Delaware St

Radford, Gardner-Webb the First Casualties: Monday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:21:08 -0500

#12 Georgetown had three players finish in double figures while also frustrating #19 Notre Dame on the other end of the floor in a 59-41 win at the Verizon Center.

1. Conference tournament play is underway with High Point and VMI moving on in the Big South.
The Big South got things going with the bottom four teams facing off for the right to take on top seeds UNC Asheville and Coastal Carolina on Wednesday. It was all chalk on Monday night but not without suspense as #7 VMI and #8 High Point both won at home to advance to the quarterfinals. Stan Okoye's steal with 19 seconds remaining led to the senior making a pair of free throws to push VMI's lead over #10 Radford to 54-51, and after Javonte Green missed the front end of a 1-and-1 the Keydets sealed the 55-53 win with a Ron Burks free throw. Okoye led the Keydets with 16 points and nine rebounds and Keith Gabriel added 11, but it's going to take a lot more to knock off two-seed Coastal Carolina on Wednesday afternoon. CCU swept the regular season series, winning 87-78 on December 1st and 81-64 on Saturday at VMI, limiting the Keydets to 26.5% shooting in the second half.

High Point took advantage of the foul line in their 68-58 win over Gardner-Webb, outscoring the Bulldogs 18-7 from the charity stripe with 15 of those points coming in the second half. Neither team shot well from the field in a game that featured 39 offensive and 82 total rebounds, and the Panthers were helped by 17 second-half bench points. Tashan Newsome paced GWU with 21 points but no other Bulldogs reached double figures, compared to Nick Barbour leading three Panthers in double figures with 22. Corey Law was huge off the bench for High Point as he finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. HPU gets the regular season champ UNC Asheville, who swept the season series (86-79 at HPU, 90-70 at UNCA), on Wednesday night.

2. Not sure which All-America team Tyshawn Taylor ends up on but the senior deserves a mention.
Remember when the Kansas point guard was struggling mightily with turnovers earlier this season? Well Taylor's play of late has the New Jersey native looking like an All-America candidate, and his 27 points were a big reason why Bill Self's Jayhawks left Oklahoma State with a 70-58 win. The result locked up the outright regular season crown for Kansas, who won despite nine points combined from Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson. Keiton Page did his best to deliver the win on Senior Night by scoring 29 points but outside of Brian Williams (20 points) the Cowboys didn't have enough firepower with Le'Bryan Nash injured. Taylor shot 10-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, in his third 20-plus point performance in the last five games. Over the last two games Taylor's shot 60.7% from the field, and while the point totals may not be as high in future games an efficient Taylor means a better Kansas.

3. Savannah State is now just one win away from completing a remarkable season in the MEAC.
With this being the first season for Savannah State as a member of the MEAC there wasn't much expected of Horace Broadnax's Tigers as they were picked to finish 11th. But thanks to a 62-50 win over North Carolina A&T the Tigers are now 13-2 in MEAC play and a win in their regular season finale away from winning the regular season crown. Savannah State took a 42-28 lead into the half thanks to their effort on the defensive end, limiting A&T to 34.5% shooting from the field and 7-for-19 from two. Deric Rudolph scored 15 points and Preston Blackmon added 14 to lead the way for the Tigers, who rode their defense in the second half to survive shooting 27.6% from the field. A win over UMES on Saturday would give Savannah State the most unlikely conference title in the nation this season, and while their goal isn't to go to the NIT this season a postseason berth for a program that was 0-28 seven years ago is a noteworthy achievement.

Quick Hitters

1. With Southern ineligible for the SWAC tournament it's become apparent that Texas Southern is the biggest threat to Mississippi Valley State grabbing the automatic bid. Omar Strong scored 17 points and Madarious Gibbs 14 to go along with five steals in the Tigers' 69-59 win over Alabama A&M to move to 11-5 in league play. How much of a threat Texas Southern (or anyone else for that matter) is remains to be seen however, as the Delta Devils have run through the SWAC (17-0 record).

2. #10 Baylor went on a 25-4 run to close the first half in their 77-48 pasting of an overmatched Texas Tech squad. The win was also the 95th for seniors Quincy Acy, Fred Ellis and Anthony Jones, and they're the winningest class in school history.

3. The most exciting team to watch in the upcoming MEAC tournament may in fact be Delaware State, who fell 73-72 to Morgan State on Monday night (to say the finish was controversial would be accurate). Over the last seven games for the Hornets four have been decided by three points or less and two others have gone to overtime.

