The Morning Dish – Tuesday, March 16th
Racers in Doubt: Murray State’s chances to upset 5th seed Illinois may have taken a hit when two players were arrested Monday on drug possession. Junior Kelvin Brown who averaged 12.7 points and 4.1 rebounds and Junior Adam Chiles who averaged 10.2 points and 4.7 assists were released after posting bail. Police responded to a 911 hangup at the two player’s apartment and found Brown hiding in the closet. Brown was facing a warrant for driving away from a gas station without paying. A further search found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. No decision has been made with regards to Brown and Chiles’ availability for the NCAA tournament.
Runnin’ under a New Leader: Former Atlanta Hawks Coach Lon Kruger has been hired as the next coach of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. He replaces Charlie Spoonhour who stepped down last month due to health reasons. Jay Spoonhour has been coaching in the interim and led the team to a 18-12 record and a birth in the NIT. He will continue coaching through the NIT which begins with a Wednesday matchup with Boise State. Kruger still needs to be approved by the Nevada Board of Regents and that’s expected to come Thursday. Kruger was most recently an assistant with the New York Knicks. He also had previous coaching gigs in the college game with Illinois, Florida, Kansas State and Pan American.
Lappas Spared: UMass Minuteman coach Steve Lappas has reworked his contract after three disappointing years at the helm . His base pay will stay the same but incentives for attendance and performance have been added. Lappas, formerly a coach at Manhattan and Villanova, guided the Minutemen to a 10-19 record this year and a first round exit in the A-10 tournament.
Outlaws in the Lone Star State: Reports say that Tom Penders, among others, has interviewed for the opening at Houston. The job became available last week when Ray McCallum was reassigned within the athletic department. Penders has resigned from his last two posts; in 2001, he was coaching at George Washington when alleged NCAA violations came out, in 1998, he was at Texas when a student’s academic report was leaked to the press. Reports from College Station say Texas A&M is considering hiring Larry Eustachy. Eustachy resigned from Iowa State in 2003 after photos of him partying at rival schools surfaced. He is currently receiving treatment for alcoholism and has stated would be willing to have behavior stipulations within any contract.
The Field of 40 Loses One: Behind 21 points and 12 assists from Travis Deiner, Marquette won the first game of the NIT 87-72 over Toledo. The Golden Eagles built a 17 point lead in the first half but the Rockets came back to take the lead early in the second half, only to watch Marquette take it back and put them away with a big run. The Golden Eagles will face one of Rice, Boise State, UNLV or UW-Milwaukee in the next round.
How to Heal a Foot: Florida’s first round game with Manhattan got a little bit more interesting when leading scorer Matt Walsh went to the hospital Monday to treat blisters suffered during the SEC tournament. A sheath was placed on the foot to hasten healing. While expected to miss practice on Tuesday, Coach Donovan says there’s no doubt Walsh will play on Thursday.
Razorbacks No More: Stan Heath announced that two members of his Arkansas squad will not have their scholarships renewed. The two players, Kendrick Davis and Wen Mukubu were both sophomores and will finish out the semester but are free to play elsewhere. Davis played in 25 games and averaged 5.4 points while Mukubu played in 24 games and averaged 1.2 points.
Tonight’s Menu:
• The field of 65 becomes 64 tonight with the play-in game between Lehigh and Florida A&M. Terrence Woods, the Rattler’s leading scorer and the nation leader in three pointers made, is questionable for the game with a thigh bruise suffered in the finals of the MEAC tournament against Coppin State.
• The NIT continues with some interesting matchups. Creighton and Nebraska get together for a rematch of an early season battle won by the Blue Jays. Missouri, at one point ranked second this year, begins its quest for a postseason tournament title at Michigan. No. 23 Utah State, the biggest NCAA tournament snub, hosts Hawaii. Saint Louis also hosts Iowa.
