The Morning Dish – Friday, January 21st
Illini Keep It Going: Luther Head continued his hot streak with 25 points, as Illinois continued to roll with a hard-fought 73-68 overtime victory over Iowa in Champaign. Greg Brunner’s runner in the lane with 3.8 seconds left in regulation knotted the score at 65 to force the extra session. Pierre Pierce led Iowa with 22.
Arizona Survives Scare at MacArthur Court: After leading by as many as 16 points, Arizona had to hold on late to gain an important 74-66 Pac-10 win in Eugene, Ore. The Wildcats took a 40-29 halftime lead behind 20 first-half points from Salim Stoudamire. Stoudamire finished with 27 to lead the Wildcats, and Oregon was led by freshman Bryce Taylor with 20.
San Francisco Shocks Gonzaga: Led by Jerome Gumbs’ 18 points and 13 rebounds, San Francisco ended a 12-game losing streak to Gonzaga with a 73-70 victory in the Bay Area. It was the Dons’ first win over a top 20 team since the 1999 season. Derek Raivio’s three pointer at the buzzer missed, setting off the traditional court rush. Ronny Turiaf led the Zags with 18.
Longhorns Down Two Players: Coming off his team’s biggest win of the year, a 75-61 victory over Oklahoma State Monday, Rick Barnes received a double dose of bad news. P.J. Tucker, who scored 15 second-half points against the Cowboys and was leading the Longhorns with 13.7 points per game and eight rebounds per game, was declared academically ineligible and will miss the remainder of the season. Freshman center LaMarcus Aldridge, who was averaging 9.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game, is out for at least Saturday’s game against Oklahoma with a hip injury.
Clark’s Career at Virginia Over: Virginia power forward Jason Clark, who was averaging 6.7 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, is another casualty of academic ineligibility. Clark’s loss leaves Elton Brown as Pete Gillen’s only experienced post player. Clark had started 47 games in his career and 12-of-13 games this season.
Arkansas Questions Game Ending Call: After a controversial ending to Wednesday’s Arkansas-LSU game, SEC officials announced they will review tapes from the game Friday. Officials originally had awarded a three-point shot to Arkansas’ Michael Jones with 1.8 seconds left to give the Razorbacks a one-point lead. LSU missed a desperation shot at the buzzer to win it. After reviewing tapes on the court, the shot was ruled a two-point shot, sending the game to overtime. The Tigers then prevailed 66-63. SEC associate director of media relations DeWayne Peevy and basketball officials supervisor Dan Guthrie are expected to receive the tape of the game Friday.
