Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Monday, February 28th

Jayhawks Rebound: Kansas snapped a three-game losing streak and moved into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with a 81-79 win against Oklahoma State. John Lucas scored 22 points to lead the Cowboys but missed a three in the final five seconds that would have won the game. Wayne Simien scored a career-high 32 points for the Jayhawks and set a team record by making his 34th straight free throw. Kansas now stands at 11-3, one game ahead of the 10-4 Cowboys in the Big 12.

Tar Heels Look For Top Seed: North Carolina escaped Maryland with an 85-83 win. Raymond Felton put North Carolina up with 19 seconds to go on a drive to the bucket. Sean May preserved the win with a block in the final five seconds. Sean May led the Tar Heels with 22 points, picking up the slack for UNC’s leading scorer, Rashard McCants, who missed the game with an intestinal disorder. Maryland was led by 25 points from Chris McCray but fell below .500 in ACC play. At 12-2, North Carolina keeps a one-game lead in the ACC with games against Florida State and Duke to end the season.

Wake Rumbles On: Wake Forest cruised to a 90-68 win against Virginia. Justin Gray led the Demon Deacons with 20 points. The game was very physical, and Wake’s Chris Paul took a pounding, complaining to the officials numerous times throughout the game. Coach Skip Prosser also got into the action, getting a technical foul after an especially hard foul late in the first half. At 11-3, Wake remains one game behind North Carolina for first place in the ACC.

Hoosiers Squarely on the Bubble: Behind 32 points from Bracey Wright, Indiana upended Michigan State in overtime 78-74. D.J. White scored 17 points for the Hoosiers, including a deuce with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 64 and send it into overtime. Indiana moved to 9-5 in the Big Ten, which puts them in a tie for third place. The Hoosiers, 14-11 overall, finish the regular season with Wisconsin and Northwestern. Michigan State is all but locked into second place in the Big Ten at 11-3 and has Northwestern and Penn State left on the schedule.

Wildcats Win Again: Villanova made it five straight wins with a 67-56 win at Georgetown. The win avenges an earlier loss to Georgetown and moves the Wildcats into sole position of fourth place in the Big East at 9-5. Brandon Bowman scored 22 points for the Hoyas, but his team dropped its third straight game. At 16-9, Georgetown’s tournament hopes are dwindling; the Hoyas close the season at UConn and at home against Providence. Allan Ray scored 18 points for Villanova, which has games against Seton Hall and St. John’s before the Big East Tournament.

Badgers Bucking on the Road: Wisconsin picked up a key road win at Ohio State 64-56. Alando Tucker led the Badgers with 19 points. Terence Dials scored 20 points for the Buckeyes but was held scoreless for the last 18 minutes of the game as the Badgers adjusted their defense to thwart any comeback attempts. Wisconsin is now tied for third in the Big Ten with Indiana and faces the Hoosiers Tuesday.

Havlicek Stole the Show: During halftime of Sunday’s game versus Wisconsin, Ohio State retired the jersey of John Havlicek. Havlicek’s number 5 becomes the fifth number to hang from the rafters of Value City Arena, joining Jerry Lucas, Jimmy Jackson, Katie Smith and Gary Bradds. Under Havlicek, the Buckeyes made three straight NCAA finals, winning the 1960 national championship.

Bruins Take Out Irish: UCLA made a strong case for a third tournament team from the Pac-10 by taking out a Big East bubble team in Notre Dame 75-65. The Bruins made 14 three pointers, including three from Arron Afflalo who led them with 17 points. Chris Quinn scored 17 points for Notre Dame, which couldn’t recover from a 15-point halftime deficit. Both teams now stand at 16-9 with one weekend of conference games remaining.

Gators Eek One Out: Florida erased a 17-point deficit in the second half for a 66-65 comeback win at South Carolina. David Lee had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds and gave the Gators the lead for good when he put back a miss with 13 seconds to go. Florida stands at 10-4, second place in the SEC East with games against Georgia and Kentucky remaining. The Gamecocks missed a chance to move to .500 in the SEC East and now stand in fourth place with Vanderbilt and Ole Miss left on the schedule.

Catamounts Fall: Playing without stars T.J. Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont lost at Maine 87-66. The Catamounts had already clinched first place in the America East and the top seed in the conference tournament. It was the final regular season game for both teams, who will play in the America East tournament which starts Friday March 4.

Texas Tech Turns Itself In: Reports from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram say that Texas Tech purchased supplements not allowed to be given to student-athletes. The supplements were purchased during a 30-month period by then-director of sports nutrition Aaron Shelley. Shelley no longer works for Texas Tech, having been fired after pleading guilty to money laundering last year. Athletes interviewed said they had purchased the illegal substances from Shelley but had never received them for free. No word on any penalties that Texas Tech might face.

Tonight’s Menu

• The Big East’s first-place team Boston College hosts Pittsburgh in its final home game of the season.

• Texas tries to make it another 20-win season at home against Oklahoma.

• Having sewn up first place in the WCC, Gonzaga hosts non-conference foe Northern Colorado.

• The Missouri Valley’s top team, Southern Illinois, looks for its 25th win at Indiana State. Two other MVC bubble teams battle as Wichita State hosts Northern Iowa.

• New Mexico hopes to maintain second place in the Mountain West with a trip to UNLV.

Harvard’s Comeback Season

A Season of Progress

by Phil Kasiecki

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Frank Sullivan summed it up on more than one occasion.

“These guys have come a long way in 12 months,” the Harvard head coach said of his team.

Last year wasn’t one for the books at the famed Ivy League school. With four starters gone from the 2002-03 team – starters who played the vast majority of minutes for the team – the Crimson didn’t figure to be contenders. But few could have predicted that they would lose their first 11 games of the season en route to a 4-23 finish. It got to the point where Sullivan, who is as well-respected as any coach in the league among his peers, talked about winning ten-minute stretches or halves of games, in the name of taking baby steps.

“We all try to put a happy face on what they went through last year – they went through a lot last year, and there’s still some scarred tissue in their heads and their bodies and their minds about how they played,” Sullivan reflected.

It wasn’t a season to remember, but at the same time, the players knew that it was a rebuilding year. Most of the veterans were relatively inexperienced, and the team had no seniors. The only player who had ever started a game was junior captain Jason Norman, who had started nine games the previous season. That meant that this team had a real learning curve and a lot of work to do.

With all the work they put in – and players universally acknowledge that the team never stopped working last year – it was tough not seeing results at the end of games. But there were good developments for the future. Kevin Rogus led the team in scoring and showed that he could shoot the ball consistently as a starter after doing it off the bench. Matt Stehle had five double-doubles and showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with. Norman remained one of the league’s top defenders, while Michael Beal and Dave Giovacchini gained more experience at the point.

After sweeping this weekend’s final home games of the season with wins over Yale (82-66) and Brown (80-68), the Crimson are in a three-way tie for second place in the Ivy League and on track for at least a .500 finish in league play. They were eliminated from contention on Friday night, but there’s plenty to be satisfied about with this season for the players and coaches. They can see that all the work has paid off, that they paid their dues last season and now the results are coming.

Saturday night was senior night, honoring seniors Norman, Rogus, Giovacchini and Graham Beatty. Beatty’s mother sang the national anthem, a wonderful rendition that got a rousing ovation from the crowd and that included those of us seated on press row. Then the Crimson went out and beat the Bears, holding off every little charge they made in the second half to try to get a little closer. After the game, there was a lot of reflection on what has happened with this team.

“They are the guts of the program,” Sullivan said of his seniors. “These guys came into the program and sat, sat a second year, got to play their third year and it was a disaster for them. It just means so much to watch them grow, watch them achieve, and watch them walk out of here tonight with their heads up.”

“We knew we were going to do it all season long,” said Rogus, who scored 11 points against Brown and hit clutch three-pointers all weekend long. “We knew that last season was a rebuilding year, and we took what we learned from that year and built upon it this year throughout the whole time. Now that the season’s ending, we’re in our best shape and playing our best basketball.”

Far from last season’s struggles, the Crimson will finish this season without once losing more than three games in a row, and have won consecutive games on four occasions, including this weekend. Last season, the Crimson lost 11 games by ten points or less; this season, they have a 6-8 record in those games. They started winning games that they probably would have lost last year, showing the new maturity. It’s easy for the losses to add up and take a real toll, but the players just kept playing and were ready to come into this year.

“I saw them go through so much last year,” said sophomore center Brian Cusworth, who is playing arguably his best basketball of the season right now. “Their overall win-loss column did not show in the slightest how hard they worked and how much they went through as a team. I saw in their faces after every one of those games and especially coming into this year that they had the determination to not let that happen again, because it’s so heartbreaking. These seniors have definitely set out to go out on a high note.”

“We just had to overcome adversity,” said Norman, the team’s first two-year captain since Ron Mitchell in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. “We had a tough year, we were 4-23. It feels great to turn this season around like that.”

The Ivy League isn’t loaded with future NBA stars. It’s a league that’s known more for its academics than athletics, though it hasn’t been without athletic accomplishments over the years. Teams are known more for their patient offensive sets instead of the run-and-gun that make the highlight reels. By and large, coaching jobs are not stepping stones to major conferences, but are destinations instead. In the ranks of Division I, the Ivy League is unique.

“You really do work with your players in an old-school kind of way,” Sullivan said. “They come in the back door, they have practice, they leave, and we don’t bug them for the rest of their day. I think that’s the beauty of the Ivy League, and specifically Harvard – the players are responsible once they leave here, for the most part. You just really work on coaching.”

The seniors have gone out on that high note at home, and next weekend they’ll try to do that on the road. With wins over traditional powers Princeton and Penn, the Crimson would finish off their first winning season in three years. The Crimson knocked off Princeton earlier in the season, and with the way they played this weekend, there is certainly reason to believe that they can certainly head down I-95 and pick up two more wins.

“I think our guys would play anyone in a parking lot tomorrow to get this thing to .500 or above,” said Sullivan.

“There’s so much motivation to go down there,” said Rogus. “First of all, it’s Penn and Princeton, which is just huge. We haven’t won down there in our careers, I think. To get Princeton and Penn is a big deal, to get .500 is a big deal, to get second place in the Ivy League, it’s our last games – there’s so much motivation, it’s unbelievable just for a weekend. So we’re going to go out there and have a pretty good weekend.”

That would cap off a season that would leave Sullivan quite happy.

“It means a lot,” said Sullivan of finishing with a winning record. “I think they’ve taken the charge of getting the energy back in the program quite seriously. I think they went through great adversity last year, and we hear that adversity generates strength – I think it clearly did with this group of players. We had talked to them significantly during the course of the season about getting our program back to the level it was when they came in, and I think it’s pretty close to being there right now.”

Big Man Comes Back Strong

Although certainly not the primary reason for the Crimson’s struggles, one thing that didn’t help matters was an injury that sidelined Cusworth. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot that kept him out for the entire season, and after the first semester he withdrew and returned home to St. Louis.

As a freshman two years ago, Cusworth played the most minutes of any reserve and showed plenty of promise while playing behind then-senior Brian Sigafoos. Here was a seven-footer who could run the floor, knock down a mid-range jump shot, and showed some ball-handling and passing ability that most seven-footers don’t have. It all came naturally to him, as he wasn’t always this tall; he was 6′ tall when he entered the ninth grade and just kept growing. He reached about 6’11″ by the end of his high school years, and all the while, he wasn’t gaining a great deal of weight at first.

Last year, Cusworth figured to start reaching some of the potential he showed as a freshman, as he projected to be the starting center and a go-to guy for the team. He had worked hard to get stronger, feeling that it was his primary necessity to get better. Clearly, he would break out and become one of the Ivy League’s better players. Then the stress fracture came.

“It really makes you appreciate the game, it makes you realize how much you miss it sitting out any game,” Cusworth said of having to miss the season.

He started working out again around March, and he could feel the rust when he first got back out there and Sullivan saw it when practice started. He played in a summer pro-am league in his home of St. Louis and also attended the Pete Newell Big Man Camp, both of which helped him get ready for this season. While he enjoyed the Big Man Camp and got a lot out of it, there was some material there that wasn’t quite new to him.

“My dad is a doctor, but if you saw the literature that we have in our living room for basketball, you would think he is a coach, retired coach, training to be a coach – he has every magazine, every book, every video you can imagine,” Cusworth said. “First, about ball-handling when I was an undersized high school player, and about the post, I think we have two or three of even those videos they gave me at the camp, so now we have duplicates of it.”

There’s no question that it’s all paying off, and he has come back with the vengeance he had hoped to. He is in the top ten in the Ivy League in scoring, field goal percentage, rebounding and blocked shots, leading the league in the latter two categories, and has had seven double-doubles this season. With 65 career blocked shots through Saturday night, he is well on his way to one day breaking the school record for career blocked shots (117, held by Bill Mohler). His efforts this season include a 20-point, 13-rebound effort in a win over Northeastern and Friday night’s 21-point, 11-rebound effort against Yale. He’s had something to do with this team’s resurgence, but he has also been rejuvenated by his teammates as well.

“I can’t say enough how great it is to be back and how much of a pleasure it is to be playing with these guys that fought through so much adversity last year and see our team come together and play so well and have such a great rebound from last season,” he reflected.

Bracket Buster in Ohio

CigarBoy’s Bracket Buster Extravaganza

by Bill Kintner

DAYTON – It is Bracket Buster (BB) Saturday – you know, that ESPN-created mid-major college basketball match up. There are a ton of games featuring all the teams from the Horizon League, MVC and MAC. Then other teams are mixed in from the CAA, OVC, Mid-Continent, WAC, Metro Atlantic, Southern, Big Sky and America East.

The teams are matched with teams of similar records and RPI ratings a few weeks before the game date. I think a lot of the fans of BCS schools pay no attention to it and that is too bad because it is an exciting day for fans of good basketball.

Since ESPN puts some of the key match ups on TV it is a great opportunity for fans to see some schools besides Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and the familiar schools and faces that are regularly seen or maybe even clutter sports programming.

Some of these so-called mid-major teams have some great basketball heritage. Take Miami (Ohio), for example. It is a crime that this is only the third time that Miami has had a home game on ESPN. This is a program that is in the top 20 in all-time wins, has won the MAC 20 times and was named one of the top 50 programs of all-time by Street and Smiths. They are also celebrating their 100th basketball season.

On the other end of the spectrum is University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Panthers, who are much newer to the national scene, are 21-5 and are currently rolling through the Horizon League. They went all the way out to Hawaii to administer an 87-80 spanking of the Rainbows in Bracket Buster action. They had a much bigger lead and held off a furious charge by Hawaii. They have no fear in scheduling going on the road to play Valpo, Wisconsin, Kansas and Manhattan.

There are also good match ups involving Southern Illinois, Murray State, Southwest Missouri State, Kent State, Akron, Buffalo, UWGB, Northern Illinois and many, many more.

Since I live in Cincinnati I had a lot of BB games to choose from. So it came down to choosing from the following games: Miami hosting Wichita State, Butler hosting Valpo, Ball State hosting Drexel and Wright State hosting Northern Illinois. All of these games looked like fun to me. It came down to a timing issue. So I chose the Miami game at noon which was a national TV game and the Wright State game at 7 PM.

Miami is located in Oxford, Ohio, which is just north of Cincinnati. It is a sometimes-painful drive up the two-lane State Route 27. One slow driver, just one old geezer, just one nervous mother in a mini van, and traffic can be backed up for miles on the way into Oxford. On this day the traffic was not too bad.

When I got inside the arena, known as Millett Hall, I could tell this was not a normal game. There were TV cameras set up in various locations throughout the arena and the courtside media area was unusually large. It turns out that in addition to the usual beat writers, the New York Times, Gannett News Service, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and every small paper within 50 miles were seated courtside.

As game time rolled around, the student sections on both ends were packed with kids and many of them dressed the part of student fanatics. The crowd of 5,220 enthusiastic fans was the second-largest of the year.

It turned out to be the Danny Horace show as he led Miami to a 65-58 victory over the Wichita State Shockers. Horace scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all scorers.

As is often the case, the RedHawks jumped all over Wichita State early and then held on as the Shockers came charging back in the second half. In the three games I attended at Miami this year they jumped out to big leads only to have to fight off a late charge to hold on for the win.

Chet Mason added 13 points and William Hatcher had 11 points for the RedHawks, who blew passed Wichita State on a 9-3 run over the final 1:30 after the Shockers got within one point.

The Shockers’ Kyle Wilson missed a three that would have tied the game with 2:01 left in the second half. Nate VanderSluis then hit two free throws to put the RedHawks up 58-55 and Miami never looked back.

Wichita State managed to tie the score only once very early in the game at 2-2. With the score 54-44 they went on a 9-0 run to get the score to 54-53 with just less than five minutes remaining. That is as close as they got.

Wichita State got 15 points from Wilson and 6’10″ Paul Miller chipped in 12 points and five rebounds. The Shockers shot 40.8 percent from the field compared to 51.1 percent for Miami.

Miami coach Charlie Coles was grateful for the exposure on national TV and thought it added to the excitement of the game.

“It helps when you’re on TV, don’t it? We’re all motivated by attention,” Coles said. “The attention we got really helped us. They talked about it a lot on television the last two weeks.”

As I left the arena, the sun was out and it was 50 degrees. I decided to just take a walk around Oxford. Oxford is everything a small college town should be. It seemed that the whole town was fired up by Miami’s BB win. There were students, alums and townies walking around laughing and enjoying the warm winter Ohio day.

After about 30 minutes of hiking around Oxford and just enjoying the day I figured it was time for the 75 minute drive up Highway 127 toward Dayton, where Wright State University is located.

I got there with a little time to spare. It was an hour before game time and there still were not many cars in the parking lot. I went in and just sat around in the media room with a few of the writers, game staff, and Gordy Wise – the Wright State public address announcer.

He has been the announcer for over 20 years. He is also a marketing professor emeritus at Wright State, which I think means he has been doing it for a long, long time. We chatted about the great atmosphere at Miami that I had seen earlier in the day. He graduated from Miami many years ago and still has some interest in the school and the basketball program. I wish I had more time to talk to him because he’s full of forty years’ worth of stories about Miami, Wright State, and basketball games he has witnessed from his court side seat.

As I strolled out to the court the crowd was finally beginning to arrive. I took my seat between the WWSU radio announcers and the Horizon League officials’ observer. Next to him was Marc Katz the beat writer for the Dayton Daily News. He has been a sports writer for over 35 years and to be honest he doesn’t look all that old. But he always wears a sports jacket and tie just like in the old days. I like to call him “Old School.”

It is finally tip off time and there are 6,117 people to witness today’s colossal struggle between two teams from neighboring conferences.

From the tip off this game seesawed back and forth between Wright State and Northern Illinois. It took Wright State’s Drew Burleson coming out in overtime to score four straight points to finally allow the Raiders to wrestle control of the game from the Huskies in an exciting 72-66 win for Wright State.

It was a game of runs. Wright State went up by 12 in the first half with 5:42 minutes until half-time on a jumper by Burleson, Then the Huskies came roaring back to take a two-point lead with 46 seconds left on a short jumper by Cory Sims. But then with 19 seconds left, Wood dished it off to Burleson, who drained a long distance three to put the Raiders up by one at the half, 34-33.

Burleson had a game-high 19 points, which gave him 40 points in the last two games.

In the second half it was more seesaw for the Raiders, who went up by six points on a jumper by Zakee Boyd and a three by Wood. Then Northern Illinois came back to cut it to a point on a three by Mike McKinney. Then the seesaw went back toward the Raiders, as they got the lead back up to eight points with 7:12 left in the second half.

At that point it was time for the seesaw to go back the other way. The Huskies got a dunk by Jonathon Byrd, a jumper by Byrd and a three by Todd Peterson to cut it to one point with 4:35 to go. A jumper by Wood put the Raiders up by three points. Three foul shots including two from Cory Sims and one from James Hughes ties the game to send it to overtime.

In overtime, the Raiders took the lead on those two baskets by Burleson and never looked back. Aside from scoring a ton of points Burleson played some lock-down defense.

“Drew Burleson had a quiet 19 points. But I will tell you I am more impressed with Drew’s defense. His defensive assignment was on Peterson, who is one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” said Wright State coach Paul Biancardi. “But it is not just one guy. I love it when we have four guys in double figures because each guy can attack from a different area. So I am very happy with the way we shared the ball today.”

