Freight Train Headed For Duke
The year 2008 has been put to bed, and it is the end of a winter cruise for the Blue Devils.
The result? A top-five ranking, 11 wins with ten by double-digit margins, a tournament championship, and the coming out party for a bona-fide star in Kyle Singler.
On the negative side, there is the rematch loss to Michigan, the injury to the knee of point guard Nolan Smith, and the sobering reality that Duke continues to play for the 3-point shot with little inside presence.
Still, the Blue Devils make an excellent bulls-eye for the upcoming opponents in the first half of January. A win over the High Priest of the ACC and his McDonald's All-Americans can make a season for the teams who face Duke in the next two weeks.
First up is Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 4. Not known for sophistication in the hardwood battle plans of coach Seth Greenberg, the Gobblers bring out the worst in the Blue Devils with their physical play.
It took a miracle shot by ace defender Sean Dockery to beat them in Cameron Indoor Stadium three years ago. It may be even closer this time.
Next up will be old foe Davidson. Those fans new to the Duke-Davidson rivalry may not realize the Wildcats made their name in basketball by beating No. 1 ranked Duke, 72-69 in December of 1962.
Davidson is fully capable of giving the Blue Devils another landmark loss, behind the play of the son of former Virginia Tech star Dell Curry, Stephen.
On the following Saturday afternoon Duke journeys to a most inhospitable place, Tallahassee, to take on Florida State. The Seminoles have been a thorn in the side of the Blue Devils since their second year in the ACC.
The Seminoles are currently 12-2, with road wins over California and Cincinnati, as well as a victory over Florida. Expect more "on the road" trouble for the Blue Devils.
The world's best "classy rivalry" game takes place on Wednesday, the 14th, when Duke challenges Ga Tech in Atlanta.
These two strong academic programs, well matched on the court throughout the past quarter century, usually bring out the best in each other. A rocking battle with the typical "mature-appearing" NBA athletes of the Yellow Jackets is generally the order of the day.
Expect no less this time around as Ga. Tech is led by the dynamic 6'8" 220 sophomore Gani Lawal, who averages a double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, while playing less than 30 minutes an outing.
Finally, on Saturday the 17th, the frightening Hoyas of Georgetown arrive in Durham, complete with 6'10" Freshman Center Greg Monroe.
You no doubt remember Monroe, the youngster Coach Krzyzewski sacrificed an entire year recruiting, only to be told in the final days he preferred the company of John Thompson III. Fear not Blue Devil faithful, Miles Plumblee will likely spend more years playing college ball than Monroe. That may not be a good thing in this case.
The way the first half of January 2009 stacks up it would seem a freight train is headed for Duke. Will the Blue Devils continue to play consistently good defense? Can they stand up to the pressure of so many rugged games back to back? Can Smith recover from his twisted knee?
These five games will determine if Duke has learned anything from their quick exits in the past two NCAA Tournaments or, if they will continue to plot a course for abandoning their once magical grip on the post–season.
The grim reality is that this test will be only the mid-term, the bulk of the mighty ACC schedule lies in waiting as a final exam.
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Boilers get final chance for signature win before Big Ten
It's not the most important game on the 13th-ranked Purdue men's basketball team's schedule, but Saturday's John Wooden Tradition contest with Davidson is quite meaningful.
The Boilermakers, whose RPI is only 122, missed opportunities for significant non-conference victories against fourth-ranked Oklahoma (10-0) and sixth-ranked Duke (9-1).
Davidson (8-1) is fueled by Division I scoring leader Stephen Curry (31.9 points a game), is ranked 22nd and is an impressive 27th in the most recent RPI.
At 8-2 and favored to win the Big Ten championship, the Boilermakers are in no danger of missing the NCAA tournament. The RPI will improve when Purdue gets into Big Ten Conference action.
But heading into the Davidson game, Boston College is the Boilermakers' signature victory. Defeating Davidson would be a solid addition to Purdue's resume.
"Every game is important," coach Matt Painter said this week. "With the way college basketball is, you have good wins and bad losses. There's nothing in between. It's just the way the (NCAA tournament) selection committee looks at it."
The Davidson game won't make or break Purdue's season, but it's a very important one.
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Arkansas-Monticello Jumps 10 Spots in Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello men's basketball team jumped 10 spots to No. 13 in this week's National Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.
UAM (8-0) also jumped North Alabama in poll, which was ranked No. 11, but fell to No. 15, making the Weevils the highest ranked team in the Gulf South Conference.
"We are in a category of teams right now that with the right breaks, we could attain our goal of advancing to the NCAA tournament and ultimately having a chance to win the national championship," said coach Mike Newell. "I've been coaching now for close to 35 years and have had been a part of several teams that have been ranked nationally. The polls are fun. It motivates players which makes each practice more and more intense."
