The Morning Dish – Saturday, February 21st
Princeton Stays On Top: Princeton overcame an 14-point first half deficit in their 70-58 win over Yale in Princeton. The Tigers got 29 points from Judson Wallace (11-12 shooting), who has come back to life after scoring just 20 points in the team’s first four Ivy League games. The win keeps the Tigers (14-7, 7-1 Ivy) in first place in the Ivy League. The Tigers took the game over on a 23-4 run late in the first half and into the second half, then broke a 44-44 tie with an 18-4 run.
Bears Stun Quakers, Right Behind Tigers: Staying right behind Princeton in the Ivy League is Brown, which continues to surprise in what many figured would be a rebuilding year. Friday night, they held off Pennsylvania at the Palestra, 78-74. The Bears (11-11, 7-2 Ivy) shot nearly 54% from the field and got 29 points from Jason Forte and 22 points and 6 steals from Patrick Powers. Pennsylvania (12-9, 5-3) had its five-game winning streak stopped, getting a career-high 24 points from freshman Mark Zoller and 21 from Adam Chubb.
Bucknell Tops Lafayette: Surging Bucknell got 20 points from freshman Chris McNaughton and used a 21-7 second half run to seal a 79-61 win in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The win was the sixth straight for the Bison (12-12, 8-3 Patriot), and they are now a game out of first place. They held Lafayette (18-6, 9-2) to just 40% shooting from the field and held leading scorer Justin DeBerry to just 6 points on 2-12 shooting. Lafayette is now in a tie in that top spot with the loss.
Lehigh Moves Into A First Place Tie: Moving into the tie in first is Lehigh, which held off Army in a 68-63 home win. The Mountain Hawks trailed 44-38 after a 10-0 run by the Black Knights early in the second half, then five reserves led the Mountain Hawks on a run of 13 straight points that gave them the lead for good. Jason Mgebroff led Lehigh (16-8, 9-2 Patriot) with a career-high 25 points.
Other Scores: Cornell (11-11, 6-3 Ivy) stayed in the thick of the Ivy League race with a 69-45 blowout of visiting Dartmouth, getting 17 points from Ka’Ron Barnes to lead four players in double figures. Columbia knocked off visiting Harvard, 66-57 as Dalen Cuff led four players in double figures with 15 points. In other Patriot League games, Colgate nipped Navy 60-59 and American beat visiting Holy Cross 65-51, the 200th career victory for American head coach Jeff Jones. The only other game of the night was an Atlantic Sun matchup, where Gardner Webb beat visiting Campbell 84-69.
Former Bonnies Coach Wants Money: Former St. Bonaventure head coach Jan van Breda Kolff is now seeking the approximately $1 million left on his contract at the time he was dismissed as their head coach. The NCAA cleared him of any infractions in their recent investigation of the program, and his lawyer said on Friday that he will contact school officials about it next week to see if this can be resolved before it ever goes to court. Van Breda Kolff had four years left on his contract at the time of his dismissal and his since moved on to an assistant coaching job with the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets.
Marquette Assistant Improves: Marquette head coach Tom Crean said on Friday that assistant Trey Schwab is showing good improvement in his recovery from a double-lung transplant. Schwab is still in the intensive care unit at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and is expected to be sedated for another week while the transplanted lungs get used to his body, according to Crean. The 39-year-old assistant waited nearly two years for the transplant after being diagnosed with the rare and incurable disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which attacks air sacks in the lungs and hinders the body’s ability to produce oxygen.
Tar Heel Recruit Indicted: North Carolina signee JamesOn Curry, the top scorer in North Carolina high school basketball history, was indicted on multiple felony charges involving possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, the sale of marijuana and delivering marijuana. The school has yet to make a decision on how this will affect his standing with the university, according to the Associated Press. A 6’3″ shooting guard, Curry was kicked off the team at Eastern Alamance High School shortly after his February 4 arrest.
Tonight’s Menu
• It’s another full Saturday of action, with each game taking on more importance as Selection Sunday approaches. Leading the way are No. 1 Stanford, which takes on UCLA in Westwood, and No. 2 St. Joseph’s, which takes on Temple at the Palestra. Both schools are attempting to remain undefeated.
• In the Big East, No. 5 Pittsburgh heads south to take on West Virginia, No. 8 Connecticut hosts streaking Notre Dame, No. 19 Providence hosts Miami, and No. 25 Syracuse heads to Georgetown.
• In the SEC, No. 4 Mississippi State hosts Alabama, while No. 9 Kentucky heads to Auburn, No. 23 South Carolina travels to Arkansas, Florida travels to Mississippi, and LSU travels to Vanderbilt in a key game for both teams.
• Big 12 action features No. 7 Oklahoma State hosting Nebraska and Oklahoma hosting No. 11 Texas in a pivotal game for both schools. Also, No. 22 Texas Tech hosts Texas A&M and Iowa State heads to Lawrence to play No. 21 Kansas.
• Conference USA has two showdowns when No. 10 Louisville travels to No. 16 Cincinnati and No. 25 Memphis hosts UAB. In other key C-USA games, DePaul hosts St. Louis and Charlotte travels to Southern Mississippi.
• ACC action has Florida State heading to Chapel Hill for a matchup with No. 18 North Carolina.
• Other games with Top 25 teams include No. 6 Gonzaga traveling to Tulsa, No. 13 Arizona taking on Oregon State in Corvallis, and No. 20 Southern Illinois hosting Hawaii.
• Other games with NCAA Tournament implications include Creighton at Kent State, Manhattan at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Air Force at Utah, and first place in the Ivy League is on the line as Brown visits league-leading Princeton.
