The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 20th
East Rutherford Region
No. 7 Memphis 59, No. 10 South Carolina 43: Memphis continued South Carolina’s struggles in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, beating the Gamecocks 59-43 behind 26 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Rodney Carney. The Tigers (22-7) won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1995, while the Gamecocks (23-11) have not won since 1973. The Gamecocks shot just 35% from the field and had just one player score in double figures, Carlos Powell with 11.
No. 2 Oklahoma State 75, No. 15 Eastern Washington 56: Oklahoma State started the second half on a 12-2 run to break a halftime tie and never looked back in its first round win over Eastern Washington. The Cowboys (28-3) shot 54.5% from the field and got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Ivan McFarlin and 17 points and 9 rebounds from Tony Allen. The Eagles (17-13) were making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and got 14 points from Brendon Merritt.
No. 6 Wisconsin 76, No. 11 Richmond 64: Wisconsin used a big second half to rally from a 13-point second half deficit to beat Richmond, 76-64. The Badgers (25-6) set a school record for wins in a season, but it didn’t come easy as Devin Harris was held to 11 points and took just six shots, but handed out six assists as Mike Wilkinson (18 points) and Boo Wade (16 points) picked up the scoring slack. Tony Dobbins did an excellent job defending Harris, while Mike Skrocki and Jamaal Scott led Richmond (20-13) with 12 points apiece.
No. 3 Pittsburgh 53, No. 14 Central Florida 44: Pittsburgh had to hold off Central Florida late in the game, winning like they have won many games during this season — making big plays on the defensive end and just enough shots and free throws on the offensive end in the final minutes. The Golden Knights (25-6) led 36-33 with ten minutes left, but went more than five and a half minutes without a point as the Panthers (30-4) took the lead for good. Carl Krauser made five free throws late to cap a game-high 22 point effort.
Atlanta Region
No. 5 Illinois 72, No. 12 Murray State 53: Illinois shut down Murray State and dominated the backboards in its first round win over the Racers. The Illini (25-6) got 21 points from Dee Brown and held the Racers (28-6) to 34% shooting and out-rebounded them 44-27.
No. 4 Cincinnati 80, No. 13 East Tennessee State 77: Tony Bobbitt hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to break a 77-77 tie, giving the Bearcats an 80-77 win in a terrific first round game. Tim Smith (26 points) and Zakee Wadood (17 points, 14 rebounds) did all they could for the Bucs (27-6), who held the lead on several occasions, but it wasn’t enough. Field Williams led Cincinnati (25-6) with 19 points.
No. 2 Mississippi State 85, No. 15 Monmouth 52: After Monmouth hung around during much of the first half, Mississippi State went on a 22-5 run and was never challenged the rest of the way in dominating the Hawks. The Bulldogs (26-3) shot 54% from the field and manhandled the Hawks (21-12) on the glass with a 47-20 edge, and they scored 31 points off 17 Hawk turnovers.
No. 7 Xavier 80, No. 10 Louisville 70: Louisville was in control most of the first half and had a 42-31 halftime lead, but Xavier went on a 36-10 run in the second half to take over the game en route to an 80-70 win over the Cardinals in Orlando. Lionel Chalmers keyed the run for the Musketeers (24-10) with nine of his game-high 25 points, and Romain Sato had 24 points to complement his backcourt mate. Taquan Dean led Louisville (20-10) with 19 points.
St. Louis Region
No. 6 Boston College 58, No. 11 Utah 51: Boston College shut down star shooter Nick Jacobson and held off a late rally by Utah in its 58-51 first round victory. The Eagles (24-9), who shot over 52% from the field, got 19 points and 8 rebounds from Craig Smith and limited Jacobson to 8 points on 3-18 shooting, including 2-13 on three-pointers. Andrew Bogut led Utah (24-9) with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
No. 3 Georgia Tech 65, No. 14 Northern Iowa 60: Northern Iowa came back after falling behind by 17 points in the first half, missing a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds before succumbing to Georgia Tech, 65-60 in Milwaukee. Luke Schenscher led the Yellow Jackets (24-9) with 13 points and B.J. Elder added 12, while Northern Iowa (21-10) was led by David Gruber’s 16 points.
No. 1 Kentucky 96, No. 16 Florida A&M 76: Florida A&M stayed with Kentucky for a while, including a very high-scoring first half, but the Wildcats went on a 15-2 run later in the second half to pull away from the pesky Rattlers. The Wildcats (27-4), who got 26 points from Gerald Fitch, had a 60-52 lead at the half and were up by just ten points before the decisive run put it out of reach. They had a 39-24 edge on the glass and shot 56.5% from the field, but allowed the Rattlers (14-17) to shoot 45.5% to keep it close. Terrence Woods, who started his career in the SEC at Tennessee, led the Rattlers with 24 points and 5 steals.
No. 12 Pacific 66, No. 5 Providence 58: Pacific’s clutch guard play and Providence’s offensive ineptness combined to produce the second upset in the 5-12 matchups as the Tigers upset the Friars in Kansas City. Miah Davis led the Tigers (25-7) with 19 points, helping to lead their 6-14 effort from behind the arc, while Tom Cockle was 3-4 from behind the arc en route to 11 points. The Friars (20-9) held a 36-24 edge on the glass, but shot below 38% from the field. Ryan Gomes led Providence with 25 points and 13 rebounds as they ended their season with four straight losses.
