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Boston, MA--- The BU terriers second half meltdowns continued as they dropped a Patriot game to Lehigh 82-80 Saturday afternoon.
The game was very tight in overtime throughout until Lehigh's Mackey McKnight was able to drive to the lane with one second to go to give the Mountain Hawks a 82-80 win.
Boston University, Dom Morris, was able to tie it at 8- with a free throw in OT before the McKnight game winner.
"We've been able to dodge a bullet here and there, but today we couldn't and we couldn't get it done," BU coach Joe Jones said.
Jones was referring to BU's meltdown in the second half as the Terriers were up by a whopping 15 points at the half but weren't able to put the game away. Lehigh's 13-4 and 9-0 runs were what sent it into OT and won it in OT for Lehigh.
For Boston University(15-8, 8-2), D.J. Irving scored a game-high 25 points on 10/17 shooting and recorded five assists. Maurice Watson Jr. added nine points and a team-high seven assists in the loss. Dom Morris scored 17 and ripped down a team-high eight boards. John Papale chipped in 13 points in the loss.
For Lehigh(12-11, 5-5), must have felt some revenge since the Terriers nipped them by one earlier in the year. Tim Kempton scored a team-high 18 points and ripped down five boards in the win. Mackey McKnight scored 16 with a team-high seven assists. Jesse Chuku scored 11 with five rebounds for Lehigh.
A BU loss and an American U win Saturday means BU falls two games back in the Patriot league standings.
BU will play Navy on Feb. 5th at 7:00 PM ET as they look to get back to their winning ways.
NCAAB: Sloppy BU edged by Lehigh 82-80 in OT
The game was very tight in overtime throughout until Lehigh's Mackey McKnight was able to drive to the lane with one second to go to give the Mountain Hawks a 82-80 win.
Boston University, Dom Morris, was able to tie it at 8- with a free throw in OT before the McKnight game winner.
"We've been able to dodge a bullet here and there, but today we couldn't and we couldn't get it done," BU coach Joe Jones said.
Jones was referring to BU's meltdown in the second half as the Terriers were up by a whopping 15 points at the half but weren't able to put the game away. Lehigh's 13-4 and 9-0 runs were what sent it into OT and won it in OT for Lehigh.
For Boston University(15-8, 8-2), D.J. Irving scored a game-high 25 points on 10/17 shooting and recorded five assists. Maurice Watson Jr. added nine points and a team-high seven assists in the loss. Dom Morris scored 17 and ripped down a team-high eight boards. John Papale chipped in 13 points in the loss.
For Lehigh(12-11, 5-5), must have felt some revenge since the Terriers nipped them by one earlier in the year. Tim Kempton scored a team-high 18 points and ripped down five boards in the win. Mackey McKnight scored 16 with a team-high seven assists. Jesse Chuku scored 11 with five rebounds for Lehigh.
A BU loss and an American U win Saturday means BU falls two games back in the Patriot league standings.
BU will play Navy on Feb. 5th at 7:00 PM ET as they look to get back to their winning ways.
NCAAB: Sloppy BU edged by Lehigh 82-80 in OT
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Lowell, MA--- For the River Hawks it was a very good night for their fans to attend their game was they were able to beat N.J.I.T. by a score of 73-64 Monday night.
The River Hawks led early and often and were up 40-29 at halftime.
For UMass Lowell(7-14, 5-4), they continue to hit their stride since the return of Antonio Bivins. Akeem Williams had a very balanced game scoring 12 points with five assists and five rebounds. D.J. Mlachnik scored a team-high 15 points in the win. Kerry Weldon scored seven points on 3/6 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 boards.
For N.J.I.T.(9-15), Damon Lynn scored a game-high 23 points in a losing effort. Lynn also chalked up a team-high six assists as he moved the ball around quit nicely. Terrence Smith added nine points for N.J.I.T. in the loss.
These two teams played on Dec. 7th as N.J.I.T. was able to beat UMass Lowell, 55-44
UMass Lowell will play Albany on Feb. 5th at 7:00 PM ET as they get back into America East play.
NCAAB: UMass Lowell up-ends N.J.I.T, 73-64
The River Hawks led early and often and were up 40-29 at halftime.
For UMass Lowell(7-14, 5-4), they continue to hit their stride since the return of Antonio Bivins. Akeem Williams had a very balanced game scoring 12 points with five assists and five rebounds. D.J. Mlachnik scored a team-high 15 points in the win. Kerry Weldon scored seven points on 3/6 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 boards.
For N.J.I.T.(9-15), Damon Lynn scored a game-high 23 points in a losing effort. Lynn also chalked up a team-high six assists as he moved the ball around quit nicely. Terrence Smith added nine points for N.J.I.T. in the loss.
These two teams played on Dec. 7th as N.J.I.T. was able to beat UMass Lowell, 55-44
UMass Lowell will play Albany on Feb. 5th at 7:00 PM ET as they get back into America East play.
NCAAB: UMass Lowell up-ends N.J.I.T, 73-64
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Kingston, RI--- The Rams lost their lead late and fell to UMass 73-68 Sunday night.
The Rams held a 62-55 lead with 8:35 remaining behind a Xavier Munford layup and three free throws. UMass responded with a Cjhaz Williams layup and took the lead 68-65 after a Derrick Gordon layup.
UMass out-shot URI 53.1%-to-41.5% from the floor in the win. The Minutemen also out-rebounded the Rams 36-to-27. With the rebounds came the blocks as UMass got 10 of them in the game.
For UMass(19-4, 6-3), Chaz Williams led the was with a team-high 21 points and a game-high seven assists in the win. Derrick Gordon scored 11 points and recorded a game-high nine board for UMass. Trey Davis contributed eight points off the bench, five of which came from the charity strike. Maxie Esho was back from missing one game with a concussion, scored seven points and came down with three boards.
For Rhode Island(11-13, 2-7), the loss is a tough one as they had the lead a majority of the game and for a significant time down the stretch. E.C. Matthews scored a game-high 24 points for the Rams. Senior Xavier Munford netted 19 points on 6/15 shooting in the loss. Jarelle Reischel scored seven points with four rebounds off the bench in a losing effort for the Rams Sunday evening.
UMass will play George Mason on Feb. 12th at 7:00 PM ET as they look to get back into the top of the A10 standings.
NCAAB: UMass inches past URI, 73-68
The Rams held a 62-55 lead with 8:35 remaining behind a Xavier Munford layup and three free throws. UMass responded with a Cjhaz Williams layup and took the lead 68-65 after a Derrick Gordon layup.
UMass out-shot URI 53.1%-to-41.5% from the floor in the win. The Minutemen also out-rebounded the Rams 36-to-27. With the rebounds came the blocks as UMass got 10 of them in the game.
For UMass(19-4, 6-3), Chaz Williams led the was with a team-high 21 points and a game-high seven assists in the win. Derrick Gordon scored 11 points and recorded a game-high nine board for UMass. Trey Davis contributed eight points off the bench, five of which came from the charity strike. Maxie Esho was back from missing one game with a concussion, scored seven points and came down with three boards.
For Rhode Island(11-13, 2-7), the loss is a tough one as they had the lead a majority of the game and for a significant time down the stretch. E.C. Matthews scored a game-high 24 points for the Rams. Senior Xavier Munford netted 19 points on 6/15 shooting in the loss. Jarelle Reischel scored seven points with four rebounds off the bench in a losing effort for the Rams Sunday evening.
UMass will play George Mason on Feb. 12th at 7:00 PM ET as they look to get back into the top of the A10 standings.
NCAAB: UMass inches past URI, 73-68
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Boston, MA--- Northeastern's struggles continue after a tough loss to the Towson Tigers by the score of 79-70.
Northeastern was down four with 1:23 left in the first half, but ended up scoring the final seven points to take a 34-31 lead at the break.
Towson as a team shot 26/48(54.2%) from the field as they held Northeastern to 26/54(48.1%) shooting. The Tigers hit seven three-pointers compared to the Huskies hitting three. Towson also converted 20/22(90.9%) of their free throws. Northeastern wasn't too shabby at the line either converting on 15/20(75.0%).
For Northeastern(9-19, 6-8), Scott Eatherton scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine boards in the loss. Guard T.J. Williams dumped in a team-high 17 points on 6/6 shooting. David Walker added 11 points and a game-high seven assists for the Huskies.
For Towson(19-9, 10-3), their great season continues. Rafriel Guthrie took the Huskies to town scoring a game-high 21 points. Guard Mike Burwell added 19 points on 5/13 shooting and came down with five rebounds. Timothy Parker-Rivera and Marcus Damas both scored 13 points apiece in the win.
Northeastern upset Towson in their first meeting as they beat them 57-54.
Northeastern will play William & Mary on Feb. 22nd at 4:00 PM ET.
NCAAB: Williams scores 17; Northeastern falls to Towson
Northeastern was down four with 1:23 left in the first half, but ended up scoring the final seven points to take a 34-31 lead at the break.
Towson as a team shot 26/48(54.2%) from the field as they held Northeastern to 26/54(48.1%) shooting. The Tigers hit seven three-pointers compared to the Huskies hitting three. Towson also converted 20/22(90.9%) of their free throws. Northeastern wasn't too shabby at the line either converting on 15/20(75.0%).
For Northeastern(9-19, 6-8), Scott Eatherton scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine boards in the loss. Guard T.J. Williams dumped in a team-high 17 points on 6/6 shooting. David Walker added 11 points and a game-high seven assists for the Huskies.
For Towson(19-9, 10-3), their great season continues. Rafriel Guthrie took the Huskies to town scoring a game-high 21 points. Guard Mike Burwell added 19 points on 5/13 shooting and came down with five rebounds. Timothy Parker-Rivera and Marcus Damas both scored 13 points apiece in the win.
Northeastern upset Towson in their first meeting as they beat them 57-54.
Northeastern will play William & Mary on Feb. 22nd at 4:00 PM ET.