UAM entered the poll at No. 23 last week for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The Weevils picked up a pair of significant victories in this past weekend's tournament at Montevallo. UAM defeated Montevallo on its own court 67-53, followed by a 65-61 victory over West Florida the following day. Those two wins, along with a 106-52 crushing of Crowley's Ridge College at home, likely vaulted the Weevils into the top 15.
"The maturity of our team is really showing its true colors at this point," Newell commented. "Our guys want to win and advance as far as possible. It's now a matter of continuing the hard work and dedication."
UAM leads a cast of four GSC schools in this week's poll. North Alabama sits at No. 13, followed by Ouachita Baptist at No. 20 and Valdosta State at No. 24. Arkansas Tech received 11 votes.
The Weevils look to improve their ranking with a match-up with Lemoyne-Owen College on Saturday. After that game, the Weevils break for the holidays, returning to action on December 29-30 in the St. Edwards Classic.
(c) 2008, Arkansas Business Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.
Oden reasserts dominance to get Ohio State in Final Four
March 25, 2007
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Forget any of those thoughts about Greg Oden becoming a freshman flop in the NCAA tournament.
All that foul trouble Oden's been in the last few games? Just a memory. The 7-foot sensation reasserted his dominance when he was needed the most - and Ohio State is going to the Final Four for the first time since 1999.
"When you have a guy like that that can block shots and have a presence and rebound like that, we had to play a perfect game," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
In less than three minutes after Oden returned to the South Regional final Saturday with the three fouls, the Buckeyes erased a five-point deficit. Everything changed when Oden got back on the floor, and Ohio State went on to a 92-76 victory over the Tigers.
"He came in with a lot of enthusiasm," said fellow freshman Mike Conley, also Oden's high school teammate. "He saw things on the bench from a different perspective and he let us know that. He just picked us up."
Ohio State (34-3) won its 21st straight game, now the nation's longest winning streak. Memphis had won 25 in a row.
During the 4 1/2 minutes while Oden sat in the second half after his third foul, the Tigers went inside on almost every possession. They drove for layups or got to the free throw line.
Memphis couldn't do that against Oden, who leaped high in the air to swat away the first shot attempted after he returned for the final 12:38 - and the Buckeyes finished with a 41-20 spurt that included 20 straight made free throws.
"I just wanted to go by the game plan, helping my teammates," Oden said. "We all saw that it was coming to the end of the game, and we really wanted to go to Atlanta."
In only 24 minutes, Oden scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and had nine rebounds.
"Oden, when he was in there, just dominated, blocking shots and having presence," Calipari said. "Thank goodness he was in some foul trouble."
The Buckeyes have at least one more game, and they hope another, before Oden finally has to decide if he's going to leave after only one college season for the NBA. He would almost certainly be the No. 1 pick.
Oden has said he's having fun and that "everything is easy about college." He insisted he won't even think about the NBA until after the end of the season.
That almost came last weekend when Oden fouled out against Xavier with a hard shove in the closing seconds of regulation. But Xavier made only one of two free throws, Ohio State senior Ron Lewis forced overtime with a 3-pointer, and the Buckeyes pulled away for a victory.
Oden was in foul trouble again Thursday night against Tennessee, when he played a season-low 18 minutes with only three rebounds. But he avoided another disqualification and was on the floor to block the final shot in an 85-84 victory.
Against Memphis (33-4), Oden had Ohio State's last missed free throw. But even that came during a surge of five points in 2 seconds for the lead.
Joey Dorsey, the Memphis defender who called Oden "a lot overrated as a big man" the day before the game, was held without a point for the only time this season. He was fouled on the only shot he took - when Oden knocked him hard - and missed both free throws. Dorsey had only three rebounds, one after the first six minutes.
"Not smart. Not smart at all," Jamar Butler said about Dorsey's comments. "To come out and not score, that speaks for itself."
Still, his teammates seemed more affected by the comments than Oden was.
"I just wanted to come out playing. I just laughed at the comments," Oden said. "It really doesn't matter about what I had, or what it had. It just matters that we won."
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Colorado State will name Miles head coach
Colorado State named former North Dakota State head coach Tim Miles as its men's basketball coach, the university confirmed Thursday.
Miles will replace Dale Layer, who was fired after seven seasons. Miles met with the team earlier Wednesday.
Miles led the Bison to a 20-8 record as a Division I Independent, including a nonconference win at Marquette this season. Last season, Miles led the Bison to a win at Wisconsin.
Miles was a finalist for the UNC-Wilmington job last year but withdrew and received a five-year contract extension. He took over the Bison six years ago and has put them in position to be a consistent D-I winner.
Miles takes over a CSU program that finished 17-13 overall, 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference, and could lose 7-foot junior Jason Smith to the NBA draft in June.
