Johnson, Dayton edge top-seeded Illinois in NIT qu
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Chris Johnson scored 18 points and Dayton used a strong start to beat Illinois 77-71 in an NIT quarterfinal Wednesday night.
The third-seeded Flyers (23-12) advanced to play Mississippi on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Rhode Island also is in the semifinals, giving the Atlantic 10 Conference two of the four teams remaining in the tournament. The Rams will face 2009 national champion North Carolina.
Dayton jumped out to a 23-9 lead behind excellent shooting and never let up. The Flyers shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 8 of 18 from 3-point range.
"To be honest, after watching film and seeing them play, they should probably be playing in the [NCAA tournament]," Dayton coach Brian Gregory said. "I have an unbelievable amount of respect for [coach] Bruce [Weber] and the way his team played and the type of guys he has in his program. And that just means, to me, makes this victory even more satisfying because we beat a really good team on their home court."
The Illini's struggles to get back on defense led to quick, easy baskets for Dayton. Illinois trailed by as many as 16 points before cutting it to four with 18 seconds left.
"They got the ball out quicker than we expected," said Illinois guard Demetri McCamey, who shot 6 of 19. "We knew it was going to be kind of like Michigan State.
"The wings were flying, getting to the basket. They caused us problems in the first half."
D.J. Richardson's 3 to open the game was Illinois' lone lead of the night. Dayton answered with a 9-0 run that forced the Illini to play catch up the rest of the way, and the Flyers led 38-25 at halftime.
Despite a size advantage, Illinois' big men never got on track. Junior center Mike Tisdale fouled out with 7:53 left and finished with six points on 3-of-6 shooting and three rebounds. Mike Davis, coming off a double-double against Kent State, had seven points and eight rebounds.
Dayton used its deep bench to press man-to-man in the first half, subbing in waves and keeping players fresh. No Flyer played more than 30 minutes, while nine logged at least nine minutes. Six scored eight or more points.
"We played with great intensity and energy today, and I thought that was the difference in the game," Gregory said.
Johnson was 4 for 11 from the field but 9 of 10 at the foul line.
McCamey had 13 points and 10 assists for No. 1 seed Illinois (21-15).
The game was a microcosm of Illinois' season: a slow start with inconsistent shooting and a frantic comeback. And with the season now over, Weber and his squad have plenty of time to reflect on a disappointing year that began with NCAA tournament aspirations.
"If we want to be a team and be successful, we got to work on offense, moving without the ball and especially defense, getting stops in key points of the time," McCamey said. "I think overall we need to work on everything and just become better players and work hard this summer."
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.
Post Game Thoughts: Texas Tech 87, Seton Hall 69,
Embarrassment. And I'm not talking about missing the NCAAs and settling for the NIT. Tonight, the Pirate's proved why the committee left them out of the Big Dance. They weren't even competitive, at home, in the NIT.
That's exactly how the Seton Hall Pirates ended their season and it's an awfully good description of the state of the basketball program at the moment. Following the dismissal of Robert Mitchell, the Pirates forgot to show up for their first round (NIT) contest against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. No offense to TT, but the performance on display tonight was by far, the worst of the season. Other than Jeff Robinson, the team showed very little fight, well, in regards to the game of basketball. Herb Pope, who lead the BIG EAST in rebounding, has been a beast for much of his first year in a Seton Hall uniform and he continued to show fight tonight.
However, like most of the team, Pope's fight didn't come in regards to his basketball skills. Rather, on back-to-back possessions, Pope threw his body into blatant elbow-punches to Darko Cohadarevic's groin. They were the 2nd and 3rd punches Pope has delivered to a man's family jewels this season after the back-handed slap he unleashed on St. John's, Malik Boothe. The slap to Boothe was very strange, but after a little ribbing, I let it go and chalked it up to Herb losing his cool. Now, after he deliberately went for Darko's groin twice, I really don't know what to think. Hopefully, Pope was retaliating to Darko punching him in the same area. Don't get me wrong, I didn't see anything from Darko, but I'm just trying to reason with what happened tonight. I know, I'm reaching. Badly. I'd be lying if I said the image of Mike Tyson continuously going at Evander Hollyfield's ear didn't flash through my mind. I'll leave it at that.
