The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 13th
Photo Finish Starts it Off: One of the first games of the day came right down to the end as Louisville won the Conference USA title with a 75-74 win over Memphis. With the Cardinals leading 75-73 in the final seconds, Darius Washington was fouled shooting a three-pointer as time expired. He made the first free throw, missed the second, then had a chance to tie with the third but missed, dropping to the ground immediately as the Tigers’ NCAA hopes were dashed. The Cardinals (29-4) made 15-of-23 three-pointers and were led by Francisco Garcia’s 19 points, while Juan Palacios added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Washington had 23 points and six assists to lead four players in double figures for Memphis (19-15).
Tar Heels Out: Georgia Tech continued its run through the ACC Tournament by holding off North Carolina in the semifinal by a score of 78-75. Will Bynum led the charge with a career-high 35 points, and the Yellow Jackets (19-10) repeatedly staved off attempts by North Carolina to tie or take the lead in the latter part of the second half. Sean May had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants each had 17 points as well to lead the Tar Heels (27-4).
The Yellow Jackets will take on Duke in the championship game, as the Blue Devils got 35 points from J.J. Redick in a 76-69 win over North Carolina State. Just a day earlier, Redick was 4-for-17 against Virginia, but on Saturday he came out firing, making 11 of his 16 shots and going 7-for-12 on three-pointers. Shelden Williams added 15 points and nine rebounds and Daniel Ewing had 14 points for Duke (24-5). North Carolina State (19-13) had four players score in double figures, led by Andrew Brockman’s 13 points.
SEC Final Set: The first game of the SEC semifinals saw streaking Florida win again, as Matt Walsh hit six late free throws to seal a 68-62 win over Alabama. The Gators led for most of the game, though they had to hold off several rallies by the Crimson Tide (24-7), who got 19 points from Kennedy Winston (17 in the second half). Florida (22-7) won despite being outrebounded 42-32 as David Lee led four players who scored in double figures with 20 points.
The Gators will take on Kentucky, which needed overtime and had to hang on to defeat surging LSU 79-78. Chuck Hayes spun inside for a layup with 7.9 seconds left, then Tack Minor had one last chance for LSU that missed as the Wildcats (25-4) advanced. Kelenna Azubuike led Kentucky with 19 points, while freshman Joe Crawford had a career-high 14. LSU (20-9) was led by Antonio Hudson’s 24 points.
Jayhawks Out of Big 12 Final: In a matchup of teams that were hot offensively in the second half, Oklahoma State had just enough to hold off Kansas for a 78-75 win to advance to the Big 12 championship game. Joey Graham capped a 25-point effort with four free throws in the final 41.4 seconds to ice the victory for the Cowboys (23-6). Wayne Simien had 30 points to lead Kansas (23-6), which shot just ten free throws and lost despite shooting over 55 percent from the field.
In the other semifinal, Ronald Ross scored a career-high 28 points and Jarrius Jackson added 23 as Texas Tech held off a late run by Oklahoma in a 69-63 win. In the closing minutes, the Red Raiders (20-9) made 5-of-8 free throws to seal the game. Terrell Everett led Oklahoma (24-7) with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Emotional Illini in Title Game: Illinois held Minnesota without a field goal for the final 4:05 to hold on for a 64-56 win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Illini coach Bruce Weber was on the bench less than 24 hours after his mother died at a Chicago hospital, and the Illini wore black bands on their jerseys in memory of Dawn Weber. The emotion was clearly there, as the Illini (31-1) won despite a season-high 23 turnovers and shooting 36 percent from the field. Minnesota (21-10) got 24 points from Vincent Grier.
Illinois will take on Wisconsin in the championship game, as Alando Tucker’s running three-pointer beat the final buzzer for a 59-56 win over Iowa. Tucker’s heroics capped a 20-point effort that led the Badgers (22-7), who also got 17 points off the bench from Zach Morley. Iowa (21-11) was led by Greg Brunner’s 18 points.
Huskies Take Their First Pac-10: Salim Stoudamire had the big game, but it was his opposing team that got the win, as Nate Robinson scored six points in the final 67 seconds to give Washington an 81-72 victory in the Pac-10 championship game in Los Angeles. The win gives the Huskies (27-5) their first Pac-10 tournament title, getting 18 points each from Robinson and Tre Simmons to lead four players who scored in double figures. Salim Stoudamire led Arizona (27-6) with 37 points, including 17 straight to end the first half, and set the Pac-10 record for career three-pointers with 329.
