The Morning Dish – Sunday, February 6th
Eagles Hang On For A Historic Win: Seton Hall gave Boston College a run for their money, but the Eagles made the plays down the stretch to hold off the host Pirates, 60-52 in East Rutherford, N.J. Jared Dudley led the Eagles with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Craig Smith struggled from the field (4-16) but had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. Seton Hall (10-9, 2-6 Big East) was led by John Allen’s 12 points With the win, the Eagles are the first Big East team to start a season by winning their first 20 games, and they improve to 9-0 in Big East play.
Coach K Collapses, Duke Still Wins: Just over 8 minutes into the game, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski collapsed from a dizzy spell while talking to an official, but that didn’t stop his Blue Devils from picking up an 82-65 win at the court that bears his name in Durham, N.C. J.J. Redick had 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, and Shelden Williams picked up his fifth straight double-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead the Blue Devils (17-2, 7-2 ACC). Georgia Tech (13-7, 4-5) was led by Jarrett Jack’s 18 points.
Jayhawks Win Another One: Keith Langford scored 27 points to match his career high, and Kansas shot over 55% from the field in a 78-65 win at Nebraska. Wayne Simien added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Jayhawks (18-1, 8-0 Big 12), who held the Cornhuskers to 36% shooting. Nebraska (10-9, 3-5) was led by Jason Dourisseau’s career-high 24 points.
Gators Thrash Crimson Tide: Florida continued its recent dominance of Alabama, getting 18 points each from David Lee, Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh in an 85-54 thumping of the Crimson Tide. The win was the largest ever against a ranked opponent for Florida (14-5, 6-2 SEC), which won its eighth in nine games against the Crimson Tide (17-4, 6-2). Chuck Davis and Ernest Shelton each had 15 points to lead Alabama.
Cyclones Pull Off Another Upset: One week after getting their first Big 12 win against Oklahoma, Iowa State struck again, this time in Austin. The Cyclones got 13 points in overtime from freshman Tasheed Carr, which was one more than Texas had, en route to a 92-80 overtime win. The win was the first big 12 road win in four years for Iowa State (11-8, 3-5 Big 12), which made eight of 17 three-pointers. Carr finished the game with 22 points. Texas (15-6, 4-4) was led by Daniel Gibson’s game-high 23 points.
Syracuse Comes Back: After trailing for most of the game, Syracuse mounted a rally to get close, then took over the game in the final minutes en route to a 60-57 win over visiting Notre Dame. Gerry McNamara scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and Hakim Warrick had 20 points to lead Syracuse (21-2, 8-1 Big East), which scored a season-low 20 points in the first half. Notre Dame (13-6, 5-4) got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Torin Francis.
Mountaineers Knock Off Panthers: Making a rare start, junior Kevin Pittsnogle led West Virginia’s charge in overtime as the Mountaineers knocked off Pittsbugh 83-78 in Morgantown. Pittsnogle finished with a career-high 27 points, eight coming in the extra session as the Mountaineers (13-7, 3-6) broke a five-game losing streak to the Panthers (15-4, 5-3). The game was close for most of the night, with the Mountaineers committing just four turnovers and the Panthers shooting 50% from the field. Chevon Troutman led the Panthers with 25 points.
Doing It Himself: Vincent Grier scored 26 points in the second half, matching the total of the entire Wisconsin team, in a 32-point effort that led host Minnesota to a 60-50 upset of Wisconsin. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, but Grier went 12-14 and the Golden Gophers (16-6, 6-3 Big Ten) ended the game shooting 44.6% from the field. Mike Wilkinson had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Wisconsin (15-5, 6-3).
Slowing the Cardinal Roll: Stanford was quietly moving up in the Pac-10 race, but host Arizona put that to a stop as five players scored in double figures in a 90-72 win. Salim Stoudamire led the way with 26 points, while Channing Frye had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (19-4, 9-2 Pac-10), who also stopped a four-game losing streak to the Cardinal in Tucson. Dan Grunfeld led Stanford (12-9, 6-5) with 23 points.
These Wildcats Also Keep Winning: Kentucky won its eighth straight game to remain undefeated in SEC play with an 84-70 win at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats (17-2, 8-0 SEC) got 15 points each from Patrick Sparks, Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes, and Hayes added 13 rebounds. The Commodores (13-9, 4-5), who were led by Corey Smith’s 16 points, committed 20 turnovers.
Cardinals Up to the Challenge: UAB gave Louisville about all they could handle in Birmingham, and the Cardinals got big plays in the end to hold off the Blazers for a 77-73 win. Larry O’Bannon had a clutch three-pointer among his game-high 21 points to lead the Cardinals (20-3, 8-1 C-USA), who also got 19 points from Francisco Garcia. UAB (16-6, 6-3) got 18 points from Demario Eddins.
