The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 12th
Illini Win, But Weber Loses: In Illinois’ first game after losing to Ohio State in the final regular-season game, the Illini bounced back with a dominating 68-51 win against Northwestern in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals. But the win became far less enjoyable when coach Bruce Weber learned that his mother died early in the evening. Dawn Weber, 81, died after having surgery to repair a torn aorta. After talking with his family, Weber said he will coach in Illinois’ semifinal Saturday because “that is what she would have wanted.”
In other Big Ten quarterfinal action, Iowa closed in on a Tournament bid with a 71-69 upset of second-seeded Michigan State. The Hawkeyes dropped out of the bubble discussion after leading scorer Pierre Pierce was kicked off the team. But Iowa has hit its stride with the remaining players and probably needs to reach the Big Ten championship game to feel more comfortable with their chances. The Hawkeyes will play Wisconsin, which knocked off Ohio State 60-49. The Badgers pulled away in the closing moments after the Buckeyes hung around for 38 minutes. For more detailed recaps of conference tournament action, visit Hoopville’s Thirteen Days: Championship Week 2005.
Bucknell Is In: Bucknell milked a 20-point second-half lead to the final buzzer, beating top-seeded Holy Cross 61-57 to win the Patriot League and claim an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bison have not visited the NCAA Tournament since 1989. Bucknell jumped out to a 38-20 halftime lead but allowed the Crusaders to rally. The Bison scored only eight points in more than 10 minutes in the second half before Kevin Bettencourt added two free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining to extend a two-point lead to four. Sophomore center Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Kevin Hamilton led all scorers with 21 points for Holy Cross, including four three-pointers.
Showtime at MSG: The Big East Tournament heated up in Madison Square Garden last night as West Virginia slipped past Villanova 78-76 and Syracuse avenged two regular-season losses to Connecticut with a 67-63 win. The Mountaineers have an opportunity to become the lowest-seeded team to ever win the conference title as eighth-seeded West Virginia plays Syracuse tonight. Junior guard Mike Gansey propelled the Mountaineers to the final with two free throws with less than a second remaining. Villanova’s Allan Ray fouled Gansey, who collected an air ball in the closing seconds and threw up a final attempt. The referees called the foul on Ray, who clearly pushed Gansey after he released the ball. Both teams are playing well heading into the NCAA Tournament.
In the premier match up of the evening, Syracuse jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead on Connecticut and extended it to 20 early in the second half. The Orange then held as the Huskies made a run during the final 10 minutes. Syracuse stopped attacking the Huskies with about six minutes remaining, which allowed Connecticut to rally. The Orange’s Hakim Warrick led all scorers with 26 points.
Round Three: The Pac-10 championship will pair familiar foes Arizona and Washington after the Wildcats destroyed Oregon State 90-59 and Washington snuck past Stanford 66-63. Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire each scored 17 points to lead the Wildcats. Bobby Jones and Nate Robinson each scored 14 points for the Huskies in a game in which neither team led by more than six points. Washington and Arizona split their two regular-season meetings, each team winning at home.
More Conference Semis: Several other conferences – the Atlantic 10, Big West Conference USA, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, SWAC and WAC – also played their semifinals yesterday. Louisville beat Alabama – Birmingham 74-67 to set up a C-USA championship game against host Memphis, which beat South Florida 81-68. Alabama – Birmingham will anxiously watch the brackets unfold Sunday while Memphis controls its NCAA fate later today. Miami, Ohio, will join Alabama – Birmingham in the line for Pepto Bismal after losing to Ohio 63-56. The Bobcats will play Buffalo in the MAC championship after beating Western Michigan 75-68. In the WAC, UTEP beat Rice 85-77 in the semifinals to move on to play Boise State in the championship. The upstart Broncos upset Fresno State 86-85 to advance to the championship as an eight seed.
In the other conferences, the top seeds prevailed. The MEAC’s top two teams will face off for the championship today as Delaware State beat South Carolina State 61-48 and Hampton beat Coppin State 62-50. The same is true for the Atlantic 10 as George Washington won against Temple 77-58 and St. Joseph’s avenged last year’s quarterfinal loss to Xavier with a 73-68 win. Senior sharpshooter Pat Carroll had a career-high 30 points. Pacific and Utah State will meet again in the Big West championship, and the Aggies will look to upset Pacific, just like the Tigers did to Utah State last season. The Tigers beat Cal-Northridge 63-61 in the semifinals, and Utah State beat Cal-Fullerton 84-77. The Mountain West final features a pair of probable NCAA Tournament teams as Utah, which beat UNLV 73-67, meets New Mexico, which beat San Diego State. Alabama A&M and Alabama State will meet tomorrow for the SWAC championship after Alabama A&M beat Jackson State 74-56 and Alabama State beat Southern 54-50.
