Ole Miss knocks off Texas Tech in double overtime
OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy was proud of his team's resiliency on Tuesday night as Ole Miss defeated Texas Tech 90-87 in two overtimes in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
"There are a lot of things we question. But after 34 games, there's one thing you can't question and that's the resolve of this team," Kennedy said. "I know people will say it's just the NIT, but at this stage when you get down to win or go home, you could see how much it meant to them."
Murphy Holloway converted a three-point play with three seconds left to provide the winning margin for the Rebels (24-10).
The win improved Ole Miss to 11-1 in NIT home games and the Rebels advanced to the semifinals.
"We're resilient and we aren't going to stop playing hard regardless," Holloway said. "It's all fun when you win, so tonight's it's fun. But this was a great game by both teams."
Ole Miss will be making its second semifinal appearance in the NIT in the past three seasons.
Texas Tech (19-16) had opportunities to win in regulation and in the first overtime with the final shot, but in both cases did not convert. The Red Raiders had a 68-59 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation before the Rebels forced the first overtime at 68-68.
"You saw two teams tonight that were proud to be in the NIT and it was a hell of a game," Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said. "Our kids have been unbelievable with the way they've hung in there and finished the season the way we did."
The Red Raiders trailed throughout the second overtime before tying the game at 87-87 on a three-point shot by David Tairu with 8.7 seconds left. That set up Holloway's game-winning play.
Chris Warren, who had the game-winning assist, led the Rebels with 22 points. Terrico White and Holloway scored 17 points apiece, while Zach Graham added 10. The Rebels were 19 of 31 from the free throw line but converted 11 of their last 12 attempts in the two overtimes.
Mike Singletary led the Red Raiders with 28 points, while Brad Reese added 14, all in the second half. D'walyn Roberts scored 12 points and had a game-high 17 rebounds while Darko Coahdarevic had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.
Butler keeps 20-game winning streak in perspective
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Every time Brad Stevens walks into Hinkle Fieldhouse, he peers into the rafters.
There he sees the overflowing banners listing conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances and quickly realizes what Butler has become: A national model for mid-major schools.
But even with all the attention and success, the third-year coach understands this NCAA tourney will be different for the blue-collar Bulldogs. His team is no longer a surprise, seeded fifth in the West Region, and takes the nation's longest winning streak, 20 games, into Thursday's first-round contest against UTEP.
"I've never been a part of anything like that, and I've been a part of some pretty special things here," Stevens said after win No. 20 brought his second Horizon League tourney title in three years.
Stevens and his players admit they're not thinking about 'The Streak' because there's so much work still to do.
They're motivated to make amends after last year's first-round exit - a 75-71 loss to LSU - despite playing with three freshmen starters and struggling late in the season.
Now, a year older, a year wiser and with a far stronger finish, Butler wants to recreate some of its postseason magic.
In 2003, the Bulldogs became the tournament darling after upsetting Louisville in the second round. They were also the biggest impediment to Florida's Final Four run in 2000 and the Gators' second national championship run in 2007.
And this year, the Bulldogs (28-4) have a resume that would make the nation's biggest programs proud.
- They are the only Division I team with a perfect conference record, last losing Dec. 22 at Alabama-Birmingham.
- They won a fourth straight league title by a record six games and nearly set a new record for victory margin in the conference title game. Second-seeded Wright State made its final basket to trim the margin to 25, the record is 26.
- Butler won eight of its last nine games by at least nine points, the only exception coming at Valparaiso when conference player of the year Gordon Hayward sat out with a sore back.
- Three of their four losses came to NCAA tourney teams - Clemson, Georgetown and Minnesota - none of them at home.
- Plus, the Bulldogs defeated three NCAA teams - Big Ten champion Ohio State, Metro Atlantic Athletic champ Siena and Xavier - and beat UCLA on its last trip to California.
But it's the final sprint that may go down as the Bulldogs' biggest achievement, thanks to an unwavering desire to keep improving.