In addition to Burleson, Boyd had 17 points, Wood had 12 points and five assists, Jaron Taylor had 13 points. Zach Williams was an animal on the boards, hauling down 15 rebounds. Wright State shot 50 percent for the game compared to just 42.9 percent for the Huskies. The Raiders continued their dominance on the boards, outrebounding the much taller Northern Illinois 38-30. From three-point land, the Raiders shot 45.5 compared to 28.6 for Northern Illinois.

James Hughes score 18 points for the Huskies, while Sims added 16 points and Mike McKinney scored 11 points.

After Bracket Buster Saturday was over, there were two very happy coaches in southwest Ohio who on a beautiful Saturday were able to step out of conference play and pick up a win.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Sunday, February 27th

Eagles Put Away Pirates: It took some work, but Boston College pulled out a 70-58 home win over Seton Hall with some late defense and free throws in a game that featured 40 offensive rebounds. Although they led for most of the first half, the Eagles (23-2, 12-2 Big East) never broke the game open and trailed late in the half. The second half was back and forth for a while, before the Eagles took the lead for good. Jared Dudley had 19 points and seven rebounds to lead Boston College and Craig Smith added 16. Seton Hall (11-14, 3-11) got a career-high 15 points from freshman Brian Laing and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Kelly Whitney off the bench.

Milestone For Boeheim: Behind a career-high 36 points from Hakim Warrick, Syracuse broke open a close game in the second half in a 91-66 blowout of visiting Providence, giving coach Jim Boeheim his 700th victory. Boeheim has reached the mark in his 29th season at Syracuse, becoming the sixth active coach and 18th overall to accomplish it. The Orange (24-5, 11-4 Big East) shot nearly 57 percent from the field and outscored the Friars (12-16, 2-12) 51-30 in the second half. Ryan Gomes led Providence with 21 points, and freshman Randall Hanke added a career-high 17 points.

Key Win for Wildcats: Kentucky made 13-of-19 three-pointers and rallied from a first-half deficit to clinch the outright SEC regular season title with a 78-71 win at Alabama. Patrick Sparks led the barrage from behind the arc, scoring 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and making 7-of-10 three pointers to lead the Wildcats (22-3, 13-1 SEC). Alabama (21-6, 10-4), which got 21 points from Kennedy Winston, scored 11 unanswered points to build up a 33-19 lead in the first half before the Wildcats started the comeback with a 10-3 run to close the half.

Huskies Keep it Close With Big Win: Washington stayed in the hunt for a Pac-10 regular season title with a 93-85 win against visiting Arizona. Tre Simmons led the Huskies (23-4, 13-3 Pac-10) with 24 points in his final home game, and the Huskies can still clinch a share of their first Pac-10 crown in 20 years if they sweep California and Stanford next weekend. Junior guard Nate Robinson, who may have also played his final home game, added 22 points as the Huskies won their 22nd straight home game. Arizona (24-5, 14-3) was led by Channing Frye’s 30 points.

Cardinals Win Ugly: Louisville took the lead for good with a 12-0 run in the second half en route to a 53-44 win against host Memphis. Both teams struggled mightily on the offensive end, shooting less than 27 percent from the field. Taquan Dean led the Cardinals (24-4, 12-2 C-USA) with 14 points, while Darius Washington led Memphis (16-12, 9-5) with 14 as well.

Huskies Keep Panthers Reeling: Connecticut shot better than 48 percent from the field and took over the game in the second half to keep host Pittsburgh reeling in a 73-64 win for the Huskies. Pittsburgh (18-7, 8-6 Big East), which lost its third straight game, led for much of the first half as the Panthers shot 50 percent in that frame and forced 13 Husky turnovers. The Huskies (19-6, 11-3) were led by Rudy Gay’s 17 points, while Charlie Villanueva had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Chevon Troutman scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds in his final home game to lead the Panthers.

Blue Devils Slug One Out: Duke didn’t exactly put on an offensive clinic, but they had enough to knock off St. John’s by a 58-47 margin at Madison Square Garden. Both teams shot less than 33 percent from the field and committed more than 20 turnovers, with the Blue Devils (21-4) getting 16 points and nine rebounds from Lee Melchionni and having a 37-26 edge on the glass. Lamont Hamilton led St. John’s (9-16) with 15 points.

Aggies Win Battle of Texas: Texas A&M broke open a close game in the second half and turned it into an 85-63 blowout against visiting Texas Tech. Antoine Wright scored 22 of his 29 points in the first half for the Aggies (18-7, 7-7 Big 12), then Joseph Jones took over as he scored all 16 of his points in the second half when the decisive run was made. Martin Zeno had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead Texas Tech (17-8, 9-5).

Tigers Keep Winning: Christian Maraker and Tyler Newton each scored 15 points, and Pacific pulled away steadily near the midway point of the second half in a 75-61 win against visiting Cal State Northridge. In a key stretch, the Tigers (23-2, 16-0 Big West) made four straight three-pointers, and they had two other players score in double figures. Davin White led the Matadors (15-11, 11-5) with 17 points.

Bearcats Shoot the Lights Out: Cincinnati shot 61 percent from the field to overcome 22 turnovers in an 89-74 win against host TCU. Jihad Muhammad led the charge by making 8-of-11 shots en route to 21 points, while James White added 16 for the Bearcats (21-6, 10-4 C-USA). Aaron Curtis led TCU (17-11, 7-7) with a game-high 22 points.

Utes Add Bragging Rights: With the Mountain West regular-season title already wrapped up, it was local bragging rights that were mainly at stake Saturday as Utah shot nearly 69 percent in the second half en route to a 69-60 win against Brigham Young in Salt Lake City. Andrew Bogut had another double-double, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead the Utes (24-4, 12-1 MWC), who cut down the nets to celebrate the regular season title. Austin Ainge led Brigham Young (9-19, 3-10) with 17 points.

Bogut Wants to Stay “Home”: Staying on the Utes for a moment, and Bogut specifically, the super sophomore wouldn’t mind playing right where he plays right now – but not as a college player next season. The 7-foot center told the Melbourne Herald Sun in Australia that his “first choice would be to stay here in Utah and play for the Jazz in the NBA.” He has not said that he is leaving the school after this season, but it is widely belived to be a foregone conclusion that he will declare for the draft and be a sure lottery pick.

Blowouts of Note: A couple of top teams that won in blowouts were Oklahoma (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), which shot a school-record 66.1 percent in a 103-60 win against visiting Baylor (9-16, 1-13), and Charlotte (21-4, 12-2), which capped a perfect month of February with an 81-58 win against visiting Southern Miss (10-17, 1-14) behind 25 points and 11 rebounds from Curtis Whithers.

Quakers Are the First: Penn became the first team in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, as the Quakers clinched the Ivy League with an 80-72 victory against Columbia in New York. Ibrahim Jabber had 26 points and Tim Begley added 24 to lead the Quakers (17-8, 10-1 Ivy), who will win the league for the fifth time since 1999. Columbia (12-13, 3-9) lost its eighth straight game and was led by John Baumann’s 17 points.

Bubble Teams: A number of games had NCAA Tournament implications on Saturday.

• George Washington (18-6, 10-4 Atlantic 10) scored the game’s final 10 points, including a steal and buzzer-beating three pointer from just past halfcourt by Carl Elliott, to pull out a 62-69 win at Dayton (16-9, 9-5).
• Texas (19-8, 8-6 Big 12) used a 13-0 run in the second half to take over the game in a 63-51 win against visiting Missouri (14-14, 6-8).
• DePaul (18-7, 10-4 C-USA) picked up a 53-49 win against visiting St. Louis (7-20, 4-10), holding the Billikens to 34 percent shooting.
• West Virginia (18-8, 8-7 Big East) won its fourth straight game, a 76-58 decision against visiting Rutgers (9-16, 2-12).
• Any remote hopes of an at-large bid for St. Joseph’s (15-10, 12-2 Atlantic 10) likely died Saturday when host Rhode Island (5-20, 3-11) knocked off the Hawks by a 65-60 margin.
• Minnesota (19-9, 9-6 Big Ten) rallied from a 15-point deficit to knock off Purdue (7-18, 3-11) in Gene Keady’s final home game by a 59-57 margin.
• LSU (17-8, 10-4 SEC) stayed hot, getting 22 points from Brandon Bass in a 77-64 win at Auburn (12-15, 3-11).
• Behind 21 points from Jarrett Jack, Georgia Tech (16-9, 7-7 ACC) knocked off host Miami (16-10, 7-7) by a 76-72 score.
• Arizona State (18-11, 7-10 Pac-10) likely lost all hopes of an at-large bid with a 57-55 loss at Washington State (11-14, 6-10).
• Houston (18-10, 9-5 C-USA) held on for a 76-72 win at East Carolina (9-18, 4-11), led by Cedric Hensley’s 20 points.
• Mississippi State (20-8, 8-6 SEC) came back to beat in-state rival Mississippi (13-14, 4-10) 71-68, as Lawrence Roberts showed no ill effects from last Saturday’s injury with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
• Stanford (16-10, 10-6 Pac-10) got a late jumper from Matt Haryasz to cap an 18-point, 10-rebound effort in a 58-56 win against host Oregon (13-12, 5-11).
• Nevada (22-5, 13-2 WAC) got 28 points and 11 rebounds from Nick Fazekas in a 76-63 win at Fresno State (14-12, 8-8).

Vermont Names Next Leader: Vermont named Maryland assistant coach Mike Lonergan as the successor to retiring head coach Tom Brennan Saturday. Brennan is retiring after 19 seasons as head coach. Lonergan is in his first season as an assistant at Maryland after 12 seasons as the head coach at Division III Catholic University and three seasons as an assistant at Colgate.

McCants Won’t Play Sunday: Rashad McCants will miss a second game with an intestinal disorder, this one being Sunday’s game at Maryland. The junior, who leads the Tar Heels in scoring, did not travel with the team to College Park.

Former Boilermaker in Trouble: A former key player at Purdue has been in some trouble with the law. Porter Roberts, a point guard on the Boilermaker teams that won three consecutive Big Ten titles in the 1990s, has been charged with auto theft and has reportedly admitted to using crack cocaine. A high school basketball assistant at Marion High School in Indiana until last month, Roberts spent two days in jail and was released Feb. 11 on $5000 cash bond. Prior to this, he had no history of arrests, and he told police he had difficulties since being fired from his job last month.

Tonight’s Menu

• A Big 12 showdown is on tap in Lawrence as Kansas hosts Oklahoma State. Also in the Big 12, Iowa State hosts Nebraska.

• Key Big Ten matchups include Indiana hosting Michigan State and Ohio State hosting Wisconsin.

• The ACC has a few games on tap, led by Maryland hosting North Carolina and Wake Forest hosting Virginia.

• Villanova travels to Georgetown.

• Notre Dame hosts UCLA in a non-conference matchup.

• The America East has a full slate of games to close out the regular season, while the WAC, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun and Mid-American all have multiple games on tap.

Late season notes

Late-season updates

by Phil Kasiecki

As we’re approaching the month of march, the action is heating up as some teams make late charges for potential at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, while other teams play for seeds in either their conference tournament or the NCAA. Still others are playing more for next year than right now.

As crunch time comes, here is a look at a few notes from around the country as we head into the final week before conference tournaments get started.

Next Phase for the Lions: Being Targeted

It’s tough for Columbia to sneak up on teams nowadays. The Lions two years ago won two games and went winless in the Ivy League. The Lions moved forward last year, going 10-17, and have already surpassed that win total this season.

That won’t be enough, however, for a team that started the season 7-1 and was once in second place in the Ivy League. The Lions have not won a game in the month of February, losing seven straight after Friday night’s 68-59 home loss to Princeton. Second year head coach Joe Jones knows the team can work out of its funk, and this weekend would be a good time for it with league leader Penn coming in on Saturday.

“Sometimes when you lose, it kind of snowballs on you, and we’ve just got to work ourselves out of it,” Jones said. “We have great character, and I feel good about the fact that we can work ourselves out of it, because we have a good attitude about it.”

One aspect of this has been the very fact that the Lions are not the league doormats they were two seasons ago, though they have fallen into last place with their recent struggles. Now that they have a new coach, an improved talent base and are more experienced, the Lions have a target on their back. While teams don’t write off opponents at the bottom of their league anywhere, it’s natural for athletes to come out with that much more effort against a team at or near the top. The Lions now need to adjust to taking better shots from opponents.

“We need to really understand that people are ready to play against us now,” Jones said. “I think people respect how hard we play and the effort that they give, and kids come in ready to play.”

Said senior Matt Preston, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding: “We’ve got to approach each game with a high amount of focus.”

Jones said seniors like Preston need to lead them out of this, and he’s confident they can do it. In so doing, they will help the talented freshman class that Jones and his staff brought in to be contenders in the future.

“We’re in this situation right now because they put us in this situation,” he said. “Now that’s another step they’ve got to take, and they’ve got to get it done.”

The future is bright, as freshmen Mack Montgomery, Brett Loscalzo and Ben Nwachukwu all have shown promise. Loscalzo has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio, good for second in the Ivy League, while Montgomery is fourth on the team in scoring and Nwachukwu already has a solid frame and should be a force on the low post in the years to come.

Irish Need a Little Frontcourt Help

Notre Dame isn’t lacking for capable bodies in the frontcourt. They are healthy there, and with the addition of Arizona transfer Dennis Latimore, they are more talented and certainly deeper than last year. Even so, that area has been a trouble spot all season long, and it’s the missing link for a team that will be dangerous with its perimeter trio of Chris Thomas, Chris Quinn and sharpshooter Colin Falls. Head coach Mike Brey is trying to see the bright side of things.

“We need our frontcourt to step up and establish themselves,” he said. “It’s February, and we’re still searching a little bit. But I like the fact that we’ll throw anybody in there, and if one guy is going, we’re going to ride him, and the other guys are going to watch.”

Last Saturday at Providence, the player they rode was senior Rick Cornett. With Latimore, Torin Francis and Jordan Cornette, it’s easy for him to get buried amidst the talent they have up front, and on the season his minutes average in the single digits. Saturday was a career game, as he posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds to help the Irish pull out a 62-61 win on the road. Latimore and Francis didn’t play many minutes in that game because Brey wanted to keep his best defender, Cornette, on Providence senior Ryan Gomes. It paid off, as Gomes was just 5-18 from the field.

The Fighting Irish are in a position to make the NCAA Tournament, but a few more wins in the final weeks would certainly put closer to being a lock. Their most notable wins are over Villanova, Connecticut and Boston College, so they’re not lacking in quality wins. They could add another non-conference win on Sunday when UCLA comes to the Joyce Center. While a loss doesn’t doom the Irish, a win will put them a little closer to being a lock.

Huskies Look to Grab Second Place in America East

Northeastern completed its first season sweep of Boston University since the 1998-99 season with a 63-48 win over the Terriers at Harry Agganis Arena on Sunday. With the win, as well as both teams picking up home wins on Thursday night, the Huskies and Terriers are tied for second place in the conference, with the Huskies having a tiebreaker by virtue of their season sweep. A win over improved Albany on Sunday will clinch the second seed.

The Huskies were simply the tougher team in a game that won’t win any awards for beauty. They held the Terriers without a field goal for the final 8:18 of the game, and in the second half they forced nine turnovers. Neither team shot above 34% from the field for the game.

“Obviously it was kind of a scrappy, possession-by-possession fight type of game,” Terriers head coach Dennis Wolff said.

The Huskies are not known for their defense, but held the Terriers to about 20 points below their season average of points allowed.

“We applied a lot of pressure, and I think we forced them to be a little uncomfortable, at least in the last four minutes of the game,” said Husky head coach Ron Everhart.

Early on, the Huskies’ propensity for quick shots in the possession hurt them, as they shot just over 23% in the first half. But they didn’t allow the Terriers to break the game open and went into the locker room down by just five. That gave them a chance to come back, but they never made a serious charge until near the halfway point when they scored eight unanswered points to tie the game at 41.

The Huskies took the lead for good on a layup by Shawn James (16 points, 10 rebounds) with 6:26 left to start a 6-0 run. In the final minutes, the Huskies continued to get stops and made just enough free throws to seal the victory. While the Terriers struggled from the line, going just 7-16, the Huskies were hardly aces as they were 15-25.

Marcus Barnes led the Huskies with 20 points and 4 steals, and Jose Juan Barea had 10 points and six assists. Barea survived a scary play in the second half when he was hammered going up for a layup and went down, then got stepped on by a teammate. He stayed on the floor rolling his head, then got up and returned after sitting out briefly.

At the moment, this meeting is the last regular season one between the two schools that is certain, but both coaching staffs have indicated that they intend to continue the rivalry next season when Northeastern goes to the Colonial Athletic Association.

Other Notes

• Add Marquette to the list of teams with a player lost for the remainder of the season that will doom their hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles have very little time to prove they can win consistently without him, which would be tough enough as it is considering how much he meant to their success.

• A bad case of history repeating itself: twice this season, Missouri-Kansas City lost to Chicago State on last-second shots. Early in February, a 60-foot shot as time expired fell to give the Cougars the win, then on Thursday night, a jumper by Tony Weeden with one second left gave them a 74-72 win. Despite the heart-breaking losses, the Kangaroos are still in the driver’s seat to get the top seed in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament next weekend.
• A season after coming back to earth, Winthrop is back on top of the Big South Conference. Much like Holy Cross in the Patriot League, the Eagles had been the team to beat until last year, winning four straight conference titles. This year, the Eagles have once again rolled through the conference with a 14-1 record. They haven’t just beaten up on conference opponents, either; they have a 23-5 record and wins over Providence and East Carolina.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Saturday, February 26th

Chaney Suspended for Rest of Regular Season: After some reflection, Temple University officials decided that coach John Chaney’s self-imposed one-game ban was not sufficient. They suspended Chaney for the team’s remaining three games during the regular season. Chaney admitted earlier in the week to sending in Nehemiah Ingram into Tuesday’s game against St. Joseph’s to “send a message.” Chaney was upset at the officiating during the game, particularly in regards to screens St. Joseph’s was setting on offense. That message eventually came in the form of a hard foul on the Hawks’ John Bryant. It was later revealed that Bryant had suffered a broken arm and is out for at least the rest of the regular season. Embarrassed by his actions, Chaney suspended himself for one game, Saturday’s home contest against Massachusetts. But the school determined that wasn’t enough of a penalty when it learned that Bryant would miss three to four weeks and added another two games, March 2 at Rhode Island and March 5 against La Salle, to the suspension. Chaney will be allowed to return to the bench when Temple begins play in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

McNamara Could Play Today: Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara will likely play today against Providence after injuring his left ankle during Wednesday’s game against St. John’s. McNamara was hurt with 12:21 remaining in the game, appearing to twist the ankle while trying to dribble past a St. John’s defender. The 15th-ranked Orange (23-5, 10-4 Big East) went on to win the game 83-69.

Alabama Caucus to Call for Black Recruits to Boycott Auburn: Lawmakers in the state’s black caucus are calling for a black athletes’ boycott of mostly white Auburn University until the school agrees to rehire two black administrators fired in a reorganization of the athletic department. The roughly 30 caucus members met last week with Auburn president Ed Richardson and asked him to rehire associate athletic director Stacy Danley and assistant athletic director Eugene Harris, even if they had to be placed in positions outside the athletic department. Both were fired earlier this month as part of a department restructuring; a white assistant athletic director also was fired. Richardson sent the caucus a letter outlining efforts by university officials to address the issue of diversity on campus, but he did not commit to rehiring Danley and Harris.

Tennessee’s McFadgon Expected to Miss Today’s Game: Tennessee senior guard Scooter McFadgon is not expected to play today against Arkansas. The senior has a bruised right kneecap. McFadgon, the Vols’ scoring leader at 14.1 points per game, has missed the last two games. He’s struggled through one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. Since scoring 23 points in the win at Florida Jan. 19, McFadgon is just 24-of-80 from the field (30 percent) in his last seven games. McFadgon suffered the injury, which was first described as a thigh bruise, in the 84-73 loss to Florida on Feb. 12

Team Chemistry

Fun Teams Win

by Michael Ermitage

The date was Feb. 16, 2005, and the undefeated Illinois Fighting Illini were playing at Penn State. It was a packed house, as usual, to see the #1 team in the country play. And while Penn State was 20-point underdogs, there is always a palpable feeling in the room that maybe tonight is the night Illinois is a bit off. Maybe tonight is the night they lose. Until… CLANK! CLANKCLANKCLANK!! The Illini were heaving half court shots during pre-game preparations. First Dee Brown; then James Augustine. Like kids at recess, they heaved one shot after another. They were laughing with smiles as wide as the Mississippi. And you just knew… Illinois 83, Penn State 63.

