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Monday, March 31st, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:08:13 pm
Stanford 7-footers Brook and Robin Lopez have each decided to go to the NBA, according to this Associated Press report. Stanford now joins Washington State and Oregon as teams that will take the court next season almost unrecognizable from their NCAA tournament teams of this season. And here's an analysis from the San Jose Mercury News about where the Cardinal goes from here.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:04:29 pm
No one has asked, but the CBI has begun it's final round, with Bradley visiting Tulsa in a two-of-three series for the inaugural championship. Here's a preview from the CBI Web site.
Categories: Huskies
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:17:35 am
A few days ago and a few posts down, I thought we had a pretty good discussion to the question I asked about whether the UW football team is more likely to go bowling next season, or the UW basketball team is more likely to make the NCAA tournament. In my column today, I weigh in on the side of basketball. But it's a close call and an interesting topic, which will evolve as we start learning more about the two teams. For the football team, that starts Thursday with spring practice.
Categories: Huskies
• 3 comments
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:27:12 am
Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson is back at Arizona and has made it clear that he plans to stay a good long while. Here are details from the Tucson Citizen.
Categories: Huskies
Friday, March 28th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:34:34 pm
Washington basketball assistant Cameron Dollar has been identified as one of three finalists for the head coaching job at Sacramento State. Here are the details from the Sacramento Bee.
Categories: Huskies
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 03:00:12 pm
Former UW great Benji Olson of Port Orchard has announced his retirement after 10 NFL seasons. Here is the report from the Tennessee Titans' Web site.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:54:09 am
UW assistant men's basketball coach Cameron Dollar is in the running for the head coaching job at Sacramento State, according to this story in the Sacramento Bee. Dollar, 32, was born in Atlanta, played at UCLA and just completed his sixth season at a UW assistant. Meanwhile, in other Pac-10 coaching news, here's the link to California's announcement that they are parting company with head coach Ben Braun.
Categories: Huskies
• 2 comments
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 03:45:59 pm
Arizona State's loss last night to Florida in the NIT reduces the Pac-10's postseason participation to three teams: UCLA, Stanford and Washington State, all headed to the Sweet 16. The Cougars go against top-seeded North Carolina at 4:27 p.m. Thursday. Here's part of our preview coverage.
Categories: Huskies
• 2 comments
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:35:28 am
Interesting column in today's Los Angeles Times, talking to former UW/current UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel about the ongoing NCAA basketball tournament.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:32:43 am
The College Basketball Invitational now has its inaugural Final Four, and Valparaiso isn't among them. The team that ended UW's season last week got bumped last night by the Houston Cougars. I've gotta admit, no one has asked for it, but here's your CBI update.
Categories: Huskies
• 2 comments
Monday, March 24th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:30:41 pm
The UW medical staff confirms that center Artem Wallace suffered a torn ACL and lateral bone contusions last Wednesday in the CBI game against Valparaiso. He is expected to undergo surgery on April 8. The UW trainer says the normal recovery time after the surgery is between six and nine months. That means that he may -- or may not -- be ready when the Huskies return for preseason camp in October. In the just-completed season, Wallace played in 31 games, including 25 starts. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in an average of 14.2 minutes per game.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:38:10 am
For the second consecutive season, the UW football team didn't go bowling and the basketball team didn't get invited to the Big Dance. With basketball just over and spring football about to begin, that raises an interesting question: Which team is more likely to break through next season? That will be my column topic for later in the week, but before I start writing, I thought it might be useful to hear from you: So, if you'd like to be heard, please hop into the "Comments" section with your thoughts on which team is more likely to make the postseason next season. (And yes, the answer could be both or neither ... but for now let's just consider which program is more likely to take that step up next season.)
Categories: Huskies
• 5 comments
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:45:06 pm
The Huskies' spring football roster has been updated and is now available on the UW athletic Web site, GoHuskies.com. There are a few interesting things on there to ponder in the final 10 days or so until the Huskies begin spring drills. For one, note again that the roster lists academic classes, therefore, for example, Jake Locker is listed as a junior even though he has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Etc. Also, Quintin Richardson is listed as a cornerback. Despite some earlier speculation, Johnie Kirton remains listed as a tight end. And incoming freshman Chris Polk is listed as a wide receiver. Polk is one of two members of the most recent recruiting class who will be on campus in time to participate in spring work. The other is Arizona linebacker Kurt Mangum. Spring practices begin April 3 and conclude with the annual spring game April 26. Only the spring game will be open to the public.
