Willis, Mason-Griffin won't return to Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma guards Tommy Mason-Griffin and Ray Willis won't return for the Sooners next season.
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel announced the players' departures on Wednesday, two weeks after the Sooners ended a 13-18 season, their first losing campaign since 1980-81.
Capel says Mason-Griffin plans to pursue a pro career. The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 14.1 points and five assists per game this season as a freshman.
Willis, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, plans to transfer. He played in 13 games this season, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. As a freshman, he played in 16 games and averaged 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds.
Capel says sophomore guard Willie Warren, who was the Sooners' leading scorer this past season, has not decided whether he will enter the NBA draft or return to Oklahoma.
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.
Kentucky freshmen appear ready for NCAA run
Kentucky senior Perry Stevenson isn't worried about the Wildcats' youthful roster turning into a liability during the NCAA tournament.
Perry, one of three seniors on the roster who get limited playing time, says the talent of Kentucky's fabulous freshmen will more than make up for their inexperience. The top-seeded Wildcats play East Tennessee State on Thursday night in New Orleans.
"The seniors on this team are just lucky to have guys that we're surrounded by now," Stevenson said. "They just have high basketball IQs and unbelievable athletic ability. They just know what to do."
Stevenson's perspective may be more than just chatter from a supportive teammate.
Especially if the way point guard John Wall and forward DeMarcus Cousins helped save Kentucky during the Southeastern Conference tournament is any indication of how the freshmen will perform during the NCAAs.
Wall scored seven of his 17 points in overtime as Kentucky (32-2) rallied from five down with 2:28 left in regulation to beat Mississippi State 75-74 in Sunday's SEC championship. Cousins hit a layup off Wall's missed 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
There's no disputing their youth, though.
"This team, they don't shave yet," Kentucky coach John Calipari quipped.
Calipari sent forward Daniel Orton to the locker room briefly during the Wildcats' SEC semifinals against Tennessee on Saturday after the freshman argued with an assistant coach about his play on the floor.
Orton got the message, admitting he got "caught up in the moment" of an emotional game, and returned to the floor a few moments later.
Calipari compares his freshmen - Wall, Cousins, Orton and guards Eric Bledsoe and John Hood - to Michigan's Fab 5. They made it to the NCAA national championship game in 1992 as freshmen and again in 1993 as sophomores, though they lost both games.
The Fab 5 were a bit younger when they played in their first NCAA tournament game in 1992 - the Michigan freshmen averaged 18 years, 311 days in age while the Kentucky freshmen average 19 years, 277 days old, according to STATS, LLC.
Their age shouldn't matter anyway, said Florida coach Billy Donovan, who won an NCAA title in 2006 with only four upperclassmen.
"I don't think experience has anything to do with it," Donovan said. "These kids like at Kentucky, the season they've had, it's for a reason. They've won some games where they had to come from behind, and they've played in every possible situation."
Calipari has had his own success with youth. As Memphis' coach in 2008, Calipari reached the national title game with a Tigers team led by freshman Derrick Rose.
Hearing about that kind of experience from Calipari and his assistants has added to the preparation the UK freshmen have already received on the floor this season, Wall said.
"I think he's done a great job," Wall said. "Not just him, but the coaching staff ... they've done a great job of helping us out and assisting us and telling us the things that they've learned from when they were playing.
"I feel like I'm prepared."
However, there are times Calipari admits that he isn't sure he is prepared.
The coach says this is uncharted territory even for him. His 2007-08 squad relied on several upperclassmen to balance Rose's youth.
I don't know what to expect at times," Calipari said. "I'm walking along trying to figure out, 'What do I do?' But I'll say this: They want to win. They have a will to win. They refuse to lose."
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press.
Willis leads UNLV over No. 12 BYU, 88-74
LAS VEGAS---UNLV couldn't have hoped for a better start against No. 12 BYU on Saturday and it was their go-to guy, Tre'Von Willis, who led the way.