NCAAB: Williams scores 17; Northeastern falls to Towson
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Brandyn Curry matched his season high of 17 points and Harvard scored a 59-47 victory over Princeton on Saturday night.
The Crimson (22-4, 9-1) took a half-game lead in the Ivy League with Yale (8-1) playing at Columbia on Sunday.
In winning its fourth straight, Harvard earned its first victory in Jadwin Gym since Feb. 3, 1989. The victory also gave Harvard its first road sweep of Penn and Princeton since 1984-85 and first season sweep of those two schools in the 103 years of Harvard basketball.
Siyani Chambers scored 13 points and had eight assists for Harvard. Steve Moundou-Missi added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Princeton (15-8, 3-6) had a 12-point lead in the first half and was up five points at the break. But Harvard held the Tigers to 6-of-23 shooting (26.1 percent) in the second half.
T.J. Bray led Princeton with 17 points. Spencer Weisz added 12.
Y! SPORTS
The Crimson (22-4, 9-1) took a half-game lead in the Ivy League with Yale (8-1) playing at Columbia on Sunday.
In winning its fourth straight, Harvard earned its first victory in Jadwin Gym since Feb. 3, 1989. The victory also gave Harvard its first road sweep of Penn and Princeton since 1984-85 and first season sweep of those two schools in the 103 years of Harvard basketball.
Siyani Chambers scored 13 points and had eight assists for Harvard. Steve Moundou-Missi added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Princeton (15-8, 3-6) had a 12-point lead in the first half and was up five points at the break. But Harvard held the Tigers to 6-of-23 shooting (26.1 percent) in the second half.
T.J. Bray led Princeton with 17 points. Spencer Weisz added 12.
Y! SPORTS
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Amherst, MA--- It wasn't easy but UMass found a way to pull out a 70-67 win over Rhode Island Wednesday night in A10 play.
The game was tight throughout as UMass's first lead of the game came off a Trey Davis three-pointer at the 0:54 mark of the first to give them the 31-28 lead. UMass was able to get their lead all the way to 41-32 at the 17:13 mark of the second but URI hung around and fought the whole game. The Rams actually held a lead late in this game by the score of 62-61 at the 3:49 mark. A couple of Cady Lalanne free throws quickly erased that lead. URI cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:07 left but a couple of free throws by Chaz Williams and Trey Davis sealed the game for the Minutemen.
UMass as a team did not shoot the ball that well hitting 22/57(38.6%) of their shots. URI was on fire nailing down 26/52(50.0%) of their shots. UMass went to the line 31 times compared to URI's 18 trips to the line. UMass out-rebounded the Rams 41-to-28.
For UMass(22-5, 9-4), the win pretty much secures a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Chaz Williams shot 5/13 from the floor for a team-high 16 points. Williams also passed for a game-high six assists in the win. Sampson Carter scored 11 points with six rebounds in 31 minutes for the Minutemen. Derrick Gordon scored nine points with a game-high 10 rebounds Wednesday night. Trey Davis added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of action.
For Rhode Island(12-17, 3-11), Xavier Munford tried to do everything he could by netting a 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in the loss. Gilvydas Biruta scored a game-high 17 points while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and passing for a team-high five assists Wednesday night. Hassan Martin chipped in 13 points in 29 minutes. E.C. Matthews, while playing in 35 minutes, scored 14 points, chalked up five boards and passed for four assists in the loss to UMass.
The first meeting between these two teams this year UMass edged the Rams by the score of 73-68. So the win Wednesday means UMass has swept the season series from the Rams.
UMass will play Dayton in a huge A10 game on Saturday Mar. 1st at 11:00 AM ET.
NCAAB: UMass holds off Rhode Island, 70-67
The game was tight throughout as UMass's first lead of the game came off a Trey Davis three-pointer at the 0:54 mark of the first to give them the 31-28 lead. UMass was able to get their lead all the way to 41-32 at the 17:13 mark of the second but URI hung around and fought the whole game. The Rams actually held a lead late in this game by the score of 62-61 at the 3:49 mark. A couple of Cady Lalanne free throws quickly erased that lead. URI cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:07 left but a couple of free throws by Chaz Williams and Trey Davis sealed the game for the Minutemen.
UMass as a team did not shoot the ball that well hitting 22/57(38.6%) of their shots. URI was on fire nailing down 26/52(50.0%) of their shots. UMass went to the line 31 times compared to URI's 18 trips to the line. UMass out-rebounded the Rams 41-to-28.
For UMass(22-5, 9-4), the win pretty much secures a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Chaz Williams shot 5/13 from the floor for a team-high 16 points. Williams also passed for a game-high six assists in the win. Sampson Carter scored 11 points with six rebounds in 31 minutes for the Minutemen. Derrick Gordon scored nine points with a game-high 10 rebounds Wednesday night. Trey Davis added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of action.
For Rhode Island(12-17, 3-11), Xavier Munford tried to do everything he could by netting a 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in the loss. Gilvydas Biruta scored a game-high 17 points while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and passing for a team-high five assists Wednesday night. Hassan Martin chipped in 13 points in 29 minutes. E.C. Matthews, while playing in 35 minutes, scored 14 points, chalked up five boards and passed for four assists in the loss to UMass.
The first meeting between these two teams this year UMass edged the Rams by the score of 73-68. So the win Wednesday means UMass has swept the season series from the Rams.
UMass will play Dayton in a huge A10 game on Saturday Mar. 1st at 11:00 AM ET.
NCAAB: UMass holds off Rhode Island, 70-67
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Lowell, MA--- Thursday evening was the setting of a great America East basketball match-up which pitted UMass Lowell against Maine. UMass Lowell behind Antonio Bivins was able to get the win by the score of 84-72.
The two teams went back-and-forth for the lead in the first half but the Black Bears captured a slim 38-35 lead at the half. UMass Lowell opened the second half on an 18-4 run to capture a 52-42 lead at the 14:02 mark after an easy Akeem Williams layup. UMass Lowell never looked back and kept extending their lead and eventually won by 12.
UMass Lowell was great from the field hitting 28/52(53.8%) of their shots and holding Maine to 31/66(47.0%) from the field which isn't too shabby either. UMass Lowell held an eight-to-four advantage in three-pointers made. Also UMass Lowell went to the line 29 times compared to Maine only making 10 trips to the charity strike.
For UMass Lowell(10-18, 8-8), Antonio Bivins was a monster scoring a game-high 24 points while coming down with a game-high 12 boards in the win. Guard DJ Mlacknik added 19 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Akeem Williams netted 12 points, passed for five assists and came down with five boards Thursday night. Chad Holley chipped in 10 points and a co-game-high seven assists for the River Hawks to help them pick up their 10th win of the year.
For Maine(5-22, 3-12), the struggles continue. Forward Tim Gloger scored 20 points and came down with seven rebounds in the loss. Xavier Pollard netted 15 points, passed for a co-game-high seven assists and recorded five steals for the Black Bears Thursday night. Shaun Lawton added 11 points.
UMass Lowell won the first match-up against Maine earlier in the year by the score of 74-62. So with the win Thursday they have taken botch games from Maine.
UMass Lowell has finished their regular season and will now gear up for the America East Tournament.
NCAAB: Bivins leads UMass Lowell to 84-72 win over Maine
The two teams went back-and-forth for the lead in the first half but the Black Bears captured a slim 38-35 lead at the half. UMass Lowell opened the second half on an 18-4 run to capture a 52-42 lead at the 14:02 mark after an easy Akeem Williams layup. UMass Lowell never looked back and kept extending their lead and eventually won by 12.
UMass Lowell was great from the field hitting 28/52(53.8%) of their shots and holding Maine to 31/66(47.0%) from the field which isn't too shabby either. UMass Lowell held an eight-to-four advantage in three-pointers made. Also UMass Lowell went to the line 29 times compared to Maine only making 10 trips to the charity strike.
For UMass Lowell(10-18, 8-8), Antonio Bivins was a monster scoring a game-high 24 points while coming down with a game-high 12 boards in the win. Guard DJ Mlacknik added 19 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Akeem Williams netted 12 points, passed for five assists and came down with five boards Thursday night. Chad Holley chipped in 10 points and a co-game-high seven assists for the River Hawks to help them pick up their 10th win of the year.
For Maine(5-22, 3-12), the struggles continue. Forward Tim Gloger scored 20 points and came down with seven rebounds in the loss. Xavier Pollard netted 15 points, passed for a co-game-high seven assists and recorded five steals for the Black Bears Thursday night. Shaun Lawton added 11 points.
UMass Lowell won the first match-up against Maine earlier in the year by the score of 74-62. So with the win Thursday they have taken botch games from Maine.
UMass Lowell has finished their regular season and will now gear up for the America East Tournament.
NCAAB: Bivins leads UMass Lowell to 84-72 win over Maine
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Boston, MA--- It was a tough regular season for the Northeastern Huskies but their last regular season game of the year before the conference tournament ended on a high note with a 54-52 win over Drexel.
David Walker of the Huskies sank three free throws in the final 0:06 of the game to give the Huskies the win.
This game was very even throughout and ended up being 26-24 Northeastern at the half.
Neither team shot to well from the floor as the Huskies converted 15/51(29.4%) of their shots as Drexel made 20/57(35.1%) of their's. The Huskies out-rebounded the Dragons 45-to-35 in the game. Northeastern went to the line 29 times hitting 20 of their free throws equaling 69.0%. Drexel only went to the charity strike 11 times and only hit six(54.5%).
For Northeastern(10-20, 7-9), Scott Eatherton led the way once again scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds to record his 18th double-double on the year. David Walker scored eight points in 35 minutes for the Huskies. Zach Stahl added 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench Saturday afternoon.
For Drexel(16-13, 8-8), they have had one season full of injuries. Guard Chris Fouch scored a game-high 26 points for the Dragons in the loss. Frantz Massenat scored eight points. recorded a game-high four assists and grabbed four rebounds in a losing effort. Tavon Allen scored two points on 1/7 shooting for the Dragons.
