Saturday News and Notes

Saturday, December 16, 2006

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NFL

Cowboys-Falcons

Tuscaloosa News

Dallas QB Tony Romo won five of his first six starts, threw 10 touchdowns to only four interceptions and jumped to the top of the NFL in passer rating. He looked ordinary, however, in a 42-17 loss to New Orleans on Sunday that snapped the Cowboys’ four-game winning streak and cut the Cowboys’ lead in the NFC East to one game. Romo was just 16-for-33 for 249 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and his passer rating dropped to 96.6 - fourth in the league.

Express-News

Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells is exploring every option in an attempt to shore up his team’s porous pass defense. Most of Parcells’ efforts are concentrated on free safety. Keith Davis is the starter, but he’s on thin ice after playing a prominent role in allowing Saints quarterback Drew Brees to throw for five touchdowns and 384 yards in Sunday’s 42-17 loss. For the season, the Cowboys have allowed six pass plays of at least 50 yards, with all resulting in TDs. Two came last week. Although Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is known more for his running, he has completed 26 passes of 20 yards or more, including six of 40-plus yards.

CBB

Gonzaga-Georgia

Journal Constitution

For Gonzaga, Atlanta is a steppingstone on its way to New York to take on Duke at Madison Square Garden in a made-for-ESPN game next Thursday. After that comes a date with No. 25 Nevada in Seattle. Then it’s back across the country again for a game at Virginia on Jan. 3.

Creighton-Fresno

Press Notes

Fresno State prepares for one home game this week against Creighton at 7 p.m. Saturday, December 16 at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs are coming off three consecutive road games, going 2-1 against Oregon State, UC Santa Barbara and Montana State. Fresno State returns home and will play its next six games at the SMC. The Bulldogs carry an 8-1 record into Saturday’s game, while the Bluejays are 4-2. Fresno State holds a 0-5 all-time record against Creighton, including a 67-62 loss last season in Omaha in the Bulldogs’ ESPN Bracket Buster game. Saturday’s game will mark the first time in history that Creighton will visit Fresno.

Cincinnati-Ohio State

Press Notes

The University of Cincinnati faces its first Top 25-ranked foe of the season when the Bearcats clash with No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday at the John Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, Ind. Cincinnati enters the game with a 7-2 record following Wednesday’s 67-57 win over crosstown rival Xavier. The Bearcats’ two losses were by a combined total of three points. Ohio State is 8-1. The Buckeyes have been idle since last Saturday’s 78-57 win over Cleveland State.

Akron-Illinois Chicago

Press Notes

The Flames sit at 5-5 on the year and are a perfect 3-0 at home. UIC has had a week off for final exams after dropping a hard-fought decision to Illinois last Saturday at the United Center, 71-66. This is the start of a rigorous stretch for UIC. The Flames will play four games in the next seven days with stops after Saturday’s tilt with Akron at Mississippi (Dec. 19) and Penn (Dec. 21), before returning home to take on Illinois State (Dec. 23). The Zips come into their showdown with UIC riding a six-game winning streak and are 3-0 in road games this year. Akron has shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of its seven contests this year and boasts a team shooting percentage of .521.

Bowling Green-Wright State

Press Notes

The Wright State University men’s basketball team, after opening with six of seven games on the road, will host Bowling Green. The Raiders, now 3-4, defeated the Falcons last year at Bowling Green 70-51.

Kentucky-Louisville

Lexington Herald-Leader

Kentucky’s top scorer, center Randolph Morris, operates primarily around the basket.

Louisville struggles, as many teams do, with containing a low-post scorer one-on-one. Conveniently, the Cardinals’ coach, Rick Pitino, is noted for taking away an opponent’s low-post scorer with aggressive traps.Louisville this season claims no such expertise. Three post men have scored more than 20 points against the Cardinals so far this season: Arizona’s Ivan Radenovic (22 points, 13 rebounds), St. Joseph’s Ahmad Nivins (26 points, eight rebounds) and Massachusetts’ Rashaun Freeman (21 points).

Texas Tech-Arkansas

Press Notes

The Red Raiders opened the 2006-2007 season with four home wins (Sam Houston State, Gardner-Webb, UALR, and North Dakota State) and then suffered two neutral-site losses to #16 Marquette and Air Force in the CBE Classic semi-finals and consolation game as well as a neutral site contest against Stanford in San Jose, California. The Raiders won at UTEP (94-77) on November 25, at TCU (70-60) on November 29, and at Louisiana Tech (66-59) on December 6.