A state of standouts: 2009 might be grand year for North Carolina
RALEIGH - March is always a special month in hoops-crazy North Carolina. The madness might reach a new level in 2009.
The state leads the nation in top-10 basketball teams, with five holding single-digit rankings in the men's and women's Top 25 --- the most in nearly four years. Missing from the list is Stephen Curry's Davidson, but last year's tournament darling is lingering just outside the rankings.
Sure, the Carolina Panthers will host at least one playoff game at Bank of America Stadium in 2009, a place where they were undefeated en route to winning the No. 2 seed in the NFC. And the economic struggles in NASCAR could overshadow Jimmie Johnson's push for a record-setting fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title.
But with conference play starting soon and tournament time rolling around not long after, it's college hoops --- and those those always-intense Tobacco Road rivalries --- that are sure to dominate the headlines in North Carolina in the new year.
"It's such a bastion of basketball," second-year Duke women's coach Joanne P. McCallie said of her first foray into the phenomenon that is March Madness in North Carolina. "It's almost overwhelming."
Three men's teams from North Carolina --- No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Wake Forest --- were a combined 33-1 through Sunday night's games and are ranked in the top 6 for the first time since the final poll of the 2005 season. They're joined by two women's teams, the second-ranked Tar Heels and McCallie's sixth-ranked Blue Devils, who were a combined 23-1 through Sunday.
"It's going to be big-time," North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson said. "I'm ready to play all these top teams. We've been playing teams ... Valparaiso, I'm not saying they're bad, but they're not as highly ranked, so I just can't wait to open the season in the conference."
The state's unique college-centric dynamic --- three schools with a combined nine men's NCAA titles are located in the 30-mile Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, plus a Wake Forest program that's just an hour or so down the road --- makes the flareups that come with familiarity seemingly inevitable.
The most memorable recent spat came last February, when a radio station misquoted Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's objecting to an unnamed school's injury-reporting policies, prompting North Carolina's Roy Williams to say an unnamed person should "coach their own damn team."
"It's distinctly different (than anyplace else) because there's just so much coverage of so many teams all the time," said McCallie, who left Michigan State for Durham before last season. "It's intense. It's exciting to see the stories and exciting to do our part in trying to get women's basketball into the forefront as well. ... Very, very different than the Big Ten."
Different, indeed. What other conference, let alone state, has two players --- North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, the Tar Heels' all-time leading scorer, and Davidson's Curry, who is averaging an even 30 points per game --- who would be a shoo-in for national player of the year if it weren't for the other?
All of North Carolina's teams are hoping for a home-court advantage of sorts once their NCAA tournaments begin. The men hope the selection committee sends them to Greensboro for the first and second rounds, while the women are after the top seed in the following weekend's Raleigh Regional.
"That's why I came --- for ACC basketball and the traditions," McCallie said. "There are challenges within those traditions, but I wouldn't trade it. It's so neat where basketball is so primary in what goes on around here."
Not to be outdone, professional sports in the state also are looking for big things once the calendar flips to '09.
A pair of proud, if not tradition-rich, teams look to return to their respective postseasons after 2-year absences. The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes are hoping to bounce back after flopping in the two seasons since they became North Carolina's only pro team to win a league title when they claimed the Stanley Cup in 2006.
And with the NFC's No. 2 seed, the Panthers have the franchise's second Super Bowl appearance in their sights.
"I think we owe it to ourselves to get this win and finish what we have done this season," linebacker Jon Beason said before the Panthers' regular-season-ending win over New Orleans.
Meanwhile, NASCAR --- while vies annually with college basketball as the king of sports in North Carolina --- enters an uncertain future with the unstable economy placing some team owners on shaky ground.
California businessman Mike Held recently bought out Bill Davis Racing, which has been in NASCAR since 1988.
Its flagship car --- the No. 22 that won the Daytona 500 in 2002 with Ward Burton behind the wheel --- doesn't yet have sponsorship in place for the upcoming season.
"It's difficult, there's no doubt about that," Held said.
"If you think we're sitting here with something in our back pocket that we're just not ready to announce yet, I can assure you that's not the case. ... We'll keep trying and we'll keep looking, and we know it's not going to be easy."
He and BDR Vice President Marty Gaunt have "made the decision, having owned our own teams before, the one thing we both made a pact to do was we would not attempt to do something that is short of funding --- it always ends in disaster," he added. "If we come out onto the track (in 2009 with a Cup team) it's because it makes good business sense and nothing more."