Pope was ejected just 5:40 into a tied (10-10) game and the Raiders immediately reeled off a 13-0 run. Any life that the Pirates brought onto the floor with them had been drained from their bodies. I'm not one to declare a game over early, but trailing 23-10 with 11 minutes left in the first half, it was evident that the Pirates wanted nothing to do with this game. Whether it was the dismissal of their teammate Robert Mitchell or the awkward events leading to Pope's ejection, the team was lifeless. Worse, they were dead. The sad thing? The fun was only beginning.
Failing to significantly cut into the Raiders 2nd half lead, the Pirates trailed by 16 with 11:39 left in the game. John Garcia had just scooped a Nick Okorie missed layup and came down with the rebound. Suddenly there was a stoppage on the floor and I heard an official's whistle, but before seeing what the zebra's had ruled, I already knew. It never fails. The Pirates had the ball, looking to claw their way back from a big hole and BAM, a Bobby Gonzalez technical. It was his 7th of the season and at least his 3rd (unofficial) while the Pirates had possession of the basketball. Does it really surprise anyone anymore? I'd hope not, as this has been commonplace since Gonzo took over the realm. The blue-and-white faithful have had enough. A contingent of fans in attendance (and there were only about 1500 total in the second half) unleashed an audible, "Fire! Bobby!" chant. It was audible over television, even with Fraschilla and Franklin yapping away in the foreground. I've said it all season, the sideline antics can only continue for so long before the coach hurts his team, losses his players, losses the fanbase and gives the program a black eye. How many of the four can we check off at this point in time?
Things couldn't possibly get any worse, right? Wrong. Trailing by 23PTs with 5 minutes remaining, Jamel Jackson found a streaking Jeff Robinson for a clear away power dunk. JRob sent it home alright, it was thunderous. I hate to keep harping on the word, but what followed next may have been the most embarrassing moment of the night. After sending the ball through, Robinson felt it would be appropriate to hang and twist on the rim, taunting an opponent who was beating the daylights out of the Pirates. The officials could have easily called a technical foul and they should have, but like the Pirates, they probably just wanted to get to the parking lot and get on with their lives. They let it slide. The basketball Gods would have none of it. After releasing from the rim, JRob landed awkwardly and buckled his leg, omitting screams of intense pain. He hit the sideline and I was thinking the worst, but he would later return to the game. Props to him for manning up and coming back in, instead of sitting the rest of it out. Did anybody think of those, "want to get away" commercials as the sequence played out? I sure did, in fact, I did while watching tonight's game in it's entirety.
Lastly, Eugene Harvey and John Garcia deserved better than this. Their teammates and head coach put forth a miserable and embarrassing performance in what would be the seniors' last collegiate basketball games. There were tears in Garcia's eyes at the end of the game. He gave everything he had to this program, battling injuries over his career, he busted his ass to get up and down the floor, doing anything he could for his teammates. Like Stix, Eugene Harvey was demoted in the beginning of the season, forced to come off of the bench after 93 consecutive starts. Harvey He was an extremely talented floor general that led Seton Hall for four years. As an overall crafty point-guard, dangerous in space, excellent penetrator, a great finisher and nifty distributor, I'm going to miss watching the kid. I'll remember both Eugene and John fondly as talented and likable young men who contributed a great deal to the Seton Hall University basketball program. Again, they deserved better.
Jeff Robinson was outstanding with 23PTS/12REB on 10-of-20 shooting.
Eugene Harvey finished his Seton Hall career with 12PTS/5AST/3STL, while John Garcia put forth a gutsy performance good for 7PTS and 10REB. Again, thanks for the memories guys and best of luck in your future endeavors. You will be missed, tremendously.
DSC men remain fifth in West poll
Kansas is No. 1 again in the Associated Press' college basketball poll, and for those looking ahead to potential NCAA tournament seeding, the Big Ten now has four teams in the top 16.
The Jayhawks (20-1) were No. 1 in the preseason Top 25 and for the first eight weeks of the regular season. They moved back into the top spot Monday, replacing Kentucky (19-1), which fell to fourth after losing at South Carolina last week. Villanova and Syracuse moved up one place to second and third.
Michigan State (19-3) remained at No. 5, Purdue (18-3) moved up two spots to No. 8, Ohio State (16-6) rose to No. 13 (from No. 20) and Wisconsin (16-5) remained at No. 16.