Categories: Huskies
• 4 comments
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:15:19 am
There have been some good comments on the UW basketball season in the threads below. I'll try to answer some of the questions and react to some of the comments later today and likely over the next few days. For now, however, here's my column from today's paper, which tries to make the point that while, yes, these Huskies were hurt by free-throw shooting, they were also hurt by not being good enough to overcome poor free-throw shooting. In other words, it wasn't one thing, and it's almost never one thing. This season, the Huskies weren't quite good enough to get into the top half of the tough Pacific-10 Conference. But in a loser-out situation, they also weren't quite good enough to get past a Horizon League also-ran such as Valparaiso. I think next season could be considerably better. I think the Huskies gain from experience and another recruiting class more than what they lose from the graduation of Ryan Appleby and Tim Morris. Just as importantly, I think the rest of the Pac-10 is likely to come back to them a bit, with WSU and Oregon losing key seniors and USC and others perhaps losing NBA bound freshman. And, of course, it's hard to imagine the Huskies being that bad at the free throw line again. Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:09:05 pm
Here's my story on the game that ends what most will consider a disappointing UW basketball season. And it ended in a way that fit the entire season. Close, but not quite. And specifically, with Jon Brockman missing two free throws in the final seconds that could have won the game, or at least sent it to overtime. For the game, Washington was 11 of 24 at the free throw line: 45.8 percent. Naturally, the Huskies were disappointed with the loss. But they said they were glad they had accepted the CBI bid and got to play in another game. They also said they believe that next year they'll improve enough to get back into the tournament that everybody actually wanted to be in. I'll write more about that over the weekend. But for now, a last look at this last game: Star of the game: Operating on a still-tender ankle, UW forward Jon Brockman came off the bench for a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. It was his 23 double-double of the season, a UW record. He scored in double digits in every game this season. Key stats: Washington took 24 free throws and missed 13 of them. … The Huskies also had shooting problems from the field, hitting 44 percent and 25 percent from the 3-point arc. … UW had a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers, a 7-0 advantage in fast-break points and the bench outscored Valpo’s reserves 45-24. Key run: Washington missed its last seven shots from the field while being shut out over the final three minutes and 10 seconds. Next: Washington’s season is over. Valpo advances to the CBI quarterfinals Monday at Houston. A few reactions: Brockman on those final free throws:“I thought I was going to make them. That’s kind of been our (problem) all year, something that’s cost us a lot of games. (This) was an example: We could have won the game. … I just feel bad for our guys. I can’t help but feel that I let them down a little bit.” Coach Lorenzo Romar, looking back: “Down the stretch, we certainly had our chances and didn’t capitalize.(Valparaiso) took advantage of their opportunities. I don’t think it (is) more complicated than that.” Romar, looking backward and forward: “If we were a decent foul shooting team, I firmly believe we’d be in the NCAA tournament. … We did a lot of good down the stretch. If we can carry over into next season, with additional players coming in that shoot free throw well, we can take the next step and get back to where we need to be.” Appleby, on if he's glad they accepted the CBI bid: “It was nice to be able to get another chance … to come out here and get one more game. Obviously, it would have been a lot better if we would have won."
Categories: Huskies
• 11 comments
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:54:59 pm
The Crusaders had been playing with the lead most of the stretch run, and at times seemed on the verge of pulling away. However, Joel Smith just put the Huskies ahead with a 3-pointer. Somebody's season is ticking down to its end.
