NCAA Selection Committee Issues

NCAA Selection Committee Issues

by Phil Kasiecki

The field of 65 teams is all set, and as usual, there is a lot of debate. The selection committee was not going to have an easy job this year even if some there weren’t some of the upsets in conference tournaments over the last week. It’s been a wide-open season and a wide-open tournament is ahead, and the committee came up with a lot of question marks for seeds.

First, we’ll look at the top seeds. Kentucky was an easy choice, and Duke was despite losing the ACC championship game. But the Blue Devils somehow stayed ahead of Stanford, which lost once all season and won its conference tournament. St. Joseph’s got the top seed it deserved, although committee chair Bob Bowlsby said that the Big 12 championship game did not weigh into its final seeds, meaning Oklahoma State was not going to get a No. 1 regardless – and the Cowboys certainly have a good case for one.

Looking at the No. 2 seeds, there isn’t much to argue except for Connecticut getting one over Pittsburgh. Up through Saturday, the Panthers looked like they had a good shot at getting one of the top seeds, and now their loss to the Huskies did more than keep that from happening – now they’re a No. 3 seed. In addition, the Panthers have to travel to Milwaukee and may place Wisconsin in the second round, essentially a home game for the lower-seeded team. (More on that later.) It’s hard to argue when Connecticut has a higher RPI and won two of three meetings between the two teams, but it is interesting how Pittsburgh went from being a possible No. 1 to a No. 3 in less than 24 hours.

How did Maryland get a No. 4 seed? Yes, the Terrapins finished up playing very well, including a run through the ACC Tournament that included three ranked teams. But just a week or so ago, the Terrapins were a bubble team. How does a team go from bubble to one of the top 16 seeds in barely one week?

Speaking of going from the bubble to a good seed, how about Washington? The Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the nation’s hottest teams, as they weren’t even in the discussion before winning 14 of 17 games, including two wins over Arizona and ending Stanford’s hopes of a perfect regular season.

The questions could go on. Wisconsin wins the Big Ten title, yet wins up with a lower seed (albeit in a different region) than the team it beat, Illinois? The Badgers and Illini were basically a draw during the season if you had to pick the better team, but Wisconsin blitzed the Illini in the championship game. Bowlsby said that this championship game, like the Big 12 title game, did not weigh into the final seeds because of how close it was to the selection show – and that’s a major problem.

After all of this, there are the snubs. Last year, it was about the Big East; this year, it’s about Utah State, which is about the only real glaring omission. The Aggies went 25-3, have been nationally ranked for most of the last two months, yet they’re going to the NIT. They have the fewest losses ever for a team excluded from the NCAA Tournament. Only LSU has a higher RPI than the Aggies (Utah State’s is 43; LSU’s is 39), but the Tigers played themselves into the NIT by losing six of their last seven games, including a 21-point loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament. They proved that they could not win consistently without Jamie Lloreda.

For the most part, other bubble teams don’t have much of a complaint for not getting in. Teams like Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Missouri had their chances to get quality wins and did not. They had their chances to improve their NCAA resumes in their conference tournaments and did not. Utah State is the only team whose omission is a clear injustice.

Aside from the issue of seeds, the NCAA needs to do away with the pods. Started in 2002, the pods have never made much sense and that remains the case this year. It has done nothing but reward lower seeds and slightly higher seeds more than it has rewarded top seeds. For example, look at the home/vicinity advantages this year:

• Kansas, a No. 4 seed, plays in Kansas City and may face No. 5 Providence in the second round.

• Wake Forest, also a No. 4 seed, plays in Raleigh, and may face No. 5 Florida in the second round.

• Wisconsin, a No. 6 seed, plays in Milwaukee. Who else is in that bracket, you ask? No. 3 Pittsburgh. The higher-seeded Panthers are rewarded for their excellent season with a trip to the Midwest and essentially a road game if both favorites win in the first round. The committee may be trying to make up the low seed for the Badgers, but they’ve done it at the expense of a team that had a real chance to be a No. 1 seed before losing in the Big East title game.

• Cincinnati, a No. 4 seed, plays in Columbus, and might play No. 5 Illinois in the second round. That isn’t so bad since Illinois won’t be traveling very far either, so the advantage to the Bearcats is very slight.

• Teams playing in Denver include Air Force – a No. 11 seed – and higher seeds Texas and North Carolina having to travel out there. Also playing there is Brigham Young, a No. 12 seed – with higher seeds Syracuse (5) and Maryland (4) having to travel from the east coast.

The pods have to go. The idea of rewarding better teams was nice, but it’s not one that can easily be done, and all too often it has rewarded teams in the middle of the top seeds instead of the very top seeds. Additionally, teams are selected for and seeded in the tournament based on, among other things, how they have played on the road and at neutral sites, because the NCAA Tournament is about winning regardless of where the games are played.

The seeds and pod placements leave a lot of questions, but perhaps that’s only fitting since the tournament begins with there being no clear picture of who the favorites are. A case can be made for all of the top seeds going all the way, and many of the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds as well. It’s a wide-open tournament, and in the end the committee may prove to have done a better job than it appears right now.

Long Island Championships

Just Another Day in Nassau

by Keith Irizarry

It’s not just championship week in college basketball, but high schools all around the country are deciding who is the best. This weekend, I checked out some great Long Island Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships.

Friday, March 12th, I was back at Old Westbury High School for a double-tilt of Boy’s High School Finals. This was one exciting day of ball, filled with buzzer beaters and future college standouts.

Uniondale 53, Bay Shore 52

Bay Shore stepped onto the scene with guns blazing. After trailing early, 5 to nothing, the Marauders reeled off a 24 -2 run to close out the first quarter. Uniondale, which had lost the previous 2 years in the Long Island Championship looked like a bunch of lost souls: enter, senior guard Jason LaMarre and sophomore wing, Lance Fuertado (remember this name). Together, they scored 15 points in the first half, and drew the Knights to within a 36-27 deficit at halftime. The big time star for Uniondale, Kahiem Seawright, had his share of problems. He shot poorly and just could never get into the flow of things offensively (7 points). Defensively, he altered numerous shots (7 blocks, to go along with 6 rebounds). Bay Shore’s Bryant Lassiter was stellar after sitting out last weekend’s Suffolk Championship loss to Amityville due to an injured ankle (13 points, 3 rebounds). He is a small guy (listed at 5-10 but more like 5-7 or 5-8) who does it all for Bay Shore. Keith Hinnant did his share of damage in this game, as well (15 points, 8 rebounds).

Heading into the fourth quarter, Uniondale still trailed by 8. Then came the inevitable Knight run. Herman Pyatt scored a bucket with about 2 and half minutes remaining, and gave the Knights their first lead since it was 5-4 in the first quarter. The teams would trade baskets, before Lassiter looked to put it away with a beautiful shot, making it 52-51. LaMarre, with the hot hand (19 points, 4 assists) drove the lane with 7 seconds remaining and threw up a floater that rimmed out. The ball bounced around, knocked off of the shoulder of Bay Shore’s Aikeem Vanderhorst before falling into the hands of Fuertado. Lance, from about four feet out, quickly tossed the ball towards the hoop, netting the basket with 7 tenths of a second left on the clock. The basket would prove to be the game winner.

Bay Shore’s constant pressure on Uniondale forced them into 15 turnovers, but Bay Shore couldn’t hold onto the ball either (18 turnovers). As the Knights move onto the New York Championships, they may have problems if they run into a team who can press and has good enough size inside to contain Seawright.

Amityville 70, South Side 62

It was the AJ Price show once again, folks. This Uconn signee continues to impress everyone, every time he steps on the court. His stroke from outside is flawless; his handle is impeccable; his vision is blinding; his leadership is unparalleled; his athleticism is uncanny. Simply put, if not for an early season suspension, he would have been a McDonald’s All-American. Mike Cove, Dwayne Fielder, and Karl Perryman drew the unenviable job of trying to slow Price down. Let’s just say, you’d have to wonder if AJ at any point said something like this: “Hope you guys are enjoying this opportunity. Someday you’ll be able to tell your kids you played ball with me.” Ok, so he probably didn’t say anything like that, but you couldn’t blame him if he had. Price’s line read like this: 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists.

South Side led for most of the first half and at halftime things were knotted up at 33. Amityville went up by 6 at the conclusion of the third quarter and the lead got to as high as 13 in the fourth. Mark Johnson, 6-5 junior forward for Amityville, was a behemoth on the blocks (17 points, 13 rebounds). The win provided Coach Agostino with his fourth consecutive Public School State Championship.

When Price and senior Craig Stewart graduate after this season, the weight of Amityville will squarely fall upon Johnson’s shoulders. Johnson is an undersized big man for the next level, but in high school he just dominates smaller and weaker opponents. If Mark were to grow a few inches, he would be a legitimate D-1 caliber player.

New Hyde Park 60, Amityville 36 (Girl’s Championships)

On Saturday, I headed over to St. Joe’s College in Patchogue to check out the best that Long Island has to offer on the girl’s side of things. Lisa Karcic is for real! The 6-foot senior is headed to Villanova next season and this all-around guard/forward is an amazing player. Her court vision was a breath of fresh air considering she could score whenever she felt like it. Some of her passes were so on-point that her less-than ready teammates just could not handle them. She finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists. Karcic is the real deal.

As for the actual game; it was never even close; 30-10 at half and 44-22 after 3 quarters, in favor of the Gladiators. Senior forward Anne Verdino had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. For Amityville, senior forward Tiffany Stewart led the way with 8 points and 16 rebounds.

Northport 64, Elmont 58

This was a much more competitive game, also showcasing a D-1 signee for next season. Kaylie Schiavetta can flat-out shoot. She is lights out! Schiavetta paved the way to victory with her 28 points and 8 assists. Kaylie is headed to Umass next season. Ali Fourney, just a junior, notched 20 points and 12 rebounds.

In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers utilized a 14-1 run to jump out to an ultimately insurmountable lead. Elmont got solid games out of Dana Brown (14 points, 4 rebounds) and Christine Daley (14 points, 4 rebounds). The Lady Spartans are a promising team, as they will return 4 starters to next year’s squad.

WAC Notebook

WAC Notebook

by Dean Austin

So let’s face it, you haven’t been paying much attention to the WAC. Every year Tulsa wins a boat load of games, Fresno State does something really stupid and ends up on probation and San Jose State stink out the joint. The excellent Tulsa coach takes his Golden Hurricanes into the second week of the tournament and promptly bolts for pastures new.

So there you are, casually perusing the results and standings; checking out who is going to join Tulsa in the Big Dance this year and all of a sudden there’s that sense of unease. Is this an episode of Sliders where unbeknownst to yourself you are in a parallel Earth? Sure most things still look the same, the right wing and the left are fighting over something, you still can’t find a radio station anywhere that plays four songs in a row that you like, nobody cares about the NBA or NHL until the playoffs, Duke keeps winning, the East Coast media is over ranking their clubs – again, North Carolina is a tournament train wreck waiting to happen and the Committee will screw one of the SEC teams again this year.

