The Morning Dish – Thursday, March 4th
Georgia Tech hands Duke a home loss: Duke had won 41 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the Yellow Jackets suffocating defense forced Duke into one of the poorest shooting nights it has had all year. The Yellow Jackets, who had lost 15 straight games to Duke, are now 8-7 in the ACC and back into the hunt for third place in the conference. The Yellow Jackets were led by Jarrett Jack, with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Luke Schenscher was the dominant force on the inside, blocking 4 shots and throwing in 14 points. Duke shot 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from behind the arc.
Maryland makes it two ACC upsets: Maryland’s quest to make the NCAA tournament took a turn for the best as they outlasted the North Carolina State Wolfpack 70-69. The Wolfpack is not having the finish they might have wanted to the season, with two straight losses and three losses in five tries. Marcus Melvin missed big three pointers in the game’s final minute, and his team ended up losing by a single point. John Gilchrist scored 21 points and Jamar Smith added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Maryland must win their final game against Virginia to even have a chance of making the tournament. Not many teams make it into the tournament with 11 losses.
Louisville dominated St. Louis, Memphis dominates TCU: Louisville and St. Louis were tied in the Conference USA standings, but Louisville was the team marred in controversy as they have steadily dropped in the polls, having lost six of eight. Louisville was the team that came out of the gate with something to prove, and that they did with a resounding 75-48 win over St. Louis. Francisco Garcia shot 1of 11 from behind the arc, but he ended up with 17 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds to lead the Cardinals to the victory. The Cardinals outrebounded and outshot the Billikens, who now have a chance, along with Charlotte, to become 20 game winners, something that UAB and Cincinnati have already accomplished. The Cardinals play Marquette on Saturday. Memphis held TCU to 18 points in the first half, while shooting 51 percent from the field for the game. Who do you think won? Sean Banks and Rodney Carney both scored over twenty to help Memphis take a one game lead over Cinicinnati. If Cincinnati were to win tonight against DePaul, it would set up a regular season Conference USA championship game on Saturday between Memphis and Cincinnati. That game, whether Cincinnati wins or loses, should not be missed!
Purdue falls as Illinois takes control of the Big 10: Remember when Purdue was ranked and they were the talk of the non-conference Big 10 schedule? Well, if you do, be quick to forget all about it as Purdue lost a game they sorely needed in order to get consideration for the tournament. Illinois won its ninth straight game and assured itself the Big 10 title with the victory over Purdue, which falls to 17-11 overall and 7-8 in conference play. Pursue has lost 7 of its last 10 games, after beating such talented teams as Duke, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State. With such big wins, they still had a chance to make the tournament, but a Luther Head putback in overtime cost the Boilermakers their shot. The final score was 81-79, and Purdue has their final game of the regular season against Iowa on Saturday.
The two K’s win again: Kentucky and Kansas are the konstants in college basketball, and they both won again. Kansas won’t take the Big 12 title and Kentucky, despite their miraculous last second win over Mississippi State, still have the second best record in the SEC to said team. However, South Carolina and Nebraska became the most recent appetizers to their respective conference tournaments. Kentucky was led by Cliff Hawkins with 21 points and 11 assists, a career best, while Kansas was led by Wayne Simien with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Kansas finishes the regular season against Missouri, a team hoping to get one last big victory, while Kentucky will look to burst Florida’s bubble.
St. John’s player gets salary, a well-negotiated $300 a month: In a statement read by one of his attorney, Abraham Keita accused a member of the team staff of giving money to him each month. Keita is also filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University, where he claims he was the unworthy recipient of racially disparate disciplinary treatment. The University was surprised by the allegations of the payments, and said they would begin an investigation, while also stating that the charges of racially disparate treatment were false. Senior forward Kyle Cuffe disputed the allegations of payments, something he said that he never saw. St. John’s, which fired its longtime head coach Mike Jarvis, and lost Willie Neal to marijuana charges, as well as lost four players to a sex scandal which included false rape charges, is needless to say having its worst season in recent years.
Jamie Lloreda out for season: Senior LSU forward Jamie Lloreda is out for the season due to a nagging left foot injury. He has played through most of the season with recurring bursitis in his left Achilles’ tendon, not to mention a bevy of sprained ankles. He is the nation’s second leading rebounder.
Oklahoma center charged with marijuana possession: Jabhari Brown was charged with marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession, but not arrested. Police found the drugs as well as a firearm in a search of his home. He was not in uniform Wednesday night. Brown was averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds a game.
Jim Harrick Junior tops basket weaving class: In papers released by Georgia University, that’s right, University, it was found that the question ‘how may points is a three pointer worth?’ was part of a twenty question final exam given to three men’s basketball players by Jim Harrick Jr. as part of his Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball class of 2001. The school, which has been kept out of the NCAA tournament as well as the SEC tournament, has been accused and charged with defamation by the Harrick family. Don’t look for the Harrick’s to be coaching anytime soon. Questions ranged from “How many goals are there on a basketball court?”, and “How many points is a 3-point shot worth?”. Oh, by the way, the final question in the exam was ‘who is the best Division I assistant coach in the nation’. Obviously, it is not Jim Harrick Junior.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Cincinnati is at DePaul, while Stanford is at Washington State defending its perfect season.
