the daily citizen the daily citizen - Advantage Newspaper Consultants

2B Monday, March 16, 2009
First Round
1 Louisville (28-5)
16 Play-in-game winner
8 Ohio St. (22-10)
9 Siena (26-7)
5 Utah (24-9)
12 Arizona (19-13)
4 Wake Forest (24-6)
13 Cleveland St. (25-10)
6 W. Virginia (23-11)
11 Dayton (26-7)
3 Kansas (25-7)
14 N.D. St. (26-6)
7 Boston C. (22-11)
10 USC (21-12)
2 Michigan St. (26-6)
15 Robert Morris (24-10)
1 Connecticut (27-4)
16 Chattanooga (18-16)
8 BYU (25-7)
9 Texas A&M (23-9)
5 Purdue (25-9)
12 N. Iowa (23-10)
4 Washington (25-8)
13 Miss. St. (23-12)
6 Marquette (24-9)
11 Utah St. (30-4)
3 Missouri (28-6)
14 Cornell (21-9)
7 California (22-10)
10 Maryland (20-13)
2 Memphis (31-3)
15 Cal St. N ridge (17-13)
Second Round
Regionals
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR
Detroit
April 4
National
Semifinals
Championship
Game
Detroit
April 6
National
Semifinals
Alabama St.
All times EDT
Play-in-game
Dayton, Ohio
Morehead St.
16
Detroit
April 4
Regionals
Second Round
First Round
Pittsburgh (28-4)
1
E. Tenn. St. (23-10) 16
Dayton, Ohio – March 20 Dayton, Ohio – March 20
Miami – March 20
Minneapolis – March 20
Minneapolis – March 20
Philadelphia – March 19
Portland, Ore. – March 19
Boise, Idaho – March 20
Kansas City, Mo. – March 19
MIDWEST
WEST
Indianapolis
Glendale
Ariz.
Boston
Memphis,
Tenn.
EAST
SOUTH
Oklahoma St. (22-11) 8
Tennessee (21-12)
Florida St. (25-9)
Wisconsin (19-12)
Boise, Idaho – March 20
Xavier (25-7)
Portland St. (23-9)
UCLA (25-8)
VCU (24-9)
Philadelphia – March 19
Villanova (26-7)
American (24-7)
Texas (22-11)
Minnesota (22-10)
Greensboro, N.C. – March 19
Duke (28-6)
Binghamton (23-8)
9
5
12
4
13
6
11
3
14
7
10
2
15
North Carolina (28-4) 1
Radford (21-11)
Greensboro, N.C. – March 19
LSU (26-7)
Butler (26-5)
Illinois (24-9)
Western Ky. (24-8)
Portland, Ore. – March 19
Gonzaga (26-5)
Akron (23-12)
Arizona St. (24-9)
Temple (22-11)
Miami – March 20
Syracuse (26-9)
S. F. Austin (24-7)
Clemson (23-8)
Michigan (20-13)
Kansas City, Mo. – March 19
Oklahoma (27-5)
Morgan St. (23-11)
16
8
9
5
12
4
13
6
11
3
14
7
10
2
15
AP
T HE D AILY C ITIZEN
Purdue
wins Big
Ten title
B Y M ICHAEL M AROT
Associated Presss Writer
INDIANAPOLIS —
Robbie Hummel looks
healthy,and Purdue is playing
like the team that was picked
to win the Big Ten title.
Hummel finished with 19
points and 12 rebounds
Saturday,and JaJuan Johnson
had 20 points and three
blocks to lead the
Boilermakers past Illinois
66-56 Saturday and into the
Big Ten tournament championship
game.
The victory ends thirdseeded
Purdue’s three-game
losing streak to the Illini (24-
9) and sets up a rematch with
fifth-seeded Ohio State, an
82-70 upset winner over No.
7 Michigan State. The
Boilermakers and Buckeyes
split the first two games this
season, each winning at
home.
It’s the first time since
1998 that Purdue (24-9) will
play for the tourney title.
Second-seeded Illinois
was again without senior
guard Chester Frazier, who
missed his second straight
game after having surgery on
his right hand Thursday. And
unlike Friday night’s quarterfinal
win over Michigan, the
Illini struggled without him.