But for the love of Timmy Hardaway what is going on in the WAC? Fresno State has a losing record, Tulsa has lost 20 games, Rice and Boise State have both won over 20 and aren’t even in the top two of the conference and UTEP and Nevada are battling it out for bragging rights. At least San Jose State is trying hard to remain some resemblance of normalcy going a mind numbing 1-20 in their final 21 games.

Certainly you could make a case at the start of the year for Nevada to be the best team in the conference and there were enough national scribes to generate an occasional comment about a possible break out year for Rice or Boise State but UTEP? The Miners came out of nowhere.

There may be a couple of better coaching turn-arounds in the country this year but from 6 wins to 24 is a pretty darn impressive feat for coach Billy Gillispie and his UTEP squad. I’m generally not a fan of powder puff early season schedules, but the Miners showed how to schedule smartly. Easy games against the likes of Portland State and Arkansas Pine Bluff were bracketed around battles against Texas Tech, Houston and a rare home and home in season against a non conference opponent in New Mexico State. Sweeping the Aggies and beating the Cougars was offset by the one pre conference blemish in the loss to Bobby Knight and his Red Raiders. A 94-68 pounding of Rutgers finished off the excellent 9-1 pre conference schedule and set the stage for a good WAC run.

In retrospect of course combining four returning starters with a couple of JUCO transfers who made a significant impact is a good way to rebuild a program. Point Guard Filberto Rivera was all he was cracked up to be but it was Omar Thomas who stole the show leading the team in scoring while only sixth in minutes played. And the Miners had one other thing going for them, a 1.2:1 Assist to Turnover ratio. Now having such a ratio isn’t a prerequisite for a good team but if you have such a positive ratio then good things start to happen.

It will be curious to see if UTEP goes dancing, they are certainly right on the bubble and would be a nasty #11 or #12 seed that could upset one of the over rated #5′s.

Definitely going dancing are the Wolf Pack of Nevada who made sure winning the WAC tournament over the Miners Saturday night. Pre season WAC conference player of the year Kirk Snyder did not disappoint leading the WAC in scoring for the year and maintaining his 19.0 average through the month of February.

The only other team in the WAC to exhibit a 1.2:1 assist to turnover ratio was Hawaii and that goes some way to explaining why the Rainbow Warriors were nipping at the heals of the Top 25 for part of the year. A strong 14-3 start for Riley Wallace’s squad was derailed by a 4-4 February and the team limped home 5-7 over the last dozen games of the season to extinguish any chance of an at large bid. Particularly damaging was the loss on February 22nd to Southern Illinois, which ironically boosted the Salukis’ stature. Heralded recruit Julian Sensley was a disappointment in that game the sophomore scoring only 4 points in 38 minutes and while the local product has rebounded well (7+ per game – 4th in the conference) and has a very nice A/TO ratio of almost 2:1, his 12+ points a game are not as many as was anticipated.

Rice built on last year’s 19-10 team adding three more victories and improving their conferences wins by one as well. But like the Rainbow Warriors, February was the Achilles heal of the Owls who went 4-3 in seven contests. Coach Willis Wilson’s squad ironically was more defined by their losses to Stanford and Connecticut by a combined 13 points. Junior Forward Michael Harris made a move for all conference honors with four consecutive double-doubles down the stretch and maintained his 3rd place in the conference rebounding stakes.

Holding the No. 1 spot in the rebounding stakes was easily the freshman of the year within the conference, Paul Millsap whose presence in Ruston was enough to rate the incoming class highly by a number of services. Millsap was also a top ten scorer and it remains to be seen how long he will stay to be part of Coach Keith Richard’s transition from last year’s senior laden squad. Richards gets props for scheduling games at Alabama, Arkansas and UAB but unfortunately the Bulldogs lost all those games and a majority of their WAC contests.

Over in Boise Coach Greg Graham really turned around his program from his debut season of 13-16. An excellent 7-1 record in February combined with a signature win at Oregon State early in the year shows that this senior packed team bought into the coach’s program. I had a sneaking suspicion that the Broncos would make noise in the WAC tournament but they fell at the second hurdle to UTEP. Still the NIT would be smart to bring this team into the fold.

SMU remain one of the stranger teams in the country. A team that could beat Texas Tech and Purdue and yet perform so badly in conference that the Mustangs cost their Coach, Mike Dement, his job following a 39 point loss to Boise State. Ironically sophomore guard Bryan Hopkins played his best ball after Dement’s demise averaging 24.4 points down the stretch.

Coach Ray Lopes has major problems in Fresno as the senior and junior laden Bulldogs finished with a losing record after starting 2-5 and never fully recovered. Similarly in Tulsa Coach John Phillips has to have wondered what he got himself into. The Golden Hurricane fans are used to excelling in the Big Dance not losing 20 games and losing them convincingly. Only a one point victory at San Jose State prevented Tulsa losing every game in February.

The less said about San Jose State the better.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Wednesday, March 31st

Minnesota stuns Duke in Women’s NCAA Tournament: Lindsay Whalen and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated top-seeded Duke, 82-75, Tuesday night to earn a berth in the Final Four. Whalen scored 27 points in the win. Janel McCarville scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Gophers. The scorching hot Gophers knocked off the Mideast Region’s top three seeds to reach the national semifinals. The Gophers had previously never advanced past the Sweet 16.

Butts rescues Tennessee: Tasha Butts scored a runner in the lane with 1.7 seconds left to lead Tennessee into the Final Four and past Stanford Tuesday night, 62-60. Just two nights earlier, Butts hit two critical free throws to upend Baylor. Stanford was led by All-American Nicole Powell, who scored 31 points, but got little offensive help from her teammates.

Rutgers edges Iowa State in OT: Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and Iowa State guard Curtis Stinson felt right at home in their native New York City, as Rutgers slipped past Iowa State, 84-81, in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals. Douby scored 35 in the win, while Stinson scored 32. Iowa State erased a 10-point halftime deficit to force overtime, led by Stinson’s 27-point second half. Rutgers was able to hold on after Stinson fouled out in the overtime period.

Michigan crushes Oregon in NIT: It was a blowout from the beginning as Michigan hit eight first half three pointers and went on to throttle Oregon, 73-58, in the NIT semifinals. Michigan was led by Dion Harris’ 15 points and Daniel Horton’s 14 points. Oregon’s Luke Jackson had a game-high 17 points. Michigan will meet Rutgers in the NIT championship game Thursday night.

Eastern Washington coach to take Utah job: Eastern Washington’s Ray Giacoletti was hired Tuesday by Utah to replace long-time head coach Rick Majerus. Majerus led Utah to 10 NCAA Tournaments but resigned in January due to health reasons. Giacoletti was 69-50 in his four seasons in the Big Sky conference, taking Eastern Washington to the title game of the conference tournament each year he was at the school. The specifics of the contract have not yet been released.

Johnson staying at Nevada: Nevada coach Trent Johnson agreed Tuesday to a new five year deal that will double his salary to $450,000. Johnson just completed his fifth year at Nevada, increasing the school’s win total from nine to 25 in that time. Johnson is still waiting on star swingman Kirk Snyder to see if he’ll stay or go to the NBA. Snyder, the Wolfpack’s unequivocal star, averaged 18.8 points per game last season while playing every position but center.

Olson wants decision from Iguodala: Arizona coach Lute Olson has told forward Andre Iguodala that he wants to know his plans for entering into the NBA draft by Easter. Iguodala led the team in assists, rebounds and steals last season, and is reportedly 50-50 on entering the draft.

Tonight’s Menu

• No games tonight in the NIT or NCAA Tournaments, just more coaching rumors, transferring speculation and NBA Draft considerations.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Tuesday, March 30th

Naismith Coach of the Year Honors a tough second: St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli was honored with the Naismith Coach of the Year award, a week after the award was given to his star player Jameer Nelson. It comes as a tough second place trophy for the coach who led his team to a record 30 wins, with only two losses, the latest against Oklahoma State in the Elite Eight. This was Martelli’s 9th season at St. Joseph’s, and the award will join the Henry Iba Award and the Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year awards on his mantle. Pat Summit of Tennessee was given the award as well for her work with the Volunteers women’s team, which is soon to be playing Stanford in their tournament. Summit is the winningest coach is women’s college basketball with 850 wins, and has led her team to six national titles in her 30 years of coaching at the university.

Ratings are up for college basketball: Despite losing one of teams that was getting the most attention in college basketball in Stanford, and only having two number one seeds left in the tournament, CBS announced that its ratings over the first eight days of the NCAA tournament were up 29 percent from last year. The trend was highlighted by the 8.6 Neilson rating and 18 share for the Duke versus Xavier game. For those who aren’t sure what a Neilson rating is based on, the rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use and the share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given program.

Another new head coach: Now that the season is over and many teams are left to decide whether to get a new head coach or allow for the old one (who might now always be to blame) to stay, Florida International has decided to name a new one. Sergio Rouco, an assistant at Texas El-Paso this season, was named coach of the Golden Panthers. Rouco, who has previously coached as an assistant at the school, replaced Donnie Marsh, who had compiled a miserable 5-22 record this season. Texas El-Paso, if you recall, lost to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year, and compiled 24 wins this season.

LSU defeats Georgia while UConn dispenses of Penn State: No, it wasn’t Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor, it was the other UConn, the one with the two time player of the year Diana Taurasi. That’s right, she was the one that Okafor was doing a push-up with her on his back on the SI cover so many months ago. UConn made quick work of a Penn State team that was overmatched by the UConn team that had been to the final four so many times before. LSU on the other hand got a free-throw with 8.8 seconds left to make it a 2 point game, and eventually help them receive their first final four invitation.

Coach Keady wants a capable replacement before leaving: Coach Gene Keady of Purdue wants to make sure that a capable replacement is found if he is to take the coaching offer from San Francisco. Names mentioned as possibilities are ESPN analyst and former Bruin coach Steve Lavin and Southern Illinois coach and former Purdue player Matt Painter. Purdue did not make the NCAA tournament this year, and lost to Norte Dame in the NIT. The school started 14-4 before dropping 11 of its last 14 games.

Tonight’s Menu:

• Live from New York – it’s the NIT. The Semifinals in the battle to be No. 66 come down to four big-conference squads, as Rutgers faces Iowa State in the first semifinal, and Oregon faces Michigan in the second semifinal. The winners will face each other in the finals on Thursday night.