There are some that say winning breeds chemistry but I’m not so sure about that. It seems there aren’t a lot of analysts out there that take time out to talk about the makeup of a team. This Illini group is as easy-going as a hippie on vacation. It was that way before all the wins started to pile up in Champaign like Christmas presents.

I look around sports these days and I see easy-going, fun-loving teams on top. The Boston Red Sox define easy-going. The New England Patriots are confident cool. And the Detroit Pistons hide a big Ben Wallace smile underneath all that grit.

Perhaps there is more to this ‘chemistry’ thing than most of us thought. Maybe there is something more to sports than speed and agility, than strength and intelligence. I have to look at my own teams and I see a correlation. The 2004 Chicago Cubs had more cancer than the Mayo Clinic; it showed on the field. The 2003-2004 Chicago Bulls were shackled with disgruntled mopes like Jalen Rose and Eddie Robinson before they trimmed the duo and added fresh-as-orchard-apples Chris Duhon, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. The Bulls will be in the playoffs this year.

And when I look back in history, I see a tattooed Dennis Rodman as comic relief/media distraction for the championship Bulls. I see Jim McMahon. I see Kirby Puckett. I see Michael Irvin. I see Al McGuire. I see Jim Valvano.

I think people, and men for sure, like to live life in measurable quantities. We want to know how much something costs. We want to know how long it’s going to take. We want to measure our athletes in 40 times and squat totals. We value them by points per game and touchdowns scored. But I think there is more to sports than that. I think we all do; we just forget to talk about it because ‘chemistry’ doesn’t have a column in the scoreboard section of the newspaper, and because sabermetricians and RPI analysts and BCS statisticians have boiled sports down to a calculable entity.

Go ahead and tell Dee Brown his team isn’t tops in the RPI; I’d like to see the reaction. You’d probably get the same reaction if you told Boston College’s Jared Dudley the Eagles aren’t tops in the polls. In five weeks from now, the entire college basketball world will turn its collective head to St. Louis and the Final Four. It’s good to know that the teams having the most fun will be there.

MAAC Notebook

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Notebook

by Matthew Moll

MAAC seeding fight

The conference tournament looms and the MAAC has its own share of drama the final week of the regular season before the MAAC tournament enters stage right. Two teams will tangle for the top seed and the middle conference contenders will cavort for tournament candidacy.

What will happen on selection Sunday will surprise no one. MAAC teams squandered too many non-conference opportunities and play each other too evenly to get more than one team into the field of 65. As for the NIT; Niagara has the only legitimate shot and only if they lose in the final game of the MAAC tourney.

The MAAC is a single bid conference which means the hottest team or the team that has the most favorable seeding will dance. Fairfield currently is not in position to have either after dropping five of their last seven and could fall to the ill-fated four seed.

Niagara has a one game lead after Rider broke the tie by falling to last place Siena. Rider has to win out, which includes a win over the fort holding Eagles. Marist, formerly known as the first place team and formerly known as the MAAC surprise, is in danger of the four-five seed. Then again this year in the MAAC no one is safe and no one team is particularly dominant. Which means a one-seed could be all but meaningless.

Mr. MAAC POY

This race is over. Juan Mendez is the Man of the MAAC. His team is in first. He leads the MAAC in rebounding, is second in scoring, and is third in blocks and first in Canada’s hearts.

Mendez is a double-double machine. It does not stop there for him either. He’s an accurate shooter (48 percent), he plays hard (over 30 minutes per contest), and simply he is just dominant. My regrets to all others that will apply, but there is only Juan.

Shaq of the MAAC

Deng Gai continues to pile on the blocks while his team is piling on the losses. Gai turned back 11 shots last week en route to passing Louisiana State’s best basketball player since Pistol Pete, Shaquille O’Neal’s for 14th on the all-time list. Shaq’s 412 was bested by Gai ending the week with 419 so far in his career.

This season the Stag’s paint controller is averaging 5.7 blocks per game.

Hoopville Rookie of the Week

C.J. Anderson, G/F, Manhattan, Fr. – 23.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.5 spg. while his Jaspers went 2-1 this past week.

Hoopville Player of the Week

Juan Mendez, F, Niagara, Sr. – 27.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 3.5 bpg to lead the first place Purple Eagles.

Niagara Purple Eagles (17-8 overall, 12-4)

Everyone still looking up: Niagara was good enough against their lone MAAC opponent while falling to a non-conference opponent to fill out the week.

The MAAC’s-Team-To-Beat gave the sold out Gallagher Center extra action for the price of regular admission in an overtime tilt with conference foe Canisius. The Eagles led by seven with less than two minutes in regulation, but Canisius managed to pull close and hit a desperation three with 1.8 seconds remaining to force further play. In the overtime session the league leaders proved proficient free throw shooters; making the line the difference in the game. Alvin Cruz hit four consecutive from the stripe to give the game its 113-101 score. Mr. Double-double Mendez went for his 16th double-double of the season pouring in 39 points and snagging 13 boards. Two other seniors, Cruz and David Brooks, on their Senior Night dropped 20.

Bracket Buster brought Brooks 27, but the Eagles could not hold off the Akron Zips as they fell 74-68. Niagara last led with 6:12 remaining, but could not take control of the game at any point during the 40 minutes. Mendez was held to 16 points 10 of which came from the free throw line, while Cruz added 13 points and four assists.

Hubie Brown would be proud: St. Peter’s then Rider then its March.

Rider Broncos (15-10, 11-5)

The three that cleared the gym: Rider started last week with a 74-66 road win over Fairfield. Jerry Johnson led the Broncos with 23 points including a three with 13:00 remaining that was immediately followed by a fire alarm. Despite the 20 minute evacuation the Broncos remained warm ripping a 24-5 run. Freshman Jason Thompson scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards for his fifth double-double of the season.

Don Harnum and company traveled to Albany to end the week and suffered their fifth MAAC loss of the season to the less-than-sanctified Saints of Siena 78-69. Rider was beating themselves and were just plain getting beat shooting a meager 35 percent from the field and their rebounding proved deficient as they were out boarded by the Saints.

Two big ones: Marist then Niagara.

Fairfield Stags (12-12, 9-6)

Futility in Fairfield: Last seven games have equaled five losses including a current three game losing streak. The Stag’s recorded their first loss of the week falling 74-66 to Rider on their home court. Fairfield saw their first half lead evaporate after an unplanned intermission by way of a fire alarm which stalled the game and the Stag’s offensive productivity. Terrance Todd and DeWitt Maxwell each scored 18 points in the loss. Deng Gai swatted six shots to put him 14th on the all-time Division I list.

Cal-State Northridge defeated the Stags 68-65 to end their non-conference schedule for the season and extend Fairfield’s losing streak to three. The Stags could not find a rhythm on either side of the ball as they shot only 36 percent for the game and allowed five from Northridge to score double figures. Deng Gai continued his block fest for the season rejecting five shots.

Need to make a run: St. Peter’s and Iona this week.

St. Peter’s Peacocks (13-11, 8-7)

Making presence known: When the week ended the Peacocks were in the midst of a four game winning streak and are making a run at the third seed in the conference. Both wins last week required come from behind efforts and a lot of Keydren Clark.

The Peacocks were down by as many as 16 against Siena before Clark and Co., made a late game push. St. Peter’s rallied to pull within one with less than five remaining, but were unable to take control of the game until the 2:27 mark. It was then that Clark hit a three to put the Peacocks up by six, the Peacocks would not trail the rest of the game. Clark led the way with 26 points and seven assists.

Iona was the second team last week that could not hold a lead over St. Peter’s in the closing minutes of the second half. A 14-0 run over the last 4:30 propelled the Peacocks to an 81-76 win over the Gaels. Clark finished with 20 points, eight assists, and six steals. Ron Yates and Terrance Watkins added 23 and 19 respectively.

Continuing to gain respect: Fairfield and Niagara and Manhattan to end the regular season.

Manhattan Jaspers (13-12, 8-8)

Even in the MAAC and positioned to run: The Jaspers 2-1 week began with a trouncing of MAAC rival Marist. The Jaspers used a 24-0 run in the first half to blow the game open 40-16. The Jaspers continued to pour on the points recording 63.3 percent from the field on the way to an 86-54 win. Peter Mulligan led the way with 19.

The Jaspers rattled off their third straight win defeating Loyola 77-61 at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan broke away from the Greyhounds in the first half compliments of a 17-4 run. Freshman CJ Anderson impervious performance was highlighted by a game high points.

George Mason ended the Jasper’s run with a 78-66 defeat of the Jaspers. Mulligan and Anderson each had 25 in the loss.

Still the champs until someone beats them: Canisius and St. Peter’s

Marist Red Foxes (11-14, 8-8)

Surprise no more: The Red Foxes finished last week 1-1 extending their losing streak to six then ending it with a W over the last place Saints. The seventh consecutive loss was an 86-54 denunciation of the Foxes. Marist’s shot was off hitting on only a third of their attempts from the field while their opponents nearly doubled that percentage. Jared Jordan led the way for the Foxes with 15 points.

Coach Matt Brady was able to beat his alma mater and his team ended their losing streak with a 61-55 win over the Saints. Will McClurkin scored 21 points to lead his team.

Will they contend: Iona, Rider, Canisius.

Iona Gaels (11-14, 7-8)

What is a Gael: In the only game the Gaels had last week they allowed St. Peter’s to erase their lead and score the last 14 points of the contest. The 81-76 loss was dwarfed by the injury to Ricky Soliver who was taken away on a stretcher after injuring his back. The Gael nation continues to hold their collective breath as the MRI should be reported soon. Steve Burtt led the Gaels with 26 before fouling out.

A Scottish Highlander: Marist, Fairfield, Siena.

Canisius Golden Griffins (9-16, 7-9)

Losing streak snapped: The Golden Griffins began the week with two losses to extend their losing streak to three, but ended it with a win to stop the bleeding. The first loss of the week was a 81-74 overtime loss to Rider. The Griffs were in control with 3:40 to play in OT, but the Broncos responded with an 8-4 run to decide the game. Dewitt Doss led the way with 22 points.

Niagara’s 113-101 overtime win over Canisius tied a school record for the Griffs for overtime games in a season. Niagara’s 40-47 free throws including 9-10 from the line in overtime decided the contest. Kevin Downey and Doss each scored 30 in the loss.

Only four turnovers aided the suddenly efficient offense of the Griffs defeat Loyola 92-83 on Senior Night. Jon Popofski scored 23 points to lead the Griffs. Darnell Wilson contributed a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Bling those Griffins: Marist and Manhattan

Loyola Greyhounds (6-19, 5-11)

A winning streak snapped: It could not last forever, and it didn’t. Loyola’s winning streak ended at three. The team that they started their streak against this time would end it. Manhattan forced 24 Greyhound turnovers in the 77-61 win over Loyola. Josko Alujevic scored 12 to lead the ‘Hounds.

Loyola started a new kid of streak losing their second straight falling to Canisius 92-83. Charlie Bell led his team with 17.

Two left: Siena and Fairfield.

Siena Saints (5-22, 3-13)

Stopped then stunned: The Saints’ had their losing streak extended by Marist in a 61-55 loss. The loss extended their losing streak to five and gave them the program its highest loss total for a season with 22. Freshman Jack McClinton led the way with 16.

McClinton scored a career high 30 to help the Saints upset Rider on Senior Night 78-69. Siena shot a season best 51 percent from the floor and forced Rider’s leading scorer Jerry Johnson in to taking 26 shots. Johnson ended the game with 21 points.

End of a bad run: Loyola and Iona.

Patriot Notebook

Patriot League Notebook

by Steve Sheridan

Where has the season gone? Just seven short weeks ago, the Patriot League season was just beginning and every team had their eyes on the Patriot League title. But after Wednesday’s games, there remains only one day of regular season play before the Patriot League Tournament begins on March 4. Next week, I’ll take a look back (somewhat reluctantly) at my preseason predictions; this week, I’ll recap the week that saw some tournament positions become finalized, while others just became even messier.

Crusaders Clinch League Title

After a year of mediocrity, the Holy Cross Crusaders are back atop the Patriot League. With one game remaining in the regular season, Holy Cross clinched the top seed with wins over Colgate on Saturday and second-place Bucknell on Wednesday. The win against the Bison avenged the team’s only loss of the Patriot League season up to this point, a drubbing at the hands of the Bison in the two teams’ league opener. Winners of 13 consecutive games, the team looks as strong as ever, as the team prepares for the Patriot League Championships. And with the new tournament set-up this season, the road to the NCAA Tournament surely looks to go through Worcester.

Bucknell Locks Up Second Seed

The Bison, despite losing to Holy Cross on Wednesday evening, locked up the second seed and the home court advantage through the semifinals that goes with it with a win over Army and a Lehigh loss to Navy. The Bison, who headed into the 2004-2005 schedule as the preseason favorite to win the league title, will have to settle for second place instead. As mentioned, the team will still host the first two rounds of its pod of the tournament bracket.

Three-Way For Third

With one game to go in the season, there are three teams – Lehigh, American and Colgate – sporting identical 7-6 league records. This, folks, may cause a problem. Assuming that all three teams win on Saturday (which, granted, is a very large assumption on my part), then the tiebreaker would go all the way down the list to highest RPI according to the latest edition of the Collegiate Basketball News. At last check, American had the best RPI (154), followed by Colgate (227) and Lehigh (238). However, Colgate does play – by far – the strongest of the three teams on Saturday, Bucknell. If all three teams win on Saturday, there will surely be some number-crunching going on in all three locker rooms.

Players of the Week

Andre Ingram and Jason Thomas, American
On Saturday against Lafayette, Ingram scorched the Leopards for 37 points on 14-of-23 shooting. On Wednesday, it was Thomas’ turn, as the senior guard scored a career-high 27 points in a big win over Lehigh. The two American guards are the sole reasons why American is currently in a third-place tie with Lehigh and Colgate.

Rookie of the Week

Corey Johnson, Navy
The Anderson, Ind., native averaged nine points, three rebounds and 2.5 steals in two big Midshipmen wins over Lehigh and Lafayette.

Team Recaps

Holy Cross Crusaders (12-1 PL, 21-5 overall)

Yawn. Another Patriot League title for the Crusaders. There’s not much else left to say, other than “Congratulations on a well-deserved title.”

In a tough match-up on Saturday against Colgate, two unheralded seniors played vital roles in yet another Crusader victory. Greg Kinsey scored a season-high 14 points, while John Hurley made his mark on the defensive end, grabbing seven rebounds and swatting away four Raider shots in the team’s 59-46 win. The Crusaders won despite the team’s second-poorest shooting night of the season (only 32 percent from the floor), thanks in large part to the team’s defense: Holy Cross held Colgate to under 30 percent shooting, the second-lowest percentage for a Crusader opponent this season (but then again, does Army really count?). What does matter, however, was the impressive offensive performance of Kinsey and the understated defensive effort put forth by Hurley.

The title was officially clinched on Wednesday in front of a hometown Hart Center crowd. The winning streak was also extended to 13 games in the team’s 69-54 win over Bucknell. The Bison kept it close for most of the game, but a decisive 12-2 run late in the second half gave the Crusaders the cushion they needed. Hamilton led the team with 16 points, as five Crusaders notched double figures in scoring – Kinsey, Hurley, Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas were the others. In an odd twist, the Crusaders, who came into the game with the lowest free throw shooting percentage in the league (64 percent), converted 20-of-22 attempts from the charity stripe against the Bison.

With the two victories, the Crusaders came relax on Saturday as the team honors its five seniors on Senior Day against Army. The team, of course, will want to keep its winning streak alive headed into the league tournament, and so I expect them to play well against the Black Knights – then again, the Crusaders may win without their starters, anyways.

Bucknell Bison (9-4 PL, 18-9 overall)

With one win and a Lehigh loss, the Bison secured the second position headed into the postseason tournament.

On Tuesday, Bucknell played a rare late-season non-league game against Villanova… and probably wished that it hadn’t. The Bison felt the Wildcat barrage early and could never recover, losing by a score of 89-51. Chris McNaughton tried to carry the team in the first half, scoring 14 of his team’s 28 points, but the Bison were no match for the Big East squad. Looking for some of the magic that knocked off Pittsburgh earlier in the season, Bucknell instead found Wildcat shots raining down on them throughout, with the final 38-point deficit being the game-high for the home Villanova squad.

Returning to some much easier competition, the Bison secured no worse than second place in the league on Saturday by defeating Army, 69-55. The team won despite having two starters – McNaughton and Abe Badmus – play very limited minutes due to illness. Charles Lee (team-high 22 points) and Kevin Bettencourt (14 points) led the way in the duo’s absence, while the team relied on some terrible Army shooting in the opening half and a big second-half run to defeat the Black Knights. With the win, Bucknell assured itself of hosting one of the two pods of the Patriot League Tournament – and ensured that it would avoid Holy Cross until the league title game, if it got to that point.

Against the Crusaders, the Bison were plagued by poor shooting for most of the contest. The team shot just 37 percent from the field for the game, but still would not go away until very late in the contest. In a game that wasn’t very important to the Bison (assuming Holy Cross will beat Army on Saturday, that is), John Griffin led Bucknell with 15 points. Lee, who showed that he was over his illness, and Bettencourt each tallied 11 points on the evening for Bucknell, which could not manage a season sweep of Holy Cross (then again, join the club).

With not much to play for except pride, the Bison will welcome Colgate to Sojka Pavilion for Senior Day on Saturday, as the team honors its sole senior, forward Chris Niesz. That’s a scary thought – the entire team will be back again next season. But that is a topic for the end-of-the-season recap.

American Eagles (7-6 PL, 13-12 overall)

Left for dead last week, American rebounded with a huge win over Lehigh on Wednesday night to propel itself into a three-way tie for third place.

The struggles continued for American on Saturday, as the team forced overtime but eventually fell to Lafayette, 93-89. Andre Ingram scored a game-high 37 points for the visiting Eagles on 14-of-23 shooting, while Jason Thomas added 18 on 8-of-19 shooting, but the rest of the team was unable to make any meaningful contributions down the stretch – save for a key bucket by Linas Lekavicius with two seconds left that sent the game into overtime. As usual, the team used mainly a seven-man rotation against the Leopards and, as a team that has shown signs of wearing down as of late, an overtime game – especially a loss – was not what Jeff Jones and his crew needed.

But a game with the importance of American-Lehigh seemed to provide all the energy the Eagles needed on Wednesday, as the team took home a 65-61 win. Much like Ingram did against Lafayette, Thomas carried the heavy load for American against the Mountain Hawks, scoring a career-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. In the last two games, Ingram and Thomas have proven themselves to clearly be the only two reliable scoring options for the Eagles, which may be a hindrance come tournament time as defenses clamp down on the two high-flyers. But on this night, it was Thomas – along with the team’s 50 percent three-point shooting – that helped American shooting down the Hawks in the battle of the birds.

Suddenly re-energized, American will entertain Navy on Saturday in a must-win game for the Eagles. A win would secure the Eagles no lower than fourth place, and likely would keep them in the third position, depending on RPI changes. The team also would like to win on Senior Day for Thomas and the team’s four other seniors.

Colgate Raiders (7-6 PL, 12-14 overall)

The Raiders split their two games over the last five days, falling short against Holy Cross but overcoming the Black Knights in West Point for a big league victory.

The Raiders had their chances on Saturday but couldn’t knock off Holy Cross at Cotterell Court. The Crusaders jumped out to an early lead thanks to very sloppy Colgate play, as the Raiders missed easy lay-ups, threw away passes and looked very out of sync. The missed lay-ups led to a dismal 28 percent shooting afternoon – including only five field goals in the second half – which would have made the game a blowout, expect for the fact that Holy Cross kept Colgate in the game for most of the contest. When the HC began to play well down the stretch, however, Colgate was finally put down. Andrew Zidar scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in his final home game for the Raiders.