The junior guard had a career-high 33 points to lead UNLV to an 88-74 victory that pulled the Runnin' Rebels into a first-place tie with the Cougars in the Mountain West Conference.
Willis, who finished with eight assists and five rebounds for the Rebels (19-4, 7-2), scored 21 points in the first half as UNLV jumped to leads of 15-2 and 47-18 in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 18,557 at the Thomas & Mack Arena.
"I just wanted to set a tone for our team and have a fast start," Willis said. "I felt pretty good. It was a nice (first half), but there's always room for improvement. It's definitely a good win."
The Rebels shot 32 of 61 (53 percent) from the field and 12 of 23 (52 percent) from 3-point range.
Willis, whose previous high was 30 points at TCU on Jan. 23, was 11 of 20 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
"We got on a little bit of a roll making shots," said UNLV coach Lon Kruger, whose team hit its first nine three-point attempts. "We played a lot of great possessions in the first half. Defensively, we tried to get up and be disruptive as possible. The crowd was a factor. The students got into it."
Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars (22-3, 7-2) with 21 points going 11 of 13 from the free-throw line, but just 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Fredette had seven rebounds and six assists.
"They had a great start," Fredette said. "They put the pressure on us. They built up a huge lead and we could not catch them. They did a good job defending me. They made it tough on me. They always play physical no matter who they play."
Matt Shaw had 13 points and five rebounds for UNLV, which has won seven of its last eight games, while Oscar Bellfield had 12 points. Chace Stanback added seven points and 13 rebounds.
Jonathan Taverni added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while Jackson Emery had 10 points for BYU, which shot 24 of 63 (38 percent) from the field.
"(UNLV) got off to a great start," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "(UNLV) was not just good for the first 10 minutes, but the whole game. We couldn't score early. We missed some open shots. We needed to execute better. We weren't fighting hard enough."
BYU had won 17 of its last 19 games, but lost its seventh straight at UNLV, including conference tournament championship games in 2007 and 2008.
The Rebels, who had 24 assists to the Cougars' 12, led 56-34 at halftime. The Cougars cut it to 61-48 with 15:31 left, but got no closer.
"We'll focus on the things we do well," said Rose, whose team next plays Air Force at home next Saturday. "We'll get our confidence back. It's one game and we'll move forward."
The Rebels have a second straight important home conference game against No. 15 New Mexico at home on Wednesday.
(c) 2010 - San Jose Mercury News.
Butler Leads No. 9 West Virginia Over Louisville
Butler scores 27, No. 9 West Virginia comes from 12 down to beat Louisville 77-74.
Da'Sean Butler scored a season-high 27 points, including the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds remaining, and No. 9 West Virginia rallied from a big second-half deficit to beat Louisville 77-74 on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (17-3, 6-2 Big East) came from 12 down midway through the second half to snap a four-game losing streak to the Cardinals (13-8, 4-4), who managed only two baskets over the final seven minutes.
Kevin Jones added 16 points for West Virginia and Wellington Smith had 12.
Samardo Samuels and Reginald Delk scored 16 points apiece for Louisville, which fell to 0-4 against ranked teams this season and faces quite the climb the rest of the season to get back into the NCAA tournament picture.
Louisville seemed to be in control after Samuels' layup put the Cardinals ahead 65-53 with 10 minutes left, but they made only three field goals the rest of the game.
Jones scored eight points during an 11-0 run, including a three-point play that tied the score 70-all with 3:01 left.
After the teams traded baskets, Devin Ebanks snared a long rebound with 41 seconds left that extended a long possession for West Virginia. After a timeout, Butler hit a 15-foot jumper off an inbound pass to put the Mountaineers ahead for good.
Delk missed a 3-point try with 9 seconds left. Butler was fouled and made two free throws for the final margin.
Mike Marra's long attempt at the buzzer for Louisville never hit the rim.
Coach Bob Huggins, who earned his first win in four tries at West Virginia over Louisville's Rick Pitino, has always preached starting and finishing strong. His team did just that.
