Edelin has been a steady reserve since he became eligible in midseason, but on Sunday he was the team’s high scorer with 20 points on 8-12 shooting. He scored baskets at key junctures and usually on the move, which helped open up the game away from the basket for Anthony and McNamara. His point total is his second-best output of the season.

Pace didn’t finish with big numbers – 6 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals – but he scored his points in the early going, when the Orangemen struggled mightily at the offensive end, made plays at critical points of the game, and gave them another ball handler later in the game. He certainly gave them a needed boost when he came in the game.

McNeil normally plays limited minutes because he’s a very undisciplined shot-blocker. Sure, he blocks 3 shots per game in just over 18 minutes, but he also leads the team in fouls and commits more fouls than he blocks shots, largely because he bites on pump fakes and gets in trouble as a result. But on Sunday, he played perhaps the game of a lifetime, with 4 blocks and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes, and his presence in the second half changed any ideas that Cowboys players had about going to the basket. He played so well that Jim Boeheim never went with starting center Craig Forth in the second half.

Anthony had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, after he struggled in the first half and picked up three fouls, but he was 5-16 from the field. McNamara once again showed his toughness, as he had to leave the court for several minutes due to a gash above his nose, but he came back and proceeded to drop a dagger into the Cowboys with two clutch three-pointers that put the game away. He made four three-pointers in the second half, all of them at critical junctures, en route to 14 points and 6 assists.

With production like this from the bench, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Orangemen, playing close to home in Albany next weekend, end up in New Orleans in two weeks.

Other Boston Notes

• With Pittsburgh also winning earlier on Sunday, the Big East improved to 8-0 overall in the NCAA Tournament, and now has all four teams in the Sweet 16 to top all conferences. The Panthers look as good as anyone right now, as they had a relatively easy time in both games and got balanced scoring. Not bad for a conference that only got four teams in the tournament.

• In Oklahoma State’s first round win over Pennsylvania, the Cowboys did an excellent job on the Quakers’ three-point shooters. The Quakers were 8-18 from long range, but many shots were contested and shooters like Jeff Schiffner and Tim Begley did not get the open looks they have grown accustomed to.

• In Sunday’s semifinal game, four Indiana starters played at least 38 minutes, and A.J. Moye played just 8 minutes off the bench. He didn’t give the Hoosiers the lift he normally does, as he didn’t score and committed 3 fouls.

• The sold-out weekend saw good crowds during most games, though the stands had plenty of empty seats at times on Friday. Not surprisingly, the team that seemed to have the smallest following was Oklahoma State, the school located farther from Boston than any other that played this weekend.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Tuesday, March 25, 2003

by Adam Shandler

Win or lose the NCAA Tournament, Texas has a winner.

It was announced yesterday that Texas point guard T.J. Ford was awarded the James Naismith award for being the top mens college basketball player in the country. Fords accomplishments, aside from leading his team to a regional 1 seed in the NCAAs, include averages of 15 points per game, 7.4 assists and 1.96 steals. Last year as a freshman, Ford was tops in the country in assists with 8.27 per game and is second on the Longhorns all-time dish list with 495.

Texas, at 24-6 overall, bounced Purdue in the second round of the south regional on Sunday for the right to face fifth-seeded UConn. Ford was fab against the Boilermakers with a 21 point, 9 rebound and 8 assist performance. Hes averaging 9.5 assists in two tourney games.

UConns sparkplug point guard Diana Taurasi wins the Naismith on the womens side. The 6-foot guard averaged 16.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game and climbed up the all-time Lady Husky scoring list 10 with 1,452.

In their opening round tournament game, UConn clobbered Boston U., 91-44, recovering nicely from the upset by Villanova, 52-48, in the Big East tournament a week and a half earlier. Against the Terriers, Taurasi poured in 21 points and hit 4-of-7 three pointers. She also had 7 assists and 2 steals.

Geno Auriemmas squad faces Texas Christian tonight in round 2 of the Womens NCAAs. The Horned Frogs bring in a record of 20-13.

Side Dishes

No NCAAs? No problem! The NIT took center stage last night with five scintillating matchups. Heres the lowdown:

Georgia Tech 79, Iowa 78: Techs B.J. Elder nailed a game-winning jumper in the closing seconds, ending the Hawkeyes season and a chance for Steve Alford to meet his old mentor and nemesis, Bobby Knight, in the quarterfinals of the NIT. Instead, the Yellowjackets will face Texas Tech. Georgia Tech improves to 16-14 with the win.

St. Johns 73, Virginia 63: The Red Storm want a chance at a hometown championship real bad. A 14-4, led by 9 Marcus Hatten points, propelled St. Johns to the win and a quarterfinal matchup with the winner of the Siena-UAB game, which will be played tonight. Hatten totaled 30 points on the night.

Georgetown 67, Providence 58: In a battle of two Big East teams that are quite familiar with one another, the Hoyas came out the victors. G-towns Mike Sweetney scored 26 points, including 10 free throws all this despite getting slapped with four fouls early in the second half. The Hoyas will now face UNC on Thursday night.

North Carolina 90, Wyoming 74: Carolina just might make it a 20-win season. UNC was just too much for the scrappy Cowboys as five players scored in double figures. Rashad McCant and Mike Scott each had 20 points, and Raymond Feltons 15 assists broke the single-game freshman assist record of 13, set by Jeff Lebo in 1985 against Manhattan. If the Heels can beat Georgetown on Thursday, it will make 32 20-win seasons in the last 33 years.

Minnesota 84, Hawaii 70: The Golden Gophers also got a full night of production from its squad with four players in double figures and a 14-point win over Hawaii. Maurice Hargrow paced Minnesota with 22 points, while Ben Johnson netted a season-high 18. The Gophers await a quarterfinal challenge from either Temple or Rhode Island, who play tonight.

So You Didnt Have Butler: If your bracket looks anything like mine then youve probably made use of the office shredder by now. But for all the off picks youve made, your buddy in the next cubicle might have done worse. If youve signed up for the Hoopville Tournament Challenge, you can check your bracket by simply clicking into Tournament Central and logging in with your user name and password.

Tonight’s Menu:

• There are two NIT games on the docket tonight. Alabama-Birmingham heads to Albany for a date with Siena, while Temple visits fellow A-10 foe Rhode Island to do battle with the Rams.

Thats your dish for Tuesday. Enjoy!

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 23rd, 2003

by Phil Kasiecki

March Madness is all about the kind of matchups we saw on Saturday. The highlights were two more overtime games, both great matchups that lived up to their pre-game billing.

The first game was in Indianapolis, as the Midwest’s No. 3 Marquette and No. 6 Missouri went to battle. And battle they did, as each team got big games from two players and the game was close for most of the 40 minutes of regulation. Marquette turned it up in the extra session, as freshman forward Steve Novak made three three-pointers to cap a 4-4 day from behind the arc (14 points), and their defense held the Tigers in check in the final minutes as they pulled away with the 101-92 victory.

Marquette (25-5) got another big game from Travis Diener, who had 26 points to lead the way, while Dwyane Wade had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. In defeat, Missouri (22-11) got 36 points from Rickey Paulding and 28 points and 18 rebounds from Arthur Johnson.

The second game was in Salt Lake City and featured the time-tested bracket busters, Gonzaga. The Bulldogs, seeded No. 9 in the West region, took on top-seeded Arizona. The Bulldogs got a big first half from Tony Skinner (15 points) to grab the lead at the half despite the struggles of Blake Stepp, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. The first half was tight, with both teams having their spurts.

In the second half, the Wildcats came out running to regain the lead, but Gonzaga came right back. The Wildcats would then open their largest lead of the game at 65-57, but it wouldn’t last long as Stepp found his stroke. The junior guard made a four-point play to cap a stretch where he scored 12 straight Gonzaga points over 3:23, keeping the Bulldogs close. With time running down, Stepp missed a three-pointer, but Skinner got the rebound as Rick Anderson couldn’t corral it, and put it home to send the game to overtime.

The extra session was back and forth, with Gonzaga taking the lead, before needing a three-pointer by Stepp to tie it at 87 with just over a minute to play. Richard Fox got a layup off an inbound pass, then Luke Walton made a shot in close to send the game to a second overtime tied at 89.