NCAA: Defending champs KU get No. 3 seed
➣ Continued from page 1B
had lost to the day before; but
North Carolina swept Duke
in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Memphis (31-
3) got snubbed, taking the
second seed in the West
despite a 25-game winning
streak. The Tigers are often
downgraded for playing in
the less-than-steller
Conference USA, but John
Calipari’s team proved people
wrong last year,making it
to the national title game.
“If we’re a 1, we’re a 1; if
we’re a 2, we’re a 2. We just
want to play,” Calipari said
before the bracket came out.
In the West, it’s Memphis
vs. Cal State-Northridge;
Missouri vs. Cornell;
Washington vs. Mississippi
State; Purdue vs. Northern
Iowa; Marquette vs. Utah
State; California vs.
Maryland; BYU vs. Texas
A&M.
Last year’s national champion,
Kansas, is almost completely
revamped this year
and was seeded third in the
Midwest with an opening
game against North Dakota
State.
Arizona extended its
string of tournament appearances
to a quarter century,
and the 25th bid will be
among the most debated. The
Wildcats were thought by
many to be off the bubble
after an early loss to Arizona
State in the Pac-10 tournament,
but made it as 12th
seed in the Midwest.
In the Midwest,No. 2 seed
Michigan State will face No.
15 seed Robert Morris. In
other games: Kansas vs. N.
Dakota State; Wake Forest vs.
Cleveland State; Utah vs.
Arizona; West Virginia vs.
Dayton; Boston College vs.
Southern California; Ohio
State vs. Siena.
Conference tournament
wins by Southern California
in the Pac-10 and Mississippi
State in the Southeastern
Conference cost a couple of
bubble teams spots among in
the 65. Among the last teams
to make it were: Wisconsin,a
12th seed in the East;
Maryland,asurprisingly high
10th seed in the Midwest; and
Dayton, one of only four
teams from small conferences
to earn an at-large bid.
The so-called mid-major
conferences have gone from
nine at-large bids in 2005 to
less than half that this year.
The most notable mid-major
to get snubbed was St.
Mary’s,which won 26 games
but lost by 25 to Gonzaga in
the West Coast Conference
final, with star guard Patty
Mills just rounding back into
shape after missing 10 games
with an injury.
“We look at teams, we
don’t use a label,”said Mike
Slive, chairman of the selection
committee. “It’s not
about mid-major teams and
major teams. It’s about teams.
In the final analysis,it’s about
who you play,where you play
and how you do. It’s about
teams, not about conferences.”
In the East, it’s No. 2 seed
Duke vs. Binghamton;
Villanova vs. American;
Xavier vs. Portland State;
Florida State vs. Wisconsin;
UCLA vs. Virginia
Commonwealth University;
Texas vs. Minnesota; and
Oklahoma State vs.
Tennessee.
In the South, it’s No. 2
seed Oklahoma vs. Morgan
State; Syracuse vs. Stephen F.
Austin; Gonzaga vs. Akron;
Illinois vs. Western
Kentucky; Arizona State vs.
Temple; Clemson vs.
Michigan; LSU vs. Butler.
Other teams that were left
out included San Diego State,
Creighton and Penn State.
The Nittany Lions had the
311th-ranked non-conference
strength of schedule — certainly
not a help in the selection
group’s meeting room.
“We tried to deliver a message
that it’s the entire body
of work,”Slive said. “It starts
in November and December
and goes through the conference
tournament.”
The ACC, Big East and
Big Ten all placed seven
teams in the tournament,
the Big 12 and Pac-10 six
each, while the A-10 and
SEC had three. Florida
missed for the second
straight year after winning
two consecutive titles, and
Auburn also was left out
after a strong finish.
Also absent will be
Indiana and Kentucky — the
first time both traditional
powerhouses have been missing
in the tournament since
1979.
SEC: MSU shocks world ACC: FSU’s hasn’t danced since ‘98
➣ Continued from page 1B
more challenging.” coach
Bruce Pearl said.
“We’ve been consistently
inconsistent. If we can get it
going again, because we’ve
been playing great basketball
here in March, we’ll forget
about the disappointment
of not winning this tournament.
