The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 14th
Huskies Win Big East: No. 9 Connecticut had an uphill battle all night against No. 6 Pittsburgh, which was also playing for a No. 1 seed in the Big East championship game. Emeka Okafor returned to action for the Huskies and produced 11 points and 13 rebounds, but it was Ben Gordon who starred again as he scored 23 points to lead the Huskies to a 61-58 come-from-behind win over the Panthers. Gordon set a Big East Tournament record for points, scoring 81 in the three games en route to being the tournament MVP. Pittsburgh (29-4) led 34-25 at the half and later led 51-40 before the Huskies (27-6) began their late run.
Stanford Gets Revenge, Wins Pac Ten: No. 2 Stanford didn’t let a repeat of last weekend happen, as the Matt Lottich had 20 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Cardinal to a 77-66 win over Washington in the Pac Ten championship. Josh Childress added 14 points and 9 rebounds for Stanford (29-1) en route to being named the tournament MVP. Nate Robinson led Washington (19-11) with 16 points.
Bearcats Win Conference USA: No. 13 Cincinnati used defense and clutch plays to beat DePaul in the Conference USA championship game, 55-50. The game involved two technical fouls and an ejection, but the important items were the 35.3% shooting by DePaul (21-9), Tony Bobbitt’s 17 points to lead Cincinnati (24-6), and the Bearcats’ 32-22 edge on the boards.
Xavier Rolls Into NCAA: Xavier continued its solid play, holding Dayton without a field goal in the final eight-plus minutes en route to a 58-49 win to take the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Musketeers (23-10) committed just 2 turnovers and got 14 points and 9 rebounds from Romain Sato, while Dayton (24-8) got a game-high 17 points from Ramod Marshall in defeat. Xavier senior guard Lionel Chalmers was named the tournament MVP.
ACC Down to Two: No. 5 Duke advanced to the ACC championship game with an 85-71 win over No. 14 Georgia Tech, their 17th straight win in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils (27-4) shot nearly 52% from the field and got 20 points and 18 rebounds from Shelden Williams and 19 from Luol Deng. B.J. Elder led Georgia Tech (23-9) with 25 points.
The Blue Devils will take on Maryland, which stunned No. 16 North Carolina State 85-82 with a big second half comeback. The Terrapins (18-11) trailed by as many as 21 points, but put together the largest comeback in ACC Tournament history led by John Gilchrist, who scored 23 of his career-high 30 points in the second half.
Big 12 Matchup Is Set: No. 7 Oklahoma State is still playing for a No. 1 seed as well as the Big 12 championship, knocking off Texas Tech 82-77 to advance to the title game. The Cowboys (26-3) got 22 points from John Lucas and 19 points and 9 rebounds from Ivan McFarlin. Andre Emmett led Texas Tech (22-10) with 26 points and Devonne Giles added 20.
The Cowboys will take on No. 10 Texas (23-6), which beat No. 18 Kansas (21-8) 64-60 behind 18 points from Brandon Mouton, 10 of which came in a key stretch in the second half.
Illinois Stays Hot, Advances to Title Game: No. 12 Illinois beat Michigan 74-60, advancing to the Big Ten championship game on Sunday. Dee Brown led the Illini (24-5) with 21 points, and they will take on No. 11 Wisconsin (23-6), which beat Michigan State (18-11) by a 68-66 margin behind 21 points from Devin Harris.
Trying For Number 25: No. 8 Kentucky got 24 points from Gerald Fitch and 21 from Erik Daniels in a 78-63 win over South Carolina (23-10) in the SEC semifinals. The Wildcats (25-4) have a chance for their 25th SEC title on Sunday, and will take on Florida (20-9), which got a career-high 35 points from Anthony Roberson to blitz Vanderbilt (21-9) 91-69.
Utes Are In: Nick Jacobson capped a 22-point effort with a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to give Utah a 73-70 win over UNLV in the Mountain West championship. Jacobson was supported by 18 points by Richard Cheney and 17 points and 14 rebounds by Andrew Bogut, and the Utes (24-8) rebounded from a 10-point deficit early in the second half.
