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No BS: Syracuse Dumps Villanova

February 21, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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PHILADELPHIA – It’s all bulls**t.

Don’t believe me, just listen to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim minutes after his No. 17 Orange hung on for a huge victory at No. 15 Villanova, 69-64, Monday night.

Boeheim was asked if these sort of games help at this stage of the season.

“I think that’s bulls**t,” Boeheim said. “It’s all bulls**t. We can play next week and get in the same game and lose. We can have 10 of these in a row and win them and then get in the (Big East or NCAA) tournament and lose. It’s all bulls**t. You get in these games somebody’s got to make a play. Whichever team makes a play … we were fortunate we had the cushion.”

Boeheim was asked a follow-up question about his thoughts if the Big East, which some are projecting could receive 11 NCAA tournament bids, helps toughen a team or beats them up?

“Like that other question,” Boeheim said. “The whole thing about toughening a team up: I don’t think it hurts you. They see they can make a play but they say play a tough non-league schedule and it will help you for the league.

“Georgetown had the toughest non-league schedule and what did they start out in the league? 1-4. We had a fairly easy one, we were 5-0. Does that mean our schedule wasn’t tough enough — but it took a little longer to kick in? That’s all nonsense. It’s what kind of team you have. We play a fairly decent schedule — whatever it is — you can play 14 easy games and a couple of tough ones, just to see. And then you start playing.”

 

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Herculean Kemba Walker Effort Gives Connecticut ‘Giant’ Win

February 16, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee, step aside. There is a new trick-shot king at UConn: Kemba Walker.

The junior guard had 31 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, leading the No. 13 Huskies past No. 9 Georgetown 78-70.

Walker’s most impressive — oh my gosh, did you just see that? — play occurred early in the second half.

The official play-by-play sheet doesn’t do it justice:

MISSED JUMPER by Walker, Kemba 16:45
REBOUND (OFF) by Walker, Kemba 16:41
GOOD! TIP-IN by Walker, Kemba [PNT] 16:41 43-40 H 3

UConn forward Alex Oriakhi had a better description.

“He pumped faked the guy and threw it up,” Oriakhi told FanHouse. “I was saying, ‘What is he doing?’ Then I was like, ‘I know exactly what he’s doing.’ He must have seen a lot of Kobe (Bryant) videos. I’m going to ask him, what was he thinking.”

What was Walker thinking when he pump faked from the top of the key, ducked under Georgetown’s 6-foot-10 forward Henry Sims and intentionally slammed the basketball off the backboard, basically passing it to himself? Walker then raced down the lane, grabbed his own rebound and dropped it in the basket.

“I saw the lane open,” Walker said. “At the time it was the only play available, so I went for it. I never did it in a game — ever. I’m just happy I made it because like I said, I don’t know what coach would have done if I missed.”

 

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Syracuse Hits 20 Wins for 33rd Season

February 05, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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TAMPA, Fla. — When Syracuse reserve guard Brandon Reese crossed mid-court, Coach Jim Boeheim immediately held up his hand. Boeheim was signaling that the Orange already had done enough damage to South Florida and for Reese to let the time expire.

And seconds later, Syracuse’s 72-49 victory was official. The final buzzer inside the St. Pete Times Forum sounded — much to the delight of Syracuse’s “visiting” fans that filled up 3/4ths of the arena — on another Syracuse win and another 20-win season for Boeheim.

“When you first start out, it’s cool to win 20 games,” Syracuse sophomore guard Brandon Triche told FanHouse. “But as long as (Boeheim’s) been doing it, I’m sure his expectations are much higher.

“I’m sure he expects to win 30 games each year. My expectations are to win 30. If we do that, I know for sure we’ll have a successful year.”

With seven regular season games, plus the Big East and NCAA tournaments remaining, the Orange very well might hit the 30-win plateau. But Saturday afternoon in Tampa was about hitting 20.

Boeheim is in his 35th season at Syracuse. In his 35 seasons, Boeheim has won at least 20 games in a remarkable – and an NCAA Division I record – 33 seasons, three more than Dean Smith did at North Carolina. By comparison, USF, which is playing its 40th season in program history, has a grand total of three 20-win seasons.

 

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Memories, Guilt Live on 10 Years After Oklahoma State Plane Crash

January 27, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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STILLWATER, Okla. – The hurt never really goes away. It’s always there, reappearing at an instant’s notice.

The nightmares come flooding back as well. The guilt lessens somewhat, but deep down it still remains.

On Jan. 27, 2001, three airplanes carrying nearly three dozen members of Oklahoma State’s basketball program left Jefferson County Airport near Boulder, Colo., on a snowy Saturday night bound for Stillwater.

One of the planes, a twin-engine Beech King Air 200, crashed on a snowy hillside near Denver. There were no survivors. A later investigation determined the cause of the crash was due to a mechanical failure.

What happened that cold Colorado night resulted in the darkest day in Oklahoma State history.

“That accident affected Oklahoma State like nothing else that had ever happened,” former Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said Wednesday night during a ceremony at halftime during OSU’s game with Texas. “It changed our lives. And it really changed my life. Those 10 guys were special — not a bad guy in the whole lot.”

Kendall Durfey, 38, was a radio engineer for the Cowboy Network. Bjorn Fahlstrom, 30, sat in the co-pilot’s seat. Nate Fleming, 20, was a freshman guard. Will Hancock, 31, was the media relations coordinator. Daniel Lawson, 21, was a junior guard. Brian Luinstra, 29, was a trainer. Denver Mills, 55, was the pilot. Pat Noyes, 27, was the director of basketball operations. Bill Teegins, 48, was the play-by-play voice of the Cowboys. Jared Weiberg, 22, was a student manager.

