Big Ten Network : Men's Basketball Top Stories

No. 6 N. Carolina beats No. 15 Ohio St 77-73

JIM O'CONNELL — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:32:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP)—Deon Thompson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 North Carolina managed to hold on for a 77-73 victory over No. 15 Ohio State in the 2K Sports Classic semifinals on Thursday night. The Tar Heels (4-0), who led by 19 points with 10:23 to play, will face Syracuse, which beat No. 13 California 95-73, in Friday night's championship game of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer. North Carolina coach Roy Williams hadn't been overly pleased with the Tar Heels' play in their three double-digit victories, including ones over Florida International and North Carolina Central, to advance to New York. He couldn't find much to be upset with early against Ohio State (2-1) as the defending national champions—only one starter returned from the team that beat Michigan State in April—were in charge for most of the game. The Buckeyes finally started hitting from the outside at the same time the Tar Heels starting missing free throws, and Ohio State was within 75-73 on a 3 by Jon Diebler with 11 seconds left. Larry Drew II, who missed four of his previous six free throws in the final minute, then made two from the line with 11 seconds left for the final margin. Evan Turner, who had a triple-double in Ohio State's opening win over Alcorn State with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, matched that feat against the Tar Heels but it was a lot different as he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 turnovers. The 6-foot-7 junior swingman, who had 17 rebounds in each of the first two games, couldn't go anywhere on the court without Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina's defensive specialist who missed most of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot. Turner's time was limited as well by foul trouble, and his second personal was an offensive drawn by Ginyard. Ohio State chipped away at the lead and were finally within single digits when David Lighty scored on a drive that made it 68-60 with 2:09 to go. Ginyard hit a 3 with the shot clock winding down to make it 71-60 with 1:36 to go, but the Buckeyes finally hit from the outside as William Buford and Lighty hit 3s as Drew struggled at the line. Will Graves had 14 points for North Carolina, and Drew finished with 11 points and eight assists and was 6 of 10 from the line. Diebler had 17 points for Ohio State, which finished 6 of 21 from 3-point range after going 1 of 10 in the first half. The Tar Heels had the lead to 10 points within the first 6 minutes, and it reached 16 points three times, the first at 29-13 on a 3-pointer by Ginyard with 5:40 left in the half. Ohio State missed its first nine 3-point attempts, and the Buckeyes finished 1 of 10 from beyond the arc and shot just 29 percent (9 for 31) overall in falling behind 38-24 at the half.

Tulane edges Nittany Lions, 63-60

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)—Tulane's Kevin Sims made a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 19 seconds to play and the Green Wave held on to beat Penn State 63-60 Friday in the second round of the Charleston Classic at Carolina First Arena. Aaron Holmes led Tulane (1-2) with 17 points and Kris Richard added 11. Talor Battle scored 17 points for Penn State (2-2). Tulane led by 10 with 7:57 to play, but Penn State battled back, despite shooting 27.6 percent from the field. The Green Wave shot 36 percent from the field. Penn State led 25-24 after a closely contested first half in which neither team led by more than five points. Tulane will play at 12:30 p.m. Sunday against the winner of Friday's game between Davidson and La Salle. Penn State will play at 10 a.m. Sunday against the loser.

No. 11 Butler leads throughout, drops NU

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:09:00 +0000

EVANSTON, Ill. -- On a good night, it's going to be tough to beat No. 11 Butler. When a team is as short-handed as Northwestern is, it's almost not a fair fight. Shelvin Mack's 15 points led four Bulldogs in double figures, Gordon Hayward had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Butler overpowered Northwestern 67-54 on Wednesday night. It was the Wildcats' first game since announcing Monday that Kevin Coble, the team's leading scorer and rebounder the last three years, and Jeff Ryan will miss the rest of the season with injuries. "I feel for their situation," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "They're going to get it figured out. They're going to be a really good team. But three days after, it's tough. It's going to take a little time." Michael Thompson led the Wildcats (1-1) with 16, but after making three 3-pointers in the first 8 1/2 minutes he was held scoreless until only 3 1/2 minutes remained. John Shurna added 14 for the Wildcats. It was the second victory over Northwestern in two years for the Bulldogs (2-0), but their first in Evanston since 1947-48. Butler has won six of its last seven games against Big Ten teams. "Butler's been good since I was in high school," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "They've traditionally been a very good team, and they're probably just getting their due in the last six, eight years." Butler had to rally from double figures last year to beat Northwestern at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but there was no such scare this time around. The Bulldogs never trailed, and led by as many as 21 points in the second half. Five players scored nine points or better, and the Bulldogs had 17 assists to 10 turnovers. Anytime Northwestern threatened to make a run, Butler came up with a big bucket -- usually from outside. The Bulldogs made four straight 3s -- one each by Mack and Hayward, two by Avery Jukes -- for a 50-30 lead with 11:42 to play. "We've been playing together since the end of last season. We know how good we are, but we also know what each other is going to do," said Jukes, who finished with 10 points. "We have so many options." And Northwestern doesn't have many. The Wildcats had high hopes for this season, returning most of the team that went to the NIT last year. But Coble broke a bone in his foot at practice Nov. 10. Three days later, Ryan, a senior and valuable sub, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Northwestern's season opener. "It's kind of a heartbreaker for them," Hayward said. "But I'm sure they'd tell you they've got to move on without them." Despite returning everyone from the team that made a third straight trip to the NCAA tournament last season, Butler had to overcome some uncharacteristic jitters in its season opener against Davidson. The Bulldogs were far more composed against Northwestern, though it took them a bit to get into a rhythm. Hayward's layup to break a 15-all tie midway through the first half sparked a 12-4 run, and the Wildcats never really threatened again. The Bulldogs put the game away with a flurry of 3-pointers in the second half, getting a surprising spark from Willie Veasley. With 16:51 left, Shawn Vanzant got poked in the eye by Jeremy Nash. Vanzant backed away from the foul line several times, blinking, and had the eye looked at by Butler's trainer, but couldn't see clearly enough to take the shots. Veasley replaced him and, after making one of two, stole the ball at the other end to set up Matt Howard's tip-in. Just like that, Butler was up 36-26. Mack made a fallaway jumper and then came back with a 3, the first of four straight that all but sealed yet another win over yet another big-conference team. "I don't know that it's against the Big Ten or anyone else. Our guys like to play, they like to play together," Stevens said. "Whoever they're playing against, they're not worried about their conference affiliation."

