Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Midconfans 3/14/2006

Oakland regional capsules--The Chicago Tribune/span>

At Dallas Friday, Sunday

1. MEMPHIS
Record: 30-3.
RPI: 4.
Location: Memphis.
Conference: Conference USA.
Record against tournament field: 8-3.
Road record: 11-2. Record in last 10: 9-1.
Impressive victories: Nov. 23, at New York vs. UCLA, 88-80; Dec. 27, home vs. Gonzaga, 83-72; Jan. 18, home vs. Tennessee, 88-79.
Disturbing losses: Jan. 2, home vs. Texas, 69-58; March 2, at UAB, 80-74.
Top players: F Rodney Carney, sr. (17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg); F Shawne Williams, fr. (13.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg); G Darius Washington, soph. (13.5 ppg).
The skinny: The Tigers were third in the nation in scoring (82.3) and second in margin of victory (15.0) in the regular season. They also led their conference in blocked shots (6.8), steals (10.0) and assists (14.9)-which means they are aggressive all over the court.
Little-known fact: In five years under coach John Calipari, the Tigers are 91-17 (.843) on their home court.

16. ORAL ROBERTS
Record: 21-11.
RPI: 131.
Location: Tulsa.
Conference: Mid-Continent.
Record against tournament field: 1-5.
Road record: 7-8. Record in last 10: 8-2.
Impressive victories: Nov. 23, home, vs. USC, 68- 48; Nov. 26, home, vs. Monmouth, 62-54; Feb. 23, at Centenary, 83-57.
Disturbing losses: Nov. 25, home, vs. Marquette, 73-70; Dec. 20, at Utah State, 65-64; Feb. 18, at Montana, 88-74.
Top players: F Caleb Green, jr. (20.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg); G Ken Tutt, jr. (14.3 ppg); F Larry Owens, sr. (12.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
The skinny: The Golden Eagles are balanced. In their victory over Chicago State in the Mid-Continent title game, Tutt scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half after Owens scored 16 in the first.
Little-known fact: Oral Roberts is a different team with Tutt in the lineup. Since he returned after missing 10 games because of a broken toe, the Golden Eagles are 11-2.


Sharpen those pencils--The Chicago Tribune

Packer angers NCAA selection chief--The Chicago Tribune

Criticism irks chief of selection panel--The Chicago Sun-Times

OU takes hard road to No. 16--The Detroit Free Press

OU SCOUTING REPORT--The Detroit Free Press

CAT SCRATCH FEVER--The Detroit Free Press

Ohio State waits for Oakland--The Detroit News

Oakland Regional In-Depth--The Detroit News

OU women ready for Ohio State matchup--The Oakland Press
By AL ELVIN Of The Oakland Press

ROCHESTER HILLS — Oakland University women’s basketball coach Beckie Francis will readily admit that she can barely do a two-step. Yet, come this Sunday, Francis and her team will be at “The Big Dance” battling against No. 1 seed Ohio State in a first-round game of the 2006 Division I NCAA tournament. One might say the Golden Grizzlies will be doing the West Lafayette Lindy-Hop.
“Not really,” Francis laughed when asked if she could dance. “I’d better start learning how. My husband told me when we got engaged that we would take lessons.”
There is no better time than the present. The Golden Grizzlies earned a No. 16 seed and automatic bid into the tournament after beating Western Illinois in the Mid-Con tournament finals. But they don’t have long to fine-tune their skills, as they will play the highly favored Buckeyes on Sunday at Purdue University’s Mackey Arena.
The Golden Grizzlies, who head into the tournament with a 15-15 record, learned their fate Monday night while watching the NCAA Tournament selection show on ESPN, along with members of the student body and several hundred well-wishers. An impromptu pep rally was held for the team just before the announcement.
“We know we’re going to beat Ohio State and then we’ll probably get Notre Dame,” Oakland University Athletic Director Greg Kampe quipped.
Added senior guard Anne Hafeli (Bloomfi eld Hills Lahser), “We’re just really excited to play the game and finally find out who we’re playing.
“It’s amazing. Everyone knows about it. Even half my teachers have talked about it.”
As good as the Buckeyes are — their 28-2 record has them ranked No. 2 in the country — Kampe said he was hoping for more of a marquee team.
“You want the biggest name you can get,” he said before the matchup was announced. “I hope we get Tennessee or (the University of Connecticut). Then, Oakland’s name will be with the best in basketball.”
Francis told the assembled crowd that “we couldn’t have hoped for a better team.” That is because of her familiarity with Ohio State Head Coach Jim Foster’s style.
It is because of this that Oakland University hopes the Buckeyes will be dancing to Oakland University’s beat on Sunday.
“I’m actually as excited as you can be excited about playing a No. 1 seed,” Francis said. “It’ll be fun.”
Team manager Ashley Holenka had a different word in mind to discuss Oakland University’s daunting task.
“It’s awesome that we’re going, but it will be a tough matchup,” she said. “Certainly, anything is possible. (The Golden Grizzlies) can win though.”
As impossible as it sounds, a No. 1 seed has, in fact, been beaten in the first round of the Women’s Division I NCAA Tournament. In 1998, then No. 1 seed Stanford lost 71-67 to No. 16 seed Harvard in the first round of the tournament. However, such a trouncing of a top-seeded team has never taken place in the men’s tournament.
Certainly, Francis said, coaching the game will be a lot easier than it was Monday night, sitting 38 minutes to find out where the Golden Grizzlies would be traveling in the coming days.
“That was brutal,” Francis said. “It was torture, only because we really wanted to see where we were going to go.”
And now they know, so it’s time to dance.
“Dance? Can I dance? You don’t want to see it, trust me,” said senior guard Jayme Wilson. “That’s OK. This is great. You grow up watching March Madness on TV, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.”