Survival of the Fittest: The ACC quarterfinals proved that nothing comes easy in one of the nation’s strongest conferences. The highlight of the day was North Carolina’s furious comeback against ninth-seeded Clemson. Fresh off an upset of Maryland, the Tigers appeared game to take down the Tar Heels, leading by 13 with less than eight minutes remaining. But junior guard Raymond Felton fueled the rally as North Carolina outscored Clemson by 20 during the final seven minutes. Meanwhile, North Carolina State likely secured an NCAA Tournament bid with an 81-65 upset of second-seeded Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons played without sophomore point guard Chris Paul, who was suspended for the game after punching the Wolfpack’s Julius Hodge in the regular-season finale. Hodge led the Wolfpack with 22 points.
In the other two semifinal games, Georgia Tech beat Virginia Tech 73-52, and Duke beat Virginia 76-64. The Yellow Jackets may have wrapped up an NCAA Tournament invitation by beating the Hokies. The match up appeared to be a perfect opportunity to showcase two of the ACC’s bubble teams. But the result was a dominating performance by the three-headed backcourt monster of Jarrett Jack, B.J. Elder and Will Bynum, who combined for 45 points. The Blue Devils held off several Virginia runs to win relatively convincingly, despite an off-night by junior sharpshooter J.J. Redick.
Business as Usual in Big 12: The Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals featured no upsets despite four games decided by 13 points or less. Oklahoma slipped past Missouri in the closing moments, 83-79, ruining a 33-point performance by sophomore forward Linas Kleiza. Kansas had the biggest win of the day with an 80-67 victory against Kansas State. Third-seeded Oklahoma State survived a tough battle from Colorado, winning 87-85. And finally, Texas Tech beat Iowa State 64-56 by ending the game on an 15-4 run.
Blowout Central: The SEC Tournament was not the place to be for people who prefer underdogs. The top four teams crushed their opponents. Kentucky whipped Tennessee 76-62, Florida beat Mississippi State 80-64, Alabama beat Mississippi by 17, 69-52, and LSU provided the biggest blowout with an 89-58 massacre of Auburn. Today’s semifinals promise to be closer as Kentucky gets LSU and Florida plays Alabama.
Arkansas Passes on NIT: Arkansas coach Stan Heath said the Razorbacks would not participate in the NIT if the tournament’s selection committee offers them an invitation. Heath said he was disappointed that Arkansas will not qualify for the NCAA Tournament this season, which was his goal for his second year on the job. He also said the team was mentally drained after a rough finish to a promising season. The team originally voted to accept an NIT invitation after losing to Tennessee in the first round of the SEC Tournament. But the players apparently changed their minds Friday. For a team that has no postseason experience, a trip to the NIT and a few wins could have been good experience for next year, if the Razorbacks reach the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
Tonight’s Menu
• In a full day of action, 10 conferences will hand out tickets to the Big Dance. Here’s a rundown:
• In the Big East, Syracuse plays West Virginia, which could become the lowest-seeded team to ever win the title.
• In Conference USA, Louisville makes a move at a No. 2 seed – dare we suggest a No. 1? – against host Memphis, which simply wants a chance to dance.
• In the Pac-10, Arizona could earn a No. 1 seed with a win against Washington/Stanford.
• Vermont plays Northeastern at home for the America East title.
• George Washington and St. Joseph’s clash for the Atlantic 10 title. The loser will wait anxiously on Sunday, crossing fingers in hopes of an at-large bid.
• Pacific plays Utah State in a clash of traditional Big West powers for the conference title.
• Buffalo and Ohio meet in Cleveland to decide the MAC title.
• The MEAC title will go to either Delaware State or Hampton.
• Utah will seek revenge against New Mexico, the last team to beat the Utes, in the Mountain West championship.
• And finally, UTEP looks to lock up an automatic bid in the WAC against eighth-seeded Boise State.
