The Morning Dish – Wednesday, March 9th
Cinderella Is a Grizzly: With a storybook run through the Mid-Continent Tournament, the Oakland Grizzlies became this year’s Cinderella team with a 61-60 miracle win at Oral Roberts. The 12-18 Grizzlies have one of the worst records of any NCAA Tournament team in history and will almost certainly play in the play-in game Tuesday. But for one night, Oakland was on top of the word thanks to a three-pointer by junior Pierre Dukes with less than two seconds to go in the game. For more information about Oakland’s improbable run to the Mid-Con title and other conference tournament details, visit Hoopville’s center for early March Mayhem at the Thirteen Days: Championship Week 2005.
Ragin’ Cajuns Defend Title: Louisiana – Lafayette refused to let top-seeded Denver beat the Ragin’ Cajuns for a third time this season, winning the Sun Belt Tournament championship 88-69. Junior guard Tiras Wade exploded for 30 points as the Ragin’ Cajuns broke open the game in the second half after entering halftime with a 32-32 tie. Louisiana – Lafayette out-scored the Pioneers 56-37 in the second stanza. Denver was led by senior guard Rodney Billups in the loss.
Panthers Survive: Wisconsin – Milwaukee completed a run through the Horizon Conference Tournament thanks to a free throw by Adrian Tigert with less than five seconds remaining. Tigert’s drive to the goal produced a tough call against Detroit, and the junior forward hit one of two free throws to take a 59-58 lead. Detroit sophomore guard Brandon Cotton sprinted down court but missed a desperation heave from inside the arc as time expired. Senior guard Ed McCants led the Panthers with 18 points, and Cotton led all scorers with 21 points.
Southland Gets the Party Started: The Southland Conference started its tournament last night, and the eight teams offered few surprises. No. 1 Northwestern State beat No. 8 Texas – Arlington 81-67, No. 2 Southeast Louisiana overcame a slow start to beat No. 7 Texas State 75-68, No. 3 Sam Houston State ambushed No. 6 McNeese State from start to finish 88-70, and No. 5 Lamar offered the conference’s only upset, beating No. 4 Texas – San Antonio 91-83. Lamar will go to Northwestern State Thursday, and Sam Houston State will visit Southeast Louisiana.
Big Upsets in Big Sky: The top seeds of the Big Sky Tournament went down last night as No. 3 Montana upset its rival No. 2 Montana State 79-67. With the win, Montana advances to the conference championship to play No. 5 Weber State, which upset No. 1 Portland State, in Portland, Ore., 74-71.
Ivy League Finishes Play: Although meaningless in the standings, Pennsylvania visited Princeton in the Ivy League’s most bitter rivalry. The Quakers wrapped up a great 13-1 league record with a 64-56 win on the Tigers’ home court. Princeton finished a disappointing 6-8 in Ivy League play after entering the season favored to win the conference. Meanwhile, Brown stymied Yale’s bid to tie Cornell for second place in the league with a 75-65 home win. Brown finished in seventh place, but six of the league’s eight teams finished within three games of one another.
More Tournament Action: In other early round action, the MEAC’s opening round concluded with No. 8 Bethune Cookman’s 76-62 win against No. 9 North Carolina A&T, setting up a date with No. 1 Delaware State tonight. The WAC started its tournament with two play-in games. No. 7 Hawaii beat No. 10 San Jose State 72-48 to earn the right to play No. 2 UTEP Thursday. In the other WAC opener, No. 8 Boise State dispatched No. 9 Tulsa 83-73 and will play No. 1 Nevada Thursday night.
Saints Cast Out Coach: Siena officials fired coach Rob Lanier after the Saints finished with a 6-24 record, the most losses ever for the Saints. Lanier was 58-70 in four seasons at Siena and took the Saints to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and the NIT in 2003. But the Saints failed to reach .500 the past two seasons, and Siena officials opted to go with a new leader, even though Lanier had four years remaining on his contract. He’s not the only coach to receive a pink slip since the season ended, as several schools are in the midst of Coaching Changes .
Boone Also Gone: Eastern Michigan officials also opted to find a new coach by not re-signing coach Jim Boone, whose contract expired after five seasons. Boone had compiled a 48-96 record and failed to keep the team competitive in an extraordinarily balanced MAC. Eastern Michigan lost to Akron in the opening round of the conference tournament to end a disappointing season.
And So Is Ganulin: St. Francis, N.Y., officials also removed their coach, Ron Ganulin, the polite way by simply not renewing the coach’s contract. The Terriers lost in the conference tournament at Fairleigh Dickinson 78-60 to finish Ganulin’s 15th season on the sidelines for St. Francis. Ganulin finished with a 187-207 record at St. Francis. St. Francis finished this past season 13-15 and 9-9 in the Northeast Conference.
Anderson May Play: Connecticut junior guard Rashad Anderson, the Huskies’ leading scorer, returned to practice after a staph infection nearly killed him last month. An abscess developed on Anderson’s leg in early February, then led to a full-fledge infection that caused a high fever and kidney problems, among other serious symptoms. Anderson recuperated while the Huskies went on a winning streak to claim a share of the Big East regular season title. The Huskies’ main three-point threat could see limited action in the Big East Tournament. The Huskies will likely keep Anderson rested so he can be near full strength for the NCAA Tournament.
Pack Short-Handed, Again: North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek must feel like he just can’t catch a break this season. The Wolfpack will almost definitely be without senior forward Jordan Collins during the ACC Tournament because he separated his shoulder in the season finale loss against Wake Forest. North Carolina State has had major contributors like Tony Bethel and Cameron Bennerman miss several games since late December because of injuries and illnesses. The Wolfpack finally seemed to be healthy toward the end of the season before Collins’ injury. North Carolina State likely needs to win three games in the tournament to have a realistic hope for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Tonight’s Menu:
• The Big Sky dance ticket is one of two NCAA Tournament bids on the line tonight as Montana plays Weber State.
• The other bid available tonight is in the Northeast Conference as Wagner attempts to upset Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Some major conferences start action, including the Big East, Conference USA, Big West and Atlantic 10. The most critical games include West Virginia vs. Providence, Georgetown vs. Seton Hall, Notre Dame vs. Rutgers and Memphis vs. St. Louis
