Sunday Hoopla

[billiam2005]

I don't even wanna talk about yesterday, except the late games killed me, and that fade until this passes.

Today...

Pittsburgh -4 (What were the lines makers thinking?!?! PITT BIG!)
Georgia -2.5
S. Illinois -3.5
San Francisco +8

Good luck today

 

[billiam2005]

(7) Pittsburgh (22-4) at Villanova (15-13)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, March 9th, 12:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: First Union Center (21,000) -- Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Television: CBS. Home Record: Pittsburgh 16-0, Villanova 9-3.
Away Record: Pittsburgh 6-4, Villanova 3-8. Neutral Record: Pittsburgh 0-0,
Villanova 3-2. Conference Record: Pittsburgh 12-3, Villanova 8-7. Series
Record: Villanova leads, 27-22.

GAME NOTES: As a result of telephone access code violations, the Villanova
Wildcats will play without several suspended players in this afternoon's Big
East regular season finale against the seventh-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. A
total of 12 players will miss between three and eight games apiece depending
on the monetary value of their actions, and the penalties will be staggered
over a series of games so that the institution may field a team for its
upcoming tilts. These sanctions could not have come at a worse time for the
Wildcats, as they have suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 8-7 in
league. They were last in action on Tuesday against Boston College, and that
tilt resulted in a disappointing 92-84 setback. As for Pittsburgh, it clinched
a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament and closed out a perfect home
season with an 86-54 romp over Seton Hall on Wednesday. The victory was the
fifth straight for the Panthers, who own a 6-4 record in their 10 road tilts
this season. They are now 25-6 in conference play over the last two seasons,
marking the winningest two-year league period in school history. Although
Villanova owns a 27-22 lead in the all-time series between these two teams,
Pittsburgh recorded a 71-59 victory in the most recent meeting last season.

Among the seven players serving suspensions today for Villanova are Ricky
Wright, Gary Buchanan and Jason Fraser. To say that those three will be missed
would be a major understatement, as they average 35 points and over 17
rebounds an outing collectively. Buchanan is the team's top offensive weapon,
as he is netting 15.4 ppg on 40.9 percent shooting from three-point range. As
for Wright, a 52 percent shooter from the floor, he is averaging 12.5 ppg and
a team-high 7.8 rpg. Fraser adds some toughness to the lineup, and he is
contributing 7.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Expect Allan Ray and Randy Foye to take the
majority of the shots for the Wildcats today, as both are averaging 10 ppg.
In the recent loss to Boston College, Foye finished with only six points on
dismal 3-of-14 shooting performance from the field. As for Ray, he tallied 11
points off the bench. Wright led the way in defeat with a season-high 24
points on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with eight boards. Buchanan added 18
points to the Villanova cause.

Pittsburgh has relied on tremendous balance at the offensive end and stingy
team defense all season, and both facets were in full effect in the whipping
of Seton Hall last time out. Julius Page scored 16 points and Ontario Lett
added 15 to lead the way for the Panthers, who shot a scorching 60.7 percent
from the floor as a team. Carl Krauser chipped in 13 points and Jaron Brown
and Donatas Zavackas finished with 11 points apiece. As for Brandin Knight, he
finished with eight points and 10 assists. Knight entered the season as a
member of everyone's All-America lists, and while he is scoring just 10.6 ppg
on 35.1 percent shooting from the field, he has racked up 166 assists compared
to 83 turnovers. Knight has also posted a team-high 50 steals as the team's
floor general. Page is the squad's top scorer at 12.1 ppg, and Chevon Troutman
is netting 11.4 ppg on a staggering 72.8 percent accuracy from the floor. Lett
(10.4 ppg), Zavackas (10.2 ppg) and Brown (10 ppg) round out the six double-
digit scorers for Pittsburgh.

Beating Pittsburgh in this game would have been hard enough for Villanova with
a full roster, but the suspensions have left the Wildcats with little chance
of recording an upset this afternoon. Expect the Panthers to win this contest
by double digits.

 

[billiam2005]

(25) Georgia (18-8) at South Carolina (12-14)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, March 9th, 12:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Carolina Center (17,600) -- Columbia, South Carolina.
Television: CBS. Home Record: Georgia 12-1, S. Carolina 11-3. Away Record:
Georgia 4-6, S. Carolina 1-11. Neutral Record: Georgia 2-1, S. Carolina 0-0.
Conference Record: Georgia 10-5, S. Carolina 5-10. Series Record: Georgia
leads, 40-39.