Colgate improved its record in its last five games to 4-1 with a 66-59 win over Army on Wednesday evening. The visitors came out strong in the first half, shooting 54 percent and entering the break with an 11-point edge. From there, the team held on to win thanks to four Raiders in double figures, led by Alvin Reed with 15 points. With the win and the season-sweep of Army, the Raiders stayed equal in all the tie-breakers with Lehigh and American, headed into the regular season finale on Saturday.

Of the three third-place teams, the Raiders have by far the toughest test on Saturday against second-place Bucknell. Colgate lost to the Bison by only two points at Cotterell Court in mid-January, but now the Raiders must venture onto the road – a place unkind to Colgate this season – and snatch away a victory. A loss, meanwhile, would likely drop the team down to fifth place in the standings.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (7-6 PL, 13-13 overall)

With a chance to clinch the third position in the Patriot League, the Mountain Hawks stumbled twice. Thanks to the two losses, the team is tied up in a three-team race for third place and suddenly needs a win and some help to finish in the top three.

Lehigh suffered a very disappointing 76-75 loss to Navy on Saturday afternoon, making its hold on the third position much more tenuous headed into its final two games. The Mountain Hawks were plagued by poor shooting in the first half (29 percent), and the struggles continued for most of the second stanza. But despite being down by 10 points with 2:45 left, the team came back and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but Nick Monserez missed a game-winning three pointer and the Hawks fell. A win would have kept the team in contention for second place in the league, but instead the team crept in the other direction with two games to play.

Going head up against the Eagles, four Mountain Hawks scored in double figures but it was not enough to take a victory from the visiting Eagles. Jose Olivero led the way with 19 points, but senior Monserez may have frozen up on Senior Night, shooting 0-for-6 from the field for zero points. As with the game against Navy, Lehigh fell behind and then attempted to come back, but once again the team was unable to make the complete comeback. Fellow senior Earl Nurse scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in his final game in front of the Stabler Arena faithful.

With a win a necessity for the Mountain Hawks, the team travels to Easton on Saturday for its annual rivalry game with Lafayette. The Hawks will also need an American loss to take the third seed, so winning against their archrival still might not be enough to salvage a terrible end to the season for Billy Taylor and crew.

Navy Midshipmen (5-8 PL, 9-17 overall)

The Middies are suddenly on a little bit of a hot streak, winning two games over Lehigh and Lafayette to secure themselves the sixth slot in the upcoming league tournament.

Five Middies in double figures helped the team along in its Saturday afternoon upset over Lehigh. Navy had superior shooting numbers and lead for most of the game, but the team nearly gave the game away down the stretch by missing its free throws. Corey Johnson, who had a solid game with 10 points, missed two free throws with 14 seconds left that gave Lehigh the chance to win the game, but a Nick Monserez miss bailed out the Middies at Stabler Arena. Matt Fannin led the team with 16 points, while Greg Sprink also had a solid game with seven points and 13 rebounds.

To say Navy rebounded well on Wednesday would be an understatement. The Middies tied school and Patriot League records for rebounds in a game with 71 in the team’s 76-57 win over Lafayette. The one negative for the game for Navy was the fact that the 71 rebounds were needed because the team launched up 84 shots in 40 minutes, and making only 28 of them. Despite that fact, Navy dominated most areas of the game and must be feeling good headed into the final weekend of the regular season. In his final home game, Taj Mathews scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Middies to a well-deserved victory.

With its sixth spot all locked up, Navy will look to play spoiler on Saturday when it travels to Washington, D.C., to take on American in the regular season finale.

Lafayette Leopards (4-9 PL, 8-18 overall)

Despite a spirited victory over American on Saturday, with a loss to Navy, the Leopards settled into the seventh slot for the upcoming league tournament, meaning the team will be traveling to Bucknell for its first round matchup.

Jamaal Hilliard and Marcus Harley both reached career highs in points on Saturday afternoon as the Leopards held off American in overtime, 93-89. Hilliard scored 23 points – including 11-of-11 shooting from the free throw line – and Harley added 22 of his own, leading five Leopards in double figures. Hilliard, who entered the game in the top 10 in the nation in free throw shooting, will certainly see that number rise after a stellar performance, which included two big free throws near the end of regulation and two more at the end of overtime to ice the game. The five Leopards in double figures also matched a season-high.

With a chance to take over the sixth position, the Leopards came out shooting well in the first half but collapsed offensively in the final 20 minutes, hitting only six field goals in that span – compared to 16 for Navy. Bilal Abdullah led the team in scoring for the first time in a long time with 14 points, but the team was so thoroughly dominated on the glass that it had absolutely no chance to win this game. The effort was disappointing, since the team had the chance to avoid Bucknell in the first round of the tournament, and now the team has to figure out whether a complete Lafayette team will ever show up to a game.

The team will certainly get up for its season-ending game against archrival Lehigh, during which the team will honor senior co-captains Jamie Hughes and Sean Knitter. With nothing to play for but pride, expect a solid showing for the Leopards on Saturday as they tune up for tourney time.

Army Black Knights (1-12 PL, 3-22 overall)

Finally, some good news for Army: the regular season is just about over. With two more losses, the team’s losing streak increased to seven in a row and 15 of its last 16, as the team continues to hope for some sort of miracle that would give the Knights a win.

The Black Knights continued their run at futility on Saturday, falling to Lafayette by 14 points. As usual, Matt Bell led the way for the Knights, scoring a game-high 23 points, but the big surprise was that Army out-rebounded only its second league opponent this season. The team was led by seven caroms for Erik Engstrom, who came into the game with all of seven rebounds in 11 games. Of course, the team didn’t actually win the game, but then again, this team needs some reason (however small) to celebrate.

Against the Raiders, Army received support from Bell, Jarell Brown and Cory Sinning – and nobody else. The trio scored all but 12 of the team’s 59 points in the loss to Colgate, as the team simply could not overcome a very slow start; Army fell behind early and couldn’t fully recover, never taking a lead in the contest. The team kept fighting in the second half, dwindling the lead down to three with 17 seconds left, but solid Raider free-throw shooting sealed the win. Ray Fredrick was the lone senior for Army, but did not see action in the team’s final home game of the season.

As has been known for a long, long time, Army will be the lowest seed in the league tournament. But before traveling to Holy Cross for the tournament, the team must go to Worcester for the regular season finale on Saturday in what promises to be a preview of coming attractions.

Holy Cross Wins

Champions Again

by Phil Kasiecki

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross has done it again.

Holy Cross wrapped up the Patriot League regular season championship on Wednesday night with a 69-54 win over visiting Bucknell. The win is their 13th straight, with the last team to beat them being, ironically enough, Bucknell. It was also Bucknell who eliminated the Crusaders from last year’s Patriot League Tournament. As if that’s not enough, the two appear on a collision course for another meeting at the Hart Center, as they will each host part of the league tournament’s quarterfinals and semifinals next weekend. But that’s not the only irony of all of this that head coach Ralph Willard noticed.

“One of the ironic things is that we were 20-22 from the free throw line tonight,” Willard reflected. “After all of the things last year, it just shows you how hard these guys have worked, and they’re playing with a great deal of confidence.”

Confidence is certainly one thing they have clearly been playing with throughout the 13-game win streak, the longest of Willard’s tenure. In many games, they have shot the ball well, and they have even put on a clinic on the offensive end a couple of times. Through the offensive prowess that they have shown this season – they are second in the league in field goal percentage, turn the ball over less than any other team and are the only league team with more assists than turnovers – this team is still a defensive team first, as Willard has said several times. The Crusaders lead the Patriot League in scoring and field goal percentage defense as well as steals, and only Navy forces more turnovers.

The Crusaders have proven that they can win away from home, which is one more reason to think they can pull off an upset in the NCAA Tournament. They have 11 wins on the road, plus a win last month over Iona at the DCU Center across town from campus. During the current winning streak, six of the games have been on the road, including four straight at the end of January and the start of February. That period may have defined this team’s success as much as any part of the season.

“Those four road games in a row at the end of January really said something about our guys,” Willard said. “We had Nate Lufkin hurt, we had Greg Kinsey hurt, and still found ways to win – which was amazing and just shows the faith these guys have in one another.”

Indeed, the Crusaders didn’t miss a beat when any player was limited by or went out with an injury. Besides seniors Lufkin and Kinsey, sophomore point guard Torey Thomas separated his shoulder in January. He missed just one game over the next month, but was limited in most of them, and the only true point guard on the bench was freshman Pat Doherty. All Doherty did was calmly start eight games in a row and nine of ten, post a nearly 2:1 assist/turnover ratio, and the team just kept winning. Now that Thomas is back and running the show again, Willard has two very capable floor leaders at his disposal. He knew it would pay dividends down the road, and the Crusaders are already seeing that.

The veterans on the Crusaders, much like the newcomers who saw that the program was accustomed to winning under Willard, took last season’s struggles hard. It was a tough season for everyone as they lost a number of close games, finishing with a 13-15 mark and being eliminated in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. The feeling from that, along with being picked fourth in the preseason by the league coaches, just fueled the Crusaders along with the natural desire to win.

“Last year left a real bad taste in my mouth,” said junior guard Kevin Hamilton, a strong candidate for the league’s Player of the Year award. “I really wanted to get to this point again, I’m happy that we’re here and I’m proud of everybody.”

Winning begets winning to some degree, and Willard is certainly building the program in that vein from the looks of things. This year’s team includes several veterans who were part of the winning two and three years ago, and not just players: new assistant coach Mark Jerz was part of the 2002-03 team that set a school record with 26 wins. Senior forward John Hurley noted that he took a lot from the players who were upperclassmen when he first came to the program.

“Those guys would come in every single day, a little older like I am now, they’d be banged up, but it didn’t matter – they’d come in every day and work as hard as they could,” he reflected. “That kind of trickled down to the younger guys, so now I try to come in and work hard every day and have that trickle-down effect working with our young guys now.”

If the way Hurley plays is any indication, chances are he is having that effect. One of just three Massachusetts natives on the team, he doesn’t put up big numbers regularly, but he is usually a factor in the game. He shows great basketball acumen, takes a pounding inside but keeps playing effectively, and is one of those players who isn’t a star but is a player you can’t win games without. One thing he understands is the importance of chemistry, and he doesn’t have to look far from home for good examples of it.

“Team chemistry is real underrated,” Hurley said. “I’m a Boston guy, so I look at the Red Sox and the Patriots, their team chemistry is just so great. We don’t model our team after that, but we try to have a great team chemistry on and off the court.”

That chemistry is apparent from talking to Willard and his staff, which features three new assistants, as well as some of the players. The players all speak very highly of one another and root each other on. When Doherty was starting at the point and leading the team to more wins, his biggest cheerleader was injured starter Torey Thomas. Willard has noted on several occasions the camaraderie that exists among his players.

The defense, the chemistry, and the camaraderie have all added up to the third Patriot League regular season championship in Willard’s tenure. The veterans have the feeling of winning again, and the underclassmen now have that feeling as one more motivator in the times to come.

NCAA Crystal Ball

NCAA Tournament Crystal Ball

by Michael Protos

The field of 65 is becoming a little clearer as February winds down and March Madness approaches. But the seeding of these teams is extraordinarily fluid.

The top teams are beating each other up right now. Boston College rejoins the No. 1 seeds despite a loss at Villanova this past week. That’s because the other candidates – Kansas, Oklahoma State and Kentucky – also lost, but they lost to teams less formidable than Villanova. Arizona and Louisville are strong No. 2 seeds, but they haven’t made a good enough case to slide into a top spot. That could change before the season concludes, however.

Meanwhile, West Virginia and LSU are becoming hot commodities. The Mountaineers are an especially interesting case as they become the eighth Big East team in the tournament. Thanks to Wichita State’s recent struggles, West Virginia rejoins the field as the Mountaineers finish strong.

As the teams jockey for positioning, predicting the results is also increasingly difficult. Here are a couple of hints for those playing along at home. First, in the past five NCAA Tournaments, there have been an average of six to seven upsets in both the first and second rounds. Second, as the tournament progresses, the best teams usually win. There’s only been one upset in the championship game in the past five years – No. 3 Syracuse taking down No. 2 Kansas.

So enjoy and, as always, feel free to e-mail me your comments and complaints.

No. 1 Seeds:
Illinois
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Boston College

No. 2 Seeds:
Louisville
Oklahoma State
Michigan State
Arizona

Squeaking By
Georgia Tech
UTEP
St. Mary’s
Miami, FL

Just Missing
Wichita State
Texas A&M
Memphis
Iowa State

Shooting Stars
Teams that rose at least two seeds
Villanova
LSU
Nevada
West Virginia

Fading Fast
Teams that fell at least two seeds
Kansas
Syracuse
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
UTEP
Wichita State

First Round Upsets
No. 10 New Mexico vs. No. 7 Southern Illinois
No. 9 Maryland vs. No. 8 UCLA
No. 10 Stanford vs. No. 7 Cincinnati
No. 9 Nevada vs. No. 8 Mississippi State
No. 12 Davidson vs. No. 5 Villanova
No. 9 DePaul vs. No. 8 Texas

The Brackets

Chicago Region:

First and second rounds in Indianapolis
No. 1 Illinois vs. winner of the play-in game between Fairleigh Dickinson (NEC) and Alabama A&M (SWAC)
No. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 George Washington

First and second rounds in Nashville
No. 5 Syracuse vs. No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Horizon)
No. 4 Charlotte vs. No. 13 Miami, FL

First and second rounds in Oklahoma City
No. 6 Pacific (Big West) vs. No. 11 West Virginia
No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt)

First and second rounds in Oklahoma City
No. 7 Southern Illinois (MVC) vs. No. 10 New Mexico (WAC)
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Southeast Louisiana (Southland)

Albuquerque Region:

First and second rounds in Cleveland
No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 16 Portland State (Big Sky)
No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 9 Maryland

First and second rounds in Tucson
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 St. Mary’s
No. 4 Utah vs. No. 13 St. Joseph’s (Atlantic 10)

First and second rounds in Worcester, Mass.
No. 6 Florida vs. No. 11 UTEP
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania (Ivy)

First and second rounds in Nashville
No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Georgetown
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Gardner Webb (Atlantic Sun)

Austin Region:

First and second rounds in Charlotte
No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech (OVC)
No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Nevada

First and second rounds in Boise
No. 5 Connecticut vs. No. 12 Miami, Ohio (MAC)
No. 4 Gonzaga (WCC) vs. No. 13 Old Dominion (CAA)

First and second rounds in Indianapolis
No. 6 Pittsburgh vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Winthrop (Big South)

First and second rounds in Tucson
No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 10 Stanford
No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 15 Missouri-Kansas City (Mid-Continent)

Syracuse Region:

First and second rounds in Charlotte
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Coppin State (MEAC)
No. 8 Texas vs. No. 9 DePaul

First and second rounds in Worcester, Mass.
No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 12 Davidson (Southern)
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Vermont (America East)

First and second rounds in Boise
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt
No. 3 Washington vs. No. 14 Holy Cross (Patriot)

First and second rounds in Cleveland
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Marquette
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Niagara (MAAC)

Sweet 16

Chicago
No. 1 Illinois vs. No. 4 Charlotte
No. 3 Kansas vs. No. 10 New Mexico

Albuquerque
No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Utah
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 7 Texas Tech

Austin
No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 5 Connecticut
No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh

Syracuse
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Alabama
No. 3 Washington vs. No. 7 Notre Dame

Elite Eight

Chicago: No. 1 Illinois vs. No. 3 Kansas
Albuquerque: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 4 Utah
Austin: No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Connecticut
Syracuse: No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Washington

Final Four

No. 1 Illinois vs. No. 2 Duke
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Oklahoma State

Championship

No. 1 Illinois beats No. 1 North Carolina

Big East Notebook

Big East Conference Notebook

by Jesse Ullmann

Gomes, Boone Mid-season Wooden Award Selections

Ryan Gomes has made the cut. Gomes, a 6-foot-8 senior forward from Providence was selected to the 2004-05 Mid-Season Wooden Award and All-American list. Gomes was a candidate for the preseason Wooden Award and was named preseason Big East Player of the Year by the coaches and the media. Gomes currently leads the Big East in scoring at 21.6 points per game and ranks No. 9 nationally. Joining him on the Wooden list is UConn sophomore Josh Boone. Boone, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Maryland, is fifth in the country in blocked shots (3.2), 15th in the country in field goal percentage (.615), and heads a frontcourt that has been in the top 10 in the country in field goal percentage defense over the last two seasons.

Celebrating its 29th year, the Wooden Award is bestowed upon the nation’s most outstanding player. Those who have received the award include Michael Jordan (’84), Larry Bird (’79) and last year’s winner, St. Joseph’s point guard Jameer Nelson, who beat out UConn’s Emeka Okafor.

On March 29th, the top 10 players selected to the Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced.

Player of the Week

Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut Huskies
UConn’s Charlie Villanueva scored 22, 21 and 25 in wins at Providence, at Rutgers and home versus Notre Dame respectively. The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward blocked four shots and scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor against the Irish. Inconsistency had plagued Villanueva, a Brooklyn native, for a large portion of the season until recently. He ranks second (over 10 games played) on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rebounds per game) and field goal percentage (.509).

Rookie of the Week

Rudy Gay, Connecticut Huskies
UConn swept the Big East weekly awards with Rudy Gay’s stellar performance in a 94-89, double-overtime victory at Providence. The Maryland product scored 15 points in 37 minutes, nailing 3-of-4 from three-point range, and added four rebounds and four assists. The 6-foot-9 freshman, who heavily considered jumping straight to the NBA instead of UConn, has been a factor in the Huskies’ successes this season. Since he was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the season and with Rashad Anderson out due to an infection, Gay is UConn’s third leading scorer at 11.0 ppg, has blocked 44 shots, is averaging 6 rpg and shoots better than 48 percent from outside.

1. Boston College Eagles (11-1 Big East, 22-1 overall)

Next Up: Wednesday at Villanova at 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

If BC defeats Villanova tonight they will virtually lock up the top seed in the Big East Tournament. No one could have predicted the kind of run that the Eagles are making, but with Craig Smith, Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall, No.3 BC will be hard to stop. Hosting Syracuse for a Saturday evening contest, BC, in perhaps its most convincing win of the season, dropped the Orange 65-60. Smith and Nate Doornekamp pushed around Hakim Warrick and never allowed him to get into rhythm. Senior guard Jermaine Watson was one of three Eagles to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points. BC turned a positive into a negative midway through the second half. With 13:37 left and a questionable foul called against BC, starting guard Louis Hinnant, already with four fouls, was called for a technical, his fifth and final out. With nearly 14 minutes left in the game, it seemed inevitable Syracuse would make a run. But backup guard Steve Hailey replaced Hinnant quite nicely and although the Orange would threaten in the waning minutes, BC maintained composure.

2. Connecticut Huskies (10-3, 18-6)

Next Up: Saturday at Pittsburgh at 3:45 p.m. (CBS)

With three very important games left on the schedule, UConn finds itself trailing BC by one and a half games and is just a game ahead of No. 3 Syracuse. The team’s leading scorer, Rashad Anderson, is still out but is expected to return to practice shortly. Marcus Williams continues to pass with incredible efficiency and has developed into a threat on offense. He nearly put up a triple-double against Notre Dame on Monday scoring 17 points, dishing out 12 assists and grabbing nine rebounds. Sophomore Charlie Villanueva is coming around after three consecutive 20-point performances, and Denham Brown, recently inserted into the starting lineup and forced to take on a larger role with Anderson’s absence, is averaging 16 ppg in the last five games.

3. Syracuse Orange (9-4, 22-5)

Next Up: Wednesday vs. St. John’s at 7 p.m., Saturday vs. Providence at noon (ESPN2)

After a 7-0 start in conference play, things have taken a turn for the worse for the Orange. Syracuse, following a 65-60 loss at BC, has lost four of six and has fallen from No. 6 to No. 9 last week to No. 15 this week in the national polls. On Saturday, Syracuse looked like it might be able to escape with a win at Boston College. Lou McCroskey’s three-pointer with 1:07 left to play pulled the Orange to within three at 58-55. But Gerry McNamara shot two air balls and BC hit its free throws. Hakim Warrick saw a new game plan from the opposition to start the game: it was called “beat him up.” Warrick was thrown all over the place and was immediately made uncomfortable, taking him out of his usual elements. The Orange may have two wins coming with St. John’s and Providence on tap but they finish up with what could be a very big post-season implication game, at Storrs.

4. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-4, 18-5)

Next Up: Wednesday vs. West Virginia at 7 p.m., Saturday vs. Connecticut at 3:45 p.m. (CBS)

Pittsburgh is in a tough spot right now as the current No. 4 team in the Big East. If the Panthers finished the season No. 4, yes they would still receive a bye, but they would have to play in the afternoon quarterfinal game against the No. 5 seed, the game most conceivable for a team at the top to get upset. Georgetown is currently No. 5, but with the Hoyas’ tough remaining schedule, Villanova is very likely to replace them, which would be an incredibly tough first-round matchup for Pittsburgh. The Panthers have critical games remaining at BC and Notre Dame plus a tough home contest versus UConn where the Huskies will look for revenge following an embarrassing defeat on ESPN’s College Game Day debut.

5. Georgetown Hoyas (8-5, 16-8)

Next Up: Sunday vs. Villanova at noon

Just as the Big East prepared itself for the possibility of sending seven teams to the big dance, Georgetown probably just eliminated any possibility of an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Hoyas suffered a crucial 76-67 loss to St. John’s on Sunday and unless they can pull of an upset in the Big East Tournament in the early rounds, the surprisingly successful rookie season for John Thompson III will end. No worry though, because these Georgetown Hoyas proved critics wrong by staying away from last place in the conference regular season and Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert will eventually get to dance in March.

6. Villanova Wildcats (7-5, 17-6)

Next Up: Wednesday vs. BC at 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

Again, Villanova, on paper, is top 4 in the Big East. The well-balanced arsenal fully came to fruition on Sunday hosting in-state rival Pittsburgh. The Wildcats led the entire way and never let up beating Pitt 80-72. The teams leading scorer Allan Ray finished with 23 points, 21 coming after intermission. Curtis Sumpter finished with 18 points and is now averaging 18 points after three straight wins. Randy Foye added 15 points while the speedy point guard Mike Nardi finished with 13 points connecting on 3-of-5 from three-point range.

7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-6, 16-7)

Next Up: Sunday vs. UCLA at 2pm (CBS)

So just go ahead and blame it on Digger Phelps. During the season last year while Dennis Latimore sat out after transferring from Arizona, Phelps kept harping on how the 6-foot-8 forward is going to be the best player in the Big East come next year. Well, next year has arrived and all of the expectations that resonated in South Bend from Phelps’ prediction have grown quiet. Latimore played just five minutes and scored five points on Saturday as Notre Dame escaped with a 62-61 victory at Providence. With Latimore as well as Torin Francis struggling on offense, the hot outside shooting for the Irish continued. It was Chris Quinn’s 17 points leading the way. Rick Cornett had his best outing of the season with 14 points to go along with 14 rebounds.

“I know we can see (Providence) again,” said head coach Mike Brey hinting at a possible rematch in the Big East tourney. Brey added that this win had more value adding, “a winning away record puts us as an NCAA (tournament) team.”

Only 24 hours after the win over Providence, the Irish traveled to the Hartford Civic Center. Following an 88-74 loss, UConn coach Calhoun noted that it would not have mattered who he played that night because the Huskies were just firing on all cylinders. Colin Falls led four players in double figures scoring 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from downtown.

8. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-7, 16-8)

Next Up: Wednesday at Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Rutgers at 2 p.m.

West Virginia hosted Seton Hall on Sunday, and Ty Sally was the difference. The 6-foot-7 senior forward scored a game-high 25 points, and the Mountaineers finished with a season-high 96 points in a 96-86 victory over the Pirates. D’ or Fischer played just 14 minutes and is seeing his role with the team diminish. Mike Gansey shot 7-of-13 from the outside and finished with 19 points while guard Joe Herber added 10 points to go along with eight assists.

9. Seton Hall Pirates (3-9, 11-12)

Next Up: Wednesday vs. Providence at 7 p.m. (ESPN2), Saturday at BC at noon

The Pirates are getting restless after losing five of six. Six-foot-seven junior J.R. Morris was suspended for last Thursday’s game against Villanova to focus on academics and his status from now on will be a game-by-game decision. While Morris is third on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg), Kelly Whitney, the team’s leading scorer (12.5 ppg), was benched for the St. John’s game because of a late arrival to practice. Seton Hall was clearly affected by the leftover residue from the outside distractions last week as the Pirates fell at home versus Villanova by 66-52 and at West Virginia by 96-86. A downright sloppy performance by SHU against Villanova resulted in 16 first-half turnovers.

10. Saint John’s Red Storm (3-10, 9-14)

Next Up: Wednesday at Syracuse at 7 p.m., Saturday vs. Duke at 1 p.m. (ABC)

Perhaps St. John’s is trying to prove something to us all. Perhaps coach Norm Roberts feels that maybe his players still do have something to prove after all is said and done. The Red Storm, with a self-inflicted post-season ban and no chance of playing in the NCAA tournament, is winning. Six players scored in double figures Sunday as the Red Storm beat a rejuvenated Georgetown by 76-67. Senior forward Phil Missere put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Dexter Gray, now averaging 6.7 ppg and 5.0 rpg, added 12 points. There were no expectations placed on St. John’s this year and Daryll Hill, the Big East’s second leading scorer (20.0 ppg), is just enjoying the season. But Hill and his teammates will face J.J. Redick, Daniel Ewing and Duke on Saturday preceded by Gerry McNamara and his Syracuse Orange on Wednesday night. The Duke game, which will take place at Madison Square Garden and will be televised by ABC, is now approaching and has been an annoying blip on the radar screen all season.

11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-11, 8-15)

Next Up: Wednesday vs. Arkansas-Monticello at 7:30 p.m.

So what happens if Rutgers loses to the Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello on Wednesday night? The Boll Weevils fell out of the Div. II top 25 last week after a crushing 52-50 loss to Central Arkansas. National Player of the Year candidate Billy McDaniel is leading the way averaging 16.3 ppg and 8.9 rpg.

A Rutgers loss to the Boll Weevils is not likely but it would cap a disappointing season for the Scarlet Knights. Coach Gary Waters and his crew lost 85-63 to Connecticut on Monday. At one point, the Huskies led 37-13. Since Ricky Shields’ falling-out two weeks ago with the university chancellor, he has been taken out of the starting lineup.

12. Providence Friars (1-11, 11-15)

Next Up: Wednesday at Seton Hall at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday at Syracuse at noon (ESPN2)

The Friars had crawled all the way back into the game. Notre Dame, after opening up a 14-point lead, turned the ball over underneath the Friars basket with 4 seconds left. PC would have a chance to win with an inbounds pass. The play drawn up was designed for Ryan Gomes, who backed his way into the paint for a turnaround jump shot that just barely grazed the rim. The loss was the first in three games for Providence and three games remain including UCLA and Pittsburgh. Providence falls to 1-6 at home in conference play.

Perhaps the most telling comments from any player on any team after any game this season came from DeSean White following Saturday’s one-point loss.

“My job is to set screens, bring energy for the team,” said the 6-foot-7 freshman in a somber tone slouched over in his foldaway chair. “But it’s very frustrating. Us young guys don’t really know how to win. Or what it’s like to win.” At least Providence is competing in the losses. The Friars have now lost 10 games by nine points or less.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Friday, February 25th

Arizona Escapes Wazzou with a Victory:
Arizona narrowly escaped the embarrassment of being swept by Washington State with a narrow 57-56 overtime victory in Pullman Thursday night. Ivan Radenovic hit two free throws with nine seconds remaining to provide the winning margin. Radenovic also rebounded Derrick Low’s three-point attempt that rimmed out to secure the victory. Arizona’s seventh straight win was also it’s 19th straight at Washington State. The Cougars ended a 38-game losing streak to Arizona in January. Channing Frye paced the Wildcats with 26 points and seven rebounds. Thomas Kelati led the Cougars with 16. The win was Lute Olson’s 304th Pac-10 victory, tying him for first all time with John Wooden.

Huskies Keep Pace with Arizona, Set Up Saturday Showdown:
Washington escaped a valiant effort from Arizona State and captured an important 90-82 victory over the Sun Devils in Seattle Thursday night. UW led throughout the second half but wasn’t able to put ASU away until less than a minute remained. Washington was able to nearly match Ike Diogu’s 31 points and 15 rebounds with a 29-point effort from Tre Simmons. Simmons connected on 6-of-7 three-point shots. Nate Robinson had 21 for the Huskies. Kevin Kruger supported Diogu’s 29 for the Devils by finishing with 17, including hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Diogu scored most of his points at the line, draining 17-of-18. Washington’s victory sets up a showdown for first place in the Pac-10 Saturday. An Arizona victory would give the Wildcats the conference title, while a UW win would place the Huskies a half game behind Arizona for first in the conference.

Michigan State Ends Dubious Streaks:
Michigan State ended a pair of losing streaks with a 77-64 victory over Wisconsin Thursday night. The Spartans had lost 12 straight to ranked opponents and six in a row to the Badgers. Alan Anderson finished with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the floor and 7-of-7 from the foul line. Michigan State has won 10 of 11 since losing to Wisconsin in January and has won its last nine games by double digits. Alando Tucker led Wisconsin with 18 points.

Gonzaga Clinches WCC Regular Season Title:
Adam Morrison had 22 points and Ronny Turiaf had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Gonzaga won its ninth in a row 84-68 at Portland to clinch its ninth West Coast Conference title in the last 12 years.  The Zags raced to a 38-25 halftime lead and were never really threatened in the second half. David Cooper led Portland with 20 points. Cooper played the entire game with a dislocated right shoulder.  Next up for Gonzaga is a non-conference game with Northern Colorado and then the WCC tournament. The bulldogs will have a first-round bye. The tournament starts March 4 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Cincinnati Defeats Marquette Without Diener:
Playing in its first game without star point guard Travis Diener, Marquette struggled from the field and lost at Cincinnati 80-68. Diener broke his hand in practice Tuesday and is lost for the remainder of the year. Steve Novak led the Golden Eagles with 25 points, including 7-of-12 from three-point range. Dameon Mason took Diener’s spot in the starting lineup and finished with 17 points. Cincinnati was able to use its strength inside to control the game from the outset. The Bearcats raced to a 39-21 halftime lead and cruised home in the second half. Eric Hicks had 17 points and nine rebounds and Jason Maxiell finished with 14 and 10.

Dockery Sidelined with MCL Tear:
Duke point guard Sean Dockery will be sidelined indefinitely with an MCL tear. The junior from Chicago has started 19 of Duke’s 24 games and was averaging 6.5 points per game and was second with 42 steals and third with 56 assists. Dockery suffered the injury in the Blue Devils’ 60-56 victory at Georgia Tech Wednesday.

Valley City State’s Klabo Charged with Assault:
Valley City State’s Matt Klabo is going to be charged with assault for throwing an elbow against South Dakota School of the Mines Korey Kirschenmann. Pennington County, S.D., attorney Glenn Brenner decided to charge Klabo after viewing a tape of Tech’s 83-65 victory. Brenner said this is the first time he will file charges as a result of an athletic contest. Kirschenmann fell to the floor after receiving the elbow and suffered a gash above his eye and a concussion. Klabo received a flagrant foul and was ejected.

Kansas Seniors Impose Gag Order Until After OK St. Game:
Kansas’ first three-game losing streak in 11 years has led KU’s seniors to declare the Jayhawk players off limits to the media until after the team’s game against Oklahoma State Saturday. The Jayhawks losing streak has occurred after winning its first 10 Big XII games this season. KU coach Bill Self said the players concluded that they wanted to concentrate on the game that could decide the Big XII Championship. After losing to Nebraska on Tuesday, the Cowboys are tied with Kansas atop the conference standings.

Connecticut Governor Wants Closer Scrutiny of Nike Deals:
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked the state’s Ethics Commission and the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees to determine if laws prohibiting state employees from using public office for private gain should be clarified. Rell specifically was interested in the endorsement deals received by UConn Basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma. Rell’s spokesman, Dennis Schain, said the governor wasn’t criticizing the Nike deals but that the commission should take a closer look at how ethics rules are applied. In the past, the ethics commission has permitted the contracts between Nike and the two high profile Basketball coaches at UConn.

Utah’s Markson Out Definitely With Sprained Knee:
Utah junior forward Bryant Markson is out for at least Saturday’s game with BYU after spraining his right knee in Monday’s loss against New Mexico. The 6-6 Markson has helped the Utes to a 23-4 record by averaging 10.3 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 34.6 percent from three-point range and 55 percent from the field. The injury occurred after Markson collided with the Lobos’ Mark Walters. Markson left the game with 12:14 left and did not return. Richard Chaney or Jonas Langvad is likely to replace Markson in the starting lineup.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Thursday, February 24thd

Illinois Embarrasses Wildcats: Illinois closed in on an undefeated regular season with a resounding 84-48 stomping of in-state rival Northwestern. The Wildcats haven’t been a legitimate threat to upset the Illini in years, so the rivalry is based solely on proximity. But the Illini did not take Northwestern lightly and attacked from start to finish. Junior guard Dee Brown led the way with 20 points, including 6-of-9 three pointers. The Illini hit 14 three pointers in the game. Only two Wildcats reached double figures, led by junior guard Mohamed Hachad off the bench. The Illini only need to beat Purdue and Ohio State to complete an undefeated regular season.

Villanova Finishes This One Off: After blowing a six-point lead in the final two minutes at Boston College, Villanova was in no mood to allow another potential upset slip through its grasp. The Wildcats took care of business last night by hitting 36-of-41 free throws, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the team’s scoring in a 76-70 win. Villanova’s free throws helped the Wildcats overcome the Eagles’ stifling zone defense, which held the Wildcats to only one field goal in about 13 minutes in the second half. Despite the poor shooting and absence of junior guard Mike Nardi, who sat out with an injury, the Wildcats won behind 23 points from junior guard Randy Foye and 20 points from junior forward Curtis Sumpter. Junior forward Craig Smith led the Eagles with 18 points in the loss.

More Wildcat Results: Continuing with game recaps that include ferocious felines, Kentucky beat Auburn 81-73, despite failing to put away the Tigers for much of the second half. Junior swingman Kelenna Azubuike had a monster game with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Auburn hit 12 three pointers to hang around whenever Kentucky appeared ready to stretch the lead to an insurmountable margin. Freshman guard Toney Douglas led the Tigers with 21 points, including five three pointers.

Bad Timing: Longwood entered Winston-Salem, N.C., without much hope of beating Wake Forest. Beating an angry Demon Deacon was even less likely. Wake Forest played the Lancers in the team’s first game since a tough loss at Duke. The Demon Deacons responded with an 88-47 win. No one for Wake Forest played more than 24 minutes. Senior guard Taron Downey led the team with 13 points, and sophomore guard Michael Jefferson led all scores for Longwood with 14 points. He was the only Lancer to reach double figures as Wake held the Lancers to less than 28 percent from the field.

Yellow Jackets Dropping Games Like Flies: Georgia Tech is quickly playing its way out of an NCAA Tournament bid, and a loss at home to Duke did not help change the negative momentum. Blue Devil junior guard J.J. Redick led all scores with 21 points, helping Duke overcome an ugly 34 percent shooting night from the field. Junior guard Jarrett Jack led Georgia Tech with 20 points, but only one other Yellow Jacket reached double figures. The Yellow Jackets are now a full game behind Virginia Tech and a half game behind Miami and Maryland in the ACC standings, placing them in seventh.

Even When the Orange Wins, They Lose: Led by a career-high 35 points from senior forward Hakim Warrick, Syracuse ended a recent slump with a strong 83-69 win against St. John’s. But junior guard Gerry McNamara left the game in the second half with a turned ankle, which team doctors will evaluate today to determine if there’s serious damage. Syracuse can ill afford a long-term injury to the Orange’s best sharpshooter. This team is not going anywhere in the post-season without him. St. John’s was led by sophomore guard Daryll Hill, who also had a career high with 33 points.

Also in the Big East: West Virginia moved closer to an NCAA Tournament bid by slipping past Pittsburgh 70-66. Junior center Kevin Pittsnogle killed the Panthers by hitting four three pointers and scoring 20 points in the second half. His range is impressive for a 6-11 center. West Virginia rallied from a 14-point deficit to sweep the season series against Pittsburgh and move to .500 in Big East play, which may be enough to convince the selection committee that the Mountaineers deserve an invitation to the Dance.

Rolling Niners: Charlotte beat Memphis 80-77 to remain at the top of the Conference USA standings with Louisville. The 49ers got 24 points from senior forward Eddie Badsden and 20 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Curtis Withers. Charlotte stopped Memphis’ recent hot play, despite 29 points from freshman guard Darrius Washington Jr. Junior forward Rodney Carney added 22 points for Memphis, but no other Tiger reached double figures. The 49ers slipped by partially because they refused to make mistakes, committing only six turnovers in the game.

Bubble Trouble: As teams like LSU and West Virginia surge toward the finish, other squads need to follow suit or take a seat on the couch to watch the NCAA Tournament. Alabama-Birmingham remained in the hunt with a 64-62 win at St. Louis, Minnesota beat Iowa 65-57 in what may be a bubble elimination game, and Florida beat Vanderbilt to send the Commodores to 16-11 and big trouble. A couple of conference leaders damaged their chances of receiving an at-large bid if they fail to win their conference tournaments. Miami, Ohio, lost in overtime at Akron, and Xavier swept George Washington by almost 20 points.

Chaney Suspends Himself: Temple coach John Chaney used a preemptive strike to chastise himself for his decisions during Tuesday’s game against St. Joseph’s. Chaney suspended himself for one game, and he will not be on the sidelines when the Owls host Massachusetts Saturday. Chaney said before the St. Joe’s game that he thought the Hawks got away with illegal screens. When no fouls were called during the game on what Chaney believed were illegal screens, Chaney sent in Nehemiah Ingram with the intent to deliver some hard fouls. In the process, Ingram hit St. Joe’s players John Bryant and Dwayne Jones and nearly got in a fight with Pat Carroll. Bryant was injured on the floor for several minutes. Chaney apologized to Atlantic 10 officials and St. Joe’s players, coaches and fans. He has not been suspended in more than 10 years, when he threatened to kill then-Massachusetts coach John Calipari.

Leading Pirate Sits: Seton Hall coach Louis Orr suspended the Pirates’ leading scorer and rebounder, Kelly Whitney, for a violation of team rules. Orr did not offer a timeline for the suspension or details for its cause. Whitney averages 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for Seton Hall, which is out of the discussion for a conference title and needs a run in the Big East tournament to earn a post-season bid.

Diener Done at Marquette: Marquette senior point guard Travis Diener broke two bones in his hand at practice Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the Golden Eagles’ season as he recovers from surgery. Without Diener, the Golden Eagles’ chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid take a serious hit. The injury also prevents Diener from accomplishing some notable achievements, including Conference USA assist leader and Marquette leading scorer. But Diener will still likely play in the NBA because he is one of the nation’s best point guards, averaging 19.7 points and seven assists per game.

Big South Notebook

Big South Conference Notebook

by Jeremy Dunlap

Regular Season Champs

With one week remaining in the regular season, Winthrop clinched its fourth regular season Big South title of the last seven years with a pair of victories this past week. The regular season championship gives the Eagles the top seed in the Big South Tournament, which starts on March 1, and also allows them to play all of their tournament games at home in the Winthrop Coliseum.

Winthrop increased its current winning streak to a school-record thirteen games and now holds a conference mark of 13-1 to go along with an impressive 22-5 overall record. Though an at-large NCAA tournament berth remains next-to-impossible, an appearance in the NIT would be likely if the Eagles were to stumble in the conference tournament due to Winthrop’s record and RPI ranking, which currently hovers around 80th in the nation.

VMI is Done

On the other end of the spectrum, VMI will not participate in the conference tournament as they cannot finish out of last place this season. The Keydets currently stand at 2-12 in the league and are three games behind eighth-place Radford with only two games remaining in the regular season.

The rest of the league is still battling for tournament seeding in this upcoming final week. Liberty has virtually clinched the second seed, but they can make it official with a win over third-place UNC Asheville this Thursday. Radford has struggled in past couple of weeks and will have to finish strong to avoid the eighth seed and a first round match-up at Winthrop. The rest of the league is in a tight battle for the third-through-seventh spots as only two games separate the five teams in the middle of the league.

