Big men take center stage at Final Four
March 29, 2007
UCLA boasts two of the best big men in the history of college basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Georgetown has three of its own to brag about: Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.
Any of them would fit right in at this year's Final Four.
With Ohio State's Greg Oden, Georgetown's Roy Hibbert and Florida's Joakim Noah and Al Horford convening in Atlanta this weekend, college basketball's signature event has become a showcase for the country's best big men.
It could result in more post action at the Final Four than anyone has seen since Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon shared the stage in 1984.
"I think it's going to get the game back to where it used to be in having that low-post threat," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Wednesday. "The size of the guys (in this Final Four) is truly amazing."
The Bruins - with 6-foot-8 forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute the team's top post player - are considerably undersized compared to Oden, Hibbert, Noah and Horford.
"We are by far the smallest team in this Final Four," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "But I think it's great to see the big man in college basketball."
He'll see two Saturday night.
Noah and Horford have given the Gators (33-5) a significant size advantage the last two seasons. They helped the defending national champions win 16 consecutive postseason games and advance to Final Four, where they will face UCLA (30-5) in a rematch of last year's title game.
The Florida duo came up huge in the first meeting, finishing with a combined 30 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks.
"Our whole team had a problem with Florida," Howland said. "They thoroughly dominated us. I don't think there's any secret about that."
Noah, a 6-11 forward and the son of tennis star Yannick Noah, was the catalyst for the team's title run in 2006, blocking a tournament-record 29 shots.
He probably could have been the No. 1 pick in last year's NBA draft, but decided to return in hopes Florida would become the first team since Duke in 1992 to repeat as national champions.
Horford came back, too. The 6-10 center and son of former NBA player Tito Horford has improved his game significantly, developing post moves and an outside jumper - making himself Florida's No. 1 player to try to defend.
Ohio State's top threat also happens to be a center.
Oden, a 7-foot freshman sensation, propelled the Buckeyes (34-3) into Saturday's semifinal match against Georgetown (30-6).
He blocked the final shot against Tennessee in the regional semifinals to secure a one-point victory, then had 17 points and nine rebounds in only 24 minutes against Memphis to lift Ohio State to a spot in the Final Four.
Oden might have turned pro out of high school, but ended up at Ohio State because of a new NBA rule requiring players to be at least one year removed from high school before they enter the draft.
Oden has proven he's ready for the next level and even said last week that "everything is easy about college." He's averaging 15.4 points and 9.5 rebounds, shooting 61 percent from the field and has 100 blocked shots.
Not bad for someone who missed the first seven games while recovering from wrist surgery, then had to wear a brace on his right wrist and shoot free throws left-handed.
"The thing I enjoy about him is he gets better every day," Matta said. "The seven months that his hand was immobilized obviously set him back. When he came back, the hand didn't work. We disguised it; we didn't tell anybody that his right hand couldn't move. But I think that he's really made a lot of progress. It just keeps getting a little bit stronger every day."
Hibbert could provide a strong challenge for Oden.
The 7-2 junior has played well in the tournament, averaging 13 points and 11.5 rebounds. He also has 11 blocked shots, nine assists and just four turnovers.
"I think we'll see Saturday how they match up," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "I think they're both very good players and something that people are talking about because it's not too often you have two low-post centers going against each other, particularly this late in the tournament."
It's even more rare to have four post players in the same Final Four.
"A lot of times kids are going right to the pros and not sticking around," Thompson said. "A lot of times it's because of influences of so many quality payers in the NBA, a lot of big guys now are shying away from the post.
"But we have guys here that like the fact that they're low-post players."
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Fresno State's Schroyer takes reins of Cowboys
RICHMOND, Va. -- Brad Greenberg, the associate head coach on brother Seth Greenberg's staff at Virginia Tech, was introduced as the men's basketball coach at nearby Radford University on Friday.
The job will be the first as a head coach for Greenberg, 53, but his history in basketball includes several stops as an assistant coach and several in NBA management.
He was the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996 when they selected Allen Iverson with the first overall pick in the draft. He was the director of player personnel and then vice president of player personnel for eight years with the Portland Trail Blazers when they twice reached the NBA finals.
Greenberg also was as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.
He was director of basketball operations for his brother at South Florida before both came to Virginia Tech in 2003.
"Brad's knowledge of the game and his unique experience, both as a coach and in athletic administration management, give him the full complement of skills needed to take RU basketball to a championship level of competition," university president Penelope Kyle said in a statement.
Radford, which competes in the Big South Conference, was 8-22 this past season.
"Radford University basketball has tremendous potential to win championships, gain prominence in the Big South Conference, and compete in postseason tournaments," Greenberg said in a statement released by the university.
Radford's campus is about 20 miles from Virginia's Tech's campus.
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Betting on March Madness
1:29 PM Mar 15, 2007
Reporter: Meredith Stancik
Email Address: stancik@kbtx.com
The NCAA tournament is underway. The games and gambling started Thursday. The FBI estimates basketball fans will wager more than $2.5 billion in illegal bets and the NCAA predicts more then 10 percent will participate in office pools.
But whether or not money is involved, it's the excitement of picking the right team that has fans participating.
"We immediately got on the ball with getting the brackets going," Donnie Roberts, the general manager at Ozona Grill and Bar said.
Roberts said the Big Dance could not have come sooner at the College Station restaurant.
For three years Ozona has offered a bracket challenge for its employees and regulars.
"Everybody kind of pitches in and does their own deal and chooses their teams so it's fun," Roberts said.
And Ozona isn't the only establishment following the games. NCAA tournament brackets have become a big deal.
"If you pick the right team it means sometimes you can win a little bit of money," Todd Williams, a College Station resident said. "It gets a little exciting if you can pick an upset."
