November 21, 2006 - SPORTS NEWS - SPECIAL EDITION
MARCH MADNESS COLLEGE BASKETBALL SPORTS NEWS
FREE COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press) duke favored t owin classic.
After opening the season with four straight wins for the third consecutive year, eighth-ranked Duke tries to defeat its first ranked opponent when it faced 17th-ranked Marquette in Tuesday`s championship game of the CBE Classic.
Oddsmakers have listed Duke as 4 1/2-point favorites and the total is set at 148.
The Blue Devils (4-0) have won with outstanding shooting this season, and that pattern continued in Monday`s 71-56 semifinal victory over Air Force.
Duke opened the game on a 12-for-14 tear, and shot 73.9 percent (17-for-23) in the first half. They hit a dry spell in the second half, but finished shooting 61 percent (25-for-41), including 7-for-13 from 3-point range.
DeMarcus Nelson led the Blue Devils with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
``I`m very confident in my shot,`` said Nelson, who is averaging 15.3 points on 61.1 percent shooting this season. ``We have five unselfish guys. My play might be to take the shot or to make the extra pass.``
Freshman Lance Thomas added 15 points and Jon Scheyer, another freshman, finished with 12.
Duke is shooting an impressive 55.4 percent from the floor this season, and 46.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils also dominated the glass against the Falcons, outrebounding them 30-10 - an all-time record low for a Duke opponent. The previous Duke opponent with the fewest rebounds was North Carolina State, with 14 in a 12-10 Blue Devils loss on March 8, 1968.
Josh McRoberts had a team-high eight rebounds on Monday for the Blue Devils, who are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 12.5 this season.
Duke went 8-1 against ranked opponents in the regular season last year, and has won 10 straight regular-season games against non-conference ranked teams since losing to then-No. 3 Stanford 84-83 on Dec. 21, 2000.
The Blue Devils are 4-1 all-time against Marquette, winning 59-49 in their last meeting on March 24, 1994, in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
The Golden Eagles (5-0) raced past Texas Tech 87-72 in Monday`s semifinals, using the transisition game to get easy baskets.
Marquette led 11-2 barely four minutes into the game, and turned the Red Raiders` 12 first-half turnovers into 21 points.
``We started off fast, got the early turnovers,`` said Dominic James, who had 16 points. ``We`re a hard team to stop when we`re getting the ball downcourt and in transition.``
The Golden Eagles forced 18 turnovers in all - converting them into 27 points - and got 22 points on fast breaks. Their pressure defense has caused opponents to average 23.2 turnovers per game this season.
``That`s the kind of game we play,`` sophomore guard Wesley Matthews said. ``We practice it. We drill it. That`s when we`re at our best, getting a rebound or a turnover and running.``
Matthews scored 20 points and had six assists, while Jerel McNeal matched his career high with 19 points and dished out seven assists.
Marquette shot 54.8 percent from the floor on Monday, and is averaging 89.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting in its last three games.
Junior forward Dan Fitzgerald finished with five points in just 13 minutes after injuring his left shin in a collision.
Fitzgerald`s status for Tuesday is uncertain, although Marquette coach Tom Crean said the injury was not serious.
FREE COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press) ucla vs kentucky in maui classic.
The Hawaiian islands have brought together two of college basketball`s most storied programs.
The teams with the most national championships in NCAA history meet Tuesday when No. 5 UCLA faces No. 22 Kentucky in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Oddsmakers have listed the Bruins as 5-point favorites and the over/under is set at 138 1/2.
UCLA has won a record 11 national titles, including a 92-85 victory over Kentucky in the 1975 championship game. The Wildcats are right behind with seven championships of their own. The teams have combined to make 29 Final Four appearances.
This is the first time the schools have met since Kentucky beat the Bruins 52-50 on Dec. 6, 2003. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 6-3.
UCLA (2-0) rolled into the semifinals with an 88-63 victory over host Chaminade in Monday night`s quarterfinals. The Bruins, who lost 73-57 to Florida in last year`s national championship game, haven`t missed a beat early this season, shooting better than 50 percent in each of their victories.
``Overall this was a good win, but we have to get ready to face a very tough opponent in 20 hours,`` UCLA coach Ben Howland said, looking at his watch. ``No. Nineteen hours, 55 minutes.``
Arron Afflalo scored 11 points during UCLA`s 17-2 run to open Monday`s contest and finished with 25 as the Bruins cruised past the Division II Silverswords.