Williams, No. 24 Minnesota top Utah Valley 76-51

DAVE CAMPBELL — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:20:00 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS(AP) Freshman Rodney Williams had 17 points, six rebounds and four steals in his first career start, helping 24th-ranked Minnesota pull away from Utah Valley in the second half of a 76-51 victory on Thursday. Missing senior leader and top scorer Lawrence Westbrook to a stomach virus, the Gophers (3-0) finished 5 for 19 from 3-point range and were outrebounded 34-29 by a team in its first year as a full-fledged Division I program. Damian Johnson had 15 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals, though, to lead another strong defensive effort. Minnesota had 30 points off 26 Utah Valley turnovers, and five Gophers turnovers only gave the Wolverines (1-2) two points. Jordan Swarbrick led Utah Valley with 11 points and Tyray Petty had eight points and nine rebounds, giving Minnesota plenty to work on before playing 11th-ranked Butler next week. The Wolverines, who followed a win over North Dakota State in their opener with a loss to Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday, fell behind 41-26 early in the second half when the Gophers appeared poised to run away with the game. Utah Valley didn't wilt, though, with peppy point guard Eric Dearden rushing to the rim for layups and Petty and Swarbrick muscling for position underneath. Al Nolen's steal and wraparound pass to Williams for a fast-break dunk over the pursuing defender got the crowd going a little. Five minutes later, Williams was fouled trying use the baseline for a slam and fell hard on his side, taking a few seconds to get up. He made both free throws, though, and on his next two drives he chose layups instead as the Gophers began to exert themselves. Williams had one more dunk in him, of course, at the end of another fastbreak fueled by this active defense coach Tubby Smith pushes his teams to play. That pushed Minnesota's lead to 73-51 with 2 1/2 minutes left. Utah Valley's bold jump from junior college to Division I was finalized this summer after six years playing under the NCAA's provisional status, which made the Wolverines ineligible for postseason play. After previous iterations as a technical and a community college, the school officially gained university status last year. The Wolverines had an enthusiastic row of fans wearing their green colors sitting behind the bench, and they didn't lack energy on the court, either. Though an unfriendly rim on Minnesota's end of the court in the first half spit several on-target shots out of the cylinder, Utah Valley stayed close with hustling defense and a willingness to make quick drives to the basket against the block-hungry Gophers, who swatted 23 shots in their first two games. Jourdain Scoubes swished 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for the Wolverines, keeping them within two points with 7 minutes to go before the break, but Johnson sandwiched a spinning layup and another shortie around a Utah Valley turnover to stretch Minnesota's lead later in the half.

Holloway scores 26 as Ole Miss beats Indiana 89-71

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:37:00 +0000

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)—Murphy Holloway had 26 points and nine rebounds, leading Mississippi to a 89-71 victory over Indiana on Thursday in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Chris Warren scored 16 points and Eniel Polynice had 10 and seven assists for the Rebels, who shot 50 percent (35 for 70). Ole Miss (3-0) blocked 12 shots to Indiana's two. Maurice Creek scored 18 points, Verdell Jones had 17 and Jeremiah Rivers scored 14 but committed six of Indiana's 21 turnovers. The Hoosiers (2-1) had 13 assists. Indiana went ahead 20-11 with 14:14 to go in the first half. Ole Miss responded with a 14-0 run—Trevor Gaskins scored six of the points—to go up 25-20 about 5 minutes later. The Rebels, who held a 43-32 rebounding edge, never relinquished the lead.

