llinois, Kentucky Lose; N.C. Edges Duke
Just hours after Ohio State handed top-ranked Illinois their first loss of the season, No. 3 Kentucky lost by the same one-point margin to Florida. It took a game-closing 11-0 run for No. 2 North Carolina to beat No. 6 Duke by two points and avoid the top three teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll all losing just days before the conference tournaments get under way.
Illinois (29-1, 15-1 Big Ten) was trying to become the second team in as many seasons to get to "Championship Week" without a loss. Ohio State reserve Matt Sylvester hit a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left to give the Buckeyes the 65-64 lead and the Illini's Roger Powell Jr. wasn't close with a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
"Everyone says a loss will help. We'll find out," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "We'll learn from it and move on. This next stretch is the most important of the year and that's what people are going to remember."
Saint Joseph's was 27-0 last season when the top-ranked Hawks lost to Xavier by 20 points in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament. The loss didn't derail their season by any means as they reached the round of eight in the NCAA tournament, losing to Oklahoma State in a thriller one game short of the Final Four.
Stanford also made a run at a perfect season last year, winning its first 26 before losing to Washington in the last game before the Pac-10 tournament. The Cardinal won the conference tournament, then were upset by Alabama in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Xavier's coach in that game against Saint Joe's was Thad Matta. He moved on to Ohio State this season and on Sunday he ended another long run at perfection.
"I'd like to be the other team just one time," Matta said with a laugh. "I'm living for the day I'm the No. 1 team and someone else is trying to do it to us."
The last team to reach the NCAA tournament without a loss was UNLV in 1991. The last team to go undefeated in a season was Indiana in 1976.
Illinois is still the top seed in this week's Big Ten tournament and it's hard to imagine the Illini losing the No. 1 ranking or a No. 1 seed in the NCAA's field of 65.
"I'd rather lose now than three weeks from now," Weber said.
North Carolina freshman Marvin Williams converted a three-point play with 17 seconds left to cap an 11-0 run and give the second-ranked Tar Heels a 75-73 victory over No. 6 Duke.
Sean May had 26 points and 24 rebounds to record his eighth straight double-double for North Carolina (26-3, 14-2), which won its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship since 1993, the same year of its most recent national title.
Florida ended an eight-game losing streak to Kentucky with a 53-52 win as Anthony Roberson scored 21 points, including two free throws with 15 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats (23-4, 14-2 Southeastern Conference) had a chance to win it, but Kelenna Azubuike's 3-pointer just before the buzzer bounced off the left side of the rim.
Like North Carolina, Kentucky had already sewed up the top seed in the conference tournament, but the loss to the Gators may wind up costing the Wildcats a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
There is no record of the top three teams all losing on the same day, although they have all lost in the same week several times. The last time it happened was in November 2003 when the top four — Connecticut, Duke, Michigan State and Arizona — all went down.
NCAAW
No. 10 Notre Dame 70, West Virginia 59
Missing her first four shots didn't shake up Jacqueline Batteast. The Big East player of the year found other ways to help No. 10 Notre Dame early in the Fighting Irish's 70-59 Big East quarterfinal win over West Virginia.
No. 8 Michigan St. 83, No. 23 Penn St. 76
Kelli Roehrig and Kristin Haynie were determined to add one more chapter to their legacy at Michigan State -- a victory in the Big Ten semifinals.
No. 5 Tennessee 67, No. 1 LSU 65
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt moved within a game of Dean Smith's career victories record, and the Lady Vols beat top-ranked LSU 67-65 on Sunday for their first Southeastern Conference tournament title in five years.
No. 2 Stanford 73, Southern California 69
Tara VanDerveer only needed to tell her team one thing at halftime: The Cardinal would be coming to the Pac-10 tournament championship game Monday night no matter what, either to play or to watch.
Texas Christian 60, Louisville 41
When Louisville lost track of Ashley Davis, Texas Christian found its offense. Davis scored all 13 of her points in the second half to lead TCU to a 60-41 win over Louisville on Sunday in the championship game of the Conference USA women's basketball tournament.
