The Morning Dish – Wednesday, February 9th
And Then There Was One: Digger Phelps must have known what he was talking about. The ESPN analyst predicted this past weekend that Boston College would lose to Notre Dame tonight, leaving Illinois as the only undefeated team in the nation. Less than 72 hours, Phelps’ foresight appears to be 20/20. The Eagles lost at Notre Dame 68-65. Colin Falls ignited the win with 23 points, including seven three pointers. His hot shooting led the Fighting Irish to a 51 percent shooting night from the field. The strong performance overcame a rebounding deficit and Jared Dudley’s 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles whittled an eight-point lead to three with a couple of minutes remaining, but they could pull no closer as the Fighting Irish hit free throws when they counted, unlike in their collapse at Syracuse last weekend. Notre Dame blew an 11-point lead against Syracuse, losing 60-57.
Still the One: With the demise of Boston College, Illinois is the lone undefeated team in the land. But the Illini didn’t play liked they wanted to stay undefeated when they visited Michigan. The Wolverines led 28-24 at halftime as both teams struggled to shoot the ball. Illinois out-scored Michigan 33-23 in the second half to slip away with 57-51 win. The most important statistic to note was the Illini’s mistake-free game. They committed only five turnovers in the game, which helped prevent Michigan from getting free baskets. Sophomore guard Dion Harris came off the bench to play 38 minutes and lead all scores with 21 points. But the balanced attack of Dee Brown, Luther Head and James Augustine overcame the Wolverines as Brown led the Illini with 16 points.
Make It Eight: Kentucky continued its recent domination against so-called rival Florida, winning the eight consecutive meeting between the teams 69-66. The Gators appeared poised for a consecutive upset in the first half, leading by as many as 11. Florida entered the game fresh off a 31-point thrashing of Alabama. But Kentucky closed the gap and erased a nine-point second-half deficit with a 13-2 run. Senior forward Kelenna Azubuike led the Wildcats with 18 points, and three other Wildcats reached double figures. Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh had great games for Florida, scoring 23 and 18, respectively, but no other Gator reached double figures.
Undermanned and Outgunned: Texas is in the midst of a free-fall after losing badly at Colorado last night, 88-79. Injuries and academic ineligibility have devastated the Longhorns’ lineup as LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker, Kenton Paulino and Sydmill Harris missed the game. Junior forward Brad Buckman nearly carried the team on his back with 27 points and 21 rebounds, but freshman guard Daniel Gibson fumbled away the effort with eight turnovers. Fellow freshman guard Richard Roby led Colorado with 22 points and nine rebounds as the Buffaloes overcame a poor shooting night, less than 40 percent from the field.
A Win Is a Win: With only 32 points collectively in the first half, St. John’s and Pittsburgh snoozed through another Big East defensive clash. The Panthers won 55-44, as Pittsburgh’s second-half offense fared better against St. John’s pressure defense. The Red Storm forced 22 turnovers, but Pittsburgh held them to less than 28 percent shooting from the field. Darryl Hill led his team with 18 but received little help. Chevon Troutman led all scores with 19 points, but two other Panthers had 12 points to help Troutman spur the win.
Clearing D’Or: West Virginia learned that senior center D’Or Fisher is clear to play against Providence tonight but likely will not start. In his stead, junior forward Kevin Pittsnogle will get the start after a career-high 27 points in an upset win against Pittsburgh last weekend. Fischer missed the game because of an upper respiratory condition.
Beaver Done for Year: Oregon State senior forward Jim Hanchett will be out for the remainder of the season because of a shoulder injury he first suffered during the football season. The two-sport player averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 19 games this season. Hanchett said he will have surgery to repair the shoulder Thursday and hopes the team succeeds in his absence.
Another Volunteer Please: Tennessee’s frontcourt may receive a boost tonight with the probable return of senior forward Brandon Crump, who has been out for four games with a sprained ankle. One of the Volunteers’ senior leaders, Crump will be welcomed when he arrives on the court. But when he will join the team is an unanswered question because coach Buzz Peterson said he’ll likely stick with a four-guard lineup. The switch fueled a romp against LSU last weekend. But Crump is sure to play big minutes if he’s at full strength if the Volunteers hope to beat the Crimson Tide.
Gathings Gone: High Point officials suspended senior forward Danny Gathings, who leads the team with 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, because he violated team rules. The suspension is indefinite and could not come at a worst time for the Panthers, who are still contending for a regular-season title in the Big South. The Panthers must hope the issue gets settled before the conference tournament.
Sick of Losing: Purdue coach Gene Keady wants to find a way to win some more games in his last season as the Boilermakers’ coach. At 5-15, Purdue is out of post-season competition unless the Boilermakers make an improbable run for the Big Ten’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. In an attempt to finding a winning lineup, Keady said he will start sophomore walk-on Chris Hartley, who has been one of Purdue’s more consistent contributors in recent games. He had a career-high 10 points against Northwestern last week. Keady announced before the season that this one would be his last.
All Talk: In preparation for tonight’s game between Memphis and Louisville, the two high-profile coaches, Memphis’ John Calipari and Louisville’s Rick Pitino, traded a few shots. Calipari said Pitino’s Cardinals get away with some dirty moves on defense, such as hand checks and bumps. Pitino said he has heard it all and is not worried about the talk. Although Louisville will be favored, Pitino said the Cardinals must respect the Tigers, whom he considers to be dangerous.
Snyder Is Only Mostly Safe: Missouri coach Quin Snyder probably thought the speculation about his job security would end last weekend when athletic director Mike Alden essentially promised that Snyder would be back on the Tigers’ sidelines next season. But Alden apparently didn’t consult everyone who has a say in that decision. He consulted Missouri’s chancellor but did not speak with the president or the board of curators. So if the Missouri big wigs hold animosity toward Snyder’s efforts in recent years, he still may be on the hot seat. On the other hand, the immediate bosses approve of his work. Guess the speculation isn’t over.
True Blue: Kansas officials have ended the mystery about the Jayhawks’ true color – it’s royal blue. Marketing director David Johnston said the school needed to adopt a single color for consistency in official goods, such as sweatshirts, letter heads, what have you. He said focus groups and online forums overwhelmingly supported royal blue for the official Jayhawk color. So if you’re sporting sky blue or navy blue Jayhawk tees, well, it’s time to upgrade the collection.
Problem Child: Georgia’s least favorite former player, Tony Cole, returns to jail after violating his parole. Cole was arrested Sunday after police cited him for a traffic violation. The former Bulldog point guard returns to jail for the seventh time in four years. Cole initiated the NCAA investigation at Georgia after he accused former coach Jim Harrick and his son, Jim Harrick Jr., of paying some of his expenses and passing him for schoolwork he did not complete. But Cole’s record was not squeaky clean at Georgia. Harrick kicked Cole off the team when he was charged with raping a woman in his dorm room. The charges were dropped, but Cole was also dropped from the team.