• If you like the ladies, then check out Minnesota versus Duke and Stanford versus Tennessee. All four teams are vying for a chance to play in the final four.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Monday, March 29th

Duke Ends the X-Factor: No. 1 Duke guaranteed that a number one seed would reach the Final Four yet again, as the Blue Devils held off the upset-proficient Xavier Musketeers, 66-63. No. 7 Xavier upset No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 3 Texas and had an opportunity to become the first team to ever knock off each of a region’s top three seeds to reach the Final Four. But the Blue Devils overcame a rough first half to end Xavier’s month-long hot streak.

With two teams filled with deadly long-range sharpshooters, this game easily could have slipped into an offensive war with the hottest team holding on to win. But from the start, this game clearly would be won by better defense. Neither team allowed a field goal until nearly four minutes had expired. The score remained 1-0 for the better part of three minutes. For the rest of the first half, Duke and Xavier traded possessions of great defense. Duke looked to carry a 28-27 lead into the half when sophomore Dedrick Finn sprinted down court and drained a three pointer as time expired, giving Xavier a 30-28 lead at the break.

In the second half, Xavier maintained a slight lead. Seniors Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers were the Musketeers’ reliable workhorses. Chalmers finished with a team-high 17 points, and Sato scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. But Duke’s defense held Xavier’s sharpshooters in check for most of the second half. Offensively, the Blue Devils pounded the ball inside to sophomores Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph. The result was that Xavier’s senior Anthony Myles could not keep the two from scoring and fouled out with more than 12 minutes remaining. Xavier kept the game close, and each team flirted with pulling away from the other until late in the game when one team finally did. Freshman Luol Deng took over. Deng grabbed two of the most important rebounds in this tournament on the offensive end. The first rebound led to a kick out to sophomore J.J. Redick who drained a wide open three pointer. On the next possession, Deng soared through the lane to tip an offensive rebound in and give Duke a comfortable lead down the stretch. Sato’s basket with .8 seconds remaining merely trimmed a five-point lead to three. The Musketeers had no miracles left, and Duke moves on to the Final Four for a cosmic clash of superpowers as the Blue Devils play No. 2 Connecticut in the second national semifinal game Saturday.

Kansas Gets to Know Jack: No. 3 Georgia Tech had several hurdles to pass to beat No. 4 Kansas and reach the Final Four. The Yellow Jackets played with a gimpy leading scorer, junior B.J. Elder. They played what amounted to a road game against Kansas in St. Louis, where thousands of rowdy Jayhawk fans clamored for a third-consecutive Final Four appearance. Those appearances gave Kansas an advantage in postseason experience, while Georgia Tech’s players tasted the pressure of a regional semifinal for the first time. The Yellow Jackets had plenty of excuses for failing to reach the Promised Land.

But sophomore Jarrett Jack refused to offer any excuses. He came to St. Louis to win. And he led Georgia Tech to a 79-71 overtime win against the Jayhawks, scoring a career-high 29 points. He added nine rebounds, six assists and four steals to complete one of the best individual performances in this tournament. Jack needed to step up as Elder played only 12 minutes and scored no points because of an ankle injury he suffered the other night against No. 10 Nevada. Jack and company built an 11-point first half lead as the Yellow Jackets’ defense shut down Kansas’ premier weapons – juniors Wayne Simien and Keith Langford. But after halftime, Kansas rallied as the Jayhawks slashed through Georgia Tech’s defense. Simien finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, with most of those points coming after the break. Langford finished with 15 points and helped spark the comeback, but he fouled out and could not help Kansas in overtime.

To get to overtime, Kansas rallied in the final minute. Jack made 1-of-2 free throw attempts, giving the Yellow Jackets a 66-63 lead with about 30 seconds remaining. Kansas worked for two points but could not get a good look. The rebound bounced to senior Jeff Graves, who popped the ball out to freshman J.R. Giddens, who stroked the game-tying three pointer that sent the game into overtime. But in overtime, Jack and the Yellow Jackets were too much, holding Kansas to just five points en route to the 79-71 win. Georgia Tech will meet Oklahoma State in the first national semifinal Saturday.

UTEP Calls the Doc: UTEP announced that the next Miners head coach will be assistant Doc Sadler. He replaces former coach Billy Gillispie, who guided the team to a 24-8 record, second-place WAC finish and NCAA Tournament appearance. Gillispie moved on to coach Texas A&M, which failed to win a single game in the Big XII this season. Gillispie and his staff coached the Miners to a great season, despite many critics’ beliefs that the team needed one more year to develop before coming a contender. With the return of five of the team’s seven players who average at least 10 minutes per game, Sadler inherits a well-stocked pantry of talent.

Tonight’s Menu:

• There are two more Final Four spots up for grabs tonight – women’s Final Four spots that is. The men take the night off, and the women will take center stage as No. 1 Penn State will look to knock off the defending national champions, No. 2 Connecticut. Later, take your pick of SEC teams as No. 3 Georgia plays No. 4 LSU for the right to go to New Orleans.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 28th

Huskies Are In: Although the road wasn’t always smooth, Connecticut was expected to get to the Final Four back in the preseason. With their 87-71 win over No. 8 Alabama on Saturday, the Huskies made it by winning the Phoenix Region as its No. 2 seed in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score may indicate. The Huskies got almost all they needed from two hot guards, as Ben Gordon nearly matched his career high by scoring 36 points and Rashad Anderson had a career-high 28 points in the win. Anderson had 22 of his points in the first half, when he went 6-6 on three-pointers to lead the Huskies (31-6) to a 50-29 edge, helped by a 17-4 run in the final five minutes. Gordon was the regional’s MVP, going 4-7 on three-pointers and 10-11 at the foul line.

Alabama (20-13) got a career-high 24 points from Chuck Davis and 21 from Kennedy Winston. In the second half, the Crimson Tide never got closer than 14 points.

Connecticut All-American center Emeka Okafor played just 19 minutes, as he tweaked his shoulder on a hard foul in the first half. After the game, he said he was okay.

Cowboys End Hawks’ Run: With 6.9 seconds left, No. 2 Oklahoma State got a three-pointer off a broken play by John Lucas for a 64-62 win over No. 1 St. Joseph’s in the East Rutherford Regional final. Lucas scored the last five points for his team and 17 of his 19 points in the second half, when the Cowboys (31-3) played much better by cutting down on the turnovers that the Hawks (30-2) frequently turned into points in the first half. After committing 10 first half turnovers, the Cowboys turned the ball over just twice in the second half, and they shot over 47% for the game. The Hawks shot just 38.6% from the field, and that along with being killed on the glass by a 41-22 margin helped do them in.

The Hawks, who were led by Delonte West’s 20 points, had one last chance, but Jameer Nelson’s shot from just behind the foul line fell short before time expired. Nelson had 17 points (6-18 shooting), 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

Joey Graham helped Lucas with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Allen had 12 points, 5 assists and three blocked shots.

Official Used Profanity?: ESPN.com’s Andy Katz reported that the Texas coaching staff is claiming that official Ted Valentine used profanity during Friday night’s loss against Xavier in the Atlanta Regional semifinal. On Saturday, they said that Valentine told Longhorn senior guard Brandon Mouton to “shut the (bleep) up”. No word was available from Valentine or if he would officiate later in the tournament.

Champions: In the Division II championship game, Kennesaw State got 26 points from Terrence Hill as they blew out Southern Indiana, 84-59 to win its first national championship in Bakersfield, California. The Owls (35-4) steadily pulled away in the second half, building on a 30-24 lead they held at the break.

Fan Profanity May Be Policed: Maryland state assistant attorney general John Anderson said that the University of Maryland can prohibit profane chants, vulgar language and offensive messages on clothing at basketball games. This arose out of behavior at a January game against Duke, where fans chanted such vulgarities at Blue Devil guard J.J. Redick that the school got a rash of negative publicity. School officials originally said that they could do nothing about it due to the fans’ First Amendment rights, but Anderson sent an advisory earlier this month saying that was not true. The advisory came after the school asked for guidance on dealing with the situation, and the Washington Post reported that associate athletic director David Lipitz will lead the effort to draft a policy that could include ejecting fans who engage in profanity or request a change of clothes that bear offending messages.

Tonight’s Menu

The last two spots in the Final Four are determined in the two games today.

• At 2:40 PM EST, the St. Louis Regional Final has No. 3 Georgia Tech taking on No. 4 Kansas.

• At 5:05 PM EST, the Atlanta Regional Final has No. 1 Duke taking on No. 7 Xavier.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 27th

Atlanta Regional

No. 7 Xavier 79, No. 3 Texas 71: Xavier remained hot on Friday night, pulling out a 79-71 win over Texas in the final minutes. The Musketeers (26-10) won for the 16th time in 17 games to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time ever, getting 27 points from Romain Sato and 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Lionel Chalmers to lead the way. They ran off 10 unanswered points late in the first half to take the lead, later holding a 44-41 advantage heading into the locker room. Then near the halfway point of the second half, they broke a 50-50 tie with nine unanswered points and led the rest of the way, although the Longhorns got within 72-71 on a three-pointer by Brian Boddicker (11 points) with 17 seconds left. Texas head coach Rick Barnes was ejected with two technical fouls with two seconds left. Brandon Mouton, who fouled out with 2:09 left, led Texas (25-8) with 21 points in his final college game.

No. 1 Duke 72, No. 4 Illinois 62: Duke extended a one-point halftime lead, then broke the game open for good with about six minutes left in their 72-62 win over Illinois. The Illini (29-6) ran out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Blue Devils responded to tie it, then later took the lead. The Illini would lead one more time before the half, with Duke regaining the lead for good in the final minute of the half. Luol Deng led Duke (30-5) with 18 points, while J.J. Redick added 17 and Chris Duhon handed out eight assists and grabbed 10 rebounds while playing with sore ribs. Illinois got 15 points each from James Augustine and Roger Powell.

St. Louis Regional

No. 4 Kansas 100, No. 9 UAB 74: Kansas had no trouble against UAB’s pressure defense on Friday night, shooting lights out in the first half and cruising from there in a 100-74 win to advance to the Atlanta Regional final. Spearheading the attack for the Jayhawks (24-8) were Wayne Simien (30 points, 9 rebounds), who scored inside early and often, and Aaron Miles (13 points, 10 assists), who made breaking their press look easy. J.R. Giddens added 18 points as the Jayhawks shot 53.6% from the field and had a 42-28 edge on the boards. Mo Finley led UAB (22-10) with 13 points as one of five Blazers in double figures, but they shot 32.4% from the field in the loss.

