Pitt's poet, Louisville's title, and more

2009-03-07T23:55:25-05:00

2009-03-07T19:22:04-05:00

2009-03-07T21:06:06-05:00

levolor51

Allison Park 730403

1 Nicki, I enjoyed today's entry. Sam "pump fake, finger roll, tomahawk jam" Young put on a clinic today. After a decade of good Pitt teams, this group of warriors led by Fields should be the first squad in Panther history to get the number one seed and advance to the dance. 4602059

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2009/writers/the_bonus/02/26/sam.young/Young.jpg" alt="Double Click to select a Photo" width="300" height="393" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Sam Young is UConn's worst nightmare. (AP)</div> </div> This is what it comes down to. The regular season is either on the brink or already passed for Division I college hoops teams, and the pressure leading up to the NCAA Tournament is quickly mounting. And this weekend is already shaping into one of the most significant to date. Why? Because Pittsburgh proved it reigns supreme. Because a number of regular-season conference titles were claimed. Because a handful of senior players (Gasp! They stayed all four years!) put on show-stopping performances. And because bracketologists can officially start to sweat over their office pool(s), as some new bids have officially been named. So pull yourself together and take a look at what's gone down so far this weekend.   <ul type="disc"> <li>Prepare to be enlightened. Sam Young's giving a lesson in How To Go Out In Style 101. First order of business, drop 31 on the No. 1 team, Connecticut. While you're at it, go ahead and grab 10 boards. Then, knock in a layup to halt a 12-0 run by the Huskies, and quickly follow with an alley-oop to teammate Levance Fields for a slam - one that will bring the house down. Next, to make sure Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun knows that no matter how much money his team brings in and no matter who he has defending you, they won't be able to stop you. And finally, complete a season-sweep of the Huskies, with a 70-60 beating. Once you master those topics, you, too, can be like Young in his final home game as a Pittsburgh Panther.</li> </ul> The dominating performance by he 6-foot-6 forward marked he second time he's put the hurt on Connecticut this season. In February, he led the Panthers to a 76-68 win over the Huskies by dropping a game-high 25 points. This time around, though, Young didn't get as much help from DeJuan Blair, who was only able to put up eight points, while UConn's big man Hasheem Thabeet had 14 points and 13 rebounds. With Louisville's win (next bullet), Pitt won a tiebreaker over UConn for the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=53133&vendorId=200903070465&vendorVisitTeam=129&vendorHomeTeam=465&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=53133&vendorId=200903070465&vendorVisitTeam=129&vendorHomeTeam=465&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a>     <ul> <li>With a 62-59 win over West Virginia, Louisville clinched the Big East regular-season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. Terrence Williams led the way with 20 points for the Cardinals, while WVU freshman Kevin Jones scored a season-high 19. The game was Big East-esque as the two teams battled it out until the final shot. With the score 62-58, the Mountaineers' Da'Sean Butler attempted a final three, but it bounced off the rim as the clock wound down. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=53136&vendorId=200903070636&vendorVisitTeam=314&vendorHomeTeam=636&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=53136&vendorId=200903070636&vendorVisitTeam=314&vendorHomeTeam=636&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>     <ul type="disc"> <li>Despite Pitt's dynamite win, Game of the Day goes to No. 25 Syracuse vs. No. 13 Marquette. After trailing by one at the half, ‘Cuse came back to defeat the Golden Eagles 86-79 in overtime, thanks to Jonny Flynn and Andy Rautins. Flynn scored 20 of his 24 points after the break, while Rautins hit some key buckets to secure the victory for the Orange. His 3-pointer with 2:29 left in overtime gave Syracuse an 80-77 lead, but Marquette's Lazar Hayward cut the lead to one with a couple of freebies at the line. Seconds later, Rautins dropped in a layup with 1:23 left to bump the score to 82-79. Syracuse scores four more at the foul line, the buzzer sounds, Jim Boeheim gets happy. However, with star point guard Dominic James on the sidelines (foot), Marquette's senior Jerel McNeal gave a solid performance, scoring a game-high 25 points (and this was Senior Day, mind you), while teammates Wesley Matthews and Jimmy Butler both inked double-doubles. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54641&vendorId=200903070339&vendorVisitTeam=553&vendorHomeTeam=339&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54641&vendorId=200903070339&vendorVisitTeam=553&vendorHomeTeam=339&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>How good is Memphis? So good that it can have an "off" day and still beat a team 74-47. Such was the case today, and such was the score against Tulane.  With the win, the fifth-ranked Tigers closed another perfect season -their third-straight -- in Conference USA, extended their winning streak to nation-leading 22 games, marked their 58th-straight victory in the conference and, AND, handed a few of their seniors - Robert Dozier, Antonio Anderson and Chance McGrady - 132 wins in their four-year careers. Not too shabby. But it didn't stop there. Dozier, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Tulane, was just one of three Memphis players to have double-doubles. Frosh Tyreke Evans (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Shawn Taggert (14 and 10) were the others. Can you say Final Four-bound? <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54515&vendorId=200903070349&vendorVisitTeam=598&vendorHomeTeam=349&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54515&vendorId=200903070349&vendorVisitTeam=598&vendorHomeTeam=349&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>Out to prove it's worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid, Texas A&M took down No. 15 Missouri, 96-86, marking the Aggies' sixth-straight victory and squashing Mizzou's hopes of a conference title. The Aggies led nearly the entire game and even broke away to a 26-point lead with 16 minutes left. Though Mizzou was able to cut the lead with some strong runs in the second half, it couldn't catch Texas A&M. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50813&vendorId=200903070587&vendorVisitTeam=367&vendorHomeTeam=587&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50813&vendorId=200903070587&vendorVisitTeam=367&vendorHomeTeam=587&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>UCLA came thisclose to getting a piece of the Pac-10 crown (see next bullet), thanks to Josh Shipp and Darren Collison. The No. 20 Bruins routed Oregon 94-68, as Shipp scored 28 and Collison contributed 19. Shipp, who dropped 27 points on Oregon State less than 48 hours prior, picked up his 130th start to pass Earl Watson for most in school history. See, Shipp took Sam Young's class on going out in style. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51929&vendorId=200903070606&vendorVisitTeam=449&vendorHomeTeam=606&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51929&vendorId=200903070606&vendorVisitTeam=449&vendorHomeTeam=606&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>Say hello to the new Pac-10 kings. With a 67-60 win over Washington State, the 16th-ranked Washington Huskies are now conference champions for the first time since 1953. In the win, senior Jon Brockman, who opted to stay close to home instead of playing at ACC powerhouse Duke, tied a career-high 18 rebounds in his final home game (Sam Young style). Quincy Pondexter led the Huskies with 16 points, while Venoy Overton, the net-cutting and floor-storming ringleader, had 14. Washington State's Taylor Rochestie had 23 points, despite struggling in the first part of the game. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54974&vendorId=200903070630&vendorVisitTeam=632&vendorHomeTeam=630&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=54974&vendorId=200903070630&vendorVisitTeam=632&vendorHomeTeam=630&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>I'll make this short and sweet, because, by now, you probably know what's coming: fourth-ranked Oklahoma won (beat Oklahoma State 82-78) and Blake Griffin was disgustingly tremendous. He had 33 points and 14 rebounds to set a Big 12 record and pass Kansas' Drew Gooden for the season record with 425 boards. Gross. (Quick side note: Oklahoma State guard James Anderson actually topped Griffin with 37 points.) <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51841&vendorId=200903070444&vendorVisitTeam=446&vendorHomeTeam=444&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51841&vendorId=200903070444&vendorVisitTeam=446&vendorHomeTeam=444&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>Props to Seth Davis on this one. Even though defending champion Kansas lost to Texas Tech earlier in the week, the Jayhawks bounced back to beat No. 9 Texas 83-73 (<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/seth_davis/03/06/what.to.watch/index.html?eref=T1">I believe Seth predicted an 80-71 finish</a>). Sherron Collins, who shot a dismal 3-for-19 from the field on Wednesday, had 21 points and seven assists in the win, and the Rock Chalk Jayhawks went on to claim their fifth Big 12 title. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50783&vendorId=200903070287&vendorVisitTeam=585&vendorHomeTeam=287&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50783&vendorId=200903070287&vendorVisitTeam=585&vendorHomeTeam=287&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>And the Kentucky slide continues. The Wildcats lost again, this time to Florida (60-53) who managed to stop the bleeding after losing three straight. Could this lead to a Kentucky-less NCAA Tournament? Well, if the ‘Cats don't win the conference tournament next week, it most definitely will. As for Florida, even with the win, the Gators may still be NIT-bound unless they continue their winning ways in the SEC tourney. That pressure I was talking about? Yeah, Kentucky and Florida are feeling it. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51206&vendorId=200903070210&vendorVisitTeam=292&vendorHomeTeam=210&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51206&vendorId=200903070210&vendorVisitTeam=292&vendorHomeTeam=210&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul> <div>   <ul type="disc"> <li>In Auburn, it was Korvotney Barber's senior night. The 6-foot-7 senior forward had a double-double in the first half alone to help Auburn beat No. 12 LSU, 69-53. Barber finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Auburn snagged its eighth win in nine games. It also became the only SEC team to beat both West Division champion LSU and East Division champion Tennessee. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51252&vendorId=200903070028&vendorVisitTeam=319&vendorHomeTeam=28&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=51252&vendorId=200903070028&vendorVisitTeam=319&vendorHomeTeam=28&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul>   <ul type="disc"> <li>Senior day all around.  After being honored in front of thousands of screaming Sun Devil fans and receiving a framed No. 4 jersey, Arizona State senior Jeff Pendergraph put on a 27-point, 10-rebound spectacle to lead his team past the Golden Bears, 83-66. Arizona State finished with a third-place tie in the Pac-10, but Pendergraph finished his regular-season career with a standing ovation and high-fives from his peers. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50035&vendorId=200903070018&vendorVisitTeam=95&vendorHomeTeam=18&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=50035&vendorId=200903070018&vendorVisitTeam=95&vendorHomeTeam=18&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a></li> </ul> <ul type="disc"> <li>This is what every team works for: a chance to vie for the NCAA Championship. Aside from the aforementioned top teams, three others have inked their names among the 65 who will get that chance. With an 83-58 rout of Penn on Friday, Cornell celebrated its Ivy League title and automatic bid into the Tournament (the Ivy League doesn't have a conference tournament). <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/06/index.html?contestId=51005&vendorId=200903060131&vendorVisitTeam=460&vendorHomeTeam=131&pageType=recap">RECAP</a></li> </ul> Radford, with the help of 6-foot-11 Artsiom Parakouski's 26 points and 18 rebounds, defeated VMI 108-94 to win the Big South Conference championship -- the Highlanders' first in 11 years. Of course, the victory also gave Radford its second tournament bid. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55668&vendorId=200903070483&vendorVisitTeam=621&vendorHomeTeam=483&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55668&vendorId=200903070483&vendorVisitTeam=621&vendorHomeTeam=483&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a> East Tennessee State can celebrate its eighth overall NCAA Tournament bid. Behind Mike Smith's 22 points, the Buccaneers beat Jacksonville 85-68 to win the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55703&vendorId=200903070281&vendorVisitTeam=176&vendorHomeTeam=281&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55703&vendorId=200903070281&vendorVisitTeam=176&vendorHomeTeam=281&pageType=boxscore ">BOX SCORE</a> Morehead State defeated Austin Peay, 67-65, for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title, as Steve Peterson's only bucket of the game was the winning one. The victory gave Morehead State its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 25 years. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55704&vendorId=200903070032&vendorVisitTeam=375&vendorHomeTeam=32&pageType=recap">RECAP</a>  |  <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/viewcast/2009/03/07/index.html?contestId=55704&vendorId=200903070032&vendorVisitTeam=375&vendorHomeTeam=32&pageType=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a>  </div>     55581 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/976/28/thumb/nicki_jhabvala.jpg 5 NY

Nicki Jhabvala

New York 97928