Archive - Jan 2012

No. 3 Connecticut thumps Syracuse

Syracuse, NY (Sports Network) - Tiffany Hayes drained six three-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points and ripped down seven rebounds as third- ranked Connecticut blew past Syracuse, 95-54 on Wednesday.

This Week in the Big Ten: Michigan State Drops Three in a Row. Illinois Poised to Break Out?

Last weekend's Big Ten games did not bring any major surprises, as each game evolved according to our Full Court predictions.

Ohio State now stands alone in second place, at 6-1 in conference play, behind Purdue (7-0), the sole undefeated team in the league in conference action. How long those rankings will hold is up for grabs: Purdue has the toughest portion of its schedule ahead it, and among other formidable opponents remaining on the schedule, the Boilers play Ohio State in Columbus on February 12. Odds are that both teams will have at least one loss when that game rolls around.

Behind them, in third-place tie are a cluster of hot teams with five conference wins and two losses apiece. Penn State got off to a slow start in conference play but the Lady Lions have come on strong of late and now sit in the tie for third place with Nebraska and Michigan. Conversely, Nebraska seemed unstoppable in the early-going, but showed showed their Achilles' heel in blowout losses to Penn State and Ohio State. Huskers fans are hoping that last weekend's 64-49 home win over Minnesota has righted the ship. We'll all see if that's true on Thursday, when the Huskers meet a strong Hawkeyes team (3-4 in-conference, 11-9 overall) at home in Devaney Center.

Michigan has been a mixed bag, handing the Buckeyes their only loss of the season, then falling to Penn State and Michigan State on the road.

Speaking of Michigan State, the Spartans belong on the Not hot list, having lost their last three in a row. They cannot lose another game if they expect to get defend their regular-season conference crown from last season, and if they don't get things turned around pretty quickly, postseason hopes may be fading as well.

As far as the rest of the pack, Minnesota (3-4, 11-5) and Wisconsin (2-5, 6-13) are both well out of the title race, but both have shown recent signs of life in what has to be considered a building year. They could well prove to be spoilers for better situated Big Ten title hopefuls.

And Illinois? Anyone who watched their Cinderella run in last year's Big Ten tournament has got to be questioning whether the Illini will break out any time soon. They have yet to notch their first conference win, but their losses -- even in games against the league's elite teams -- have nearly all been close. Heading into last weekend, the Illini had lost their last five games (including one that went to overtime) by a combined total of just 18 points. Four of those Big Ten losses have come on the final possession or in overtime.

On Sunday, in front of a record crowd at Value City Arena, the Illini hung close for the better part of the first half, before falling behind by eight at the break. Though the Buckeyes extended their lead to as many as 12 points early in the second half, the Illini crawled their way back into it, tying the score at 76 apiece with a little over five minutes to go.

Sammy Prahalis took over, igniting a 20-8 Buckeyes run down the stretch to seal a 96-84 Ohio State victory. But the Illini have shown time and again that they are a team with pride, heart and talent who can stay on the floor with the best of the Big Ten. They are still missing the piece that will put them over the top and on the path to victory, but if they put the pieces together, they might surprise Michigan State this weekend.

In fact, that is our Full Court call as the upset of the coming weekend.

Let's take a look at the rest of last week's action, the current standings, and our predictions for Thursday's midweek games.

Up and Down the ACC: Duke v. Maryland the Best-Played Game of the ACC Season

In what was the best-played game of the ACC season, No. 5 Duke defeated Maryland, then ranked No. 8/7, 80-72, in Durham on Sunday to go to 7-0 in league play.

These two Top Ten teams were evenly matched in nearly every department. Duke shot 50 percent from the field and boasted five players in double figures, led by Haley Peters who put up 21 points on a dead-eyed 10-of-12 from the field. Maryland connected on 45.5 percent of its field-goal attempts and three Terps notched double-digits, led by Alyssa Thomas with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting that included two (of three) three-pointers.

Speaking of three-pointers, neither team relied on them too heavily. Duke netted three treys on nine attempts (33.3 percent). Maryland knocked down four from beyond the arc, out of 15 attempts (26.7 percent.)