The teams went back and forth again in the second overtime before Arizona (27-3) held on to survive with a 96-95 victory. The Bulldogs’ season ends at 24-9.

Side Dishes

Pulling One Out: Another Midwest game that came down to the wire was in the Midwest, as No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 13 Tulsa went at it in Spokane. Tulsa led for most of the game, including by double digits at times, but Wisconsin came back. The Badgers trailed by two with under a minute to play, and forced a shot clock violation with 12.1 seconds left. Freddie Owens then hit a three-pointer from the corner with one second left to give the Badgers (24-7) a 61-60 win over the Golden Hurricane (23-10).

Easy Does It: Two teams in the West region that will meet in the regional semifinal had an easy time of it on Saturday. No. 2 Kansas (27-7) dominated No. 10 Arizona State (20-12) in a 108-76 thrashing. No. 3 Duke (26-6) had an easy time with No. 11 Central Michigan (25-7), 86-60.

Big Day for the Big East: The Big East has already placed two teams in the Sweet 16 with Saturday wins, and both in games with identical seeds. In the East region, No. 5 Connecticut (23-9) took out No. 4 Stanford (24-9), 85-74 in Spokane. Ben Gordon led the Huskies with 29 points, while Julius Barnes capped an excellent season with 23 in the losing effort for Stanford. Meanwhile, in the West region, No. 5 Notre Dame (24-10) matched their Big East counterpart with a 68-60 win over No. 4 Illinois (25-7) by holding the Illini to under 35% shooting.

Not To Be Outdone: The Big 12 also has two teams in the Sweet 16, as Oklahoma, the East’s No. 1 seed, advanced with a 74-65 win over No. 8 California. The Sooners (26-6) got a big game from freshman Kevin Bookout, who dominated the paint with 22 points and 7 rebounds as they beat the Golden Bears (22-9) on the glass by a 34-23 margin. Brian Wethers closed out his college career with a game-high 27 points to lead California.

Also Moving On to the Sweet 16: Well, not the one you initially think of. Providence used its height advantage to score 36 points in the paint, and got big games from sophomores Rob Sanders (20 points, 7 rebounds) and Ryan Gomes (19 points, 8 rebounds) in a 69-64 win over College of Charleston to reach the second round of the NIT. The Friars (18-13) also held leading scorer Troy Wheless to just 7 points on 2-12 shooting, as the Cougars finish their season at 25-8.

Georgia Investigation Expands: The Associated Press reported on Saturday that University of Georgia officials are investigating further allegations of improprieties in the men’s basketball program. They are investigating charges that a high school guidance counselor asked a student to take the SAT for Alexander Johnson, a 6’9″ forward that the Bulldogs are recruiting. Johnson signed with Georgia as a high school senior, but did not qualify and played a prep year at Bridgton Academy in Maine. Johnson, who is no longer being recruited by Georgia, said on Friday that he knew nothing about this.

Tonight’s Menu:

The Sweet 16 will be complete after today’s games. The East and South regions each lead the way with three games.

• In the East, No. 12 Butler tries to continue its run against No. 4 Louisville in Birmingham, while No. 6 Oklahoma State tries to break the zone of No. 3 Syracuse in Boston and No. 10 Auburn tries to further justify their selection against No. 2 Wake Forest in Tampa.

• In the South, No. 6 Maryland just got by UNC-Wilmington, and now faces No. 3 Xavier in Nashville, while No. 9 Purdue takes on No. 1 Texas in Birmingham and No. 7 Michigan State takes on No. 2 Florida in Tampa, in a rematch of the 2000 NCAA Championship game.

• In the Midwest, No. 7 Indiana takes on No. 2 Pittsburgh in Boston, while No. 9 Utah takes on No. 1 Kentucky in Nashville, in a rematch of the 1998 NCAA Championship game.

• The NIT has one game, as Siena hosts Western Michigan in Albany. The NIT will be down to 15 teams after this game.

That’s all for now. Enjoy your Sunday and good luck keeping those brackets in shape!

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 22nd, 2003

by Phil Kasiecki

The first round of the NCAA Tournament always has great last-second finishes, and Friday was no different.

We start in Tampa, where the day began with a dandy between the East’s No. 7 St. Joseph’s and No. 10 Auburn, the latter a controversial selection to begin with. Jameer Nelson did everything he could to win the game for the Hawks, scoring 13 of their last 15 points in regulation, including two tying free throws with half a second left that sent the game to overtime. He also did all of their scoring in overtime en route to 32 points, but Marquis Daniels (25 points) made big shots to help the Tigers take home a 65-63 victory. Auburn (21-11) was out to prove it belonged in the NCAA Tournament, while St. Joseph’s finishes up at 23-7.

Staying in Tampa and the East region, No. 2 Wake Forest advanced to take on Auburn, but not before a scare as they held off a great upset bid by No. 15 East Tennessee State, 76-73. Josh Howard led the Demon Deacons (25-5) with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Buccaneers (20-11) lost in their first NCAA appearance in 11 years.

Next, we go to Nashville, where the Midwest’s No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Utah had at it. The Utes got 23 points from Nick Jacobson, none bigger than the two free throws with 14.4 seconds left that gave them a 60-58 lead they would hold when James Davis missed two three-pointers in the final seconds. The short-handed Utes (25-7) won for the 9th time in 10 first round games under Rick Majerus, while Oregon finishes the season at 23-10 and in a disappointing fashion after they were ranked in the top ten in the poll for several weeks early in the season.

The fun in Nashville didn’t stop there, as they kept fans in suspense right up to the end. In the last game of the day, Maryland, the No. 6 seed in the South region, got a three-pointer from Drew Nicholas as time expired for a 75-73 win over No. 11 UNC-Wilmington in a game that was tight throughout. The Terrapins (20-9) were forced to wear their road red uniforms for this game after three white outfits were stolen from a hotel room. John Goldsberry had 26 points for UNC-Wilmington (24-7), including 8-8 on three-pointers — a record for three-point field goals without a miss in an NCAA Tournament game.

The last game of the night in Birmingham was a similar one, as the East’s No. 5 Mississippi State and No. 12 Butler matched up in a battle of Bulldogs. The game was tight throughout, and with 6.2 seconds left, Brandon Miller hit a runner in the lane to give Butler a 47-46 win. Miller led Butler (26-5) with 14 points, while Timmy Bowers overshot on a last-second attempt for Mississippi State (21-10).

While it wasn’t a buzzer-beater or last-second finish, the Midwest matchup between No. 7 Indiana and No. 10 Alabama in Boston did come down to the final minute, as Indiana got a breakaway dunk by A.J. Moye to seal a 67-62 win over the alma mater of head coach Mike Davis. The Hoosiers (21-12) got just 4 points combined from Jeff Newton and George Leach in the first half, but Newton picked it up in the second half (12 points to finish with 14) while Leach battled foul trouble throughout and fouled out with under 10 minutes to play. Bracey Wright also came alive in the second half, where he scored all of his 17 points to support Tom Coverdale’s team-high 23 points and 8 assists. Alabama (17-12) was led by Maurice Williams’ 26 points.

Side Dishes

Top Seeds Roll: For the third time in the last four years, all of the top 3 seeds have won their first round games, with a few having an easy time on Friday. In the Midwest, No. 1 Kentucky (30-3) won its 24th straight game, 95-64 over No. 16 IUPUI in Nashville, while No. 2 Pittsburgh (27-4) had an easy time with No. 15 Wagner, 87-61 in Boston. In the South, No. 1 Texas (23-6) rolled over play-in winner UNC-Asheville, 82-61 in Birmingham, while No. 2 Florida (25-7) blew out No. 15 Sam Houston State, 85-55 in Tampa, and No. 3 Xavier (26-5) beat Troy State 71-59 in Nashville. In the East, No. 3 Syracuse (24-5) picked it up late to hold off pesky No. 14 Manhattan, 76-65 in Boston.