Afflalo - who scored only nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in last Wednesday`s 82-69 season-opening victory over BYU - was 10-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Josh Shipp had 16 points and Darren Collison added 15 for the Bruins, who led by as many as 30 points during the rout.
``That`s what this tournament is about. You have to show the heart a team has,`` Afflalo said. ``I`m looking forward to it. Kentucky`s a great team.``
Kentucky (3-0) had to work harder to advance, getting past pesky DePaul 87-81 on Monday. Randolph Morris scored nine of the Wildcats` final 11 points and finished with 20 to help Kentucky secure a victory.
``It all came within the flow of the game,`` Morris said about his closing flurry. ``When opportunities present themselves you have to seize those opportunities.``
Morris is averaging 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in the first three games and is part of a trio of juniors leading the Wildcats.
The Wildcats shot 57.1 percent, the first time they were better than 50 percent from the field since shooting 60.4 percent in an 80-78 win over then-No. 11 Tennessee on March 1, a span of nine games.
``When we get up on a team we haven`t sustained the intensity,`` Kentucky guard Ramel Bradley said. ``Give credit to DePaul, but we stayed poised and made some big stops. I thought we did an excellent job of responding the right way.``
Bradley and Joe Crawford are the other two juniors playing integral roles. Bradley is averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 assists while Crawford`s averages are 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Kentucky is 8-2 in the Maui Invitational, winning the championship in 1993. Its eight victories are tied for third-most all-time in the tournament. UCLA, making its third appearance, is 4-3.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press) duke keeps rolling in he cash.
DeMarcus Nelson scored a career-high 23 points, and No. 8 Duke rode a strong-shooting first half to a 71-56 victory over Air Force on Monday night in the semifinals of the CBE Classic. Duke easily covered the 5-point spread and the total played over.
Freshman Lance Thomas added 15 points, and Jon Scheyer finished with 12 for the Blue Devils (4-0), who will play the winner of Monday`s late game between Texas Tech and No. 13 Marquette on Tuesday.
Duke shot 74 percent (17-for-23) from the field in the first half, but the Blue Devils went cold after the break and didn`t make another shot after Greg Paulus` 3-pointer with 5:45 left gave them a 59-47 lead.
The Blue Devils led 38-24 at halftime but didn`t score for almost three minutes to start the second half.
The Falcons (4-1) twice closed the gap to seven points, the last time on Dan Nwaelele`s basket with 8 minutes left that cut the deficit to 54-47, but went scoreless for almost five minutes.
Jacob Burtschi missed a layup that would have made it 54-49 with 7:20 left, and Nelson made a layup on Duke`s next possession. Paulus hit a 3-pointer for a 59-47 lead, and the Falcons didn`t get the margin under double digits again.
Burtschi and Nick Welch led Air Force with 12 points each, and Nwaelele added 10 points for the Falcons.
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Falcons 30-10, including a 13-4 advantage in the first half.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS - (associated press): ohio state keeps covering large spreads.
Mike Conley Jr. and Jamar Butler combined for 16 assists with just two turnovers, and Daequan Cook added 20 points off the bench to lead No. 3 Ohio State past San Francisco 82-60 on Monday night. The Buckeyes covered the 16 1/2-point spread and the total played under.
The Buckeyes (5-0), still awaiting the return of big man Greg Oden, also dominated the boards against the Dons, outrebounding them 43-29.
Cook shot 8-of-11 from the field to match his average for points. Ron Lewis added 15 points and Conley scored 12.
Conley, a freshman, added nine assists and six rebounds with two turnovers. He now has 33 assists and 12 turnovers this season while directing the Buckeyes` offense. His partner in the backcourt, Butler, had seven assists without a turnover. Othello Hunter added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Armando Surratt scored 15 points and Antonio Kellogg and Manny Quezada had 11 apiece for the Dons (2-2). Jay Watkins added 10 rebounds.
The loudest roar of the night came midway through the second half on Butler`s crisp alley-oop pass from near midcourt that Cook controlled with one hand over defender Jesse Byrd for a dunk that put the Buckeyes ahead 54-38.
Conley controlled the tempo in the first half by setting up his teammates for easy baskets. In addition, he did some scoring on his own as the Buckeyes solidified their lead.
