The Morning Dish – Monday, February 28th
Jayhawks Rebound: Kansas snapped a three-game losing streak and moved into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with a 81-79 win against Oklahoma State. John Lucas scored 22 points to lead the Cowboys but missed a three in the final five seconds that would have won the game. Wayne Simien scored a career-high 32 points for the Jayhawks and set a team record by making his 34th straight free throw. Kansas now stands at 11-3, one game ahead of the 10-4 Cowboys in the Big 12.
Tar Heels Look For Top Seed: North Carolina escaped Maryland with an 85-83 win. Raymond Felton put North Carolina up with 19 seconds to go on a drive to the bucket. Sean May preserved the win with a block in the final five seconds. Sean May led the Tar Heels with 22 points, picking up the slack for UNC’s leading scorer, Rashard McCants, who missed the game with an intestinal disorder. Maryland was led by 25 points from Chris McCray but fell below .500 in ACC play. At 12-2, North Carolina keeps a one-game lead in the ACC with games against Florida State and Duke to end the season.
Wake Rumbles On: Wake Forest cruised to a 90-68 win against Virginia. Justin Gray led the Demon Deacons with 20 points. The game was very physical, and Wake’s Chris Paul took a pounding, complaining to the officials numerous times throughout the game. Coach Skip Prosser also got into the action, getting a technical foul after an especially hard foul late in the first half. At 11-3, Wake remains one game behind North Carolina for first place in the ACC.
Hoosiers Squarely on the Bubble: Behind 32 points from Bracey Wright, Indiana upended Michigan State in overtime 78-74. D.J. White scored 17 points for the Hoosiers, including a deuce with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 64 and send it into overtime. Indiana moved to 9-5 in the Big Ten, which puts them in a tie for third place. The Hoosiers, 14-11 overall, finish the regular season with Wisconsin and Northwestern. Michigan State is all but locked into second place in the Big Ten at 11-3 and has Northwestern and Penn State left on the schedule.
Wildcats Win Again: Villanova made it five straight wins with a 67-56 win at Georgetown. The win avenges an earlier loss to Georgetown and moves the Wildcats into sole position of fourth place in the Big East at 9-5. Brandon Bowman scored 22 points for the Hoyas, but his team dropped its third straight game. At 16-9, Georgetown’s tournament hopes are dwindling; the Hoyas close the season at UConn and at home against Providence. Allan Ray scored 18 points for Villanova, which has games against Seton Hall and St. John’s before the Big East Tournament.
Badgers Bucking on the Road: Wisconsin picked up a key road win at Ohio State 64-56. Alando Tucker led the Badgers with 19 points. Terence Dials scored 20 points for the Buckeyes but was held scoreless for the last 18 minutes of the game as the Badgers adjusted their defense to thwart any comeback attempts. Wisconsin is now tied for third in the Big Ten with Indiana and faces the Hoosiers Tuesday.
Havlicek Stole the Show: During halftime of Sunday’s game versus Wisconsin, Ohio State retired the jersey of John Havlicek. Havlicek’s number 5 becomes the fifth number to hang from the rafters of Value City Arena, joining Jerry Lucas, Jimmy Jackson, Katie Smith and Gary Bradds. Under Havlicek, the Buckeyes made three straight NCAA finals, winning the 1960 national championship.
Bruins Take Out Irish: UCLA made a strong case for a third tournament team from the Pac-10 by taking out a Big East bubble team in Notre Dame 75-65. The Bruins made 14 three pointers, including three from Arron Afflalo who led them with 17 points. Chris Quinn scored 17 points for Notre Dame, which couldn’t recover from a 15-point halftime deficit. Both teams now stand at 16-9 with one weekend of conference games remaining.
Gators Eek One Out: Florida erased a 17-point deficit in the second half for a 66-65 comeback win at South Carolina. David Lee had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds and gave the Gators the lead for good when he put back a miss with 13 seconds to go. Florida stands at 10-4, second place in the SEC East with games against Georgia and Kentucky remaining. The Gamecocks missed a chance to move to .500 in the SEC East and now stand in fourth place with Vanderbilt and Ole Miss left on the schedule.
Catamounts Fall: Playing without stars T.J. Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont lost at Maine 87-66. The Catamounts had already clinched first place in the America East and the top seed in the conference tournament. It was the final regular season game for both teams, who will play in the America East tournament which starts Friday March 4.
Texas Tech Turns Itself In: Reports from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram say that Texas Tech purchased supplements not allowed to be given to student-athletes. The supplements were purchased during a 30-month period by then-director of sports nutrition Aaron Shelley. Shelley no longer works for Texas Tech, having been fired after pleading guilty to money laundering last year. Athletes interviewed said they had purchased the illegal substances from Shelley but had never received them for free. No word on any penalties that Texas Tech might face.
Tonight’s Menu
• The Big East’s first-place team Boston College hosts Pittsburgh in its final home game of the season.
• Texas tries to make it another 20-win season at home against Oklahoma.
• Having sewn up first place in the WCC, Gonzaga hosts non-conference foe Northern Colorado.
• The Missouri Valley’s top team, Southern Illinois, looks for its 25th win at Indiana State. Two other MVC bubble teams battle as Wichita State hosts Northern Iowa.
• New Mexico hopes to maintain second place in the Mountain West with a trip to UNLV.