Orange Take Big East: Syracuse pulled away from West Virginia in the second half en route to a 68-59 victory in the Big East championship game. Entering the game on a hot streak, West Virginia (21-10) shot below 36 percent from the field and allowed the Orange to shot 49 percent. Hakim Warrick was named the tournament MVP after his third straight double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead the Orange (27-6). He joins Boston College forward Craig Smith last year as the only players to have three double-doubles in one tournament.
Aggies Are in This Time: One year after being the most controversial exclusion from the NCAA Tournament, Utah State made sure there was no doubt they were going, using a 22-5 second half run to take the lead for good in a 65-52 win over Pacific in the Big West championship game. Freshman Jaycee Carroll led the Aggies (24-7) with 22 points, making a number of key shots. Pacific (26-3), which had its 22-game winning streak snapped, struggled at the offensive end, as no player reached double figures in points.
Catamounts Win Third Straight: Taylor Coppenrath dominated the second half, scoring 25 of his game-high 37 points in the latter frame to carry Vermont a 80-57 victory over visiting Northeastern in the America East championship game. The Catamounts were never seriously challenged after two runs of seven straight points as part of a 14-0 run broke open a close game in the early minutes. The win is the third straight America East title for the Catamounts (24-6), who had never been to the NCAA Tournament prior to the current run, and they are the third team ever to win three straight America East titles. Northeastern (21-9) was outrebounded 41-28 and shot just over 36 percent from the field for the game.
First Time Winners: Senior guard Aaron Williams hit a putback with less than two seconds remaining to give Delaware State to a 55-53 victory over Hampton in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game. The win was the third over Hampton this season for the Hornets (19-13), who earned their first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Williams’ basket capped a rally from a 41-32 deficit, as Hampton (17-13) was in control for most of the first half and some of the second. Jahsha Bluntt led Delaware State with 16 points, while the Pirates were led by Bruce Brown’s 13 points and 14 rebounds.
More First Time Winners Later: George Washington won its first Atlantic 10 title on Saturday with a 76-67 win over St. Joseph’s. It was the third time in the championship game for the Colonials (22-7), a charter member of the conference. Omar Williams led four players in double figures with 20 points and 10 rebounds and T.J. Thompson added 15, eight of which came in a key run of 12 unanswered Colonial points that gave them a 58-49 lead that they would never relinquish. St. Joseph’s (19-11) shot below 41 percent from the field and was led by Pat Carroll’s 25 points, while Dwayne Jones had 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Lobos Are In: New Mexico doesn’t have to sweat out Sunday after winning the Mountain West Tournament on Saturday with a win over Utah. The Lobos (26-6) led for most of the close game, getting 28 points and 11 rebounds from Danny Granger. Utah (27-5) out-rebounded the Lobos 29-22 and got 19 points and 16 rebounds from Andrew Bogut.
UTEP Wins the WAC: Filiberto carried UTEP to the WAC championship on Saturday, scoring 17 of his 32 points in the final six minutes as the Miners beat Boise State 91-78. Rivera was the tournament MVP and added eight assists while making 11-of-12 free throws. John Tofi added 21 points for the Miners (27-7), who shot 67 percent from the field in the second half. Boise State (16-18), which was the lowest seed ever to advance to the WAC title game, was led by Coby Karl’s 24 points.
Dramatic Finish in Cleveland: Leon Williams followed up a missed shot with half a second left in overtime to give Ohio University an 80-79 win over Buffalo in the MAC championship game. The putback capped a career night for the conference’s top freshman as he scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and was named the tournament MVP. Jeremy Fears, who missed the shot Williams put back, had 21 points and five assists for the Bobcats (21-10). Buffalo (22-9) committed 18 turnovers and was led by Turner Battle’s 22 points and eight assists.
Tonight’s Menu
• Illinois takes on Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.
• The ACC championship game pits Duke against surging Georgia Tech.
• Oklahoma State battles Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.
• Southeastern Louisiana visits Northwestern State in the Southland Conference championship game.
• It’s an in-state battle in the SWAC championship game as Alabama A&M takes on Alabama State.
• The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will reveal the 65 teams in this year’s field, starting at 6:00 PM Eastern.
