Conference Notes

Morning Dish

by Phil Kasiecki




The Morning Dish – Sunday, December 12th

Illini Roll: Illinois remained hot on Saturday, handing Oregon its first loss of the season in Chicago with an 83-66 victory in Chicago. All five starters scored in double figures for the Illini (9-0), led by Luther Head’s 23 points and Deron Williams’ 17 points and 7 assists. Illinois shot 58% from the floor and held Oregon (4-1) to just over 40% shooting. Bryce Taylor led the Ducks with 19 points and fellow freshman Malik Hairston had 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Olson Wins 1,000th: Arizona got a good battle from visiting Utah, but the Wildcats came away with a 67-62 win for the 1,000th career win for head coach Lute Olson. Olson became the 16th coach in basketball history to win 1,000 games, doing it over 47 seasons in high school (11 seasons), junior college (4) and NCAA Division I (32). The Wildcats (6-2) were led by Channing Frye’s 19 points and 9 rebounds. Andrew Bogut led Utah (5-3) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Pitino Continues Mastery of Students: Louisville got a complete game from forward Francisco Garcia en route to its 74-70 win over host Florida. Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino is now 20-1 against former assistant coaches and 6-0 against Billy Donovan. Florida (5-2) had plenty of chances all game long to tie or take the lead, but Louisville (5-1) never trailed and got many clutch plays from Garcia, who had 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. The Cardinals also got 22 points from Taquan Dean, who played through leg cramps. David Lee led Florida with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

ACC Teams Roll: Georgia Tech got 15 points and 8 rebounds from Luke Schenscher and shot 60% from the field while holding visiting Air Force under 28% in a 64-42 win over the Falcons. The Yellow Jackets (6-0), who did not make a three-pointer for the first time since 1987, outrebounded the Falcons 32-18. Air Force (6-3) was led by Nick Welch’s 16 points.

Meanwhile, North Carolina State kept rolling, getting a near triple-double from Julius Hodge in a 94-60 romp over Liberty in Raleigh. The senior All-American had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists to lead five players who scored in double figures for the Wolfpack (7-0). Larry Blair led Liberty (1-5) with 22 points.

Spartans Blow Out Struggling Stanford: Michigan State used a late first-half surge and a season-high 20 points from Paul Davis in cruising to a 78-53 win over Stanford in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Spartans (5-2) went on an 18-4 run late in the first half and steadily broke the game open in the second half. Davis added 8 rebounds and had help from three other players in double figures. Stanford (2-4) shot just 32.7% from the floor and had one player, Matt Haryasz, in double figures with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

More Top Teams Roll: A few top teams had it easy on Saturday. Kansas (6-0) ran away from UL-Lafayette (3-4) by a 96-51 margin, dominating most statistical categories and getting 24 points from Keith Langford. Syracuse (8-1) blew out Binghamton (2-5), 86-56, as Hakim Warrick led four players who scored in double figures with 20 points. Mississippi State (7-2) got 27 points and 9 rebounds from Lawrence Roberts in their 83-53 romp over visiting Arkansas-Little Rock.

Marquette Wins State Battle: Marquette continued its hot start, opening the game with a 12-1 run and never trailing as they knocked off Wisconsin, 63-54 in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles (9-0) got 29 points from Travis Diener, sprained ankle and all, and outrebounded the Badgers (5-2) by a 39-26 margin. Wisconsin was led by 13 points from Alando Tucker and 12 from Sharif Chambliss

Alabama Hangs On: After Alabama had a double-digit lead for a good portion of the second half, Temple made a late rally that ultimately fell short as the Crimson Tide held on for a 75-71 win in Tuscaloosa. Jarmareo Davidson (16 points, 13 rebounds) and Chuck Davis (14 points, 11 rebounds) each posted a double-double for Alabama (8-1), which held a 45-32 rebounding edge. Freshman Mark Tyndale led Temple (3-4) with 22 points and 7 rebounds.

Colonials Keep Winning: George Washington used a 20-2 run at the end of the first half to take control of their 79-65 win at St. Francis (Pa.) The Colonials (6-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Pops Mensah-Bonsu with 17 points and J.R. Pinnock with 16. Jason Osborne led St. Francis (4-3) with a game-high 24 points.

Two More Wins For the Missouri Valley: One mid-major conference that has started out well is the Missouri Valley Conference, which got two more wins over high-major teams on Saturday. Creighton (8-1) got a jumper from Kellen Miliner to cap a game-high 20-point effort in their 50-48 win at Nebraska (3-3), the sixth time in seven games the Bluejays have defeated the Cornhuskers. In Providence, Wichita State (5-0) got 24 points from Randy Burns, including four free throws in the final five seconds, to hold off a furious rally by Ryan Gomes (13 of his 22 points in the final six minutes) and Providence (5-4) for a 90-86 win.

Other Notable Games:

  • Pittsburgh (7-0) knocked off Penn State (5-4), 84-71 behind 28 points from Carl Krauser.
  • Despite a weak showing on the boards, Cincinnati (6-0) handed Detroit (1-6) its sixth straight loss, a 61-44 decision.
  • Boston College (7-0) beat cross-town rival Boston University (5-2), 80-74, outrebounding the Terriers 38-24 in the process.
  • DePaul (5-2) shot 60% from the field and had four players score in double figures in an 84-73 win at Notre Dame (4-2).
  • Mississippi (3-4) handed Memphis (5-4) a 65-53 loss by shooting over 53% from the field and holding the Tigers to 34% shooting, getting 18 points and 9 rebounds from Tommy Eddie.
  • Gonzaga (7-1) got 20 points from Adam Morrison to lead four players in double figures in their 75-45 romp over visiting St. Louis (1-6).
  • Oklahoma (6-1) cruised over Northern Colorado (2-9), 80-44, getting 22 points from Taj Gray.
  • West Virginia (6-0) rolled over visiting Coppin State, 71-47.
  • Sophomore guard Loren Stokes had 26 points to lead Hofstra (6-0) to a 78-68 win over St. John’s (3-4).
  • Buffalo (5-2) needed two overtimes to take out nearby rival Niagara (5-3) by a 95-92 margin.
  • In a game with two firsts for this season, Valparaiso (1-5) got its first win of the season and handed Wisconsin-Milwaukee (6-1) its first loss of the season with a 72-71 home win.
  • Remaining undefeated with wins on Saturday: Kansas State (6-0), 64-61 winners over Wyoming (4-3); Fresno State (6-0), 72-54 winners over Sacramemto State; Oral Roberts (6-0), 92-89 winners over host Utah Valley State; and Hawaii (5-0), 84-77 winners over visiting St. Mary’s (CA) (6-4).

Tonight’s Menu

• ACC teams are busy, as North Carolina hosts Loyola-Chicago, Duke hosts Toledo and Maryland hosts UNC-Asheville.

• Washington heads south to take on Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

• New Mexico hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

• Auburn hosts UNLV.

Author: Phil KasieckiPhil Kasiecki is the President and Director of Basketball Operations for Hoopville Media Services, LLC, the parent company of Hoopville. He has been with Hoopville since the first season of the site, and became Managing Editor in 2005. During his time with Hoopville, Phil has also been a regular contributor to CSTV.com and the New England Recruiting Report, and has contributed to school sites in the Rivals.com network. Previously, Phil contributed to About College Basketball and Talkinghoops.com. A member of the US Basketball Writers Association, Phil is a media voter for the Colonial Athletic Association and a past voter for the ACC, including for the ACC's Player and Rookie of the Week selections, and previously was one of several media voters in a national prep school poll.

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