The Morning Dish – Sunday, January 16th
Demon Deacons Take It: The biggest matchup of the day had to be Wake Forest hosting North Carolina, the only time the two will meet in the regular season. Chris Paul had a monster game, scoring 26 points, handing out eight assists, grabbing six rebounds and getting five steals, and Wake Forest made all 32 of its free throws for a 95-82 win against the Tar Heels. The Demon Deacons (15-1, 4-0 ACC) also got a season-high 18 points from Taron Downey, while the Tar Heels (14-2, 3-1) were plagued by foul trouble and were led by 19 points from Rashad McCants.
Staying Undefeated: Illinois set a school record for consecutive wins to start the season with a 78-66 win at Northwestern, getting 26 points from Luther Head. The Illini (18-0, 4-0 Big Ten) took the record away from the 1988-89 Final Four team, which won the first 17 games of the season. Northwestern (8-8, 1-3) got 20 points Vedran Vukusic and 13 from Davor Duvancic.
Also Staying Undefeated: Kansas got big games from two star seniors in a 76-61 win at Colorado. Wayne Simien had 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Keith Langford added 14 points to lead the Jayhawks (13-0, 3-0 Big 12), while Colorado (8-6, 0-3) got 22 points from Chris Copeland. Kansas has won 31 of the last 32 games in the series.
Cardinals Rally On the Road: Louisville rallied from a 17-point deficit behind the stroke of Taquan Dean, then held on as a last-second attempt to tie the game missed as they pulled off a 69-66 upset of host Cincinnati. Dean had 25 points, making 7-of-13 three-pointers, to lead the Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 C-USA), as Cincinnati did a good job of shutting down Francisco Garcia (7 points on 2-13 shooting). Nick Williams had 18 points, and James White added 15 to lead Cincinnati (14-2, 3-1).
Close In the Big East: Two Big East matchups came down to the wire. Syracuse broke open a close game in the second half, then held off a late rally by host Providence for a 75-71 win behind 25 points and 12 rebounds from Hakim Warrick, who was 10-of-15 from the floor. Josh Pace added 14 points to lead three other players in double figures for the Orange (17-1, 4-0 Big East), while Providence (9-7, 0-3) was led by Dwight Brewington’s 21 points and eight rebounds.
Pittsburgh used a late surge led by Chevon Troutman to edge visiting Seton Hall 67-63. Troutman scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the last five minutes, and the Panthers (12-2, 2-1) held Seton Hall to just better than 40 percent shooting. The Pirates (8-6, 0-3) had a 58-51 lead before the Panthers closed with a 16-5 run.
Big 12 Games Come Down to the Wire As Well: Texas didn’t shoot well, but the Longhorns held Nebraska to 34 percent shooting to rebound from Wednesday night’s loss with a 63-53 win at Nebraska. Daniel Gibson led the Longhorns (13-3, 2-1 Big 12) with 12 points, while the loss spoiled a solid game for freshman Joe McCray, who led Nebraska (8-5, 2-1) with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
In Waco, Drew Lavender hit a three-pointer and two free throws in the final 45 seconds to give Oklahoma a 65-61 win against Baylor. Lavender finished with a game-high 22 points to lead the Sooners (13-2, 2-0), who led for most of the game but never by a wide margin. Baylor (8-5, 0-2) was led by Aaron Bruce’s 21 points.
Huskies Roll, Part 1: Connecticut used its frontcourt to knock off visiting Rutgers Saturday, dominating in the paint and on the glass in a 78-64 win. The Huskies (10-3, 2-1 Big East) outscored the Scarlet Knights 58-28 in the paint and outrebounded them 50-42, led by Josh Boone’s 20 points and 12 rebounds and Charlie Villanueva’s 14 points and 14 rebounds. Marquis Webb had 16 points to lead Rutgers (6-7, 0-3).
Huskies Roll, Part 2: Washington used a 24-0 run late in the first half to break open a close game, then was never challenged in the second half of a 108-68 win against visiting Oregon State. Tre Simmons had 26 points to match a career high, and Jamaal Williams added a career-high 24 points to lead the Huskies (15-2, 5-1 Pac-10). Nick DeWitz had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Oregon State (10-6, 2-3). Beavers head coach Jay John left the arena in an ambulance at halftime after being examined by an on-site doctor. He had complained of chest pains and shortness of breath.
