The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 27th
Atlanta Regional
No. 7 Xavier 79, No. 3 Texas 71: Xavier remained hot on Friday night, pulling out a 79-71 win over Texas in the final minutes. The Musketeers (26-10) won for the 16th time in 17 games to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time ever, getting 27 points from Romain Sato and 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Lionel Chalmers to lead the way. They ran off 10 unanswered points late in the first half to take the lead, later holding a 44-41 advantage heading into the locker room. Then near the halfway point of the second half, they broke a 50-50 tie with nine unanswered points and led the rest of the way, although the Longhorns got within 72-71 on a three-pointer by Brian Boddicker (11 points) with 17 seconds left. Texas head coach Rick Barnes was ejected with two technical fouls with two seconds left. Brandon Mouton, who fouled out with 2:09 left, led Texas (25-8) with 21 points in his final college game.
No. 1 Duke 72, No. 4 Illinois 62: Duke extended a one-point halftime lead, then broke the game open for good with about six minutes left in their 72-62 win over Illinois. The Illini (29-6) ran out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Blue Devils responded to tie it, then later took the lead. The Illini would lead one more time before the half, with Duke regaining the lead for good in the final minute of the half. Luol Deng led Duke (30-5) with 18 points, while J.J. Redick added 17 and Chris Duhon handed out eight assists and grabbed 10 rebounds while playing with sore ribs. Illinois got 15 points each from James Augustine and Roger Powell.
St. Louis Regional
No. 4 Kansas 100, No. 9 UAB 74: Kansas had no trouble against UAB’s pressure defense on Friday night, shooting lights out in the first half and cruising from there in a 100-74 win to advance to the Atlanta Regional final. Spearheading the attack for the Jayhawks (24-8) were Wayne Simien (30 points, 9 rebounds), who scored inside early and often, and Aaron Miles (13 points, 10 assists), who made breaking their press look easy. J.R. Giddens added 18 points as the Jayhawks shot 53.6% from the field and had a 42-28 edge on the boards. Mo Finley led UAB (22-10) with 13 points as one of five Blazers in double figures, but they shot 32.4% from the field in the loss.
No. 3 Georgia Tech 72, No. 10 Nevada 67: Early on, it didn’t look good for Georgia Tech, as B.J. Elder sprained his ankle and Jarrett Jack had to sit with foul trouble. That meant someone like Marvin Lewis had to carry the Yellow Jackets, and he did just that, scoring 23 points on 7-13 shooting that included some clutch baskets as they advanced to the Elite Eight with a 72-67 win over the pesky Wolfpack. Nevada (25-9) led by as many as eight in the first half as Todd Okeson (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Kirk Snyder (21 points) had them off and running early with plays at both ends of the floor. But the two combined to shoot just 3-22 in the second half and the Wolfpack shot below 32% from the floor for the game. Lewis was the only player in double figures for Georgia Tech (26-9), which shot nearly 43% from the field to win despite committing 16 turnovers. Elder tried to play on the ankle later, but didn’t last long as the pain was too much for him and he was ineffective.
SMU Hires Tubbs: SMU hired Jimmy Tubbs as their new head basketball coach on Friday, two seasons after he left the school to be an assistant at Oklahoma. Tubbs had been on SMU’s staff for 12 years before going to Oklahoma, and he will succeed former boss Mike Dement, who was fired nearly a month ago. Athletic Director Jim Copeland expressed confidence in the decision, noting that several Dallas high school coaches supported Tubbs as well.
Navy Hired Villanova Assistant: Navy named former Villanova assistant Billy Lange its new head basketball coach on Friday. Lange, who was at Villanova the past three seasons, replaces the retired Don DeVoe. Lange was previously the coach at the Merchant Marine Academy, where he posted a 39-19 record.
Miami Fires Clark: Despite three years remaining on his contract, Miami fired head coach Perry Clark on Friday, citing a troubling combination of consecutive losing seasons and a lack of support from boosters. This past season, the Hurricanes went 14-16 and missed the Big East Tournament, just two years after making the NCAA Tournament with a school-record 24 wins. Although Clark was 65-54 in his four years, they went 25-33 the past two seasons, and this past season included a ten-game losing streak. The school has set no timetable for hiring a new head coach, but would like to have one before the Spring Signing Period begins on April 14.
Utah Interviews Eagle Coach: The Associated Press reported that Utah interviewed Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti for its head coach opening, citing a report in the Spokesman-Review. The newspaper said that he met with Utah athletic director Chris Hill after the Eagles lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Giacoletti was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament, and he has posted a 69-50 record in four seasons. Included in that is a 41-17 record in Big Sky games, tops among all member schools in that span, and they have finished no lower than second place.
Mountaineer Freshmen to Transfer: West Virginia announced that freshmen Tyler Relph and Jerrah Young have decided to transfer at the end of the academic year. Relph, a 6-foot guard from Victor, New York, averaged 5.0 points and 1.7 assists in 17.7 minutes per game this season, playing in all 31 games and starting five. Young, a 6-6 forward from Chicago, played in 21 games and averaged 7.5 minutes per game.
Tonight’s Menu
• At 4:40 PM EST, the Phoenix Regional Final has No. 2 Connecticut taking on No. 8 Alabama.
• At 7:05 PM EST, the East Rutherford Regional Final pits No. 1 St. Joseph’s against No. 2 Oklahoma State.