Neither team missed a single free-throw, but then again, since both squads managed to play defense without fouling, not much of the game was played at the foul line, where the two teams went a combined 15-of-15. Both teams also did a good job of handling the rock, combining for just 19 turnovers.

Both squads also relied heavily on their starters, with each garnering 12 points from its bench.

The decisive difference? Rebounding. The Blue Devils dominated the boards to the tune of 41-30. That included a five-rebound advantage (16-11) on the offensive glass, which Duke translated into 16 second-chance points, to Maryland's 11.

If this game was a referendum for ACC Player of the Year, the results were inconclusive. Maryland's Alyssa Thomas posted 26 points and 10 rebounds for the losing side; both were career high and game highs. But Duke's Chelsea Gray registered an equally impressive stat line of 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. Gray also deserves a great deal of the credit for Duke's ultimate victory, having scored seven of the Blue Devils' last nine points, including a big three and a post-up that caught Maryland off-guard.

There's little question that Elizabeth Williams has already sewn up the ACC's Rookie of the Year award, given that she just won the league's Rookie of the Week honors for the sixth time this season. Indeed, though just a freshman, Williams has got to be part of the conversation for first-team All-ACC and may well win the hardware as national Rookie of the Year.

Though Duke, with the win, holds sole possession of first place in the conference standings, the Terps, who otherwise took care of business last week by bullying Wake Forest, 86-58, are certainly still in a position to win the regular-season ACC race -- especially since they'll get another crack at the Devils in College Park on February 19.

Let's take a look at last week's action elsewhere in the ACC, the current standings, our Full Court Surprise Player of the Week, and the best of the games to watch in the coming week.

Notre Dame beats Tennessee by 28

South Bend, IN (Sports Network) - Skylar Diggins shook off a slow start and finished with 27 points while Devereaux Peters recorded a double-double, as No. 2 Notre Dame made an emphatic statement with a 72-44 drubbing of seventh- ranked Tennessee.

No. 10 Miami beats Virginia Tech by 31

Coral Gables, FL (Sports Network) - Stefanie Yderstrom scored a game-high 22 points and No. 10 Miami-Florida dominated Virginia Tech, 79-48, on Monday.

Notre Dame beats Tennessee by 28

South Bend, IN (Sports Network) - Skylar Diggins shook off a slow start and finished with 27 points while Devereaux Peters recorded a double-double, as No. 2 Notre Dame made an emphatic statement with a 72-44 drubbing of seventh- ranked Tennessee.

Lynx sign veteran C McWilliams-Franklin

Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - The Minnesota Lynx re-signed veteran center Taj McWilliams-Franklin on Monday.

Baylor again a unanimous No. 1 in women's hoops

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Baylor remained a unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press women's college basketball poll.

Big East Notebook: Top-10 Showdowns Highlight the Schedule, as Irish Take on Tennessee Monday

Though the BIG EAST sent a conference, and NCAA-record, eight teams to the Big Dance last season, no one knows at this point just how many members of the league will be part of the 64-team field come March when the tournament committee announces its choices on Selection Monday.

That's why, though theres still a week-and-a-half left in January, here in the BIG EAST Conference, with its six nationally ranked teams plus a steadily improving seventh one very much part of the discussion, most of the group of postseason aspirants are already in NCAA-tournament mode night after night.

On top of that, the BIG EAST elite are regularly putting their national rankings and BIG EAST standings on the line in big step-out games against other ranked opponents, with severalstep-out such games ahead in the near future.

The next step-out game of major consequence comes Monday night when No. 9 Tennessee visits Notre Dame in the first meeting between the two since last spring, when the Irish upset the Lady Vols in the Dayton Regional to advance to the Womens Final Four and eventual championship contest, losing to Texas A&M.

Last year's win was the first for the Irish, currently ranked No. 2, in 21 meetings with Tennessee.

Will Monday night see the second?

Duke tops Maryland in top-10 tilt

Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Haley Peters scored a career-high 21 points as the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils outlasted the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins, 80-72, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.