The Morning Dish – Thursday, February 24thd
Illinois Embarrasses Wildcats: Illinois closed in on an undefeated regular season with a resounding 84-48 stomping of in-state rival Northwestern. The Wildcats haven’t been a legitimate threat to upset the Illini in years, so the rivalry is based solely on proximity. But the Illini did not take Northwestern lightly and attacked from start to finish. Junior guard Dee Brown led the way with 20 points, including 6-of-9 three pointers. The Illini hit 14 three pointers in the game. Only two Wildcats reached double figures, led by junior guard Mohamed Hachad off the bench. The Illini only need to beat Purdue and Ohio State to complete an undefeated regular season.
Villanova Finishes This One Off: After blowing a six-point lead in the final two minutes at Boston College, Villanova was in no mood to allow another potential upset slip through its grasp. The Wildcats took care of business last night by hitting 36-of-41 free throws, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the team’s scoring in a 76-70 win. Villanova’s free throws helped the Wildcats overcome the Eagles’ stifling zone defense, which held the Wildcats to only one field goal in about 13 minutes in the second half. Despite the poor shooting and absence of junior guard Mike Nardi, who sat out with an injury, the Wildcats won behind 23 points from junior guard Randy Foye and 20 points from junior forward Curtis Sumpter. Junior forward Craig Smith led the Eagles with 18 points in the loss.
More Wildcat Results: Continuing with game recaps that include ferocious felines, Kentucky beat Auburn 81-73, despite failing to put away the Tigers for much of the second half. Junior swingman Kelenna Azubuike had a monster game with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Auburn hit 12 three pointers to hang around whenever Kentucky appeared ready to stretch the lead to an insurmountable margin. Freshman guard Toney Douglas led the Tigers with 21 points, including five three pointers.
Bad Timing: Longwood entered Winston-Salem, N.C., without much hope of beating Wake Forest. Beating an angry Demon Deacon was even less likely. Wake Forest played the Lancers in the team’s first game since a tough loss at Duke. The Demon Deacons responded with an 88-47 win. No one for Wake Forest played more than 24 minutes. Senior guard Taron Downey led the team with 13 points, and sophomore guard Michael Jefferson led all scores for Longwood with 14 points. He was the only Lancer to reach double figures as Wake held the Lancers to less than 28 percent from the field.
Yellow Jackets Dropping Games Like Flies: Georgia Tech is quickly playing its way out of an NCAA Tournament bid, and a loss at home to Duke did not help change the negative momentum. Blue Devil junior guard J.J. Redick led all scores with 21 points, helping Duke overcome an ugly 34 percent shooting night from the field. Junior guard Jarrett Jack led Georgia Tech with 20 points, but only one other Yellow Jacket reached double figures. The Yellow Jackets are now a full game behind Virginia Tech and a half game behind Miami and Maryland in the ACC standings, placing them in seventh.
Even When the Orange Wins, They Lose: Led by a career-high 35 points from senior forward Hakim Warrick, Syracuse ended a recent slump with a strong 83-69 win against St. John’s. But junior guard Gerry McNamara left the game in the second half with a turned ankle, which team doctors will evaluate today to determine if there’s serious damage. Syracuse can ill afford a long-term injury to the Orange’s best sharpshooter. This team is not going anywhere in the post-season without him. St. John’s was led by sophomore guard Daryll Hill, who also had a career high with 33 points.
Also in the Big East: West Virginia moved closer to an NCAA Tournament bid by slipping past Pittsburgh 70-66. Junior center Kevin Pittsnogle killed the Panthers by hitting four three pointers and scoring 20 points in the second half. His range is impressive for a 6-11 center. West Virginia rallied from a 14-point deficit to sweep the season series against Pittsburgh and move to .500 in Big East play, which may be enough to convince the selection committee that the Mountaineers deserve an invitation to the Dance.
Rolling Niners: Charlotte beat Memphis 80-77 to remain at the top of the Conference USA standings with Louisville. The 49ers got 24 points from senior forward Eddie Badsden and 20 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Curtis Withers. Charlotte stopped Memphis’ recent hot play, despite 29 points from freshman guard Darrius Washington Jr. Junior forward Rodney Carney added 22 points for Memphis, but no other Tiger reached double figures. The 49ers slipped by partially because they refused to make mistakes, committing only six turnovers in the game.
Bubble Trouble: As teams like LSU and West Virginia surge toward the finish, other squads need to follow suit or take a seat on the couch to watch the NCAA Tournament. Alabama-Birmingham remained in the hunt with a 64-62 win at St. Louis, Minnesota beat Iowa 65-57 in what may be a bubble elimination game, and Florida beat Vanderbilt to send the Commodores to 16-11 and big trouble. A couple of conference leaders damaged their chances of receiving an at-large bid if they fail to win their conference tournaments. Miami, Ohio, lost in overtime at Akron, and Xavier swept George Washington by almost 20 points.
Chaney Suspends Himself: Temple coach John Chaney used a preemptive strike to chastise himself for his decisions during Tuesday’s game against St. Joseph’s. Chaney suspended himself for one game, and he will not be on the sidelines when the Owls host Massachusetts Saturday. Chaney said before the St. Joe’s game that he thought the Hawks got away with illegal screens. When no fouls were called during the game on what Chaney believed were illegal screens, Chaney sent in Nehemiah Ingram with the intent to deliver some hard fouls. In the process, Ingram hit St. Joe’s players John Bryant and Dwayne Jones and nearly got in a fight with Pat Carroll. Bryant was injured on the floor for several minutes. Chaney apologized to Atlantic 10 officials and St. Joe’s players, coaches and fans. He has not been suspended in more than 10 years, when he threatened to kill then-Massachusetts coach John Calipari.
Leading Pirate Sits: Seton Hall coach Louis Orr suspended the Pirates’ leading scorer and rebounder, Kelly Whitney, for a violation of team rules. Orr did not offer a timeline for the suspension or details for its cause. Whitney averages 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for Seton Hall, which is out of the discussion for a conference title and needs a run in the Big East tournament to earn a post-season bid.
Diener Done at Marquette: Marquette senior point guard Travis Diener broke two bones in his hand at practice Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the Golden Eagles’ season as he recovers from surgery. Without Diener, the Golden Eagles’ chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid take a serious hit. The injury also prevents Diener from accomplishing some notable achievements, including Conference USA assist leader and Marquette leading scorer. But Diener will still likely play in the NBA because he is one of the nation’s best point guards, averaging 19.7 points and seven assists per game.
