The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 5th
MWC Reprimands Four Players: Utah’s star forward Andrew Bogut was one of four players reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference after a confrontation in the Utes’ 69-60 win against BYU last Saturday. Bogut, teammates Richard Chaney and Marc Jackson and BYU’s Austin Ainge were each reprimanded Thursday for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy. Bogut and Ainge were both called for technicals after a confrontation late in the first half when Ainge and Jackson got tangled up and Bogut stepped in. Chaney was reprimanded for a physical altercation early in the second half.
McFadgon to Play Today: Tennessee senior guard Scooter McFadgon intends to play today against Georgia in his home finale at Thompson-Boling Arena. McFadgon has missed the last four games with a bruised right kneecap. He dressed for Tennessee’s 73-61 loss to Kentucky Wednesday but didn’t play in the game. McFadgon, the Vols’ leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, said he’s about 80 percent after suffering the injury Feb. 12 against Florida.
Texas Tech Dodges a Bullet: Texas Tech trainer Jon Murray said starting forward Darryl Dora probably only suffered a sprained MCL and bone bruise to his right knee in the team’s most recent victory against Baylor. The original fear was that Dora suffered a torn ligament and would be lost for the season. Murray said Dora’s status for the regular-season finale today against No. 20 Oklahoma is doubtful, but it depends on how the forward feels come game time. Dora suffered a similar injury to his left knee before the season and missed a week of practice. The Red Raiders have already secured a first-round bye in next week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Angry Olson Takes on Pac-10: Arizona coach Lute Olson sent an angry letter via e-mail to Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen for what he thought was a blatant oversight by the Pac-10 office in regards to the league’s Player of the Week Award. Olson was livid that the Wildcats’ Channing Frye was not awarded the Pac-10 Player of the Week honor after averaging 28 points and shooting 85.7 percent from the field in games at Washington State and Washington last week. Washington’s Tre Simmons earned the award after averaging 26.5 points and hitting 64.7 percent of his three pointers in wins against the Arizona and Arizona State. Olson guaranteed the Pac-10 that he’d make Frye’s accomplishments known through the national media.
Vanderbilt Coach Takes Shot at ESPN Analyst: Vanderbilt’s tenuous NCAA Tournament chances drew criticism from ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb, who believes the Commodores don’t belong in the field of 65. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings responded by bringing up the fact that Gottlieb, who finished his playing career at Oklahoma State, was kicked off Notre Dame’s team after being charged with credit-card fraud. In short, he said he doesn’t listen to felons that take cheap shots at his program.
Phone Calls Pay Off for New Mexico Coach: In an effort to get his team recognition with the selection committee before next week’s Selection Sunday, New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay called both Andy Katz and Joe Lunardi to lobby for media coverage. McKay informed both analysts that his 22-6 Lobos deserved to be in the field, and lo and behold, both Katz and Lunardi ran stories the very next week that included New Mexico in the field of 65.
Friday’s Conference Tournament Winners: There were 11 conference tournaments in action yesterday – here are your winners: America East – Maryland-Baltimore County and Stony Brook; Atlantic Sun – Gardner Webb and Central Florida; Colonial Athletic Association – William & Mary and Delaware; Horizon – Loyola (Chi.) and Detroit; Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Iona, Canisius and Manhattan; Missouri Valley – Indiana State and Drake; Ohio Valley – Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky; Patriot League – American, Lehigh, Holy Cross and Bucknell; Southern – UT-Chattanooga and UNC-Greensboro; Sun Belt – Florida International, Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State; West Coast – Pepperdine and San Francisco. For scores and recaps of these games and more detailed coverage, visit Thirteen Days: Championship Week 2005.