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:03:41 pm
We have just received word that the extent of Artem Wallace's knee injury remains undetermined. However, he will not return tonight.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:55:54 pm
Entertaining enough game so far. Most encouragingly for the Huskies, Jon Brockman looks all right -- more than all right -- with a team-high 14 points. It is not a game-high, however, due to the amazing performance of Valpo 6-11 forward Bryan Bouchie, who had 15. That, in fact, has made for a nice little duel, as Brockman and Bouchie have regularly been guarding each other. Bouchie, by the way, averages less than seven points per game. Elsewhere in the CBI tonight, Bradley beat Cincinnati, 70-67, meaning no CBI game has yet been decided by more than six points. And this one might not change that.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:34:49 pm
Score tied, 19-19, with about seven minutes left in the first half.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:22:35 pm
Uw forward Jon Brockman entered the game at 13:35 of the first half, Huskies leading Valparaiso, 7-6. On his first trip down court, he got a defensive rebound. (Just by my eyeballs, I would estimate the crowd at about 3,000.)
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:12:10 pm
Less than three minutes into the game, the Huskies are minus both of their usual starting big men. Jon Brockman didn't start due to continuing ankle trouble. And center Artem Wallace just went down with a knee injury and was not only helped off the court, but helped instantly into the locker room. The Huskies are now going with a very small lineup: Overton, Appleby, Morris, Pondexter and freshma Matthew Bryan-Amaning.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:01:49 pm
The Huskies have just been introduced. The starting lineup includes seniors Tim Morris and Ryan Appleby along with Venoy Overton, Artem Wallace and Quincy Pondexter. That means Jon Brockman will at least start on the bench.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:59:00 pm
In addition to live broadcast on Fox Sports Channel and the tape-delayed broadcast on FSN, tonight's game -- and all CBI games -- also is available live on the Internet at cbi2008.com.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:16:15 pm
Both teams are on the court for pregame warmups, and UW leading scorer and rebounder Jon Brockman is out there with the Huskies, looking amazingly more mobile than he did last week at the Pac-10 tournament. (He seems to be wearing some sort of soft support inside his shoe on his injured left ankle. However, we have heard no official word on his status other than that it will be a gametime decision.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:39:42 pm
My preview story in today's paper recalls the moment when a lot of basketball fans first heard of Valparaiso Univerisy: March 13, 1998, when Bryce Drew hit a three pointer that pushed the Crusaders past Ole Miss in the NCAA tournament. Now, through the magic of the Internet, here's an Associated Press story from that day. And for a little more magic, here's the video from that day. Flash forward 10 years and six days later, and the current Crusaders are on the court of Hec Edmundson Pavilion, lightly warming up for the CBI-opening game tonight against the Huskies. The game is on live on Fox Sports Channel, but the FSN broadcast will be tape delayed until 11 p.m. Usual game-day drill here: Any news as it breaks before the game (I'm figuring Pondexter starting for the still-injured Brockman), then a halftime update and postgame notes and quotes.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:14:44 am
The first half of the College Basketball Invitation's first round had some solid basketball before some weak crowds. The tournament's four Tuesday games had margins of victory of one point, two points, three points and six points. However, they also had crowds ranging from a low of 1,169 at Ohio to a high of 4,252 at Nevada. Here's a good summary of CBI games from last night and the rest of the tournament. UW officials say they can break even tonight with a crowd of about 5,000 for the 6 p.m. game against Valparaiso. Something over 2,000 were sold yesterday, however, I'm not sure how much that indicates the final crowd since there was little incentive for advanced purchase for a game certain to have good seats available at the box office tonight.
Categories: Huskies
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:04:58 pm
The Houston Cougars won an extremely entertaining game at Nevada tonight, 80-79, and will advance to the College Basketball Invitational against the winner of the Washington-Valparaiso game Wednesday at Hec Ed. If UW advances, the Huskies will host the Cougars at 6 p.m. Monday at Hec Ed. Here is my UW-Valpo story from today's paper.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:54:20 pm
UW forward Jon Brockman didn't practice again due to his ankle sprain, and his availability for tomorrow's CBI opener against Valparaiso will likely be a gametime decision. Meanwhile, about 2,000 tickets were reported sold today, meaning there will be plenty of good seats available for walk-up purchase tomorrow at the box office. Tickets are $15 ($5 for UW students).