UNC-Wilmington knocks off Penn State 80-69

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:09:00 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C.(AP) - Chad Tomko scored 21 points and North Carolina-Wilmington made 10 of 16 3-point shots to knock off Penn State 80-69 on Thursday. The Seahawks (2-1) held the Nittany Lions to 32.3 percent from the field (21-for-65) in the first round of the Charleston Classic. Penn State (2-1) got 29 points from Talor Battle, who made 11 of 12 free throws. The Nittany Lions were 22-for-27 from the foul line for the game. The Seahawks led 40-31 at halftime after shooting 61.5 percent from the field, including 7-for-11 from 3-point range. Six players had at least one 3-pointer for UNC-Wilmington and eight scored in the first half. Penn State, meanwhile, struggled against the Seahawks' defense, shooting 35.5 percent from the field in the first half, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range. Will Ohuaregbe was the only other UNC-Wilmington player in double figures with 12 points.

Defense leads Wisconsin in win over Oakland

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin (2-0) put the clamps on Summit League preseason favorite Oakland on Wednesday night, leaning on its defense to notch a 58-42 win at the Kohl Center. The Badgers watched Oakland (0-2) get out to an 8-5 lead, but capitalized on the Grizzlies' early foul trouble to regain the momentum. Oakland's 6-foot-11 center, Keith Benson, and 6-foot-9 forward, Will Hudson, each picked up their second foul just eight minutes into the game. Wisconsin was clinging to a mere 9-8 lead at that stage, but quickly found its rhythm, scoring its next 19 points in the paint or at the free- throw line. The Badgers' widened a 14-12 lead to 30-14 with a 16-2 run over a 10-minute span in the first half, creating a comfortable cushion that would only increase throughout the remainder of the game. Benson picked up his third personal foul late in the first half and the Badgers would outscore the Grizzlies, 22-9, with him on the bench that half. Jon Leuer (12 points) and Trevon Hughes were the main beneficiaries of Oakland's absences inside as Leuer posted eight points and Hughes notched 13 before intermission. UW would stretch its 34-23 halftime lead to 53-29 with 8:38 left to play and coast to victory from there. Oakland had no answer for Hughes' penetration as the senior guard matched the game-high of 15 points and recorded a career-high seven rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Ryan Evans also notched seven rebounds, blowing his former career-high of three out of the water. UWBadgers.com Complete Post-Game Coverage Small Page Graphic Beyond the Box | Small Page Graphic In-Game Blog | Small Page Graphic Nankivil Feature | Small Video Graphic Highlights | Small Video Graphic Coach and Players Postgame UW's defense held Oakland in check all night, forcing the Grizzlies to shoot a mere 27.3 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from three-point range. The Badgers registered eight blocks and nine steals to force 16 Oakland turnovers. Keaton Nankivil recorded a career-high four blocks and tied for the game-high with nine rebounds to the lead the Wisconsin defense. Nankivil also registered two highlight reel dunks—one midway through the first half on a drop from Jason Bohannon and another with eight minutes remaining on the put-back of a missed layup. The Badgers will jet off to beautiful Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational and their road debut on Nov. 23. Wisconsin will face Arizona in the first game of the tournament at 11 p.m. CT. Check back to UWBadgers.com for results and updated information on the Badgers in Hawaii.

No. 2 Michigan State rallies past Gonzaga

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:39:00 +0000

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State's winning streak at home against nonconference teams was in jeopardy. The second-ranked Spartans -- and their fans -- refused to let it end against Gonzaga. Durrell Summers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with a few minutes left, made two at the line in the final seconds and finished with 21 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to help Michigan State rally for a 75-71 win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night. "It was the kind of game we needed, especially this early in the year," Summers said. The Spartans (2-0) won their 41st straight game at home against a nonconference team, extending a streak that started after a loss to Duke on Dec. 3, 2003. "There's no question the crowd won that game for us," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "If you were down there, you could hear it." Robert Sacre matched a career high with 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-1) despite playing just 19 minutes. "He was really making a difference in there, then his minutes got limited because of the fouls," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "That hurt us." Gonzaga freshman Elias Harris scored 17, Matt Bouldin had 15 points and Steven Gray added 13. Kalin Lucas made a layup with 39 seconds left to give Michigan State a three-point lead and finished with 19 points. Raymar Morgan scored 16 off the bench despite playing on a sprained left ankle and injuring his right ankle in the first half. "I am really proud of Ray," Izzo said. Michigan State scored first, then trailed Gonzaga for much of the game. The Bulldogs led by 13 midway through the first half and were ahead 35-30 at halftime. They built another double-digit lead early in the second half, but were hurt by the 7-foot Sacre getting called for a third foul and 7-5 reserve Will Foster getting a fourth foul shortly after halftime. Michigan State freshman Derrick Nix made a putback with 11:52 left in the game to put the home team ahead for the first time since the opening minute. The Bulldogs, though, refused to wilt in the raucous Breslin Center despite having one of their youngest teams since becoming one of the nation's stronger programs. "It's a terrific college basketball atmosphere," Few said. "Before Thanksgiving, it felt like a game that would clinch a championship game in a league with the energy. "We played here [in 1997] when I was an assistant with Dan [Monson] and this place has really grown." Sacre made a shot midway through the second half to put Gonzaga ahead by seven and a fadeaway with 4:42 to go for a 65-61 lead. The Spartans made enough shots and stops in the final minutes in a game that will get them ready to play Florida, North Carolina and Texas before the Big Ten season. "It's a big win for us because we didn't play real well," Izzo said. "Gonzaga took it to us for at least 30 minutes. I have a lot of respect for Mark and their program. "They punched us in the mouth, picked us off the ground and punched us again early -- and I thought we were ready to play," Izzo added. Gonzaga, hoping to reload instead of rebuild, also faces a tough schedule with games against Wake Forest, Arizona or Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma and Illinois before starting West Coast Conference play. Few said he had mixed emotions about Tuesday's game because the Bulldogs had a shot at pulling off an upset -- which would've perhaps been one of the school's biggest wins in the regular season -- but he went home proud. "There's a lot of positives we can take out of this, certainly how we competed," Few said.