Nevada Wins, UTEP Has to Sweat It Out: Nevada won the WAC Tournament with a 66-60 win over UTEP on Saturday night, in a game where both teams shot below 33% from the floor. The Wolf Pack (23-8) got 15 points from Kevin Pinkney to lead four scorers in double figures, while the Miners (24-7) now have to sweat it out on Sunday. Nevada junior Kirk Snyder, who scored the winning basket and had 11 points and 14 rebounds, was the tournament MVP.
Western Michigan Off The Bubble In A Good Way: Mike Williams scored 28 points to lead Western Michigan to the Mid-American Conference championship with a 77-66 win over Kent State. The Broncos (26-4) forced 18 turnovers and had a 36-28 edge on the glass to win despite shooting just over 38% from the field. Kent State (22-8) was led by John Edwards with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Catamounts Go Back: In the first nationally televised game ever at Patrick Gym, Vermont beat Maine 72-52 in the America East championship game, winning their second straight title. Taylor Coppenrath, the conference Player of the Year the last two seasons, returned from a wrist injury that kept him out the last four weeks to score a career-high (and America East Tournament record) 43 points and grab 13 rebounds. He made 14 of 19 field goal attempts and had 28 points at halftime to outscore the Black Bears (20-10) all by himself, and by seven minutes into the second half, he had broken the previous record for scoring in the championship game when he scored his 33rd point. The previous tournament record for points in a game was 40, accomplished twice.
Pacific Takes Big West: Miah Davis made two free throws with seven seconds left to give Pacific a 75-73 win over Cal State-Northridge in the Big West championship game. Pacific (24-7) led for most of the game, but had to hold off several charges by the Matadors (14-16) as they rallied to tie the game at 73 on consecutive three-pointers before Davis made the winning free throws.
Alabama State Takes SWAC Title: Alabama State shot 47% from the field and held a 31-24 edge on the boards en route to a 63-58 win over Alabama A&M in the Southwest Athletic Conference championship game. The Hornets (16-14) won their second SWAC title in four seasons.
Rattlers Take MEAC: Florida A&M got 20 points from Tony Tate and used a big second half to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title with a 58-51 win over Coppin State. Florida A&M (14-16) becomes the first team to advance to the NCAA Tournament with a losing record, and they outscored Coppin State (18-14) 30-19 in the second half.
Arizona Thinking Extension: Arizona is discussing a contract extension with basketball head coach Lute Olson, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. School President Peter Likins said they would like to give the 69-year-old Olson a five-year extension, which would begin after his current contract expires in 2005. They would also like to increase his base salary to $700,000. Olson has a 519-155 record in 21 seasons at Arizona, including an NCAA title in 1997.
Former LSU Coach is Okay: Former LSU head coach Dale Brown was released from the hospital on Saturday and is reportedly in good condition. Brown fell outside the Georgia Dome on Friday during the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but doctors found only a mild concussion. He flew back to Baton Rouge with former LSU athletic director Joe Dean on Saturday.
Bodyguard Injured When Gun Fires: An off-duty police officer working as a bodyguard for Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was shot in the hip when his concealed pistol accidentally discharged during a game at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Friday. It discharged about midway through the second half of Maryland’s 87-86 win over Wake Forest, and he was treated for injuries that are not life-threatening. Firearms are not allowed at the Greensboro Coliseum, where this took place, and an investigation is ongoing.
Tonight’s Menu
Don’t forget to check the latest recaps during Championship Week.
• No. 5 Duke takes on Maryland in the ACC Championship game, keeping this newfound rivalry going.
• The SEC Championship game has No. 8 Kentucky taking on Florida.
• The Big 12 Championship game has No. 7 Oklahoma State facing off against No. 10 Texas.
• No. 12 Illinois takes on No. 11 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game.
• The Patriot League Championship game has American traveling to Lehigh.
• At 6:00 PM, we all find out what the field of 65 looks like on the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.