OU draws Buckeyes--The Oakland Press
Golden Grizzlies play Big Ten champs in NCAA first round at Purdue

By DUSTIN FRUCCI Special to The Oakland Press
ROCHESTER — Following her team’s Mid-Continent Conference tournament championship in Tulsa, Okla., Oakland University women’s basketball head coach Beckie Francis said it would be “awfully ironic” if her team drew Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The selection committee has a funny way of making things happen.
No. 1 seed Ohio State will play No. 16 seed Oakland in a first-round game in the Albuquerque region Sunday. The game will be played on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
“It’s exciting, as exciting as facing a No. 1 seed can be,” Francis said. “Deep down, you want to play the teams that have been there and have all the history, but once it sinks in, you realize what you have in front of you.”
Francis considered the matchup ironic because the last time OU was in the tournament in 2002, the Golden Grizzlies played No. 1 seed Vanderbilt, coached by Jim Foster. Foster left Vanderbilt after that season and is currently the head coach at Ohio State.
“We know what they do,” Francis said. “They run the same things Vanderbilt did, so scouting them will be a little easier for us.”
“It’s also nice that we got put in Indiana,” she said. “Our fans should be able to make the short drive, and the team travel will be much easier.
Ohio State (28-2) won the Big Ten regular-season and the tournament titles. The Buckeyes ended the season on a 19-game winning streak and are No. 2 in both major polls.
The Buckeyes are led by two-time Big Ten player of the year Jessica Davenport. The 6-foot-5 junior center led the Big Ten in scoring (20.4), field goal percentage (.662) and blocks (3.50).
OU (15-15) had success against bigger teams in the Mid-Con, but it didn’t face a player like Davenport.
“One thing I will stress to my team is that we can’t worry about how we match up,” Francis said. “We have to worry about what we do and play well. If we do those things, we force them to worry about matching up with us.”
Senior guards Anne Hafeli and Jayme Wilson have been OU’s leaders this season, but they know the competition level is about the change.
“We’re excited to play that caliber of competition,” Wilson said. “We’re going to have to play hard and fight. … We’re going to see what we can do.”
The two will go head to head with Buckeyes senior Kim Wilburn. The Big Ten defensive player of the year is a native of Southfield and attended Birmingham Detroit County Day.
The Golden Grizzlies don’t want to let the magnitude of the NCAA tournament get to them. Francis hopes that her experience in 2002 can take some of the pressure off her team come Sunday.
“I don’t want things to surprise them,” she said. “I feel it’s advantage some of the coaching staff and I have been there before. We’re a proud and confident team, and we need to carry that into this weekend.”
The Oakland Press/JOSE JUAREZ


Oppland, Kone invited to Portsmouth--The NWI Times

Western Illinois women receive NIT bid--The Peoria Journal Star

Western Illinois (23-6), the Mid-Continent regular-season champion, also received an NIT bid.
...
The WNIT was expanded from 32 to 40 teams this season. The tournament starts with eight preliminary round games starting Wednesday at campus sites.

The championship game is March 31.


Oakland to Play Ohio State in NCAA First Round--OUGrizzlies.com

Two Crusaders to Participate in Prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament--www.valpo.edu

Women's Basketball to Face Illinois in Preliminary Round of WNIT--Western Illinois Athletics

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