And a lot of game following is done at work. There's an estimated 23 million working college basketball fans with internet access.
CBS SportsLine.com is even offering the games online. The website has a way for employees to avoid getting fired with a "boss button". Click on it, and a mock spreadsheet pops up to make the boss think you're actually working.
News Three is offering sports fans the Nothing But Net Bracket Challenge at KBTX.com where you can test your picks against others.
It's free to play and you can win prizes.
A workplace consulting firm estimates March Madness will cost companies at least $1 billion in lost productivity. And six percent of companies will actually block tournament websites at work. But at Ozona it's all about the games.
"It keeps you tuned into all the games," Roberts said. "You want to watch every single game no matter who the team is because of whoever you've picked to win."
No money is involved in the Ozona bracket challenge, just bragging rights for whoever comes out on top.
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Orange crush: Syracuse not selected for NCAA tournament
March 11, 2007
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -It's been four years since Jim Boeheim led Syracuse to its lone national championship. On Sunday night, it seemed like a lifetime ago for the Hall of Fame head coach.
The Orange were not selected to play in the NCAA tournament - and Boeheim was stunned.
And so was his athletic director.
"To say that I'm shocked would be an understatement. I was waiting for another bracket to come up," said Syracuse AD Daryl Gross, who planned to begin making calls to find out why Syracuse was bypassed. "I think it's the shock of the country."
It was the first time Syracuse (22-10) failed to make the NCAA tournament since the 2001-02 team finished 23-13 overall and 9-7 in the Big East. And it's only the sixth time in Boeheim's 31-year career at his alma mater that his team wasn't selected.
"I have no way of understanding why we're not in the tournament. You look at the numbers and it's hard to believe. But it's done. There's no use in talking about it," Boeheim said calmly after addressing the team. "Their opinion is that those teams are better than us. I'm very disappointed. It doesn't do any good to get angry."
Despite exuding confidence after Syracuse snapped No. 9 Georgetown's 11-game winning streak two weeks ago and finished the regular season winning five of its final six games, Boeheim said he was nervous when the selection show began. The 16-team Big East landed only six squads in the tournament after getting eight in a year ago.
"I'm always worried," Boeheim said. "I was worried all weekend. It's happened to us before. The players and coaches are tremendously disappointed. We were 7-3 in our last 10 games. We felt that would be enough.
"I would imagine we're one of the few, if not the only team ever in a BCS conference with a 10-win season that did not get in the NCAA tournament. I don't know what the thought process is. What's done is done. There's not much I can do about it."
After struggling through a midseason slump, Syracuse played its best basketball of the season in February, going 6-1, and also has a 5-5 record against the field of 65 teams selected to play in the NCAA tournament.
The wins: 72-58 over Big East champion Georgetown; 75-64 over Villanova; 70-58 at No. 18 Marquette; 72-64 over Holy Cross; and 78-60 over Penn. The losses: 74-66 to No. 13 Pittsburgh; 76-71 at No. 12 Louisville after blowing a 14-point second-half lead; 78-75 at Villanova; and twice to No. 20 Notre Dame, 103-91 at home and 89-83 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.
Good numbers. Not good enough this time.
"To say that I'm shocked would be an understatement. I was waiting for another bracket to come up," said Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross, who planned to begin making calls to find out why Syracuse was bypassed. "I think it's the shock of the country."
That certainly seemed to be the overwhelming sentiment.
"I'm amazed Syracuse didn't get in," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said without being asked after his Spartans were selected as the ninth seed in the East Region with a first-round matchup against eighth-seeded Marquette.
Syracuse finished the season tied with Marquette for fifth in the Big East at 10-6 and beat Connecticut in the first round of the Big East tournament before falling to the Irish.
"We had four league road wins and beat the best team in the conference by 14 points late in the year," Boeheim said. "You look at our overall season, and it was better than some in the tournament."
Boeheim has long been criticized for the Orange's non-conference schedule, which this season also included wins over Colgate, St. Bonaventure, Baylor, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Canisius, Northeastern, UTEP, and St. Francis of New York. Syracuse did schedule difficult opponents in December in Drexel and Wichita State, and the Orange lost both games at home.
"I don't think that has anything to do with it. We've been doing that for 31 years," Boeheim said of the non-conference schedule. "Obviously, the committee thinks that Arkansas, lllinois and Texas Tech are better than us. If 10-6 in the Big East isn't good enough to get in, then I don't think we should be in the Big East."
Now, the Orange, who suffered first-round losses in their previous two NCAA tournament appearances, have to get ready to play South Alabama (20-11) in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night in the NIT. It won't be an easy adjustment.
"It will be very difficult for them to get geared up," Boeheim said. "The players are disappointed."
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Sacred Heart 87, Quinnipiac 84
Feb. 26, 2007
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) -Drew Shubik scored 22 points as Sacred Heart defeated Quinnipiac University, 87-84, Monday to secure the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Conference tournament.
The victory also assured Sacred Heart (16-13, 12-6) of its first winning season since moving to Division I in 1999-2000.
Adam Gonzalez led Quinnipiac (13-14, 11-7) with a career-high 37 points.
With Sacred Heart ahead 72-70, Shubik hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pioneers a 78-70 lead with 2:31 remaining. The Pioneers then connected on 7-of-10 free throws in the final 1:17 to fend off a late surge by the Bobcats.
Jarrid Frye added 19 points for Sacred Heart while Chauncey Hardy had 16.
DeMario Anderson finished with 18 points for Quinnipiac, which heads into this week's conference tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Sacred Heart will play Wagner in Thursday's first round of the conference tournament. The Bobcats are the No. 3 seed and play host to Fairleigh Dickinson.
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