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Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Missouri Stat-Southern Illinois
Press Notes
The Southern Illinois University men’s basketball team returns home Tuesday night against Missouri State, a team which has had the Salukis’ number in recent years. Missouri State (15-6, 8-5) trails the Salukis (16-7, 9-4) by one game in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, and have won four out of the last five meetings between the two. The Bears beat SIU by seven points in Springfield in January, and they have also knocked Southern out of the MVC Tournament the last two years. The game will feature a showcase of two elites in the MVC. Missouri State, the most prolific scoring offense will be playing a Saluki defense that is ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense by allowing only 56 points per game.
Duke-North Carolina
Press Notes
After defeating Florida State by one point in overtime at Durham, the No. 2 Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 ACC) head to Chapel Hill on Tuesday night to take on the newly ranked No. 23 Tar Heels (14-5, 5-3) in the teams’ first meeting of the season. The teams split two meetings in 2004-05, with the Blue Devils winning by one point in the first matchup and the Tar Heels winning by two in the second game. While Duke has dominated the series of late, taking 15 of the last 18 meetings, North Carolina has won five of the last seven at the Smith Center. The Devils have won four in a row, beating then-No. 15 Boston College 83-81 on Wednesday before the one-point victory over the Seminoles. Although this season has been rocky at times for a young Tar Heels squad, Carolina has won three in a row coming into Tuesday’s matchup.
St. Joseph’s-Villanova
Press Notes
Saint Joseph’s and fourth-ranked Villanova will play for the Big 5 title. The Hawks Dave Mallon is questionable for the game after suffering a grade-2 sprain of his left ankle at Dayton, which kept him out of the St. Bonaventure game. Mallon went down with 11:30 to play in the first half and was sidelined for the rest of the game. The Hawks missed the senior whom Phil Martelli has called, “the anchor of the defense” and “our best communicator on defense”. SJU owns a 19-3 record against city teams over the last four seasons (counting this year). This mark counts all games against Philadelphia teams (Drexel included). The Hawks went 3-3 last season and are 4-0 in 2005-06 with wins over Drexel, Temple, La Salle and Penn.
Tennessee-Kentucky
Press Notes
Tennessee hasn’t had much success against Kentucky over the past few seasons, but this time around, it’s the one sitting in the Top 25. The 11th-ranked Volunteers (16-3, 7-1 SEC) enter their 200th matchup with the Wildcats (15-7, 5-3) as a ranked team for the first time since 2001 when they play at Rupp Arena on Tuesday.Kentucky and Tennessee have the second-most played rivalry in SEC history with the Wildcats leading the all-time series 137-62. Kentucky swept all three meetings last season, including a 76-62 victory in the conference tournament, and has won eight in a row over Tennessee. The Vols have dropped six straight in Lexington since a 47-46 win on Jan. 12, 1999. Tennessee now plays four of its next five on the road, including a rematch with the Gators on Feb. 22.
Virginia-Maryland
Press Notes
Virginia enters tonight’s Atlantic Coast Conference game with an 11-8 overall record and a 5-4 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 75-73 victory over Wake Forest (Feb. 4) at University Hall. Maryland stands at 14-7 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. The Terrapins have lost their last three games and are coming off a 62-58 loss to 18th-ranked NC State (Feb. 5) in Raleigh, N.C. Maryland leads the series with Virginia 99-64 in a rivalry that dates back to the 1912-13 season. UVa has lost the last four meetings in the series, including both contests last season. In the first meeting of the 2004-05 season, UVa fell 82-68 (Jan. 19) in College Park and the Cavaliers lost 92-89 in double overtime (Feb. 19) in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers lost both games in the 2003-04 season to Maryland. Virginia has lost seven of the last 11 and 17 of the last 24 contests in the series The recent series with Maryland has featured quite a few close games. Since 1987, 25 of 39 games have been decided by nine points or less, with Virginia winning 12 of the close games. In the last 19 years there have also been five overtime games, with Virginia winning three of the five games.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Loyola-Wisconsin Green Bay
Press Notes
Loyola looks to avenge a 72-66 loss to UW-Green Bay in Chicago two weeks ago when it travels north to Titletown tonight. With a victory, the Ramblers would surpass their win total from a season ago and secure their most victories since 2002-03, when that squad posted a 15-16 record. This evening’s contest is the first of three straight road games for Loyola, which is 3-5 away from home this season. Loyola has not played outside of the Gentile Center since a heartbreaking 78-75 loss at UW-Milwaukee, Jan. 11. Ramblers and Phoenix tangle for the 27th time in a series that dates back to 1995. UW-Green Bay owns a 15-11 lead in the all-time series, although Loyola has captured seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams. In Green Bay, the Ramblers have compiled a 3-8 ledger, although they have earned a victory in three of the last four seasons in Titletown.