No. 3 Georgia Tech 72, No. 10 Nevada 67: Early on, it didn’t look good for Georgia Tech, as B.J. Elder sprained his ankle and Jarrett Jack had to sit with foul trouble. That meant someone like Marvin Lewis had to carry the Yellow Jackets, and he did just that, scoring 23 points on 7-13 shooting that included some clutch baskets as they advanced to the Elite Eight with a 72-67 win over the pesky Wolfpack. Nevada (25-9) led by as many as eight in the first half as Todd Okeson (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Kirk Snyder (21 points) had them off and running early with plays at both ends of the floor. But the two combined to shoot just 3-22 in the second half and the Wolfpack shot below 32% from the floor for the game. Lewis was the only player in double figures for Georgia Tech (26-9), which shot nearly 43% from the field to win despite committing 16 turnovers. Elder tried to play on the ankle later, but didn’t last long as the pain was too much for him and he was ineffective.

SMU Hires Tubbs: SMU hired Jimmy Tubbs as their new head basketball coach on Friday, two seasons after he left the school to be an assistant at Oklahoma. Tubbs had been on SMU’s staff for 12 years before going to Oklahoma, and he will succeed former boss Mike Dement, who was fired nearly a month ago. Athletic Director Jim Copeland expressed confidence in the decision, noting that several Dallas high school coaches supported Tubbs as well.

Navy Hired Villanova Assistant: Navy named former Villanova assistant Billy Lange its new head basketball coach on Friday. Lange, who was at Villanova the past three seasons, replaces the retired Don DeVoe. Lange was previously the coach at the Merchant Marine Academy, where he posted a 39-19 record.

Miami Fires Clark: Despite three years remaining on his contract, Miami fired head coach Perry Clark on Friday, citing a troubling combination of consecutive losing seasons and a lack of support from boosters. This past season, the Hurricanes went 14-16 and missed the Big East Tournament, just two years after making the NCAA Tournament with a school-record 24 wins. Although Clark was 65-54 in his four years, they went 25-33 the past two seasons, and this past season included a ten-game losing streak. The school has set no timetable for hiring a new head coach, but would like to have one before the Spring Signing Period begins on April 14.

Utah Interviews Eagle Coach: The Associated Press reported that Utah interviewed Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti for its head coach opening, citing a report in the Spokesman-Review. The newspaper said that he met with Utah athletic director Chris Hill after the Eagles lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Giacoletti was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament, and he has posted a 69-50 record in four seasons. Included in that is a 41-17 record in Big Sky games, tops among all member schools in that span, and they have finished no lower than second place.

Mountaineer Freshmen to Transfer: West Virginia announced that freshmen Tyler Relph and Jerrah Young have decided to transfer at the end of the academic year. Relph, a 6-foot guard from Victor, New York, averaged 5.0 points and 1.7 assists in 17.7 minutes per game this season, playing in all 31 games and starting five. Young, a 6-6 forward from Chicago, played in 21 games and averaged 7.5 minutes per game.

Tonight’s Menu

• At 4:40 PM EST, the Phoenix Regional Final has No. 2 Connecticut taking on No. 8 Alabama.

• At 7:05 PM EST, the East Rutherford Regional Final pits No. 1 St. Joseph’s against No. 2 Oklahoma State.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Friday, March 26th

Phoenix Regional

Connecticut 73, Vanderbilt 53 Connecticut’s Ben Gordon scored 20 points to lead four Huskies in double figures in an easy Sweet 16 win over the Commodores in Phoenix on Thursday. Emeka Okafur had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gordon also added nine rebounds and five assists in the lopsided win. Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer, Matt Freije, was held to 3-of-18 shooting for eight points. He helped lead the rally against North Carolina State last weekend, that got them to the Sweet 16.

Alabama 80, Syracuse 71 The state of Alabama is known for preaching its football. Now, they have a new sport to preach – basketball. The Crimson Tide moved one step closer to the Final Four with an 80-73 win over the defending national champs. In the tournament, Alabama has now knocked off the top ranked team in the country in Stanford and the defending national champions. Earnest Shelton led the Crimson Tide with 22 points and Kennedy Winston had 19. Alabama will now play Connecticut in the Elite Eight on Saturday.

East Rutherford Regional

Oklahoma State 63, Pittsburgh 51 The Cowboys used a late 17-6 run to put the nail into the coffin in their win over Pittsburgh in East Rutherford, N.J. Cowboys head coach Eddie Sutton will be taking his team to a regional final, but has never won the national championship. During his career, he has been to the Final Four twice, but never the game’s biggest stage. Reaching that stage will be of great satisfaction to not only the program but to the whole community. Three years ago, two players and eight others associated with the program were killed in a plane crash in Colorado.

St. Joseph’s 84, Wake Forest 80 The top seed Hawks fought off a late rally from the Demon Deacons on their way to advancing to the Elite Eight and to play Oklahoma State. The national player of the year Jameer Nelson had 24 points, tying him with Delonte West for the game high total. St. Joseph’s will now play Oklahoma State in the Elite Eight on Saturday.

NIT action: Oregon 65, Notre Dame 61; Iowa State 77, Marquette 69. Oregon and Iowa State advances to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York next weekend. Michigan and Rutgers are the other two teams there.

Keady leaving Purdue?: Purdue Boilermakers legendary coach Gene Keady has permission to interview for a new job. After 24 years in West Lafayette, Keady interviewed for the University of San Francisco opening left by the firing of Philip Matthews. According to Purdue sports information, Keady has not officially resigned from his position at Purdue. They have declined to comment further. Keady is a long time acquaintance of San Francisco athletic director Bill Hogan when Hogan worked at St. Joseph’s College in Rensslear, Ind. Keady is 505-249 during his coaching career and is one of 16 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Davis to leave the Hoosiers?: Auburn University interim president Ed Richardson confirmed that Indiana head coach Mike Davis is one of five finalists for the open coaching job at the school. Richardson has said that he is going to serious consider a minority for the position, according to a story in the Opelika-Auburn News. This announcement has also gained popular interest from former NBA star and Auburn alum Charles Barkley as well. He told the Birmingham News that he feels that Davis would be the perfect man for the job. Davis has been quiet in saying if he is interested in the job and Indiana’s athletic director Terry Clapacs has been repeating comments that Auburn has not contacted him about Davis’ availability.

Tonight’s Menu

&8226 NCAA action – St. Louis regional: UAB vs. Kansas and Nevada vs. Georgia Tech. Atlanta regional: Xavier vs. Texas and Illinois vs. Duke.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Thursday, March 25th

Larry Eustachy returns to the coaching ranks: Ex-Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy has reportedly become the new head coach at Southern Mississippi University. Last year, Eustachy resigned amidst the publication of lurid photographs of him at campus parties kissing young women. After their publication, Eustachy revealed his battles with alcoholism. Eustachy has had a very successful coaching career that includes stints at Utah State, Idaho and Iowa State. The final stop of that coaching tour, Iowa State, is where he enjoyed two Big 12 championships in 2000 and 2001, as well as an Elite Eight birth in 2000. Southern Mississippi had won a share of the regular season conference title in 2001, but has not had success since. Eustachy will be replacing James Green, who compiled a 110-94 record in his seven years at the university.

Michigan hoping to return to prominence starting with an NIT championship: Michigan, whose reputation as a school that breaks the rules precedes them, is hoping to recreate its image, starting with a good showing in the NIT. The program, which has had recent struggles due to the high profile Chris Webber indictment as well as numerous investigations into the school and its recruiting practices, beat Hawaii 88-73 to build its record to 21-11 and grab hold of a spot in next weeks semi-final game against the winner of the Oregon versus Norte Dame game. Bernard Robinson Jr. led the way with 14 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds, and the senior hopes to complete his years at Michigan on a positive note, considering that he existed at the school for many of the years it was banned from post-season play. Michigan had won a ruling last fall allowing them to play in the post-season this year, and they are now making the most out of it.

Rutgers earns first NIT semi-final birth since 1978: In the year of my birth, Rutgers University reached the semi-finals of the NIT tournament, where they lost to Texas. Since then, they have had 4 NCAA appearances, two in which they were knocked out in the first round and two in which they were knocked out in the second round, and six NIT appearances, two in which they were knocked out in the first round. They have lost in the post-season to Clemson, Yale, Manhattan, Kent State, Arizona State and St. John’s (don’t forget that St. John’s used to be a good basketball program). Rutgers is in the semi-finals now, after beating Villanova 72-60 behind the hard work of Ricky Shields, who tossed in 21 points. They will meet the winner of tonight’s Iowa State versus Marquette game.

Gillispie accepts offer: Indeed it was announced yesterday, officially, that Billy Gillispie will become the new head coach at Texas A&M. He has agreed to a six year contract that could be worth up to $880,000 a year with incentives. In his two years at UTEP, which narrowly lost to Maryland in the tournament this year, he compiled a 30-32 record, but took a 6-24 team and turned them into a 24-8 team. Gillispie is a Texas native.

Ex-Sooner Brown will not face jail time: Jabahri Brown was released from the Oklahoma basketball program earlier this year, and now he will not have to ever count the days until his release from jail. He pleaded no-contest to drug charges, and the court ordered his to served three one-year deferred sentences concurrently. Brown lost his eligibility at Oklahoma when the team lost its last game of the season to Michigan in the NIT tournament.

Towe gets new contract at New Orleans:
Monte Towe has led the Privateers to three straight winning seasons since his arrival, as well as a 17-14 mark this year. They lost their final game in the conference championship to Louisiana-Lafayette, but that did not sway university officials. He will receive a new five year contract that will run through 2008-09.

Tonight’s Menu:

The NCAA tournament continues, so pack up your Laker bandwagon (did anyone see that Sacramento versus Los Angeles rout?) and grab your favorite university can openers (yes, the ones that you can buy at certain kitchen stores that play the fight song every time you open a bottled beverage) and start jumping up and down, I know I will be.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Wednesday, March 24th

Gillispie to Texas A&M?: Texas A&M’s search for a new men’s basketball coach may end with UTEP’s Billy Gillispie. According to ESPN, Gillispie has been contacted and is ready to accept an offer today. Gillispie led the Miners to a terrific turnaround this season, bringing them from six wins to 24 wins. The Aggies, on the other hand, did not win a league game all season. Gillispie has numerous connections to the state of Texas, always recruiting it well, even as an assistant to Bill Self at Tulsa and at Illinois.

Auburn has not contacted UAB coach: UAB coach Mike Anderson, who has his upstart Blazers in the Sweet 16, said Tuesday that he has not been contacted by Auburn about its coaching vacancy. Anderson surfaced as a candidate as his Blazers defeated top-seeded Kentucky Sunday. The ninth-seeded Blazers face Kansas next. Anderson is a Birmingham native.

Hewitt denies St. John’s job offer: Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt has plenty of distractions as he attempts to prepare his team for its Sweet 16 matchup with Nevada. Hewitt’s name has been connected with the St. John’s job opening since former coach Mike Jarvis was fired. Hewitt was considered the runner-up candidate when Jarvis was hired six years ago. Hewitt, however, denies being contacted by the school and says he is happy at Georgia Tech, where he has received a contract extension every year he has coached.