Player of the Week

A badly injured ankle could not prevent Liberty sophomore guard David Dees from earning Hoopville’s Big South Player of the Week honors this week. Dees sprained his left ankle near the end of Liberty’s week-opening win against Coastal Carolina. He sat out the Flames’ next game, but returned to the lineup against Radford to close out the week. In the two games he played, he averaged 24.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Team Reports

Winthrop Eagles (22-5, 13-1) Last Week: 2-0

Junior forward James Shuler had the best week of his career and helped lead Winthrop to their two wins last week. Shuler scored a team-high 18 points to go along with 5 rebounds as the Eagles opened the week with a 65-55 victory at Radford. However, he was even better as he notched a career-high 25 points in a 74-66 Homecoming victory over High Point over the weekend.

Winthrop closes out its regular season on the road this week, traveling to VMI on February 23 and ending the week at Charleston Southern on February 26. With the regular season already clinched, do not be surprised if the starters get a little more bench-time this week, but do not expect the Eagles to take either of these two games lightly.

Liberty Flames (12-14, 10-5) Last Week: 2-1

The Liberty Flames withstood Dees’s injury and put themselves in excellent position for the second seed in the conference tournament with another solid week. The Flames opened the week with a tight 72-68 home win over Coastal Carolina. With Dees out of the lineup in their next game at VMI, Liberty slipped a bit and fell to the Keydets, 73-67. However, Dees returned and the Flames overcame a sluggish start in their final regular season home game to beat Radford, 70-62.

Dees led the team in scoring in their two wins with 26 points against Coastal and 23 points in the win over Radford. In the loss to VMI, senior guard Brian Woodson scored 26 points to lead the team. Sophomore guard Larry Blair had a typically strong week as well, scoring 18 points against both VMI and Radford.

The Flames will take the court only one more time in the regular season, as travel to UNC Asheville on February 24. A win for Liberty would clinch the second seed in the tournament, though a loss likely will not drop them to third unless several things happen near the bottom of the standings to cause the Flames to lose a tiebreaker with the Bulldogs.

UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (11-14, 8-6) Last Week: 2-0

After starting their conference season with an 0-3 record, UNC-Asheville has become one of the hottest teams in the league, winning eight of their last eleven games, including three in a row. This past week, the Bulldogs won both of their contests. They played a pair of home games, beating Birmingham-Southern, 68-59, and defeating Coastal Carolina, 83-71.

In the victory over Birmingham-Southern, junior guard Omar Collington was the star for the Bulldogs, leading the team with 17 points. Junior forward Chad Mohn stepped up in the win over Coastal, nearly getting a double-double with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Senior forward Bryan McCullough also played well against the Chanticleers, scoring 17 points and grabbing 5 boards.

Asheville looks to be in great position for a top-four finish and at least one home tournament game. They will finish their regular season with a home game against Liberty on February 24, then a road contest at Radford two days later.

High Point Panthers (12-15, 7-7) Last Week: 1-1

The swagger of the Panthers looked to be returning as they pounced on Charleston Southern at home to start the week, beating the Bucs 74-56, however, they again found the road a difficult place to play to finish the week. High Point followed up their win against CSU with a trip to Rock Hill and left with a 74-66 loss to Winthrop. The game against the Eagles saw the return of senior forward Danny Gathings, who missed the four previous games due to a suspension stemming from a technical foul two weeks ago. Gathings played 17 minutes in the contest and scored seven points.

High Point used a balanced attack in their win over Charleston Southern, with freshman forward AZ Reid leading the Panthers with 14 points. Senior center Jerry Echenique and sophomore guard Landon Quick both scored 10 points in the contest. In the loss to Winthrop, junior guard Titus Byrd was the go-to guy, scoring 17 points.

The Panthers get to face the bottom two teams in the standings this week as they look to finish in the top four of the conference and earn at least one home game in the tournament. They will host Radford on February 23 before traveling to VMI to close out their regular season on February 26.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers (10-14, 6-7) Last Week: 1-1

There was very little drama this past week for Charleston Southern, as both of the games they were involved in ended in blowouts. For the Bucs, the results were mixed as they were on the wrong end of a 74-56 score at High Point, but beat cross-town rival Citadel, 65-46, before a rowdy home crowd in a non-conference match-up.

The only bright spot for CSU in their loss to High Point was the performance of junior guard Terrell Brown. Brown used his sharp outside shooting to the lead the Bucs with 17 points in the loss. Junior guard Thomas Harrison was the hero in the win over the Citadel, scoring 17 points. Senior center Nathan Ball made his presence known with 14 points and a couple of early blocked shots, and sophomore guard Donnell Covington added to cause an 11 point, 7 rebound effort.

The Buccaneers find themselves with a busy final week, though they do not have to go too far away over the course of the week. CSU will open at in-state rival Coastal Carolina on February 21 before ending the regular season with a pair of home games. Birmingham-Southern will be the first team to visit the BucDome on February 24, then Winthrop will arrive on February 26 to end the regular season.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-17, 6-8) Last Week: 0-2

The road continues to give Coastal plenty of problems, as they lost both of their games this week to move their current losing streak to three games and their overall road record to 2-13 for the season. The Chanticleers opened the week at Liberty and gave the Flames a battle throughout, but fell 72-68. A regionally televised match-up at UNC Asheville proved to be worse, as the Chants could not stop the Bulldogs in the second half and fell 83-71.

Freshman guard Jack Leasure continues to put up big numbers for Coastal, as he scored 16 points against Liberty and notched 22 points against UNCA. Junior guard Pele Paelay also played well, getting to double-figures in both games this week with 11 points at Liberty and 15 points at Asheville.

The Chants will be at home to finish the regular season this week. First they will host Charleston Southern on February 21, and then they will entertain Birmingham-Southern on February 26.

Birmingham-Southern Panthers (14-12, 6-8) Last Week: 2-1

The week did not start too well for Birmingham-Southern, as they fell on the road to UNC Asheville, 68-59, however, the Panthers did manage to win a pair of games to close out the week. First, BSC hosted Texas-Pan American in a non-conference battle, and came away victorious, 78-69. The Panthers then showcased their defense in a 60-48 comeback win over VMI to finish the week.

Senior guard Jakob Sigurdarson was the Panthers’ leading scorer in two of their games, scoring 15 points against UNCA and 17 points against VMI. Sophomore guard Bucky McMillan led the way for BSC with 19 points in the victory over Texas-Pan American. The biggest offensive surprise came from senior center Augustinas Vitas, who scored in double-figures in all three games of the week, a rare feat for a player who usually does not play many minutes and is relied on mainly for rebounding.

With a modest two-game winning streak in their pocket, the Panthers will travel to the coast of South Carolina to finish the regular season. On February 24, BSC will play at Charleston Southern, and then they will battle Coastal Carolina at Kimbel Arena on February 26. The Panthers are preparing for their first-ever appearance in the Big South Tournament and their first ever opportunity to advance to the Big Dance.

Radford Highlanders (10-15, 5-9) Last Week: 0-3

The short-handed Radford team is really feeling the sting from the recent suspensions that have left the team with only 10 players on the roster. This past week, the Highlanders were unable to find the win column in any of their three games. They started the week at home, but fell to both VMI (67-54) and Winthrop (65-55). The Highlanders then hit the road and gave Liberty a tough game, leading most of the way, but they were unable to stop the Flames in the second half and fell 70-62.

Senior guard Olumuyiwa Popoola reached double-figures in all three Radford games this past week, and also reached the 1000-point plateau for his career with his 13 points against Liberty. Senior forward Brandon Jeffers led the Highlanders with 15 points against VMI while Popoola’s 14 points were the team’s high against Winthrop. In the loss to Liberty, junior guard Andre Bynum was the team’s leading scorer with 14 points.

The Highlanders face a pair of stiff challenges in order to snap their current skid. They will hit the road to start the week and battle High Point at the Millis Center on February 23. Then Radford will return home to face one of the hottest teams in the league, UNC Asheville, on February 26.

VMI Keydets (8-17, 2-12) Last Week: 2-1

As mentioned near the top of this Notebook, VMI clinched last place this week, but they did not go out without a fight. After opening the season with eleven consecutive conference losses, the Keydets managed to beat Radford on the road, 67-54, and then beat Liberty at home, 73-67, before falling 60-48 at Birmingham-Southern.

Freshman forward Reggie Williams did his part to help VMI this week, leading the team in scoring in all three games with 25 points against Radford, 13 points against Liberty, and 12 points against Birmingham-Southern. Williams shared team-high honors against BSC as sophomore guard Matt Coward also scored 12 points.

Though they are only playing for pride, VMI will look to give the home crowd something to cheer about as they host a pair of games to end the season. Winthrop will be their first visitor on February 23 while High Point will come to town on February 26.

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook

by Neal Heston

Tourney Watch

• Southern Illinois: NCAA Tourney – SIU just knows how to win the big games. Winning at Illinois State is tough, and the Salukis made it look simple.
• Wichita State: NCAA Tourney – Two tough losses have the Shockers slipping, but they haven’t fallen far enough. Each additional loss will be magnified even more now, though. Remember last season?
• Northern Iowa: NIT Bound – Two wins at Wichita State and Southern Illinois during the next week would really give a boost to the Panthers’ resume.
• Creighton: NIT Bound – The Bluejays could be the surprise team at the MVC Tournament this March.
• SMS: NIT Bound – An upset at the hands of Indiana State hopefully won’t hurt the Bears’ morale, especially with games against Wichita State and Illinois State coming up.
• Illinois State: NIT Bound – Three consecutive losses have the Redbirds in a hole, but those losses haven’t been by much (two losses by an average of four points this week).

Here he goes again

SMS’ Blake Ahearn hit all seven of his free throws on Tuesday to lift his streak to 53 consecutive free throws made. That is the third largest total in MVC history. Ahearn set the record last season with 60 consecutive successes from the charity stripe. He hasn’t missed an attempt since Dec. 19, 2004.

MVC Game of the Week

Wednesday, Feb. 23: Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.
The Salukis, 13-0 at home this season, will look to avenge a 67-61 loss to the Panthers three weeks earlier. UNI has the opportunity to spoil SIU’s run at a fourth consecutive conference crown. A loss by Southern Illinois could leave the Salukis and Wichita State deadlocked at first place with the two meeting Saturday, Feb. 26. The key for UNI will be freshman Eric Coleman, who managed just one point in the first meeting (9.5 points below his season average). If he’s not in sync, it could be a long night for the Panthers.

Other games to keep an eye on: Wednesday, Feb. 23: SMS at Wichita St., 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26: Wichita St. at Southern Illinois, 1 p.m.; Illinois St. at SMS, 7:05 p.m.

Hoopville MVC Player of the Week: Nate Funk, Creighton

Funk takes the honor for the second consecutive week after averaging 27.5 points in two games. The junior scored a career-high 35 points at Wichita State and hit eight combined 3-pointers.

Hoopville Newcomer of the Week: Lawrence Wright, Bradley

The junior transfer stepped up this week and hit a career-high 26 points in an upset over Wichita State. He followed that with an 18-point performance against Evansville on Wednesday.

Touring the Valley

Southern Illinois Salukis (21-6, 12-3)

Last week: defeated Creighton 71-67, defeated Illinois St. 66-59
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 at Kent St., 5 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 vs. Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Wichita St., 1 p.m.

One tough week down, another gut wrenching four games to go. As the Salukis attempt to capture title No. 4 in a row, Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Indiana State will try to take a bite out of them. UNI defeated SIU on Feb. 5 in Cedar Falls, Wichita State will definitely look forward to avenging the two-point loss from last month, and Indiana State has defeated some very good teams in Terre Haute, including Wichita State and fourth-place Illinois State.

Jamaal Tatum and Darren Brooks led SIU in victories last week, as they averaged 16.5 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. Everyone else will need to step up another notch with games against the No. 2 and 3 teams in the MVC. If the Salukis aren’t careful, that possible conference title could vanish before their eyes.

Wichita State Shockers (18-5, 11-4)

Last week: lost to Bradley 74-68, lost to Creighton 82-68
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 at Miami (Ohio), 11 a.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 vs. SMS, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 at Southern Illinois, 1 p.m.

It was a “shock and awe – ful” week for Wichita State, as one of the bottom teams in the conference upset the Shockers, and Creighton pushed WSU around in its own house four days later. Free throws were the Shockers’ worst enemy against the Bluejays. Creighton attempted 11 more shots from the charity stripe and missed just five of them (22 for 27). On the other side, Wichita State converted 10 of 16 free throws.

Paul Miller and Jamar Howard were the only players to reach double figures in both contests. P.J. Couisnard came off the bench for 11 points against Creighton on Wednesday.

Now after rolling through the schedule, Wichita State must be careful and definitely not look past Miami and SMS. Doing so could result in another late-season collapse and possibly force the Shockers to make a conference tournament run to get consideration for an NCAA at-large bid.

Northern Iowa Panthers (18-8, 9-6)

Last week: defeated Illinois St. 65-64, defeated Drake 61-60
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. Western Michigan, 3:05 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Bradley, 1:05 p.m.

Check those pace makers. Had two plays gone the other way, the Panthers would be in sixth place right now instead of two games out of second. Ben Jacobson took UNI on his back toward the end of both contests. He bounced a 3-pointer off the board to help propel the Panthers past Illinois State, and he nailed a near-impossible shot from the right side for two very important points against Drake Wednesday.

Grant Stout also enjoyed strong contests, averaging 10 points, 8.5 rebounds and four blocks. His UNI single season block record stood at 61 heading into the game against Western Michigan.

Keeping sole possession of third place this week will most likely mean handing Southern Illinois its first home loss of the season. If the Panthers can somehow achieve that, they’ll seek vengeance against Bradley when it visits on Feb. 26.

Illinois State Redbirds (16-9, 8-7)

Last week: lost to Northern Iowa 65-64, lost to Southern Illinois 66-59
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 at Wisconsin-Green Bay, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Bradley, 7:35 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 at SMS, 7:05 p.m.

There’s good news and bad news for the Redbirds. The bad news: Illinois State has dropped three games in a row while falling into a three-way tie for fourth in the conference. The good news: None of those losses were by a great amount, with the largest defeat at the hands of Wichita State (76-62, and even that score is a little misleading).

Even after converting 18 more free throws than UNI, ILS couldn’t get over the hump and take advantage of a poor free-throw percentage from the Panthers. Trey Guidry and Lorenzo Gordon combined for 38 points.

Stopping the losing streak won’t be simple. Not only are the Redbirds on the road, but those games are at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bradley and Southwest Missouri State – arguably the toughest schedule of any MVC team this week.

Creighton Bluejays (16-10, 8-7)

Last week: lost to Southern Illinois 71-67, defeated Wichita St. 82-68
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. Chattanooga, 1:05 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 22 vs. Evansville, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Indiana St., 1:05 p.m.

This team is playing the best basketball out of all the MVC. After nearly stealing a win at Southern Illinois, the Bluejays dominated Wichita State on its home court. Nate Funk took control, averaging 27.5 points in two games (which included a career-high 35 at Wichita State). In addition to that, Funk is getting all the support he needs from Tyler McKinney and Johnny Mathies.

Although no game in this conference is a “gimme,” the Bluejays should go undefeated this week heading into the season finale at Illinois State on Feb. 28.

Southwest Missouri State Bears (14-9, 8-7)

Last week: defeated Drake 85-78, lost to Indiana St. 74-72 (OT)
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. Oral Roberts, 7:05 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Wichita St., 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Illinois St., 7:05 p.m.

SMS’ seven-game winning streak fell in Terre Haute – a place where several top teams in the conference have struggled. The Bears almost pulled it off after forcing overtime, but there just wasn’t enough left. Thanks to a victory over Drake last Saturday, SMS is still in the race to possibly clinch the third seed for the conference tournament. Some help will be needed though.

Blake Ahearn gave as good of an effort off the bench as was possible. He tallied 21 points against Drake and added another 23 against Indiana State. He also increased his consecutive free throw streak to 53 – the third-longest streak in MVC history.

Bradley Braves (12-11, 5-10)

Last week: defeated Wichita St. 74-68, lost to Evansville 76-66
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 at Western Kentucky, 4:05 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 23 vs. Illinois St., 7:35 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 at Northern Iowa, 1:05 p.m.

Just when you think the Braves are finished, they knock down the first place team. Lawrence Wright, Marcellus Sommerville and Jeremy Crouch were huge contributors to that win. Wright, a junior transfer, tallied a career-high 26 points. Sommerville and Crouch added 19 and 13 points, respectively.

Foul trouble got Bradley in trouble during the loss to Evansville. The Braves fouled 12 more times than the Purple Aces, allowing UE to shoot 21 additional free throws. That was too much to overcome. Wright gave another very strong effort, though, scoring 18 and grabbing six rebounds.

Evansville Purple Aces (11-12, 5-10)

Last week: lost to Indiana St. 81-67, defeated Bradley 76-66
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. Loyola-Chicago, 7:05 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Creighton, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 at Drake, 4:05 p.m.

Evansville got out of its slump this week but could be in another one by next Saturday. Games at Creighton and Drake will do that to a team. Every player seems to be coming back to life, though. Matt Webster and Bradley Strickland scored in double figures against Indiana State last Saturday. Against Bradley, it was three different players who stepped up. Kyle Anslinger, Lucious Wagner and Andre Burton gave 18-, 17- and 15-point efforts, respectively.

After beginning the MVC season at 4-4, though, the Aces could be looking at the 10th seed in the conference tournament after this week’s slate is played.

Indiana State Sycamores (10-16, 5-10)

Last week: defeated Evansville 81-67, defeated SMS 74-72 (OT)
This week: Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Drake, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 at Creighton, 1:05 p.m.

For the first time since early December, the Sycamores strung consecutive victories together after a hot night from the field against Evansville and a stunner against SMS.

Indiana State shot 52 percent from the field against Evansville – 63 percent in the second half. In addition, they outrebounded the Aces, 36-25 and sunk 20 more free throws. David Moss had a notable night, scoring 24 points – including 12 of 14 from the charity stripe. The hot shooting continued against SMS, as the Sycamores connected on 46 percent of their shots.

Similar to Evansville, the schedule isn’t kind this week. Not only does INS have to play Drake and Creighton, but it has to travel to the Knapp and Qwest Centers.

Drake Bulldogs (8-15, 4-11)

Last week: lost to SMS 85-78, lost to Northern Iowa 61-60
This week: Saturday, Feb. 19 vs. San Jose St., 7:05 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 22 vs. Indiana St., 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Evansville, 4:05 p.m.

This is probably the best last-place team in the history of the MVC. Heartbreak after heartbreak has sent the Bulldogs to four losses in five games. Those heartbreakers include one-point losses to Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa – in the span of two weeks.

The backbreaker may have been at Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Drake played right with the Panthers on their home court and appeared to force overtime until Klayton Korver fouled UNI’s Brooks McKowen with no time left. McKowen hit the second free throw to send the Bulldogs to another gut wrenching defeat.

The good news for Drake is that if it continues playing with the same intensity this week, it’s hard to see any losses. Indiana State and Evansville can be tough, but they aren’t playing as tough as the Bulldogs right now.

SEC Notebook

SEC Notebook

by Ryan Glenn

Just to illustrate the great parity in the SEC, South Carolina shocked the 3rd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday. A season-high 21 turnovers, combined with just 35% shooting from the field, prevented the Wildcats from getting anything going down the stretch. The other big game this week was LSU’s surprising victory over Mississippi State. This game was for 2nd place in the SEC West. The Tigers came out shooting great and were able to contain Lawrence Roberts to get the win.

This weekend’s schedule is set up perfectly. Almost all the games are even matchups, it is really hard to pick winners. The interdivision match-ups will conclude on Saturday as Mississippi State tries to get something going as they hope to upset Kentucky at Rupp.

SEC Reprimands Georgia Coach

On Friday, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive issued a public reprimand to Georgia’s head coach, Dennis Felton. Felton was reprimanded for his comments on South Carolina’s Carlos Powell. Felton called Powell “The biggest faker and flopper. He’s fraudulent,” on his radio show last week. In their statement, the SEC stated that, “Coach Felton has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics,” Slive said. “SEC Bylaw 10.5.1 clearly states that the coaches and administrators shall refrain from directed public criticism of other member institutions, their staffs or players.” The commissioner also mentioned that he reminded all the coaches of their responsibility to comply with this policy.