New Mexico-Colorado State
Press Notes
The Rams will be in search of their first win in seven tries when they meet UNM on Wednesday and will be looking to defeat the Lobos for the third time in four years in Fort Collins. CSU suffered an 85-81 setback to league-leading San Diego State on Saturday when the Rams’ late-game rally fell just short sending their record to 12-10, 1-8 MWC on the season. The Lobos will bring a 13-9 overall record into Fort Collins on Wednesday after breaking a three-game losing streak with a 64-53 victory over Utah in Albuquerque Saturday. New Mexico will be looking for its first road win of the season after going 0-8 away from The Pit this year. Colorado State holds an all-time record of 414-162 (.719) in Moby Arena. The Rams hold an 8-31 record in the month of February during Dale Layer’s tenure as head coach. The Rams have a 3-20 record in February in their last three-plus seasons. After holding opponents to a .379 field goal percentage in non-conference games, CSU has allowed league opponents to shoot at a .507 clip after seven MWC games. MWC foes are scoring 79.0 points per game on the Rams compared to a 67.0 points per game average in non-conference play.
BYU-Utah
Press Notes
The Runnin’ Utes (10-10, 3-6 MWC) return home from a two-game road swing. Utah is 8-3 at home overall this season and 2-2 in Mountain West Conference play. The Utes split a pair of road games last week, getting a 71-63 win at Wyoming on Wednesday night and falling 64-53 at New Mexico on Saturday afternoon to end a two-game winning streak. Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through 20 games, 55.8 percent of the Utes’ points, 51.2 percent of their rebounds, 52.0 percent of their assists, and 54.3 percent of their minutes played have come from the first-year players. BYU is 14-6 overall and tied for third place in the Mountain West Conference with a 6-3 record. The Cougars are 4-5 away from home this season, including a 2-3 record in conference play. The Cougars have won four in a row. After defeating TCU, 90-89, in overtime on Jan. 25 at home, BYU picked up road wins at Colorado State (86-84) on Jan. 28 and New Mexico (77-71) on Feb. 1. BYU returned to the Marriott Center last Saturday, defeating Air Force, 65-59. The Cougars rank first in the MWC in scoring offense (76.4 ppg), eighth in scoring defense (70.4 ppg), fifth in rebound margin (+1.9 rpg) and first in assists (17.00 apg).
NC State-Miami
Press Notes
The Wolfpack rank No. 1 in the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.393) but also boast one of the league’s most balanced offensive attacks. Miami (14-8, 6-3 ACC) defeated Georgia Tech, 70-53, on Saturday. Miami, which has won three straight games, has been one of the league’s top defensive teams ranking No. 1 in the ACC in scoring defense (62.5 ppg) and second to only NC State in field goal percentage defense (.404). Miami and NC State meet for the second time this season and the fourth time overall. NC State won the first meeting this season and lead the all-time series, 2-1. Miami won last season’s meeting in Coral Gables, 67-66, marking UM’s first ACC victory.
Thursday, February 9, 2007
Idaho State-Northern Arizona
Press Notes
Idaho State, fresh off a 95-70 win over the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, head to the road for their final two conference road games, starting on Thursday at Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks, who had their 10-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, lead the league with an 8-1 conference record. Idaho State excised a few demons with their strong 95-70 win over previous Mid Major #9 Montana on Saturday. The Bengals are currently in seventh place, one game out of the Big Sky playoff hunt, trailing 3-6 Weber State. Northern Arizona is 16-7 overall and 8-1 in the Big Sky, good for first place, although they saw the nation’s longest winning streak at 10 snapped on Saturday with their 74-61 loss to Eastern Washington. Mike Adras (UC Santa Barbara, 1983) is 107-89 overall in his seventh year with the Lumberjacks. He is 10-5 against the Bengals, and 5-1 in Flagstaff.
New Mexico Stat-Nevada
Press Notes
Nevada has won four straight games and returns to Lawlor Events Center after playing three of the team’s last four contests away from home. The Wolf Pack holds a 9-1 record at Lawlor Events Center this year, last defeating Hawai’i there on Jan. 28. With last week’s road wins over the Bulldogs and the Aggies, Nevada has moved into a three-way tie for first place in the WAC with Louisiana Tech and Utah State with a 7-3 league mark. Thursday night’s game against NMSU marks the beginning of a three-game homestand for the Wolf Pack, which played six of its first 10 WAC games away from home. Under the direction of first-year head coach Reggie Theus, New Mexico State brings a 9-11 overall record into Thursday night’s back-to-back meeting with the Wolf Pack. The Aggies are fifth in the WAC standings with a 5-4 league mark. Last week’s 90-81 loss to Nevada snapped New Mexico State’s two-game winning streak, which included a 93-86 victory over Utah State on Feb. 2. The Aggies returned two starters from last year’s 6-24 team and were picked to finish seventh and eighth in the preseason WAC media and coaches’ polls, respectively. New Mexico State holds a 13-6 advantage over Nevada in the series between the two former members of the Big West Conference. The Wolf Pack snapped a four-game losing streak to the Aggies with the team’s 90-81 victory on Saturday night in Las Cruces, N.M.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
East Carolina-UAB
Press Notes
East Carolina junior guard Japhet McNeil and sophomore forward Jonathan Hart have been suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team announced head coach Ricky Stokes on Monday. Neither will play in Saturday’s game against UAB in Birmingham. McNeil leads Conference USA in assists with 6.65 per game and ranked fifth in the latest NCAA statistics published on January 31. He has distributed 133 assists this season, which is an ECU single season record. McNeil had started 15 games this season, while averaging 4.9 points in 27 minutes per game. Hart was averaging 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 17 minutes of action per game this season and had started each of the past three games.