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:13:05 pm
I got a note from the Washington athletic department today that they received 45 resumes for the open football public address announcer position. A department committee, headed by its marketing staff, will review the resumes, listen to the MP3 files of the applicants and trim the list to a final few who will be invited to try out, probably at the stadium. The position came open when Lou Gellermann retired last fall after 35 seasons as the stadium voice of the Huskies. Men’s basketball announcer Eric Radovich took over on an interim basis and remains a candidate for the full-time position. UW expects to have the new announcer selected by mid-April in time to debut at the football spring game on April 26.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:05:17 pm
The first couple of games of the College Basketball Invitational are in the books, with Old Dominion beating Rider and Virginia edging Richmond. I got to watch most of the Virginia game, and it was a pretty entertaining one, going down to the final possession with the Cavs winning, 66-64. I didn't hear official attendance, but whatever I could see on TV appeared to be pretty full. Starting in a few minutes -- 6 p.m. -- will be the game that more immediate affects UW: Houston at Nevada. If the Huskies win tomorrow against Valparaiso, the winner of the Houston-Nevada game will come to Hec Ed on Monday. The games are on Fox Sports Channel -- not FSN -- and that means only on some cable and dish sports tiers. The UW game tomorrow also will be taped and shown on FSN on a delayed basis: 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:15:59 am
The Huskies have opened as the second-biggest favorites in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. The biggest favorite is Virginia, 13 1/2- point favorites over Richmond in one of the CBI openers tonight. If form holds, the Huskies will advance to host Nevada on Monday at Hec Ed. The Wolf Pack is a three point favorite at home tonight against Houston. Here is a link to our CBI coverage in today's paper. Here's a look from the Crusaders' point of view from the Gary (Ind.) Post-Tribune. The Post-Tribune story includes a nice quote -- echoing what some of the Huskies had to say -- from Valpo coach Homer Drew: "There are only 113 teams still playing out of 341 in Division I, so it's an honor just to be playing. Maybe we don't have our dancing shoes on, but we've still got our tennis shoes on."
Categories: Huskies
Monday, March 17th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 03:53:39 pm
We got to speak to coach Lorenzo Romar and a few of the Huskies this afternoon. No one is pretending that the CBI is the NCAA tournament ... or even the NIT. However, everyone seems happy to have more games to play, rather than simply turning on the TV as they were forced to do last season. (Here's the story from our Tuesday paper.) As for that game, Romar said that Jon Brockman (ankle) remains day-to-day: possible for Wednesday, but likely for Monday if the Huskies advance past Valpo. Romar also said that Quincy Pondexter's performance in the Pac-10 tournament loss to Cal was good enough to merit another start -- whether Brockman starts or not. Not much other real news, except that football coach Tyrone Willingham had a free-throw shooting contest with one of the basketball players -- let's call him, um, "Q" -- and Willingham won. They were taking turns shooting two free throws each. Willingham hit seven of his eight, when Q missed two of his first seven that was that. Willingham -- who was wearing green for St. Pat's day and made a point of sticking his head into the media room to make sure all the writers were wearing green (and fortunately we were)-- seemed pleased.
Categories: Huskies
• 4 comments
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:50:00 am
Here's a quick snapshot of the Valparaiso Crusaders, the Huskies' opening round opponent Wednesday at Hec Ed. In general, they seem to be a well-balanced team that likes the 3-point shot. Their high profile games this season included a 68-58 loss at Wisconsin, a 90-58 blowout loss at North Carolina, a 71-68 loss to Butler, a 99=94 double-overtime win over Miami of Ohio in an ESPNU BrackerBuster game, and a 78-73 loss to Cleveland State in the Horizon League championship game. I'll file more this afternoon after we've had a chance to talk to coach Lorenzo Romar and the Huskies. No. 4 CBI seed Valparaiso (21-13)
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:45:25 am
There seems little in life less significant than the final college basketball rankings, topped every time by NCAA tournament seeding. However, here's my final AP men's basketball ballot of the season, along with three All-America teams, college player of the year and coach of the year:
Categories: Huskies
• 5 comments
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:51:26 am
Washington will open the inaugural College Basketball Invitational at 6 p.m. Wednesday, hosting Valparaiso. Here is our story from today. I'll have more information on Valpo later this morning, and then should have some UW information this afternoon after we hear from coach Lorenzo Romar and the players. Here is the UW release, including ticket details:
Categories: Huskies
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 11:15:39 pm
The College Basketball Invitational has released the bracket for its inaugural tournament. The Washington Huskies will open the tournament vs. Valparaiso at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Here's our story from today's paper, which was mostly written before the CBI bracket was released. The Crusaders went 21-13 this season, and 9-9 in the Horizon League. They feature balanced scoring, with five players averaging between 12.9 and 9.8 points. The high-scorer is 6-foot-7 forward Shawn Huff, while 6-0 guard Jarryd Loyd was recently named to the Horizon League all-tournament team. Here is a link to the Valparaiso men's basketball Web site. The UW-Valpo winner will advance to meet the Houston-at-Nevada winner. That game would be March 24, and if I'm reading the bracket correctly, it would again be at Hec Ed, assuming the Huskies advance. Other CBI first-round games: Richmond at Virginia, Rider at Old Dominion, Utah at UTEP, Miami of Ohio at Tulsa, Cincinnati at Bradley and Brown at Ohio.