(c) Chicago Tribune.
College Basketball Betting - Top 25 Teams in Action
Vanderbilt Commodores at Tennessee Volunteers
While the top spot in the SEC East is out of reach for Vanderbilt and Tennessee, these two conference foes are fighting for second place Wednesday night. The Vanderbilt Commodores have won nine straight games, including a perfect 4-0 mark in SEC play. Vanderbilt has failed to cover the college basketball pointspreads in just two of the eight games in which odds were available. Coach Kevin Stallings is trying to keep his team focused on UT with the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats up next this weekend.
The Tennessee Volunteers had their own winning streak snapped by a 78-63 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs this past Saturday. Tennessee may be without standout Wayne Chism, who sprained his knee in the loss to Georgia. Chism is averaging just under 12 points and six assists per game this season. Coach Bruce Pearl is already working with a short bench following injuries and off-court issues.
BYU Cougars at New Mexico Lobos
The top two teams in the Mountain West Conference butt heads for league bragging rights Wednesday. The BYU Cougars haven't lost since December 2, totaling 15 straight wins and going 9-4 against the college basketball pointspreads in games in which odds were available. Brigham Young star Jimmer Fredette appears be fully recovered from his bout with mono this winter. He netted 33 points in the Cougars' win over San Diego State on Saturday, improving his scoring average to over 20 points per game.
The New Mexico Lobos are back on track after a two-game blip to start the month. New Mexico has won its last three games, most recently defeating Colorado State 82-64, and covering the 14.5-point spread. Coach Steve Alford tagged BYU as the best team New Mexico will face this season, which is saying a lot. The Lobos have already met and defeated tournament-bound teams like Dayton, Texas A&M, and California this year.
Florida State Seminoles at Duke Blue Devils
The Noles have lost four straight meetings with the Blue Devils heading into Wednesday. Their most recent victory over Duke actually came at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2007, where FSU will try to shock the Cameron Crazies again. The Florida State Seminoles are starting to pick up momentum in the ACC, snapping a two-game skid with wins over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech last week. Florida State was tough inside against a troublesome Georgia Tech frontcourt; however, now it faces a potent perimeter from Duke's talented guards.
The Duke Blue Devils rebounded from a shocking road loss to North Carolina State earlier in the week with a win in Clemson on Saturday. Duke's offensive punch just hasn't been there on the road. The team is averaging almost 83 points per game but is scoring only 67.5 points a night on the road. Luckily for the Blue Devils, coach Mike Krzyzewski still leans on his defense to win games. Duke allowed the Tigers to score just 47 points in Saturday's win, covering as a 2-point road favorite.
(c) 1994-2009 BetUS.com. All Rights Reserved.
Big 10 Power Poll - Northwestern and Wisconsin are Tops
BetUS Sportsbook takes a look at how each of the squads in the Big Ten have done for basketball betting fans against the college basketball lines with this week's Power Poll...
1: Northwestern Wildcats (9-4 ATS, 13-4 SU) (LW: 1) Get on your dancing shoes for the first time ever, Northwestern! After beating Purdue at home on Saturday, it's going to be extremely tough to deny the Wildcats their first ever NCAA Tournament berth as long as they don't totally fall apart down the stretch.
On Deck: Away @ Ohio State, Home vs. Illinois
2: Wisconsin Badgers (10-6 ATS, 14-4 SU) (LW: 2) The Badgers' basketball betting aficionados will find a split at Northwestern and Ohio State very acceptable. Things had better be great back at the Kohl Center though, as there's no excuse not to sweep this week.
On Deck: Home vs. Michigan, Home vs. Penn State
3: Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-8 ATS, 12-6 SU) (LW: 3) Yikes. The Gophers are in big trouble after losing against both Michigan State and Indiana last week. With Sparty coming to town, that losing skid could hit three straight and four out of five in a hurry.
On Deck: Home vs. Michigan State
4: Ohio State Buckeyes (9-9 ATS, 13-5 SU) (LW: 7) Bad news for the rest of the Big Ten: The Buckeyes are back. Wins at Purdue and home against Wisconsin were huge for getting OSU back on track. With a healthy F Evan Turner back in the fold, there may be no stopping the Bucks.