GAME NOTES: The 25th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, who are playing outstanding ball
despite the allegations of NCAA infractions, close out their regular season
against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road today. Jim Harrick has
managed to keep his team focused amid swirling controversy, as Georgia has won
five of its last six games to improve to 10-5 in SEC action, the third-best
record in the 12-team league. The Bulldogs were last in action on Tuesday
against the formidable Florida Gators, and the result of that contest was an
impressive 82-81 victory. While they own a solid 18-8 overall record, only
four of their 10 road games have ended in victory this season. Georgia has
clinched the third seed in the Eastern Division for the upcoming SEC
Tournament, and it will take on the West's sixth seed on Thursday in New
Orleans. As for South Carolina, it will be the fifth seed out of the East
Division in the tournament. Although the squad's 12-14 overall record is not
impressive, the fact that it has won 11 of 14 home games is enough to worry
opponents. The Gamecocks have currently lost three of their last four games
overall, including an embarrassing 82-59 setback at Alabama on Wednesday. A
win today by South Carolina would tie the all-time series with Georgia at 40
wins apiece. Less than three weeks ago, the Bulldogs posted a 79-66 victory
over the Gamecocks in Athens.

Georgia showed a great deal of toughness in the one-point victory over Florida
earlier this week. The Bulldogs shot an impressive 51.5 percent from the floor
in the contest and finished with 25 assists against only seven turnovers. They
established outstanding balance at the offensive end, as several players put
forth tremendous efforts. Jarvis Hayes was solid as usual, as he finished with
21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Ezra Williams tallied 20 points,
Steve Thomas added 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and Rashad Wright posted 10
points and eight assists. Hayes is averaging a team-high 18.2 ppg this season
on the strength of 50.6 percent shooting from the floor, 43.5 percent from
three-point range, and 79 percent from the foul line. As for Williams, he is
netting 17.1 ppg on 42.2 percent accuracy from behind the arc. Thomas is a
strong presence on the interior, as he is contributing 10 ppg and 7.1 rpg. One
note of interest heading into today's game is that Wright needs just one
assist to become only the fourth player in program history to dish out 400 in
a career.

South Carolina trailed Alabama by only three points at intermission earlier
this week, but a poor effort in the second half resulted in the 23-point
margin of defeat. The Gamecocks shot only 39 percent from the floor on the
night and allowed the Crimson Tide to make good on 50 percent of its field
goal attempts. South Carolina also suffered a 45-26 rebounding disadvantage,
including a 13-5 deficit on the offensive glass. Tony Kitchings paced the team
in defeat with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Carlos Powell
tallied 12 points in the contest, but he needed 13 shots to reach that mark.
Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Gamecocks was Kerbrell Brown
with 11 points. Powell is currently the club's leading scorer with 13 ppg, and
Chuck Eidson is contributing 11.4 ppg to go along with 113 assists and 57
steals. Rolando Howell, who is netting 10.1 ppg, leads the team on the boards
with 6.0 rpg.

A victory today would give Georgia a 6-2 mark in the second half of its SEC
schedule, best for the program since the Tubby Smith-led Bulldogs went 7-1
back in 1996. Expect Hayes and Williams to lead the squad to a satisfying road
victory

 

[billiam2005]

San Francisco (15-13) vs. San Diego (16-11)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, March 9th, 9:30 p.m. (et).


FACTS & STATS: Site: Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,000) -- San Diego, California.
Television: None. Home Record: San Francisco 9-5, San Diego 7-5. Away Record:
San Francisco 5-8, San Diego 8-6. Neutral Record: San Francisco 1-0, San Diego
1-0. Conference Record: San Francisco 9-5, San Diego 10-4. Series Record: San
Diego leads, 25-23.

GAME NOTES: The third-seeded San Francisco Dons and the second-seeded San
Diego Toreros are set to square off in the semifinal round of the West Coast
Conference Tournament. The winner of this game will take on either St. Mary's
or Gonzaga in Monday's championship, with a trip to the NCAA Tournament riding
on the line. San Francisco earned the third seed and a first round bye thanks
to a 9-5 record against West Coast Conference competition during the regular
season. Last night, the Dons posted a convincing 70-56 decision over Loyola
Marymount in a quarterfinal matchup. They have now won eight of their last 10
outings overall and hope to improve on the program's 10-15 record in WCC
Tournament games. As for San Diego, it is considered by many to be the
league's surprise team this season. A 10-4 record against conference
opposition earned the Toreros the second seed and a bye to the semifinal
round, as they had a four-game winning streak snapped by Gonzaga in the finale
on March 1st. San Diego beat San Francisco twice during the regular season to
take a 25-23 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.