"It's hard to even think about that (20 straight wins)," junior center Matt Howard said. "It's nowhere near where the Connecticut women are. Twenty games, that's a lot, but if you start dwelling on that, it can end real quick. We've just got to keep that focus to keep it going."
At Butler, that's how you play basketball.
Glamourous titles and individual successes always take a backseat to what's best for the program.
Perhaps it's the reason Butler has never produced an NBA player.
Or why one of the nation's oldest gyms, which has hosted stars ranging from Oscar Robertson to Greg Oden, is best known for its Hollywood role in the movie "Hoosiers."
Or why all but the most avid basketball fans would struggle to name Howard and Hayward as the last two Horizon League players of the year.
If the Bulldogs have learned anything this season, it's this: Follow the blueprint.
"We've been through a lot, through wins, through losses," sophomore point guard Ronald Nored said. "Everything hasn't been perfect, but we've been persistent and fought through everything."
Whether it was the brutal nonconference schedule that took the Bulldogs from California to New York City, the early-season foul trouble that plagued Howard or all those conference teams that know how to defend Butler's offense, the Bulldogs figured out how to win with only one senior starter and one of the nation's youngest coaches.
The 33-year-old Stevens has rewritten the book on success. He has won 84 games, the most ever in his first three seasons breaking the previous record of 82 which was shared by Gonzaga's Mark Few and Nevada's Mark Fox, and he's done it the Butler Way.
Yet after making seven NCAA appearances since 2000, reaching the regional semifinals twice, winning the NIT Preseason Tip-Off title in November 2006, this year's winning streak may go down as Butler's biggest achievement of the decade.
Unless, of course, they win four more, make it back home to Indianapolis and get to hoist a Final Four banner.
"One of the things that's neat about this run is they've brought it every single night and in games where, quite frankly, people would really get on them if they lost, from the outside," Stevens said. "They don't care. These guys just believe in doing the right things. I know this, when we get in the huddle and we're meeting at media timeouts and we're together, we believe in each other and we're going to try to put our best foot forward."
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.
Duke nips Boston College, 66-63
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. --- If Duke is going to amount to a real threat later in March -- if the Blue Devils are going to be a team you can confidently advance on your bracket -- then they have to start to play smarter, poised and with even more energy away from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
That's why beating Boston College Saturday at Conte Forum, regardless of how it occurred, was a must for the Blue Devils.
Duke is something at home, clearly the top team this season in its own building (yes, Kansas has the win streak but the Jayhawks get pushed more at home than the Devils). The numbers back up the debate as Duke scores 89 points a game, makes 44.2 percent of its 3s, and shoots at a near 50 percent clip at home.
Save the win at Clemson, which was significant, the Blue Devils have sagged in true road games -- losing at Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, NC State and last week at Georgetown. Of course, three of those four teams are bound for the NCAA tournament and are hardly slouches. Still, the numbers back up the premise that this is a different team on the road, where the Blue Devils shoot 30.9 percent on 3s, score 20 points less a game, and make just 41 percent of their shots.
''We needed to win this game," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "This is a big, big win for our basketball team based on how things have gone for us."
Duke did win, 66-63, after Brian Zoubek and Nolan Smith did a terrific job of shutting down a potential game-tying, 3-point attempt on the final play of the game. The play started out with Reggie Jackson looking for his second consecutive trey, but Smith shadowed him and Joe Trapani missed the final shot with Zoubek jumping out.
Had Trapani's shot gone down, and the Eagles won in overtime, then Duke would have had yet another true road loss to ponder.
But the Blue Devils don't. They earned this one by making free throws late (Jon Scheyer, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly for 1 of 2) and rebounded when needed (19 defensive rebounds). In late-shot clock situations, Smith made a deep 3 early in the game and then drove for a key hoop that was a dagger for the Eagles.
The win comes on the heels of Duke's dominant victory over Georgia Tech on Thursday. That's two wins in less than 48 hours after a disastrous trip last Saturday to Georgetown.
