The Morning Dish – Monday, January 17th
Banks Saga Over: After much speculation, in a press conference Sunday afternoon, Memphis officials was announced that sophomore forward Sean Banks was academically ineligible and will miss the remainder of the season. Banks apologized to his teammates and coaches and said he would take classes to regain eligibility. He also indicated Memphis would be the only school he’d play for. This ends a tumultuous year for the sophomore who skipped tryouts for USA basketball’s Under 21 team, was suspended for a game in December and had an altercation with teammate Arthur Barclay in January, in which he got a black eye. Banks had started 10 of the Tigers’s 17 games and was the second leading scorer and third leading rebounder.
Beaver’s Head Coach OK: After being taken to the hospital at halftime of his team’s 108-68 loss to Washington Saturday, doctors at UW Medical Center released Oregon State head coach Jay John Sunday afternoon. Doctors officially called it a “hypertensive event” in which high blood pressure was caused by stress. John was scheduled to return to Corvallis Sunday night, but it’s uncertain if he would return to coaching for Thursday night’s game against Arizona State.
Texas Star Sidelined?: Although no one will officially comment, rumblings from Austin indicate that sophomore forward P.J., Tucker who has started all but one game and leads the Longhorns in points and rebounds, may be declared academically ineligible. When the official ruling would come down is anybody’s guess, but the second semester starts tomorrow and the Longhorns host Oklahoma State tonight in a battle of top 10 teams. As it is, Texas freshman LaMarcus Aldridge might miss tonight’s game with a knee injury.
Duke Keeps on Rolling: J.J. Redick scored 28 points to lead the Blue Devils to a 80-66 win against Virginia. The game also featured the return of Shavlik Randolph, who had missed four games with mononucleosis, and a near triple-double from Shelden Williams, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks. The win kept Duke undefeated with a road trip to Miami and Florida State looming. Virginia drops to 0-4 in the ACC, the only team in the ACC without a conference win.
Eagles Also Unbeaten: Boston College moved to 14-0 on the season beating West Virginia 73-53. Jared Dudley scored 21 points, and Craig Smith added 20 for the Eagles, who busted open a tight game early in the second half. Since the 10-0 start of their own, the Mountaineers have lost three out of four.
Wisconsin Keeps Streak Alive: The Badgers trailed by eight with less than two minutes to go but scored the last 11 points to beat Michigan State 62-59. The win extended Wisconsin’s home winning streak to 38 games, the longest current streak in the nation. Paul Davis led all scorers with 20 points but was the only Spartan in double figures.
Wolfpack Back on Track: North Carolina State snapped a four game losing streak by upsetting Georgia Tech 76-68. The Yellow Jackets outshot the Wolfpack 46 percent to 36 percent, but NC State made 17 more free throws. For the Wolfpack, Ilian Evtimov led all scorers with 17 points, and Julius Hodge added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jarret Jack led Georgia Tech with 16 points who lost their second straight game.
Panthers Suspend Starter: Senior Guard Yuri Demetris has been indefinitely suspended by Pittsburgh for disciplinary reasons. Demetris had started all 14 games and was among the team leaders in three-point shooting and steals.
Vermont Atop America East: Both coming in at 5-0 in conference play, Vermont stayed unbeaten in America East play by taking out Boston University 69-58. Taylor Coppenrath, the nation’s leading scorer, scored 16 points for the Catamounts who also got a career-high 15 points from Josh Duell off the bench. Vermont extended its winning streak to eight games and BU had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Texas hosts Oklahoma State as the Cowboys try to stay unbeaten in Big 12 play.
• Connecticut travels to Seton Hall, which is still looking for its first Big East win.
• Wichita State tries to stay near the top of the Missouri Valley Conference when the Shockers travel to Evansville.
• Utah looks to keep its perfect Mountain West Conference record at Colorado State.
