Gators title defense continues; Hoyas round out FourESPN.com
EAST AFTERMATH
By Andy Katz
Who said the Hoyas were just Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert? Jonathan Wallace's tying 3-pointer should send a strong message that the Hoyas can play with anybody's perimeter.
"I just was able to step back and knock it down," said Wallace, whose 7-of-11 shooting helped Georgetown to a stellar 57 percent from the field.
Wallace (19 points), Jessie Sapp (15 points) and Jeremiah Rivers (Doc's son), a defensive and steady presence, held their own and more against Carolina's vaunted Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington.
"It seemed people kept counting us down," Rivers said of the guards. "Everyone kept saying that our guards weren't very good. But we've been solid all year."
From the depths
Despite the loss, North Carolina proved that playing 12 can work. The large rotation wasn't why the Tar Heels lost; rather it was because they stopped getting boards, according to the players.
Throughout most of the first 30 minutes, the Heels were able to get more than one shot a possession, but that changed as Georgetown started to lock in on the defensive backboard.
"We didn't get the shots we wanted," North Carolina sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough said. "I think they must have talked about [tightening things up on the glass] at halftime because it felt like there was more pressure on me [getting boxed out] when we shot."
The Hoyas kept the Tar Heels without a field goal for seven-plus minutes, and they outscored Carolina 31-9 in the final 11 minutes. The Hoyas 56-32 scoring advantage in the paint also was indicative of how Georgetown turned the game inside, even though the numbers say the Tar Heels outrebounded Georgetown 43-38.
The last shot in regulation
Carolina point guard Lawson said the play was for him to take the ball to the hole if it was available, but he could dish it off if someone was open. That's exactly what he did, but Ellington missed a potentially game-winning 3-pointer.
Wright's future
Brandan Wright could be a lock for the top five in the NBA draft if he decides to declare this spring, but after the game, Wright said, "We'll definitely be ready for next year."
When asked whether that means he's definitely returning, Wright said, "I'm not in a position to talk about the future. But coach [Roy Williams] and I are going to have a couple of meetings."
Copyright 2007 ESPN Internet Ventures
Just in time
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Well before he successfully played "Beat the Shot Clock" twice during a slump-busting 24-point performance in UCLA's 68-55 win over Kansas on Saturday, time was running out on Arron Afflalo.
The junior guard needed to rediscover the jump shot that helped him earn Pac-10 Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors, then suddenly eluded him at the end of the regular season.
His shooting problems were dismissed as an off game when he managed just three points in a shocking loss to California in the Pac-10 tournament. But after a brief pause in a NCAA tournament-opening blowout of Weber State, his offensive struggles became a daily topic of conversation with the media when he suffered back-to-back brickfests against Indiana (2 for 11) and Pittsburgh (3 for 11).
Afflalo kept missing. And the Bruins kept winning. Certainly, there was no way that equation could add up to a Final Four for UCLA if its leading scorer continued to miss regularly from the field, not with the way the top-seeded Jayhawks and their wealth of offensive-skilled NBA prospects rang up points.
"A lot gets written about my shot, but that's a part of basketball and a part of human nature," Afflalo said of his untimely five-game stretch of 31-percent shooting (18 for 58). "I'm going to miss and I'm going to make. But as long as I'm there to be effective for my teammates and put winning first, I really don't worry about it too much."
"Whenever I don't play well and we lose, that disturbs me. Because I feel like I didn't present myself in the best possible [way] for my team to win," Afflalo added. "But as long as we're winning, it really doesn't bug me as much as people think."
The Bruins are returning to the Final Four mostly because they played their trademark relentless defense and forced Kansas into 41-percent shooting. But they wouldn't be hopping on a plane for Atlanta on Wednesday if Afflalo hadn't found his jumper.
Matched up with Kansas' best player, 6-foot-6 Brandon Rush, the 6-5 Afflalo won the battle of projected NBA first-rounders (should they leave school early) by making a lot more than he missed in a spectacular 10-for-15 shooting night.
Afflalo came up big particularly in the second half when he drained two three-pointers with UCLA fans counting down the shot clock. The first buzzer-beater pushed UCLA out to a 40-33 lead and the second stretched the margin to 49-40 with 10:18 remaining. Both times, Rush stood one-on-one with Afflalo at the top of the key only to get beat.
"He made shots that were probably a lot harder than the ones we missed," said Kansas coach Bill Self, who lamented the Jayhawks' errant layup attempts. "That's what happens when you guard; that's why teams win in the tournament. They step up and make plays, and he made a lot of plays."
"He made all the shots," said Rush, who led KU with 18 points. "He didn't miss none."
Not in the final 23 minutes of the game he didn't. Afflalo made eight straight shots, his last bucket coming on a blow-by drive around Rush for a layup and a 53-45 advantage. Afflalo didn't miss a shot until he clanked the back end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line with 1:13 to play.
"The good thing about it was that this was the most important game. … Arron just stepped up," said point guard Darren Collison, who sank his own crucial buzzer-beating three that helped keep Kansas at arm's length at 58-50. "But my thing is, everybody was talking about how his shooting was off, but his defense has been consistent all along. That's what's helping us win games."
"It was very important," Shipp said of Afflalo's breakthrough. "But we expect it from Arron. He's been our leader all year. We expect him to score big in these types of games."