San Francisco's Darrell Tucker proved to be one of the WCC's top performers
during the regular season, and he was sensational in the victory over Loyola
Marymount last night. Tucker finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in that
contest, as he shot 9-of-16 from the floor in 37 minutes of action. Shamell
Stallworth added 11 points for the Dons, while John Cox and Jovan Harris
tallied 10 points apiece in the win. As a team, San Francisco made good on
50.9 percent of its field goal attempts and limited Loyola Marymount to 42.9
percent shooting. The Dons also forced 16 turnovers in the tilt and held a
narrow 33-29 advantage on the boards. Tucker averaged 22.1 ppg on 54.7 percent
shooting from the floor and pulled down 7.9 rpg in the nine league games he
played during the regular season. Cox averaged 18.9 ppg against conference
opposition on 47.8 percent accuracy from three-point range.

It is tough to find a better duo in the WCC than Jason Keep and Jason Blair,
as they have carried the Toreros from mediocrity to second place in the
league. Keep averaged a team-high 18.2 ppg during the regular season on the
strength of 62.2 percent shooting from the floor, and his 9.0 rpg paced the
squad as well. There are a few aspects of Keep's game that could use
improvement, however, as he shot only 56.5 percent from the foul line and
turned the ball over 96 times in 27 games. As for Blair, he adds 17.2 ppg to
the lineup on 52.4 percent shooting from the field, including 41.1 percent
from three-point range. Blair is also shooting 84.6 percent from the charity
stripe and pulling down 7.4 rpg. Roy Morris has started every game for San
Diego and is netting 12.4 ppg. The Toreros shot 49.1 percent from the floor
against WCC opponents during the regular season, including a solid 42.1
percent effort from long range.

The fact that this tournament is being held at San Diego's home area is
significant, as the Toreros will get plenty of support in their quest to claim
the league's automatic bid to the Big Dance. They beat San Francisco twice
during the regular season, and a narrow win tonight is likely.

 

[billiam2005]

Southwest Missouri State (17-11) vs. Southern Illinois (23-5)


DATE & TIME: Sunday, March 9th, 3:35 p.m. (et).


FACTS & STATS: Site: Savvis Center (20,000) -- St. Louis, Missouri.
Television: Fox Sports Net. Home Record: SMS 9-6, S. Illinois 14-0. Away
Record: SMS 7-5, S. Illinois 8-5. Neutral Record: SMS 1-0, S. Illinois 1-0.
Conference Record: SMS 12-6, S. Illinois 16-2. Series Record: Southern
Illinois leads, 27-21.

GAME NOTES: The Southern Illinois Salukis seek their second straight
appearance in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game, as they take
on the Southwest Missouri State Bears in the semifinals from the Savvis Center
in St. Louis today. The fourth-seeded Bears cruised past the fifth-seeded
Evansville Purple Aces, 65-51 in quarterfinal-round action on Saturday. It was
the second straight win for the SMS, which improved to 17-11 on the season. As
for Southern Illinois, it finished the season with a conference record of
16-2, landing it the top seed in the tourney. The Salukis received a bye in
the first round, and disposed of the ninth-seed Illinois State Redbirds,
75-63 in Saturday's quarterfinal contest. It was the sixth straight victory
for the team, and the 11th in the last 12 games overall for the Salukis, who
improved to 23-5 overall. SIU owns a 27-21 all-time series advantage over SMS,
including sweeping of the two regular season meetings this year. The winner of
this game will play for the tournament championship on Monday against the
victor of tonight's Creighton/Wichita State matchup.

Terrance McGee poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the SMS Bears to a
65-51 victory over Evansville. McGee finished the game 6-of-11 from the field
with six assists, while Shelton Colwell added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Neither squad shot particularly well in the game, with the Bears knocking down
only 39.2 percent of its total shots and the Aces an even worse 36.6 percent.
SMS had a solid shooting night from the free-throw line, however, converting
20-of-25, while Evansville completed just 17-of-28. The Purple Aces held a
34-20 rebounding advantage, but committed 20 costly turnovers. McGee led SMS
during the regular season with an average of 14.4 ppg in addition to dishing
out 4.1 apg. Merrill Andrews added 10.5 ppg and is the only other player to
post double-digit points for SMS this season. Despite only having two double-
figure scorers during the regular season, the Bears were able to produce 67.1
ppg on 44.1 percent from the field.

During the regular season, Southern Illinois was led by four double-digit
scorers, all of whom contributed in a big way to the squad's average of 75.6
ppg on 47.8 percent shooting from the field. Kent Williams leads the team with
15.7 ppg on an impressive 48.5 percent effort from behind the arc. Jermaine
Dearman adds 14.1 on 53.8 percent shooting from the field with a team-leading
6.2 rpg. Darren Brooks turns in 12.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg, while Stetson Hairston
chips in 11.3 ppg. In the team's last contest, Dearman registered a double-
double with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead SIU to a 75-63
victory over Illinois State. Dearman knocked in 11-of-17 from the field, while
Williams tallied 12 points. Brooks added 10 points and five assists to go
along with Josh Warren's 10points in the winning effort. The Salukis shot a
solid 50.0 percent from the field in the game and forced the Redbirds into 15
turnovers. Illinois State knocked in 44.7 percent of its field goal attempts
and remained close by connecting on a scorching 61.5 percent from long range.
The Salukis pulled away behind a solid 17-of-20 effort from the charity
stripe, while the Redbirds hit on only 12-of-28 from the line.