Arkansas-LSU Referees won’t ref another Razorback game this year

On Friday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the SEC had rotated their officiating schedules around so the referees that worked the Arkansas-LSU game on January 19 would not be working any more Arkansas games this year. This report came after a controversial ending of that game. Michael Jones sank a three with 1.8 seconds left and gave the Razorbacks a 59-58 lead. Head referee Tom Eades and John Hampton had different signals following the shot. Eades watched the tape and ended up ruling the shot a 2 pointer. LSU went on to win the game in overtime 66-63.

East-West Challenge

This Saturday will mark the first time all the teams in the SEC will play an interdivisional game. The match-ups look great, as all the teams are evenly matched. Here is the schedule for the challenge:

South Carolina at Alabama       3 p.m. ET
Florida at LSU                  3 p.m. ET
Auburn at Georgia               4 p.m. ET
Tennessee at Ole Miss           5 p.m. ET
Arkansas at Vanderbilt          7 p.m. ET
Mississippi State at Kentucky   9 p.m. ET

Hoopville’s SEC Rankings

1. Kentucky
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. LSU
5. Mississippi St.
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
8. Tennessee
9. Arkansas
10. Auburn
11. Ole Miss
12. Georgia

SEC Teams in the Polls

The SEC has two teams in the AP poll this week. Kentucky is 3rd in the AP and 3rd in the Coaches’ poll. Alabama is 16th in the AP and 17th in the Coaches’ poll.

SEC Player of the Week

Jonathon Modica of Arkansas was named SEC Player of the week. Modica had has two best games of the year last week. He led the Razorbacks to wins over Georgia and LSU. Against Georgia, he scored 14 points and had four rebounds. In the LSU game, he had his best game of the year with season and game highs of 25 points and nine rebounds. For the week, he shot 60.7% from the field (17-28)

SEC East

Kentucky (19-3, 10-1)

Coming away from the Georgia game, you could tell the Wildcats were lacking a certain spark to their game. That lackluster play carried itself into South Carolina. After just shooting 35% from the field and having 19 turnovers, the Wildcats could not put anything together as they got handed their first conference loss.

Tubby Smith did not react lightly to the loss. Smith has the team at 6 A.M. practices following the letdown as he is “trying to shake the loss we had to South Carolina.” Expect something to change in their play this weekend, as the Cats have finally received a wake-up call. You might just see Ravi Moss enter the starting lineup this week.

Florida (16-6, 8-3)

After their loss at Kentucky, the Gators had some critics saying they might not be able to rebound from the loss and were moving towards another disappointing end to the season. Florida has come out in their last two games and proved them wrong. Against Ole Miss, they absolutely crushed the Rebels, 90-53. They were able to get double digit scoring from their big three of Roberson, Walsh, and Lee.

Up next for the Gators is a trip to Baton Rouge. The Gators will have their hands full with the Tigers. Brandon Bass had one of his best games on the road against Mississippi State, and will be a key player for Florida to stop.

South Carolina (14-8, 6-5)

With a win against Kentucky, the Gamecocks still have a chance to make this year’s NCAA tournament field. The two toughest games South Carolina has left are Florida and Alabama. If they can win one of the two against them, and win the other games, I could see them showing up in the big dance. Coach Dave Odom thinks that Alabama has the best starting five in the league. If they can come out and play with the intensity that they had against Kentucky, and possibly get Alabama into some foul trouble, they will have a good chance in this game.

Vanderbilt (15-10, 5-6)

Vanderbilt, like South Carolina, is still hoping for a shot at a tournament bid. They helped themselves Wednesday night by getting a 24-point win over Auburn. The Commodores, however, did not play a great game. Instead, they played a great half. Trailing 21-26 at the half, Vandy came out and outscored the Tigers 46-17 in the second half. Corey Smith, who was due for a big game, finally got it. Smith scored 19 points and was the only Commodore in double digits. The Vanderbilt defense also helped their own cause, by holding freshman star Tony Douglas to just five points. Douglas had been averaging 18 points a game.

Tennessee (11-13, 4-7)

The question for Tennessee right now is, how long will Coach Buzz Peterson be around? After two straight home losses, to Alabama and Florida, it is starting to seem like he might not make it past this season. Tennessee athletic director, Mike Hamilton, has said that after this season is over, he will evaluate the men’s basketball program. This is bad news to Peterson, no doubt.

Things aren’t going to get easier for the Vols. In their last four games, two of the opponents include Kentucky and the hot South Carolina.

Georgia (7-15, 1-10)

Georgia took a break from their struggling conference play as they faced off against Clemson. The Tigers proved easily that the SEC isn’t the only the place Georgia is playing bad.

After their game at Kentucky, Georgia was actually starting to look like a team that might upset somebody in the conference. Against Clemson though, they looked like their old, struggling self. This week we might finally have the worst team named after Auburn heads to Georgia, in what I am dubbing “The Battle of the Bottom.”

SEC West

Alabama (20-4, 9-2)

Alabama continues to hold on to the top spot they have in the SEC West. Even with Chuck Davis sick, the Crimson Tide was able to down Arkansas. Davis, who was not feeling well throughout the game, was still able to rack up 21 points to lead the Tide to the win.

Up next, Alabama takes on South Carolina. Coach Gottfried knows not to underestimate the Gamecocks, but knows his guys are very capable of the win. “We are playing a team with a lot of confidence right now. I think South Carolina made believers out of a lot of people Tuesday night with their win over Kentucky. My guys know how good they are and they will be ready to play,” he said.

LSU (14-8, 7-4)

When you watch this year’s LSU team, you never know exactly which one you are going to see. It might be the one who has beaten Mississippi State twice, or it might be the one who lost to Southern Miss in overtime. If LSU wants to make this year’s field of 65, they need to get some big wins down the stretch. Their first chance will come in the East-West Challenge, as Florida comes up to Baton Rouge, after routing Ole Miss. “They are playing very well right now and will be a tremendous challenge for us to be in a position to win the game, even though we are at home,” coach John Brady added.

Mississippi State (18-7, 6-5)

Even with the return of Winsome Frazier, the Bulldogs still looked like they were missing something. Shane Power really stepped up for the Bulldogs in the game against LSU, scoring a game-high 20 points and pulling down 4 rebounds. He will have to keep up that type of play if Mississippi State wants to win at Rupp Arena. Frazier actually surprised many people, coming out and scoring 11 points in 24 minutes.

If Frazier gets back to 100% soon, the Bulldogs will be a tough team to stop in March.

Arkansas (17-8, 5-7)

Arkansas had their three game winning streak snapped on Wednesday, as they fell to Alabama by nine. The Razorbacks are still hoping at a chance to make the tournament field, but with a 1-7 record against teams ranked in the top 50 RPI, it is going to be a tough road ahead.

This weekend, they go to one of the toughest places to play in the SEC at Vanderbilt. “This is a huge game for us. Going on the road is always tough for everybody. This will be the first time a lot of my players have gone to Vanderbilt and played in that unique environment. We will have to do a good job of preparing for what they do in their offense. Vanderbilt is not your conventional basketball arena. It’s a great home-court advantage for Vanderbilt,” responded coach Stan Heath when asked about the Vanderbilt game.

Auburn (12-12, 3-8)

Just when Auburn thought they might win two in a row in the SEC, a second half collapse cost them the game against Vanderbilt. The Tigers did not score in the first seven minutes of the second half, as Vanderbilt scored 21 points unanswered. It is amazing that a team that came away with a win against South Carolina could get outscored 46-17 in the second half, but that was the case in Nashville.

Up next for the Tigers, is the team that is struggling as well, Georgia. Both teams are struggling drastically in the conference and will at least be looking to avoid the label, “Worst Team in the SEC”.

Ole Miss (12-13, 3-9)

Ole Miss extended their losing streak to three games on Wednesday, as the Gators just dominated the game. The Gators shot 64 percent from the field and the Rebels just didn’t have an answer.

“You don’t want to come down here when they are playing like that,” Coach Rod Barnes added after the game.

The Rebels have the chance to break their losing streak, as Tennessee comes down to Ole Miss on Saturday.

Game of the Week

Mississippi State at Kentucky (9:00 ET on ESPN)

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by John Eisel

Mountain West Conference Power Poll

1. Utah (22-3, 10-0 MWC)
It almost seems pointless continuing. It’s Utah and then everybody else. Hopefully they can actually win an NCAA Tournament game- they’d be only the third in conference history. That’s not good.

2. New Mexico (18-6, 5-4)
Since the Lobos’ preseason schedule was losses to Wake Forest and Oregon and a bunch of so-what wins, Danny Granger’s injury has limited the Lobos’ NCAA Tournament hopes to three days in Denver. Now they need to hope they can catch Wyoming or Air Force for the No. 3 seed in the tournament to avoid Utah in the semifinals.

3. Air Force (15-9, 6-3)
This has been a really good season for the Zoomies. Hopefully they’ll be able to win a few games in the NIT on the road, because there’s no way Clune Arena is going to host an NIT game. Maybe they’ll package an NIT deal with future MWC opponent TCU. That’d be cool.

4. Wyoming (14-9, 6-4)
If Ray Giacoletti and the Utes weren’t pounding everybody, Steve McClain would be the MWC coach of the year. The Cowboys will still have a first-team point guard in Jay Straight.

5. San Diego State (11-12, 4-5)
With Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath, the Aztecs have enough talent to win the conference tournament, if they get some lucky breaks and Steve Fisher can find some of the magic of 1989.

6. UNLV (11-11, 3-6)
At least the Rebels will have something to put on their highlight reel for the year after that miracle comeback against the Aztecs. It was a miracle, which is why the Rebels are still below the Aztecs in the power poll. The crazy thing is, this team still has the talent to win the conference tournament.

7. BYU (3-7, 9-16)
It’s been a lousy year for the Cougars, but after a tough game against the Cowboys, they still pulled themselves together against Colorado State to comeback after falling behind 9-0.

8. Colorado State (9-14, 1-9)
This just isn’t CSU’s year.
Matt Nelson, who otherwise hits more than 60 percent of his shots, goes four for 14 against BYU and the Rams lose by a point. Ouch. It doesn’t help they turn the ball over 4.8 more times than their oppponents a game. Those extra possessions would help a lot when you’re losing by eight points a game.

If the season ended today

NCAA Tournament: Utah’s sending postcards to conference members from Boise or Tucson.
NIT: New Mexico hosts games if or until they go to New York. The Pokes could host a team in the first round, while the Zoomies will only see the floor during practice time.

MWC honors

First team:
Andrew Bogut, C, Utah. That was pretty easy.
Danny Granger, F, New Mexico. Look at the Lobos with and without Granger.
Jay Straight, G, Wyoming. He’s first in the league in assists in conference play.
Marcus Slaughter, F, San Diego State. He’d get more notoriety if he wasn’t playing in San Diego State. The Aztecs just aren’t part of the immediate conciousness of the rest of the conference.
Odartey Blankson, F, UNLV. Despite the Rebels’ struggles this year, Blankson is still in the top six in point and rebounding.

Newcomer of the year:
Justin Williams, F, Wyoming. Best shot blocker in the conference, can also be counted on for 190 points and seven rebounds a game.

Coach of the year:
Ray Giacoletti, Utah. In his first year, the Utes are the most dominant team this conference has ever seen.

Player of the year:
Andrew Bogut, C, Utah. Even if he leaves after this year for the NBA, he’ll be thought of as one of the best players in MWC history.

How the rest of the season shakes out

February 19 (Saturday)
UTAH at AIR FORCE – Air Force’s home winning streak ends. Utah by 7.
BYU at NEW MEXICO – Lobos try to make up for their issue in Provo.
SAN DIEGO ST. at COLORADO ST. – The Rams have to win sometime.
UNLV at WYOMING – Both teams are playing well, so I’m going with the home team.

February 21 (Monday)
BYU at AIR FORCE – The Cougars are not refined enough to stay with the Falcons.
UNLV at COLORADO STATE – The Rebels will turn those Ram turnovers into dunks.
UTAH at NEW MEXICO – The Lobos will need everyone to show up to win this game.
SAN DIEGO STATE at WYOMING – This is a bad situation for the Aztecs.

February 26 (Saturday)
AIR FORCE at UNLV – For whatever reason, the Rebels have always been able to handle the Falcons. But not this year.
BYU at UTAH – Utah big.
WYOMING at COLORADO STATE – These game are always close, but this year, the Cowboys have found ways to win close games, the Rams have not.
NEW MEXICO at SAN DIEGO ST.- I think the Lobos have gotten over their road woes against the Rams.

February 28 (Monday)
AIR FORCE at SAN DIEGO STATE- Falcons will find a way to win this game.
NEW MEXICO at UNLV- With a national television audience at home, I think the Rebs pull it together to win.

March 5 (Saturday)
WYOMING at AIR FORCE – Zoomies take care of the Pokes to tie for second place.
UNLV at BYU – Rebels should win this game. SHOULD.
COLORADO STATE at NEW MEXICO – Lobos win in front of 15,000 fans.
SAN DIEGO STATE at UTAH – The Utes finish off the first perfect season in conference history.

Final regular season predictions:

1. Utah (26-3, 14-0 MWC)
2. Air Force (18-11, 10-4)
3. Wyoming (17-10, 9-5)
4. New Mexico (21-8, 8-6)
5. UNLV (15-12, 6-8)
6. San Diego State (11-17, 4-10)
7. BYU (3-11, 9-20)
8. Colorado State (10-17, 2-12)

Big 12 Notebook

Big 12 Conference Notebook

by Zach Ewing

Sorry for the two-week absence, but that just means we have lots to cover: Iowa State’s meteoric rise, Kansas’ week of close losses and, of course, the bubble watch.

Preparing, hoping and downright praying

The Big 12 can be assured of at least five NCAA Tournament bids this season, with one or even two more a possibility. Let’s take a look at the Big 12 teams, from those worrying about seeding, to longshots who have work to do just to make the NIT. (Records and RPIs as of Feb. 21)

Already In:

• Kansas (20-3, 10-2 Big 12, RPI 1): The Jayhawks are used to this category, and despite their two losses in a combined three overtimes last week, are playing for a No. 1 seed, along with Illinois, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Boston College. Winning out in the regular season and a run to the Big 12 Tournament final should give that seed to Kansas, but potential roadblocks abound, most notably Monday at Oklahoma, Sunday vs. Oklahoma State and at Missouri in a trap game to finish the regular season.
  Prediction: No. 1 seed
• Oklahoma State (20-3, 10-2 Big 12, RPI 3): For the second straight season, the Cowboys are among the top 10 teams in America and have an outside shot at a No. 1 seed. Eddie Sutton’s boys have come on strong of late, and can get to that No. 1 seed if they run the table from here on out. Of course, that means winning at Kansas and then the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
  Prediction: No. 2 seed
• Oklahoma (19-6, 8-4 Big 12, RPI 20): The Sooners have an interesting profile, with big wins against Oklahoma State and Texas, but a stretch where they lost four of five, including games to Iowa State, Missouri and nearly to Kansas State. OU is certainly in the tournament, but the last couple of weeks of the season will tell us exactly where.
  Prediction: No. 5 seed
• Texas Tech (16-7, 8-4 Big 12, RPI 30): The double-overtime victory against Kansas on Monday secured a somewhat surprising spot in the tourney for the Red Raiders. After losses to TCU, Ohio State and Iowa early in the season, Bob Knight’s team wasn’t predicted to be in this position, but now Tech can worry about its seeding.
  Prediction: No. 7 seed

Looking good, but still work to do:

• Texas (18-7, 7-5 Big 12, RPI 32): The numbers in the Longhorns’ profile add up to an easy bid, but Texas can’t continue the slide it was on a short week ago. Wins against Texas A&M and Baylor helped to regain momentum, but Rick Barnes’ team can’t afford replays of its losses against Iowa State and Colorado down the stretch. Take care of business against Missouri and win another game or two, and you’re in.
  Prediction: No. 7 seed
• Iowa State (15-8, 7-5 Big 12, RPI 50): Wayne Morgan’s team has risen from the dead with seven straight wins, including upsets against Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas. But the overall profile isn’t strong enough for the Cyclones to slack off now.
  Prediction: No. 10 seed

Needs a miracle, or at least a long winning streak:

• Texas A&M (15-7, 5-7 Big 12, RPI 91): After those top six teams, the number of NCAA-worthy teams in the Big 12, at this point, is nil. But A&M still has games at home versus Iowa State and Texas Tech and at Oklahoma State. If the Aggies could somehow win all of those, and avoid a stumble at Baylor, they might squeeze their way onto the bubble before Championship Week.
  Prediction: NIT
• Colorado (13-11, 4-8 Big 12, RPI 76): Another team that needs to win out and then have a big conference tournament run even for tournament consideration. The Buffaloes have almost no shot, but their RPI and wins against Iowa State and Texas keep them on this list for now.
  Prediction: NIT
• Missouri (13-13, 5-7 Big 12, RPI 98): It’s hard to justify the Tigers even being listed as a possible NCAA Tournament team, but picture this: Missouri continues its recent winning streak with four more wins: at home against Colorado, at Texas, at Iowa State and hosting Kansas. Then, armed with a 9-7 Big 12 record, Mizzou makes a run to the Big 12 Championship game and finally loses there. It would be hard to keep out a team that would then be 20-14, 9-7 in the Big 12 and 9-1 in its last 10 games (with wins against Gonzaga, Oklahoma and Kansas). Of course, at this point, that’s a big-time pipe dream.
  Prediction: no postseason

Seeing double with super sophs

This week saw two great performances from second-year players, both coming off the bench. Sophomore guard Curtis Stinson of Iowa State had perhaps the best week in the nation, leading his team to a win against Kansas State and nearly single-handedly taking down Kansas in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. In the game against the Jayhawks, Stinson didn’t start because of a hand injury but still came off the bench to score 29, including all seven Cyclone points in the extra session and the game-winning floater with 5.1 seconds left.

Later the same day, another sophomore guard, Drew Lavender, also came off the bench to score 29 and hit the game-winner in a game at Kansas State. Wait a minute: didn’t we just see that two hours before and 75 miles down I-70?

Big 12 Conference Player of the Week

Curtis Stinson, Iowa State – How could it be anyone else? The New York native had 16 points, nine boards and six assists in a win against Kansas State, and then went into Lawrence to score 29, including the aforementioned game-winner.

Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week

JamesOn Curry, Oklahoma State – In a game that was supposed to be close between OSU and Texas Tech, Curry blew it wide open. He scored 10 points in a 14-2 Cowboy run that made the score 54-32 and effectively ended the game. The freshman finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and had four assists. Oklahoma State is now 6-0 with Curry as a starter.

Big 12 Standings (through games on Feb. 19)

Team            Big 12  Overall
Oklahoma State  10-2    20-3
Kansas          10-2    20-3
Texas Tech      8-4     16-7
Oklahoma        8-4     19-6
Iowa State      7-5     15-8
Texas           7-5     18-7
Texas A&M       5-7     15-7
Missouri        5-7     13-13
Nebraska        4-8     11-12
Colorado        4-8     13-11
Kansas State    3-9     13-10
Baylor          1-11     9-14

Around the Big 12

Baylor Bears (9-14 overall, 1-11 Big 12)

Aaron Bruce, the Bears’ guard from Australia, has become the highest-scoring freshman in America, averaging nearly 18 points a game. He scored 26, nearly half of Baylor’s points, in the Bears’ 60-53 loss at Missouri on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough. After an early MU run gave the Tigers a 12-point lead, BU couldn’t get closer than four. Two Bruce free throws made the margin 55-51 with 50 seconds left, but the Tigers hit 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch, just enough to hold on for the win. Besides Bruce, no Baylor player scored more than seven points.

Baylor suffered its ninth loss in a row against Texas on Saturday, 75-60. The Bears got within 54-45 with more than eight minutes left, but the Longhorns scored five points on one possession to put the game back out of reach. Bruce had 19 points and actually got some help this time from Tim Bush, who had 15 points and six rebounds. But Baylor shot just 36 percent from the field and was 8-of-29 from three-point range.

