The Morning Dish – Tuesday, January 25th
Orange Avoid Upset:
Trailing 54-36 at the half, Syracuse stormed back to defeat Rutgers 86-84 in Piscataway,
N.J. Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick finished with 21 points apiece for the Orange, which
became the first team to reach 20 victories this season. Syracuse opened the second half
with a 9-0 run after its full-court pressure forced turnovers on the Scarlet Knights’ first
three possessions. A three-point play by Terrence Roberts put the Orange ahead with 7.2
seconds to play and Quincy Douby’s three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out to seal the
Syracuse win. Ricky Shields scored 20 points and grabbed 11 boards for Rutgers, which has
lost six of seven.
Sooners Roll in Norman:
Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout scored the Sooners’ first 19 points en route to a combined 45
points in the Sooners’ 67-57 win over Oklahoma State at home. Oklahoma, which committed a
season-low eight turnovers, led by nine at halftime and as many as 17 in the game. Joey
Graham and Ivan McFarlin combined for 31 points on 15-for-25 shooting for the Cowboys, but John Lucas was held to 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. The victory was the 250th of coach Kelvin Sampson’s career at Oklahoma.
Utah Can’t Miss:
Led by Andrew Bogut’s 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting, Utah coasted to a 63-51 win over Air
Force. The Utes shot a school-record 80 percent from the field (24-of-30), including
4-of-7 from long range. Marc Jackson and Bryant Markson added 11 points apiece for Utah,
which has won 11 straight since a loss at Arizona.
Olson Family Makes Donation: Arizona coach Lute Olson and his family will make a $1
million donation to the Arizona Cancer Center to benefit the Bobbi Olson
Endowment for Ovarian Cancer Research. The legendary coach’s wife passed away Jan.
1, 2001, after a two-and-a-half year battle with ovarian cancer. The endowment will go
toward research for the prevention and cure of ovarian cancer.
Horton Arraigned: Michigan junior point guard Daniel Horton was arraigned and
released yesterday for allegedly choking his girlfriend last month. Horton, who is averaging
12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, was released on $5,000 bond after turning himself in.
If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Horton could face up to three months in jail and a
$500 fine.
Martin Ineligible:
Seldom-used Massachusetts senior forward Brennan Martin has been declared academically
ineligible for the rest of the season. Martin saw action in just six games this season and
averaged 2.2 points per game in his career.
Thompson Suspended:
Northwestern center Mike Thompson has been suspended indefinitely for
what associate director of media services Mike Mahoney called a violation of team rules
regarding going to class. Thompson, who transferred to Northwestern after two years at Duke,
was averaging 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Milligan Transfers:
Pittsburgh redshirt freshman Dante Milligan, who played just 23 minutes this season while
battling a thumb injury, has decided to transfer.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Wisconsin puts the nation’s longest home winning streak (38 games) on the line
against top-ranked and undefeated Illinois.
• Connecticut travels to West Virginia looking to shake off Saturday’s loss to
Pittsburgh.
• Kentucky heads to Tennessee for an SEC showdown.
• Kansas looks to rebound against Baylor on the road.
• Texas hosts Texas Tech.
