Wednesday, January 3, 2007
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CFB
Notre Dame-LSU
Associated Press
The 11th-ranked Irish have had some long days and nights against elite competition over the past year, starting with a 34-20 loss to Ohio State in January’s Fiesta Bowl. The speedy Buckeyes burned the Irish for four touchdowns of 56 yards or more. The speed of Michigan’s defense caused problems for Notre Dame’s offensive line and quarterback Brady Quinn, who threw a season-high three interceptions and fumbled once. Wolverine receiver Mario Manningham caught three touchdown passes, including a 69-yarder that broke the game open. USC’s Dwayne Jarrett also had three touchdown catches against the Irish. Now the Irish will try to snap an eight-game losing streak in bowl games on Jan. 3 against No. 4 LSU (10-2), which is known for its speed, especially on defense. Despite playing a tough Southeastern Conference schedule, LSU has the nation’s second-best defense, giving up just 238 yards a game. The Tigers also are third in the nation in pass defense, giving up 145.5 yards a game. The Tigers are almost as potent offensively, ranking 18th in the nation at 404 yards a game. JaMarcus Russell was third in pass efficiency, completing 68.5 percent and averaging 168 yards a game. Weis is among those harping on it. He conceded before the USC game that after weeks of playing teams like Navy, Air Force and Army, he was worried the Irish might be slow to adjust to USC’s speed. To guard against that in getting ready for the Sugar Bowl, he plans to have the starting offense go against the starting defense, at least during early bowl preparations.
No. 4 LSU, which had yearned for a chance to head west for its first Rose Bowl, will instead stay in its own state, making the short trip to New Orleans. The Tigers (10-2) shot into Bowl Championship Series consideration by closing the regular season with a six-game winning streak, capped by a 31-26 triumph at Arkansas. The Razorbacks had already clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game, but LSU felt it might have been the best team in what views itself as the country’s toughest league by the end of the year. Notre Dame (10-2) will be playing in its first Sugar Bowl since 1992, when a Lou Holtz-coached team knocked off Florida 39-29.LSU lobbied hard for a trip to the Rose Bowl, soliciting orders for more than 42,000 tickets. It appeared the oldest and most glamorous of the postseason games would pick the Tigers to face Michigan - until Southern Cal’s loss to UCLA messed up those plans. Coach Les Miles insisted it wasn’t a letdown to learn that the Tigers’ next game would be right down the road instead of on the West Coast, saying it provides another chance to help New Orleans recover from the devastating storm.
CBB
New Mexico-TCU
Press Notes
New Mexico is in a stretch where it plays five games in 10 days. The arduous stretch concludes Saturday when UNM plays its MWC home opener versus Colorado State. Game time is 3 p.m. The Lobos (11-4) nearly equaled their greatest comeback in school history Monday at Texas Tech before falling 70-68. UNM trailed 33-13 in the first half and by 13 in the second period. New Mexico rallied to take a couple of four-point leads, the last time at 64-60. The Lobos couldn’t close it out - missing seven of their last eight shots - as Bob Knight became the winningest coach in NCAA Div. I history. TCU (8-4), with two more wins than all of last season, has not played since last Wednesday’s 63-51 win over Texas-San Antonio. Last Saturday’s game at Colorado was cancelled due to bad weather in the Denver area. The Horned Frogs have won four of their past five. New Mexico, 8-8 last year in the league, was picked to finish fifth in the MWC while TCU was chosen ninth in the nine-team league. The Lobos are 1-4 away from Albuquerque this year, the lone win a 71-68 upset over 8th-ranked and previously undefeated Wichita State in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22. The last true road win for UNM came last February at TCU by a 53-42 margin. The Lobos have taken 11 straight at The Pit (10-0 this season) and are 43-3 on their home floor since the start of the 2004-05 season. UNM’s winning margin at home is 21.2 points in 10 games. Series: The Lobos have a 7-2 lead, including a sweep of last year’s games: 56-54 in The Pit and 53-42 at Fort Worth. TCU was held to a combined 26% (30-114) shooting in the two games last year. UNM has won the last three in the series.