No. 15 Minnesota 66, No. 3 Ohio State 63, OT
Janel McCarville was haunted by the memories of her first matchup with Jessica Davenport. On Sunday, McCarville did something about it. She scored the final four points in regulation.
Santa Clara 77, No. 24 Gonzaga 66
Santa Clara got the NCAA tournament bid it really wanted. Snapping Gonzaga's 23-game winning streak was just a bonus. Michelle Cozad scored 22 points and Santa Clara beat Gonzaga 77-66 on Sunday, ending the nation's longest winning streak.
No. 6 Duke 74, Maryland 44
Separated by a concrete wall, North Carolina and Duke players crowded around locker room television sets to watch their men's teams battle it out.
No. 16 Temple 64, Xavier 61
Candice Dupree scored 24 points and Ari Moore made two late free throws to lead No. 16 Temple into the final of the Atlantic 10 tournament with a 64-61 win over Xavier Sunday.
No. 4 North Carolina 78, Virginia 72
Trailing yet again in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, Ivory Latta never panicked. ``I looked in everyone's eyes and I had no doubt we were going to win this game,'' Latta said.
March 06, 2005
March 05, 2005
(24) Pittsburgh 85, Notre Dame 77
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Chris Taft sparked Pittsburgh in the opening minutes with a rebound basket, a slam dunk and a pair of shots inside.
Taft finished with a career-high 26 points to lead the 24th-ranked Panthers, who had 56 points in the paint, to an 85-77 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday.
``I hit a couple of jump hooks in a row and just kept going to that,'' said Taft, who scored eight of his team's first 12 points. ``I was yelling for the ball like crazy.''
Chevon Troutman had 22 points and Carl Krauser added 15 for the Panthers (20-7, 10-6), who posted their fourth straight 20-win season, clinched fifth place in the Big East and a first-round bye in the league tournament.
``They're a very good basketball team and frankly, they were a little tougher than us,'' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
The Irish (17-9, 9-7), who lost for the third time in four games, fell to sixth place to miss out on the first-round bye and hurt their hopes for an NCAA tournament berth. The Irish scored just 24 points in the paint.
``They just outplayed us,'' said Irish forward Torin Francis, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. ``We just weren't aggressive enough. They were more physical than us and it turned into a loss.''
The Panthers were too much for the Irish inside, shooting 57 percent for the game -- their second-best performance of the season.
``I think our big guys were really good at passing the ball between each other,'' Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
Colin Falls, who scored a career-high 28 points with a school-record tying eight 3-pointers, gave Notre Dame a 43-42 lead 5 minutes into the second half on a pair of free throws. But the Panthers went on a 13-0 run, with Taft scoring seven points. Except for a free throw by Taft, all the points were scored on baskets inside.
Mark McCarroll capped the run with a rebound basket -- two of 13 second-chance points by the Panthers -- as Pitt opened a 58-43 lead.
The Irish cut the lead to 60-56 when Chris Thomas made a pair of free throws with 6:50 left. They had a chance to get closer, but Falls missed a 3 and Thomas missed a 15-foot jumper. Thomas missed his first 10 shots and finished 2-of-13 with 12 points.
Pitt, which outscored the Irish 12-0 on fastbreak points, then scored five quick points. Antonio Graves, who had 11 points, scored on an acrobatic, left-handed layup. Troutman added a basket and free throw.
After Thomas made his first shot, a 10-foot jumper from the baseline, the Panthers put the game away with a 7-0 run.
Taft added 11 rebounds and four blocks in his second straight strong game after playing poorly in Pitt's recent three-game losing streak.
``That was on my mind,'' Taft said. ``Coming here from the airport I was telling myself, 'There's no way I'm playing like I did when we were at home.'''
(1) LSU 79, (21) Georgia 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Top-ranked LSU didn't a TV replay this time. Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson were more than enough to put away Georgia and send the Lady Tigers into the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Augustus had 22 points and Johnson a career-high 17 assists to lead the Lady Tigers past No. 21 Georgia 79-65 on Saturday night.
LSU (29-1) won its 16th straight game and will play for the league's automatic NCAA bid Sunday against No. 5 Tennessee or No. 18 Vanderbilt.
