The Morning Dish – February 3rd
Mainline Madness: So what’s more important to St. Joseph’s? Being one of the best teams in the nation, or being the best in Philly? The Hawks kept their undefeated run alive and pushed their mark to 19-0 with a 74-67 triumph over fellow Big Fiver Villanova. Phil Martelli’s club, led by Jameer Nelson’s 23, shot 46% from the floor as a team. Pat Carroll nailed 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points, and Delonte West was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line and had 21. Nova, despite putting four players in double figures, couldn’t heat up from long range, hitting only seven of its 20 three-point attempts.
Knight Check, Aisle 5: Bobby Knight has taken his anger antics to the supermarket. At around lunchtime on Monday, The Sweatered One got into a verbal scrap with Texas Tech chancellor Dr. David Smith at a grocery store near the school. T-Tech officials are looking into the incident, but according to reports neither Knight nor Smith were injured. (A few salads were tossed, however.) There is also no word yet as to what disciplinary action Texas Tech will take against their vociferous basketball coach.
DeVoe Jumps Ship: Navy coach Don DeVoe will hang up his skipper’s hat at the end of the season, the 12-year veteran announced yesterday. While DeVoe’s Midshipmen have been sinking at 3-17 this year, the coach can look back on 510 career wins, good for 57th on the all-time list and 18th among active coaches. DeVoe’s career will be looked back upon positively. Up to this point, his mark at Navy is 182-155, with three Middie appearances in the NCAA tourney, three Patriot League tourney titles and at least a share of five regular-season league championships. He also took Texas Tech, Wyoming and Florida to the dance in his career, one of only 29 active coaches to take four different teams to the Big Bracket.
Badgered!: Alando Tucker has called it a season. The sophomore forward from Wisconsin, who broke his foot on October 9, has decided to sit out for the remainder of the season after a recent medical evaluation. Tucker missed two exhibition games and four regular season games before returning to the Badger lineup on December 10, only to play in four more games before reinjuring the foot. Tucker might be able to pick up another year of eligibility as the NCAA has shown compassion in cases of medical hardship when an injury occurs in the first half of a sports season and a player participates in only 20% of his or her team’s games.
UConn Clobbers The ‘Cuse: After losing to Providence this season, the Huskies weren’t going to let another one against big time, Big East competition get away. Emeka Okafor scored 25 points, including 7-of-13 from the line, and grabbed 11 rebounds as 18-3 Connecticut slayed Syracuse, 84-56. Up by ten at the half, the Huskies used a 22-5 run in the first 12 minutes of the second half to put this one away. Hakim Warrick led the 14-4 Orangemen with 26 points, 11 boards.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Both Florida and Kentucky are feeling the upset blues after losses this Saturday. The two SEC teams will try to take it out one one another at the Swamp…Things should sizzle in Cincy when the Bearcats visit in-town rival Xavier. 15-2 Cincinnati is looking to bounce back from its 86-83 loss to Charlotte on Saturday…Both Florida State and Georgia Tech have much to gain when the two ACC clubs meet in Tallahassee tonight…Depending on the powers-that-be in Lubbock, Bobby Knight may or may not be on the sidelines when Texas Tech hosts Baylor…Oklahoma State travels to Texas A&M. The Cowboys are 15-2.
• Illinois chases Indiana in Bloomington tonight. The Illini have been off and on of late, winning only three of their last five…St. Peter’s has won seven of their last nine. They’ll go for their 13th win tonight against Siena…13-5 Marquette hosts TCU. The Golden Eagles said “take that” to Louisville on Saturday in a 77-70 upset…How ’bout dem Salukis? Southern Illinois is 16-2 and looking for nine straight Southwest Missouri State.