Penders hired at Houston: Tom Penders has accepted the head coaching position at Houston. Penders and the university agreed on a five-year contract Tuesday. The long-time Texas coach is the seventh Houston coach. Penders replaces Ray McCallum, who was 44-72 in four seasons.

Okafor and Nelson unanimous All-Americans: Both Jameer Nelson and Emeka Okafor were unanimous selections to the Associated Press’ All-American team. It was the first time since 1985 two players were unanimous selections to the team. The rest of the first team included Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts, Stanford’s Josh Childress, and Providence’s Ryan Gomes.

Childress to stay at Stanford?: Speaking of All-American Josh Childress, Stanford coach Mike Montgomery expects the Pac-10 player of the year to return for his senior season. The Cardinal loses starting forward Justin Davis, starting guard Matt Lottich and reserve forward Joe Kirchofer to graduation.

Women’s NCAA Tournament action: In the second round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, top seeds Duke, Penn State and Texas advanced. So did two-seeds UConn and Purdue. Second-seeded Kansas State, however, was not so fortunate, as they were defeated 80-61 by Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were led by Janel McCarvell’s 15 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.

NIT action: Iowa State went on the road in the NIT and defeated Florida State, 62-59. They Cyclones were led by Jake Sullivan’s 19 points. They will play Marquette, who used a big second half run to outlast Boise State, 66-53. Travis Diener had 15 points and seven assists in the win. In late-night NIT action, Oregon easily defeated George Mason, 68-54.

Tonight’s Menu

• Just two NIT games on the ledger tonight as Hawaii travels to Michigan and Villanova visits Rutgers.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Tuesday, March 23rd

NIT marches on: The battle for the biggest NCAA tournament snub continued with four more teams advancing to the quarterfinals. Chris Thomas scored 39 points for Notre Dame as they overcame a one point deficit at halftime to beat St. Louis 77-66 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hawaii blew a 19 point lead but still managed to hold on for an 84-83 win over Nebraska. Jason Carter had 21 points for the Rainbow Warriors before sustaining an injury when punched a sideline advertisement. Michigan beat Oklahoma 63-52 behind 17 points from Dion Harris. The Sooners played the game with only eight players as surgeries, suspensions and transfers depleted the bench. Rutgers won a Big East battle with West Virginia 67-64 behind 26 points from Ricky Shields. Wednesday, they will face another Big East squad in Villanova for the right to go to Madison Square Garden.

Schwab out of the Hospital: Three weeks after open heart surgery, Marquette assistant coach Trey Schwab left the hospital. The open heart surgery was needed to remove a blood clot which resulted from a double lung transport two weeks prior. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2001 and had been waiting two years for a donor for the procedure. His Golden Eagles take on Boise State tonight in the NIT.

Houston has decided: Houston athletic director Dave Maggard has denied reports that Tom Penders has been offered the head coaching job with the Cougars. Tom Penders confirmed this report late Monday night but added that if offered, he would accept the post at Houston because he was very impressed in his interview with the future direction of the program. Regardless, a press conference has been announced for Tuesday afternoon to present the new coach, whoever it may be.

Offenders beware: The NCAA has announced plans to collect and publish graduation reports for 2003. The decision was made after the Department of Education decided not to publish the information itself. The objective is to catch schools not educating their athletes, especially those who play football and men’s basketball. According to reports, four schools in this year’s NCAA tournament had a graduation rate of zero, something that would not have been discovered without these plans.

Patient Utes: Utah athletic director Chris Hill said publicly that there is no timeline set for deciding the next coach of the Utes. Rick Majerus left the team back in January for health reasons and replacement candidates are being kept secret. Kerry Rupp filled in as interim coach and led the team to a 9-4 record and a Mountain West Championship but it is not known if he is a possibility for the fulltime gig.

Davis Contact News to Him: Reports out of Alabama say that the Auburn Tigers are seeking Mike Davis to be the next head coach. Davis, who suffered his first losing season in four years at Indiana, said no one from the school has contacted him. He is linked to the Tigers since he grew up in the state and played for the University of Alabama. With four years left on his current $800K per year contract, the chances that Davis will leave Indiana are slim.

Tonight’s Menu:

• After tonight, the quarterfinals of the NIT will be set. Oregon hosts George Mason for the right to face Notre Dame, Iowa State travels to Florida State with the winner playing the winner of the night’s third game, Boise State at Marquette.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Monday, March 22nd

East Rutherford Region

No. 2 Oklahoma State 70, No. 7 Memphis 53: Oklahoma State jumped out to a 41-19 halftime lead and never looked back as the Cowboys spanked Memphis. They shot nearly 60 percent in the game, and junior forward Joey Graham shot 8-of-11 to lead the team with 21 points. Twenty of those points came in the first half, which single-handedly outscored the Tigers, who managed only 19 first-half points. Senior guard Antonio Burks did all he could to rally Memphis, scoring 22 points. But the Tigers could pull no closer than 13 points in the second half. Oklahoma State moves on to play No. 3 Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16.

No. 3 Pittsburgh 59, No. 6 Wisconsin 55: Forget about that whole home-court advantage thing for Wisconsin. The Pittsburgh Panthers invaded Milwaukee and proved they can win anywhere, even in front of a pro-Badger crowd. Pittsburgh played another fantastic defensive game, eking out a 59-55 win. Neither team shot better than 40 percent in the game and only four players reached double figures. One of those players was Pittsburgh’s sophomore guard Carl Krauser, who hit two critical free throws to give the Panthers a three-point lead in the closing seconds. Fittingly, the Panthers’ defense denied Wisconsin a clean three-point shot, and the Badgers never seriously challenged to tie the game on their final possession. Junior guard Devin Harris had a great game for Wisconsin, scoring 21 points, but Pittsburgh shut him down in the latter portions of the game. The Panthers earn a date with No. 2 Oklahoma State in the regional semifinals.

Atlanta Region

No. 7 Xavier 89, No. 2 Mississippi State 74: The X-men continued to be one of the hottest teams in the country as Xavier took down Mississippi State, the second No. 2 seed to fall in the first weekend of action. Senior guard Lionel Chalmers saved his best performance of his career for one of his final games, scoring 31 points, including 4-of-4 from behind the arc. The Musketeers weathered a poor shooting start and heated up midway through the first half after the Bulldogs had built a double-digit lead. Sophomore guard Dedrick Finn hit a half-court prayer at the end of the first half to give Xavier a 34-33 lead. The Musketeers carried that momentum into the second half and hit every major shot, finishing with a 55 percent shooting percentage. Junior forward Shane Power led the Bulldogs with 16 points, but the Bulldogs could not match Xavier’s lights-out shooting. Xavier moves on to play No. 3 Texas.

No. 5 Illinois 92, No. 4 Cincinnati 68: Cincinnati talked the talk during warmups, but two hours later, the Fighting Illini were the ones walking the walk. The Bearcats apparently advised Illinois to enjoy the bus ride home and commented about an impending Cincinnati/Duke regional semifinal. These two teams were pretty even in terms of talent, but the insults fired up Illinois, and the players responded with inspired basketball. Illinois shot 64 percent in the game and played great defense to hold all but three Bearcats under 10 points. Sophomore guard Deron Williams torched the Bearcats for 31 points, making 10-of-13 field goal attempts. Despite the emotional firepower, Illinois played in control throughout the game, committing only four turnovers against a usually difficult Cincinnati defense. Powered by the team’s hot shooting, Illinois built a huge first half lead and never looked back. Senior guard Field Williams led the Bearcats with 16 points. So Illinois will be the ones to play the impending regional semifinal against Duke.

St. Louis Region

No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham 76, No. 1 Kentucky 75: The NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed is done after the No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham Blazers upset the Kentucky Wildcats. Senior guard Mo Finley refused to lose, delivering five of the Blazers’ seven final points, including a difficult jumper with about 10 seconds remaining in the game to give the Blazers a 76-75 lead. At the other end, senior guard Gerald Fitch could not hit a clean look at a three pointer, and Kentucky’s desperate attempts to tip in the rebound failed. Alabama-Birmingham was in a position to blow out Kentucky with a nine-point halftime lead. But Finley and sophomore guard Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson sat for much of the early stages of the second half because of foul trouble. The Wildcats clawed back into the game behind Fitch, who finished with 17 points. Kentucky reclaimed the lead with about 30 seconds remaining when sophomore guard Kelenna Azubuike slammed home an offensive rebound. The go-ahead basket set up the dramatic conclusion that propels the Blazers into the Sweet 16, in which they will face No. 4 Kansas.

No. 3 Georgia Tech 57, No. 6 Boston College 54: This Georgia Tech team just finds ways to win games. The Yellow Jackets have a deeper offensive arsenal than Boston College, at least on paper, but the Eagles successfully limited them to 57 points, just 22 in the second half. Boston College rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to take a 54-53 lead in the final minute. Sophomore guard Jarrett Jack took the game into his hands with the shot clock winding down. He slashed through the lane and picked up a foul then drained both free throws. On the opposite end, Jack grabbed a bad pass and sprinted down the court to send in a dunk with five seconds left, giving Georgia Tech the 57-54 win. Perhaps the only mistake Jack made in the final minute was slamming down that final basket rather than dribbling around and taking more time off the clock. But you can’t complain about the results if you’re a Tech fan. Freshman forward Jared Dudley led Boston College with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Yellow Jackets play the NCAA’s resident cinderella, Nevada, in the regional semifinals.

No. 4 Kansas 78, No. 12 Pacific 63: The Jayhawks denied Pacific a second straight upset, despite a valiant effort from the Tigers. Pacific started quickly and appeared ready to dance into the Sweet 16. But Kansas rallied as junior forward Wayne Simien led the team with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Both teams essentially played a seven-man rotation, but Kansas’ players had more energy, especially late in the second half when Kansas put the game away with a 15-3 run. Pacific had battled back to tie the game at 51 before the Jayhawks’ clinching streak. Junior forward Guillaume Yango led Pacific with 22 points as the Tigers bowed out with a successful tournament run. Kansas moves on to play upstart No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham.

Phoenix Region

No. 6 Vanderbilt 75, No. 3 NC State 73: Vanderbilt rallied from an 11-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining to become the first team to take out a No. 3 seed. Senior superstar Matt Freije jumpstarted the rally by drawing fouls on consecutive three pointers. He hit all six free throws, which is a measure of true greatness in an era when few players – not named J.J. Redick – seem capable of such a feat. Freije, who finished with 31 points, hit a jumper from the corner to give Vanderbilt a 72-71 lead with less than a minute to play. But sophomore forward Ilian Evtimov reclaimed the lead for NC State by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. He led NC State with a career-high 28 points. Vanderbilt wasted no time setting up a backdoor cut that freed junior guard Corey Smith to attack the basket. Despite a hard foul, he kissed the layup off the glass and through the nets. With the free throw, Vanderbilt claimed a 75-73 lead and blocked freshman guard Engin Atsur’s final three pointer, giving the Commodores their first Sweet 16 trip since 1993. Vanderbilt will play No. 2 Connecticut in the next round.