The first time these two teams met up this year saw Drexel win 93-88 in 2OT which goes to show how even these two teams really are.
Northeastern will now gear up for the CAA Tournament.
NCAAB: Walker pulls Northeastern over Drexel, 54-52
David Walker of the Huskies sank three free throws in the final 0:06 of the game to give the Huskies the win.
This game was very even throughout and ended up being 26-24 Northeastern at the half.
Neither team shot to well from the floor as the Huskies converted 15/51(29.4%) of their shots as Drexel made 20/57(35.1%) of their's. The Huskies out-rebounded the Dragons 45-to-35 in the game. Northeastern went to the line 29 times hitting 20 of their free throws equaling 69.0%. Drexel only went to the charity strike 11 times and only hit six(54.5%).
For Northeastern(10-20, 7-9), Scott Eatherton led the way once again scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds to record his 18th double-double on the year. David Walker scored eight points in 35 minutes for the Huskies. Zach Stahl added 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench Saturday afternoon.
For Drexel(16-13, 8-8), they have had one season full of injuries. Guard Chris Fouch scored a game-high 26 points for the Dragons in the loss. Frantz Massenat scored eight points. recorded a game-high four assists and grabbed four rebounds in a losing effort. Tavon Allen scored two points on 1/7 shooting for the Dragons.
The first time these two teams met up this year saw Drexel win 93-88 in 2OT which goes to show how even these two teams really are.
Northeastern will now gear up for the CAA Tournament.
NCAAB: Walker pulls Northeastern over Drexel, 54-52
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As his program crash-landed at rock bottom Saturday at South Carolina, John Calipari excused himself from the proceedings. He got himself tossed by the officials, and then blew off the press conference after his Kentucky Wildcats lost to a team ranked No. 178 in America according to the RPI.
When the going got tough, Cal got out.
It was a nostalgic flashback to December, when Calipari made a four-minute postgame interview appearance after losing to Baylor, then abruptly got up and left when the first question was directed toward one of his players. His freshmen sat there and answered the rest of the queries without him.
Had Calipari shown up to answer questions Saturday after the worst defeat of his Kentucky tenure, instead of sending assistant John Robic and two freshmen to the interview room, here are the questions Calipari should have been asked.
Q: Your preseason No. 1 team should by all rights fall out of the top 25 this week. What has happened to the squad that had you dancing in the car on the way to the office in October?
Q: The season is not lost, but it's headed that direction at a high rate of speed. What are you going to do about it?
Q: Is it still Ryan Harrow's fault? That poor kid – who you recruited – was the scapegoat last year. He was the point guard who didn't run the team the way you wanted, and thus was run off to Georgia State. Archie Goodwin went pro with minimum lamentation. Kyle Wiltjer transferred, and nobody blinked. They all left under a cloud of blame that accompanied a trip to the NIT and a humiliating first-round loss to Robert Morris.
"The stuff I had to accept this year, the program almost got hijacked," you said last spring. "Never in my career have I surrendered in any way to any team, and I did at times this year – to try to save guys, to try to help guys – and it never works."
Harrow's stats are similar to those of your current point guard, five-star recruit Andrew Harrison. Harrow played about four minutes per game less and averaged slightly fewer points, rebounds and assists – but he had a better assist-turnover ratio and shot better from two-point range.
But stats can be misleading. Can we still pile this disappointing season on the 2012-13 bunch?
Q: If not Harrow & Co., is it time to throw the Greatest Recruiting Class in College Basketball history under the Big Blue bus? You've started moving in that direction recently, Cal.
After losing to Arkansas at home Thursday, you mentioned "a couple no-shows" without naming names. And you blamed forward Julius Randle for wearing down by not taking himself out of the lineup. "I'm trying to get guys to sub themselves," you said. "They just don't get it." For $5.2 million a year, you'd think the coach could add "manage the substitution rotation" to his list of responsibilities, as opposed to leaving it up to the players. Who are young. (Stop me if you've heard this before: Kentucky has a young team.)
Then there was your comment to the Kentucky radio crew Saturday night: "They're counting on me too much." Apparently we are reaching the Pontius Pilate stage of the season, where the coach washes his hands and turns an increasingly unpleasant endeavor over to the unpaid laborers.
Q: But if it's not the players' fault, and they weren't all massively overrated coming out of high school, who hasn't done the job of coalescing them into a team?
Q: As a follow-up: Who recruited these guys again? And called them "alpha males" and raved about the renewed breed of nasty that would return Kentucky to national championship contention? Who cornered the market on one-year transient players – when it was a bull market (Wall, Cousins, Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist) and when it's a bear market?
Q: What happened to this plan: "What we're going to have is unbelievable competition. We may have three teams, so 15 guys that can play. Let's go." That was the antidote for a "hijacking" – the bench. Guys who were not playing well were going to sit.
Instead, you've played seven guys. Four players – Julius Randle, James Young and the Harrison twins – average more than 30 minutes per game. Last year, Team Hijack had three players averaging that many minutes. When it comes to playing time, there is little disincentive for poor performance. The stars get the minutes, even if they aren't getting the job done.
Q: Jim Boeheim made an idiot of himself in a loss at Duke the week before, but he showed up at the postgame press conference to answer for it. Cincinnati's Mick Cronin made an idiot of himself on the sidelines Saturday in a loss to Connecticut, but he took questions afterward. If they can do it, why not you?
Q: In October you proclaimed, "We are college basketball." Does that mean this entire college basketball season has been a disappointment? Because it doesn't feel that way, but we want to be sure.
Q: If February you proclaimed this to be the most overanalyzed team in the history of sports. Are five losses in a weak SEC a clever ploy to slow down the rampant analysis of the Wildcats?
Q: Can the 40-0 T-shirts people have been using to wax their cars be forwarded to the good people of Wichita? Just in case?
Q: Kentucky fans used to derisively call Tubby Smith "Ten-Loss Tubby." You are two defeats away from a second straight season with double-digit losses. If the moniker "Ten-Loss Cal" starts being thrown around, how will you take it?
Q: Did you know that the two Kentucky teams relying solely on your recruits as the major contributors are last year and this year? And that their record is 42-20, 23-11 in the SEC, with an NIT berth and four losses to teams ranked outside the Ken Pomeroy top 100?
Q: Did you know that your first three teams at Kentucky all had veteran players recruited by previous coaches in key roles? Those teams went a combined 102-14, 40-18 in the Southeastern Conference, with two SEC titles, two SEC tournament titles, two Final Four appearances and a national
When the going got tough, Cal got out.
It was a nostalgic flashback to December, when Calipari made a four-minute postgame interview appearance after losing to Baylor, then abruptly got up and left when the first question was directed toward one of his players. His freshmen sat there and answered the rest of the queries without him.
Had Calipari shown up to answer questions Saturday after the worst defeat of his Kentucky tenure, instead of sending assistant John Robic and two freshmen to the interview room, here are the questions Calipari should have been asked.
Q: Your preseason No. 1 team should by all rights fall out of the top 25 this week. What has happened to the squad that had you dancing in the car on the way to the office in October?
Q: The season is not lost, but it's headed that direction at a high rate of speed. What are you going to do about it?
Q: Is it still Ryan Harrow's fault? That poor kid – who you recruited – was the scapegoat last year. He was the point guard who didn't run the team the way you wanted, and thus was run off to Georgia State. Archie Goodwin went pro with minimum lamentation. Kyle Wiltjer transferred, and nobody blinked. They all left under a cloud of blame that accompanied a trip to the NIT and a humiliating first-round loss to Robert Morris.
"The stuff I had to accept this year, the program almost got hijacked," you said last spring. "Never in my career have I surrendered in any way to any team, and I did at times this year – to try to save guys, to try to help guys – and it never works."
Harrow's stats are similar to those of your current point guard, five-star recruit Andrew Harrison. Harrow played about four minutes per game less and averaged slightly fewer points, rebounds and assists – but he had a better assist-turnover ratio and shot better from two-point range.
But stats can be misleading. Can we still pile this disappointing season on the 2012-13 bunch?
Q: If not Harrow & Co., is it time to throw the Greatest Recruiting Class in College Basketball history under the Big Blue bus? You've started moving in that direction recently, Cal.
After losing to Arkansas at home Thursday, you mentioned "a couple no-shows" without naming names. And you blamed forward Julius Randle for wearing down by not taking himself out of the lineup. "I'm trying to get guys to sub themselves," you said. "They just don't get it." For $5.2 million a year, you'd think the coach could add "manage the substitution rotation" to his list of responsibilities, as opposed to leaving it up to the players. Who are young. (Stop me if you've heard this before: Kentucky has a young team.)
Then there was your comment to the Kentucky radio crew Saturday night: "They're counting on me too much." Apparently we are reaching the Pontius Pilate stage of the season, where the coach washes his hands and turns an increasingly unpleasant endeavor over to the unpaid laborers.
Q: But if it's not the players' fault, and they weren't all massively overrated coming out of high school, who hasn't done the job of coalescing them into a team?
Q: As a follow-up: Who recruited these guys again? And called them "alpha males" and raved about the renewed breed of nasty that would return Kentucky to national championship contention? Who cornered the market on one-year transient players – when it was a bull market (Wall, Cousins, Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist) and when it's a bear market?
Q: What happened to this plan: "What we're going to have is unbelievable competition. We may have three teams, so 15 guys that can play. Let's go." That was the antidote for a "hijacking" – the bench. Guys who were not playing well were going to sit.
Instead, you've played seven guys. Four players – Julius Randle, James Young and the Harrison twins – average more than 30 minutes per game. Last year, Team Hijack had three players averaging that many minutes. When it comes to playing time, there is little disincentive for poor performance. The stars get the minutes, even if they aren't getting the job done.