''We weren't emotionally ready,'' Krzyzewski said of the Georgetown loss. “We just weren't there and that leads to all the other things. We gave up 15 layups. They were really good. We were not very good.''
Krzyzewski put a wrinkle into the offense to create more motion. The plan was to ensure more players touched the ball on a possession. Not everyone was going to shoot it, but at least there was a feeling that they were a part of the play. The opportunities to score were there, even if they didn't always convert.
Still, there are warts to fix on the road with games to come Wednesday at North Carolina, at Miami (Feb. 17), at Virginia (Feb. 28) and a senior night at Maryland (March 3). Remember, the NCAA tournament is a neutral-court event without the comfort of Cameron.
Scheyer said the lack of that ''killer instinct'' is apparent. The ''silly'' errors keep occurring -- like fouling after successive rebounds to create more opportunities for the opponent (which happened to allow BC to stay in the game). That can negate Duke's size advantage.
''We haven't shot the ball as well on the road and that's because we haven't moved the ball as well,'' Scheyer said. ''When we get our best 3s, we move the ball.''
Whatever Carolina's record is Wednesday it won't matter. Duke will have to be sharp to win.
''We've never had a problem winning on the road as long as I've been here," said Duke senior Lance Thomas of the issue this season. ''It gets frustrating. We have to make sure everybody is right mentally on the road. We have a target on our back. Everybody wants to get us."
(c) 2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.
Moore leads No. 10 Purdue past No. 16 Wisconsin
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.---E'Twaun Moore scored 20 points and No. 10 Purdue held off No. 16 Wisconsin 60-57 on Thursday night in a matchup of Big Ten contenders that came down to the final seconds.
JaJuan Johnson added 14 points and Robbie Hummel had 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who won their third straight and moved within a half-game of Wisconsin for second place in the conference.
A loss would have left Purdue four games behind league leader Michigan State with 10 to play.
Trevon Hughes missed a contested runner in the closing seconds that could have won it for Wisconsin. Keaton Nankivil scored a career-high 25 points and shot 7 of 8 on 3-pointers for the Badgers (16-5, 6-3). He was 9 for 14 overall, but his teammates went 11 for 36 from the field.
Wisconsin's guard trio of Hughes, Jordan Taylor and Jason Bohannon combined for 57 points in a home victory over Purdue earlier this month. The Boilermakers held them to 25 points on 8-for-28 shooting this time.
Moore scored in the lane with 25.2 seconds left to give Purdue a 58-57 lead.
Wisconsin worked the clock down for a shot and Hughes missed badly on a pull-up jumper, but the ball bounced out of bounds off a Purdue player with 6 seconds to play.
Hughes then missed a bank shot after Johnson and Hummel rotated over, and Johnson rebounded. Johnson was fouled with 1 second left, and made both free throws. Chris Kramer intercepted Wisconsin's long inbounds pass from under its basket to seal the win.
Purdue point guard Lewis Jackson played for first time this season. Jackson, who started as a freshman last season, injured his left foot during the preseason.
There were four lead changes in the first half, and neither team led by more than four points. A driving bank shot by Moore in the closing seconds of the first half put the Boilermakers up 27-25 at the break.
Wisconsin held Purdue scoreless for the first 5:44 of the second half to take a 34-27 lead.
The Boilermakers rallied quickly. A putback tip and a 3-pointer by reserve John Hart, then two free throws by Hummel tied the score at 38 with 11 minutes left. Moore's layup gave the lead back to Purdue and prompted Wisconsin to call timeout.
The Boilermakers pushed the lead to 56-49 before Wisconsin started chipping away. A 3-pointer by Nankivil cut it to 56-52, then a steal and layup by Taylor made it a two-point game.
Another 3 by Nankivil with 42 seconds left gave Wisconsin a 57-56 lead and set up the frantic ending.
(This version SUBS 12th graf to CORRECT that it was not Purdue's first lead of the second half)
(c) 2010 - San Jose Mercury News.