Tonight’s Menu:

• Four NIT games will fill out half of the NIT’s quarterfinal brackets. Notre Dame plays St. Louis at Fort Wayne, Ind., Michigan hosts Oklahoma, Nebraska visits Hawaii and West Virginia plays Rutgers, guaranteeing that at least one other Big East team will join Villanova in the NIT quarterfinals.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 21st

East Rutherford Region

No. 4 Wake Forest 84, No. 12 Manhattan 80: It was a great battle of guards in Raleigh, a freshman against a senior, and the freshman won out as Chris Paul and Wake Forest knocked off Luis Flores and Manhattan, 84-80. Paul had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but the Demon Deacons (21-9) nearly blew a 48-35 halftime lead as the Jaspers (25-6) stormed back behind Flores, who had 20 points in the defeat. The Jaspers would eventually get within two on two occasions in the final two minutes, but the Demon Deacons had an answer each time.

No. 1 St. Joseph’s 70, No. 8 Texas Tech 65: St. Joseph’s vaunted backcourt came through when the Hawks needed them to, as Jameer Nelson and Delonte West combined for 27 points in the second half as they held off pesky Texas Tech. Nelson had 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, while West had 13 of his 15 points and added 8 assists for the Hawks (29-1), while the Red Raiders (23-11) got 18 points from Andre Emmett in his final college game.

Atlanta Region

No. 1 Duke 90, No. 8 Seton Hall 62: Duke shot over 54% from the field and went 34-38 at the foul line in routing Seton Hall, 90-62. The Blue Devils (29-5) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight season with the win, getting 21 points from J.J. Redick and 20 from Luol Deng. Seton Hall (21-10) was led by 14 points each from Kelly Whitney and John Allen, as Andre Barrett had 8 points in his final college game.

No. 3 Texas 78, No. 6 North Carolina 75: Texas reached the Sweet 16 for the third straight year after holding off late rallies by North Carolina in a 78-75 win in Denver. The Longhorns (25-7) showed their depth advantage with a 34-7 edge in bench scoring and 11 different players scoring, with Royal Ivey leading the way with 17 points. Rashad McCants led North Carolina (19-11) with 27 points as the Tar Heels shot 38% from the field.

St. Louis Region

No. 10 Nevada 91, No. 2 Gonzaga 72: Nevada used a big first half on the offensive end to build up a 20-point lead, then continued to score with patience in the second half to upset Gonzaga, 91-72 in Seattle. The Wolfpack shot nearly 47% for the game and held the Bulldogs (28-3) to just over 37%, and they methodically scored in the second half to hold off the Bulldogs’ comeback attempts as Gonzaga would get no closer than eight points. All five starters reached double figures for the Wolfpack (25-8), led by Kevinn Pinkney (20 points and 8 rebounds), Todd Okeson (19 points, 7 assists), Kirk Snyder (18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) and Nick Fazekas (16 points, 10 rebounds). Cory Violette led Gonzaga with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ronny Turiaf was limited to 15 minutes due to foul trouble, scoring 13 points.

Phoenix Region

No. 8 Alabama 70, No. 1 Stanford 67: Stanford’s run of dramatic finishes ended on Saturday after Alabama used a run of 16 straight points to take the lead for good before hanging on at the end for a 70-67 win in Seattle. The Crimson Tide (19-13) made 12 free throws in the final 62 seconds to hang on, though Earnest Shelton missed two free throws in the final seconds that could have put it away. Kennedy Winston led Alabama with a game-high 21 points and 7 rebounds, while the Cardinal (30-2) was led by 15 points and 11 rebounds by Justin Davis in his final college game. Stanford became the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated despite a 43-27 edge on the boards.

No. 5 Syracuse 72, No. 4 Maryland 70: Syracuse led by double digits for much of the second half, then nearly blew a 16-point lead before hanging on to beat Maryland, 72-70 in Denver. Maryland (20-12) made several runs to eventually cut the lead to 71-70 in the final seconds. Hakim Warrick led Syracuse (23-7) with a game-high 26 points and 9 rebounds, while Craig Forth had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Maryland got 16 points and 9 rebounds from Travis Garrison and 16 points and 8 rebounds from Jamar Smith.

No. 2 Connecticut 72, No. 7 DePaul 55: In a game featuring two coaches who spent years together on the sidelines in Storrs, Connecticut was never in serious trouble in their 72-55 win over DePaul in Buffalo. Neither team scored for the first 3:15 of the game, but once the scoring began it was all Huskies as they scored the first 11 points and later ran off 12 unanswered points and led by double figures the rest of the way. Ben Gordon had 18 points to lead four players in double figures for the Huskies (29-6), while Drake Diener led DePaul (22-10) with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The game featured DePaul head coach Dave Leitao, an assistant for Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun for 16 years at Northeastern and Connecticut after he played for Calhoun at Northeastern. Calhoun left the bench with an upset stomach in the second half, but was fine after the game.

NIT First Round Games: Two first round games in the NIT were held on Saturday. Villanova (18-16) got 23 points from Allan Ray and 21 from Randy Foye in its 73-63 win at Virginia (18-13). Boise State (23-9) held on for a 73-70 win over visiting Wisconsin-Milwaukee (20-11), getting 20 points from Aaron Haynes.

Tonight’s Menu

• In Orlando, No. 3 North Carolina State takes on No. 6 Vanderbilt (Phoenix region) and No. 2 Mississippi State takes on No. 7 Xavier (Atlanta region).

• In Columbus, No. 1 Kentucky takes on No. 9 UAB (St. Louis region) and No. 4 Cincinnati takes on No. 5 Illinois (Atlanta region).

• In Kansas City, No. 2 Oklahoma State takes on No. 7 Memphis (East Rutherford region) and No. 4 Kansas takes on No. 12 Pacific (St. Louis region).

• In Milwaukee, No. 3 Georgia Tech takes on No. 6 Boston College (St. Louis region) and No. 3 Pittsburgh takes on No. 6 Wisconsin (East Rutherford region).

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 20th

East Rutherford Region

No. 7 Memphis 59, No. 10 South Carolina 43: Memphis continued South Carolina’s struggles in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, beating the Gamecocks 59-43 behind 26 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Rodney Carney. The Tigers (22-7) won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1995, while the Gamecocks (23-11) have not won since 1973. The Gamecocks shot just 35% from the field and had just one player score in double figures, Carlos Powell with 11.

No. 2 Oklahoma State 75, No. 15 Eastern Washington 56: Oklahoma State started the second half on a 12-2 run to break a halftime tie and never looked back in its first round win over Eastern Washington. The Cowboys (28-3) shot 54.5% from the field and got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Ivan McFarlin and 17 points and 9 rebounds from Tony Allen. The Eagles (17-13) were making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and got 14 points from Brendon Merritt.

No. 6 Wisconsin 76, No. 11 Richmond 64: Wisconsin used a big second half to rally from a 13-point second half deficit to beat Richmond, 76-64. The Badgers (25-6) set a school record for wins in a season, but it didn’t come easy as Devin Harris was held to 11 points and took just six shots, but handed out six assists as Mike Wilkinson (18 points) and Boo Wade (16 points) picked up the scoring slack. Tony Dobbins did an excellent job defending Harris, while Mike Skrocki and Jamaal Scott led Richmond (20-13) with 12 points apiece.

No. 3 Pittsburgh 53, No. 14 Central Florida 44: Pittsburgh had to hold off Central Florida late in the game, winning like they have won many games during this season — making big plays on the defensive end and just enough shots and free throws on the offensive end in the final minutes. The Golden Knights (25-6) led 36-33 with ten minutes left, but went more than five and a half minutes without a point as the Panthers (30-4) took the lead for good. Carl Krauser made five free throws late to cap a game-high 22 point effort.

Atlanta Region

No. 5 Illinois 72, No. 12 Murray State 53: Illinois shut down Murray State and dominated the backboards in its first round win over the Racers. The Illini (25-6) got 21 points from Dee Brown and held the Racers (28-6) to 34% shooting and out-rebounded them 44-27.

No. 4 Cincinnati 80, No. 13 East Tennessee State 77: Tony Bobbitt hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to break a 77-77 tie, giving the Bearcats an 80-77 win in a terrific first round game. Tim Smith (26 points) and Zakee Wadood (17 points, 14 rebounds) did all they could for the Bucs (27-6), who held the lead on several occasions, but it wasn’t enough. Field Williams led Cincinnati (25-6) with 19 points.

No. 2 Mississippi State 85, No. 15 Monmouth 52: After Monmouth hung around during much of the first half, Mississippi State went on a 22-5 run and was never challenged the rest of the way in dominating the Hawks. The Bulldogs (26-3) shot 54% from the field and manhandled the Hawks (21-12) on the glass with a 47-20 edge, and they scored 31 points off 17 Hawk turnovers.

No. 7 Xavier 80, No. 10 Louisville 70: Louisville was in control most of the first half and had a 42-31 halftime lead, but Xavier went on a 36-10 run in the second half to take over the game en route to an 80-70 win over the Cardinals in Orlando. Lionel Chalmers keyed the run for the Musketeers (24-10) with nine of his game-high 25 points, and Romain Sato had 24 points to complement his backcourt mate. Taquan Dean led Louisville (20-10) with 19 points.

St. Louis Region

No. 6 Boston College 58, No. 11 Utah 51: Boston College shut down star shooter Nick Jacobson and held off a late rally by Utah in its 58-51 first round victory. The Eagles (24-9), who shot over 52% from the field, got 19 points and 8 rebounds from Craig Smith and limited Jacobson to 8 points on 3-18 shooting, including 2-13 on three-pointers. Andrew Bogut led Utah (24-9) with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

No. 3 Georgia Tech 65, No. 14 Northern Iowa 60: Northern Iowa came back after falling behind by 17 points in the first half, missing a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds before succumbing to Georgia Tech, 65-60 in Milwaukee. Luke Schenscher led the Yellow Jackets (24-9) with 13 points and B.J. Elder added 12, while Northern Iowa (21-10) was led by David Gruber’s 16 points.

No. 1 Kentucky 96, No. 16 Florida A&M 76: Florida A&M stayed with Kentucky for a while, including a very high-scoring first half, but the Wildcats went on a 15-2 run later in the second half to pull away from the pesky Rattlers. The Wildcats (27-4), who got 26 points from Gerald Fitch, had a 60-52 lead at the half and were up by just ten points before the decisive run put it out of reach. They had a 39-24 edge on the glass and shot 56.5% from the field, but allowed the Rattlers (14-17) to shoot 45.5% to keep it close. Terrence Woods, who started his career in the SEC at Tennessee, led the Rattlers with 24 points and 5 steals.