Q: Jim Boeheim made an idiot of himself in a loss at Duke the week before, but he showed up at the postgame press conference to answer for it. Cincinnati's Mick Cronin made an idiot of himself on the sidelines Saturday in a loss to Connecticut, but he took questions afterward. If they can do it, why not you?
Q: In October you proclaimed, "We are college basketball." Does that mean this entire college basketball season has been a disappointment? Because it doesn't feel that way, but we want to be sure.
Q: If February you proclaimed this to be the most overanalyzed team in the history of sports. Are five losses in a weak SEC a clever ploy to slow down the rampant analysis of the Wildcats?
Q: Can the 40-0 T-shirts people have been using to wax their cars be forwarded to the good people of Wichita? Just in case?
Q: Kentucky fans used to derisively call Tubby Smith "Ten-Loss Tubby." You are two defeats away from a second straight season with double-digit losses. If the moniker "Ten-Loss Cal" starts being thrown around, how will you take it?
Q: Did you know that the two Kentucky teams relying solely on your recruits as the major contributors are last year and this year? And that their record is 42-20, 23-11 in the SEC, with an NIT berth and four losses to teams ranked outside the Ken Pomeroy top 100?
Q: Did you know that your first three teams at Kentucky all had veteran players recruited by previous coaches in key roles? Those teams went a combined 102-14, 40-18 in the Southeastern Conference, with two SEC titles, two SEC tournament titles, two Final Four appearances and a national
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Worcester, MA--- Holy Corss continued its suprisiting season after a 54-48 win over Lehigh in the Patriot League Quarterfinals Wednesday evening.
The Crusaders and Mountain Hawks played a very even game throughout the stretch but a Justin Burrell three-pointer with about five minutes remaining gave the Crusaders a 49-40 lead. Lehigh went on an 8-1 run to pull the game to two points at 50-48 with 0:58 remaining. But the Crusaders got a jumper to go by Dave Dudzinski to get their lead to that of 52-48 and they held on.
Holy Cross shot 21/52(40.4%) from the floor and help Lehigh to 20/62(32.3%) for the game. Lehigh only got 3/21(14.3%) of their three-pointers to fall and watched Holy Cross hit 6/17(35.3%) of theirs. Lehigh held the rebounding edge 40-to-34 but Holy Corss held the edge in assists 14-to-nine.
For (3)Holy Cross(19-12), Dave Dudzinski helped lead the way scoring 12 points and grabbing six boards in the win. Malcolm Miller scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a co-game-high eight boards in a wining effort. Justin Burrell registered nine points and four boards for the Crusaders. Holy Cross's bench was held to one point.
For (6)Lehigh(14-18), Mackey McKnight scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a co-team-high eight boards in the loss. Tim Kempton added eight points and co-team-high eight boards. Justin Goldsborough chipped in eight points and four boards for Lehigh Wednesday night.
Holy Cross won the two regular season games against Lehigh as well by the scores of 61-42 and 72-67.
Holy Cross will travel to face American U on Mar. 8th at 5:30 PM ET as they look to make the Patriot League Championship game.
NCAAB: Holy Cross edges out Lehigh, 54-48; reaches Patriot League Tournament Semifinals
The Crusaders and Mountain Hawks played a very even game throughout the stretch but a Justin Burrell three-pointer with about five minutes remaining gave the Crusaders a 49-40 lead. Lehigh went on an 8-1 run to pull the game to two points at 50-48 with 0:58 remaining. But the Crusaders got a jumper to go by Dave Dudzinski to get their lead to that of 52-48 and they held on.
Holy Cross shot 21/52(40.4%) from the floor and help Lehigh to 20/62(32.3%) for the game. Lehigh only got 3/21(14.3%) of their three-pointers to fall and watched Holy Cross hit 6/17(35.3%) of theirs. Lehigh held the rebounding edge 40-to-34 but Holy Corss held the edge in assists 14-to-nine.
For (3)Holy Cross(19-12), Dave Dudzinski helped lead the way scoring 12 points and grabbing six boards in the win. Malcolm Miller scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a co-game-high eight boards in a wining effort. Justin Burrell registered nine points and four boards for the Crusaders. Holy Cross's bench was held to one point.
For (6)Lehigh(14-18), Mackey McKnight scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a co-team-high eight boards in the loss. Tim Kempton added eight points and co-team-high eight boards. Justin Goldsborough chipped in eight points and four boards for Lehigh Wednesday night.
Holy Cross won the two regular season games against Lehigh as well by the scores of 61-42 and 72-67.
Holy Cross will travel to face American U on Mar. 8th at 5:30 PM ET as they look to make the Patriot League Championship game.
NCAAB: Holy Cross edges out Lehigh, 54-48; reaches Patriot League Tournament Semifinals
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Baltimore, MD--- Well Northeastern's season finally ended at the hands of loss to Delware by the score of 87-74 in the CAA semifinals.
The Huskies trailed early in this game 10-0 but were able to storm back into it and make it a game when they took a 42-39 lead. Delaware made their next 19 of 25 shots from the field and ended up sinking the Huskies.
Delaware seemingly made every shot as they hit 32/54(59.3%) of their field goals and held Northeastern to 25/62(40.3%) shooting from the floor. Northeastern did hold the rebounding edge 34-to-29 but still lost.
For (5)Northeastern(11-21), Scott Eatherton led the charge once again as he scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed a co-team-high eight boards in the loss. Zach Stahl chipped in scoring eight points and grabbing a co-team-high eight boards. Reggie Spencer notched 18 points and a co-team-high eight boards off the bench.
For (1)Delaware(24-9), Davon Usher scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed four boards and passed for three assists in the win. Devon Sadler added 16 points and a game-high nine assists for the Blue Hens. Jarvis Threatt chipped in 19 points, grabbed a game-high 11 boards and passed for five assists in a winning effort. Carl Baptise recorded 14 points and five boards before fouling out.
Delaware won the two previous meeting by the scored of 74-70 and 80-67 against Northeastern.
Northeastern's season is officiaolly over as they hope to be back at full strength for next year.
NCAAB: Delaware ends Northeastern's season after 87-74 win
The Huskies trailed early in this game 10-0 but were able to storm back into it and make it a game when they took a 42-39 lead. Delaware made their next 19 of 25 shots from the field and ended up sinking the Huskies.
Delaware seemingly made every shot as they hit 32/54(59.3%) of their field goals and held Northeastern to 25/62(40.3%) shooting from the floor. Northeastern did hold the rebounding edge 34-to-29 but still lost.
For (5)Northeastern(11-21), Scott Eatherton led the charge once again as he scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed a co-team-high eight boards in the loss. Zach Stahl chipped in scoring eight points and grabbing a co-team-high eight boards. Reggie Spencer notched 18 points and a co-team-high eight boards off the bench.
For (1)Delaware(24-9), Davon Usher scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed four boards and passed for three assists in the win. Devon Sadler added 16 points and a game-high nine assists for the Blue Hens. Jarvis Threatt chipped in 19 points, grabbed a game-high 11 boards and passed for five assists in a winning effort. Carl Baptise recorded 14 points and five boards before fouling out.
Delaware won the two previous meeting by the scored of 74-70 and 80-67 against Northeastern.
Northeastern's season is officiaolly over as they hope to be back at full strength for next year.
NCAAB: Delaware ends Northeastern's season after 87-74 win
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The Atlantic 10 Conference lost some big-name programs and keeps right on winning.
The A-10 is in position to possibly send a league-record six teams to the NCAA tournament. It could wind up with more bids than the ACC, SEC or Big East — the conference that poached Butler and Xavier after last season.
Temple also departed for the American Athletic Conference and Charlotte to Conference USA, but the A-10 is proving plenty deep.
The league's current members have the basketball cred to get invited to tournaments with top-notch fields in November and December. That offers not just the opportunity for quality non-conference wins for those schools but helps everyone's RPI once they start beating up on each other. The result: the chance to send as many programs to the Big Dance as anyone.
Five things to know about the A-10 tournament at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, which opens Wednesday with the play-in game between 12th-seeded George Mason and No. 13-seeded Fordham:
BEEN THERE: Seniors Dwayne Evans, Jordair Jett, Rob Loe and Mike McCall were all a big part of No. 18 Saint Louis' A-10 tournament championship last year. Jett, the do-everything leader for the Billikens (26 - 5, 13-3), is the conference player of the year.
They're trying to become the first team to sweep the A-10 regular-season and conference tournament titles two straight years since UMass dominated the league in the mid-1990s.
"They're not a real emotional group," coach Jim Crews said. "I think that's helped their consistency the last three years."
But they were amped up to clinch the outright regular-season title at UMass on Sunday, and Crews believes there's something special about winning a conference tournament title in New York.
BUBBLE TROUBLE: Depending on how other conference tournaments play out, a potential quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's and fifth-seeded Dayton could serve as an NCAA play-in game. The Hawks (21-9, 11-5) swept the Flyers in the regular season and beat VCU at home, but they didn't help themselves with a loss to La Salle in Sunday's finale.
Dayton (22-9, 10-6) must play Thursday against George Mason or Fordham. The Flyers are hot, which the selection committee always likes to see. They've won nine of 10, including a road victory over Saint Louis. The only loss in that span: at Saint Joseph's.
BROOKLYN'S OWN: UMass (23-7, 10-6) is seeded sixth, but with non-conference wins over New Mexico, Nebraska, BYU and Providence, the Minutemen appear assured of their first NCAA bid since 1998. They haven't won the A-10 tournament since the 1996 Final Four team.
Senior guard Chaz Williams is headed home to Brooklyn for the conference tourney, where his team would need to win four games in four days for the title.
"It's been a while since UMass had a conference title and that's something that we want to go out with," he said. "Just making the tournament, just being ball players isn't good enough for us."