Continuing the Dominance: The No. 9 seeds always seem to have it in for the No. 8 seeds, and this year was no different as the lower seed won three of four games, including a surprise in the South. No. 9 Purdue rode a big second half to an 80-56 romp over No. 8 LSU, which entered the tournament as one of the nation’s hottest teams. The game was tied at the half, but the Boilermakers (19-10) showed how games are often won early in the second half as they scored the first 13 points to begin a 28-8 run that decided the game. LSU finishes a streaky season at 21-11.

How Many Made It?: In the South, No. 7 Michigan State (20-12) took out No. 10 Colorado (21-11) by a score of 79-64 in Tampa. That, combined with the East’s No. 6 Oklahoma State (22-9) beating No. 11 Pennsylvania (22-6) by a 77-63 count in Boston, created a tie between the Big Ten and Big 12 for the most teams in the second round. Each conference has five schools there, though the Big Ten has done it without a team losing a game. The Big East also has a perfect record after Friday’s games, with all four schools advancing.

No Sweat For This Guy: Rick Pitino’s first NCAA Tournament game as the head coach of Louisville can aptly be described as a success. The Cardinals (25-6), the No. 4 seed in the East, had an easy time with No. 13 Austin Peay in an 86-64 win in Birmingham.

Injury Notes: Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said that senior Matt Carroll will try to play on Saturday against Illinois. Carroll sprained his left ankle in Thursday night’s win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Duke freshman J.J. Redick sat out practice on Friday with an illness, but will play on Saturday when the Blue Devils take on Central Michigan.

Not the Only Game In Town: Three NIT games were played on Friday night. Temple (17-15) got a career-high 36 points from David Hawkins to beat visiting Boston College (19-12), 75-62 at the Palestra. Texas Tech (20-12) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 57-48 win over San Diego State (16-14). In a game with in-state rivals, Iowa (17-13) edged Iowa State (17-14) by a score of 54-53.

Tonight’s Menu:

• It’s a full day in the West region, with a potential dandy matchup between No. 4 Illinois and No. 5 Notre Dame in Indianapolis leading the way. Also, No. 1 Arizona takes on No. 9 Gonzaga and No. 3 Duke takes on No. 11 Central Michigan in Salt Lake City, and No. 2 Kansas takes on No. 10 Arizona State in Oklahoma City.

• The Midwest is the only other region with more than one game. No. 5 Wisconsin takes on No. 13 Tulsa in Spokane, while Indianapolis will be home to a dandy matchup between No. 3 Marquette and No. 6 Missouri.

• In the South region, No. 4 Stanford meets No. 5 Connecticut in Spokane.

• In the East region, No. 1 Oklahoma takes on No. 8 California in Oklahoma City.

• The NIT has one game, as College of Charleston visits Providence.

That’s all for now. Enjoy your Saturday!

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Friday, March 21st, 2003

by Jon Gonzalez

If ever there were ever a more undeserving number four seed in the NCAA Tournament, it would have to be the Dayton Flyers.

In Dayton’s 84-71 first-round loss to Tulsa last night, the Flyers never looked comfortable in their half-court offense. Dayton took a bad shot every other possession and shot a barrage of bad three-pointers. Without taking any credit from 13-seed Tulsa, who for its part played good defense, it was Dayton’s dreadful offensive performance that did the Flyers in.

For Tulsa’s part, the Hurricane looked liked it should have been the four seed. Kevin Johnson, Dante Swanson and Jason Parker played out of their minds and basically made everything they shot. But never mind the made shots, it was the execution on the offense end that separated these teams on Thursday night. Tulsa got good shots on almost every possession and made the Flyers look foolish half of the time.

In the other low-seed upset that really wasn’t an upset, Central Michigan opened up a 26-point lead on Creighton and hung on for a 79-73 victory. The Blue Jays came out ice-cold in the beginning of the ballgame and when they finally started to play well, CMU’s lead would prove to be too much.

All in all, in terms of the sheer excitement of Creighton coming back from such a huge deficit, this had to be the game of the day. Watching Creighton pressure CMU into turnovers and hit big shots was a lot of fun. In the end, CMU had just enough composure to withstand Creighton’s furious run. If the Blue Jays had played the way they did in the second half the whole game, the outcome would have been different.

The common thread that CMU/Creighton and Dayton/Tulsa shared was that the games featured four “mid-major teams” (I consider the A-10 a mid-major) with a pretty good disparity in seeding. Creighton and Dayton were rewarded for their big regular seasons. Of course the Atlantic 10 has a higher rating then the MVC, hence the higher seed, so that is why Creighton was a six and Dayton was a four. Also in Creighton’s favor was the fact the media hyped them as the “mid-major” to watch for the entire year. That helped the Jays in terms of rankings and seeding. But look at CMU and Tulsa, they were not that far behind in terms of records and definitely not in conferences in which they play. The MAC and the MVC are on the same level and CMU had just as big a year as Creighton, but the Chips garnered no attention because of the media’s infatuation with teams like Creighton and Butler. As for the WAC, how far it is from the A-10, really? Sure Tulsa lost nine games, but its not as if the Western Athletic Conference is the Patriot League. In defense of Dayton, it was the recipient of the Atlantic 10 perhaps being a tad overrated, that is why its record gave them such a high seed. But as the whole country saw last night, the Golden Hurricane may be one of the best 13 seeds in tourney history and Dayton may be the most undeserving of four seeds.

The point being worked toward here is that conference strength needs to be reevaluated and so does “mid-major” team’s seeding. Of course, the committee cannot be perfect, but when an 11 and a 13 have so much success, something is in order to be tweaked a little bit.

Side Dishes

They’ve Got the Power: The big six conferences (Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac-10, Big 12 and Big East) held serve Thursday and posted a 12-1 record. The only blemish on the board was NC State’s loss to Cal. I guess when two power conference schools play each other, one is going to lose.

Whew:A number of high seeds escaped their first round games by the skin of their teeth Thursday. Kansas, Notre Dame, Missouri, Stanford and Marquette all were taken to the final seconds, while Duke and Illinois had a tough time disposing of their opponents.

Kansas was probably having flashbacks of its struggle with Holy Cross last season, but in the end, the result was another close win. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Utah State, down by three, stole the ball and advanced up court. After having a lay-up attempt swatted away, the Aggies had ten seconds to set up a game tying three-pointer. The iron would prove to be unkind as Utah State missed a couple of treys and Kansas hung on to win 64-61.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee gave Notre Dame all the Irish could handle and then some, but could overcome the luck of the Irish in the games final seconds. Dylan Page missed two chip shots in the final minute, including one with two seconds left that gave the Irish a 70-69 win. Page’s shots both looked as if they would go in, but both unluckily, or luckily (depending how you look at it), crept out.

Missouri overcame great individual performances from Southern Illinois’ Kent Williams and Jermaine Dearman, but held on for a 72-71 win. Williams had a chance to win the game for the Salukis, but missed a three-pointer as time expired.

Holy Cross nearly pulled the upset yet again, but for the third straight year, could not hold on. In 2001 it was Kentucky, in 2002 in was Kansas, this season Marquette found out first hand how tough the Crusaders can be. In the end, Holy Cross’ Patrick Whearty’s foul trouble did the Crusaders in. Marquette held off the pesky Crusaders 72-68.

Stanford was also a higher seed that benefited from a lower seed having their star in foul trouble. Down by as much as 19, San Diego stormed back and made a game of its match-up with Stanford. But San Diego big man Jason Keep found himself in foul trouble and was not as effective as he should have been for the Toreros. His foul troubles and absences during key stretches of the game ultimately spelled doom for San Diego as the Toreros fell 77-69.

Duke and Illinois both had their hands full with their underdog opponents, but in the end, the powers prevailed. Duke’s Dahntay Jones fouled out late in Duke’s contest with Colorado State. His ejection came at a untimely juncture for the Blue Devils as the Rams were in the midst of a run. But J.J. Redick made his free throws and Shelden Williams made a key bucket late as Duke held on 67-57.

Illinois had to work against Western Kentucky, but the Illini freshmen would make sure Illinois came out on the winning end. Dee Brown, Deron Williams and James Augustine combined for 37 points and 16 rebounds as Illinois edged Western Kentucky, 65-60.

