The Morning Dish – Wednesday, December 1st
New Season, Same Story: Although the competition is invariably good, the Big Ten may be getting sick of this ACC/Big Ten Challenge each season. Yet again, ACC teams are jumping all over the Big Ten, leading 4-1 after five games. The marquis game of the night was Michigan State at Duke. Behind sensational play by junior guard J.J. Redick and senior guard Daniel Ewing, Duke won 81-74. Redick finished with 29 points, including 21 in the first half. Ewing also had 29 points, including several clutch shots to keep Michigan State at bay late in the game. Most importantly for Duke, the Blue Devils survived center Paul Davis despite foul trouble for forwards Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams during most of the second half. Davis finished with a team-high 17 points.
In Wisconsin, the Badgers picked up the Big Ten’s only win the Challenge thus far by beating Maryland 69-64. A pair of sophomore forwards starred as Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker scored 27 points and out-played Maryland’s Ekene Ibekwe, who scored 21 points. Tucker single-handedly carried Wisconsin in the first half as the Badgers’ other starters played relatively poorly. But Maryland’s John Gilchrist and Nik Caner-Medley, two of the team’s most important and experienced players, also did not have great games, allowing the Badgers to take care of business at home.
In the earlier games, Georgia Tech stomped an ill-prepared Michigan squad in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a huge lead early in the first half and cruised to a 27-point halftime lead. Georgia Tech won 99-68, and senior guard B.J. Elder had a career-high seven three pointers. Elder led all scores with 27, and sophomore forward Courtney Sims led Michigan with 17 points. Meanwhile, Florida State erased a 14-point deficit in the final seven minutes to win 70-69. Junior guard Todd Galloway hit a three pointer to give the lead with just more than two minutes remaining. After Minnesota tied the game, sophomore guard Von Wafer hit another three to give the team the lead for good. Junior guard Vincent Grier led all scorers with 23 points, and Wafer led the Seminoles with 19.
Eagles Out: Boston College freshmen Gordon Watt and Sean Williams were suspended for Tuesday night’s game against Long Island due to a violation of team rules. The two players watched the game in street clothes as the the Eagles demolished Long Island University, 87-46. After the game, head coach Al Skinner said that the suspension will likely be just this game, meaning that Watt and Williams figure to return on Sunday against UCLA in Anaheim at the John Wooden Classic.
King of the Block: Don’t bring the ball into the paint when Miami sophomore forward Anthony King is on patrol, especially if you’re a player from Florida Atlantic. King blocked 13 shots, setting a new ACC record previously held by some great players, such as Virginia’s Ralph Sampson. The total is one short of the NCAA Division I record of 14, set by Navy’s David Robinson in 1986 and matched by BYU’s Shawn Bradley, Alabama’s Roy Rogers and Arizona’s Loren Woods. King has emerged as one of the few Hurricanes that new coach Frank Haith can rely on to play well every night. The sophomore is averaging more than 10 rebounds per game so far. Oh yeah, the Hurricanes cruised to an 84-68 win.
Husky Pulls Up Lame: Junior guard Brandon Roy is one of the reasons the Washington Huskies are surging in the polls. But the Huskies will need to learn to win without one of their most explosive scorers because Roy is out for at least four weeks with a knee injury. Roy injured his right knee against Oklahoma in the Great Alaska Shootout and had surgery yesterday to repair a small tear. Despite playing just a little more than three games, Roy scored 54 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Fortunately for the high-flying Huskies, four other players average double figures in scoring, including superstar Nate Robinson, who averages more than 20 points per game.
Evansville Roster Shrinks by Three: The Evansville Aces dismissed three players, sophomore Robert Nelson and freshmen Dupree Fletcher and Marcus Butler, because of off-court problems. The players are part of a police investigation of several thefts around Evansville. With the dismissals, the Aces took a serious hit to the team’s depth. Only seven players on the roster have played more than 10 minutes per game so far this season. Seldom-used Eric Ottens and Craig Phifer will become important contributors if Evansville plans to use more than a seven-man rotation.
Arkansas Media Shakes Up Staff: Arkansas’ local sports network decided to replace one of its members early in the season. The Arkansas Razorback Sports Network replaced former NBA player Joe Kleine with Rick Shaeffer, a former Arkansas sports information director and radio analyst. Shaeffer joins play-by-play announcer Mike Nail, who is in his 24th year as a commentator for Razorback basketball games. Network officials offered no reason for the switch.
Some Sirius NCAA Tournament Coverage: If you can’t take the day off to watch all-day TV coverage of this year’s NCAA Tournament, subscribe to Sirius radio to listen to it at work. The satellite radio provider has signed a contract with the NCAA to broadcast every game of the tournament. Want to hear play-by-play coverage of the No. 1/ No. 16 match up? Sirius has you covered. The move is part of an increasing rivalry between Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. They may not be on the Duke/North Carolina scale yet, but these two companies are eating up contracts with every major sporting league nationwide.
Former Minuteman Found Dead: Amherst police found former Indiana and Massachusetts player, Mark Haymore, 48, dead in his apartment Sunday. Haymore had a history of heart problems, and police are not considering foul play in the cause of death. They said he had been dead a few days before a friend called police when Haymore failed to arrive at his place during the weekend. Haymore made his fame at Massachusetts in the late 1970s, averaging 15.6 points per game. But he also played for coach Bob Knight’s 1976 championship squad at Indiana. Haymore was part of the same recruiting class as Larry Bird, who also transferred from the Hoosiers to another program.
Tonight’s Menut
It doesn’t getting any better than this folks, Wake Forest at Illinois. Two of the best backcourts go head to head as two of the frontrunner to win the NCAA championship collide at Illinois. Completing the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, North Carolina visits Indiana, Northwestern hosts Virginia, and Clemson welcomes Ohio State and former Tiger Tony Stockman. It’s not part of any challenges, but make sure you find a way to catch some of the Washington at Gonzaga match up. It’s an early season test of each team’s strength and for bragging rights in the state of Washington.