No. 12 Pacific 66, No. 5 Providence 58: Pacific’s clutch guard play and Providence’s offensive ineptness combined to produce the second upset in the 5-12 matchups as the Tigers upset the Friars in Kansas City. Miah Davis led the Tigers (25-7) with 19 points, helping to lead their 6-14 effort from behind the arc, while Tom Cockle was 3-4 from behind the arc en route to 11 points. The Friars (20-9) held a 36-24 edge on the glass, but shot below 38% from the field. Ryan Gomes led Providence with 25 points and 13 rebounds as they ended their season with four straight losses.

No. 4 Kansas 78, No. 13 Illinois-Chicago 53: Kansas went on a 21-2 second half run to widen their lead en route to thumping Illinois-Chicago in Kansas City. The Jayhawks (22-8) shot a scorching 61.5% from the field, held the Flames (24-8) to just over 31%, and held a 37-22 edge on the boards to win despite committing 25 turnovers. J.R. Giddens led Kansas with 17 points, while Cedric Banks led the Flames with 15 in defeat.

No. 9 UAB 102, No. 8 Washington 100: In a game that lived up to its expectations of being fast-paced and high-scoring, DeMario Eddins made several plays down the stretch to cap off a career-high 26 point effort as UAB knocked off Washington in Columbus. Eddins took a charge, made the decisive free throws, then blocked a shot in the final minute of a game dominated by offense as both teams shot over 54% from the field. The Blazers (21-9) got their first NCAA Tournament win since 1986. Nate Robinson led Washington (19-12) with 27 points.

Phoenix Region

No. 3 North Carolina State 61, No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette 52: Marcus Melvin scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and North Carolina State held Louisiana-Lafayette below 33% shooting to overcome its own poor shooting and a sub-par performance from Julius Hodge in its first round win. The Wolfpack (21-9) shot below 37%, and Hodge had 14 points on just 5-13 shooting. Antoine Landry led the Ragin’ Cajuns (20-9) with 16 points.

No. 6 Vanderbilt 71, No. 11 Western Michigan 58: Mario Moore scored a career-high 26 points and helped break open a close game late in the second half as Vanderbilt moved on to the second round by knocking off Western Michigan. The Commodores (22-9) shot 56.5% from the field to win despite committing 17 turnovers. Mike Williams closed out his career by leading the Broncos (26-5) with 24 points.

NIT Action: Three NIT games were played Friday night. D’Or Fischer blocked nine shots to set a school record in helping West Virginia (17-13) beat Rhode Island (20-14), 79-72 in Morgantown. George Mason (23-9) won consecutive postseason games for the first time in school history after a 66-60 win over visiting Austin Peay (22-10) behind 19 points from Lamar Butler. Nebraska (18-12) made all 12 free throws in the final 57 seconds and got 17 points each from John Turek and Nate Johnson in a 78-70 win over visiting Niagara (22-10), which got 27 points from Juan Mendez.

Duhon To Start: Duke senior guard Chris Duhon will start on Saturday against Seton Hall despite the bruised ribs that have hampered him of late. He didn’t practice on Friday, but he will see how long he can play after going scoreless in just 16 minutes on Thursday and saying he felt “a little extra sore” after the game.

Richardson Deposition: Former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson told an attorney that he felt discriminated against when he went to speaking engagements around the state of Arkansas where he often was the only Black person present, according to a transcript of a December 17 deposition that was released on Thursday. The transcript was part of exhibits included in filings that day by the University of Arkansas and the Razorback Foundation as they renewed their arguments to end Richardson’s discrimination lawsuit. The case has been scheduled for trial on May 3, and each side plans to call more than 20 witnesses.

Harrison Mulling Early Entry: Colorado junior center David Harrison will discuss declaring for the NBA Draft with his father when he returns home to Nashville, Tenn. for spring break next week. He is leaving open the possibility of returning, but after the Buffaloes’ season-ending loss in the NIT on Wednesday, he made conflicting statements. He is projected to go somewhere in the first round if he declares, but it’s still early as far as players declaring is concerned.

Kruger’s Contract Approved: The Nevada board of Regents approved a five-year, $3.8 million contract on Friday for new UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger. He will be able to earn more incentives. Kruger compiled a 318-233 overall mark in 18 seasons at the college level before spending four years in the NBA.

Texas A&M to Interview Gillespie: In its search for a new head coach to replace the departed Melvin Watkins, Texas A&M will interview current UTEP head coach Billy Gillespie and is expected to offer him the job, according to Andy Katz from ESPN.com. Gillespie led UTEP to a major turnaround this season, as the Miners went from six wins to 24 wins and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament this season.

Missouri To Name New Basketball Arena: The University of Missouri will name its new basketball facility Paige Sports Arena, its athletic department spokesperson said on Friday. The arena is named for Elizabeth Paige Laurie at the request of her parents, who donated $25 million towards its construction. The name is subject to approval from the university’s governing Board of Curators and is scheduled for completion on October 1.

Day Three of the NCAA Tournament

• In Raleigh, No. 1 Duke takes on No. 8 Seton Hall (Atlanta region) and No. 4 Wake Forest takes on No. 12 Manhattan (East Rutherford region).

• In Buffalo, No. 1 St. Joseph’s takes on No. 8 Texas Tech (East Rutherford region) and No. 2 Connecticut takes on No. 7 DePaul (Phoenix region) in a matchup featuring one coach (Dave Leitao) mentored for many years by the opposing head coach (Jim Calhoun).

• In Denver, No. 3 Texas meets No. 6 North Carolina (Atlanta region) and No. 4 Maryland takes on No. 5 Syracuse (Phoenix region).

• In Seattle, No. 1 Stanford takes on No. 8 Alabama (Phoenix region) and No. 2 Gonzaga takes on No. 10 Nevada (St. Louis region).

• In NIT action, Villanova travels to Charlottesville to take on Virginia, and Boise State hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

SEC Finals Recap

Southeastern Conference Finals Recap
		Recap by Matt Jones Kentucky 89, Florida 73 Utter and complete domination. Within six seconds of the game beginning, Gerald Fitch had hit a three pointer, cracked a devious smile on his face and given notice to all the fans in the Georgia Dome that this was going to once again be the Wildcats’ day. Kentucky got out fast and furious and put on a display of offensive productivity in the first six minutes of the game that was as good as any performance by any team all season long. They spent the last few minutes of the first half playing their reserves, keeping a double digit lead and allowing their starters a chance to rest for the final sprint. The second half began and within minutes, the game was over. Gerald Fitch, Cliff Hawkins, Chuck Hayes, Eric Daniels and Kelenna Azubuike took turns scoring at will on the overmatched Florida team and when all was said and done, they left the floor with a 25 point lead and the knowledge that once again, they were the top team in the SEC. There is likely no series between two teams that can legitimately be called a “rivalry” that has been as one-sided in recent years as the Kentucky-Florida games. The Wildcats have won 9 of the last 10 and in the past two seasons, have looked like a completely dominant force against the Gators. Billy Donovan admitted last Sunday after a whipping in Lexington on Senior Day that he was finally going to learn from the recruiting strategies of his fellow coach Tubby Smith and attempt to develop Seniors as the Kentucky coach has, so that he will not have to perpetually tout the strengths of his “young” team. Over and over this season, this group of Wildcats has been told that they were not as talented as past teams, that they had no player who would one day play for pay in the NBA, that Tubby’s decision not to sign All-American recruits had caused the chickens to come home to roost. However someone forgot to tell these Wildcats that any of this meant that they were to stop winning. Led by 6 players who play with a degree of teamwork and chemistry unmatched across the nation, Kentucky is now going into the NCAA Tournament as the top overall #1 seed in the tournament. Quick, how many of you predicted that at the beginning of the year? This team is now a solid pick for the Final 4 and just might be cutting down the nets again in San Antonio in April. We have heard all a lot recently that Tubby Smith is a fabulous coach who has done a wonderful job with this team, and that is certainly true. Smith has never gotten all of the credit he deserves but folks all over the country, and more important to the program, all over the state of Kentucky are truly beginning to believe in him. However what has been forgotten is that Kentucky is winning the way that all teams will have to win in this age of high schoolers to the NBA. They have a solid core of players who believe in themselves and their coach, and they sacrifice their own personal glory for the sake of the team. It is often hard to watch a powerful program such as Kentucky and think of them as gritty underdogs, but in many ways that is exactly what this group is. When you are filling out your brackets, think long and hard before you send the Wildcats packing. It was a pleasure to watch this team this week in Atlanta, and if they play as they did here, they will not be stopped this post-season.