ROCKING RAMS: VCU fans made the trip from Richmond — it's a 5½-hour drive — en masse for last year's tournament, when the Rams lost to Saint Louis in the final. The more noise, the better for No. 23 VCU and its "Havoc" defense. The Rams (24-7, 12-4) are again seeded second behind the Billikens.
"I like hitting 3s and hearing the fans cheer for me," said sophomore guard Melvin Johnson, who hails from the Bronx, "and I knew I was going to potentially have that with all the black and gold there."
GREAT GEORGE: George Washington was eliminated Thursday at last year's A-10 tournament when seeded 11th. Now the Colonials (23-7, 11-5) have a bye to Friday's quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and are in position for their first NCAA berth since 2007.
They got a huge boost from transfer guard Maurice Creek. He was able to play immediately after earning his degree from Indiana, where he had an injury-plagued career. The graduate student leads GW with 14.6 points per game.
A-10 keeps right on winning after defections
The A-10 is in position to possibly send a league-record six teams to the NCAA tournament. It could wind up with more bids than the ACC, SEC or Big East — the conference that poached Butler and Xavier after last season.
Temple also departed for the American Athletic Conference and Charlotte to Conference USA, but the A-10 is proving plenty deep.
The league's current members have the basketball cred to get invited to tournaments with top-notch fields in November and December. That offers not just the opportunity for quality non-conference wins for those schools but helps everyone's RPI once they start beating up on each other. The result: the chance to send as many programs to the Big Dance as anyone.
Five things to know about the A-10 tournament at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, which opens Wednesday with the play-in game between 12th-seeded George Mason and No. 13-seeded Fordham:
BEEN THERE: Seniors Dwayne Evans, Jordair Jett, Rob Loe and Mike McCall were all a big part of No. 18 Saint Louis' A-10 tournament championship last year. Jett, the do-everything leader for the Billikens (26 - 5, 13-3), is the conference player of the year.
They're trying to become the first team to sweep the A-10 regular-season and conference tournament titles two straight years since UMass dominated the league in the mid-1990s.
"They're not a real emotional group," coach Jim Crews said. "I think that's helped their consistency the last three years."
But they were amped up to clinch the outright regular-season title at UMass on Sunday, and Crews believes there's something special about winning a conference tournament title in New York.
BUBBLE TROUBLE: Depending on how other conference tournaments play out, a potential quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's and fifth-seeded Dayton could serve as an NCAA play-in game. The Hawks (21-9, 11-5) swept the Flyers in the regular season and beat VCU at home, but they didn't help themselves with a loss to La Salle in Sunday's finale.
Dayton (22-9, 10-6) must play Thursday against George Mason or Fordham. The Flyers are hot, which the selection committee always likes to see. They've won nine of 10, including a road victory over Saint Louis. The only loss in that span: at Saint Joseph's.
BROOKLYN'S OWN: UMass (23-7, 10-6) is seeded sixth, but with non-conference wins over New Mexico, Nebraska, BYU and Providence, the Minutemen appear assured of their first NCAA bid since 1998. They haven't won the A-10 tournament since the 1996 Final Four team.
Senior guard Chaz Williams is headed home to Brooklyn for the conference tourney, where his team would need to win four games in four days for the title.
"It's been a while since UMass had a conference title and that's something that we want to go out with," he said. "Just making the tournament, just being ball players isn't good enough for us."
ROCKING RAMS: VCU fans made the trip from Richmond — it's a 5½-hour drive — en masse for last year's tournament, when the Rams lost to Saint Louis in the final. The more noise, the better for No. 23 VCU and its "Havoc" defense. The Rams (24-7, 12-4) are again seeded second behind the Billikens.
"I like hitting 3s and hearing the fans cheer for me," said sophomore guard Melvin Johnson, who hails from the Bronx, "and I knew I was going to potentially have that with all the black and gold there."
GREAT GEORGE: George Washington was eliminated Thursday at last year's A-10 tournament when seeded 11th. Now the Colonials (23-7, 11-5) have a bye to Friday's quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and are in position for their first NCAA berth since 2007.
They got a huge boost from transfer guard Maurice Creek. He was able to play immediately after earning his degree from Indiana, where he had an injury-plagued career. The graduate student leads GW with 14.6 points per game.
A-10 keeps right on winning after defections
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Brookyln, MA--- It wasn't a memorable first half for UMass's Chaz Williams but with he hit a three-pointers that extended the Minutemen's lead from two to three and they hung on to beat Rhode Island by the score of 65-61 Thursday evening.
"I was waiting for that," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said of Williams' big three, "When he raised up I knew it was in."
UMass took the lead late in the game when the senior, Williams, hit two free throws with 2:25 left to give UMass the 58-56 lead and they held on from there.
Rhode Island seemingly controlled the entire first quarter as they were up 37-29 at the half behid Xavier Munford's 18 points.
A 8-0 UMass run in the second quarter capped by a Trey David layup at the 3:10 mark gave UMass the 56-55 lead, which was their first since early in the first half.
UMass as a team struggled shooting the ball as they only connected on 17/54(31.5%) of their shots. URI hit 25/50(46.0%) of their looks from the floor but still lost. UMass went to the line 36 times converting on 28(77.9%) of their free throws. URI only went to the line 23 times making a dismal 11(47.8%). UMass held the rebounding edge as well 42-to-35.
For (6)UMass(24-7, 10-6), with the win they hope to move up a seed in the NCAA tournament. Williams, who went to high school three miles away from the Barclay's Center, was held to 11 points, three rebounds and a co-game-high three assists. Maxie Esho scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed seven boards off the bench in 29 minutes for the Minutemen. Sampson Carter added nine points and a co-game-high eight rebounds. Derrick Gordon added 10 points in 29 minutes as well for UMass Thursday night to help them advance in the A10 tournament.
For (11)Rhode Island(14-18), a year after not making the A10 tournament it was just nice for them to at least make the tournament. Xavier Munford scored a game-high 24 points on 9/16 and grabbed six boards in the loss. E.C. Matthews scored 10 points and passed for two assists during Thursday night's loss for the Rams. Gilvydas Biruta added 10 points and a co-game-high eight rebounds off the bench for the Rams, who say their season come to an end at the hands of UMass.
UMass won the previous meetings with URI by the scores of 73-68 and 70-67 so you knew it was going to be a tight one.
UMass will play George Washington on Mar. 13 in the A10 quarterfinals as they look to advance.
NCAAB: UMass nips URI, 65-61; advance to A10 quarterfinals
"I was waiting for that," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said of Williams' big three, "When he raised up I knew it was in."
UMass took the lead late in the game when the senior, Williams, hit two free throws with 2:25 left to give UMass the 58-56 lead and they held on from there.
Rhode Island seemingly controlled the entire first quarter as they were up 37-29 at the half behid Xavier Munford's 18 points.
A 8-0 UMass run in the second quarter capped by a Trey David layup at the 3:10 mark gave UMass the 56-55 lead, which was their first since early in the first half.
UMass as a team struggled shooting the ball as they only connected on 17/54(31.5%) of their shots. URI hit 25/50(46.0%) of their looks from the floor but still lost. UMass went to the line 36 times converting on 28(77.9%) of their free throws. URI only went to the line 23 times making a dismal 11(47.8%). UMass held the rebounding edge as well 42-to-35.
For (6)UMass(24-7, 10-6), with the win they hope to move up a seed in the NCAA tournament. Williams, who went to high school three miles away from the Barclay's Center, was held to 11 points, three rebounds and a co-game-high three assists. Maxie Esho scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed seven boards off the bench in 29 minutes for the Minutemen. Sampson Carter added nine points and a co-game-high eight rebounds. Derrick Gordon added 10 points in 29 minutes as well for UMass Thursday night to help them advance in the A10 tournament.
For (11)Rhode Island(14-18), a year after not making the A10 tournament it was just nice for them to at least make the tournament. Xavier Munford scored a game-high 24 points on 9/16 and grabbed six boards in the loss. E.C. Matthews scored 10 points and passed for two assists during Thursday night's loss for the Rams. Gilvydas Biruta added 10 points and a co-game-high eight rebounds off the bench for the Rams, who say their season come to an end at the hands of UMass.
UMass won the previous meetings with URI by the scores of 73-68 and 70-67 so you knew it was going to be a tight one.
UMass will play George Washington on Mar. 13 in the A10 quarterfinals as they look to advance.
NCAAB: UMass nips URI, 65-61; advance to A10 quarterfinals
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Brooklyn, NY--- Well UMass saw their regular season come to an end Friday night after a tough 85-77 loss to George Washington in the A10 quarterfinals.
George Washington was seemingly in control of this game throughout and led 20-11 at the 9:31 mark and kept adding to their lead. A Sampson Carter layup cut the Colonials lead to 35-29 at the 1:56 mark of the first but the Colonials went on a 5-1 run to take a nine-point halftime lead.
The second half was no different as the Colonials continued to pound the inside and the paint overwhelming the Minutemen with rebound after rebound. The Colonials at one point were up by 16 with the score reading 54-38 with 9:53 left and they held on.
UMass as a team shot 28/65(43.1%) from the field but George Washington was better shooting 30/59(50.8%) of their shots. George Washington hit nine three-pointers to UMass's seven makes from beyond the arc. The Colonials held the rebounding edge 39-to-35. They also held the blocks edge five-to-two.
For (6)UMass(24-8), Chaz Williams scored 19 points but on 6/17 shooting and passed for a co-game-high seven assists in the loss. Maxie Esho scored a game-high 22 points off the bench and grabbed a team-high seven boards for UMass. Derrick Gordon netted eight points as Raphiael Putney was held scoreless.
For (3)George Washington(24-7), Patricio Garino scored a co-team-high 15 points, passed for five assists and grabbed four boards in the win. Isaiah Armwood scored a co-team-high 15 points as well and grabbed five rebounds and blocked a game-high two shots in 29 minutes for the Colonials. Joe McDonald scored 12 points and passed for a co-game-high seven assists Friday evening to help the Colonials advance. Kevin Larsen and Maurice Creek netted 12 points apiece.
