The Morning Dish – Sunday, March 27th
Cardinals Outlast Mountaineers, First In: For most of a half, it looked like West Virginia would keep rolling. The Mountaineers made 10-of-14 three-pointers in the first half, including some deep shots, and led 38-18 at one point before Louisville cut into the lead with a late 9-2 run to go to the locker room down 40-27. The Cardinals (33-4) made a number of little charges in the second half, but the hot-shooting Mountaineers (24-11) often had answers, as they shot 18-of-26 from behind the three-point line. Louisville finally tied it on a layup by Larry O’Bannon, the Albuquerque region’s most valuable player, with 34 seconds left. In the extra session, the Cardinals put it away with an 8-0 run that turned a one-point game into a 92-83 lead with 40 seconds left. O’Bannon led the way with 24 points and Taquan Dean added 23 for the Cardinals. Kevin Pittsnogle led West Virginia with 25 points, making 6-of-9 three-pointers, and Patrick Beilein added 13 points.
Illini Come Back: As if Louisville’s rally wasn’t enough, Illinois decided to arguably one-up them. Trailing by 15 with 4:02 left in the game, the Illini went on a 20-5 run that ended with the last eight points of regulation to send the game into overtime. Then in the extra session, they scored seven unanswered points and held off Arizona for a 90-89 win to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1989. An 18-6 spurt by the Wildcats (30-7) opened the lead up to 75-60, and had them looking poised to head to St. Louis, but they never made a field goal in regulation after the 6:03 mark. Channing Frye ended his college career with a stellar 24-point, 12-rebound effort on 11-14 shooting, and Hassan Adams added 21 points and eight rebounds. Deron Williams led the Illini (36-1) with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Luther Head added 20 as both spearheaded the comeback.
Terrapins Off to New York: Nik Caner-Medley scored eight of his 20 points in the final minutes to lead Maryland to an 85-73 win over TCU in College Park. With the win, the Terrapins (19-12) are in the NIT semifinals for the first time since 1972, earning a date with South Carolina Tuesday night. Chris McCray helped in a 16-5 surge to end the game by making a key basket and six free throws in the final minute, finishing with 18 points. Corey Santee had a game-high 21 points to lead TCU (21-14), while Nile Murry added 20.
Theus Next in Line at New Mexico State: New Mexico State has hired Louisville assistant coach Reggie Theus and has scheduled a news conference on Monday to announce it, according to the Associated Press. Theus, who spent 13 years in the NBA, has been an assistant at Louisville during the past two seasons and has agreed in principle to take the job. The Aggies went 6-24 this season under interim coach Tony Stubblefield.
Sutton Will Return: Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton said after Thursday night’s game that he will return next season, despite talk on the telecast that he was in his farewell run. The Cowboys, whose season ended Thrusday night with a 79-78 loss to Arizona in Chicago, lose six seniors and will be very inexperienced next season, a prime reason Sutton will stick around while his son, Sean, remains the head coach-designate.
Pearl a Possibility at Tennessee: Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl could be a candidate for the opening at Tennessee, as ESPN.com reported that he was expected to talk with an official from the school either Friday or Saturday while in Chicago. He doesn’t have a meeting scheduled with the school, which has talked to three other head coachs, including Charlotte’s Bobby Lutz, UAB’s Mike Anderson and Creighton’s Dana Altman. The Volunteers are hoping to name a new head coach early next week.
Who Takes Over at Virginia?: There is new speculation that Virginia may eye Boston College head coach Al Skinner in their search for the next head coach. They have not called Skinner, and athletic director Gene DeFilippo isn’t worried because the move would be lateral (the Eagles join the ACC next season) and he just signed a six-year deal last year. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey is apparently not a candidate at this point.
Grier a Candidate for Loyola Marymount: A newspaper reported Friday that Gonzaga assistant coach Bill Grier will interview for the head coaching position at Loyola Marymount Monday. Grier has an agreement to become Gonzaga’s next head coach if Mark Few were to leave and has said that he is very interested in looking at the Loyola Marymount job. The school has already interviewed four candidates and plans to interview three others, hoping to have a new coach named before the Final Four next weekend.
Lafayette May Add Scholarships: Lafayette’s athletic support group will send a recommendation to the Board of Trustees that may lead to the school becoming the sixth in the Patriot League to offer athletic scholarships. The recommendation will be accompanied by results of a survey conducted during the past few months where more than two-thirds of those who responded were in favor of awarding scholarships. There is a feeling that the school needs them to keep pace with the other five schools that offer them in the league, as the men’s team is below .500 since winning consecutive league tournament titles in 1999 and 2000.
Tonight’s Menu
• No. 1 North Carolina takes on No. 6 Wisconsin in the Syracuse regional final.
• The Austin regional final pits No. 2 Kentucky against No. 5 Michigan State.
