The Morning Dish – Sunday, January 30th
Illini Keep Winning: On a day when the school celebrated 100 years of basketball, Illinois rode a fast start to an 89-66 blowout of visiting Minnesota. Over 300 former players and coaches watched the Illini (21-0, 7-0 Big Ten) open the game with a 10-1 run and never look back, getting 21 points from Roger Powell Jr. to lead the way. Minnesota (14-6, 4-3) was led by Vincent Grier’s 17 points.
Eagles Do the Same: Boston College kept its streak going, using a big first half run as well as late free throws in a 64-49 win over visiting Georgetown. The Eagles (18-0, 7-0 Big East) ran off 14 unanswered points in the first half to take the lead for good, holding the Hoyas to just over 26 percent shooting in the frame and without a point for almost 13 minutes. The Hoyas (13-6, 5-3) mounted rallies in the second half but could get no closer than five points. Craig Smith had 20 points and Jared Dudley added 13 to lead the Eagles, who are now all alone atop the Big East. The Hoyas were led by Brandon Bowman’s 16 points.
Panthers Do It Again: Pittsburgh did a videotape job of last Saturday’s big win, as the Panthers once again fell behind by 17 points but rallied to pick up a big win over a ranked opponent, this one a 76-69 home win over Syracuse. Chevon Troutman (18 points and nine rebounds) was once again a key figure, with Carl Krauser (all 19 of his points in the second half) also playing a big role for the Panthers (14-3, 4-2 Big East) as they outscored Syracuse 47-35 in the second half. The Orange (20-1, 7-1) opened a 22-5 lead early but lost most of it before the end of the first half. Gerry McNamara led the Orange with 26 points and Hakim Warrick added 25.
Wildcats Pull One Out: It was a mighty struggle in Fayetteville, as Arkansas led on many occasions until the latter portion of the second half. Kentucky then took over before having to hang on for a 68-67 win over the Razorbacks. After Chuck Hayes missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 5.5 seconds left, Eric Ferguson’s three-pointer from the top of the key hit the back of the rim. The Wildcats (16-2, 7-0 SEC) committed 19 turnovers, a prime reason they had to hang on despite shooting over 54 percent from the field and holding Arkansas (14-6, 2-5) to just over 39 percent.
Cougars Finally Knock Off Wildcats: It was a long time coming, but on Saturday Washington State snapped a 38-game losing streak to Arizona with a 70-63 win in Tucson. The game was close throughout, with the Cougars (9-9, 4-5 Pac-10) taking the lead for good in the final minute when Thomas Kelati (career-high 27 points) hit his final three-pointer with 50.4 seconds left, capping a 7-9 effort from behind the arc. Arizona (17-4, 7-2) was led by Mustafa Shakur’s 12 points.
Demon Deacons Break Away: Eric Williams remained on a roll Saturday for Wake Forest, as he had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Demon Deacons to a 94-82 win over visiting Miami. The Demon Deacons (17-3, 5-2 ACC) shot 60 percent from the field and pulled away in the second half after the early minutes were back-and-forth. Anthony Harris had 28 points and Guillermo Diaz added 21 to lead Miami (13-6, 4-4).
Cyclones Get Much-Needed Win: Iowa State was looking at some serious trouble heading into Saturday’s contest in Ames, as the Cyclones had not won a Big 12 game this season. By day’s end, that had changed as Curtis Stinson’s 23 points led the Cyclones to a 74-66 upset of Oklahoma, ending the Sooners’ 10-game winning streak. The Cyclones (9-8, 1-5 Big 12) took just six three-pointers the entire game and held the Sooners (16-3, 5-1) to 41 percent shooting. Taj Gray led Oklahoma with 21 points.
Tar Heels Roll Again: North Carolina shot over 59 percent from the field and took control early on, leading by as many as 50 in a 110-76 romp over Virginia in Charlottesville. Jawad Williams had 23 points, Sean May had 20 and Raymond Felton added 16 to lead the Tar Heels (17-2, 6-1 ACC), who scored 62 points in the first half. Virginia (10-8, 1-7) was led by J.R. Reynolds’ 18 points.