Late 3 helps Duquesne slip by Iowa, 52-50

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:48:00 +0000

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Duquesne made big shots all night, none bigger than a three-pointer delivered from the hands of Damian Saunders with less than 10-seconds remaining in Tuesday's game against Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes could not score in their final possession and lost to the Dukes, 52-50, on Tuesday in the O'Reilly CBE Classic. The Hawkeyes (0-2 overall) struggled all night from the field, but played tough defense to give them a shot for the victory. Iowa shot 18 of 57 (32 percent) from the floor, 6 of 27 (22 percent) from long range, and 8 of 15 (53 percent) from the charity stripe. The Hawkeyes held Duquesne in check in the second half, limiting the Dukes to 19 points. Iowa was led in scoring by Anthony Tucker with 16 points, Cully Payne had six assists, and Matt Gatens added nine points and eight rebounds. "It is going to be really hard to win shooting 32 percent," UI head coach Todd Lickliter said. "I told the team before we played `what if we do that again, we shot so poorly the other day, are we just going to say well we didn't shoot it well and use that excuse for it? Or are we going to make every hustle play and give ourselves a chance?' And we did, we won so many hustle plays today. Give Duquesne credit because they hit two big three's when they needed to have them." Both teams struggled to shoot in the early stages of the game. Duquesne's Bill Clark put the Dukes on the board with a short jumper. The Hawkeyes took the lead with 15:03 when Duquesne (2-0) stole a pass from Tucker. Tucker rushed back to steal the ball back near midcourt and dove on the ground to grab the ball. While he was on the floor he was able to get a pass to Eric May who made a layup for an 8-7 advantage. Duquesne regained the lead with a trey from Saunders to make it 12-8. The Hawkeyes pushed it within two with a layup from Tucker before the Dukes answered with a fast-break layup from Saunders. Gatens assisted Jarryd Cole inside for a layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw to trail by two points. "It is going to be really hard to win shooting 32 percent. I told the team before we played `what if we do that again, we shot so poorly the other day, are we just going to say well we didn't shoot it well and use that excuse for it? Or are we going to make every hustle play and give ourselves a chance?' And we did, we won so many hustle plays today. Give Duquesne credit because they hit two big three's when they needed to have them." UI head coach Todd Lickliter A layup by Tucker put the Hawkeyes ahead and Cole hit a long range two-pointer for a 19-16 advantage with 6:05 remaining. Saunders than went on a tear, scoring seven straight points for the Dukes for a 23-19 lead before Iowa's Devan Bawinkel hit from the left side of the arc to move within one-point. The Dukes went on a 10-0 run after Bawinkel's three-pointer. The Hawkeyes went into the locker room picking up some momentum when Gatens threw up a shot from the right corner of the arc as time was expiring and was fouled. He made all three of his free throws to trail 33-25 at the end of the half. The second half started off with a bang when Clark drained one from downtown and Tucker answered it with one of his own from the top of the key. A few possessions later Aaron Fuller rebounded a Cole misfire and kicked it out to Cully Payne who drew the defenders toward him and assisted Fuller right back down low for an uncontested layup as the Hawkeyes cut it to a six-point deficit. Clark remained a hot shooter and drained another three-ball for a commanding 41-30 advantage. May assisted Brennan Cougill down low for a dunk and he was fouled on the play and hit from the charity stripe to cut it to a single-digit lead. Tucker drilled a three with 13:36 left in the game to slim the margin to 41-36. The Hawkeyes continued to show hustle when Tucker had an ill-advised pass to Duquesne, the Dukes looked like they had an easy fastbreak layup before May came out of nowhere to block the shot. The block went out of bounds as the Dukes retained possession, but were not able to score off of the inbounds play. Tucker continued to give the Dukes problems when he went hard to the basket and was fouled before he hit the layup and made the latter free throw to trail 44-39. Tucker's three attempt bounced in-and-out and Cougill was able to muscle his way for a rebound and put it back up to get within three with less than seven-minutes remaining for the game. A free throw and layup by Cole cut the Dukes lead to 46-44. As time expired on the shot clock Gatens threw one up from downtown and swished it from the top of the key to take their first lead since early in the first half at 47-46 with 2:50 to go. With momentum on their side Saunders went up hard to the basket and made it, but Cole planted his feet and Saunders was called for the charge to give the Hawkeyes the ball. "I feel like we are doing a great job," Tucker said. "I feel like we are playing well enough defensively to win. I think it is a good problem to have to try and generate offense from somewhere. It is better than not being able to stop people from scoring." The Dukes came surging right back as Jason Duty hit a three from behind-the-arc to regain a two-point advantage. A possession later Gatens drove the lane and missed a layup attempt as Cougill grabbed the loose ball. He put it up and made the basket while getting fouled and hit a free throw for a one-point lead with a minute left in the game. Saunders hit an off-balance three attempt with 10-seconds remaining to give the Dukes a two point lead. Tucker pushed the ball up the court and missed a fade-away and the Hawkeyes recovered and called a timeout. May was blocked on the inbounds pass to end the game.