The Lady Tigers overcame a career-high 33 points by Georgia's Tasha Humphrey, the SEC freshman of the year.
``Last night, I started late,'' Johnson said. ``My intention here was to start early.''
Augustus and Johnson made sure LSU didn't have to sweat out the ending as it did Friday against Alabama when the officials had to consult a TV replay before changing Alabama's tying 3-pointer to a 2-point goal in the 60-59 win.
LSU coach Pokey Chatman said the Alabama game set off warning lights about her team's execution. ``We went back to the drawing board and were able to correct some things for tonight,'' she said.
Indeed, LSU was much crisper at the Bi-Lo Center than the opener.
With Johnson speeding up court and Augustus, the league's player of the year, on the other end to finish, LSU reached its fifth tournament final. It won the crown in 1991 and 2003.
Still, it took some time to put away the Lady Bulldogs (22-9).
Humphrey's inside basket made it 55-all with 10:54 to go and Georgia was still within a basket, 67-65, about 5 minutes later on Cori Chambers jumper.
Then LSU's quickness and strength took over, holding the Lady Bulldogs scoreless in the final 5:02.
Georgia coach Andy Landers said his team had done a credible job rebounding with LSU until the final stretch. ``That's a problem,'' he said. ``We had done a very good job up until then. ... That was our undoing.''
Augustus wrestled away a rebound and converted the follow shot to extend the lead. Florence Williams added a basket and the Lady Tigers were on their way to their fourth win in the last five games with Georgia.
Williams had 16 points, Sylvia Fowles 12 and Johnson 10.
Landers, in his 26th season at Georgia, said he got caught violating one of his cardinal rules -- always use man-to-man defense. Landers kept an extra person back under the basket on defense to help hold off Augustus and Fowles. The only problem was that Williams hit several uncontested jumpers from the foul line.
``I sinned tonight,'' Landers said. ``I went junk defense, something I haven't done in 30 years. I need to get up early tomorrow and go to church and renew my faith in man-to-man.''
Johnson had 11 of her career-best assists in the opening half. The total surpassed her mark of 15, which the senior accomplished three times.
Humphrey led the way for Georgia, bettering her point total of 32 set last month against Kentucky. Georgia awaits the NCAA tournament selections on March 13 when its expected to receive its 11th straight bid.
LSU tried to put this game away early. After Scholanda Hoston took a long pass from Johnson for an easy layup, LSU was ahead 35-23 with 1:45 left.
Humphrey, who had 19 first-half points, kept Georgia in it. She hit two baskets and the Lady Bulldogs only 3-pointer of the half down the stretch to trail 37-30 at the break.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Chris Taft sparked Pittsburgh in the opening minutes with a rebound basket, a slam dunk and a pair of shots inside.
Taft finished with a career-high 26 points to lead the 24th-ranked Panthers, who had 56 points in the paint, to an 85-77 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday.
``I hit a couple of jump hooks in a row and just kept going to that,'' said Taft, who scored eight of his team's first 12 points. ``I was yelling for the ball like crazy.''
Chevon Troutman had 22 points and Carl Krauser added 15 for the Panthers (20-7, 10-6), who posted their fourth straight 20-win season, clinched fifth place in the Big East and a first-round bye in the league tournament.
``They're a very good basketball team and frankly, they were a little tougher than us,'' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
The Irish (17-9, 9-7), who lost for the third time in four games, fell to sixth place to miss out on the first-round bye and hurt their hopes for an NCAA tournament berth. The Irish scored just 24 points in the paint.
``They just outplayed us,'' said Irish forward Torin Francis, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. ``We just weren't aggressive enough. They were more physical than us and it turned into a loss.''
The Panthers were too much for the Irish inside, shooting 57 percent for the game -- their second-best performance of the season.
``I think our big guys were really good at passing the ball between each other,'' Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
Colin Falls, who scored a career-high 28 points with a school-record tying eight 3-pointers, gave Notre Dame a 43-42 lead 5 minutes into the second half on a pair of free throws. But the Panthers went on a 13-0 run, with Taft scoring seven points. Except for a free throw by Taft, all the points were scored on baskets inside.