Maryland scores 73-57 basketball victory over Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. -- In lieu of a leash, Maryland forward Landon Milbourne used his right arm to keep Boston College at bay Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum.
With 12 minutes left in the first half, Eagles guard Reggie Jackson snagged a defensive rebound and raced down the court, in search of points that were few and far between for Boston College on this day. Trailing Jackson the entire way, Milbourne made sure he did not lose Jackson by clinging to the back of Jackson's shorts. A foul was called, but the image proved prescient nonetheless. Maryland dictated the proceedings from start to finish and came away with a 73-57 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 8,606.
"They walked around like they wasn't even playing hard," junior guard Adrian Bowie said. "And once we seen that, you've definitely got to attack that. They seemed like they didn't want to play and we wanted this game, so we wanted to show it."
Weighing on the Terrapins' minds were memories from last season, when they started ACC play 1-2 -- and that was 10 days before a second-half collapse allowed Boston College to steal a win at Comcast Center. With a complete performance against a disinterested Eagles squad, Maryland (11-5, 2-1 ACC) imbued itself with confidence heading forward through ACC play.
Boston College (10-8, 1-3) entered the day fresh off back-to-back conference road losses. The Eagles had wandered through the first half of their season without forming an identity in any component of their game. Three games into its ACC schedule, Boston College needed a win to curtail the downward spiral on which it appeared to be headed.
Into Conte Forum walked the Terrapins, who had defeated one ranked ACC opponent and taken another favored one into overtime on the road. Despite their loss Tuesday at Wake Forest, several Maryland players spoke confidently of their team's standing after opening its conference schedule with two games in three days.
"We knew we played hard against Wake Forest," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "I think that was the key thing. We had the opportunity to win the game and we didn't get it, but we played hard. And that was the key in preparing for today's game. In other words, we didn't say we had to play better than we did against Wake Forest. There was no talk about, you know, we should have won. It was just we've got to continue to play the way we've played."
Maryland jumped out to a commanding lead early on and did not relinquish control the rest of the afternoon. The Terrapins, who never trailed, led by 25 points. Boston College embarked on an 8-0 run to close the first half, but that spurt stood as the Eagles' lone proof of a pulse.
Maryland tormented Boston College from the outset with its press defense. Even when the Eagles managed to move the ball past midcourt, their execution lacked efficiency. The Terrapins tallied 12 steals and forced Boston College to commit 18 turnovers. Consequently, Maryland tallied 20 fast-break points; the Eagles managed four.
"Usually I can walk down here satisfied and comfortable with our effort," Boston College Coach Al Skinner said. "And I'm not. For me it's a terrible place to be. Very rarely have I felt lack of effort. Everyone thinks I'm laid back, but this is the one part of the game that's very disturbing to me."
The Terrapins, who shot 49.1 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from three-point range, noticed Boston College's lethargy, but they weren't about to protest. Senior guard Greivis Vasquez finished with game highs of 17 points and nine assists. Bowie and junior guard Cliff Tucker tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively, in reserve.
"I think they ran their offense real slow today," Tucker said. "I don't know what was going on with them. They were, like, real sluggish, but good thing they did it against us."
Milbourne, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, dunked in transition to open the second half, and the Terrapins cruised from that point forward.
"I thought our team, even the bench, did an outstanding job," Vasquez said. "That's good, especially right now when it's early. I remember this time last year we started out 1-2. Now we're 2-1, so let's see if we make a difference and win a lot of games."
(c) 2010 The Washington Post Company.
Jackson scores 19, Xavier beats Dayton 78-74 for 25th straight win over Flyers on home court
CINCINNATI (AP) --- Dante Jackson scored a career-high 19 points Saturday, and Xavier was nearly flawless at the foul line, holding on for a 78-74 victory over Dayton that extended one of the longest streaks of futility in college basketball.
Dayton (13-4, 2-1 Atlantic 10) hasn't beaten the Musketeers on their home court since Jan. 10, 1981, losing in their last 25 trips down Interstate 75. The coaches, players and even the arenas have changed, but never the outcome.