Freshman Paul sends Illinois past NIU

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:19:00 +0000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Freshman Brandon Paul is making an immediate impact for Illinois. The sharp-shooting guard was the go-to man for the offense in the first half of No. 23 Illinois' 80-61 win over Northern Illinois, when he scored all 20 of his points Tuesday night. "The first half we came out with a lot of excitement," said Paul, who led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game. "My teammates did a good job of giving me the ball. It was flying, it was going in. I felt good." Paul had 14 of Illinois' first 21 points. He finished 6 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. Paul's outside shooting opened the lane for 7-foot-1 center Mike Tisdale and 6-9 forward Mike Davis. The two big men combined to shoot 7 of 15 with Davis and Tisdale scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively. Davis added a career-high 17 rebounds for his 11th career double-double. "I knew they were going to shoot a lot of 3s and jack it really quick so I tried to get into position," Davis said of his rebounding. "I did a good job of that." Foul trouble by Demetri McCamey forced Illinois head coach Bruce Weber to give freshmen Paul and D.J. Richardson more minutes, though turnovers were a problem. The Illini gave the ball away 14 times while recording only 15 assists. The Illini turnovers resulted in 17 Huskie points. "We had to face that predicament for the first time here," said Weber of McCamey's foul problems. "The young guys didn't take care of the basketball, basically handed it to them, allowed them to get back in the game." The team made up for the ball handling problems on the defensive end. Illinois had 10 blocks while holding the Huskies to 36.8 percent shooting, including 26.3 percent from behind the 3-point line. Illinois shot 43.5 percent from the field. McCamey had eight assists. "We made some plays," Weber said. "We're learning, it's all new. We took another step, and now we've got to see if we can take another one." Northern Illinois gave Illinois (2-0) a scare at the end of the half, going on a 14-3 run to close the gap to 49-41 on a half-court buzzer beater by the Huskies' Byran Hall. "It was a game going into halftime," Davis said. "The second half started out kind of slow so we had to dig in and get stops and see what this team's made of." After cutting Illinois' lead to three on a layup by Najul Ervin with 18:30 left in the game, a dunk by McCamey off a steal and an assist from Richardson extended the lead to five. A jumper by forward Dominique Keller and a layup by Davis extended the Illini's lead to nine. The Huskies didn't let up, trimming the Illini's lead to seven points with 12:27 remaining in the game but were unable to get any closer after Keller's dunk followed by McCamey's steal and layup put Illinois ahead by 11 and effectively shut the door on a Huskies comeback attempt. Ervin and Tony Nixon led the Huskies (0-2) in scoring with 10 points each.

Purdue's Jackson out after foot surgery

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:07:00 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue sophomore guard Lewis Jackson will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to repair a foot injury suffered late last week. "We'll miss having Lewis on the court while he recuperates, but it's important that we take the necessary steps to ensure his full recovery," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "Lewis has a great work ethic, and I have no doubt that the manner in which he approaches his rehab will reflect that." Purdue returns to action on Friday, when it squares off with South Dakota State in the first round of the Paradise Jam on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Freshmen help Indiana hold off USC Upstate

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:46:00 +0000

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Christian Watford finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Maurice Creek added 14 points and Verdell Jones scored 13 to lead Indiana past South Carolina-Upstate 69-61 on Monday night. The Hoosiers are 2-0 for the third straight season, and it is the first time they've won back-to-back since late November last year. The Spartans (0-2) were led by Mezie Uzochukwu with 14 points. Indiana overcame a sluggish start with a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take a 16-9 lead. It closed the half on an 8-2 run to make it 32-25, then scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half to take a 40-27 lead. Upstate never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Williams, Gophers roll past Stephen F. Austin

