The Morning Dish – Sunday, December 19th
Majerus Won’t Become USC Head Coach: Rick Majerus is set to resign as USC head coach on Monday, ESPN reported on Saturday, and he will return to the network to resume working as an analyst. Majerus had accepted an offer earlier in the week to take over on April 1 after the school had fired Henry Bibby. He said his health was not a concern earlier in the week, but there is speculation that it is the ultimate factor in his decision to resign. Majerus resigned as the head coach at Utah in January amidst concerns about his health, after spending 15 seasons with the school and posting a 323-95 record. His stint included a trip to the national championship game in 1998, where the Utes lost to Kentucky, and he has never had a losing season as a head coach.
Wildcats Take This One In Front of Troops: Among those who checked out Kentucky’s 60-58 win over Louisville were some troops at Camp Fallujah and Camp Cooke in Iraq. Fans were able to see the troops shown on Freedom Hall’s video board, and Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher led the fans in wishing the troops a Merry Christmas. Kentucky TeleHealth also arranged for family members to have a private video conference with the soldiers before and after the game.
In the game, Patrick Sparks capped a 25-point effort by making three free throws with 0.6 seconds left to give Kentucky a 60-58 win over the Cardinals. The Wildcats (7-1) won despite shooting just 35.1 percent from the field, forcing 14 Louisville turnovers along the way. The Cardinals (6-2), who had won the last two games in the series, were led by Larry O’Bannon’s 16 points, including two free throws with 15.2 seconds left that gave the Cardinals a 58-57 lead.
Jayhawks Win, Honor Legend: South Carolina scored the game’s first 11 points and led for much of the game, but Kansas came back gradually and escaped with a 64-60 win against the Gamecocks behind key plays from freshman guard Russell Robinson. Robinson scored the final four points of the game for the Jayhawks (7-0), who committed 20 turnovers. Wayne Simien had a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Kansas, while South Carolina (5-2) was led by Carlos Powell’s 13 points and 10 rebounds.
At halftime, the Jayhawks honored legend Walt Wesley by hanging his No. 13 jersey in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse. Wesley, a 6’11” All-American at Kansas from 1964-66, is the 22nd-leading scorer in school history and spent a decade in the NBA after his career there. He is currently director of the Police Athletic League in Fort Myers.
Wake Forest Hangs On: Texas guard Kenton Paulino missed an 18-foot jumper just before the final buzzer sounded, allowing Wake Forest to hang on for an 89-88 win in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Longhorns (7-2) did well against every defense Wake Forest tried, until a zone defense in the second half seemed to slow them down. Chris Paul led the Demon Deacons (9-1) with 23 points and a career-high 12 assists, and Eric Williams added 19 points and 9 rebounds, spoiling a career day for Texas sophomore P.J. Tucker. In a return to his home state, Tucker tied a career-high with 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead four Longhorns who scored in double figures.
‘Zags Take Out Yellow Jackets: Gonzaga shot better than 49 percent from the field and held Georgia Tech to just over 40 percent to hand the Yellow Jackets their first loss with an 85-73 upset in the Las Vegas Showdown. The Bulldogs (8-1) led by as many as 15 points on two occasions in the second half, getting 24 points from Adam Morrison and 21 from Derek Raivio, which ties his career-high. Georgia Tech (7-1) was led by Will Bynum’s career-high 28 points.
Wildcats Score Just Enough: Playing without Salim Stoudamire, who was reportedly suspended earlier in the week, Arizona posted its lowest scoring output in nearly 20 years but had enough to hand Marquette its first loss of the season, a 48-43 decision in Milwaukee. Chris Rodgers had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Wildcats (7-2), who outrebounded the Golden Eagles (9-1) 38-28 and held them to just over 30 percent shooting. Travis Diener led Marquette with 14 points and six assists but was 5-17 from the field.
Blue Devils Start Fast Again: For the fourth time in five seasons, Duke has started out the season 8-0, capped thus far by Saturday’s comeback 78-67 win against Oklahoma in the NCAA Dreyfus Classic at Madison Square Garden. Oklahoma (6-2) led by 10 at halftime and quickly went up by 12, but the Blue Devils picked it up from there, led by J.J. Redick (19 of his 26 points in the second half) and Daniel Ewing (12 of his 17 points in the latter frame). Shelden Williams, a native of Oklahoma, had 14 points and 13 rebounds to complement the perimeter attack. The Sooners shot under 38 percent from the field and were led by Taj Gray’s 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Another Road Win For the Bulldogs: In a rematch of a second-round NCAA Tournament game last season, Mississippi State won their 14th straight road game, holding off a late charge by Xavier in an 80-74 win. The Bulldogs (9-2) shot 54 percent from the field and got 20 points each from Lawrence Roberts and Winsome Frazier. Xavier (2-4) lost its third straight home game despite having five players score in double figures.