 

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Central Florida Thinks South Florida Is Trying to Block Its Path to Big East

January 26, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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Is University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft attempting to keep Central Florida out of the Big East?

UCF thinks so.

A UCF spokesperson told The Orlando Sentinel that appears to be the case. However, a USF spokesperson told FanHouse Wednesday Genshaft will “vote for the best interests of the Big East, not any university.”

With the Big East announcing last year its plans to expand, UCF has been rumored, speculated and reported as one of the league’s top expansion candidates. TCU recently accepted an offer to join the Big East beginning in 2012 and Villanova, already a league member in all sports but football, will decide by April if it will accept an invitation to move its football program from FCS to the Big East.

USF ended its four-game football series with UCF in 2008 in part because the Bulls, including athletic director Doug Woolard and former football coach Jim Leavitt, felt they ultimately had nothing to gain playing the Knights, who are located 90 miles from Tampa.

UCF spokesperson Grant Heston said he believes USF is trying to keep UCF, members of Conference USA, from joining the Big East.

 

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Boise State-TCU Game Moved to Boise

January 25, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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The Mountain West Conference officially approved that this fall’s TCU-Boise State game — originally scheduled to be played at TCU — would be moved to Boise State.

The MWC Board of Directors decided to implement the change in the 2011 football schedule as had been recommended by the athletic directors. TCU will now play at Boise State, while Boise State’s contest with San Diego State will be played in San Diego. The Board felt the change was in the best interest of the Mountain West Conference and would help address current and future scheduling concerns created by the new set of circumstances which stemmed from another change in membership.

Because TCU is leaving the Mountain West, the school does not get a vote when it comes to whether the game is moved.

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte said previously he didn’t agree with the league’s proposal to move the game to benefit Boise State, which joins the league this year.

“It’s our home game and they told us it would be our home game and to change the rules midstream is not appropriate,” Del Conte told ESPNDallas.com earlier this month. “I’m hoping they do what we originally said, which was that it would be a home game for TCU. To me to change it is not right.”

Del Conte said he thought because Boise State was inserted on the schedule to replace departing Utah, TCU should get that home game against Boise State, as agreed upon.

 

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Big Ten to Keep Division Names

January 13, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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Like ‘em or not: Legends and Leaders are here to stay, at least through the 2011 season.

A Big Ten spokesman told FanHouse that the Big Ten will keep the division names — Legends and Leaders — through the 2011 season and for the unforeseeable future.

When the league announced the new division names on Dec. 13, it received a great deal of negative feedback from the media and the fans. So much that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a radio interview last month that the league would “make an assessment whether or not it’s sustainable.”

That decision has been reached, Big Ten assistant commissioner Scott Chipman told FanHouse.

“Short term there is no plan to change,” Chipman said. “They will definitely be utilized for the 2011 football season. It would be impossible to measure their sustainability without using them as they were intended to be used. But like any of our branding or marketing efforts, we will continuously review all aspects, conduct market research and test sustainability.”

The Leaders Division consists of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. The Legends Division: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern.

 

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Jim Leavitt, USF Reach Settlement

January 11, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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Jim LeavittTAMPA, Fla. — Former University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt and the school reached a $2.75 million settlement, the school and Leavitt’s attorney announced Tuesday night.

Leavitt had been seeking up to $7.1 million after filing a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Leavitt was fired “with cause” on Jan. 8, 2010 after a USF investigation concluded Leavitt had struck walk-on Joel Miller, repeatedly lied to investigators and interfered with the four-week investigation.

USF’s investigation was prompted following a FanHouse investigative report on Dec. 14, 2009 that Leavitt had grabbed Miller and hit him twice at halftime against Louisville.

Leavitt’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the university, filed in March, indicated he was seeking “millions of dollars.” Because Leavitt was fired “with cause,” the university, according to Leavitt’s contract, said he would only be paid one month of his base pay — about $66,667 — as opposed to be fired “without cause,” in which he would have been entitled to about 75 percent of his remaining seven-year contract, or about $7.1 million.

The settlement reached between USF and Leavitt indicated Leavitt would receive $2 million for “salary and benefits” along with $750,000 “acknowledging Coach Leavitt’s contributions to building USF’s nationally respected football program.” USF’s release indicated “non-state resources” would be used to pay the settlement.

 

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Michael Dyer Turns in Biggest, Most Unlikely Play in BCS Championship

January 10, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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Michael DyerGLENDALE, Ariz. – Auburn running back Michael Dyer was down. Oregon defenders stopped running. A couple of Tigers headed back to the huddle.

Then — just like Auburn has done all season, in eight come-from-behind victories, through the Cecil Newton mess, through everything — Dyer was back up.

And running.

Running across the 50, down the Auburn sideline, for a 37-yard run that was part Barry Sanders and part Tasmanian devil.

Five plays later, Wes Byrum kicked a 19-yard field goal with no time remaining and Dyer was running again — onto the field to celebrate the Tigers’ 22-19 victory in Monday night’s BCS Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Tied at 19 after Darron Thomas‘ two-yard touchdown pass to LaMichael James and Thomas’ 2-point conversion pass to Jeff Maehl, the Tigers got the ball at their 25 with 2:27 remaining.

Quarterback Cam Newton hit Emory Blake for 15 yards, giving the Tigers a first down at the 40.

 

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Auburn Beats Oregon, Finishes Atop FanHouse Fab 40

January 10, 2011   Brett McMurphy   No comments

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Auburn has won the BCS National Championship Game over Oregon in an absolute thriller, 22-19. Obviously, the Tigers hold the top spot in the final installment of the FanHouse Fab 40 for the 2010-11 season.

Here is my final AP ballot for the 2010-11 season.

 

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