Villanova-West Virginia
Press Notes
The 25th-ranked Mountaineers will play their first game as a ranked team this season when they host conference foe Villanova on Wednesday. West Virginia (11-1, 1-0) moved into the Top 25 after an 81-71 home upset of then-No. 12 Connecticut to open conference play Saturday. It was the team’s first victory over UConn since Feb. 11, 1998.
Despite losing their top four scorers - including stars Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey - from last season’s 22-11 team that reached the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament, the young Mountaineers are playing better than expected. With senior and leading scorer Frank Young the only returning starter, West Virginia is among the top defensive teams in the country, allowing 51.2 points per game. In addition to Young and senior Rob Summers, the Mountaineers start two sophomores and a junior. Thanks to its tough 1-3-1 zone defense, West Virginia held previously undefeated UConn to 39.4 percent shooting and was able to get away with one of its worst 3-point shooting days (6-for-21) of the season. West Virginia will look to win its 10th straight game at home Wednesday and third in a row over Villanova. The Mountaineers won 91-87 and handed the then-No. 3 Wildcats their first loss of the season on Jan. 8, 2006, in the only meeting last season. Villanova (10-2, 0-0) will be trying to win its fourth straight as it opens conference play. Much like West Virginia, the Wildcats are moving on after losing their top three scorers - including Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry - from last season’s 28-5 team that shared the Big East regular-season title with Connecticut and lost to eventual national champion Florida in the regional finals. The Wildcats are 4-1 in Big East openers under coach Jay Wright. Villanova is 19-16 against West Virginia, but has lost three of the last four games in the series.
Louisville-Notre Dame
Press Notes
Notre Dame had a tough time winning in the Big East last season, but has reason to be more optimistic about its chances this season. The 17th-ranked Fighting Irish open conference play against Louisville on Wednesday as they look to win 12 straight games for the first time in nearly 33 years. The Irish (12-1) lost their first three Big East games last season and finished 6-10 in conference play, tied with the Cardinals (10-4) for 11th place in the 16-team league. Notre Dame lost to Louisville 89-86 in overtime last season in the schools’ first meeting since 1995. This season, the Irish matched their best start since 2002-03 with a 95-66 win over Stony Brook on Saturday. They have not opened 13-1 since the 1973-74 team won 21 of its first 22 games en route to a 26-3 season.
That season also marked the last time Notre Dame won 12 consecutive games. The team has won 11 in a row since its only loss of the season, 71-69 to Butler at Conseco Fieldhouse on Nov. 13. The Irish played their first game on Saturday without starting point guard Kyle McAlarney, who was suspended indefinitely after his arrest for marijuana possession early Friday morning, but still exceeded their 88.8 points-per-game average, which is third-best in the nation. The Irish are 10-0 this season at the Joyce Center, outscoring opponents by an average of 30.0 points. Louisville is playing a true road game for the first time this season, having played 12 at home and two at neutral sites. The Cardinals went 1-7 against conference opponents on the road in 2005-06 during a tough first season in the Big East. This season, Louisville has found success behind its underclassmen. Three freshman scored in double figures in its 66-51 victory over North Carolina-Asheville on Saturday as the Cardinals won their fifth straight.
Penn-North Carolina
Press Notes
North Carolina hasn’t hit the ACC part of the schedule yet, but its defense is ready for conference play. The second-ranked Tar Heels look for another blowout victory when they host Penn on Wednesday in their final nonconference home game of the season.
North Carolina (12-1) has won nine straight since its only loss, an 82-74 defeat to Gonzaga in the NIT Season Tip-Off on Nov. 22. The last six victories have come by at least 20 points, including an 81-51 rout of Dayton on Sunday. The Tar Heels, who are 8-0 at home, have held their last five opponents under 37 percent shooting. After allowing more than 80 points to four of their first six opponents, the Tar Heels haven’t given up more than 69 in any of the last seven games and they’ve held the past four opponents to 52 or less. The defensive improvement has come just in time with the Tar Heels heading into conference play, as 11 of the 12 teams in the ACC are averaging at least 73 points per game. North Carolina hosts Florida State in its conference opener on Sunday.