Cowboys Also Win on the Road: Oklahoma State remained undefeated by holding off a late rally by host UNLV in a 79-67 win. The Cowboys (8-0) took the game over late in the first half with a run of 15 unanswered points, but the Runnin’ Rebels made it interesting in the final minutes as they got within 71-63 with under two minutes to play. Joey Graham led Oklahoma State with 20 points and John Lucas added 17, while UNLV (3-4) got a game-high 25 points from Romel Beck.
Alabama Hangs On: Tennessee State rallied late, but was unable to catch up with host Alabama, which led throughout in an 87-79 win. Chuck Davis led the Crimson Tide (9-1) with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while new graduate Ernest Shelton added 15 points. Shelton received his degree in management in the morning and will begin work on a second degree in January. Tennessee State (5-6) got a game-high 26 points from Bruce Price.
Second Half Spartans: Michigan State shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and committed just four turnovers in the latter frame en route to a 63-45 win against visiting Delaware State. The Spartans (6-2), who committed nine turnovers in the first half, got 14 points from Chris Hill and 12 from Kelvin Torbert, while Delaware State (2-6) was led by Jahsha Blunt’s 11 points.
Colonials Keep Winning: George Washington forced 22 turnovers and had six players score in double figures in an 85-69 win over visiting Towson. Pops Mensah-Bonsu had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Colonials (7-1), who won their seventh straight game. T.J. Thompson and Ricky Lucas each added 14 points. Towson (3-7) was led by Lawrence Hamm’s game-high 18 points, while Jonathan Pease had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Bruins Edge Wolverines: UCLA got a career-high 29 points from Dijon Thompson, including a three-pointer with 44 seconds left that gave them the lead for good in an 81-79 win against visiting Michigan. Thompson, who added 10 rebounds, was playing his first game in nearly two weeks after a cut in his hand against Boston College required 13 stitches.
The Bruins (6-1) shot better than 56 percent from the field, while Michigan (6-5) was without four players because of injury. Chris Hunter led the Wolverines with 21 points, while Courtney Sims and Dion Harris each added 17.
Top Teams Roll: A few top teams cruised to victories on Saturday.
- Pittsburgh (8-0) routed visiting Coppin State (2-7) 73-42, holding the visitors to just over 30 percent shooting and getting 18 points and 11 rebounds from Chris Taft.
- Syracuse (9-1) blew out Drexel (3-4) 74-54 in Syracuse behind 21 points from Hakim Warrick and 14 points and 13 rebounds from Darryl Watkins.
- Cincinnati (7-0) got 21 points and 7 rebounds from Jason Maxiell in an 81-65 win against Northwestern State (5-5) in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
- Iowa (9-1) never trailed in their 88-75 win against Western Carolina (5-7), getting 21 points from Pierre Pierce and 10 assists and 20 points from Jeff Horner (17 in the second half).
Staying undefeated: Among the other teams remaining undefeated on Saturday were West Virginia (7-0), 77-48 winners over James Madison; Wichita State (6-0), 71-66 winners at Tulsa; and Kansas State (7-0), which barely got by visiting Texas-San Antonio by a 73-69 margin.
Connecticut Transfer May Go to Purdue: SportsLine.com reported that Marcus White, who is transferring from Connecticut, may wind up at Purdue. A solid rebounder who played well as a freshman before an injury curtailed last season, White is looking to be close to his Chicago home. The report also said that Southern Illinois is a possibility. White is not expected to decide until after Christmas on his future.
No Change to Iowa State Game Time: On December 28, Iowa State’s football team will play in the Independence Bowl at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, which will then conflict with a 7 p.m. basketball game against San Diego State. There was a chance that the basketball game time would be changed, or it would be moved to December 27 or 29, but Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde decided to keep the 7 p.m. start time because neither change would be feasible.
Tonight’s Menu
• Illinois tries to move to 10-0 as they host Valparaiso.
• In early ACC action, North Carolina visits Virginia Tech and Florida State heads north to take on Maryland.
• Another ACC team in action is North Carolina State, which takes on Pac-10 contender Washington in Seattle.
• Among Big East teams, Boston College hosts Yale as the Eagles try to remain undefeated, while Connecticut hosts Rice.
• Missouri hosts Indiana in a game featuring two teams that could use a win to get back on track.
• Texas A&M looks to remain undefeated as they host winless Chicago State.