The Buckeyes - shorter, thinner and less experienced - dominated the boards 22-11 in the opening half to take a 45-29 lead. The Dons had seven players at least 6-foot-8, while Ohio State had two.
Ohio State led 24-21 before pulling away with a 14-2 run. Conley triggered it with a spinning, reverse layup off a fast-break assist from Butler, who followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing - off an assist from Conley.
Cook then hit the first of his two baskets during the surge before Conley hit a layup off a backdoor lob from Butler and was fouled, adding the free throw to push the lead to 34-21. After Quezada broke the 10-0 run with a short pull-up jumper, Cook scored on a drive and Conley assisted on a wraparound pass for Matt Terwilliger`s layup.
Conley had 10 points and five assists at the break.
Ohio State maintained a double-digit lead before turning the game into a rout with a 22-3 run midway through the second half.
The Buckeyes acquitted themselves inside despite the continuing absence of Oden, their prized 7-0 recruit. Still recovering from surgery to reattach a ligament in his right wrist this summer, Oden is not expected to start playing for several more weeks. He is practicing with the team while wearing a brace on his wrist.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press)- gonzaga player micah downs could miss season.
Highly touted transfer Micah Downs of Gonzaga had a pin inserted in his injured foot and will miss the next six to eight weeks, and possibly the entire season, Gonzaga officials said Sunday.
Downs, who transferred from Kansas last season, was not eligible to play until December.
He suffered a stress fracture on one foot during preseason practice, but recently had been playing well on the foot, coach Mark Few said. But he woke up on Saturday and found he could not put weight on the foot, Few said.
``He`ll be out six to eight weeks,`` Few said. ``That means Downs might be able to return about the time West Coast Conference play begins. If it heals fast, it makes sense, he could help us this year.``
Downs, a 6-foot-8 guard, was a McDonald`s All-American at Juanita High School in Seattle, where he scored 24.8 points per game as a senior.
He played 13 games at Kansas last season, averaging 4.3 ppg, but was not happy. He transferred to Gonzaga at semester break and had been expected to provide some depth to the Bulldogs this season.
Gonzaga (4-0) will travel to New York City on Wednesday to play No. 2 North Carolina (3-0) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Oddsmakers have yet to release a line.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press): memphis wins in hawaii.
Robert Dozier had 13 points to lead a balanced Memphis offense, and the 13th-ranked Tigers beat Oklahoma 77-65 Monday in a sloppy opening-round game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Memphis won as 5-point favorites while the total hit the under.
The Tigers (2-0) will play in the semifinals Tuesday against the winner of the game between No. 21 Georgia Tech and Purdue.
Memphis, which starts three sophomores and a freshman, took control at the start of the second half by hitting seven of its first 10 shots to lead 58-42 with 12:04 left.
Oklahoma (2-1) drew within 10 points twice, the last at 69-59 with 4:36 left on two free throws by Michael Neal. The Tigers, however, were able to improve their foul shooting and keep their lead over the final 2 1/2 minutes.
Eight Memphis players had between 13 and six points, but the Tigers hurt themselves by missing 14 of their first 27 free throw attempts before finishing 20-for-37.
Neal, who missed the Sooners` first two games of the season with a suspension over playing in an unsanctioned summer league, finished with 18 points. Taylor Griffin added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
FREE COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press): top 10 ats college basketball teams as of 11/21/2006.
1 Ohio St
2 Arkansas St.
3 Duke
4 Southeastern Louisiana
5 UC Santa Barbara
6 Fresno St.
7 Georgia Tech
8 Pittsburgh
9 Butler
10 Connecticut
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS- (associated press) izzo soots down deal to coach football.
Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo is helping the school search for a new football coach.
But don't expect him to be on the list of candidates.
Izzo, the subject of Internet and media speculation involving the replacement for fired football coach John L. Smith, dismissed the idea when asked if he was being considered for the job.
"I think it was far-fetched when it started," he said.
Izzo acknowledged he has always had an interest in football.
"I've been honored that my name would even be brought up," he said. "Anybody who knows me knows that for longer than I have been here, football has been a love of mine beyond most normal human beings."
Izzo said he once turned down a chance to become the defensive backs coach at Cal State-Fullerton in the early 1980s, where Steve Mariucci -- his longtime pal -- was coaching.
But Izzo added he already has his hands full with the basketball program.
"I've got some business I want to finish," he said.
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