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:18:00 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS -- High-flying freshman Rodney Williams had three dunks and a pair of 3s, finishing with 14 points to help No. 24 Minnesota pull away from Stephen F. Austin in an 82-42 victory on Monday night. Lawrence Westbrook and Devoe Joseph led the Gophers (2-0) with 15 points apiece and Damian Johnson contributed 11 second-half points, five assists and five steals to lead the romp after a rough start. Minnesota went 11 for 19 from 3-point range. Eddie Williams scored 12 points for the Lumberjacks (0-1), who had eight shots blocked by the lanky, long-armed Gophers. Rodney Williams is one of those leapers, and his athleticism already has the attention of the home crowd at the 81-year-old arena that's coincidentally in his last name. The student section started chanting his name early in the second half shortly after Johnson tossed Williams an alley-oop pass to cap a two-on-one fastbreak with a ferocious dunk. Westbrook followed with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 12, and Minnesota was off from there. The Gophers used a 27-3 run -- including 18-0 -- bridging the intermission to run away with this one. The Lumberjacks, who beat Oklahoma two years ago, have two more opportunities to knock off a major-conference team. They host Texas Tech and play at Arkansas over the next month. After finishing 24-8 and appearing in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's 86-year history, SFA lost the heart of last season's team and suited up eight newcomers for this opener. The Lumberjacks, predicted to win the Southland Conference's East Division by league coaches in a preseason poll, have gone hard after junior college transfers under coach Danny Kaspar. They have four players from McLennan Community College in Waco alone, including 5-foot-3 starting point guard Eric Bell. Kaspar emphasizes tight defense: During the 2007-08 regular season, the Lumberjacks allowed an average of 55 points per game to rank second among all Division I teams. They had the Gophers off their game, holding a 16-15 lead when 7 minutes were left in the first half, but Westbrook, Williams and Ralph Sampson got Minnesota going before the break. The Gophers are still missing three players to indefinite suspensions while the courts, the school and coach Tubby Smith sort out various off-the-court issues. Junior forward Trevor Mbakwe again sat on the bench in a shirt and tie, but freshman forward Royce White has been told to stay away from the team until his legal situation is cleared up. Senior guard Devron Bostick, punished for an unspecified violation of Smith's rules, wasn't present, either. Smith said after Saturday's practice he was sick.

Second-half run lifts Penn State past Robert Morris

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:28:00 +0000

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A night when Robert Morris focused its inspired defense on stopping Talor Battle, Penn State had to find other scoring options. The Nittany Lions responded with a strong second-half surge led by sophomore Chris Babb (Arlington, Texas) and freshman Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) to propel Penn State past Robert Morris, 80-61, on Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Frazier and Babb made nine of the Nittany Lions' 12 three-pointers to lead Penn State with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Penn State (2-0) jumped all over the Colonials (0-2) in the opening minutes of the second stanza, using an 23-4 run highlighted by four Babb three-pointers to stretch a one-point halftime lead into a 20-point margin, 57-37, with 13:52 remaining. Contributing to the run was a layup by Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) a break-away dunk by Battle and a Frazier three. Babb, who shot a career-best 5-of-9 from three, scored 12 of his career-high 15 in the six-minute spurt. Penn State's second-half performance only got better as the Lions continued to make one three-pointer after another, going 12-for-26 from the arc in the game, and shooting 59 percent in the second half. The Lions eventually opened a 24-point lead at 63-39 midway through the period as Frazier drained his fourth three-point goal of the game. Frazier was scoreless in the Lions' opener on Friday, but made up ground quickly hitting 4-of-5 from three and adding three assists and two rebounds in 30 minutes of action mostly spent running the point. Battle, who posted 27 points in the season-opener, was held to eight on the the night, but added seven assists and six boards to make up for a 2-of-9 night shooting. Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky) continued his early season strong play posting 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and adding five boards and two assists. D.J. Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds for the Nittany Lions. Penn State shot 51.9 percent on the night and won the rebounding battle 38-31. The 12 three-pointers by Penn State was a season high and the most made by the Nittany Lions since a school record-tying 15 that were made against Hartford last December at the BJC. Robert Morris, which is coming off back-to-back Northeast Conference titles and a 2009 NCAA Tournament appearance, was led by 11 points from Russell Johnson and 10 from Velton Jones. The Colonials shot 37 percent from the floor and 2-of-16 from three. Despite trailing for most of the first half, Penn State was able to pull ahead when Battle scored his first field goal of the evening on a fast-break layup to end the half. The bucket gave the Lions a 34-33 advantage at the intermission. In the first half, Robert Morris used a methodical offense and staunch defense to keep the Nittany Lions out of their offensive rhythm. The Colonials forced seven Penn State turnovers scoring nine subsequent points off the PSU miscues, and sent plenty of help at Battle when ever he attacked. Nevertheless, Penn State shot a respectable 12-for-27 from the field and hit five treys to stay on pace with Robert Morris, who shot 11-for-28 from the field. Highlighting the Colonials' strong play in the first half was Lijah Thomson who slammed home a missed Garry Wallace three-pointer with a minute remaining in the stanza, momentarily silencing the Bryce Jordan Center crowd of 6,286. The Colonials led by as many as six, 11-5, following a Jimmy Langhurst three at the 14:56 mark. Robert Morris led for eight minutes until a Brooks lay-up tied the game and a Frazier three gave Penn State a 20-19 lead with 8:51 to play. Frazier led the Lions scoring attack early dropping two three-pointers along with another jumper and a free throw for his nine points in the half. Penn State hits the road for the first time this season when the Nittany Lions travel to the Charleston Classic, Nov. 19-22. The Lions open the tournament by taking on UNC-Wilmington onThursday. The ESPNU telecast will be shown live at 4:00 p.m. with the Nittany Lions set to take on Miami (Fla.) or Tulane in the second game on Friday. The final game of the three-game tournament will take place on Sunday, Nov. 22 against either South Florida, South Carolina, La Salle or Davidson.