Spartans Keep Hawkeyes Reeling: In the first game for Iowa without Pierre Pierce, Michigan State jumped out to a 22-point lead early in the second half, then held on for a 75-64 win in Iowa City. The Spartans (15-4, 6-2 Big Ten) shot 48% from the field and got 16 points from Kelvin Torbert. Iowa (15-6, 3-5) shot under 31% and lost despite 24 points from Adam Haluska.
Roy Gives A Lift: Washington struggled shooting the ball, as UCLA held them to 38% from the field, and it took a big effort off the bench from Brandon Roy to lift the Huskies to an 82-70 win over the visiting Bruins. Roy had 16 of his 20 points in the second half and hauled down 13 rebounds to lead the Huskies (19-3, 9-2 Pac-10), who had 22 offensive rebounds to overcome their shooting woes. The Bruins (12-7, 6-5) got 22 points from Dijon Thompson and shot 49% from the field.
Red Raiders Hold Off Sooners: Texas Tech jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and cruised for most of the game before holding off Oklahoma for an 88-81 win. Jarrius Jackson led the Red Raiders (14-5, 6-2 Big 12) with a career-high 32 points as they shot over 57% from the field. Taj Gray had 20 points to lead Oklahoma (17-4, 6-2), which lost despite shooting over 49% from the field.
Charlotte Hangs On Against Cincinnati: In a game that was tight throughout and well-played, Charlotte held off visiting Cincinnati 91-90 as a last-second attempt by the Bearcats missed. The two teams had just eight turnovers each, with Charlotte (15-4, 6-2 C-USA) getting 26 points from Brendan Plavich and 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Eddie Basden, and Cincinnati (17-5, 6-3) being led by Eric Hicks’ 20 points.
Hurricanes Move Ahead of Terrapins: Will Frisby made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give Miami a 75-73 upset win over visiting Maryland. The game was tight throughout, and with the win, Miami (14-7, 5-5 ACC) moved ahead of Maryland (13-7, 4-5) in the ACC standings. Guillermo Diaz led Miami with 27 points, while Chris McCray led Maryland with 23.
Wildcats Hold Off Friars Again: Villanova won another close game with visiting Providence on Saturday night, this one an 89-81 win behind 24 points and 13 rebounds from Curtis Sumpter. The Wildcats (13-5, 5-4 Big East) led throughout the second half, though the Friars (10-12, 0-8) mounted a late rally. Ryan Gomes led Providence with a career-high 32 points.
Huskies Have Just Enough: Connecticut played a sloppy game against visiting St. John’s, but it was enough to break open the game in the second half and win going away by a 68-46 margin. The Huskies (14-5, 6-3 Big East) led wire to wire, but the Red Storm (8-11, 2-7) made several charges in the first half and got within 20-19 before the Huskies went on a late run. Early in the second half, a 14-1 run by the Huskies broke the game open for good. Rashad Anderson led the Huskies with 21 points (7-11 shooting) and Denham Brown added 17. St. John’s was led by 22 points from Daryll Hill.
Top Teams Roll: Among the Top 25 teams that won handily were Wake Forest (19-3, 7-2 ACC), 83-63 winners at Virginia Tech (12-8, 5-4) as they shot nearly 58% from the field; Oklahoma State (17-3, 7-2 Big 12), which ran out to an early lead in an 81-63 win at Baylor (9-10, 1-7); Gonzaga (17-4, 7-2 WCC), which shot 56% from the floor and won 92-75 over visiting Santa Clara (12-12, 5-4) despite 25 points from Kyle Bailey; and Utah (19-3, 7-0 Mountain West), 61-41 winners at San Diego State (9-11, 3-4).
Snyder Will Return Next Year: Missouri school officials said on Friday that Quin Snyder will return next season, despite struggles on the court this season and an NCAA-imposed probation. Athletic director Mike Alden told several local newspapers about this decision in part to quell the rampant speculation that Snyder would likely be gone by the start of next season. If Snyder is fired, the university must pay him his base salary of $195,000 for each year left on his contract.
Tonight’s Menu
• Illinois looks to keep its perfect season rolling as they host Indiana.
• North Carolina heads to Tallahassee to take on Florida State.
• DePaul hosts St. Louis and LaSalle hosts Fordham in other major conference games.
• Several games are on tap in the Mid-American Conference and the Patriot League has a full slate.
• Most notably, on the gridiron in Jacksonville, the New England Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