On Deck: Home vs. Northwestern, Away @ West Virginia
5: Michigan Wolverines (6-7 ATS, 10-7 SU) (LW: 8) What a big week for Big Blue! The Wolverines took care of both Indiana and Connecticut, and at least kept its name in the hat for the NCAA Tournament. However, road games against very difficult foes could end all of that this week.
On Deck: Away @ Wisconsin, Away @ Purdue
6: Purdue Boilermakers (7-9-1 ATS, 14-3 SU) (LW: 4) Something's wrong right now with the Boilermakers, and it has to be concerning; especially for those placing bets on them on the college basketball betting lines. After the trip to Champagne, at least the following three are all in West Lafayette.
On Deck: Away @ Illinois, Home vs. Michigan
7: Penn State Nittany Lions (6-8-1 ATS, 8-9 SU) (LW: 5) Penn State remains the only team in the Big Ten without a victory after suffering losses at Illinois and Iowa last week. Their three road losses are by a combined nine points, which has to be heartbreaking if you're a Nittany Lion.
On Deck: Home vs. Indiana, Away @ Wisconsin
8: Indiana Hoosiers (7-9-1 ATS, 8-9 SU) (LW: 6) The Hoosiers pulled out their biggest B10 win of the season when they took out the Golden Gophers on Sunday. Could this be the start of a little winning streak for IU? The upcoming schedule looks good.
On Deck: Away @ Penn State, Home vs. Iowa
And the rest...
9: Michigan State Spartans (7-10 ATS, 15-3 SU) (LW: 9)
10: Illinois Fighting Illini (6-11 ATS, 12-6 SU) (LW: 10)
11: Iowa Hawkeyes (4-13 ATS, 7-11 SU) (LW: 11)
(c) 1994-2009 BetUS.com. All Rights Reserved.
Beasts of the Big East - College Basketball Power Poll
Once again, the Big East looks like the giant gorilla of the college basketball betting world. But how are the teams ranking against each other? Find out in this week's BetUS Sportsbook college basketball power rankings...
1: Villanova Wildcats (10-4 ATS, 14-1 SU) (LW: 1) The team atop the college basketball power rankings is still Villanova after a pair of home victories for HC Jay Wright's club. The road may not be as kind though, especially in that first college basketball betting battle at Freedom Hall.
On Deck: Away @ Louisville, Home vs. Georgetown
2: Syracuse Orange (9-3 ATS, 15-1 SU) (LW: 3) The Orange continue to show that that loss to Pitt was nothing more than a bump in the road in an otherwise fantastic season. Things are about to get a lot tougher though, as the next three are all away from the Carrier Dome.
On Deck: Away @ Rutgers, Away @ West Virginia
3: South Florida Bulls (8-5-1 ATS, 10-5 SU) (LW: 2) Once again, South Florida is proving to be nothing more than a team that built up a nice non-conference record by playing nobodies. The Bulls just don't have the horses to keep up with the best teams in this conference, but they should at least find the win column once this week.
On Deck: Home vs. West Virginia, Home vs. Rutgers
4: St. John's Red Storm (7-5 ATS, 10-5 SU) (LW: 6) St. John's' 0-3 start in the Big East doesn't bode well for its NCAA Tournament hopes. These next two home games are both very winnable and probably both must-wins to keep any legitimate at-large hopes alive.
On Deck: Home vs. Cincinnati, Home vs. DePaul
5: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-4-1 ATS, 14-3 SU) (LW: 7) The Irish capitalized on two very close victories to move to 3-1 in Big East play this year. They can't let off the gas pedal though, as you can go on a five-game skid in this conference in a hurry.
On Deck: Away @ Cincinnati, Home vs. Syracuse
6: Marquette Golden Eagles (6-4 ATS, 10-6 SU) (LW: 9) Marquette has to feel like a snake-bitten team so far in conference play. Their three losses are twice to Villanova and once to West Virginia, and they're only by a combined five points! After having more than a week off, the Eagles had better dispose of the Friars comfortably.
On Deck: Home vs. Providence
7: Pittsburgh Panthers (6-5-2 ATS, 13-2 SU) (LW: 10) What road warriors the Panthers are! In two weeks, they moved from #15 in the poll all the way up to #7 after winning at Cincinnati on Monday. If they can pull this one off this week in Hartford, all sorts of heads are going to turn.