This week: Wednesday at Kansas State, Saturday at Oklahoma

Colorado Buffaloes (13-11, 4-8)

The last non-conference game in the Big 12 until the postseason was a laugher, with the Buffaloes taking care of independent South Dakota State 82-49. An early 10-0 run made it 23-11 CU, the score was 37-20 at the half and a few minutes later, it was 54-28. Andy Osborn scored all 15 of his points on three-pointers and freshman Richard Roby added 14.

Things weren’t so easy for Colorado on Saturday when Texas A&M came into town. After allowing Baylor to get its only Big 12 win of the season earlier this year, the Buffs now have the notoriety of helping the Aggies snap a 20-game conference road losing streak. A&M shot a whopping 71 percent in the first half and used an 18-0 run to go up 35-13. The game was a laugher late when Roby scored 10 straight points to cut the lead to 82-70. But the Aggies scored the next five points and won by a score of 92-77. Roby had 21 points, but his high-school teammate Antoine Wright went for 32. Osborn added 16 points and Marcus Hall had 12.

This week: Tuesday at Missouri, Saturday vs. Kansas State

Iowa State Cyclones (15-8, 7-5)

Curtis Stinson has been getting a lot of the press, and rightfully so, but he’s been good all along. The Cyclones’ monumental turnaround, from 0-5 in the Big 12 to 7-5 with a win at Kansas, has been fueled by defense. Wayne Morgan, who has gone from potentially on the hot seat to a potential Coach of the Year candidate, has his team playing a terrific 2-3 zone. It held Kansas State to its lowest point total since the inception of the Big 12 in a 57-42 beatdown in Ames on Wednesday. Stinson had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Tahsheed Carr had 13 points as Iowa State jumped to a 20-7 lead and never led by less than 10 after that.

Stinson may have made the turn from “future star” to just plain “star” in Saturday’s regionally-broadcast game at Kansas. He was phenomenal, scoring 29 points, mostly on floating jump shots in the lane and with an injured left hand. But the game itself wasn’t all about Stinson. ISU’s defense was again working wonders and gave the Cyclones a 51-43 lead with about two minutes left in regulation. But panicked turnovers and missed free throws, combined with some questionable officiating and good shooting from Kansas let the Jayhawks tie the game at 56. In the overtime, Stinson answered a Jeff Hawkins’ three with four straight points and then added a free throw later to make the score 61-61. With six seconds left, Stinson won it with another of his trademark floaters. Jared Homan had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cyclones are looking good for a Tournament berth.

This week: Tuesday at Texas A&M, Sunday vs. Nebraska

Kansas Jayhawks (20-3, 10-2)

Two shots, one that went in and one that didn’t, change the subject of this week’s Kansas capsule from a 12-0 Jayhawk team to two overtime losses. The first of those shots took place Monday, in Kansas’ first Big 12 loss of the season, 80-79 to Texas Tech in double overtime. It belonged to Darryl Dora. After Keith Langford had tied the game at 69 at the end of regulation and Christian Moody beat the buzzer of the first overtime to tie it at 74, Kansas scored the first five points of the second extra session and looked to be on its way to victory. But with the score 79-77, Aaron Miles rebounded a ball and, as Tech was trying to foul him, was called for traveling with 7.9 seconds left. The Red Raiders inbounded the ball and Dora drained a three from the top of the key to beat the buzzer and the Jayhawks. Hard to place any blame for this loss. Langford had 24 points and eight rebounds, Miles had 11 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and Wayne Simien had his usual great game with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tech was just a bit better (and luckier) on this night.

With the help of some very questionable officiating, which KU always seems to enjoy in Lawrence, pressure defense and missed free throws, the Jayhawks came back from eight down with two minutes to go against Iowa State on Saturday to send the game to OT. Langford again hit the game-tying shot. But he missed two free throws in the waning seconds of overtime and then J.R. Giddens’ three just before the buzzer, the second of the previously mentioned shots, bounced off the rim and gave Kansas its second loss of the week. Simien had 17 and 11, including 9-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line, but Langford scored only 9 points and was 1-of-5 from the line and Giddens was 3-of-16 from the field, including 1-of-11 from three-point land.

This week: Monday at Oklahoma, Sunday vs. Oklahoma State

Kansas State Wildcats (13-10, 3-9)

After a paltry first half in Wednesday’s 57-42 loss to Iowa State, things got worse for K-State. The Wildcats failed to score a field goal in the first 7:13 of the second, and no player besides Jeremiah Massey or Lance Harris even scored a point in the second half until there was just a minute left. Harris had 16 points and Massey had 14 to go with nine rebounds, but Fred Peete, who had been hot, had two points on 1-of12 shooting and missed all six of his attempts from three-point range.

In its only good half of the week, Kansas State got off to a lightning-fast start against Oklahoma and led 41-28 at the break. Cartier Martin completed a three-point play to start the second for a 16-point lead, but the Sooners answered with a quick 10-0 run and eventually led 60-56. That’s where the real drama starts. KSU was able to come back and tie the game at 67, thanks to some suddenly hot shooting. Then, Clent Stewart stole OU’s inbounds pass with 6.6 seconds left and was fouled on his way to the hoop. He made one free throw with 4.5 left to give the Wildcats an improbable lead. But Drew Lavender would have none of it. He dribbled the entire length of the court in that 4.5 seconds and hit a tough runner that hit the very corner of the backboard before bouncing in. Martin had 22 points to lead the Wildcats, but coach Jim Wooldridge wanted to talk about the last play after the game. He thought OU’s inbounder had stepped on the end line before giving the ball to Lavender, which would have been an automatic turnover. He didn’t get the call, and K-State lost yet another close game at home.

This week: Wednesday vs. Baylor, Saturday at Colorado

Missouri Tigers (13-13, 5-7)

An 18-2 run gave Missouri an early 19-7 advantage against Baylor, but the Tigers had just two points in the final 5:18 of the half to let the Bears back within 30-23. Mizzou never led by more than 12, but managed to keep the lead at no less than four points throughout the 60-53 win. Jason Conley led the Tigers in a sloppy game with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Jason Horton had 15 points and Kevin Young reached a career-high in points and rebounds with 11 and 9. Those performances made up for no-shows by Linas Kleiza, nine points, and Thomas Gardner, one point.

The Tigers’ 56-53 win at Nebraska on Saturday night was significant for several reasons: it was their third win in a row, their first away from Columbia all season and most important, it kept their ever-so-slim postseason hopes alive. In another game that was close throughout, Mizzou trailed by as many as nine early in the second half and didn’t lead by more than five even after regaining the lead. The turning point came on a 9-2 run early in the second half for a 42-37 lead. Freshman Marshall Brown hit two threes in the run. Young scored with 1:15 left to make the score 54-51 and Kleiza hit two free throws for a 56-53 lead with 35 seconds left. Horton missed a freebie with nine ticks to go, but NU’s Marcus Neal air-balled a three-pointer at the buzzer and MU survived. Kleiza had 15 points and seven boards and Gardner scored 10.

This week: Tuesday vs. Colorado, Saturday at Texas

Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-12, 4-8)

The Huskers probably played their worst game of the conference season Wednesday at Oklahoma. They committed 26 turnovers, which led to 37 OU points in an 83-60 romp. Nebraska was within 18-15 early, but the Sooners’ 14-2 run led to a 40-20 halftime score. Joe McCray continued a good freshman season, scoring 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds, but he didn’t have enough help.

After Missouri turned a six-point NU lead into a five-point deficit midway through the second half Saturday, the Huskers tried their best to play catch up. Twice, McCray hit a three that cut the lead to one: once at 45-44 and again at 52-51 with two minutes to play. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one chance 30 seconds later that could have given Nebraska the lead. Instead, the Huskers needed a three in the last 30 seconds to tie the game: McCray missed two, and after a missed MU free throw, Marcus Neal missed another. Aleks Maric and Jason Dourisseau, who missed Wednesday’s game with a sprained ankle, led the Huskers with 13 points each.

This week: Tuesday vs. Oklahoma State, Sunday at Iowa State

Oklahoma Sooners (19-6, 8-4)

Kelvin Sampson’s team had lost four of five games before beating a couple of North Division patsies this week, and even that wasn’t too easy. Well, at least not on Saturday. Wednesday’s 83-60 shellacking of Nebraska didn’t appear terribly difficult. The Sooners made 17 steals, led by 20 at halftime and increased the lead to 59-32 shortly thereafter. Four players scored in double figures, led by Terrell Everett’s 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Drew Lavender didn’t start for the first time in his 54-game career because Sampson was unhappy with his play, and Lavender got the message. He had 10 points and made four steals in the first half.

Lavender started the game on the bench again on Saturday but didn’t stay there for long. He ended the 69-68 win with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting. OU fought back from down 16 in the second half to take a 60-56 lead, but let Kansas State come back to tie the game on a bucket by Cartier Martin with 31 seconds left. After an off-the-ball foul with 6.6 seconds to go, David Godbold threw the ball into the backcourt on the inbounds play, where Clent Stewart stole it and made one of two free throws with 4.5 seconds to go. Lavender’s 4.5-second sprint down the court won the game; his shot hit the corner of the backboard, bounced around on the rim, avoided tip-in tries from Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout and went home as the buzzer sounded.

This week: Monday vs. Kansas, Saturday vs. Baylor

Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-3, 10-2)

The boys from Stillwater jumped on Texas Tech early Saturday, getting leads of 14-6 and 24-14, before playing the Red Raiders even to go into halftime with a nine-point lead. Then the Cowboys really turned it on. With the score 40-30, JamesOn Curry scored 10 points in a 14-2 run that blew the game open, and moments later, John Lucas hit a three-pointer that bounced in to make it 67-40. The surprisingly easy 85-56 victory gave Oklahoma State its 28th consecutive victory at home and made it 6-0 with Curry in the starting line-up. The Big 12′s biggest game of the year comes up this week in Lawrence.

This week: Tuesday at Nebraska, Sunday at Kansas

Texas Longhorns (18-7, 7-5)

With P.J. Tucker gone for the season, it has been left to Brad Buckman and Daniel Gibson to lead Texas. After a two-week hiccup, the Longhorns appear back on track. Wednesday, they took down Texas A&M 75-40 to avenge an earlier loss in College Station. Buckman had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Gibson scored 13 with six boards in an easy win. Texas started the game 5-of-6 from the field to build a 14-6 lead and kept coming, leading 37-16 by the half. A 9-2 run near the start of the second prevented any thoughts of an A&M comeback, as UT then held a commanding 48-19 lead. Kenny Taylor had 15 points and Sydmill Harris added 14.

The Longhorns had trailed throughout the early-going against Baylor until Gibson splashed a three-pointer for a 15-14 lead Saturday night. That started a 15-0 Texas run that ended with the Longhorns up 27-14. Gibson made 3-of-4 three-pointers on the night and scored 13. Buckman added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Taylor had 14 points and seven assists against his old school. The Bears cut the lead to 54-45 with eight and a half to play, but UT repulsed that run in a hurry. Gibson hit a three on the next possession, and while the ball was in the air, Tommy Swanson fouled Jason Klotz, who made both free throws for a five-point possession that made the lead 14. Texas led by no less than 10 for the rest of the game.

This week: Tuesday at Texas Tech, Saturday vs. Missouri

Texas A&M Aggies (15-7, 5-7)

There isn’t much to say about the Aggies’ dismal performance in a 75-40 loss at Texas on Wednesday. No player scored in double figures – Acie Law, who had 24 in a 74-63 upset of the Longhorns a month ago, led the team with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting – and freshman Joseph Jones fouled out with 10 minutes to play having scored only six points. The Aggies shot 13-of-50 from the floor and lost their 20th straight Big 12 road game.

That streak came to an end with a terrific performance in a 92-77 win at Colorado three days later. In a huge turnaround, A&M shot 71 percent in the first half and 60 percent for the game. Antoine Wright had 32 points and seven rebiounds on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. An 18-0 first-half run and a 14-2 spurt after the break gave the Aggies control. When CU cut the lead to eight late, A&M scored five straight points to put the game away. Jones had 16 points and eight boards, and Bobby Leach finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

This week: Tuesday vs. Iowa State, Saturday vs. Texas Tech

Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-7, 8-4)

In a Big Monday matchup with Kansas, the Red Raiders were out-rebounded 48-28 but managed to stay with the Jayhawks behind 24 points from freshman Martin Zeno, 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Ronald Ross and Jarrius Jackson’s 19 points. After letting KU tie the game in regulation and come back from five points down in the first overtime to tie again, Texas Tech made a comeback of its own in the second OT. The Raiders scored the game’s last six points, the final three coming on a Darryl Dora game-winner. Just 3.6 seconds later, fans were storming the court at United Spirit Arena.

Earning a split in two games against Kansas and Oklahoma State isn’t bad at all, but an 85-56 drubbing on Saturday surely isn’t what Bobby Knight had in mind. After a slew of Cowboy runs made the score 67-40 OSU in the second half, Tech attempted to make its comeback. Jackson banked a three-pointer home to cut the lead to 76-55, but Oklahoma State scored the next seven points to ice the game. Zeno had 19 points and eight rebounds, but Texas Tech, which averages 82.3 points per game, was held below 60 for the second time this season.

This week: Tuesday vs. Texas, Saturday at Texas A&M

Five games to watch this week

5. Missouri at Texas, Saturday: Mizzou can have a way of making teams play down to its level, and sorely needs the win. Texas needs to win games like this to hold on for a Tournament berth.

4. Texas Tech at Texas A&M, Saturday: A&M needs to beat Iowa State for this game to mean anything as far as the Big Dance is concerned, but would like to avenge an earlier loss anyway. Trap game for Texas Tech.

3. Iowa State at Texas A&M, Tuesday: Big bubble game for both teams. If ISU keeps winning, it’s in for sure; the Aggies need a lot, starting with a win here.

2. Texas at Texas Tech, Tuesday: A Longhorn win means both teams are securely in the tournament, but Texas had trouble with the Red Raiders in Austin even with 14-of-21 shooting from three-point land.

1. Oklahoma State at Kansas, Sunday: If you’re not watching this game, you better have a really good excuse. Pending Monday’s game at Oklahoma, Kansas could be trying to snap a three-game losing streak. Regardless, the conference title is on the line.

Morning Dish

The Morning Dish – Wednesday, February 23trd

Chaos Atop the Big XII: After Kansas faltered Monday night against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State appeared poised to stake its claim atop the Big XII standings. Then the Cowboys laid an egg at Nebraska, falling back into a tie with the Jayhawks at 10-3 in the conference. Freshman guard Joe McCray led the Cornhuskers’ 42-point second half with 17 points. He finished with a total of 25 points to fuel the 74-67 upset. Nebraska went on a 12-0 run to open the second half after the teams battled to a 32-32 stalemate in the first half. Senior guard John Lucas led the Cowboys with 20 points, but the Cornhuskers’ stymied the Cowboys throughout the game. Oklahoma State failed to reach at least 70 points for only the fourth time this season.

More Than McCants: North Carolina junior swingman Rashad McCants missed last night’s rivalry game at North Carolina State because of an intestinal disorder. Team officials have not offered a timetable for getting McCants back, but if the Tar Heels play as well as they did last night, they’ll be ok without him. Senior guard Melvin Scott started in McCants’ place and hit four three pointers in the Tar Heels’ 81-71 win. The present – senior guard Julius Hodge – and the future – freshman forward Andrew Brackman – helped keep the Wolfpack close in the second half as Hodge scored 20 in the game and Brackman had eight points in a minute. But the Tar Heels answered the run, led by junior point guard Raymond Felton, who led the team with 21 points.

Texas Tech Hooks Horns: Texas Tech moved to a game behind Oklahoma State and Kansas for first place in the Big XII after dispatching Texas 69-65. Sophomore guard Jarrius Jackson gave the Red Raiders the lead for good in the final minutes of play on a three pointer from the corner. Freshman guard Daniel Gibson continued to be the Longhorns’ most reliable threat and hit a three pointer to pull the game within three points before Texas Tech extended the lead in the waning moments of the game. The loss drops Texas to a tie for fifth with Iowa State.

Tigers Want to Dance: LSU strengthened its case for an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation by beating Alabama 61-59, thanks to Ross Kneltner’s game-winning tip-in as time expired. The Crimson Tide erased LSU’s seven-point lead by holding the Tigers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. Kennedy Winston completed the comeback by banking home a three pointer to tie the score at 59 with a little more than 10 seconds remaining. The Tigers’ Brandon Bass attempted to win the game on his own, finding a crack in Alabama’s defense but missing the shot. Kneltner tipped the garbage through the basket to post another upset on LSU’s increasingly impressive resume, which would likely earn the Tigers a trip to the Big Dance if it started today.

No Brotherly Love in Philly: Atlantic 10 brethren Temple and St. Joseph’s met in a game that turned ugly when Owls’ coach John Chaney took issue with what he perceived to be illegal screens set by the Hawks. Chaney had complained to conference officials in a conference call earlier in the week, claiming that St. Joe’s got away with illegal screens. When his complaints appeared to be fulfilled, he sent in Nehemiah Ingram, a 6-8, 250-pounder, to throw illegal screens for Temple. Ingram clocked St. Joe’s center Dwayne Jones in the chin and fouled out in only four minutes. Chaney was livid throughout the game, receiving a technical in the second half and berating the conference commissioner after the game. He said he never wanted to see the game officials again and wanted officials from the ACC or Big Ten. Oh yeah, St. Joe’s won 63-56 to clinch at least a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title.

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Several teams needed strong performances last night to impress NCAA Tournament selection committee members during these finals week of the regular season. Miami, Fla., delivered with a 65-49 win at Florida State, led by sophomore guard Guillermo Diaz’s 19 points and the defense that held the Seminoles to 28 percent shooting from the field. The Hurricanes moved into a tie with Maryland for fifth in the ACC after the Terrapins inexplicably lost at home to Clemson. Senior forward Sharrod Ford led Clemson with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the 97-93 victory. Drake Diener and DePaul handled business at home, beating South Florida 76-69 as Diener led the team with 19 points. And Texas A&M hurt Iowa State’s chances with a 75-59 blowout led by Antonie Wright’s 21 points.

Pirate Coach Walks the Plank: East Carolina coach Bill Herrion will soon be the Pirates’ former coach. School officials asked Herrion to step down at the conclusion of this season, which will likely be in about two weeks. Herrion’s Pirates are struggling this season at 8-17, the sixth consecutive losing season during Herrion’s six-year tenure. Pirate officials said they timed the conversation to reduce the game-to-game pressure for Herrion. They said Herrion will be offered another position within the athletics department, hinting that the relationship ends on good terms.

Senior Leadership: Washington State coach Dick Bennett said he’ll stick around another season to lead the Cougars through a challenging rebirth. Bennett, now in his early 60s, said earlier this season that he would consider retiring after this season ends. His Cougars have emerged from the Pac-10 cellar this season, including a potentially program-shaking upset at Arizona. Bennett has helped end the days of futility by dedicating his team to defense. Whenever he retires, he’d like his son Tony Bennett to be his successor.

Illinois Backcourt Nearing End of Road Together: With Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, no one can argue that Illinois has the most talented backcourt in the country. But Head is a graduating senior, and Williams is a junior who appears destined to be in this year’s NBA Draft. Williams said he will most likely leave the Illini if he’s a first-round pick in the draft. Coach Bruce Weber indicated he would easily understand Williams’ decision if he appears destined to be a lottery pick, meaning that he’d be one of the top 14 picks in the first round of the two-round draft. Weber would like Williams to consider staying if he falls further than that, but Williams indicated he’d be happy with any placement in the first round. For now, this talented backcourt has an opportunity to repeat history set by Indiana in 1976. Illinois remains undefeated entering the final couple of weeks of the regular season. Coach Bob Knight’s Hoosiers were the last team to win the NCAA championship with an undefeated record.

For Better or Worse: The marriage of the Big Ten and ACC will continue for the next six years through the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The two conferences and ESPN reached an agreement to keep the interconference competition going through 2010. The only major change from the previous seven challenges will be an expansion to 11 games, meaning that every Big Ten team will compete and one ACC team will sit out once Boston College joins the ACC next season. ESPN’s new channel, ESPNU, will air the two additional games while the cable network’s flagship, ESPN, and primary descendant, ESPN2, will continue to feature the other nine games.