The Morning Dish – Tuesday, March 15th
Western Michigan Humbles Eagles: Western Michigan made Marquette look inept on its home court last night, winning 54-40 in the first round of the NIT. Those college basketball fans not burnt out by a frenetic two weeks of conference championship got to see first-hand why Marquette didn’t come within sniffing distance of the NCAA Tournament. Without injured senior point guard Travis Diener, the Golden Eagles were terrible offensively, shooting less 29 percent from the field. Western Michigan was led by senior forward Levi Rost, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Dameon Mason led the Golden Eagles with 14 points.
Coaching Carousel Starts to Spin: The Monday after Selection Sunday usually ends the speculation about several coaches’ job insecurity, and yesterday was no different. For a complete rundown of coaching moves, check out Hoopville’s list of Coaching Changes .
- Massachusetts officials ended the Steve Lappas era by buying out the Minutemen’s coach. Lappas compiled a 50-65 record in four seasons at Massachusetts, failing to make the NCAA Tournament in all four seasons. Lappas had two years remaining on his contract, which school officials had restructured before the season to sever relations if Lappas did not have a good season without breaking the bank.
- Despite public support from several heavyweights in the world of college basketball, Tennessee officials fired coach Buzz Peterson, ending his four-year run leading the Volunteers. Pat Summitt, head coach of the Lady Volunteers, openly urged Tennessee officials to give Peterson one more year. Peterson received similar support from former North Carolina coach Dean Smith and the Tar Heels’ current coach, Roy Williams. Peterson played for the Tar Heels in the early 1980s. The support didn’t overcome a pedestrian 61-59 record in four years, including zero NCAA Tournament appearances.
- In the ACC, Virginia coach Pete Gillen resigned as the coach and school officials parted ways as expected. Virginia officials and fans had high expectations for the program entering this season, but Virginia crashed into last place at 14-15. Gillen struggled to meet tough standards for ACC programs, compiling a 118-93 record in seven seasons and making the NCAA Tournament only once. Virginia officials are likely to pursue a high-profile coach. Some names being mentioned include Kentucky’s Tubby Smith, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Texas’ Rick Barnes.
- Coastal Carolina officials will also be in the hunt for a new coach after they fired Pete Strickland. The Chanticleers finished in eighth in the Big South at 10-19. Strickland completed his seventh year at Coastal Carolina with a 70-127 record and no notable performances in any of the seasons.
- Amid the pink slips, Tulsa handed out a job offer to Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik. The Tulsa job will be Wojcik’s first head coaching gig after serving as an assistant for the Spartans, Navy, Notre Dame and North Carolina. He joined coach Spartan coach Tom Izzo after leaving North Carolina when the Tar Heels cleaned out former coach Matt Doherty and his staff. Ironically, Doherty also interviewed for the Tulsa position.
Connecticut’s Depth Gets Shallower: No one would argue that Connecticut possesses one of the more formidable frontcourts in college basketball. But what about the backcourt? The Huskies’ guard rotation shrunk by one when school officials indefinitely suspended backup point guard Antonio Kellogg for violating team rules. Kellogg was the lone backup to starting point guard Marcus Williams, averaging 3.2 points in 14 minutes per game.
Chaney Returns: After serving a part self-imposed, part school-imposed suspension, Temple coach John Chaney will return to the sidelines tonight to coach the Owls when they travel to Virginia Tech in the first round of the NIT. The suspension was the product of the much-discussed incident against St. Joseph’s in which Chaney sent in Nehemiah Ingram to rough up the Hawks. And he did, breaking St. Joseph’s senior forward John Bryant’s arm. Chaney suspended himself for a game, then the school extended for the regular season, then Chaney extended it for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Now, Chaney returns and has an opportunity to win his 500th game at Temple.
You Can’t Do That on TV: Apparently Alabama State junior forward Earl Watson missed the FCC memo about obscene gestures. Trailing Alabama A&M in the closing minutes of the SWAC championship game, televised on ESPN2, Watson expressed his frustration with an obscene gesture caught by the cameras. As a result, Alabama State officials have revoked Watson’s scholarship and kicked him off the team. Granted, the SWAC doesn’t have many televised games for the players to worry about such fallout, but sportsmanship should be part of every game, whether it’s documented for a national audience or enjoyed by dedicated SWAC fans.
Tonight’s Menu
• Give it up for Alabama A&M and Oakland. The SWAC and Mid-Continent champions, respectively, clash in the first game of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of the play-in game gets No. 1-seed North Carolina in Charlotte Friday.
• The NIT has an ACC flavor tonight as Miami visits South Carolina, Clemson goes to Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech hosts Temple. In other action, Holy Cross represents the Patriot League against one of the last teams out of the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame. And lastly, DePaul goes to Missouri, which finished the season strong.
