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Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Legendary Philadelphia University men's basketball coach Herb Magee met with the media today to talk about being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Here are some highlights, put together by staff photographer David Swanson.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
I mentioned over the weekend how cool the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament are, and how wild the Selection Show is. But the morning after Selection Sunday has held special significance for me ever since I first started attending the Philadelphia Coaches vs. Cancer March Madness Tip-Off Breakfast.
I don't remember what the first year was that I attended; I just know that I feel like I've gone every year for a while now. And though I know it's poor form to complain about my working hours, I think you can understand when I say it's not always easy to get to the Palestra by 7:30 a.m. after staying up late to coordinate Philly.com's NCAA Tournament presentation.
But I wouldn't miss the event for anything. It symbolizes better than anything else we have how wonderfully tight-knit the Philadelphia college basketball community is.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Are you ready?
No, really, are you? Because if you aren't, you'd better be by this Saturday. Consider yourselvers warned.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
After a weekend full of losses, last night was much more fun. All the local teams but St. Joe's won, and someone had to be on the wrong end at the Liacouras Center. Even Penn finally got its first win of the season.
Here's a quick wrapup of the action. There's also postgame audio from St. Joe's-Temple and press conference video highlights in the player.
Temple 73, St. Joe's 46: Box | Enhanced | Dick Jerardi | Kevin Tatum | Ray Parrillo | Photos
Villanova 99, DePaul 72: Box | Enhanced | Joe Juliano | Mike Kern | Photos
Drexel 75, Virginia Commonwealth 72: Box | Enhanced | Keith Pompey | Mike Mazzeo | Photos
Penn 82, UMBC 71: Box | Enhanced | Neil Fanaroff | Daily News staff report
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Uh... whoa.
Some finish that was.
Read the whole thing, but especially read the end...
First off, congratulations to the Kentucky fans at CatsPause.com for swamping the polls and giving Jodie Meeks an overwhelming victory in the Fantasy HORSE Invitational. You all are welcome to stick around, as I'm sure we'll be talking about Big Blue again as this season goes on.
Also in the poll department, Dante Cunningham overtook Dionte Christmas in the local player of the year ballot, and was declared the winner in this morning's Inquirer.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
First up, Mark Kram gets the back cover of the Daily News with a piece on the support network around stud Villanova recruit Dominic Cheek. It includes famed St. Anthony's coach Bobby Hurley, Sr., for whom Cheek plays his high school ball.
Also in the Daily News, Bernard Fernandez reports on the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association awards dinner, where Drexel's Nicole Hester was named Most Courageous Athlete. Other notable winners include West Chester wide receiver Mike Washington, named Outstanding Amateur Athlete; former Penn State star Adam Taliaferro, who won the Humanitarian award; and LSU sprinter LaTavia Thomas, who won the Penn Relays award.
Team |
Record |
Conf. |
Big 5 |
Pomeroy |
RPI |
Sagarin |
BB State |
SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drexel |
10-8 |
6-3 |
2-0 |
138 |
94 |
135 |
125 |
94 |
La Salle |
11-7 |
1-1 |
1-2 |
115 |
107 |
107 |
103 |
137 |
Penn |
4-10 |
0-0 |
0-4 |
232 |
229 |
243 |
223 |
147 |
St. Joseph's |
11-7 |
4-0 |
1-1 |
98 |
66 |
92 |
80 |
95 |
Temple |
11-7 |
3-1 |
1-1 |
42 |
49 |
55 |
48 |
15 |
Villanova |
15-4 |
3-3 |
4-0 |
26 |
26 |
28 |
29 |
86 |
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
More odds and ends...
-- Breaking news out of State College that Joe Paterno was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center today because of dehydration. Thoughts and prayers are with him, of course, though it's no surprise to read team spokeman Guido D'Elia's words that Paterno is "mad as heck" about not being at work.
(UPDATE: Paterno has since been released; information in the link above.)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Daily News sports editor Josh Barnett, who is a blogging fiend in his own right, sent along an AP dispatch a few days back that I've been meaning to post.
But because of the redesign I've been asleep the last two days... actually, I've been cleaning up and wishing I was asleep. Thanks for all the feedback, though; feel free to post more here.
Anyway, there's plenty to consider in this:
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
After working four straight days at 6 a.m., I decided to just go to sleep after last night's games ended at 12:30 in the morning.That gives me a lot of ground to cover in this post, so let's get going.
Dick Jerardi was in Charlotte for last night's games. He recaps North Carolina's rout of Washington State and Louisville's chaotic win over Tennessee.
4. James Keefe, UCLA. With Alfred Aboya and Lorenzo Mata-Real limited to a combined two minutes on the floor, the 6-foot-8 sophomore stepped up in a big way. His reward was a career night and the honor of being the biggest reason why the Bruins never lost their lead during Western Kentucky's comeback.
Name |
Min |
FG |
FT |
3pt |
OR |
DR |
TR |
A |
S |
TO |
Blk |
PF |
Eff |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J. Keefe |
26 |
7-9 |
4-5 |
0-0 |
6 |
6 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
32 |
18 |
3. Tyrone Brazelton, Western Kentucky. Coming into the tournament, the attention on the Hilltoppers focused on guard Courtney Lee. But Lee's backcourt partner stole the show in all three of Western Kentucky's games, and capped it off by almost upsetting UCLA last night.
Name |
Min |
FG |
FT |
3pt |
OR |
DR |
TR |
A |
S |
TO |
Blk |
PF |
Eff |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T. Brazelton |
34 |
10-21 |
5-7 |
6-10 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
22 |
31 |
2. Earl Clark, Louisville. Much was made of Tennessee's paltry 5-for-20 three-point shooting, but the most important stat might have been the Cardinals' 22-for-36 performance (61.1%) from two-point range. Clark was a big part of that.
Name |
Min |
FG |
FT |
3pt |
OR |
DR |
TR |
A |
S |
TO |
Blk |
PF |
Eff |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E. Clark |
28 |
7-10 |
3-4 |
0-1 |
2 |
10 |
12 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
30 |
17 |
1. Kevin Love, UCLA. If the Bruins beat Xavier and advance to the Final Four, Love will surely have the lead in the race for Most Outstanding Player honors when he arrives in San Antonio.
Name |
Min |
FG |
FT |
3pt |
OR |
DR |
TR |
A |
S |
TO |
Blk |
PF |
Eff |
Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
K. Love |
38 |
10-14 |
9-12 |
0-2 |
4 |
10 |
14 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
41 |
29 |
Finally, last night's video highlight. Western Kentucky was charging back with a full head of steam, and had cut UCLA's lead to 63-59 with 5:39 left in the game. But after Keefe hit two free throws, this Josh Shipp three-pointer as the shot clock expired all but snuffed out the Hilltoppers' momentum.
Bonus points given because of how much Shipp struggled in the first two rounds, and for the awkwardness of the shot itself.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
I have a craving for scrambled eggs today. It was one of those weekends, no doubt. But since I'm at work, I'll have to settle for a roundup of today's top stories.
Let's start with Villanova, and a gripe I'd like to air. Why exactly do people think this team is a Cinderella? Yes, the Wildcats are a 12-seed, and were more than likely the last team in the field. But they come out of the Big East, which has three teams in this year's Sweet 16 -- tied with the Pac-10 at the top.
If 'Nova got lucky about anything, it was the path they got to Detroit. After rallying against a psychologically shaky Clemson team, the Wildcats got a Siena squad that was clearly out of mojo.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