4. One reserve to keep an eye on in the WCC tournament this weekend is Gonzaga's Gary Bell Jr. Of course the caliber of the opposition (Longwood) needs to be considered, but Bell Jr. scored 20 points in just 15 minutes of action in the Bulldogs' 92-60 win. If Gonzaga can get solid play from Bell Jr. in Las Vegas a tournament crown is definitely possible.

5. Eastern Illinois announced on Monday that it will not renew the contract of head coach Mike Miller after the season, marking the end of his tenure. Miller is 75-130 in seven seasons at the OVC school, and the Panthers finished the season with a 12-17 record (5-11 OVC).

6. Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun underwent a successful procedure in New York on Monday to treat the spinal stenosis that has kept him away from the team for the Huskies' last seven games. According to the Associated Press, Calhoun hopes to rejoin the team in time for their regular season finale against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

UConn Won But Don't Be Fooled: Monday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:59:28 -0500

We're going with a different setup for daily recaps in hopes of making the reading easier. One piece will focus on the game of the night (or day) and the top individual performances, and the other will touch on other key happenings and some quick hitters on other games.

1. Shabazz Napier's shot gives UConn a much-needed win, but calm down on the "turning point" talk.
The battle between the Huskies and Villanova was a matchup of teams trending in the wrong direction at this point in the season. Jay Wright's young Wildcats were without point guard Maalik Wayns as well as coming off of a tough overtime loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night, and UConn was looking to rebound from a 15-point loss to Marquette. Shabazz Napier called out his teammates following that loss, so it was fitting that the sophomore ended up being the difference in UConn's 73-70 win. Napier knocked down a 30-footer with two-tenths of a second remaining, and with #2 Syracuse next on the slate this was big win for the Huskies.

But to used the phrase "turning point" ignores both the fact that Villanova lacks any kind of depth and the Huskies' level of play throughout the night. There were still mental and physical errors being made, and Jeremy Lamb was UConn's lone player in double figures with 32 points. He's a likely lottery selection but to have that kind of split between Lamb and the rest of the team underlines the issues that UConn has had to deal with this season. The consistency hasn't been there, and coming out of the gates and trailing by as many as 18 points early showed a lack of urgency on their part. The talent is definitely there but the effort isn't always present, which is why UConn finds themselves in their current position. Does all of that automatically change because of one shot? No.

2. Mercer falls two games behind Belmont in the Atlantic Sun race due to a loss at North Florida.
Bob Hoffman's Bears had two games to win to remain a game behind Belmont in the standings leading into the regular season finale between the two teams on February 28th in Macon. But they were unable to accomplish that goal, falling at North Florida 75-66, and that combined with Belmont's 88-79 win over USC Upstate pushed the margin out to two games. The culprit for Mercer in losses to Jacksonville and North Florida: defense, as the Dolphins shot 50% from the field and UNF 45.7%.

The Bears had no answer for Parker Smith, who went off to the tune of 46 points (11-17 3PT) to lead the Ospreys. Langston Hall scored 17 points and dished out four assists to lead Mercer but their inablity to slow down Smith proved costly. The good news for Mercer is that they also host the A-Sun tournament and the worst they'll finish is third, but with their defensive effort not being up to par the last two games the Bears need to correct some things if they're to threaten the defending champs. This should be seen as a minor bump in the road however, as Mercer defended at a high level during their nine-game win streak before this weekend.

3. Paul Crosby's three gives Mississippi Valley State the SWAC regular season title.
Sean Woods' Delta Devils were in good shape to win the SWAC heading into Monday night's game against Texas Southern as they led the pack by four games with four to play. Mississippi Valley State clinched the outright title and moved to 15-0 in league play with a 56-53 win over the Tigers, as Paul Crosby knocked down a three-pointer with six seconds remaining to break a 53-all tie. In fact Crosby did the same in MVSU's win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday, which clinched a share of the SWAC title.

Terrence Joyner led the way for MVSU with 17 points and Crosby tallied a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds, as the Delta Devils won despite shooting 32% from the field and 9-for-31 from beyond the arc. Who has the ability to take out MVSU in the conference tournament? Texas Southern would be a clear choice with Southern ineligible for postseason play, and Prairie View A&M and Alabama State will also be heard from. But the Delta Devils are hot and have now won 15 straight, meaning that knocking them off will be an extremely difficult task for anyone in the SWAC.