Out of Control: With 16 minutes left in the second half, Cincinnati’s Jason Maxiell traveled and all hell broke lose. Bob Huggins and team radio announcer Chuck Machock were ejected for complaining about the call, and Cincy would later be ejected from the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga. Ronny Turiaf scored 22 points as Gonzaga held of a late Bearcat charge to beat cold-shooting Cincy 74-69.

UConn Saves Fans Bracket Headache: Had BYU beat UConn, many a office pool would have been blown to shreds due to the Cougars and their non-Sunday playing ways. But Connecticut saved the day and defeated BYU 58-53. The game was tight in the first half, but UConn would pull away in the second half and stave off a late Cougar charge. Emeka Okafor scored 20 points for the Huskies, who held BYU star Rafael Araujo to six points.

NC State “Wolfpacks” Another One: If NC State did not have bad luck, they would have no luck at all. The same team that blew a 15 point second-half lead to Duke last Sunday, watched it’s game with Cal slip from its fingers. Playing a little more herky-jerky than usual, State trailed for most of the day against California. But after tying the game with less than two minutes remaining, the Cardiac Pack looked like they would pull one out of the hat. But after a shot clock violation ruined their final shot of the regulation, you knew it was not meant to be. In overtime, the Wolpack completed such guffaws as a spot throw-in travel and a Marcus Melvin missed rebound that turned into one of Cal’s biggest buckets of the game. After State hit a three-pointer to take a lead late in OT, Cal’s Richard Midgley answered by hitting the game-winning tri-fecta.

Still Perfect: A sixteen seed still has not beaten a one seed. Oklahoma and Arizona both clobbered their opponents, SC State and Vermont, respectively, to keep number one’s perfect in the first round.

Wisconsin and Arizona State Win: Weber State would not get a chance to duplicate its upset over UNC in 1999 as the Wildcats lost to the Badgers 81-74. There had been talk all week about how Weber State would upset the Badgers. Wisconsin was not having any of it.

Seven seed Memphis was just beaten by a tougher team Thursday night. Ten seed Arizona State’s Ike Diogu was too much for Memphis, scoring 22 points in the Sun Devil’s 84-71 win. ASU senior Shawn Redhage also had a big game, scoring 18 points. The underrated Redhage could play a key role for ASU if the Sun Devils plan to keep winning.

Tubbs Back in Business: Lamar athletics director Billy Tubbs is returning to the court. The former Oklahoma and TCU coach is returning to the Lamar sidelines, the school where he played and started his coaching career. Tubbs went 75-46 at Lamar from 1976 to 1980.

Today’s Menu

• The game of the day could be in the South Region where six seed Maryland takes on 11 seed UNC-Wilmington. UNCW is paced by star Brent Blizzard and could surprise. The Seahawks will be without double-digit star Tim Burnette. Burnette was suspended for violating team rules.

• The Big Apple takes center stage in the day’s first game when Manhattan takes on Syracuse. Manhattan’s Luis Flores is a stud and may prove Manhattan is much better than its seed would indicate.

• Eleven seed Penn will try to take down six seed Oklahoma State today in the East Region. The Ivy Champs are as underrated as can be and a Quaker will should not be a shock.

• Number one seeds look to stay perfect as Texas takes on UNC-Ashville and Kentucky plays IUPUI. I would give anything to see IUPUI’s Ron Hunter do another dance of joy. Heck, if IUPUI should provide the greatest upset ever, Hunter would probably do summersaults.

Enjoy the hoops and God Bless America. Later.

Big Ten Tournament Notes

Big Ten Tournament Notes

by Phil Kasiecki

This season, conference tournaments took on added significance for many high-major conferences, and the Big Ten was no different. Whereas in previous seasons, there may have been about a half dozen teams that needed a win in the conference tournament to lock up an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament or to even have a chance, there are quite a few teams that fit that description this year.

The Big Ten Tournament featured good games at the United Center in Chicago, including the usual surprises. For the fourth time in six years, one of the teams playing in the championship game had to play on the opening day and thus was in its fourth game in as many days.

Here are some notes on the tournament.

Darby Won’t Go Quietly

Ohio State needed to win the Big Ten Tournament to go to the NCAA Tournament, and Brent Darby was planning to do everything he could to get them there. He almost succeeded.

Darby, one of two unanimous selections to the all-tournament team, played like a man possessed all weekend. He played a solid all-around game against Iowa despite going just 6-15 from the floor, as he had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. He made clutch baskets in their quarterfinal win over regular season champion Wisconsin, then led them past Michigan State in the semifinals with 23 points and 4 steals. In the championship game, the Buckeyes looked finished, trailing 52-30 in their fourth game in as many days.

But Darby didn’t stop playing. He made several big baskets, including three straight three-pointers, to eventually bring them within 9. But they could get no closer, and ironically, he wound up shooting them out of it with some bad shots later on that led to Illinois pulling away. He would finish with 27 points.

Darby finished the tournament with 81 points and 22 assists in four games.

He’s Got A Brother

Northwestern freshman point guard T.J. Parker will probably be known for quite a while as “Tony’s little brother”, but the younger Parker looks to have some good potential as well.

Parker is quick and very active at both ends of the floor, and has a good long range stroke, but he will have to cut down on his turnovers in the years ahead. He played very well in their win over Minnesota, scoring 18 points on 4-9 shooting, but struggled in the blowout loss to Illinois. He finished the season second on the team in scoring and tied for the lead in assists.

The Wildcats’ strength will be on the perimeter next season, as Parker is joined by leading scorer Jitim Young and freshman Mohamed Hachad, who showed the potential to be a nice complementary player on the wing. They will need to replace departing starters Aaron Jennings and Jason Burke in the frontcourt. Bill Carmody is bringing this program along slowly, but the strides are certainly there.

A Gamer, Just Like We Always Knew

Indiana senior point guard Tom Coverdale certainly doesn’t have to tell us that he plays until the final buzzer sounds. But he didn’t mind showing it again in Saturday’s 73-72 semifinal loss to Illinois.

Fans booed him throughout the tournament, but Coverdale came to play like the warrior he is. In the semifinal, he came alive in the second half to keep the Hoosiers ahead until Illinois took over. The Fighting Illini eventually seemed to have the game in hand, but Coverdale made two off-balance three-pointers in the final minute that kept it close. He finished with 21 points.

If the Hoosiers are to go anywhere in the NCAA Tournament, they will need Coverdale to again lead the way, while getting consistent contributions from players like A.J. Moye, who helped lead them to victory over Michigan but disappeared against Illinois, and Bracey Wright, who struggled in the wins and played better in the semifinal loss. Jeff Newton needs to play like he did last year, and it wouldn’t hurt if they can get more from George Leach.

Fundamentals Win Ballgames

If anyone doubted the importance of fundamentals, they need not look any further than Northwestern’s upset of Minnesota in the first round. While Northwestern shot 49% from the field, including 45.5% on three-point shots, the Golden Gophers helped out by making just 9 of 19 free throws in the 76-64 Wildcat win.

The Gophers needed a win or two to have any hope of getting into the NCAA Tournament, and have to settle for the NIT. Their return to the Big Dance could come next season, as they lose just two seniors and have some good young players returning from this NIT team.

The Good, The Bad, and Michigan State

Just a few years ago, the book on Michigan State was that they had to make teams play ugly to win, and they certainly succeeded at it before winning the national championship in 2000. If this past weekend is any indicator, that will again be the path to success for the Spartans.

Tom Izzo’s team has plenty of talent and some good experience, but it hasn’t always shown this season. The Spartans were projected as one of the elite teams in the nation in the preseason, ranked in or near the top ten of most preseason polls before sputtering out of the gates. One of the keys to their success the last couple of seasons, Adam Ballinger, has struggled mightily this year. They have also had problems at the point, as Chris Hill wasn’t able to complete the transition from shooting guard, instead having to remain at shooting guard where his terrific stroke is on display.