In between, it fell apart.
West Virginia raced to a 13-0 lead in the first three minutes, then behind Siva's three 3-pointers, 11 first-half points from Delk and a full-court press, Louisville steadied itself.
The Cardinals shot 61 percent (17 of 28) from the floor in the first half, led 44-40 at halftime and stretched the lead further down the stretch.
Despite the comeback, West Virginia shot below 50 percent from the field for the ninth straight game. And for the second straight time, the Mountaineers got little help from their bench: Louisville outscored the Mountaineer reserves 26-5.
On Louisville's side, the Terrence Jennings experiment is still a work in progress.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore got his second straight start but Louisville's big lineup failed to produce a point or rebound over the first three minutes. Jennings played just 17 minutes and finished with four points.
(c) 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Hazell's 25 leads Seton Hall past Louisville 80-77
NEWARK, N.J.---Jeremy Hazell scored 25 points and Seton Hall held off a late Louisville rally to post an 80-77 victory on Thursday night, handing the Cardinals their third straight loss.
The losing streak is the longest for coach Rick Pitino and Louisville (12-7, 3-3 Big East) since the 2005-06 season. It also prevented the Cardinals from getting their 1,600th win in school history yet again.
Jordan Theodore added 17 points and Jeff Robinson 12 as the Pirates (11-6, 2-4) won for only the second time in seven games.
Edgar Sosa had 15 points to lead Louisville, but he also had a late layup attempt blocked with about 40 seconds to play and the Cardinals down 75-72. Mike Marra came off the bench to add 10 points.
Seton Hall seemed to be in control when Robinson took a pass from Theodore and scored a slam dunk for a 72-59 lead with 4:40 to go.
Louisville finally got its press working and ran off a 12-3 spurt with Preston Knowles scoring on a rebound follow and Sosa stealing the inbounds pass and scoring with 1:22 to go to cut the lead to 75-72.
Keon Lawrence had the ball in the frontcourt when Sosa intercepted a lazy pass toward the foul line. The guard took off for what appeared would be a fast break that would cut the lead to a point.
However, Lawrence hustled back and blocked the shot and Theodore eventually got the loose ball and found Hazell for a dunk all alone, a play on which he was lucky the officials didn't call a technical foul for hanging on the rim with 34.7 seconds to play.
A rebound follow by Samardo Samuels with 22.8 seconds left cut the lead to 77-74 and, after Thoedore made 1 of 2 free throws, Jerry Smith nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner with about a second to play to make it a one-point game.
Seton Hall had trouble getting the ball inbounds, but Hazell finally got it and was fouled with two tenths of a second to play. He made the second of two free throws and Smith did not get off a desperation 3-pointer before the final buzzer.
Seton Hall shot 59 percent from the field and outrebounded Louisville 17-12 in taking a 46-36 halftime lead.
Hazell and Pope led the way, combining for 25 points. Hazell had 15 points, hitting 6 of 7 from the field and 3 of 4 from long range.
Hazell's third 3-pointer came at the shot clock with Knowles in his face and it ignited a 13-5 spurt that pushed the Pirates lead to 38-27 with 4:04 left in the half. Theodore had six points in the run, also nailing a 3-pointer.
(c) 2010 - San Jose Mercury News.
College Basketball Roundup: Oliver helps twist San Jose State to victory over Boise State
Adrian Oliver scored a season-high 33 points, including a pair of free throws to break a tie with 29.3 seconds left, and San Jose State finally broke through against Boise State with a 76-74 victory on Thursday night at the Event Center.
SJSU (9-7, 2-2 Western Athletic Conference) improved to 6-1 at home this season and snapped a two-game losing streak but also halted a 14-game drought against the Broncos. SJSU hadn't won in the series since Feb. 2, 2002, Boise State's first season in the WAC.