Quick Hitters

1. Alabama head coach Anthony Grant made the move on Monday to keep suspended forward Tony Mitchell out of the lineup for the remainder of the season while reinstating JaMychal Green, which provides some needed closure to the situation. With Green back Alabama could lock down a tournament bid with good play down the stretch, but at the least Monday's decisions provide some closure for all involved.

2. The ACC reprimanded official Karl Hess for his actions in Saturday's game between Florida State and NC State in Raleigh. Once again the league noted that Hess' mistake was in using arena security instead of game management to remove Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from the arena and not whether or not the long-time official overreacted. Hess was in Queens officiating the DePaul/St/ John's game on Monday.

3. Keep an eye on Fairfield in the Metro Atlantic, and sure enough the Stags have a matchup with first-place Iona on Friday night. Derek Needham led three Stags in double figures with 16 points in Fairfield's 60-49 win at Marist, but the bigger story was the visitors' work on the defensive end. Marist shot 32.7% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times against Fairfield's tough defense, and the Stags have now won seven straight MAAC contests to move to within a game of Iona.

4. Tahj Tate and Marques Oliver scored 20 points apiece to lead Delaware State past Hampton in double overtime by the final score of 73-68. The win keeps the Hornets a game behind Savannah State, who whipped Bethune-Cookman 67-44, in the race for first place in the MEAC with three league games remaining.

5. The race for Big East Rookie of the Year should be fin to watch if only because there's the question of whether or not two St. John's players could cancel each other out in the voting. D'Angelo Harrison scored 23 points while also racking up five assists and five rebounds in the Red Storm's 79-72 win over DePaul, and Moe Harkless added another double-double with 14 and ten rebounds. Harkless would be the pick here, but you never know how the voting may break down.

Monday's Recap: Quincy Acy Leads Baylor Past Texas

Lobos Take Win and Driver's Seat: Wednesday's Recap

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:49:15 -0500

Wednesday night's game between New Mexico and San Diego State was a big one for the visitors, as Steve Alford's team didn't own a single win over a Top 25 team. But also on the line was sole possession of first place in the Mountain West after UNLV fell at TCU on Tuesday night.

And the team many expected to win the conference before the season began, New Mexico, took control of the wheel ahead of their matchup with the Runnin' Rebels with a 77-67 win at Viejas Arena. Kendall Williams posted his highest point total since January 7th against North Dakota, scoring a game-high 21 points, and Drew Gordon was a handful inside as he finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds.

"I think Kendall Williams was probably the most important guy, but Drew Gordon was very good with the way he played," remarked SDSU head coach Steve Fisher in his postgame radio interview. "They have guys that stepped up. Whether it was guys that started or coming off the bench, they made it difficult for us."

Speaking of those reserves, the New Mexico bench outscored San Diego State's reserves 33-12 with guard Jamal Fenton providing 15 of those points. The decision-making of both he and Hugh Greenwood was going to be an important aspect of the game to keep track of, and they were solid in combining for just two turnovers (both by Greenwood).

Fenton's scoring was also welcome due to the fact that leading scorer Tony Snell was held scoreless, as he missed all four of his shots from the field. But the Lobos were able to make up for that due to their reserves, which also included Chase Adams scoring eight points in seven minutes of action.

Jamaal Franklin led the Aztecs with 16 points and ten rebounds and Tim Shelton (13 points) and James Rahon (11) also reached double figures, but Chase Tapley couldn't get going as he shot 3-for-11 from the field. As a team SDSU made just three off their fourteen three-point attempts, and when compared to the Lobos' 10-for-19 night that's a tough mountain to climb.

Next up for New Mexico is a home game against UNLV on Saturday, and a win at The Pit would make all three teams 2-2 against each other. That would in turn place more emphasis on how each of the three does against the non-contenders, and New Mexico has yet to drop one of those games. To say the least Saturday offers UNM a golden opportunity to take full control of the Mountain West race.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Illinois drops a close one at home to Purdue, and it may be approacing "that time" in Champaign.
From the orange blazer donned by head coach Bruce Weber to the fact that Illinois had lost five of their last six games, Wednesday's game against Purdue dripped of desperation for the Fighting Illini. But that still wouldn't be enough for Illinois, who fell at home 67-62, dropping their sixth game out of the last seven. While the season still has games left to be played Illinois doesn't have the look of a team poised to turn things around, meaning that the chances of returning to the Big Dance are dwindling away. And in the postgame press conference the words coming from the head coach didn't sound like those of a man confident that his guys could turn things around.

