Saturday, February 28, 2009

 

LSU Upends Kentucky; Purdue Hammers Ohio State

#18 LSU 73, Kentucky 70

Tasmin Mitchell's 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left provided the winning margin for LSU's 10th consecutive victory, as they won at Kentucky for the first time in 20 years, leaving no doubt that they are a team to be reckoned with in the post-season.

The Tigers led by as many as 12 points in the first half, only to see Kentucky to come back to lead by 10 in the second half.

As the two SEC foes battled through a memorable contest, Bo Spencer's 3-pointer at 1:18 gave the Tigers a 69-66 lead. After the teams traded free throws, Darius Miller hit a clutch three for Kentucky to tie the game at 70, but then Mitchell hit the biggest shot of the game, his only 3-point make of the game, with 9.7 left.

Marcus Thornton led the Tigers with 23 points to go with 6 rebounds; Michell had 21 and 8 boards. Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks had 28 and 24 points, respectively, for Kentucky.

LSU has already wrapped up the SEC West and is assured an NCAA bid, but Kentucky lost for the third time in four games and is on the tournament fringe, at 8-6 and 19-10 overall.


#16 Purdue 75, Ohio State 50

In a team effeort, Purdue shot 55%, put five players in double figures, and seriously damaged Ohio State's chances of getting a NCAA invite.

The Boilermakers sent the Buckeyes to an 8-8 record in the conference and 18-9 overall. The Buckeyes need to win their remaining Big 10 games - March 3, at Iowa and March 8, against Northwestern - in order to keep their hopes alive as they have lost 4 of their last 5.

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Friday, February 27, 2009

 

Big 10: Purdue Upset, Illinois Cruises

DeShawn Sims poured in 29 points and Manny Harris contributed 27, as the Mihigan Spartans upset #16 Purdue, 87-78.

#20 Illinois won at Minnesota, 52-41, holding the Gophers to 32% shooting.

#5 Memphis won their 324,678th straight Conference-USA game, extending the nation's longest win streak to in a 71-60 win over UAB. The Tigers look like the most solid #2 NCAA seed ever.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

Winning Ugly: #6 Michigan State Downs Wisconsin, 61-50

The brand of basketball coming out of the Big 10 these days is no thing of beauty, but the Michigan State Spartans have taken the defense-first approach to new levels ths season.

The Spartans broke open a close game in the final minutes, dispatching Wisconsin, 61-50 on Sunday afternoon in East Lansing.

Wisconsin shot a pathetic 31% for the game, but hit 7 of 21 3-pointers while Michigan St. missed on 7 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc. The Spartans' first long-range hit was timely, a Chris Allen 24-footer which gave the them a 52-47 lead with 2:40 left to play, followed by a Kalin Lucas trey at 1:57 which kept Michigan State safely ahead down the stretch.

Lucas led the way with 17 points, followed by Goran Suton with 16.

Michigan State's win ended a five-game Badger winning streak, which commenced after they had lost six in a row. Wisconsin (8-7, 17-10) hasn't beaten a ranked foe outside their conference, which puts their invitation to the field of 65 on very shaky ground.

The Spartans improved their Big 10 lead to a full game over 10-4 Purdue, as they improved to 11-3 and 21-5 overall.

While Michigan St., Purdue and Illinois all seems sure to go to the NCAA tourney, Ohio St., Penn St., Wisconsin and Minnesota are all vying for he 4th and maybe 5th invite for the Big 10.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

 

Purdue Bombs Spartans, 73-54

Robbie Hummel's game isn't back to where it should be, but the Boilermakers keep winning, thanks Monday night to a #6 Michigan State team which shot just 33% for the game. #19 Purdue took care of business and the Spartans by a 73-54 tally.

Hummel scored just two points in his last outing at Iowa, and improved to 11 points against the Spartans, but all but two of his points came early. Hummel scored just two points in the second half on a pair of late free throws.

The win was Purdue's third straight following a pair of road losses, putting the 9-4 Boilermakers just a game back of 10-3 Michigan State in the Big 10. Purdue is now 20-6. Michiagan State is 20-5 overall.

Purdue took over the game early in the second half, opening up a double-digit lead on the Spartans, which stretched to as many as 22 points as the Boilermakers laid it on their conference foes.

JaJuan Johnson led the scoring with 17 points on 5 of 7 shooting and 7 of 8 from the foul line.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

 

Illinois Cruises Past Hapless Indiana, 65-52.

The last time the Illini and Hoosiers met, Illinois stormed out to a 22-1 lead, eventually winning that January 10 contest, 76-45. Since then, Indiana had lost 7 of 8, while Illinois was winning 6 of 9 for a 20-5 record and a national ranking at #22.

This time, playing at home, the Hoosiers didn't look much better through much of the game. Illinois pulled ahead 34-13 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half en route to a 65-52 win.

Indiana only made four field goals in the first half, and had seven shots blocked by relentless Illinois defenders. The Hoosiers finished with an 8-4 run, but still trailed 38-21 at the break, on 6-23 shooting (27%).

The Hoosiers made a game of it in the second half, executing better on offense and forcing Illinois into a number of turnovers. Indiana closed to within 6 points with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, but the Illini resisted and held on for the road win.

Though Illinois runs a 3 guard offense, their scoring leaders were their two front court starters, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, both of whom led the scoring with 16 apiece. Tisdale's points came on 8 of 12 shooting; Davis registered a double-double, hauling down 12 rebounds.

Indiana's season is a lost one, with only one win (over Iowa) in the Big 10 and a 6-18 record overall, but it can pin its future hopes on sharp-shooting freshman, Matt Roth, who led the Hoosiers with 13 points, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

Illinois improved to 9-4 in the conference and 21-5 overall. They trail 10-2 Michigan State by 1 1/2 games in the Big 10 standings.

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