Minutemen Need Overtime For the Upset: George Washington used a 17-0 run to rally from an 18-point deficit to send the game to overtime, but it wound up delaying the result as Rashaun Freeman’s alley-oop layup with 0.4 seconds left gave Massachusetts a 76-74 overtime win against the Colonials. The game-winner gave Freeman season-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds, while Maurice Maxwell added a career-high 20 points to lead the Minutemen (8-6, 2-2 Atlantic 10), who are 6-0 in games decided by four or fewer points. J.R. Pinnock led the Colonials (11-3, 3-1) with 15 points.
Ranked Teams in Blowouts: Kentucky (12-2, 3-0 SEC) blew out Georgia (6-8, 0-4) in Athens by a 76-55 margin, outrebounding the Bulldogs by a 44-18 margin and getting 15 points from Patrick Sparks and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Chuck Hayes. Mississippi State (15-3, 3-1 SEC) got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Lawrence Roberts and held Arkansas (13-4, 1-3) to less than 31 percent shooting in an 80-55 romp against the Razorbacks in Starkville. Gonzaga (13-3, 3-1 West Coast) got 26 points from Adam Morrison and shot better than 59 percent from the floor in an 86-62 rout of visiting Pepperdine (12-7, 2-2).
Cowboys Win, Sutton Gets Court Named: Oklahoma State got 20 points each from Joey Graham and Ivan McFarlin en route to an 83-73 win against visiting Iowa State. The Cowboys (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) shot nearly 53 percent from the field to win despite allowing Iowa State (8-6, 0-3) to shoot almost 52 percent.
After the game, Oklahoma State officials announced that the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena would be named after Cowboy head coach Eddie Sutton. With the win, Sutton passed Henry Iba, his longtime mentor, with 768 career wins. Ironically enough, Iba passed away exactly 12 years ago to the day Sutton got the milestone win.
Stoudamire Lifts Wildcats: Much-maligned senior guard Salim Stoudamire came through in a big way for Arizona Saturday, as his deep three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left snapped a 73-73 tie and capped a terrific second half performance in the Wildcats’ 76-73 win against UCLA in Tucson. Stoudamire scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats (14-3, 4-1 Pac-10), going 9-11 from the floor in the half and 11-16 for the game. Dijon Thompson led UCLA (10-4, 4-2) with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Surviving the Cold Snap: Iowa didn’t score a field goal in the final 10:45 against Minnesota, but made 18 of 24 free throws the rest of the way and used stingy defense to hold off the visiting Golden Gophers, 66-60. Pierre Pierce led the Hawkeyes (13-3, 1-2 Big Ten) with 18 points, while Jeff Hagen led Minnesota (12-4, 2-1) with 17 points. Iowa held Vincent Grier, Minnesota’s leading scorer, to six points with just one field goal attempt after coming in averaging more than 17 points per game.
Smith to Meet With Departed Player: Joe Crawford, who left Kentucky earlier in the week from a dispute over playing time, will be back on campus soon to visit with head coach Tubby Smith, which might lead to his return to the team. Smith did not offer specifics on the meeting with Crawford, who would be welcomed by the players if he decides to return. Crawford was averaging 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game in the team’s first 12 games. Reportedly, several schools requested a copy of his transcript for Kentucky after his departure, but Crawford might lose two seasons of eligibility if he does transfer since school officials said Kentucky would likely not grant him a release from his letter of intent.
Penn State Guard to Miss Remainder of the Season: Penn State guard Marlon Smith was diagnosed with a partial blockage of an artery in his brain and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The sophomore starter, who averaged 11.8 points per game in 13 games, collapsed in practice last week and was diagnosed with the blockage. He will be on a blood thinner for three months, which will prevent him from playing in a contact sport. The school’s director of athletic medicine said the condition is not life-threatening, and Smith said he feels better.
Tonight’s Menu
• Boston College puts its 13-0 record on the line as it visits West Virginia.
• In the ACC, Duke puts its undefeated record on the line as the Blue Devils host Virginia, and Georgia Tech visits North Carolina State.
• Michigan State visits Wisconsin in an important Big Ten battle.
• A busy America East slate is headlined by an early showdown between the conference’s only undefeated teams, as Boston University visits Vermont.