"Instead of creating toughness and developing a team, I coached not to lose this year. That's really sad." To be fair Weber did also say that "it's never too late" to turn things around, and while that is the case one has to wonder if this group has the ability not just physically but mentally to do so. Illinois shot 3-for-21 from beyond the arc against Purdue, and while that didn't reach the depths of SMU's shooting (3-for-29 in a 28-point outing for their entire team) with a 7-footer like Meyers Leonard (4-7 FG, nine points, 12 rebounds) inside that's inexcusable. Until this group executes better offensively they'll continue to struggle, and the longer that happens the louder the "job security" talk gets.

2. Max Good's road warriors tighten up the WCC race with a win at #16 Saint Mary's.
Loyola Marymount may have some mystifying losses to their credit this season, there's little doubt that the Lions are the best road team in the WCC. LMU spoiled "Senior Night" for Saint Mary's as they beat the Gaels 75-60, moving to 7-1 in league road games this season. Drew Viney (17 points) and Anthony Ireland (16 points, seven assists) led the way and Jarred DuBois added 15 off the bench for LMU, who won despite allowing the Gaels to grab 16 offensive rebounds. Rob Jones led the way for SMC with 25 points and 15 rebounds but Matthew Dellavedova was quiet (ten points, six assists) and Stephen Holt was lost for the game early in the second half with a knee injury.

What this result does is drop Saint Mary's into a tie for first place with Gonzaga in the loss column, which more than opens up the possibility of the Bulldogs winning at least a share of their 12th consecutive WCC regular season title. And of course Mark Few's team is the only one to have beaten Loyola Marymount at home, as they beat the Lions 78-59 in Spokane last week. So even with the discussion of NCAA bids stopping at three (adding BYU into the discussion), LMU has the look of a team that can get hot in Las Vegas and leave with the automatic bid.

3. Miami lets a great opportunity slip away as North Carolina grabs 24 offensive rebounds in the win.
North Carolina shot just 5-for-18 from beyond the arc, and while Miami wasn't a great deal better at 8-for-23 the Hurricanes had every opportunity to take advantage of that lack of accuracy. But they couldn't, and UNC's work on the offensive glass was the big reason why. The Tar Heels grabbed 24 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 23 second chance points in their 73-64 victory. North Carolina was also a plus-10 in points from the foul line, as they shot 16-for-23 from the charity stripe (Miami: 6-for-9). Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds and John Henson added a double-double with 14 and 11 (with three blocks) to keep the Heels tied atop the ACC in the loss column (9-2; Duke and Florida State are both 8-2). Durand Scott led four Hurricanes in double figures with 15 points but they were unable to add another big win to their resume, and rebounding was the big reason why.

Quick Hitters

1. While beating Villanova isn't a "marquee" win by any stretch of the imagination, the fact that USF was able to take care of business is a good sign for the Bulls as they head into the stretch run. In the 65-51 win over the Wildcats, Victor Rudd Jr. scored 14 points and Anthony Collins added ten points and seven assists as USF moved to 9-4 in Big East play. The Bulls need to find a resume-building victory at some point, but to say the least this season is progress for a program that taken more than its fair share of lumps during their time in the conference.

2. In a stunning result in the MAAC, Marist beat Loyola (MD) 72-54 in Poughkeepsie as Adam Kemp finished two blocks short of a triple-double (17 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks) and three other starters scored in double figures. The Red Foxes' win also gives Iona, who won 75-62 at Rider, sole possession of first place with two games remaining on the league slate.

3. Warren Niles scored 24 points and Michael Craion 18 to help lead Oral Roberts past IPFW 75-71 in Fort Wayne, clinching the Summit League regular season crown for the Golden Eagles. ORU has won 17 of their last 18 games and will host Akron as part of the Sears BracketBusters event, and they're going to be a tough out in the conference tournament in a couple of weeks.

4. While New Mexico may have locked up a third bid for the Mountain West, thanks to both Wyoming and Colorado State that may be all the league gets come Selection Sunday. Michael Lyons knocked down six three-pointers and scored 24 points to lead Air Force past the Cowboys 58-53 in Laramie. And in Boise it was Derrick Marks who went the length of the court to score the game-winning bucket with under a second remaining to push Boise State past CSU 70-69. Given their tenuous statuses going into Wednesday, Wyoming and Colorado State may have seen their bubbles burst with these defeats.