The win was a bit of revenge for the Colonials as the Minutemen got the best of them earlier in the season beating them by the score of 67-61.
UMass will prepare for the big dance and will find out who they will be playing on Sunday.
NCAAB: George Washington beats down UMass, 85-77
George Washington was seemingly in control of this game throughout and led 20-11 at the 9:31 mark and kept adding to their lead. A Sampson Carter layup cut the Colonials lead to 35-29 at the 1:56 mark of the first but the Colonials went on a 5-1 run to take a nine-point halftime lead.
The second half was no different as the Colonials continued to pound the inside and the paint overwhelming the Minutemen with rebound after rebound. The Colonials at one point were up by 16 with the score reading 54-38 with 9:53 left and they held on.
UMass as a team shot 28/65(43.1%) from the field but George Washington was better shooting 30/59(50.8%) of their shots. George Washington hit nine three-pointers to UMass's seven makes from beyond the arc. The Colonials held the rebounding edge 39-to-35. They also held the blocks edge five-to-two.
For (6)UMass(24-8), Chaz Williams scored 19 points but on 6/17 shooting and passed for a co-game-high seven assists in the loss. Maxie Esho scored a game-high 22 points off the bench and grabbed a team-high seven boards for UMass. Derrick Gordon netted eight points as Raphiael Putney was held scoreless.
For (3)George Washington(24-7), Patricio Garino scored a co-team-high 15 points, passed for five assists and grabbed four boards in the win. Isaiah Armwood scored a co-team-high 15 points as well and grabbed five rebounds and blocked a game-high two shots in 29 minutes for the Colonials. Joe McDonald scored 12 points and passed for a co-game-high seven assists Friday evening to help the Colonials advance. Kevin Larsen and Maurice Creek netted 12 points apiece.
The win was a bit of revenge for the Colonials as the Minutemen got the best of them earlier in the season beating them by the score of 67-61.
UMass will prepare for the big dance and will find out who they will be playing on Sunday.
NCAAB: George Washington beats down UMass, 85-77
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AT THE WATER COOLER: The Monday after Selection Sunday is a day to digest everything that happened.
It's a day to debate which team deserved a better seed. It's a day to argue which teams deserved to go dancing but didn't. It's a day for brackets to be printed — and most likely on the printer at work. Today is also a day to fill out a winning bracket. If you're looking to do so, it'll take gutsy picks and not doing what everyone else is doing (ahem, ESPN analysts).
Here are 10 predictions that can aid in the decisively bold moves department.
1. Florida will not win it all: The Gators are the clear-cut favorite to win the national championship. Billy Donovan's veteran-laden team has the moxie to do so, but this isn't as obvious as it was last year with a team like Louisville, especially when we consider why Florida garnered the No. 1 overall seed. The Gators, who haven't lost since early December, dominated the SEC en route to regular-season and tournament titles. Yet if there was one thing evidenced in a one-point win against an athletic, finally putting-it-together Kentucky team, it was that this team can be vulnerable, particularly in late-game situations after coughing up a 16-point lead. "There is a level of luck that comes into a lot of these situations," coach Billy Donovan said after the game. That luck will eventually run out.
2. Syracuse will lose in the second round: Momentum is an area that isn't spotlighted enough as an ingredient for a jaw-dropping upset. Consider Syracuse on the wrong side of that. The Orange have been scrutinized since a perfect 25-0 record unraveled into a late-season stretch in which 'Cuse lost five of its final seven games. Jim Boeheim will be the first to tell you his team hasn't truly dominated opponents this season, evidenced in a bevy of close ACC victories to basement teams and a pair of head-scratching losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College.
That's where Western Michigan enters the mix. The Mid-American Conference tournament champs won't be the most hyped Cinderella sleeper. But there's enough weaponry to pull off the upset of the tournament. David Brown (19.4 ppg) and Shayne Whittington (16.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg) make for a potent inside-out presence that could counter 'Cuse's matchup 2-3 zone.
3. Kansas is an unsafe safe bet: "There are just too many question marks." That's been the common refrain for a team with the projected top two NBA lottery picks in June's draft. That's understandable. The Jayhawks, who lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, are certainly vulnerable. But what team in this bracket isn't?
No Joel Embiid means Andrew Wiggins has to step up offensively. That's actually a good thing. And though chemistry could be a concern, the fact that Embiid could return provides hope for a deep run. KU was one of several teams to slip into the national title conversation at points this season, and that had a lot to do with Embiid's dominant January play. The upside still remains for this team, despite all the skepticism. If Bill Self's group can transition into letting Wiggins play Batman and Embiid (if healthy) or Perry Ellis playing Robin, then why is Kansas such a bad pick? March Madness is about stars as much as it is about anything.
4. Wichita > Kentucky schools: The Shockers earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament but were placed in perhaps the most difficult region in the history of the NCAA tournament. The last part of that statement might be an exaggeration, but a majority of brackets will either have a surging and preseason No. 1 Kentucky team upsetting undefeated Wichita State in the round of 32 or Louisville beating the Shockers in the Sweet 16. There's no denying the Wildcats' potential and the fact that the Cardinals are playing the best brand of basketball in the country.
But remember the Final Four last year? That game where Wichita almost beat the heavily-favored Cardinals? Well, this Wichita State team is better. And this Louisville team is not as good. Wichita State got the most prove-yourself-to-us-because-you're-a-mid-major seeding it could have possibly gotten. Gregg Marshall won't even have to say anything to motivate his players now.
5. Virginia will reach the Final Four: Defense wins championships. Coach Tony Bennett's man-to-man defense is as good as any team in the country. Just ask Duke or Syracuse. The Cavaliers were rewarded with the NCAA tournament selection committee's final No. 1 seed. But don't let that be a reason to think this seasoned Virginia squad will be the first No. 1 to fall. Michigan State is a better team on paper if both teams meet in the Sweet 16. However, one thing Virginia does incredibly well is control the game's tempo. A boring, grinded-out pace won't make for great television, but it makes for a solid Final Four recipe.
6. Wisconsin will be the best finisher from the Big Ten: Bo Ryan has never piloted the Badgers to the Final Four. And Wisconsin was hot and cold in Big Ten Conference play, But one thing this team proved during non-conference play was that it can beat teams when shots aren't falling. Arizona will be the favorite in the West Region, and rightfully so, but there's enough pieces on this Wisconsin team, led by Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, to upend the Wildcats.
7. Villanova will reach the Elite Eight: Although momentum needs to be considered, matchups play a more pivotal role in a team making a run. Duke's path to the Final Four in 2010 is a good example. With that in mind, Villanova is a team that has ridiculously slipped under the radar due to the recency effect. Yes, the Wildcats lost to Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament. And yes this team got blown out in two losses to Creighton. But we're talking about a team in contention for a No. 1 seed before that Seton Hall loss, and Jay Wright's group has a dribble-drive offense that should help it advance through the bracket.
8. North Dakota State will beat Oklahoma: Perh
It's a day to debate which team deserved a better seed. It's a day to argue which teams deserved to go dancing but didn't. It's a day for brackets to be printed — and most likely on the printer at work. Today is also a day to fill out a winning bracket. If you're looking to do so, it'll take gutsy picks and not doing what everyone else is doing (ahem, ESPN analysts).
Here are 10 predictions that can aid in the decisively bold moves department.
1. Florida will not win it all: The Gators are the clear-cut favorite to win the national championship. Billy Donovan's veteran-laden team has the moxie to do so, but this isn't as obvious as it was last year with a team like Louisville, especially when we consider why Florida garnered the No. 1 overall seed. The Gators, who haven't lost since early December, dominated the SEC en route to regular-season and tournament titles. Yet if there was one thing evidenced in a one-point win against an athletic, finally putting-it-together Kentucky team, it was that this team can be vulnerable, particularly in late-game situations after coughing up a 16-point lead. "There is a level of luck that comes into a lot of these situations," coach Billy Donovan said after the game. That luck will eventually run out.
2. Syracuse will lose in the second round: Momentum is an area that isn't spotlighted enough as an ingredient for a jaw-dropping upset. Consider Syracuse on the wrong side of that. The Orange have been scrutinized since a perfect 25-0 record unraveled into a late-season stretch in which 'Cuse lost five of its final seven games. Jim Boeheim will be the first to tell you his team hasn't truly dominated opponents this season, evidenced in a bevy of close ACC victories to basement teams and a pair of head-scratching losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College.
That's where Western Michigan enters the mix. The Mid-American Conference tournament champs won't be the most hyped Cinderella sleeper. But there's enough weaponry to pull off the upset of the tournament. David Brown (19.4 ppg) and Shayne Whittington (16.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg) make for a potent inside-out presence that could counter 'Cuse's matchup 2-3 zone.
3. Kansas is an unsafe safe bet: "There are just too many question marks." That's been the common refrain for a team with the projected top two NBA lottery picks in June's draft. That's understandable. The Jayhawks, who lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, are certainly vulnerable. But what team in this bracket isn't?
No Joel Embiid means Andrew Wiggins has to step up offensively. That's actually a good thing. And though chemistry could be a concern, the fact that Embiid could return provides hope for a deep run. KU was one of several teams to slip into the national title conversation at points this season, and that had a lot to do with Embiid's dominant January play. The upside still remains for this team, despite all the skepticism. If Bill Self's group can transition into letting Wiggins play Batman and Embiid (if healthy) or Perry Ellis playing Robin, then why is Kansas such a bad pick? March Madness is about stars as much as it is about anything.
4. Wichita > Kentucky schools: The Shockers earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament but were placed in perhaps the most difficult region in the history of the NCAA tournament. The last part of that statement might be an exaggeration, but a majority of brackets will either have a surging and preseason No. 1 Kentucky team upsetting undefeated Wichita State in the round of 32 or Louisville beating the Shockers in the Sweet 16. There's no denying the Wildcats' potential and the fact that the Cardinals are playing the best brand of basketball in the country.
