The Morning Dish – Friday, March 26th
Phoenix Regional
Connecticut 73, Vanderbilt 53 Connecticut’s Ben Gordon scored 20 points to lead four Huskies in double figures in an easy Sweet 16 win over the Commodores in Phoenix on Thursday. Emeka Okafur had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gordon also added nine rebounds and five assists in the lopsided win. Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer, Matt Freije, was held to 3-of-18 shooting for eight points. He helped lead the rally against North Carolina State last weekend, that got them to the Sweet 16.
Alabama 80, Syracuse 71 The state of Alabama is known for preaching its football. Now, they have a new sport to preach – basketball. The Crimson Tide moved one step closer to the Final Four with an 80-73 win over the defending national champs. In the tournament, Alabama has now knocked off the top ranked team in the country in Stanford and the defending national champions. Earnest Shelton led the Crimson Tide with 22 points and Kennedy Winston had 19. Alabama will now play Connecticut in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
East Rutherford Regional
Oklahoma State 63, Pittsburgh 51 The Cowboys used a late 17-6 run to put the nail into the coffin in their win over Pittsburgh in East Rutherford, N.J. Cowboys head coach Eddie Sutton will be taking his team to a regional final, but has never won the national championship. During his career, he has been to the Final Four twice, but never the game’s biggest stage. Reaching that stage will be of great satisfaction to not only the program but to the whole community. Three years ago, two players and eight others associated with the program were killed in a plane crash in Colorado.
St. Joseph’s 84, Wake Forest 80 The top seed Hawks fought off a late rally from the Demon Deacons on their way to advancing to the Elite Eight and to play Oklahoma State. The national player of the year Jameer Nelson had 24 points, tying him with Delonte West for the game high total. St. Joseph’s will now play Oklahoma State in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
NIT action: Oregon 65, Notre Dame 61; Iowa State 77, Marquette 69. Oregon and Iowa State advances to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York next weekend. Michigan and Rutgers are the other two teams there.
Keady leaving Purdue?: Purdue Boilermakers legendary coach Gene Keady has permission to interview for a new job. After 24 years in West Lafayette, Keady interviewed for the University of San Francisco opening left by the firing of Philip Matthews. According to Purdue sports information, Keady has not officially resigned from his position at Purdue. They have declined to comment further. Keady is a long time acquaintance of San Francisco athletic director Bill Hogan when Hogan worked at St. Joseph’s College in Rensslear, Ind. Keady is 505-249 during his coaching career and is one of 16 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Davis to leave the Hoosiers?: Auburn University interim president Ed Richardson confirmed that Indiana head coach Mike Davis is one of five finalists for the open coaching job at the school. Richardson has said that he is going to serious consider a minority for the position, according to a story in the Opelika-Auburn News. This announcement has also gained popular interest from former NBA star and Auburn alum Charles Barkley as well. He told the Birmingham News that he feels that Davis would be the perfect man for the job. Davis has been quiet in saying if he is interested in the job and Indiana’s athletic director Terry Clapacs has been repeating comments that Auburn has not contacted him about Davis’ availability.
Tonight’s Menu
&8226 NCAA action – St. Louis regional: UAB vs. Kansas and Nevada vs. Georgia Tech. Atlanta regional: Xavier vs. Texas and Illinois vs. Duke.