5. Back in 2004-05 Savannah State went 0-28, and there were few who thought it possible that the Tigers would one day sit in first place in the MEAC. That day has come thanks to Delaware State's 73-63 overtime win at Norfolk State, with Tahj Tate's 25 points leading the victors. Brandon Wheeless scored 17 points to lead Norfolk State (10-3), who just like DSU (9-3) is a game behind Savannah State (9-2) in the loss column but the Tigers have two games in hand on the Spartans.

6. Neil Watson's game-tying three with less than a second remaining got Southern Miss to overtime in a key Conference USA battle with Tulsa, a game the Golden Eagles went on to win 77-69 to remain tied with Memphis atop the conference standings. Jonathan Mills scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed ten rebounds to lead Southern Miss, whose win also establishes two games of separation between themselves and Memphis and the rest of C-USA.

7. LaMarcus Reed III scored 18 points to help lead UT-Arlington back from a 15-point deficit in beating Stephen F. Austin 51-47 to remain undefeated in Southland play at 12-0. The Mavericks will take a 16-game win streak into Saturday's Sears BracketBusters matchup at Weber State, and with their three-game lead in the loss column UTA is well on their way to the Southland regular season crown.

8. Garrett Stutz knocked down all four of his three-point attempts and finished with 21 points and ten rebounds to lead #24 Wichita State past Missouri State 73-58 to clinch at least a share of the Missouri Valley crown. The Shockers have now won 13 of their last 14 games, and the defeat was of the triple-overtime variety at Drake. Gregg Marshall's team seems to be clicking just as the games become magnified in importance, which is a good thing.

9. Northwestern let a resume-building opportunity slip away as they fell 71-66 at #20 Indiana. While the win gives the Hoosiers their first 20-win season of the Tom Crean era, the visiting Wildcats dropped to 15-10 overall and 5-8 in Big Ten play. John Shurna led Northwestern with 29 points and Frew Crawford added 18, but no other Wildcat was able to reach double figures. Cody Zeller led three Indiana starters in double figures with 23 points and seven rebounds.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
33 points, six steals and five rebounds in the Pirates' 82-62 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

2. G Nate Wolters (South Dakota State)
30 points (14-18 FG), five assists and three steals in the Jackrabbits' 80-57 win over North Dakota State.

3. G Kendall Williams and F Drew Gordon (New Mexico)
Williams scored 21 points (7-10 FG) and grabbed four rebounds while Gordon finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds in the Lobos' 77-67 win at #15 San Diego State.

MEAC Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:54:32 -0500

Conference Rank: 30th

Conference Page

All-MEAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Tywain McKee	Coppin St	Sr
G	Reggie Holmes	Morgan St	Jr
G/F	Corey Lyons	Norfolk St	Sr
F	Marquise Kately	Morgan St	Sr
F	Jason Johnson	So. Carolina St	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
none		Points: Tywain McKee 16.6 Rebounds: Jason Johnson 7.5 Assists: Joe Ballard (FAMU) 3.8

MEAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

126	Morgan State*	MEAC	1	NCAA
167	Hampton	MEAC	2
197	Delaware State	MEAC	3
240	Norfolk State	MEAC	4
254	South Carolina St	MEAC	5
283	Florida A&M	MEAC	6
301	Coppin State**	MEAC	7
310	NC A&T	MEAC	8
317	Howard	MEAC	9
319	Bethune-Cookman	MEAC	10
339	UMES	MEAC	11

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MEAC?

Other MEAC Content

Conference Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: MEAC

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the MEAC?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:07:25 -0400

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the MEAC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:33:52 -0400

MEAC Preview

CHN — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 13:46:44 -0500

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

MEAC Preview

Conference Rank: 30th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware St, G/F

Twain McKee, Coppin St, G

Brian Mason, South Carolina St, G/F

Rome Sanders, FAMU, F

Jason Wills, NC A&T, F

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
140	Coppin State	1	NCAA
178	Delaware State	2
213	Norfolk State	3
222	NC A&T	4
237	Florida A&M	5
256	Hampton	6
275	South Carolina St	7
298	Howard	8
316	Morgan State	9
329	Bethune-Cookman	10
334	UMES	11