But remember the Final Four last year? That game where Wichita almost beat the heavily-favored Cardinals? Well, this Wichita State team is better. And this Louisville team is not as good. Wichita State got the most prove-yourself-to-us-because-you're-a-mid-major seeding it could have possibly gotten. Gregg Marshall won't even have to say anything to motivate his players now.
5. Virginia will reach the Final Four: Defense wins championships. Coach Tony Bennett's man-to-man defense is as good as any team in the country. Just ask Duke or Syracuse. The Cavaliers were rewarded with the NCAA tournament selection committee's final No. 1 seed. But don't let that be a reason to think this seasoned Virginia squad will be the first No. 1 to fall. Michigan State is a better team on paper if both teams meet in the Sweet 16. However, one thing Virginia does incredibly well is control the game's tempo. A boring, grinded-out pace won't make for great television, but it makes for a solid Final Four recipe.
6. Wisconsin will be the best finisher from the Big Ten: Bo Ryan has never piloted the Badgers to the Final Four. And Wisconsin was hot and cold in Big Ten Conference play, But one thing this team proved during non-conference play was that it can beat teams when shots aren't falling. Arizona will be the favorite in the West Region, and rightfully so, but there's enough pieces on this Wisconsin team, led by Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, to upend the Wildcats.
7. Villanova will reach the Elite Eight: Although momentum needs to be considered, matchups play a more pivotal role in a team making a run. Duke's path to the Final Four in 2010 is a good example. With that in mind, Villanova is a team that has ridiculously slipped under the radar due to the recency effect. Yes, the Wildcats lost to Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament. And yes this team got blown out in two losses to Creighton. But we're talking about a team in contention for a No. 1 seed before that Seton Hall loss, and Jay Wright's group has a dribble-drive offense that should help it advance through the bracket.
8. North Dakota State will beat Oklahoma: Perh
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AT THE WATER COOLER: The NCAA tournament is officially underway, and 66 teams remain as we transition into the two most-action packed sporting days of the year.
That's when the lights will begin to shine.
March Madness isn't necessarily where stars are born. But it's certainly where they step into the spotlight. T.J. Warren, for instance, already got chance to show off his finesse moves and dunkability thanks to North Carolina State's inclusion into the field of 68. Warren had 25 points in the Wolfpack's first-round victory against Xavier, and he technically had an off night.
Here's a look at 12 under-the-radar players from low-seeded teams who are most likely to spearhead their teams on major runs and drop ridiculous stat lines in the process.
1. Bryce Cotton, Providence: The senior guard averages 21.4 points and 5.8 assists a game and led the Friars to the Big East Tournament title.
2. T.J. Warren, North Carolina State: The best player in the ACC who can literally put his team on his back. The sophomore forward had 42 points in a March 6 win against Boston College.
3. Kendall Williams, New Mexico:
The senior is one of the most underrated guards in the country, averaging 16.4 points and 4.9 assists a game, and he drives a Lobos team poised for a deep run.
4. Joseph Young, Oregon: The Houston transfer has become the Ducks' primary offensive weapon, and he has great takeover abilities, evidenced by a 29-point outing against UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament.
5. James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina: The junior big man has been a steady force for the Tar Heels in the paint and has the skill set to break out in the tournament. He averages 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds.
6. Chaz Williams, Massachusetts: The 5-9 sparkplug point guard injects life into this UMass squad and if the Minutemen make any sort of run in the NCAAs, it'll be behind Williams, who averages 15.8 points and 7.0 assist.
7. Langston Galloway, Saint Joseph's: The senior guard piloted the Hawks to the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title, and it started with 31 points against Dayton — just a sample of how he can take over games.
8. Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga: The junior guard was perhaps the best player in the West Coast Conference this season and stepped into the role of lead catalyst on this 'Zags roster that lost two players to the NBA.
9. Kyle Anderson, UCLA: The Magic Johnson-esque point guard, Anderson is s-9 and towers over his defenders. He averages 14.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He had 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in UCLA's win against Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament title game.
10. Terran Petteway, Nebraska: The sophomore forward emerged as one of the best players in the Big Ten and is one of the main reasons Nebraska is in the NCAA tournament field. He's a tough matchup and can stack up the stat sheet — shown with a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in a March 9 win against Wisconsin.
11. Jonathan Holmes, Texas: The Longhorns' main weapon has battled injury for much of the season but at full strength he's got the moxie to lead the team on a surprise run. He averages 13 points and 7.2 rebounds and he was the key behind Texas' seven-game winning streak in January that included a big win against a red-hot Kansas team.
12. Mo Creek, George Washington: The senior guard can fill it up and when he's healthy, the Colonials have Cinderella potential. The Indiana transfer makes 41% of his long-range jumpers.
Bracket Briefing: 12 players poised to become March Madness stars
That's when the lights will begin to shine.
March Madness isn't necessarily where stars are born. But it's certainly where they step into the spotlight. T.J. Warren, for instance, already got chance to show off his finesse moves and dunkability thanks to North Carolina State's inclusion into the field of 68. Warren had 25 points in the Wolfpack's first-round victory against Xavier, and he technically had an off night.
Here's a look at 12 under-the-radar players from low-seeded teams who are most likely to spearhead their teams on major runs and drop ridiculous stat lines in the process.
1. Bryce Cotton, Providence: The senior guard averages 21.4 points and 5.8 assists a game and led the Friars to the Big East Tournament title.
2. T.J. Warren, North Carolina State: The best player in the ACC who can literally put his team on his back. The sophomore forward had 42 points in a March 6 win against Boston College.
3. Kendall Williams, New Mexico:
The senior is one of the most underrated guards in the country, averaging 16.4 points and 4.9 assists a game, and he drives a Lobos team poised for a deep run.
4. Joseph Young, Oregon: The Houston transfer has become the Ducks' primary offensive weapon, and he has great takeover abilities, evidenced by a 29-point outing against UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament.
5. James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina: The junior big man has been a steady force for the Tar Heels in the paint and has the skill set to break out in the tournament. He averages 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds.
6. Chaz Williams, Massachusetts: The 5-9 sparkplug point guard injects life into this UMass squad and if the Minutemen make any sort of run in the NCAAs, it'll be behind Williams, who averages 15.8 points and 7.0 assist.
7. Langston Galloway, Saint Joseph's: The senior guard piloted the Hawks to the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title, and it started with 31 points against Dayton — just a sample of how he can take over games.
8. Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga: The junior guard was perhaps the best player in the West Coast Conference this season and stepped into the role of lead catalyst on this 'Zags roster that lost two players to the NBA.
9. Kyle Anderson, UCLA: The Magic Johnson-esque point guard, Anderson is s-9 and towers over his defenders. He averages 14.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He had 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in UCLA's win against Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament title game.
10. Terran Petteway, Nebraska: The sophomore forward emerged as one of the best players in the Big Ten and is one of the main reasons Nebraska is in the NCAA tournament field. He's a tough matchup and can stack up the stat sheet — shown with a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in a March 9 win against Wisconsin.
11. Jonathan Holmes, Texas: The Longhorns' main weapon has battled injury for much of the season but at full strength he's got the moxie to lead the team on a surprise run. He averages 13 points and 7.2 rebounds and he was the key behind Texas' seven-game winning streak in January that included a big win against a red-hot Kansas team.
12. Mo Creek, George Washington: The senior guard can fill it up and when he's healthy, the Colonials have Cinderella potential. The Indiana transfer makes 41% of his long-range jumpers.
Bracket Briefing: 12 players poised to become March Madness stars
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Just 25 games into the NCAA tournament, the billion dollar bracket bubble has already burst.
Going into the third wave of games on the second day of the NCAA tournament, only three perfect brackets remained in the Quicken Loans billion dollar bracket contest. And all three had George Washington beating Memphis.
As Maurice Creek's game-tying three came up short, so went the retirement plans of the three remaining hopefuls.
Billionaire Warren Buffett couldn't have picked a better year to sponsor such a contest. Five double-digit seeded teams have won games with four games remaining in the second round.
Even without a particularly mad March, the odds of picking all 63 games correctly are long. The chances of doing so was tabulated by a DePaul University math professor to be one-in-9.2 quintillion.
The prospect of someone taking home the billion dollar prize took a big hit after the very first game of the tournament. About 84 percent of contestants incorrectly picked Ohio State to beat Dayton in the opener.
The biggest upset, by far, was Mercer's win over Duke. Over 97 percent of contestants picked the Blue Devils.
While the billion dollar dream is over, the top-20 brackets will receive $100,000.
Buffett's $1B bracket: The dream is over
Going into the third wave of games on the second day of the NCAA tournament, only three perfect brackets remained in the Quicken Loans billion dollar bracket contest. And all three had George Washington beating Memphis.
As Maurice Creek's game-tying three came up short, so went the retirement plans of the three remaining hopefuls.
Billionaire Warren Buffett couldn't have picked a better year to sponsor such a contest. Five double-digit seeded teams have won games with four games remaining in the second round.
Even without a particularly mad March, the odds of picking all 63 games correctly are long. The chances of doing so was tabulated by a DePaul University math professor to be one-in-9.2 quintillion.
The prospect of someone taking home the billion dollar prize took a big hit after the very first game of the tournament. About 84 percent of contestants incorrectly picked Ohio State to beat Dayton in the opener.
The biggest upset, by far, was Mercer's win over Duke. Over 97 percent of contestants picked the Blue Devils.
While the billion dollar dream is over, the top-20 brackets will receive $100,000.
Buffett's $1B bracket: The dream is over
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2006/12/07
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As Tyler Ennis' potential game-winning 3-pointer sailed toward the rim Saturday night, everyone clad in orange had faith that the freshman who delivered so many clutch shots this season would come through one more time.