Categories: Huskies
• 2 comments
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:41:35 pm
The Washington Huskies apparently will open the College Basketball Invitational with a home game Wednesday against an opponent to be named later. Maybe Houston. Maybe Utah. It will likely be Monday before we find out. (In any case, here is a link to the CBI bracket. It remains blank as I type this, but it could be filled in by the time you click it.) A Sunday press conference with coach Lorenzo Romar was pushed from 5 o'clock to 8 o'clock and several times more while the CBI apparently scrambled to get its 16-team field together. Finally, Romar addressed the media about 9:30. And even though he still didn't know his opponent, he didn't seem concerned about the CBI confusion. “It’s in its first year and whenever you start something out sometimes you’re working to do some last-minute details, details that would have been worked through if it had gone on for a couple of years,” he said. "But I’m not concerned. I’m sure once it’s time to go play everything will be worked out.” As 11 p.m., the names of several participants had surfaced: Washington, Utah, Houston, Seton Hall, Nevada, Virginia, Richmond, Cincinnati and Ohio. Houston and Utah were told that they will open on the road, so one of those might make geographic sense for UW. “We’re excited that we still have an opportunity to play,” Romar said. “We are in finals this week: There is one game on Wednesday, and then after that we’re out of school. So it is an opportunity for our guys to continue to play. Our two seniors (Ryan Appleby and Tim Morris) get to continue to play a couple of extra games, hopefully, and our guys get to be together more, we get to practice more. So, we’re excited that they want us to be a part of it.” All CBI games will be played on the home floor of the higher-ranked team. The tournament will tip off with four games Tuesday, and the first round will conclude with four more games Wednesday, including the Huskies’ date at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. All quarterfinal games will be played March 24. The tournament will be re-seeded for the semifinals, which will be played March 26. The best-of-three championship series will run March 31, April 2 and April 4, if needed. At least two games per day in each round will be televised nationally by Fox College Sport. “If you’re not in the Big Dance and you would like to continue playing, a tournament like this is great,” Romar said. “I think it has its positives to it. There’s always a number of teams that are very very worthy of competing in postseason play but don’t get that opportunity for whatever reason, and if they got the chance they’d do a good job. This allows some additional teams to come in and make their case.”
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:23:55 pm
The Huskies went through a practice session at 6 p.m. today, getting ready for their still-unknown opponent in Wednesday's CBI opener. Jon Brockman did not practice on his apparently still sprained ankle. We should get an update on Brockman's status later tonight, because we're supposed to hear from coach Lorenzo Romar once the CBI pairings are set. Meanwhile, one more member of the field has surfaced: Utah, meaning we now know five participating teams including three from the West: Virginia, Ohio, Houston, Utah and Washington.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:00:53 pm
The CBI has given the Huskies word that they will be in the College Basketball Invitational field, apparently hosting a first-round game on Wednesday. However, the opponent isn't yet known, and the official bracket isn't yet out. However, that is expected anytime.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:23:57 pm
Arizona State and California will be part of this season's National Invitation Tournament, the Sun Devils as a No. 1 seed, and the Bears as a No. 4. However, the Huskies were once again bypassed. That sets the stage for them to accept an expected bid from the CBI ... which is expected maybe in just a matter of minutes.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:30:47 pm
A few teams have already received and accepted invitations to play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational: Houston, Virginia and Ohio among them. Washington, however, is still waiting. But probably not waiting long. We're expecting word within the next hour or so ... perhaps indicating UW wants to make sure no NIT offer is coming before accepting anything from the CBI. I'll pop back with the news when it comes, and then later in the evening once we hear from coach Lorenzo Romar and pick up details such as opening opponent, site, date, etc.
