The Morning Dish – Monday, March 7th
And Then There Were None: Illinois lost its first game of the season at Ohio State 65-64. The Illini held a 64-58 lead with more than three minutes to go but wouldn’t score again as the Buckeyes rallied for the victory. Matt Sylvester hit a game-winning three pointer with just more than five seconds to go, and Illinois’ Roger Powell shot a three at the buzzer that fell short. Sylvester led all scorers with 25 points off the bench as his Buckeyes earned the sixth seed in the Big Ten tournament, which starts Thursday. The Fighting Illini were stopped short of their bid to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to finish a season undefeated but nonetheless won the Big Ten regular season title by two games over Michigan State.
Tar Heels Outright ACC Champs: North Carolina defeated Duke 75-73 to earn its first ACC regular season title since 1993. The Tar Heels trailed by nine with more than three minutes to go but finished the game on an 11-0 run for the come-from-behind victory. Marvin Williams capped the 11-0 run with a three-point play with 11 seconds to go. J.J. Redick missed a long three pointer, and Daniel Ewing missed a shot that would have tied the game for the Blue Devils in the closing seconds. Playing without Rashad McCants for the fourth straight game, Sean May picked up the slack, scoring 26 points and grabbing 24 rebounds. Shelden Williams led Duke with 22 points but had only four rebounds as his team was out-rebounded by 19. Both teams have byes in the first round of the ACC tournament, which starts Thursday. North Carolina will play the winner of the 8/9 game between Maryland and Clemson while Duke will play Miami or Virginia, who will play in the 6/11 game.
Wake Wins at Buzzer: Chris Paul hit a 12-footer as the clock expired to give Wake Forest a 55-53 win at North Carolina State. Justin Gray led the Demon Deacons with 15 points and hit a big three pointer with 13 seconds to go to tie the game at 53. It was another physical game for Wake Forest. Chris Paul drew the ire of Wolfpack fans after a low blow to Julius Hodge in the first half. Hodge and Paul would get into it a couple of minutes later after Paul fouled Hodge and Hodge shoved Paul in retaliation, getting a technical. These teams could face each other again as soon as Friday in the ACC tournament. Wake Forest gets a bye in the first round but will play NC State in the quarterfinals if the Wolfpack can beat Florida State.
Gators Pull Off Upset: Anthony Roberson hit both ends of a one-and-one with 15 seconds to go to give Florida the lead and ultimately a 53-52 win against Kentucky. Roberson led all scorers with 21 points as the Gators snapped an eight-game losing streak to Kentucky. Chuck Hayes led the Wildcats with 11 points but was the Wildcats only double-digit scorer. Both teams get byes in the first round of SEC tournament which starts Thursday. Kentucky will play either Arkansas or Tennessee, and Florida will play Georgia or Mississippi State.
Mizzou Upsets Jayhawks: Missouri beat Kansas at home 72-68, forcing the Jayhawks to share the Big 12 title with Oklahoma. Kansas came back from 15 down to tie the score at 64 with just more than three minutes to play, but Missouri was able to get the lead back with two minutes to play on a jumper from Jimmy McKinney. The Tigers forced Aaron Miles into a couple of turnovers down the stretch and hit 4-of-6 free throws to cinch the win. Kansas’ Keith Langford reinjured his ankle early in the first half and missed the remainder of the game. Langford hopes to play in the Big 12 tournament next weekend, but coach Bill Self called the injury “pretty severe.” In the Big 12 tournament, Kansas got the second seed and will play either Texas A&M or Kansas State Friday. Missouri will play Nebraska Thursday for the right to play top-seed Oklahoma.
Tiger Point Guard Suspended: Before Missouri’s 72-68 win against Kansas, coach Quin Snyder suspended starting point guard Jason Horton. The freshman had started 23 games for the Tigers and averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 assists per game. He was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and his status will be re-evaluated before the Big 12 tournament.
Ticket Punching Day Off: No one qualified for the dance today but there were seven semifinal rounds played, visit Thirteen Days: Championship Week for more complete information. The biggest highlights of the day were:
- Southwest Missouri State came back from 23 down in the first half to beat Southern Illinois 65-61 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals. The Bears will play Creighton in the championship after the Bluejays beat Wichita State 70-60.
- Gonzaga cruised to a 90-74 win against San Diego and makes its eighth straight West Coast Conference final.
Tonight’s Menu
• Four tickets to the dance get punched: Southwest Missouri State battles Creighton for the MVC title; Gonzaga takes on St. Mary’s for the WCC title; Niagara faces Rider for the MAAC title; Old Dominion and VCU vie for the CAA title.
• The MAC opens its tournament with five first round games.
• The MCC and Sun Belt have semifinal tournament match-ups.
• Two first-round games open the MEAC tournament.