Tigers’ Duo Comes Out On Top: LSU’s big bodies did their job against Mississippi State’s big body, as Brandon Bass had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Glenn Davis had eight rebounds in leading LSU to a 69-62 upset in Baton Rouge. The Tigers (11-6, SEC) held Lawrence Roberts, the SEC’s leading scorer and rebounder, to 3-of-11 shooting despite getting a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulldogs (16-5, 4-3) have now lost three straight road games after winning 16 in a row away from home.
Hawkeyes Change Lineup, Change Results: With four starters on the bench to start the game, Iowa shot over 56 percent from the field and limited visiting Indiana to under 38 percent en route to a 72-57 win over the Hoosiers. Pierre Pierce, one of the benched starters, led the Hawkeyes (15-5, 3-4 Big Ten) with 25 points, while another benched starter, Jeff Horner, added 16. D.J. White led Indiana (9-9, 4-3) with 23 points, which tied a career high.
Gonzaga Hangs On: J.P. Batista had a career night to lead Gonzaga to a 91-79 win over visiting Portland. Batista had 25 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, going 8-of-11 from the field to lead the Bulldogs (15-4, 5-2 West Coast), who led by as many as 14. Eugene Jeter led Portland (13-9, 2-5) with 22 points. The Pilots are the last team to beat Gonzaga at home, having knocked off the Bulldogs 72-68 nearly two years ago.
Top Teams Roll: Among the teams that made it look easy on Saturday were Kansas (16-1, 6-0 Big 12), 90-65 winners over Texas (15-5, 4-3) behind 27 points from Wayne Simien; Louisville (18-3, 6-2 C-USA), 105-69 winners over Tulane (8-11, 2-6) as Francisco Garcia’s 21 points led six Cardinals in double figures; Wisconsin (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten), which got 20 points from Kamron Taylor in a 76-50 rout of host Penn State (7-13, 1-6); Michigan State (14-3), which easily took out Oakland (5-13) by a score of 92-75 behind a season-high 22 points from Maurice Ager; and Cincinnati (17-3, 6-1 C-USA), 87-68 winners over Houston (12-9, 3-4) behind a career-high 25 points from James White.
Southern Freeze Halts Play: Georgia was supposed to travel to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama, but Mother Nature had other ideas and the ice prevented the Bulldogs from traveling. The game will instead be played Sunday night at 8 PM Eastern. Other casualties of the weather were Furman at Wofford and Winthrop at High Point.
Bull Suspended: South Florida suspended leading scorer and rebounder Terrence Leather for Saturday night’s 85-71 loss at UAB. The senior forward was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” and did not travel with the team to Birmingham. When he went to the bench in Thursday night’s 74-48 loss to Cincinnati, he exchanged words with coach Robert McCullum before he sat down.
Attendance Inflated: Arkansas State University’s athletic director admitted that the school has inflated the attendance that has been announced, and that ticket sales have been dropping for a few years now. Dean Lee said the school has a history of doing this, saying that this has been done for appearance’s sake. The Jonesboro Sun obtained documents showing that the announced attendance exceeds the gate count. This season, the average attendance is 4,161, which is the lowest in the 18-year history of the Convocation Center despite the team leading the Sun Belt Conference’s eastern division as of Friday night.
Something Else to Study: The University of North Carolina at Pembroke uses an American Indian logo and “Braves” as its nickname, and that doesn’t appear to satisfy the NCAA. The NCAA has asked the school to study its use of the logo and nickname after identifying the school as having mascots or logos that might be considered controversial, which means that the school must submit a report to it by May 1. The university was established in 1887, then known as the Croatan Normal School, with the purpose of educating American Indians, who today make up more than 20 percent of the student body. The university’s board of trustees supports the logo and nickname.
Tonight’s Menu
• The ACC has two games on tap, with Duke hosting Virginia Tech and a key matchup in College Park as Maryland hosts Georgia Tech.
• Oklahoma State heads to Boulder to take on Colorado.
• Washington completes its trip to Arizona with its matchup at Arizona State.
• Alabama hosts Georgia in a game that was postponed on Saturday due to the weather.
• Notre Dame hosts Connecticut in a pivotal Big East matchup.
• Mid-major conferences with busy slates include America East, Metro Atlantic, and Patriot League.