Meanwhile, NDSU could look to assistant coach Saul Phillips to replace Miles. Phillips arrived at NDSU from Wisconsin, where he was a member of Bo Ryan's staff.
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March Madness: Some here think there's nothing better
By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
Niles Dayly Start
Friday, March 16, 2007 10:26 AM EDT
NILES - Some people say the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
Others claim the World Series is the greatest American sporting event.
For Mike, Sue and Ian Armstrong, there's nothing better than March Madness.
"We are going to be spending the next month in front of the TV watching basketball," Mike said from a seat in front of a flat screen at The Tavern in Niles.
The 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tipped off Thursday. This year's Final Four will be played March 31 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, with the championship to follow April 2.
The Armstrongs of Niles are big fans of University of Kentucky basketball, though none picked the Wildcats to get past the second round. Mike and Sue both have the University of Florida Gators repeating as champs, and Ian's betting the UCLA Bruins will defeat the University of Louisville for the crown and avenge last year's loss in the championship game.
"They had a good stretch there at the end of the year," Ian said of the Cardinals.
Mike predicted the 2007 tournament wouldn't be as exciting as last year's edition when George Mason shocked the country all the way to the Final Four.
"I don't think there's going to be any upsets the first round," he said, prior to Virginia Commonwealth University toppling sixth-seeded Duke University Blue Devils.
Also at the table were Judith and Chris Harrison - Niles residents transplanted from England. Chris said the first four weeks of the NFL season and the conference championship games are great, but he too thought the NCAA tourney was the best of American sports.
Soccer, and namely the English Premier League, gets the most attention, but there's nothing in England that compares to how the Final Four is played, Judith said.
"There's nothing ... where they play everyday like this," Judith said.
The World Series is exciting when the Tigers play, but nothing like college basketball, Mike said. The Super Bowl is more a spectacle, like watching pro wrestling, he added.
"This is the best time of the year," Sue said.
Next step for Winthrop - an NCAA win
March 5, 2007
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) -Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall hears the question all the time: Now that his Eagles are regulars in the NCAA tournament, when are they going to win a game?
"It will happen eventually," Marshall said. "No time like the present."
Marshall has good reason to believe this is the year. Basketball experts from across the country are calling the Eagles this year's Cinderella or the next George Mason.
Marshall said this is his best team ever, driven by three seniors and four juniors. Hes convinced they can play with anyone in the country.
"I just hope we get a good draw, a good whistle," Marshall said.
Winthrop has been getting closer to a win, too. Last year, the No. 15-seeded Eagles lost by two as Tennessee's Chris Lofton buried a 19-foot desperation shot in the final seconds. The year before, No. 14-seeded Winthrop was leading Gonzaga in the final 4 minutes before losing by 10.
This year, Winthrop could get the school's best-ever seed, which was No. 14 two years ago. The Eagles are on an 18-game winning streak, have an RPI in the top 70 despite their league being ranked in the bottom half-dozen in the country, and have wins at Mississippi State and Old Dominion, as well as at Missouri State.
With his team just a couple of spots out of The Associated Press' Top 25, Marshall said the Eagles have received more media attention than ever before, and that comes before the rush of exposure leading up to the tournament.
Winthrop's four losses, all on the road, are nothing to be ashamed of: No. 4 Wisconsin in overtime, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 24 Maryland.
Most bracket projections give Winthrop a No. 11 or No. 12 seed. After winning the Big South Conference tournament Saturday, Marshall said he thinks his team deserves a No. 5 seed because the only teams that beat Winthrop are in the top 14 in RPI rankings.
He even disagreed with a No. 10 seed. "Get me the 36 teams that are better than us in the country," Marshall said.
That doesn't mean Marshall thinks his team needs a good seed to advance. His players feel the same way.
"We're just going to take what they give us, go where they tell us to go and play as hard as we know how to play and hope we come out with a victory," senior Torrell Martin said.
Each year of success just makes things harder for Winthrop, Marshall said.
Before Marshall arrived in 1998, the Eagles had never been to the NCAA tournament. With seven appearances in nine years, the school is tied all-time with Clemson, one behind South Carolina and in front of every other Division I school in the state.
Marshall's seven appearances are just one behind legendary coach Frank McGuire, who took four South Carolina, two North Carolina and two St. John's teams to the tournament in his 33-year college coaching career.
Schools no longer want to come to Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles had to play three Division II teams at home because they could not get an opponent willing to come to Rock Hill. Even the smaller Division I teams are wary. To get a home game with Old Dominion, Winthrop had to promise to play two on the road.
"Our schedule was murderous," Marshall said.
But it prepared the Eagles well. In a season of firsts - the first Big South team to go undefeated, the first Winthrop team to even join the conversation for an at-large NCAA bid - winning the first tournament game would be especially sweet.
"These kids, they get motivated by doing things for the first time in the history of the program," Marshall said. "We make sure they know when these things are possible."
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