Copyright (c) 2009 Rocky Mount Telegram All rights reserved.
Atlantic-10 Had a Very Good Day
Nothing like a lot of wins over teams from major conference teams in one day. Even better when they are ranked teams. Today the Atlantic-10 had the kind of day that helps the entire conference. It raises the profile of the teams and the competition. At least for a while.
Temple crunched the 8th ranked Tennessee Volunteers to start things off today. That was followed by UMass beating number 25 and defending national champ Kansas 61-60 in Kansas City. Both of those games were nationally televised on ESPN.
For the nightcap, Xavier took down Cinci 76-66 in the Crosstown shootout. An ugly, trash-talking, technical foul-filled game. Three A-10 programs taking down teams from three different power conferences. All being aired nationally. Of course, good luck at finding a conference game being aired on TV once conference play gets underway.
The rest of the conference went 6-2 today. Duquesne nearly pulled off an upset over West Virginia in Morgantown, but that fell short. There are some good teams and plenty of talented young coaches that have been overshadowed by Xavier's Sean Miller. Not to mention good coaches at other schools that have been almost forgotten nationally (Rick Majerus, St. Louis) or just are never looking to jump somewhere else (Phil Martelli, St. Joe's and Fran Dunphy, Temple).
The A-10 was here as recently as last year. They had a fantastic December as teams like Dayton, St. Joe's, UMass, Rhode Island, Charlotte and of course, Xavier all had big wins out of conference. All made noise and spurred dreams of going to the NCAA. Then came conference play and things fell apart. Except for Xavier, there seemed to be little separation among the fourteen programs. Teams rose and fell every week. By the end of the season, three teams made it to the NCAA Tournament only because Temple stunned everyone to win the A-10 Tournament and the automatic bid.
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Men's basketball team exceeds expectations
The slogan for the Georgia men's basketball team after March was four games, three days, two overtimes and one champion.
An improbable run through the SEC Tournament transformed the Bulldogs' season and sent the team into the NCAA Tourney.
Following a 14-point loss to Ole Miss to end the regular season, Georgia entered the SEC Tournament as the lowest seed, slated for a rematch with the Rebels.
It looked as if it would be one and done for Georgia, but an unprecedented run would change the course of the season.
Georgia defeated the Rebels this time as senior forward Dave Bliss hit a jump shot with .4 seconds left in overtime to lift the Bulldogs past Ole Miss 97-95.
Kentucky was next but not before weather intervened. A tornado hit downtown and did damage to the Georgia Dome.
The games were postponed one day and were to be played at Georgia Tech's home floor.
Another overtime was needed to dispose of Kentucky as Zac Swansey hit a 3-pointer with one second left to take the lead. The Bulldogs would hold on for a 60-56 win.
Wins over Mississippi State and Arkansas were less exciting but provided Georgia its second SEC Tournament title.
Georgia then traveled to Washington D.C. as the 14 seed for the first round of the NCAA Tourney against Xavier. The Bulldogs played tough, but Georgia's magic bag was not deep enough, losing 73-61.
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07 Elite Eight the most elite
March 25, 2007
Fort Worth Star Telegram
The four regional finals are known as the Elite Eight. Never in the 29-year seeding history of the NCAA Tournament has that term been more correct. It doesn't get much more elite than 2007.
The lowest possible number, when adding the teams' seeds, for the four regional finals would be 12 (all four games No. 1 vs. No. 2 seeds).
This year's Elite Eight total seed number is 13. Three of the four regional finals -- East, South, West -- are No. 1 vs. No. 2. In the Midwest it's No. 1 Florida vs. No. 3 Oregon.
Only one other time has there been three No. 1 vs. No. 2 seeds matched in the regional finals. That was in 1979, the first year the bracket was seeded. (Michigan State beat Indiana State for the title.)
Also, this is just the fifth time that all four No. 1 seeds reached the regional finals. It also happened in 2003, 2001, 1993 and 1987.
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Winthrop head coach weighing job options
As of Wednesday afternoon, Winthrop's Gregg Marshall was deciding if he should go to South Florida for more talks regarding taking the Bulls job or stay put and negotiate a hefty pay raise and a long-term deal, a source close to the coach told ESPN.com.
South Florida athletic director Doug Woolard went to Marshall's home in Rock Hill, S.C., on Tuesday night for talks. Marshall was tentatively scheduled to go to Tampa on Wednesday night, but a decision hadn't been made as of the afternoon.