Jackson steadied the Musketeers (12-5, 4-0) while leading scorer Jordan Crawford was on the bench in early foul trouble. Crawford hit the clinching shot, a fadeaway jumper with 14 seconds left that made it 76-71. Marcus Johnson hit a 3 for Dayton with 1.9 seconds left, but Terrell Holloway made two free throws to finish it.
Xavier went 24 of 30 from the free-throw line, while Dayton was 16-of-25. Johnson led Dayton with 16 points.
(c) 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Freeman, No. 12 G'town Top No. 13 UConn 72-69
Austin Freeman scored 28 of his career-high 33 points in the second half, helping No. 12 Georgetown erase a 15-point halftime deficit and come back to beat No. 13 Connecticut 72-69 Saturday.
The game featured wild momentum swings and the sort of strong defense and diving-to-the-floor hustle one has come to expect in Big East Conference play. UConn dominated the first half, scoring 16 consecutive points to lead by as many as 19.
It was Georgetown's turn after halftime, using a 10-0 run dominated by Freeman to get back into it. Freeman, a junior guard from Mitchellville, Md., had never scored more than 21 points in a college game.
Greg Monroe added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Georgetown (12-2, 3-1), while Chris Wright scored 14.
Stanley Robinson led UConn (11-4, 2-2) with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Georgetown was coming off a loss to Marquette, but now has won four games in a row against UConn.
These two teams are rich with tradition and high school All-Americans, and there were 25 scouts from 17 NBA teams at the game, according to Georgetown. All of those pairs of professional eyes surely took note of Freeman's performance.
After shooting 1 for 3 in the first half, he went 11 for 17 in the second.
He contributed on defense, too, of course. After his 3-pointer put Georgetown ahead 66-65 with 3:10 left, Freeman took a charge called on Jerome Dyson, who was held to 12 points. As two teammates helped him up off the court, fans began chanting, "Aus-tin! Free-man!" -- for all the points Freeman was scoring, it was his grit at the other end that drew the most vocal praise.
The lead switched back and forth the rest of the way. After Alex Oriakhi's two free throws gave UConn a 69-68 edge with 1:11 remaining, Julian Vaughn tipped in Monroe's miss to put Georgetown in front 70-69 with about 45 seconds left.
Wright's steal led to Monroe's inside basket -- fittingly, off a feed from Freeman -- with less than 10 seconds to go.
Robinson delivered three resounding dunks early -- off a follow, off his steal that led to a fastbreak the other way, and off an alley-oop from Kemba Walker. That last jam opened the 16-0 run by the Huskies that allowed the visitors to go from trailing by a point to leading 34-19 with less than 5 minutes left in the first half.
The Hoyas went scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes -- and without a field goal for about 9 1/2 minutes, from Freeman's 3-pointer with a little more than 10 minutes left in the half to Wright's jumper in the closing minute.
Georgetown missed 11 consecutive shots during that drought, and at one point, its shooting accuracy for the game dipped to 24 percent: 6 for 25.
It all added up to help UConn lead 40-25 at halftime. No one -- neither coach, certainly -- would have expected the Hoyas to go quietly, and they did not.
At a timeout 3 1/2 minutes into the second half shortly after Freeman's 3-pointer pulled Georgetown within 45-34, Wright strutted to the huddle, waving his arms overhead, urging the home crowd to get louder. After making yet another 3, Freeman held up three fingers and wiggled them while backpedaling down court.
At a timeout, UConn coach Jim Calhoun glared at his players and folded his arms across his chest.
Freeman's free throws ended the 10-point streak and made it 45-41. Then he pulled the hosts within 50-48 with 11 minutes left on a steal and end-to-end drive. After Wright's 3-pointer tied it at 55, Freeman's driving layup with a little more than 8 minutes remaining put Georgetown ahead 57-55.
Up until then, Freeman had outscored the entire UConn roster 21-15 in the second half.
(c) 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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