Wisconsin defeats IPFW in its season opener

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:54:00 +0000

MADISON, Wis. -- Jon Leuer scored 19 points and blocked a career-high four shots as Wisconsin beat Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne 75-46 Sunday in the season opener for both teams. The Badgers were in control early and put an exclamation point on the first half with a 15-4 run to close out the period. Jason Bohannon punctuated the run by gathering a poor pass in the corner and hitting a 3-pointer as time expired for a 39-18 lead. Wisconsin then opened the second half with a 12-0 run over the first five minutes, and the rout was on. Bohannon scored 12 points and had three blocks, a career high, as the Badgers shot 57 percent from the field. Jeremy Mixon scored 17 to lead the Mastodons, who played without senior forward Deilvez Yearby. He was suspended for violating team rules. IPFW shot 34 percent for the game.

Status of Gophers' White remains unchanged

Marcus R. Fuller Pioneer Press — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Tubby Smith said today that he hasn't changed the status of freshman forward Royce White, who is still suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. White, a former Mr. Basketball at Hopkins High School last season, wasn't on the bench for Friday night's 87-50 season opening win against Tennessee Tech at Williams Arena. Smith said after the game that he wouldn't comment until everything had been "finalized" with White. Fox 9 reported that Smith was going to announce today that White was being dismissed from school. But Smith said nothing more would be determined until after White's recent issue was resolved. He was mentioned as a possible suspect of a campus theft of a laptop last weekend. The 6-foot-8 White was the Big Ten's top freshman recruit this season, but off-court incidents derailed the start to his career at Minnesota. He was also cited for shoplifting and fifth-degree assault at Macy's at the Mall of America in Bloomington on Oct. 13. White has an arraignment scheduled Tuesday in the shoplifting case. Copyright 2009 St. Paul Pioneer PressAll Rights Reserved

Big Ten notes: Triple-double squared

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:28:00 +0000

TRIPLE-DOUBLE: Ohio State's Evan Turner recorded the conference's first triple-double since Illinois' Sergio McClain accomplished the feat in 2001. Turner had 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against Alcorn State. The triple-double performance is only the second in Buckeye history. The only other triple-double was achieved by Dennis Hopson against Ohio University on Dec. 6, 1986. Not to be outdone, Michigan's Manny Harris tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and dished out 10 assists en route to a triple-double of his own. Harris' feat is only the second in U-M history. The last Michigan player to have a triple-double was 22 years ago with Gary Grant (24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) on March 14, 1987. THE VOTES ARE IN: For the second week in a row, the Big Ten is well represented in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls with six teams among the top 25 in both. In the AP poll, the Big Ten holds the national lead with six teams among the top 25 and in the ESPN/USA Today poll, the conference is tied with the Big East with six teams represented. The ACC and Big East rank second with five teams. Michigan State leads the way for the Big Ten in both polls, ranking No. 2 in each. Purdue follows at No. 7 in both polls. Michigan and Ohio State are tied for 15th in the AP poll, while the Buckeyes hold the No. 15 spot in the coaches poll and the Wolverines are 16th. Rounding out the top 25 are Illinois (23/25) and Minnesota (18/24). SEEING DOUBLE: Eight different student-athletes tallied nine double-doubles in the first week of action. In his first game of the 2009-10 season, Ohio State's Evan Turner recorded a triple double and followed that up with a double-double two days later. Turner scored 14 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out 10 assists, in the opener and had 24 points and 17 rebounds vs. James Madison last Thursday. Michigan's Manny Harris recorded a triple-double in the Wolverines' season opener. Teammate DeShawn Sims posted 22 points and 10 rebounds for his first of the season and seventh of his career. Michigan State's Draymond Green (11 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his first of the season and second of his career, while freshman teammate Derrick Nix had 11 points and 14 rebounds in his debut. Illinois' Mike Davis collected the 10th of career with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Penn State's Talor Battle added a fifth to his career total with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana freshman Christian Watford made a sterling debut, posting 14 points and 11 caroms in the Hoosiers' win over Howard. FANTASTIC FINISH: Last season was the Year of the Sophomore. This season could be the Year of the Freshman. Six teams started at least one freshman last week. Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern all counted one first-year player among the starting five, while Illinois and Indiana each had two newcomers on the floor. Of the freshmen starting, Indiana's Christian Watford recorded a double-double in 24 minutes of play, starting at forward for the Hoosiers. Teammate Maurice Creek added 17 points in his 24 minutes on the floor. Illinois' duo of Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson played 29 and 20 minutes, respectively. Both guards scored double-digit points, with Paul posting 22 and Richardson 14 in their debut. It was the first time since 2002 that multiple freshmen started for the Illini. SWAT PARTY: The Badgers came out of the gates swatting on Sunday, blocking 11 shots by IPFW. Wisconsin's frontcourt combined for six blocks, with Jon Leuer leading the way with four. Jason Bohannon added three on the night. Keaton Nankivil had two, while Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren each added a block. WHAT'S THE SCORE?: The Big Ten averaged 82.8 points per game in the opening week to rank third behind the ACC (85.3) and the Big 12 (83.3) in scoring average. Four teams scored 90 or more points during the opening week, with Ohio State recording 100. Michigan and Michigan State each posted 97 points, while Illinois scored 96. Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue each posted 83 or more points in their wins, while Northwestern and Wisconsin scored 77 and 75, respectively. Penn State tallied 70 points in their win over Penn. THE GREAT DIVIDE: While the Big Ten averaged 82.8 points per contest last week, they held opponents to an average of 56.5 points allowed to lead the nation in scoring defense. The Big Ten is second in the nation in scoring margin, with a plus 26.7, behind only the ACC (+27.5). The Big 12 owns a margin of +23.9. IT'S A MARATHON: ESPN will tip off its 24-hour hoops marathon beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 17, with 19 games from 20 conferences across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN360.com. ESPN will air live college hoops for 24 consecutive hours. This year three Big Ten teams are part of the event. Michigan State will host Gonzaga on ESPN at 8 p.m. Illinois hosts Northern Illinois at 8 p.m. on ESPN360.com and Iowa entertains Duquesne at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. ESPN games are scheduled to tip off every two hours beginning at 12 a.m. ET with Cal State Fullerton at UCLA. EYE ON YOU: The Big Ten placed eight players on the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award Men's Preseason Top 50 List announced in late August. Candidates from the Big Ten are: Michigan's Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, Michigan State's Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan, Ohio State's Evan Turner, Penn State's Talor Battle and Purdue's Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore.