If Marshall doesn't go on the trip, expect him to sign a new deal with the Eagles that could pay him close to $400,000, up from his current $270,000 salary. He is also expected to get a fresh 10 years, after signing a similar deal a few years ago.
Marshall has eight years remaining on his current contract. A year ago, he accepted the College of Charleston job, went through the news conference, only to go back to Winthrop after thinking about his decision on the way back to Rock Hill, S.C.
But Marshall isn't against staying put. He led the Eagles to their first-ever NCAA Tournament win last week over Notre Dame. The win, which drew national attention, could open up better scheduling, television games, higher-profile neutral-site nonconference games or pre-conference tournaments.
The Eagles received a Big South-record 11th seed in the tournament, and Marshall led Winthrop to the NCAAs seven times in his nine years at the school.
The Eagles lose seniors Torrell Martin, Craig Bradshaw and Phillip Williams -- its second to fourth leading scorers. But top scorer, guard Michael Jenkins, returns as would a core of juniors who all averaged more than five points a game in Taj McCullough, Chris Gaynor and Antwon Harris. Underclassmen Mantoris Robinson and De'Andre Adams, who both played in over 30 games for the 29-5 Eagles, also return.
Winthrop (14-0 in the Big South) was one of only two teams that went through its conference undefeated (Memphis was the other).
South Florida is looking for a replacement for Robert McCullum. If Marshall turns down the Bulls, ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla -- who has Big East experience coaching at St. John's -- will be a viable player in the search. A source said he has already talked to Woolard.
Woolard has also talked to South Alabama's John Pelphrey. There was strong interest in Virginia Commonwealth head coach Anthony Grant, a former Florida assistant who once interviewed for the job, but Grant is staying with the Rams. George Washington's Karl Hobbs may also be in play if Marshall decides against pursuing the job.
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Dribbling champion wins a truck
Friday, March 16, 2007
BY GEOFF LARCOM
News Staff Reporter
Raymond Eisbrenner, a University of Michigan junior from Plymouth, dribbled a basketball for 16 hours and 6 minutes Tuesday in Atlanta to win a national contest. The prizes: a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck and two tickets to the NCAA national championship basketball game April 2.
Eisbrenner outlasted 25 other contestants in the "Dribble for a Dodge'' contest, held at Morehouse College. In a show of sportsmanship, he accepted the truck but gave the tickets to the national championship game to the runner-up, Anthony Locke of Atlanta.
"It was kind of painful,'' Eisbrenner said of the final hours he stood next to Locke. "I gained a lot of respect for him.''
Starting at 7:45 a.m., contestants dribbled on two legs for the first 12 hours, then judges tried to whittle down the field by having them dribble while standing on one leg, or with their legs crossed, and with their nondominant hand. Contestants were given 15 minute breaks to eat and rest at three points - after five hours, eight hours and 12 hours. Near the end, they got several two-minute breaks when they changed dribbling positions.
People grew tired or would lose focus, their balls bouncing away. "People would finally just fall over,'' Eisbrenner said. Finally, at 11:51 p.m., Locke hopped slightly while dribbling on one foot, leaving Eisbrenner as the last one dribbling.
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Vermont 72, UMBC 63
March 4, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
BOSTON -- Chris Holm had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Mike Trimboli scored 20 Sunday to lift top-seeded Vermont to a 72-63 victory over No. 5 Maryland-Baltimore County and into the Catamounts' fifth consecutive America East title game.
Vermont, which has won 13 in a row, will host the championship game Saturday, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
The Catamounts (25-6) won three consecutive titles from 2003-05 and lost to Albany in the championship game last year.
Vermont is assured of no worse than a trip to the NIT, which takes all regular-season conference champions regardless of what happens in their league tournaments.
The Catamounts trailed 29-27 late in the first half but scored the game's next 10 points bridging the halves, and never trailed again.
UMBC (12-19) went 6:27 between points at the end of the first half and into the second, and trailed by as many as 12 before making a run. The Retrievers came within three points with 4:38 left before a 6-0 Vermont run put the game away.
Mike Cieplicki added 12 points for the Catamounts, who have won 17 of 18 games against league opponents this season.
UMBC leading scorer Brian Hodges, who scored just 7 points in the quarterfinal win over Maine on Saturday, was 2-for-12 from the floor and scored nine points, all in the second half.
Mike Housman led the Retrievers with 20 points and eight rebounds.
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