The Spartans led for most of the second half before La'Shard Anderson's 3-pointer gave Boise State (9-9, 0-5) a 74-73 lead with 57.9 seconds left. Oliver was fouled on the subsequent possession and made the go-ahead free throws.
After a BSU missed 3-point attempt, Mac Peterson made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts with 7.9 seconds left, and BSU missed two more shots before the buzzer.
Pepperdine 61, Santa Clara 60: Ray Cowels came off the bench to score 12 points, including a key 3-pointer in the last 90 seconds, but the Broncos (8-11, 0-2 West Coast Conference) were unable to overtake the Waves (6-12, 2-0) in the final seconds.
Gonzaga 89, Saint Mary's 82: Elias Harris scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the No. 17 Bulldogs (13-3, 2-0 WCC) held off a late rally by the Gaels (15-3, 2-1).
Arizona State 73, Oregon 68: The Sun Devils (10-6, 2-3 Pac-10) held the conference's highest scoring team to its second-lowest point total of the year, dealing the host Ducks (12-4, 3-1) their first conference loss.
WOMEN
Cal 60, Washington 43: The host Bears (7-8, 1-3 Pac-10) rallied from down 1 at halftime with a 22-3 run early in the second half to rout the Huskies (8-7, 3-2) for their first conference victory. Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 19 points, and Eliza Pierre had six steals as the Bears forced 29 turnovers.
Pepperdine 83, Santa Clara 67: The Broncos (2-16, 0-3 WCC) never recovered from an 11-point halftime deficit against the Waves (11-5, 2-0).
(c) 2010 - San Jose Mercury News.
3-Pointers: Maryland can atone for slow start
Terp time
Nobody plays a bigger basketball game this weekend than Maryland. The Terps enter their home ACC opener against Florida State with a 1-3 record against major-conference opponents -- not what was expected from a senior-laden, preseason top 25 team.
The Terps might not view their situation as desperate, and probably desperate is too strong a word. But it wouldn't hurt if they played with desperation.
They performed well in their final nonconference tune-up, pounding UNC Greensboro by 34.
"It all starts on defense," forward Adrian Bowie told the Washington Post. Against their best opponents, though, the Terps have not defended well. High-major teams have averaged 77.5 points and only 14.8 turnovers.
The Florida State game is essential because what follows is a two-game road trip, to Wake Forest and Boston College.
Of course, the Terps rescued themselves from a dreadful start last season -- which led to media and fans hammering on coach Gary Williams -- thanks to a furious rally that got them into the NCAAs. Do they really want to go through that again?
Poison Ivy
Who knew life in the Ivy League was so brutal?
Yeah, maybe for the English prof in the pursuit of tenure, we figured it could be a bit Darwinian. But Ivy basketball coaches are supposed to live a safe existence, no?
Well, no.
The Ivy is down two coaches from the eight who started the season now that Dartmouth's struggling Terry Dunn bailed in the middle of his sixth year. He joins Glen Miller, fired by Penn earlier in the season.
Dunn's resignation was termed "for personal reasons," though FoxSports.com reported players were revolting against Dunn and threatened not to play their Ivy opener against Harvard.
All this turmoil might help the Ivy to receive its first-ever NCAA Tournament at-large bid. It's a reach, but Harvard (27) and Cornell (34) entered the weekend with solid RPI rankings and quality wins against high-major opponents. Those will decline as they go through Ivy play but if they dominate the rest of the league and split against each other, it's not impossible.
Travel team
Kansas will not get the test it expected when it agreed to play Sunday's nonconference game at Tennessee. CBS will not get the matchup anticipated when it set the game for a network telecast. That doesn't mean there can't be something for both.
CBS at least gets the curiosity factor now that the Vols will be playing without dismissed Tyler Smith and three other regulars.
The Jayhawks can work on defending bigs who can shoot (Wayne Chism) and inbounding against an opponent expert at denial (nobody's better than the Vols). Hey, a lot of people traveled a long way for this game. It has to be worth something.
(c) 2009 SportingNews.
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