But if we’re not able
to pick us up again, this
missed opportunity will hurt
for a long time.”
Mississippi State’s run
was reminiscent of
Georgia’s stunning march
through the SEC tournament
last year. Georgia won four
games in three days to earn
an improbable NCAA berth
after finishing last in the regular-season
conference
standings.
Stewart and Ravern
Johnson both scored 11
points for Mississippi State,
which also got 10 points,
seven rebounds and six
blocks from tournament
MVP Jarvis Varnado. The
Bulldogs held Tennessee to
29 percent shooting and
forced two of the Volunteers’
14 turnovers with the game
on the line.
“There’s a guy that found
a way to dig deep when
there’s absolutely nothing
left in that tank to help us
win the game,” Stansbury
said of the exhausted
Varnado, a 6-foot-9 junior
from Brownsville, Tenn.
Prince made one of two
free throws to cut
Tennessee’s deficit to 62-61
and the Vols got a break
when the rebound went out
of bounds off Varnado with
9.6 seconds left. But Smith
was unable to inbound ball,
leading to a 5-second call
that gave the ball to
Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs turned it
right back when Dee Bost
took the inbound pass and
dribbled out of bounds, giving
Tennessee another
chance that the Vols squandered
when Stewart tipped
an inbound pass that landed
in Turner’s hands.
Tennessee immediately
fouled the sophomore guard,
who made both free throws,
setting the stage for a celebration.
AP P HOTO
Mississippi State’s
Jarvis Varnado cuts the
nets after beating UT.
FREE Discount Health
BenefitsCard * plus
$40off taxpreparation fees
($119combinedvalue).
Visit Jackson Hewitt ® between March 9–31, 2009
and we’ll reduce your tax preparation fees
so that you can try the Jackson Hewitt
Discount Health Benefits at no additional cost.
Save 5–60% off prescription, vision, and dental care
One card benefits your whole family for an entire year
Quality tax preparation and a
Free Discount Health Benefits Card.
Hurry this offer ends March 31, 2009
Call 1-800- 234-10 Call 1-800-234-1040 4 0 -11 NW GA locat visit ions us at:
Calhou n Dal t on C h a tswo rth F o rt O glet hor pe R inggold
123 Street Name, city, state •000-000-0000
APartner And APath SM
*This is not insurance. Not available in all states. Not available in all locations. Savings amount is an approximate
percentage. See Jackson Hewitt Discount Health Benefits brochure for full details. Offer valid only with paid federal tax
preparation. No refunds for cancellation Most offices are independently owned and operated.
OFFER EXPIRES: 3/31/09 COUPON CODE: GDELK
➣ Continued from page 1B
wasn’t nearly enough to
give the school its first ACC
championship. Florida State
had to be content with
knocking off top-ranked
North Carolina in the semifinals
and earning its first
NCAA bid since 1998.
The Seminoles also were
placed in the East as the No.
5 seed. They will face
Wisconsin on Friday in
Boise, Idaho.
Duke’s
Mike
Krzyzewski, following up
his gold-medal triumph as
NORTH GEORGIA
T HE D AILY C ITIZEN
coach of the U.S. Olympic
team,captured the 11th conference
championship of his
career. Now he’ll turn his
attention to the quest for a
fourth national title.
“I’m really, really happy
for these guys, especially
the guys in the junior class,”
Krzyzewski said. “They had
to go a couple of years without
any upperclassmen. I’m
really pleased they were
able to win their championship.
“Hopefully it’s just their
first championship.”
The Blue Devils put this
C oming Mar c h 27th
one away early. After
Douglas hit a 3-pointer to
give Florida State its final
lead, 11-9, Duke ripped off
14 points in a row — all but
two of them coming from
long range.
Henderson worked off a
pick and sank a 3-pointer,
then Kyle Singler hit three
straight treys to complete
the run.
He swished one out of
the corner and came behind
a screen for a wide-open
look from the top of the key
that gave the Blue Devils a
23-11 lead.
O ur B iggest E dit ion
of t he Y e a r !
T HE D AILY C ITIZEN
p r e s ents
T he 2009 P r ogr e ss E dit ion
DON’ TMISS IT!
T o A d v e rti s e Call
706- 2 1 7 - 639 7