Categories: Huskies
• 4 comments
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:28:12 pm
Six Pac-10 teams were picked for the NCAA tournament this afternoon: UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, Oregon and Arizona. The NIT field is going to be revealed at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, with Arizona State and California likely to be among the 32 teams. The CBI doesn't have any television fanfare for its bracket unveiling, but word is expected to trickle out around 8 p.m., and it's still expected that Washington will make the field as a high enough seed to host a game this week. Naturally, I'll pop in here as soon as I hear anything.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 01:14:22 pm
It's Selection Sunday, and here's our overview from today's paper on the chances of the Washington Huskies and eight other Pac-10 teams -- everyone but Oregon State -- awaiting a call today. It includes some comment from Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen about what the league is doing or can do to help its teams. Bottom line answer: Not much. As for those Huskies, the latest NIT-ology projection keeps them as a No. 1 seed in the College Basketball Invitational, likely hosting someone -- this project says Sam Houston State -- Tuesday or Wednesday at Hec Ed. I think Huskies in the CBI and hosting is probably what we'll hear today. However, I think the bigger question is between CBI and nothing, rather than NIT or CBI. In any case, the NCAA makes its picks at 3 p.m., so I would expect the NIT and CBI selections (and word on Washington) to be settled between 4 and 5 this afternoon. I'll pop in here as soon as word comes.
Categories: Huskies
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:34:15 pm
Washington State guard Kyle Weaver was named to the Pacific-10 Conference all-tournament team. Other members were O.J. Mayo of USC, Brook Lopez of Stanford, and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love of UCLA. UCLA guard Darren Collison, who had 28 points in the title game -- a 67-64 Bruins win -- was named most valuable player.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:20:39 pm
This one went down to the final shot -- a desperation 3-point heave by Anthony Goods that drew iron, but not net. The result was the Bruins backing up their regular season Pac-10 title with a tournament title as well. In fact, this tournament ended with the higher seed winning every game ... with the single exception of No. 9 Cal beating No. 8 Washington. However, even that was no upset as the Huskies were going without leading scorer and rebounder Jon Brockman. In addition to the Pac-10 tournament trophy, the Bruins also almost certainly wrapped up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. We'll find out for sure tomorrow.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:09:20 pm
Stanford jumped ahead early, and UCLA answered with a little run led by Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison. The biggest problem/concern for the Bruins may be that Pac-10 player of the year Kevin Love has been in and out of the game with apparent back issues. That said, he was on the court when the half ended, so I assume the prognosis is good ... as it must be as the Bruins head into NCAA tournament play next week.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 03:18:00 pm
UCLA and Stanford have just taken the floor to decide the Pac-10 tournament champion. The game has only mild meaning beyond bragging rights and perhaps some influence on whether UCLA is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament ... the one these teams are far more concerned about. I'll pop in with any news as it develops, then give a halftime score and some game-ending notes and quotes. THe game is on CBS. Then I've got a plane to catch to get back home for the real excitment that comes tomorrow: Selection Sunday, with the Huskies appearing very much in the CBI mix.