In Friday’s quarterfinal win over Purdue, the Spartans were hardly impressive in a game where the Boilermakers appeared to leave their game in West Lafayette. Then on Saturday, the struggles continued in losing to Ohio State, as the Spartans shot 30% from the field. The concerns don’t end with the team figure; Ballinger missed all four of his shots, sophomore Kelvin Torbert missed all six of his, Paul Davis was 1-8, and team-high scorer Maurice Ager was 6-15 from the field for his 15 points.

The Spartans are a difficult team to figure heading into the NCAA Tournament. If they get good play at the point and Ballinger plays like he has in past seasons, this team could certainly make a deep run in the wide-open field.

Big Hopes at Penn State May Be On Hold

Fresh off a second straight 7-21 season where they were at or near the bottom in most statistical categories, the outlook would appear bleak for Penn State. And while there is reason for some hope of moving up in the conference, it may go on hold as head coach Jerry Dunn resigned on Monday.

Dunn posted a 117-121 record in eight seasons at Penn State, but had some very successful seasons. The Nittany Lions were 21-7 in his first season, including a 12-4 record in Big Ten play. They made the NCAA Tournament that season, later made the NIT finals and semifinals, and went to the Sweet 16 in 2001. But the first season was the only season under Dunn where they posted a winning record in Big Ten play, and the last two seasons were struggles.

The Nittany Lions will lose second-leading scorer Brandon Watkins, but leading scorer Shariff Chambliss and freshman DeForrest Riley are capable perimeter players to build around. They will have plenty of size on the front line, especially among their younger players. 7-foot sophomore Jan Jagla could become a decent high-post player, while freshmen Robert Summers and Aaron Johnson played good minutes and could be good inside players in the future. Johnson led the team in rebounding, while Jagla will need to cut down on foul trouble.

Getting Their Money’s Worth

Hats off to the Big Ten for a job well done in this tournament. While attendance lagged at times, including in Sunday’s championship game, those who came not only saw good basketball, but were also entertained.

They conducted a “Song Search” where fans were videotaped singing their school’s fight song, then later shown during a media timeout. Additionally, the “Kiss Cam” provided more fun for the fans, and there was halftime entertainment during all 10 games.

Who Will Cut Down the Nets?

Bar Room Bicker – Who will Cut Down the Nets?

by Nicholas Lozito, Jimmy Spencer, and Andria Wenzel

Andria Wenzel — Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Two years ago, Matt Doherty bolted from South Bend for the University of North Carolina in hopes of winning a national championship for one of the most storied programs in men’s basketball history.

Too bad he didn’t realize the real story was right there in Indiana, the home of basketball itself.

Kind of ironic that now it’s Mike Brey — Doherty’s successor — who could be standing at the top of the ladder snipping the nylon on April 7 alongside seniors Matt Carroll and Danny Miller and sophomore Chris Thomas.

Did Doherty know he was letting go of arguably the second-best point guard in the college game? Well, while Doherty is reveling in the NIT, Brey has one of the most reckless and unpredictable players in Thomas – just the kind of story that March Madness loves to embrace.

If Notre Dame can return to their early-season form, when they recorded wins over Marquette, Maryland, Texas and Pittsburgh, they have as good as chance as any to make it to the finals.

Statistics don’t matter now; all that matters are the last second lay-up that left Tyus Edney in infamy, and a timeout that has left Chris Webber in shame.

For Thomas, Carroll ‘n company — the time is now.

Jimmy Spencer — Texas Longhorns

The team with the best point guard in the nation will also be the last standing in the 2003 March Madness Tournament.

The third-ranked Longhorns will run through the field of 64 by way of their 5’10″ elusive sophomore point guard T.J. Ford, who will change the course of games with his speed and skills. His ability to drive the lane is unmatched by any, and his improved jumper will give Texas the edge over other top ranked teams.

Center James Thomas averaged a double double and is the top rebounder in the Big 12. In addition, deadly perimeter shooter, shooting guard Brandon Mouton has the capabilities to put any game away from behind the arc.

Texas’ substantial depth gives them an edge over most tournament teams and can call on several players to give them scoring off the bench.

The shocking Big 12 Tournament loss to Texas Tech served as a reminder that none of the 64 teams are unbeatable. Arizona was knocked off by UCLA, Missouri dropped Kansas, and Texas dropped Oklahoma.

But in a wide-open 2003, the Longhorns provide the best mixture of shooting, defense, depth and determination. And no one can stop T.J. Ford.

T.J. Ford might be leaving for the NBA next year, but he’ll join his new lottery team with an NCAA championship.

Nicholas Lozito — Syracuse Orangemen

The Orangemen are the most talented team in the country.

Carmelo Anthony is a lock for freshman of the year and an-all-American contender. Power forward Hakim Warrick is the most athletic big man in the nation, while Kueth Duany brings senior leadership. Freshman sharp-shooter Gerry McNamara can light it up from anywhere on the court and Graig Forth’s 7-foot interior presence give Syracuse the best starting five in the tourney.

The only thing holding the Orangemen back is their lack of experience. Coach Jim Boeheim will have to get this team, which starts four underclassmen, on the same page heading into their first round game with Manhattan.

While Syracuse is capable of blowing out any team in the country, they also have the capability of falling apart. But in the tourney, talent prevails. And the Orangemen have a whole lot of talent.

Not only does Syracuse (located in upstate New York) not have to play any further than Boston until the final four, but they are also placed in the region with the weakest No. 1 seed — Oklahoma.

Nicholas Lozito, Jimmy Spencer, and Andria Wenzel are Hoopville Staff writers living in Sacramento.

Vermont’s NCAA Journey

Brennan and Sheftic lead Vermont to the NCAA’s

by Phil Kasiecki

Tom Brennan almost walked away just prior to last season. Matt Sheftic had already done just that.

Every NCAA Tournament has its stories, but if there’s an unlikely presence in the NCAA Tournament this season, it would be Brennan, the head coach of Vermont, and Sheftic, the junior post player who led the Catamounts to their first NCAA Tournament bid after 103 years of basketball. Vermont’s appearance in the tournament could be a story just with the Catamounts having 10.5 basketball scholarships in addition to their long history without an NCAA bid prior to this. But there is even more that makes this a special story.

A character who is never at a loss for words or self-deprecating humor, Brennan is the dean of America East coaches, currently in his 17th season. Looking at his record year-by-year, one might wonder how he made it this far; he started out his career 42-88 in his first five seasons, and the Catamounts continued to languish in the depths of the conference from the days when it was still the ECAC and then the North Atlantic Conference.

Once Brennan made it to the late 1990s, the success started to come. In 1997-98, Vermont tied for its highest finish in the conference, finishing third after leading for part of the season and going 16-11. Two years later, they matched the 11-7 conference record and went 16-12, and last season won a school-record 21 games before losing in the America East semifinals, eventually getting snubbed by the NIT. They swept the postseason awards, as sophomore guard T.J. Sorrentine was the conference’s Player of the Year, Taylor Coppenrath won Rookie of the Year, and Brennan was named Coach of the Year for the third time.

This season, the Catamounts figured to contend again despite losing the top rebounder in America East in Trevor Gaines (also one of just two players in the conference last year to average a double-double). But things looked bleak early, as Sorrentine suffered injuries to both wrists in an early practice. Eventually, his right wrist did not heal enough, and the Catamounts decided to redshirt him.

Without their point guard and top player, the Catamounts started slowly, losing six straight games to start 3-6. Then the new year came, along with America East play, and they got on a roll. They won their first three as part of a five-game winning streak, and would go on to finish second in the conference in the regular season before their run in the America East Tournament. Sheftic, the team’s second-leading scorer, had 23 points in the championship game and 22 points on 10-10 shooting in the quarterfinals against Albany, en route to being named the Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.

But all of this came more than a year after both Brennan and Sheftic nearly walked away from it all.

Sheftic not only quit the team, but left the university a month and a half before the 2001-02 season began. His younger sister suffered a brain aneurysm in January 2001, and eventually passed away in December of that year. All the while, basketball became a burden for the native of Essex Junction, even though it was a game he grew up with.

But now he’s back, and the America East Conference found out quickly. Anchoring the biggest front line in America East, Sheftic enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, scoring 52 points in three games in Boston to get the Catamounts here. Brennan certainly hasn’t lost sight of what Sheftic has done.