SEC Semifinals Recap

Southeastern Conference Semifinals Recap
		Recap by Matt Jones Kentucky 78 South Carolina 63 The Big Blue Nation was out once again in full force for this opening game of the semi-final session and they certainly had to be pleased with the show that Kentucky put on. The Cats got off to a strong start, held off various attempts by South Carolina to make a run, and ended up winning handily 78-63. The Cats were led by reserve (in name only) Gerald Fitch who poured in 24 points in the victory. Fitch was able to hit a key shot any time that South Carolina threatened to make a run, including four three pointers which each had the effect of a dagger in the heart of the Gamecocks. Kentucky once again showed why they are quietly becoming one of the best teams in the land with crisp passing that proved unstoppable for the Gamecocks’ defense. The tournament run ended for South Carolina, but they should be happy as their victories over Arkansas and LSU have likely secured them a bid in the Big Dance. The game on Saturday was also a chance for the Chick-Fil-A Legends to once again get together and get a nice round of applause from the fans and receive their much-deserved accolades. What, you don’t know what a Chick-Fil-A legend is? I find that hard to believe considering the prestige of the award, but a Chick-Fil-A legend is a player who is a former member of an SEC team who is willing to come back to the NCAA Tournament while his alma mater is playing, and receive a polite ovation from the audience. This year’s legend group included big names such as Charles Barkley and Dan Issel, medium names such as Dale Brown, Dale Ellis and Todd Day and hidden gems such as former Ole Miss guard Gerald Glass. Barkley and Issel had to miss the final ceremony honoring their existence (there must have been an emergency somewhere), but the rest of the legends gathered on Saturday for one last go-around. Now before I completely belittle this ceremony, I want to first make clear that I like the idea of honoring former SEC players at the tournament, and it has always been exciting every year to see who will show up. In addition, as I stated in Thursday’s column, this promotion allowed me to meet one of my all-time heroes, Charles Barkley. So in theory, I have nothing but love for the Chick-Fil-A Legends promotion. However in practice, it leaves a great deal to be desired. The nine remaining legends (Dale Brown was in the hospital after an unfortunate fall) were walked to center court, where they were greeted by a man in a cow costume who had a sign on that said “Eat More Chikin”. The cow then proceeded to hand each of the former players a trophy, which can most politely be described as “hideous.” The trophy looked to be made of plastic (or at least gold-painted metal) and contained in the middle of it, a huge clock. All of the players politely took their clocks from the cow, waved to the crowd that was anxiously awaiting the UK dance team’s performance and all tried their best to look interested. At the end of the ceremony, the players were whisked off the court, the guy behind me in the stands asked “who were those dudes?” and we all went on our merry way. While I went into the second half a bit saddened by the whole experience, I was consoled by the reporter from Mississippi that was sitting next to me. When I asked what the criteria was now for being defined as a legend, he chuckled and just shook his head. “Legend means that you (a) are remembered and (b) are available.” I guess that is likely true, but the SEC and for that matter all conferences, should really look into creating mini-Halls of Fame for its former players. I think it would begin a great series of debates among fans (who should make the Hall, Kyle Macy or Tony Delk?) and could lead to a nice set of honors at the tournament. I love people in cow costumes as much as the next guy, but they should not be part of anything having to do with “legends.” Florida 91 Vanderbilt 69 The second game of the semi-finals was the Anthony Roberson show as the Sophomore guard absolutely lit up the Commodores with 35 points, including 7 three pointers in the Gators victory. Roberson showed why he so many folks believe he can be one of the best guards in the country, as he played a complete game, finding the open man, taking good shots and playing strong defense throughout the game. When Roberson is hot and is not taking bad shots, he may be the best 3 point shooter in the game (take that JJ Redick!). Tonight was just such a night, as Vanderbilt could find no answer for him, or his running mate Matt Walsh, who went for 20 points of his own. Florida shot 62% for the game as Vanderbilt looked tired and unable to keep up with the runnin’, gunnin’ Gators. Vanderbilt’s star forward Matt Freije had another sub-par game as he only scored 11 points on 4-12 shooting. If Vanderbilt is going to be able to do anything in the NCAA Tournament, Freije has to become more authoritative on offense, and not just a last-second bail out when the shot clock is running down. Florida now moves on to play its arch-nemesis Kentucky in what could be a revenge game for the team that has been owned by the Wildcats the past couple of years. This was also the game where I officially realized that no matter what I had thought before, I do not really know all that much about basketball. See we in the media, and you the fans, have a belief that basketball is a simplistic game in which people run, jump and shoot and that even though we may have not played the game well (or in my case even respectably), it still is something that we can understand as much as any top coach. I must admit that I held this view for much of my lifetime, calling Steve Fischer a fool for being unable to win a championship with the Fab 5 and firmly believing that I could have coached the 1996 Kentucky team to the national title. Well all that changed during Saturday’s second game as I had a chance to sit with two commentators on college basketball and realize once and for all that I am an idiot. First up was my good friend Barry Booker, who sat with me during the first half and explained to me his new formula for determining who the best teams are in college basketball. Like me, Booker believes that the RPI is not necessarily the best tool that can be used for ranking teams and comparing them to others that they have not played. However unlike me, he has decided to actually do something about that and is beginning to work on what he calls the “Booker Index.” After he was able to get my attention away from the free cookies that I was eating on press row, Booker explained to me that a true indicator of a team’s ability is its offensive and defensive “efficiency.” This statistic determines how many points a team scores or allows on average per possession down the floor. Because these statistics so accurately track a team’s ability (rather than just its playing style), with this number (and some mathematical tweaking that is still in the works), teams can be compared more accurately. This was shown by the fact that the “Booker Index” accurately forcasted the results of 10 of the 11 games. I must say that this conversation blew my mind and made me realize how ultimately uncreative I am. In Booker’s free time he has come up with a new formula for determining success in one of our national pastimes, while I use my free time to analyze the odds for the newest addition of “Average Joe.” Stunned by his brilliance, I left Booker and moved to the other end of press row for the second game where I sat near Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, who were watching the game in preparation for their telecast of the final game on Sunday. Throughout the game, I listened to these two broadcasting giants and realized that both of these men likely had forgotten more about basketball than I have ever known. As they analyzed the two teams’ offenses and spoke to their strengths and weaknesses, I quickly learned that the way I watched a game was so superficial as to be ultimately meaningless. When I see a player like Anthony Roberson hit a wide-open three pointer, I usually focus on him, or the man who set a pick to set him free. What Raftery kept pointing out was the play or subtle move that occurred seconds before that led ultimately to the open shot. It was a fascinating experience and I found myself watching some of the games later in the day in a slightly different way. It was an amazing day and once again confirmed why I believe college basketball is the greatest sport going. As for the finals, it is Kentucky and Florida. I look for another Cats win, but I would not be surprised if the Gators kept it close. It will all depend on where Walsh’s head is during the game and to what extent Kentucky can keep up their offensive efficiency. Until next time…..

Big Ten Finals Recap

Big Ten Conference Finals Recap
		Recap by Alan Rubenstein (2) Wisconsin 70, (1) Illinois 53 Devin Harris’s dominance over the Big Ten continued into the Big Ten tournament. Harris, the league player of the year earned the rare double of the regular season and postseason MVP awards. Harris averaged 23.7 PPG in the tournament and set the championship game record with 29 points. Wisconsin’s 70-53 victory was their first Big Tournament championship. Harris was the story of the tournament. His two late threes in the semifinal victory over Michigan State put the Badgers in the championship game. Against Illinois, he took over the second half. Twenty of his 29 points came after intermission, punctuated by an emphatic alley-oop from Boo Wade. After the dunk Wisconsin fans let Harris know that they wanted one more year. Mike Wilkinson joined Harris on all tournament team with Dee Brown and Deron Williams of Illinois and Jitim Young of Northwestern. That Young made it is a testament to his importance to the Wildcats. NU lost to Michigan State in the quarterfinals. Wisconsin opened the game on a 6-0 run, extended the lead to 24-11 and settled in at the half 35-23. If not for Dee Brown in the early going and throughout the first half, the Illini might have been blown out by halftime. Brown scored seven of the Illini’s first nine points and had 11 by break. Although Wisconsin went into the break with a 12 point lead, they had opportunities to put Illinois away in the opening 20 minutes. Wisconsin began the second half with greater energy than the Illini. Devin Harris scored the first 11 points for Wisconsin in the second half, the Badgers would extend the lead to 18 seven minutes in and were never seriously threatened in the final 20 minutes. The Badgers were in control of this one from tip-off to the net cutting. Brown was the only one who could get anything going for the Illini offensively. Although Brown was solid with 11 points on four-of-six shooting in the first half, his teammates managed to connect on only three for 18, burying the Illini in the 12 point halftime deficit from which they could not recover. The Badger defense that has been a catalyst for their success all season was especially first-rate in the championship game. Illinois shot only 32.7 percent, their lowest output of the season and hit on just 29 percent of their shots in the first half when the game was still in doubt. The Badger defense wasn’t the only aspect of Wisconsin’s game to shine. They dominated Illinois in virtually every major category. The Badgers out rebounded the Illini 34-27, had a 14-4 edge in second chance points and a 12-2 edge in fast break points. It was definitely the Badgers day to win. The fact that the Badgers led by 12 at the half despite an 0-7 performance from beyond the arc in the opening half illustrates that. With the late finish of the Big Ten tournament championship it appeared that the game had little meaning beyond the Badgers being able to hoist the trophy. Illinois was assigned to the Atlanta region and will open the NCAA tournament as a five seed in Columbus against Murray State. The Badgers received a questionably low six seed. They will be in front of the home fans in Milwaukee as part of the East Rutherford region when they take on Richmond. The Spiders will not be an easy out for the Badgers. They know all about winning in hostile territory, winning earlier this season against Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Michigan State is the Big Ten’s only other representative and will match up with Nevada in Seattle as a seven seed in the St. Louis region. If they get past the Wolfpack, the Spartans would have a virtual road game, likely facing Gonzaga in their home state. The will be able to draw on their run through last year’s tournament. Included in their run to the elite eight was a second round upset over Florida in St. Petersburg.

Big 12 Finals Recap

Big 12 Finals Recap
		Recap by Zach Ewing No. 1 Oklahoma State 65, No. 2 Texas 49 It’s often said that defense wins championships, and it’s pretty obvious that that was the case in this game. The Cowboys started out hot and took a 12-point lead into the locker room, but then when Texas came back within two points late in the game, it was OSU’s defense that allowed the ‘Pokes to run away with it. A 16-0 run made the score 63-45 with less than a minute to play. In fact, the Longhorns only had two field goals, both in the final minute, in the game’s last 14:48. That’s not going to win too many games. When Daniel Bobik completed a three-point play to stretch the lead to 56-45, the deal was sealed. Terrance Crawford made sure there would be no comeback with two blocks in a row on the other end. For the third straight game, Texas dug itself a hole, but against Oklahoma and Kansas, the Longhorns were able to come back. It looked like it might be the same story in the championship, but OSU closed the door. “I’m just disappointed with the way we started this whole tournament, in terms of early in games getting down and getting ourselves in holes,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “Even with all of that, we still put ourselves in position to have a chance to win the game. But we didn’t do what we had to do to get ourselves over the top.” Ivan McFarlin and Joey Graham, the Cowboys’ big men inside, both got into foul trouble, but Graham still managed to record 14 points and 8 rebounds and Crawford contributed some valuable minutes off the bench. But defensively was where OSU really made its mark. Tony Allen, who led all scorers with 21 points, shut down Brandon Mouton, who had burned both OU and KU with late-game heroics. Mouton finished with just 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Allen, meanwhile, was named Big 12 Tournament MVP by the conference after the tournament. John Lucas, who scored 15 on Sunday, was another candidate. Only one Longhorn scored in double figures, Jason Klotz with 15. Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said he was proud of his regular season and Big 12 tournament champions. “They play so hard,” he said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of a basketball team than this one. They’ll always be very special.” Player of the game: Tony Allen, OSU – The senior stepped up not only on offense with 21 points, but also on D, where he shut down Brandon Mouton. Big 12 Tournament MVP: John Lucas, OSU – the guy just wins. He scores points and looks good doing it, but the bottom line is he just wins.

Colonial Finals Recap

Colonial Athletic Association Finals Recap
		Recap by Doug McKinney (1) Virginia Commonwealth 55, (3) George Mason 54 Jessee Pellot-Rosa, a freshman walk-on for the Rams, hit the bottom end of two free throws to give VCU their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1996 en route to a 55-54 nail biting victory over the Patriots. His made attempt came with 1.6 seconds left as the Patriots final attempt to win the game didn’t come close to the rim. The Rams led 54-49 with 1:10 left, but the Patriot’s Jai Lewis, who netted 16 points on the day, scored inside 51.8 left and Troy Skinn hit a three-pointer to tie the game up. Skinn finished the day with 17 points, all coming in the second half.