GEEKS: Our 2nd Annual Geeky Preseason All-Big Ten

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:02:00 +0000

GEEKS: Our 2nd Annual Geeky Preseason All-Big Ten

Coble opts to have season-ending surgery

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:25:00 +0000

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern University senior forward Kevin Coble (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy) has opted to have season-ending surgery on his left foot following an appointment with a second foot specialist Monday morning. "After meetings with foot specialists, it has become obvious that surgery will be required to repair a mild Lisfranc fracture," Coble said. "My plans are to be with the team throughout the season and I wish them success this year. I ask that our fans keep me and my family in your prayers, while continuing your support of Wildcat Basketball." Coble suffered the injury in practice last Tuesday, Nov. 10. Surgery will take place at a date still to be determined. "We're obviously disappointed that Kevin won't be able to be on the court this season," Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said. "He worked very hard this off-season to get himself in great shape for his senior year and we were looking forward to him having a terrific season. It was obvious after meeting with numerous doctors that surgery was the necessary course of action to take in order to best prepare him for his future." Coble was a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago after posting team-leading averages of 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while helping Northwestern to a National Invitation Tournament berth. He has led the Wildcats in both scoring and rebounding in each of his first three seasons and currently ranks 14th in school history with 1,203 career points. Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday as it hosts No. 11 Butler at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Hawkeyes stunned by Texas-San Antonio, 62-50

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:02:00 +0000

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Morris Smith IV led five players in double figures with 16 points and Texas-San Antonio stunned Iowa 62-50, snapping the Hawkeyes' 46-game winning streak in home openers. Terry Fields, Devin Gibson and freshman Melvin Johnson III each added 12 for the Roadrunners, who opened the second half on a 17-3 run and never looked back in shocking the youthful Hawkeyes. Texas-San Antonio (1-0) pushed a two-point halftime lead to as much as 16 early in the second half, as Smith and Gibson buried 3-pointers to give the Roadrunners their first double-digit lead. Iowa (0-1) pulled within 56-50 with just under 3 minutes left, but Matt Gatens threw the ball away under the Hawkeyes' basket and Texas-San Antonio iced it at the free-throw line. Freshman Eric May had 13 points to lead the Hawkeyes, who last lost a home opener in the 1962-63 season to Ohio, 62-54. With just two upperclassmen on the roster, Iowa is expected to struggle this season. But few thought the Hawkeyes could be run out of their own gym by a team picked to finish third in the Southland Conference's West division. That's exactly what happened, though, as Iowa shot 5-of-27 from 3-point range and committed 16 turnovers. Perhaps no sequence symbolized the Hawkeyes' woes like the one that came during Texas-San Antonio's decisive run early in the second half. May muffed an easy pass near midcourt as Iowa was trying to start its offense, and Fields took it back for a layup that pushed the Roadrunners' lead to 43-29 with 15:37 left. Threes from Matt Gatens and Cully Payne and a layup by May helped Iowa pull within 47-39 midway through the second half. May's bucket with 4:27 left cut the lead to 54-49, but that would be Iowa's last field goal. Iowa's inexperience was clearly evident against the Roadrunners, who started four seniors and a junior. Johnson gave the Roadrunners an early boost with four threes -- including a wide-open shot from the corner -- to help Texas-San Antonio jump ahead 24-19 with just under 5 minutes left in the first half. Sunday night's loss emphasized just how much of a rebuilding year it's expected to be for the Hawkeyes, who lost four players -- including starters Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson -- to offseason transfers. Iowa started three sophomores; guard Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker and forward Aaron Fuller, plus freshman point guard Cully Payne on Sunday. Hawkeyes junior center Jarryd Cole is the only player who's been with the program for three seasons -- and even he missed most of his freshman year with a knee injury. Payne had 12 points in his debut and Cole added 13 rebounds. Texas-San Antonio, on the other hand, brought back three starters from a team that finished 19-13 last season. The Roadrunners threw a major scare into Iowa last season in Iowa City before falling 73-67, and this time they finished the job in surprisingly easy fashion.