SMS has been a solid club all season and is determined to pick up its first
MVC Tournament title since 1992. Southern Illinois tore through the conference
during the regular season, which included two wins against the Bears. SMS has
played well on defense and that will be the difference in its upset of the
top-seeded Salukis today.

 

[loophole]

can't imagine that any place is going to take pitt action at that number with nova fielding a seven man team.

 

[billiam2005]

Got it at Pinnacle, -4, now up to -5.

 

[loophole]

i stand corrected then. that number seems so off the wall as to give me pause. does anyone have info as to which players are going to be suspended today?

 

[billiam2005]

GAME NOTES: As a result of telephone access code violations, the Villanova Wildcats will play without several suspended players in this afternoon's Big East regular season finale against the seventh-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. A total of 12 players will miss between three and eight games apiece depending on the monetary value of their actions, and the penalties will be staggered over a series of games so that the institution may field a team for its upcoming tilts. These sanctions could not have come at a worse time for the Wildcats, as they have suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 8-7 in league. They were last in action on Tuesday against Boston College, and that tilt resulted in a disappointing 92-84 setback. As for Pittsburgh, it clinched a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament and closed out a perfect home season with an 86-54 romp over Seton Hall on Wednesday. The victory was the fifth straight for the Panthers, who own a 6-4 record in their 10 road tiltsthis season. They are now 25-6 in conference play over the last two seasons,
marking the winningest two-year league period in school history. Although Villanova owns a 27-22 lead in the all-time series between these two teams, Pittsburgh recorded a 71-59 victory in the most recent meeting last season.

Among the seven players serving suspensions today for Villanova are Ricky.Wright, Gary Buchanan and Jason Fraser. To say that those three will be missedwould be a major understatement, as they average 35 points and over 17 rebounds an outing collectively. Buchanan is the team's top offensive weapon, as he is netting 15.4 ppg on 40.9 percent shooting from three-point range. As for Wright, a 52 percent shooter from the floor, he is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-high 7.8 rpg. Fraser adds some toughness to the lineup, and he is contributing 7.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Expect Allan Ray and Randy Foye to take the majority of the shots for the Wildcats today, as both are averaging 10 ppg. In the recent loss to Boston College, Foye finished with only six points on dismal 3-of-14 shooting performance from the field. As for Ray, he tallied 11 points off the bench. Wright led the way in defeat with a season-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with eight boards. Buchanan added 18 points to the Villanova cause.

 

[loophole]

here's waht i found in the philly paper. can't see how nova can compete without buchanan and wright.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Because Villanova has at least two games remaining - today against No. 7 Pittsburgh at the First Union Center, and Wednesday in the first round of the Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden - it has been granted permission by the NCAA to suit up five of the suspended players.

Seven players will be available for today's game, including two who were not suspended, walk-ons Tom Grace and Mike Claxton. Another player cleared of any wrongdoing, freshman Baker Dunleavy, is a redshirt and will not play.

Besides Buchanan and Wright, those sitting out today and Wednesday are seniors Andrew Sullivan and Lou Ruskey, junior Andreas Bloch, and freshman Jason Fraser, who has been out with an injury. Chris Charles, a sophomore who is redshirting, also will serve a suspension.

Freshmen Allan Ray, Randy Foye and Curtis Sumpter, sophomore Marcus Austin, and junior Derrick Snowden also will serve suspensions but will play in the next two games.

 

[billiam2005]

That's I just can't believe that they are making this line so low, even though it is an away game for Pittsburgh. Pitt can't just take it easy on this game, because there is a chance that Rutgers will pull off an upset over Syracuse. And if that happens, with a Pitt win, they will win the Big East West. If Syracuse and Pitt both win, Syracuse will win the tiebreaker.

 

[loophole]

just popped up at oly @ pitt -6.

 

[billiam2005]

I am thinking it will be pretty close to -10 by game time. Which is still considerably under these circumstances.

 

[PDiddy]

just popped up at oly @ pitt -6.

Well 5 minutes later its -9.5

 

[loophole]

yep, now -9 at oly. i did mangae to get in at -6. g/l with the game.

 

[billiam2005]

I can't believe how ridiculous these lines are, opening was at -4 at Pinnacle. Its not like they didn't know what was going on with Villanova. But hey what do I know. lol Not gonna complain, cuz we r all getting an easy win.

Best of luck today fellas

 

[billiam2005]

Adding...

NC Wilmington -9