Day 1 Tournament Wrap-up
by Dan Hauptman
News and Notes
According to reports, Jerry Tarkanian will announce his retirement from coaching on Friday. Tarkanian and his attorney met with Fresno State president John Welty on Thursday and the three were expected to meet again later in the day to finalize the details of the retirement.
Nolan Richardson’s lawyer said on Thursday that if Richardson is not restored as basketball coach, he might seek an injunction that would attempt to block Arkansas from searching for a new coach. According to lawyer John Walker, Richardson still considers himself as the coach at the school. University president B. Alan Sugg and Richardson are scheduled to meet 10 a.m. on Monday at the university’s system office in Little Rock.
Also on Thursday, the AP reported that in February, the Arkansas Razorback Foundation tried unsuccessfully to get Richardson to sign a new television contract that contained conduct clauses.
St. John’s sophomore guard Willie Shaw did not accompany the team to Washington DC and will not play in any NCAA Tournament games for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Coach Mike Jarvis refused to give a reason for the suspension. Shaw played in 29 games and averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds this season.
Pittsburgh guard Brandin Knight practiced on Thursday despite a strained right quadriceps and an injured right little finger. The junior wore protective padding on his finger during the practice.
Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich sprained his left ankle in the first half of the Jayhawks’ win vs. Holy Cross. He returned to the bench in the second half and was wearing an air cast with a heavy wrap and using crutches. X-rays were negative and the team said he is questionable for Saturday’s game.
With 20:00 to go in the 1st half, Western Kentucky was already beating Stanford 1-0. Before the game started, the Stanford bench was assessed a technical foul for failure to produce the starting lineup to the scorer’s table on-time. Patrick Sparks hit one of the two free throws for the Hilltoppers.
Double-digit seeds won five games on Thursday. Also, 12-seeds were 2-1, with wins by Tulsa and Missouri. The lowest seed to win was No. 13 UNC-Wilmington against USC in OT. Last year, nine double-digit seeds advanced to the second round.
Conference Breakdown
Pac-10 (3-1): Wins – Oregon, Arizona, Stanford. Loss – USC
SEC (2-0): Wins – Kentucky, Alabama
Big Ten (2-0): Wins – Ohio State, Indiana
ACC (2-0): Wins – Wake Forest, Duke
Big 12 (2-1): Wins – Missouri, Kansas. Loss – Oklahoma St
WAC (1-0): Win – Tulsa
Big East (1-1): Win – Notre Dame, Loss – Miami
MWC (1-1): Win – Wyoming, Loss – Utah
CUSA (0-2): Losses – Charlotte, Marquette
WCC (0-2): Losses – Gonzaga, Pepperdine. Done after 1st round
MVC: (No games so far)
Seeds Breakdown
1 (2-0): Wins – Kansas, Duke
2 (2-0): Wins – Oregon, Alabama
3 (1-0): Win – Arizona
4 (2-1): Wins – Kentucky, Ohio State, Loss – USC
5 (1-2): Win – Indiana, Losses – Miami, Marquette
6 (0-1): Loss – Gonzaga
7 (1-1): Win – Wake Forest. Loss – Oklahoma State
8 (2-0): Wins – Notre Dame, Stanford
9 (0-2): Losses – Charlotte, Western Kentucky
10 (1-1): Win – Kent State. Loss – Pepperdine
11 (1-0): Win – Wyoming
12 (2-1): Wins – Missouri, Tulsa, Loss – Utah
13 (1-2): Win – UNC-Wilmington, Losses – Valparaiso, Davidson.
14 (0-1): Loss – UC Santa Barbara
15 (0-2): Losses – Florida Atlantic, Montana
16 (0-2): Losses – Holy Cross, Winthrop
Kansas: 19 consecutive 1st Round wins.
Kent State: Won in 1st Round for 2nd straight year. The Golden Flashes have never been to the Sweet 16.
Kentucky: 12 straight 1st Round wins. Tubby Smith will face his old team, Tulsa (1992-95), in the Second Round.
Oregon: Won first NCAA Tournament game since 1960.
UNC-Wilmington: First-ever win in NCAA Tournament.
Pupil vs. Mentor: Former Duke assistant Mike Brey and his Notre Dame squad will battle Coach K and Duke in the second round. Last year, another former Krzyzewski protege, Quin Snyder, and his Missouri Tigers lost to the Blue Devils 94-81 in the second round.
Thursday’s Heroes
Mo Williams, Alabama: career-high 33 points in win vs. Florida Atlantic.
Brian Brown, Ohio State: career-high 33 points in win vs. Davidson.
Keith Bogans, Kentucky: 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in win vs. Valparaiso.
Josh Davis, Wyoming: 11 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 steals in win vs. Gonzaga.
Craig Callahan, UNC-W: 21 points and 6 rebounds in win vs. USC
Jason Gardner, Arizona: 28 points (12-14 FTs) and 5 assists in win vs. UC Santa Barbara.