Jim Boeheim raised his arms in preparation to celebrate. Syracuse players jumped off the bench. Even Ennis back-pedaled down court just like he did a month earlier when he beat Pittsburgh at the buzzer.
This time Ennis could not save the Orange. His shot clanged hard off the back rim, ending third-seeded Syracuse's once-promising season, sealing Dayton's 55-53 round of 32 victory and giving birth to the Sweet 16's first Cinderella. The 11th-seeded Flyers advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984 and will play in Memphis against either second-seeded Kansas or 10th-seeded Stanford.
Outlasting every other Atlantic 10 team and reaching the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is a remarkable feat for a Dayton program that needed a late surge just to make the field of 68 at all.
Entering February, Dayton was 1-5 in the Atlantic 10 after January losses to Saint Louis, Richmond, VCU, Rhode Island and St. Joseph's. The Flyers have lost only twice since then, a surge that can be attributed to a balanced offense led by Ohio State transfer Jordan Sibert, a defense that has improved dramatically in February and March and an ability to finish off tight games.
Experience in nine games decided by five points or less during the regular season helped Dayton survive two more in Buffalo. The Flyers first ousted in-state rival Ohio State on a Vee Sanford go-ahead runner with less than four seconds to go Thursday afternoon, then they held off the Orange's furious final charge two nights later.
When Sibert sank the last of a flurry of huge late Dayton 3-pointers from well behind the arc on the right wing, the Flyers led by six with 47 seconds to go and appeared to be on the verge of sealing their victory. Instead Syracuse made them sweat, Ennis cutting the lead to three on a driving 3-point play on the ensuing possession, Devin Oliver missing a key free throw and then the Orange forcing a turnover with their pressure on an inbound pass.
The result was Ennis having not one but two chances to win the game with the ball in his hands. The first resulted in a go-ahead pull-up jump shot that was off the mark. The second ended with his running pull-up 3-pointer also going begging as time expired.
Ennis will probably be second-guessed for not attacking the rim in either instance, but it's hard to put too much blame on his shoulders. The freshman had to take 21 shots and do most of the work for the Orange because nobody but him and C.J. Fair were even remotely effective offensively.
It was fitting to see Syracuse fall in this manner because a punchless offense is exactly what short-circuited a promising season that began with the Orange reeling off 25 consecutive wins. In all of the Orange's losses since then, they've shot below 40 percent from the field, a trend that continued Saturday with Syracuse shooting at a 38.6 percent clip against the Flyers and going 0-for-10 from behind the arc.
Why did Syracuse's offense go in the tank? Trevor Cooney's month-long shooting slump left the Orange without a single threat from behind the arc, Jerami Grant struggled with a back injury and no scorers emerged from a thin bench. As a result, Ennis and Cooney shouldered too great a load and their shooting percentages suffered because of it.
Dayton took advantage Saturday. Now the Atlantic 10 has a team in the second week of the tournament, Archie Miller is a hot name on the coaching carousel and the Sweet 16 has its first underdog story.
sports-yahoo-com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/dayton-topples-syracuse--emerges-as-the-sweet-16-s-first-cinderella-021109341-html
Jim Boeheim raised his arms in preparation to celebrate. Syracuse players jumped off the bench. Even Ennis back-pedaled down court just like he did a month earlier when he beat Pittsburgh at the buzzer.
This time Ennis could not save the Orange. His shot clanged hard off the back rim, ending third-seeded Syracuse's once-promising season, sealing Dayton's 55-53 round of 32 victory and giving birth to the Sweet 16's first Cinderella. The 11th-seeded Flyers advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984 and will play in Memphis against either second-seeded Kansas or 10th-seeded Stanford.
Outlasting every other Atlantic 10 team and reaching the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is a remarkable feat for a Dayton program that needed a late surge just to make the field of 68 at all.
Entering February, Dayton was 1-5 in the Atlantic 10 after January losses to Saint Louis, Richmond, VCU, Rhode Island and St. Joseph's. The Flyers have lost only twice since then, a surge that can be attributed to a balanced offense led by Ohio State transfer Jordan Sibert, a defense that has improved dramatically in February and March and an ability to finish off tight games.
Experience in nine games decided by five points or less during the regular season helped Dayton survive two more in Buffalo. The Flyers first ousted in-state rival Ohio State on a Vee Sanford go-ahead runner with less than four seconds to go Thursday afternoon, then they held off the Orange's furious final charge two nights later.
When Sibert sank the last of a flurry of huge late Dayton 3-pointers from well behind the arc on the right wing, the Flyers led by six with 47 seconds to go and appeared to be on the verge of sealing their victory. Instead Syracuse made them sweat, Ennis cutting the lead to three on a driving 3-point play on the ensuing possession, Devin Oliver missing a key free throw and then the Orange forcing a turnover with their pressure on an inbound pass.
The result was Ennis having not one but two chances to win the game with the ball in his hands. The first resulted in a go-ahead pull-up jump shot that was off the mark. The second ended with his running pull-up 3-pointer also going begging as time expired.
Ennis will probably be second-guessed for not attacking the rim in either instance, but it's hard to put too much blame on his shoulders. The freshman had to take 21 shots and do most of the work for the Orange because nobody but him and C.J. Fair were even remotely effective offensively.
It was fitting to see Syracuse fall in this manner because a punchless offense is exactly what short-circuited a promising season that began with the Orange reeling off 25 consecutive wins. In all of the Orange's losses since then, they've shot below 40 percent from the field, a trend that continued Saturday with Syracuse shooting at a 38.6 percent clip against the Flyers and going 0-for-10 from behind the arc.
Why did Syracuse's offense go in the tank? Trevor Cooney's month-long shooting slump left the Orange without a single threat from behind the arc, Jerami Grant struggled with a back injury and no scorers emerged from a thin bench. As a result, Ennis and Cooney shouldered too great a load and their shooting percentages suffered because of it.
Dayton took advantage Saturday. Now the Atlantic 10 has a team in the second week of the tournament, Archie Miller is a hot name on the coaching carousel and the Sweet 16 has its first underdog story.
sports-yahoo-com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/dayton-topples-syracuse--emerges-as-the-sweet-16-s-first-cinderella-021109341-html
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Coach Steve Masiello has been placed on leave by Manhattan College as the former Louisville assistant reviews the status of his degree.
Masiello never graduated from the University of Kentucky, the school's registrar office confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.
Masiello indicated on his résumé that he earned a degree in communications from Kentucky, but the University of South Florida learned this information was incorrect when conducting a background check during Masiello's candidacy for its coaching vacancy. Manhattan College issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon that acknowledged the discrepancy.
The Bulls confirmed Wednesday that they had an agreement in principle to lure Masiello away from Manhattan, but that the contract was contingent on "a verification of credentials." "Through the verification process it was determined the candidate's credentials could not be substantiated and therefore he did not meet the requirements for the position," USF said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon
Masiello's bio on Manhattan's website incorrectly states the coach graduated from Kentucky in 2000 with a degree in communications. Masiello, 39, played for the Wildcats from 1996-2000 under coach Rick Pitino and then Tubby Smith. "If it's accurate, I'm shocked by it," former Kentucky coach Pitino, whose team beat Manhattan in the second round of the NCAA tournament last week, said via ESPN-com. "I had no idea. I left the previous year, and he was on track to graduate."
Masiello has a 61-39 record in three seasons at Manhattan. The Jaspers went 28-5 this season, which ended with a loss to Louisville in the NCAA tournament.
Masiello has not responded to messages left by USA TODAY Sports.
Steve Masiello placed on leave for false résumé info that cost him USF job
Masiello never graduated from the University of Kentucky, the school's registrar office confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.
Masiello indicated on his résumé that he earned a degree in communications from Kentucky, but the University of South Florida learned this information was incorrect when conducting a background check during Masiello's candidacy for its coaching vacancy. Manhattan College issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon that acknowledged the discrepancy.
The Bulls confirmed Wednesday that they had an agreement in principle to lure Masiello away from Manhattan, but that the contract was contingent on "a verification of credentials." "Through the verification process it was determined the candidate's credentials could not be substantiated and therefore he did not meet the requirements for the position," USF said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon
Masiello's bio on Manhattan's website incorrectly states the coach graduated from Kentucky in 2000 with a degree in communications. Masiello, 39, played for the Wildcats from 1996-2000 under coach Rick Pitino and then Tubby Smith. "If it's accurate, I'm shocked by it," former Kentucky coach Pitino, whose team beat Manhattan in the second round of the NCAA tournament last week, said via ESPN-com. "I had no idea. I left the previous year, and he was on track to graduate."
Masiello has a 61-39 record in three seasons at Manhattan. The Jaspers went 28-5 this season, which ended with a loss to Louisville in the NCAA tournament.
Masiello has not responded to messages left by USA TODAY Sports.
Steve Masiello placed on leave for false résumé info that cost him USF job
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This game was very tightly played as American only held a 27-25 lead at halftime.
Holy Cross was able to keep the American lead in striking distance the whole game and where only down by two with the score reading 55-53 with a buck 18 left in the game. But American was able to hit their free throws down the stretch and hold on to win the game.
Holy Cross shot a stiffling 60.0% from the floor but still lost.
For Holy Cross(12-10, 6-4), the loss snaps their five-game win streak within the Patriot League. Dave Dudzinski was a non-factor in this game scoring six points and grabbing a team-high eight boards in the loss. Forward Malcolm Miller netted a team-high 14 points in the loss. Justin Burrell chipped in 13 points on 6/9 shooting. Holy Cross's bench was only able to muster four points.
For American U(14-7, 10-0), Tom Wroblicky was able to scored a game-high 18 points and grab six rebounds in a winning effort. Guard Jesse Reed added 13 points and three assists for the Eagles. The Eagles only played six players in the win.
Holy Cross will play Colgate Feb. 4th at 9:00 PM ET.
clnsradio-com/magazine/sports-news/item/8926-ncaab-american-beats-holy-cross-63-57