Categories: Huskies
Friday, March 14th, 2008
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 11:29:14 pm
UCLA and Stanford will meet for the tournament championship at 3 p.m. Saturday (on CBS). Meanwhile, Washington State now waits for Selection Sunday to find out who they'll play and where they'll start this season's NCAA tournament. They're probably looking at a five or six seed. Some game highlights: Star of the game: Stanford 7-foot forward Brook Lopez had a game-high 30 points, and a game-high tying 12 rebounds. He also managed three steals. Key stats: The Cougars had 11 assists and 14 turnovers, a ratio that coach Tony Bennett pointed to as crucial. Stanford also outrebounded WSU, 37-28. The Cardinal blocked five shots, while the Cougars blocked none. The teams shot almost evenly: 44.4 percent by Stanford, 44 percent by WSU. Key run: About five minutes into the second half, Washington State’s Derrick Low nailed three 3-pointers in a quick burst. However, Lopez matched and exceeded it with 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Cardinal increased its lead and took control once Low cooled. Observations: Washington State has never gotten past the Pac-10 tournament’s semifinal round. … WSU was trying to clinch back-to-back 25-win seasons, something it has never accomplished. Last season’s team finished 26-8. … The Cougars are now 4-9 all-time in the Pacific-10 Conference tournament and 0-3 against Stanford. A few quotes from WSU coach Tony Bennett. On Stanford: They’re a good team, but we didn’t play the way we had to to win a game like this. I told our kids I respected their comeback – I thought it was a gutsy comeback and we made some shots and did some nice things and showed some moxie, but I didn’t think we played a smart sound game. I thought we got a little out of our game and that’s hard for us with an opponent of this caliber. On the mix of emotions: We’re in the NCAA tournament which is a tremendous opportunity for us. Every game that you play now is for your seniors with the possibility of being your last. I hope that whoever we play, that we will play with a level of intelligence and toughness and soundness that has earmarked out program and what I think has brought these guys to a place where they wanted to be as young guys. (Friday) it was there at times, but not enough. That’s the disappointing part. I respect some of the things that happened and how impressive the Lopezes are and (Stanford coach Trent Johnson) does a great job. He has those kids locked in to play the way that they have to to win. But for us to advance or for us to play at a high level in the tournament, we have to play at a high level and it was lacking at time tonight. On WSU's 14 turnovers: That’s too many (turnovers). Too many for us. I don’t know if we were forcing it at times and making some bad decisions. That hurt us. On going 0-3 vs. Stanford: They beat us three times this year and we obviously couldn’t crack the code. I thought that maybe tonight was our least impressive outing against them of the three. Finally, additional game notes from the WSU sports information department:
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:32:34 pm
Stanford has played with the lead most of the way, but never by much. WSU guards Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie are both in double figures and carrying the Cougs. Stanford is relying on its bigs, led by Brook Lopez's 11.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:19:45 pm
SC freshman O.J. Mayo let the clock run down and then launched a 3-pointer to send it into overtime. It missed, and top-seeded UCLA is on its way to the Pac-10 tournament championship game. That will be at 3 p.m. Friday, when the Bruins will meet the winner of the next game: No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 Washington State. By the way, we haven't a health update on UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who went down in the first half with an injury that appeared to be to his calf or shin.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 07:03:24 pm
Good game. No stats yet. Both teams are solid for the NCAA tournament, and UCLA might even be solid for a No. 1 seed ... but winning here wouldn't hurt. Pretty nice crowd here right now, as there should be for this pairing of the two local teams. However, not a sellout ... a fair number of open seats in the end zones of the upper, upper, upper deck.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:48:50 pm
UCLA starting forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was just helped off the court in obvious pain from an apparent lower left leg injury suffered about 13 minutes into the Bruins semifinal Pac-10 Conference tournament game against USC. ... And he has now been taken to the locker room. USC has held a modest lead most of the way, and leads now, 22-20.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:44:43 pm
The Pac-10's top four seeds all survived to the semifinals, and there should be a couple of pretty good games tonight. As I type, fourth-seeded USC and top-seeded UCLA are warming up for their game that will tip off a bit after 6 p.m. The teams split their two regular season meetings. After that, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Washington State will meet. The Cardinal swept the regular season series. I'll click in here with news as it happens, and with halftime and postgame reports. Both games are on FSN.
Categories: Huskies
Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:42:38 am
With no more UW games before Selection Sunday, the NIT-ology Web Site now has the Huskies not only in the College Basketball Invitational, but in as the Western region's No.1 seed, meaning they would host the first game -- and second if they advance -- at Hec Ed. However, the site seems to have at least one error in that it lists Missouri as the No. 1 seed in the CBI Midwest region, and according to the Kansas City Star, |