Offensively, it looked like it would be more of the same for Afflalo after he missed five of his first seven attempts, two of them three-pointers blocked by Rush. But Afflalo's confidence grew after closing the first half with a baseline jumper, a finger-roll layup and a drive-and-kick assist to Josh Shipp to beat the halftime buzzer for a 35-31 advantage.
"What I'm so happy about is the win," Afflalo said. "Each year, you become more of a leader, more of a focal point for your team. Obviously, you're going to make plays throughout the season and in important games like today, which is very fortunate for myself. But I'm just so happy because I'm more part of a team each year because I'm older and I appreciate it a little bit more.
"I'm just out there playing the game," he added. "I'm watching the time tick away, trying to put points on the board and trying to make stops."
Thanks to Afflalo's clutch shooting, though, UCLA's season hasn't hit 0:00.
Copyright 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Indiana 70, Gonzaga 57
Hoosiers Go Over Bulldogs Instead ofThrough Them
By LEE JENKINS
Published: March 16, 2007
SACRAMENTO, March 15 The Indiana Hoosiers came to California and seemed to lose all of their core Midwestern values.
In doing so, they advanced to the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament.
Famous for their bruising defense and stubborn interior play, the Hoosiers hung out at the 3-point line Thursday night and took down the Gonzaga Bulldogs from long range, 70-57.
Gonzaga was most concerned about D. J. White, the Indiana power forward who muscles his way through the paint. But the player who really hurt the Bulldogs was Roderick Wilmont, a senior from Florida, who had six 3-pointers and 22 points.
Wilmont was hardly alone on the perimeter. The Hoosiers attempted 25 3-pointers, making 9. It is not uncommon for college basketball teams to take 25 3-pointers in a game. But it is somewhat rare for a power team from the Big Ten.
Seeded 10th, Gonzaga made a run in the second half that cut the deficit to 4 points, but Indiana controlled the game throughout. The Hoosiers continued the trend of higher-seeded teams holding off lower-seeded teams on the first day of the tournament.
The seventh-seeded Hoosiers will be prohibitive underdogs when they face U.C.L.A. in the second round on Saturday at Arco Arena. Gonzaga can be beaten from the 3-point line, but U.C.L.A. probably cannot. To upset the Bruins, the Hoosiers will probably have to get back to their strength, finding White and controlling the post.
Regardless of the outcome, Kelvin Sampson's first year as Indiana's coach has to be considered a success. The Hoosiers struggled at times early in the season, but they won 10 games in the Big Ten, putting them one rung below Ohio State and Wisconsin.
When Sampson was at Oklahoma, his teams often had trouble in first-round games. Indiana also has not had a lot of tournament success lately. So far, Sampson and the Hoosiers appear to be a match.
Posey an imposing force on the court
March 9, 2007
Fort Worth Star Telegram
UT-Arlington junior Larry Posey proved to be a key source of energy for the Mavericks this season. The passionate Posey plays the role of comedian, motivator and intimidator on the court for the UTA men.
Posey, at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, can certainly look intimidating, and says he tries to use that to UTA's advantage. He averaged 8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in the regular season.
"I guess I'm the enforcer on the court. My role is being the tough man and getting things done," he said. "Off the court I'm a pretty nice guy, but on the court we're not friends until after the game."
The Mavericks, 13-16 overall and 8-8 in the Southland Conference, won seven of their last nine SLC games. The SLC tournament, which began Thursday night in Houston, was sort of a homecoming for Posey, who graduated from Houston Milby. He helped lead Milby to the 2004 Class 5A state title, and was named to the all-state team.
Class: Junior Vital stats: 6-foot-5 forward
Major: Interdisciplinary studies, sports administration emphasis
What are your hobbies? I like swimming. I used to live in the pool every summer.
You also collect movies on DVD? I've got probably 100-plus. The other guys on the team come to me just about every night to borrow them.
What's your favorite movie? Maybe The Mighty Ducks. I just like how they went from the last-place team to win the championship, and they were like brothers.
Who are your best friends on the team? I'm friends with everybody. But I guess the best would be the people I live with -- Jermaine Griffin, Rodrick Epps and Jeremy Dewalt. I've lived with them since I was a freshman. We stayed in the same apartment.
There's another college basketball player in your family? I have a younger brother who plays basketball in junior college. He'll play at St. Edward's next year. His name is Houston Posey.
Is he like you? No, he's an undersized guard. He's 5-7. If people didn't know us, they wouldn't know we were brothers.
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East Tennessee State 77, Stetson 61
March 1, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Courtney Pigram scored 31 points as East Tennessee State defeated Stetson 77-61 Thursday night in an Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament quarterfinal game.
Pigram, the league's Player of the Year, went 9-for-10 form the free-throw line and added nine rebounds.
Eighth-seeded Stetson (11-20) had lost twice to ETSU by an average of 24.5 points per game during the regular season, but stayed close for much of the game.
The Hatters took their first lead of the night at 44-43 when Gabe McMillan scored with 13:30 remaining and went up by four moments later before ETSU began its comeback.
ETSU's Andrew Reed slammed in an offensive rebound with 8:28 left to put the Bucs up 53-51. They outscored Stetson 24-10 the rest of the way.
Mike Smith added 14 points for ETSU, which won the Atlantic Sun regular-season title by two games.
Garfield Blair led Stetson with 17 points. A.J. Smith added 16 and Collins Okafor had a career-high 14.
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