On Deck: Away @ Connecticut, Home vs. Louisville
8: Georgetown Hoyas (5-5 ATS, 12-2 SU) (LW: 8) The Hoyas are the one team that Marquette did actually beat in conference play so far this year. They responded with a strong victory against Connecticut. A split seems very likely once again this week.
On Deck: Home vs. Seton Hall, Away @ Villanova
And the rest...
9: DePaul Blue Demons (5-5-1 ATS, 7-8 SU) (LW: 5)
10: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-6 ATS, 9-6 SU) (LW: 8)
11: Providence Friars (5-6 ATS, 10-6 SU) (LW: 11)
12: Connecticut Huskies (6-7 ATS, 11-4 SU) (LW: 16)
13: Louisville Cardinals (5-6 ATS, 12-4 SU) (LW: 12)
14: Cincinnati Bearcats (4-7 ATS, 11-5 SU) (LW: 13)
15: Seton Hall Pirates (3-6 ATS, 10-5 SU) (LW: 14)
16: West Virginia Mountaineers (5-8 ATS, 12-2 SU) (LW: 15)
(c) 1994-2009 BetUS.com. All Rights Reserved.
College Basketball Rankings - SEC Power Poll
The SEC has been full of surprises both positively and negatively this season. Check out how BetUS.com ranks the top teams in the southeast against the college basketball betting lines with this week's college basketball power rankings...
1: Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3 ATS, 12-3 SU) (LW: 1) The Bulldogs have had a very interesting out of conference season this year, and they continued their spread of great college basketball betting results with a 77-68 victory over San Diego. They stay at the top of the SEC college basketball power rankings with their seventh straight cover.
On Deck: Away @ Mississippi
2: Mississippi Rebels (7-3 ATS, 12-2 SU) (LW: 2) The Rebels didn't really have much of a problem against Jackson State, but they never really had a chance of covering the 23.5-point spread either. UCF comes to town in prep for the first duel of the year against the Dawgs.
On Deck: Home vs. Mississippi State
3: Kentucky Wildcats (7-6 ATS, 15-0 SU) (LW: 7) Kentucky was worried about getting a bit of a challenge from the Cardinals on Saturday, but there was no such challenge in sight. The Cats clawed their way to a 71-62 victory over their arch-rivals, and if they can clear the hump in Gainesville in two weeks, they may stay undefeated for quite some time.
On Deck: Home vs. Georgia
4: Florida Gators (5-4 ATS, 11-3 SU) (LW: 4) The Gators swept the board this week, picking up three relatively easy 'W's. The last one at NC State is going to be a big boost towards bringing the blue and orange back to the dance.
On Deck: Away @ Vanderbilt
5: Tennessee Volunteers (5-4-1 ATS, 11-2 SU) (LW: 6) The Volunteers marched into Memphis and took out the Tigers as short dogs. Now, they'll turn their attention to a red hot bunch of 49ers before welcoming the #1 team in the land to Rocky Top.
On Deck: Home vs. Kansas
6: Vanderbilt Commodores (6-5 ATS, 11-3 SU) (LW: 8) The Commodores badly needed two out of conference wins last week to reach the double digit plateau in wins. SEC play gets started this week with a big time visit from the Gators.
On Deck: Home vs. Florida
7: South Carolina Gamecocks (5-6 ATS, 9-5 SU) (LW: 3) Losses to both Boston College and Baylor could be crippling to the Gamecocks. At least ten wins and some damage in the SEC Tournament may be necessary to send SC dancing.
On Deck: Away @ Auburn
8: Alabama Crimson Tide (5-5 ATS, 10-4 SU) (LW: 5) The Tide probably struggled with Tennessee State a lot more than they should have. However, a 77-65 win should provide one more boost before starting SEC play this weekend.
On Deck: Away @ LSU
And the rest...
9: Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4 ATS, 7-7 SU) (LW: 9)
10: Georgia Bulldogs (4-7 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 11)
11: Auburn Tigers (3-6 ATS, 8-6 SU) (LW: 12)
12: LSU Tigers (3-7 ATS, 8-5 SU) (LW: 10)
(c) 1994-2009 BetUS.com. All Rights Reserved.
|