“Sheftic, in the last month, has been unbelievable,” he said last weekend. “He’s really been a key guy for us, he’s one of the main reasons that we’ve played so well, because after a year off from the team, it all seems to be coming together for him and he really seems to be finding himself.”

For good measure, Brennan was ready to retire just before last season. Always an upbeat man and the co-host of the popular “Corm and the Coach” morning radio show, it wasn’t the same for him, but he felt he owed it to his players to stay. If there’s anyone who is all the better for that decision, it sounds like Brennan himself when he talks about the team.

“Reality of it is, these guys are all great students, they’re all good people, they all really care about each other,” he said of his players. “It just starts at the top, it starts with Coppenrath, and T.J. (Sorrentine) too. T.J. was so devastated by having to sit out, it really, really hurt him, and yet I hear him the other day just saying, ‘I’m just so glad the team did well’, and I know he really believes that.

“I never expected that we could do this, never, and I’m the most optimistic guy in the world. But to do what we’ve done, is just a tremendous credit to those kids, because they did it, they made it happen.”

The players have certainly proven themselves in the classroom. In 2001-02, the team posted a 3.01 GPA, tops among America East programs. Seven of the 12 players earned a spot on the America East Academic Honor Roll, with five reaching the Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.50 GPA or better).

Brennan also knows he got more of a chance than many get in this business. His patience, as well as that of the university, is now being rewarded. The Catamounts never won 20 or more games in their first 103 seasons, but have won 21 games in each of the last two seasons. If anything, the years of losing seem to help the 53 year-old native of Phillipsburg, New Jersey appreciate the good times now.

“We’ve really become fashionable up there, people love this team,” he reflected after their semifinal win over Hartford. “You can see how many people come down to here for a 9:30 game on a Monday night. I’ve been here for 17 years, and we were not good for a lot of those years. And no one ever did anything to me except take care of me, to tell me to hang in there, to believe.

“I’m just blessed, I’m just really blessed, because not many people start out 42-88 and get a chance to finish. It just doesn’t happen in this business. I’ve had wonderful guys, I’ve just been very blessed, I’ve been very, very lucky, and the only good thing about me is that I appreciate that. I appreciate every minute of it.”

Indeed he does, and we can expect no one to appreciate being part of this year’s March Madness more.

Any Reason

A Little Bracket Help

by Adam Reich

When it comes to filling out the brackets, fans everywhere dig around
for the top-secret information that will help them pick the amazing
upsets, the final four teams and the tournament’s champion. But what
if you’re too busy? What if you’re still hung over from St. Patrick’s
Day? Or what if you just don’t know anything about college basketball?
If you fit any of these categories, then you might be totally lost
when it comes down to whom to pick. So for all of you
non-bracketologists out there looking for a reason to pick one team to
go all the way, here you go.

Alabama: Because they were ranked No. 1. Don’t you remember? Don’t
you?

Arizona: Because you can’t get enough of Bill Walton. The further
they advance, the more airtime he gets.

Arizona State: Because they’re the Sun Devils. Think about that. The
Sun Devils. Pretty cool, huh?

Auburn: Because Kenny Smith will kiss Charles Barkley’s ass if they
win.

Austin Peay: Because Austin Peay sounds like a kind of soup and soup
is good.

BYU: Because Mormons practice polygamy. Let me get this straight, I
can have 10 wives? Sign me up.

Butler: Because if they win, we get to say “The Butler did it”.

California: Because you like Jack Nicklaus. So let’s pick the Golden
Bears.

Central Michigan: Because you went to Camp Chippewa as a kid.

Cincinnati: Because you didn’t graduate from college either.

Colorado: Because you can eat Buffalo wings while rooting for the
Buffaloes.

Colorado State: Because ski-bunny cheerleaders are good.

Connecticut: Because they get to scrimmage the women’s team at
practice.

Creighton: Because Kyle Korver is the next Larry Bird.

Dayton: Because people in Dayton have nothing else.

Duke: Because you went to Duke. That’s the only possible reason.

East Tennessee State: Because if they lose they assume the name
“Yucs.” Since Tampa Bay won it all.

Florida: Because every time you drink Gatorade you help fund the
program.

Gonzaga: Because after one year as the favorite, they are underdogs
again. And Stockton’s shorts.

Holy Cross: Because then Phil Rizzuto might cover the Final Four.
“Holy Cow, I mean Cross.”

Illinois: Because Dee Brown reminds me of, uh, Dee Brown. Remember
the pump?

Indiana: Because you know Bobby Knight will be watching from home.

IUPUI: Because IUPUI is fun to say. Say it with me. IUPUI, IUPUI,
IUPUI! Kind of catchy, huh?

Kansas: Because this has to be Roy Williams’ year. I mean come on, it
has to be.

Kentucky: Because everyone else picked them. Come on, take a chance.

LSU: Because Shaq may celebrate the victory by self-funding the
script for Kazaam 2.

Louisville: Because Rick Pitino was made for college basketball. Just
ask Celtics fans.

Manhattan: Because these guys run ball at Rucker Park in the
off-season.

Marquette: Because Dwayne Wade looks like Jimmy Walker. Dyn-o-mite!

Maryland: Because everyone fears the Turtle! I know I do.

Memphis: Because barbecue makes a good pre-game meal.

Michigan State: Because you know Mateen Cleeves will be cheering them
on from behind the bench.

Mississippi State: Because you know Clark Kellog will eventually
break out with “Super Mario.”

Missouri: Because your bald and thus admire Quinn Snyder’s mop.

NC State: Because you can’t pick Boston College.

Notre Dame: Because you hate the football team is no reason to hate
the basketball team.

UNC-Asheville: Because they have proven they can win in the
tournament. But Texas? Gulp.

UNC-Wilmington: Because you work at Dairy Queen. Damn, those
blizzards are good.

Oklahoma: Because the “Price is Right.” Brian Bosworth, come on down.

Oklahoma State: Because the clock is in their favor. Just ask the
Sooners.

Oregon: Because you’re a Star Wars junky. “Use the force Lukes.”

Pennsylvania: Because their the Quakers, not the Amish.

Pittsburgh: Because they’re the Rodney Dangerfield of college hoops.
They get “no respect.”

Purdue: Because after they win we can all go to the local watering
hole. “A round of Boilermakers.”

Saint Joseph’s: Because the winning story will be “St. Joseph’s and
the Amazing Final Four Dreamcoat.”

Sam Houston State: Because we don’t want to have to say “Bye Slamma
Jamma.”

San Diego: Because the Toreros are muy bueno. Yo quiero Taco Bell.

South Carolina State: Because Moses Malone Jr. is their leader. Is
Dr. J Jr. still in medical school?

Southern Illinois: Because they’re man’s best friend. That’s right, a
Saluki is a dog. Yep, a dog.

Stanford: Because you’re an environmentalist. You got to love the
tree. What kind of a mascot is a tree?

Syracuse: Because Carmelo Anthony might stay in school. Yeah, right.
Who am I kidding?

Texas: Because then we can say “Something good finally came from
Texas.”

Troy State: Because we must practice safe selection-making. Please,
pick the Trojans.

Tulsa: Because the Golden Hurricane won’t fold in the National
Championship game like other ‘Canes.

Utah: Because we want as many Rick Majerus press conferences as
possible. That guy is hilarious.

Utah State: Because the Aggies need a “Twelfth Man.”

Vermont: Because your favorite halftime snack is Chunky Monkey ice
cream.

Wagner: Because unlike Dejuan Wagner, they aren’t killing your NBA
fantasy team.

Wake Forest: Because we must save the Wake Forest.

Weber State: Because we need Harold “The Show” Arcineaux highlights
all tournament long.

Western Kentucky: Because winning without Chris Marcus would be the
ultimate Ewing Theory example.

U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Because Miller might brew a beer called
“Panther Pilsner” in their honor.

Xavier: Because then David West will officially become the new “X
Man.” Sorry Mr. McDaniel.