Duquesne-St. Joseph’s
Press Notes
Turnovers continue to plague the Hawks, as they average 16.6 per game, with 19 or more in four games. The opponents’ average is 16.2, helped by 26 from Boston and 23 from Drexel. The Hawks rank 13th in the A-10 in assist/turnover ratio with 0.71. SJU has turned the ball over 199 times, while handing out 142 assists. On the bright side, the Hawks limited their turnovers to 11 against Hofstra. Saint Joseph’s has won seven of its last eight Atlantic 10 openers and has posted an 8-3 record in the first conference game of the year during Phil Martelli’s tenure.
California-Stanford
Press Notes
California concludes its four-game road trip Wednesday when the Golden Bears visit Stanford for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Maples Pavilion. Fresh off its first true road win of the year - a 66-62 overtime decision at Arizona State last Saturday - Cal owns a 4-4 mark outside of Berkeley, which includes a 3-1 neutral-site record and the championship of the Great Alaska Shootout. The Bears, down to nine healthy scholarship players - four of which are freshman - due to a trio of injuries, have increasingly begun to rely on the three-point shot since junior C DeVon Hardin was lost for 8-12 weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. Now starting five players who are all capable long-rang shooters, the Bears have made 33 treys in three games without Hardin. Cal combined for 25 three-pointers last weekend - 13 at Arizona and 12 at ASU - to set a school record for most threes in back-to-back games. The 13 triples at Arizona also matched the second-highest total in Cal history. Stanford enters Wednesday’s game with an 8-3 overall record and 1-1 mark in Pac-10 play after splitting its road trip to Arizona last week. The Cardinal defeated Arizona State, 71-60, before falling to Arizona, 89-75. Lawrence Hill paces Stanford in scoring with 15.3 ppg. He is shooting 57.8 percent from the floor, which ranks fifth in the Pac-10. The Cardinal, who are 5-2 at home, is playing its first game at Maples Pavilion since Dec. 16 and just its second home game since Nov. 28.
Air Force-Colorado
Press Notes
With potent play on the offensive end to go with stellar defense, the No. 20 Falcons (13-1) begin their quest for a second league title in four seasons when they visit Colorado State (10-2) on Wednesday night in the teams’ Mountain West Conference opener.
The Falcons have won nine straight since losing to then-No. 9 Duke 71-56 on Nov. 20. Air Force was already known for playing tough defense - the team allows 53.4 points per game, fifth in the nation - but the Falcons have improved their play on offense to create a tough all-around team to face. Air Force has taken all nine games during the winning streak by at least 10 points, and the Falcons have shot 56.1 percent in their last four games. They made a season-high 16 3-pointers, their most in four years, to beat Santa Clara 78-48 on Friday night and win the Cable Car Classic. The Falcons have made at least 10 3-pointers in five straight games and 10 of their 14 games this season. While they build big leads with the outside shot - the Falcons hit 12 3-pointers and led Santa Clara 48-21 at halftime - they’re also shutting teams down. The Broncos shot only 37.8 percent, and Air Force’s last four opponents have shot a combined 35.8 percent. The Falcons are already enjoying the best stretch in school history, and if they can maintain their play from the first 14 games, have a chance to go to the NCAA tournament for the third time in four seasons. With their improved play, the Falcons have also turned around their series with in-state rival Colorado State. The Rams lead the Falcons 61-25, including 33-7 at home. Air Force, however, has won three straight on the road against the Rams and four in a row overall. The Falcons have taken seven of the last eight meetings with Colorado State, located about two hours north in Fort Collins, with the only defeat coming in the 2004 conference tournament. The Rams are 6-0 at home this season and 65-28 in six-plus seasons under coach Dale Layer. Colorado State finished 4-12 in the Mountain West last season and hasn’t won a conference title since 1989-90, when it tied for first in the Western Athletic Conference.
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