Mark McCarroll capped the run with a rebound basket -- two of 13 second-chance points by the Panthers -- as Pitt opened a 58-43 lead.
The Irish cut the lead to 60-56 when Chris Thomas made a pair of free throws with 6:50 left. They had a chance to get closer, but Falls missed a 3 and Thomas missed a 15-foot jumper. Thomas missed his first 10 shots and finished 2-of-13 with 12 points.
Pitt, which outscored the Irish 12-0 on fastbreak points, then scored five quick points. Antonio Graves, who had 11 points, scored on an acrobatic, left-handed layup. Troutman added a basket and free throw.
After Thomas made his first shot, a 10-foot jumper from the baseline, the Panthers put the game away with a 7-0 run.
Taft added 11 rebounds and four blocks in his second straight strong game after playing poorly in Pitt's recent three-game losing streak.
``That was on my mind,'' Taft said. ``Coming here from the airport I was telling myself, 'There's no way I'm playing like I did when we were at home.'''
(1) LSU 79, (21) Georgia 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Top-ranked LSU didn't a TV replay this time. Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson were more than enough to put away Georgia and send the Lady Tigers into the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Augustus had 22 points and Johnson a career-high 17 assists to lead the Lady Tigers past No. 21 Georgia 79-65 on Saturday night.
LSU (29-1) won its 16th straight game and will play for the league's automatic NCAA bid Sunday against No. 5 Tennessee or No. 18 Vanderbilt.
The Lady Tigers overcame a career-high 33 points by Georgia's Tasha Humphrey, the SEC freshman of the year.
``Last night, I started late,'' Johnson said. ``My intention here was to start early.''
Augustus and Johnson made sure LSU didn't have to sweat out the ending as it did Friday against Alabama when the officials had to consult a TV replay before changing Alabama's tying 3-pointer to a 2-point goal in the 60-59 win.
LSU coach Pokey Chatman said the Alabama game set off warning lights about her team's execution. ``We went back to the drawing board and were able to correct some things for tonight,'' she said.
Indeed, LSU was much crisper at the Bi-Lo Center than the opener.
With Johnson speeding up court and Augustus, the league's player of the year, on the other end to finish, LSU reached its fifth tournament final. It won the crown in 1991 and 2003.
Still, it took some time to put away the Lady Bulldogs (22-9).
Humphrey's inside basket made it 55-all with 10:54 to go and Georgia was still within a basket, 67-65, about 5 minutes later on Cori Chambers jumper.
Then LSU's quickness and strength took over, holding the Lady Bulldogs scoreless in the final 5:02.
Georgia coach Andy Landers said his team had done a credible job rebounding with LSU until the final stretch. ``That's a problem,'' he said. ``We had done a very good job up until then. ... That was our undoing.''
Augustus wrestled away a rebound and converted the follow shot to extend the lead. Florence Williams added a basket and the Lady Tigers were on their way to their fourth win in the last five games with Georgia.
Williams had 16 points, Sylvia Fowles 12 and Johnson 10.
Landers, in his 26th season at Georgia, said he got caught violating one of his cardinal rules -- always use man-to-man defense. Landers kept an extra person back under the basket on defense to help hold off Augustus and Fowles. The only problem was that Williams hit several uncontested jumpers from the foul line.
``I sinned tonight,'' Landers said. ``I went junk defense, something I haven't done in 30 years. I need to get up early tomorrow and go to church and renew my faith in man-to-man.''
Johnson had 11 of her career-best assists in the opening half. The total surpassed her mark of 15, which the senior accomplished three times.
Humphrey led the way for Georgia, bettering her point total of 32 set last month against Kentucky. Georgia awaits the NCAA tournament selections on March 13 when its expected to receive its 11th straight bid.
LSU tried to put this game away early. After Scholanda Hoston took a long pass from Johnson for an easy layup, LSU was ahead 35-23 with 1:45 left.
Humphrey, who had 19 first-half points, kept Georgia in it. She hit two baskets and the Lady Bulldogs only 3-pointer of the half down the stretch to trail 37-30 at the break.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)