Selection Committee

A Look at the Selection Process from Sunday

by Phil Kasiecki

Sunday was not the best of days for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. While they had a difficult job trying to determine the teams and seeds in a very wide-open year, that isn’t an excuse for some of the apparent logic shown, if you can call it that.

To start, let’s look at the teams that got in, or did not get in. The teams with the biggest complaints are Boston College, Seton Hall, Texas Tech, and UNLV. All four have cases to be in the field of 65 in looking at who did get in. While Tennessee has been mentioned as a snub, the Volunteers had a low RPI (60), lost in their first SEC Tournament game, and finished the regular season 4-6 in their last ten games and 17-11 overall.

The committee has said that important factors are road record, last ten games, RPI rating, and strength of schedule. That said, let’s look at each school.

Boston College (18-11) has a relatively shaky profile. The Eagles were 2-6 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, and also had a loss to Northeastern. But they were co-champions in the East Division of the Big East at 10-6 and entered the Big East Tournament having won 9 of 11. They were also road warriors all season long in posting an 8-3 record on the road in the regular season, including a win over North Carolina State, which just made it in. The Eagles’ RPI is 49, aided in part by a lack of wins over top 50 teams.

Seton Hall (17-12) also went 10-6 in Big East play, which helped negate a very slow start that included no quality wins in non-conference play. In fact, the Pirates did not beat an eventual NCAA Tournament team until their 78-72 win over Notre Dame in early February, which was part of a nine-game winning streak that also featured an upset of Pittsburgh. They would drop their final two games of the regular season, including a 32-point thrashing at the hands of Pittsburgh. The Pirates were 3-7 on the road and have an RPI of 42 – the second-best RPI of a team not in the NCAA Tournament.

Texas Tech (18-12) might have a better profile, as they have wins over Oklahoma State and Texas on their resume. They also have several close losses against the Big 12′s best, including three by a combined 19 points against Oklahoma, two of which went to overtime. But the Red Raiders, whose RPI is 48, went 6-10 in conference play and were 6-6 on the road.

UNLV (21-10) has the highest RPI of a team not in the NCAA Tournament at 40. While their schedule was not full of cupcakes, they didn’t consistently knock off elite teams, either. They went 4-6 against eventual NCAA Tournament teams, but went 6-5 on the road and were 7-3 in their last 10 games.

These four teams were all left out, relegated to the NIT instead.

Auburn (20-11) got in with an RPI of 36, but a cupcake non-conference schedule that included a win over a non-Division I teams and double-digit losses to Western Kentucky (89-70) and Western Michigan (72-54), the latter coming at home. They went 4-8 against NCAA Tournament teams, but take away the wins over mid-major conference champions and the record falls to 2-7 (wins over Alabama and LSU, both at home). The Tigers enter the tournament 4-6 in their last ten games.

North Carolina State (18-12) finished with an RPI of 53 – lower than all four snubs previously discussed and lowest of all at-large teams – went 2-7 against NCAA Tournament teams, 3-7 on the road, and split their final ten games. They did make the ACC Tournament final, beating regular season champion Wake Forest along the way.

This is just the start of it, as a look throughout the brackets will find some questionable seeds, as well as other issues. Let’s start with the number one seeds.

How did Texas not only get a No. 1 seed, but also get to take on the play-in winner (UNC-Asheville)? The Longhorns are an excellent team and had a terrific season, but they did not even make the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament and were not a clear favorite for one of the top seeds entering the last week. Meanwhile, Oklahoma entered the last week with slim hopes of a No. 1 seed, but won the Big 12 Tournament and got one, and Pittsburgh was in contention, won the Big East Tournament, and wound up with a No. 2 seed.

Apparently, the significance of conference tournaments varied depending on the team. Not only did the conference tournament result apparently mean nothing for Texas and Pittsburgh, and plenty for Oklahoma and North Carolina State, but it also apparently meant nothing for slumping Florida, the No. 2 seed in the South. The Gators lost in their first game in the SEC Tournament and enter the NCAA Tournament having lost three straight games. Granted, those three games were a heart-breaker at Georgia, one that came down to the wire against Kentucky and a close loss to one of the nation’s hottest teams in LSU, but a deserving No. 2 seed should win at least one of those games.

Elsewhere, many lower seeds look questionable, but there is no sense going through a detailed analysis. Part of it is due to the fact that teams across America beat up on each other this season, and this year’s tournament is clearly the most wide-open in recent memory. As such, there are some high seeds that might look very vulnerable and some No. 5, 6 and 7 seeds that could certainly make a deep run in the tournament. So while some lower seeds might look questionable, in the end it’s partly a product of how very little this season is clear-cut.

Additionally, reasonable people can disagree about the West region being loaded at the top and Arizona being the No. 1 seed there. Every year, there is a region that is loaded and one that is weak, but that doesn’t change the fact that upsets occur and sometimes a team that looked to have an easy road gets knocked off early.

One point of contention as soon as the brackets came out was the placement of Arizona and Kentucky, the consensus top two teams this season. If everything holds to form, the two teams will meet in the national semifinal, as opposed to the national championship game. Committee chairman Jim Livengood, the athletic director at Arizona, said that the committee is not supposed to look ahead and thus where these two teams would meet if things held to form was not a consideration. This is an interesting response if we look back a few years.

Think back to when Kenyon Martin was injured during the 2000 Conference USA Tournament. The consensus Player of the Year was done for the season, a season in which his Cincinnati team looked like a clear No. 1 seed based on its season. But when the question came up as to the seeding Cincinnati would get without Martin, it was said that the committee has to be forward-looking in terms of seeding, and as such, Martin’s injury would most assuredly affect their seeding. The Bearcats wound up as a No. 2 seed after looking like a lock for a No. 1 all along.

So which is it? Is the committee supposed to be forward-looking or not? It isn’t very clear.

CBS showed the selection committee’s meeting room in Indianapolis during their coverage of Championship Week. The room had committee members seated at a table whose landscape was dotted by laptop computers – that’s right, the committee members were not at games, or watching them on CBS or ESPN and its affiliates. They were busy trying to crunch numbers. And anyone who watches basketball games knows that numbers seldom tell the whole story.

As if the aforementioned mistakes were not bad enough, the committee made a colossal mistake with Brigham Young. They placed the Cougars in the South Region as the No. 12 seed, where they would play in a Sunday regional final if they made it that far. The Mormon Church-run school is not allowed to play on Sunday, and the Cougars would not buck the rules in this case, leaving the NCAA in a quandary.

The quandary was not one that the committee had no readily available remedy for. The committee could have simply moved BYU to the Midwest region, where they would play on Saturday if they made it to the regional final. Instead, they are sticking to their original bracket and planning to improvise if necessary.

Should Brigham Young advance to the Sweet 16, they will be moved to the Midwest region, and the team from the corresponding pod in the Midwest region (one team from Wisconsin, Weber State, Dayton, and Tulsa) will be moved into the South region. The committee could have made this change immediately – they could have simply swapped Brigham Young with Weber State, the No. 12 seed in the Midwest – but they opted not to.

History also shows that this could come to fruition. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams, 23 No. 12 seeds have won a first round game, and 12 of those teams went on to advance to the Sweet 16 with another win.

All in all, the committee did not do a great job. Questions with teams who did/did not get in, questionable seedings, an apparently inconsistent application of what is said to be important in the criteria considered, an inconsistent message about being forward-looking, and the mistake with BYU are simply too much for this writer to say that they did well with this.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Thursday, March 20th, 2003

by Brian Seymour

On a day when the thoughts of a nation should be on the greatest annual sports tournament in the world, instead we think about our armed forces waging war in a faraway land.

If you’re like me and you have friends and family who serve in our military, it’s hard to give sports — even an event as great as the NCAA Tournament — much more than a passing thought.

It’s doubly affecting for me since it tempers the excitement I feel having my alma mater — Central Michigan — in the tournament for the first time in 16 years. One of my best friends from CMU is PFC Dereck J. Cram, who serves in the Army Reserves and who is currently stationed in Kuwait (and quite possibly making his way into Iraq).

Dereck isn’t much of a basketball fan. I was never able to drag him to any Central games at Rose Arena. (In Dereck’s defense, the Chippewas certainly did suck in our time there).