No. 4 Kansas 78, No. 13 Illinois-Chicago 53: Kansas went on a 21-2 second half run to widen their lead en route to thumping Illinois-Chicago in Kansas City. The Jayhawks (22-8) shot a scorching 61.5% from the field, held the Flames (24-8) to just over 31%, and held a 37-22 edge on the boards to win despite committing 25 turnovers. J.R. Giddens led Kansas with 17 points, while Cedric Banks led the Flames with 15 in defeat.
No. 9 UAB 102, No. 8 Washington 100: In a game that lived up to its expectations of being fast-paced and high-scoring, DeMario Eddins made several plays down the stretch to cap off a career-high 26 point effort as UAB knocked off Washington in Columbus. Eddins took a charge, made the decisive free throws, then blocked a shot in the final minute of a game dominated by offense as both teams shot over 54% from the field. The Blazers (21-9) got their first NCAA Tournament win since 1986. Nate Robinson led Washington (19-12) with 27 points.
Phoenix Region
No. 3 North Carolina State 61, No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette 52: Marcus Melvin scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and North Carolina State held Louisiana-Lafayette below 33% shooting to overcome its own poor shooting and a sub-par performance from Julius Hodge in its first round win. The Wolfpack (21-9) shot below 37%, and Hodge had 14 points on just 5-13 shooting. Antoine Landry led the Ragin’ Cajuns (20-9) with 16 points.
No. 6 Vanderbilt 71, No. 11 Western Michigan 58: Mario Moore scored a career-high 26 points and helped break open a close game late in the second half as Vanderbilt moved on to the second round by knocking off Western Michigan. The Commodores (22-9) shot 56.5% from the field to win despite committing 17 turnovers. Mike Williams closed out his career by leading the Broncos (26-5) with 24 points.
NIT Action: Three NIT games were played Friday night. D’Or Fischer blocked nine shots to set a school record in helping West Virginia (17-13) beat Rhode Island (20-14), 79-72 in Morgantown. George Mason (23-9) won consecutive postseason games for the first time in school history after a 66-60 win over visiting Austin Peay (22-10) behind 19 points from Lamar Butler. Nebraska (18-12) made all 12 free throws in the final 57 seconds and got 17 points each from John Turek and Nate Johnson in a 78-70 win over visiting Niagara (22-10), which got 27 points from Juan Mendez.
Duhon To Start: Duke senior guard Chris Duhon will start on Saturday against Seton Hall despite the bruised ribs that have hampered him of late. He didn’t practice on Friday, but he will see how long he can play after going scoreless in just 16 minutes on Thursday and saying he felt “a little extra sore” after the game.
Richardson Deposition: Former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson told an attorney that he felt discriminated against when he went to speaking engagements around the state of Arkansas where he often was the only Black person present, according to a transcript of a December 17 deposition that was released on Thursday. The transcript was part of exhibits included in filings that day by the University of Arkansas and the Razorback Foundation as they renewed their arguments to end Richardson’s discrimination lawsuit. The case has been scheduled for trial on May 3, and each side plans to call more than 20 witnesses.
Harrison Mulling Early Entry: Colorado junior center David Harrison will discuss declaring for the NBA Draft with his father when he returns home to Nashville, Tenn. for spring break next week. He is leaving open the possibility of returning, but after the Buffaloes’ season-ending loss in the NIT on Wednesday, he made conflicting statements. He is projected to go somewhere in the first round if he declares, but it’s still early as far as players declaring is concerned.
Kruger’s Contract Approved: The Nevada board of Regents approved a five-year, $3.8 million contract on Friday for new UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger. He will be able to earn more incentives. Kruger compiled a 318-233 overall mark in 18 seasons at the college level before spending four years in the NBA.
Texas A&M to Interview Gillespie: In its search for a new head coach to replace the departed Melvin Watkins, Texas A&M will interview current UTEP head coach Billy Gillespie and is expected to offer him the job, according to Andy Katz from ESPN.com. Gillespie led UTEP to a major turnaround this season, as the Miners went from six wins to 24 wins and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament this season.
Missouri To Name New Basketball Arena: The University of Missouri will name its new basketball facility Paige Sports Arena, its athletic department spokesperson said on Friday. The arena is named for Elizabeth Paige Laurie at the request of her parents, who donated $25 million towards its construction. The name is subject to approval from the university’s governing Board of Curators and is scheduled for completion on October 1.
Day Three of the NCAA Tournament
• In Raleigh, No. 1 Duke takes on No. 8 Seton Hall (Atlanta region) and No. 4 Wake Forest takes on No. 12 Manhattan (East Rutherford region).
• In Buffalo, No. 1 St. Joseph’s takes on No. 8 Texas Tech (East Rutherford region) and No. 2 Connecticut takes on No. 7 DePaul (Phoenix region) in a matchup featuring one coach (Dave Leitao) mentored for many years by the opposing head coach (Jim Calhoun).
• In Denver, No. 3 Texas meets No. 6 North Carolina (Atlanta region) and No. 4 Maryland takes on No. 5 Syracuse (Phoenix region).
• In Seattle, No. 1 Stanford takes on No. 8 Alabama (Phoenix region) and No. 2 Gonzaga takes on No. 10 Nevada (St. Louis region).
• In NIT action, Villanova travels to Charlottesville to take on Virginia, and Boise State hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