In any event, the games are scheduled to go on today and that’s a good thing. It’s important to have diversions and basketball is as good as any. But while you’re watching the games today (and believe me, I’ll be watching along with you), I wouldn’t mind you giving a quick thought to my friend Dereck and all our other soldiers in harm’s way, especially during the Central Michigan-Creighton game tonight.

Even though he’s not a big hoops fan, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.

Side Dishes

CBS reaches deal with ESPN networks: There’s a very good chance that war coverage will pre-empt CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament, so if it does the first place to check will be ESPN or ESPN2.

The ESPN networks reached an agreement Wednesday to show several first-round games on Thursday and Friday, though the coverage for the second round if CBS is still unable to show those games could be all over the place because of ESPN’s commitment to show the women’s tournament. CBS will also have the option of showing games on TNN and TV Land, other networks owned by Viacom, the parent company of CBS.

Johnsen out for tourney: The bout of mononucleosis which sidelined Utah’s Britton Johnsen for the Mountain West tournament will also keep him out of the NCAA Tournament. Utah’s team physician didn’t clear the forward to play and he didn’t accompany the team to Nashville, Tenn. for the Utes’ first round contest against Oregon. Johnsen averages 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Catamounts arrive late: An extremely potent blizzard stranded Vermont’s basketball team in Denver as the Catamounts were en route to the West Regional in Salt Lake City.

The team’s journey began in Burlington, Vt. on Tuesday, but after arriving in Denver their connecting flight to Salt Lake City was cancelled because of the weather. The NCAA arranged for a hotel in the Denver area (an impressive feat — if you’ve never been stranded in a strange city because of weather consider yourself lucky, hundreds of people had to sleep on the airport’s floor).

The Catamounts then travelled by bus Wednesday morning, an arduous journey over snowy road to Colorado Springs, where they were schedule to get an 8:20 p.m. (MST) flight to Salt Lake City. The Catamounts will arrive with only enough time to catch a few hours of sleep before facing Arizona later today.

The snow storm, which also caused the postponement of an NIT game between Eastern Washington and Wyoming, also threw a wrench into Colorado’s travel plans. The Buffaloes had to scramble to make arrangements which will put them in Tampa today, only a day before their first round battle with Michigan State.

The weather also impacted the travel plans for Central Michigan and Creighton’s travelling parties to Salt Lake City, though none as severe as the Catamounts.

NIT roundup: There’s two schools of thought when dealing with a team passed over by the NCAA Tournament for the NIT. Some teams will use it as fire to show the selection committee the mistake they made. Other teams will just go in the tank. Seton Hall looked like the former for most of its contest Wednesday against Rhode Island, but ended up the latter after a furious Ram comeback gave URI a 61-60 win over the Pirates (17-13). A 3-pointer by Dawan Robinson with 4.1 seconds left pushed the Rams (20-10) over the top.

Other results included Georgia Tech over Ohio State, 72-58; College of Charleston defeating Kent State, 71-66; Western Michigan narrowly over Illinois (Chicago), 63-62; Virginia trouncing Brown, 89-73; Providence over Richmond, 67-49; St. John’s beating Boston U, 62-57; UAB nipping La.-Lafayette, 82-80; Iowa State over Wichita State, 76-65; Minnesota handling Saint Louis, 62-52; Texas Tech handling Nevada, 66-54; San Diego State needed overtime to upend UC-Santa Barbara, 67-62; and Hawaii beat UNLV 85-68.

Tonight’s Menu

I don’t need to tell you the tournament kicks off today with 16 first-round games from sites around the nation. Rather than just list them all here, I’ll give you my picks for which games are likely to be the most interesting.

• The No. 8 vs. No. 9 games are usually a letdown, but I have a feeling the West region contest between No. 8 Cincinnati and No. 9 Gonzaga at 12:40 p.m. (EST) ought to be a doozy.

• In the Midwest region, the contest between No. 6 Missouri and No. 11 Southern Illinois is also a border contest in addition to a great matchup. The two campuses are separated by only about four hours. Tipoff is 2:40 p.m. (EST).

• A lot of folks (myself included) think No. 5 Wisconsin is ripe for an upset at the hands of No. 12 Weber State in a Midwest region contest at 7:25 p.m. (EST)

• Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the West region contest between No. 6 Creighton and No. 11 Central Michigan. Aside from CMU being my alma mater, this game should be a good one, especially if you like great long-range shooting. That contest is at 7:20 p.m. (EST).

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Wednesday, March 19th, 2003

by Michael Ermitage

If the play-in game is any indication of the type of NCAA tournament that is about to begin, we’re all in for a good time. UNC-Ashville topped Texas Southern in overtime, 92-84. UNC-Ashville’s Andre Smith is the first hero of the Dance, scoring 10 points in the overtime session to secure the victory. The Bulldogs now travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face top-seeded Texas in the South region.

Despite the win, UNC-Ashville still remains under .500 (the only team in this year’s tournament with a losing record) at 15-16. The game against Texas will reunite Texas coach Rick Barnes and Asheville’s Eddie Biedenbach, who gave Barnes his first coaching job when he was at Davidson in 1978.

Just before the play-in game tipped off in Dayton, Ohio, there was much speculation earlier in the day that tournament games may be postponed because of the impending war in Iraq. NCAA President Myles Brand announced early in the day that the NCAA was looking into the availability of arenas and hotels in case the games were to be postponed. Following that morning announcement, the national media went wild with the story. ESPN’s Dan Patrick fielded call after call from former servicemen who said that they want America to keep up its daily business in times of war. Several sports web sites launched polls about whether or not the games should be postponed, with accompanying commentary.

Of course, all the hoopla surrounding the morning announcement was unfounded. The NCAA was merely creating a contingency plan should it feel that the safety of the student-athletes and the spectators may be compromised. Upon hearing from Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge that the White House wishes for all Americans to continue to live their lives as normally as possible, Brand announced that the games will go on.

Now, where on television can we catch these games should a war break out? That question is still unanswered, although it looks likely that CBS will move the games to four separate cable stations. CBS has already lined up Viacom-owned stations TNN, TV Land and Nickelodeon. The fourth station is likely to be ESPN or ESPN2 as the networks are brokering a deal to show a portion of the games.

Side Dishes

Shyatt leaves Clemson: With each passing tournament, the coaching ranks in college basketball must go under some change. Those that didn’t make the tournament often must answer to the powers-that-be, and Clemson coach Larry Shyatt resigned Tuesday in the face of pressure from the administration. The Tigers were not only passed over for the NCAA tournament, but the NIT tournament as well. Potential candidates to replace Shyatt include Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton, Dayton coach Oliver Purnell, former Hawks coach Lon Kruger and former Bulls coach Tim Floyd.

NIT roundup: In NIT action Tuesday night, Siena dominated Villanova, Georgetown topped Tennessee, Boston College cruised past Fairfield, Temple held off Drexel and North Carolina defeated DePaul.

Sometimes you can get an early indicator on conference strength from early NIT games. And then you can apply that to the NCAA tournament. This year has not offered many answers. While the Big East can be proud of its wins from Georgetown and Boston College, it is a bit perplexing that Villanova was so overmatched at Siena.

The Big Ten’s first game had Iowa edging Valparaiso in Iowa City. Perhaps the Big Ten is down since many of the top Big Ten teams struggled in Iowa City while the Crusaders nearly landed the upset.

And the ACC can’t take much solace in North Carolina’s win over DePaul, since they were dominated on the glass, but were just able to pull away on transition baskets from DePaul’s many turnovers. Maybe that’s a good sign for Conference USA, which landed four teams in the NCAA tournament field.

Tonight’s Menu:

• More hot NIT action as nine games take place. The most interesting matchups include Ohio State at Georgia Tech, Minnesota at St. Louis, Hawaii at UNLV and Nevada at Texas Tech.

In the Buckeyes’ game at Georgia Tech, Ohio State will be without Zach Williams, who was suspended from NIT games by the coaching staff for his conduct during the Big Ten tournament. Williams was sent off the court Sunday during the Buckeyes’ loss to Illinois in Chicago for arguing with an assistant coach.