Northwestern eyeing first NCAA bid
Northwestern has never earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, but that could finally change. The Wildcats are 18-5, 7-3 in the Big 10, although they are coming off Wednesday's 80-59 loss at No. 23 Purdue, snapping their six-game conference win streak.
Northwestern has never earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but that could finally change.
The Wildcats are 18-5, 7-3 in the Big 10, although they are coming off Wednesday's 80-59 loss at No. 23 Purdue, snapping their six-game conference win streak.
Maybe the Wildcats get a pass because leading scorer Scottie Lindsey (15.4 ppg.) was ill and missed that game.
Northwestern is among five Division I teams that have fielded a program since the first NCAA tournament in 1939 to never appear in the Big Dance. The others are Army, the Citadel, St. Francis (N.Y.) and William & Mary.
The Wildcats are guided by fourth-year coach Chris Collins, the son of former 76ers player and coach Doug Collins. He said the loss was a blip on the radar.
"I am not going to overreact," Collins said in his postgame video conference. "We have a good team. Our guys are confident."
Coach K to return
Duke announced that Mike Krzyzewski will return to coach the team in Saturday's home Atlantic Coast Conference game against Pittsburgh. Coach K missed seven games following back surgery, and the Blue Devils (17-5, 5-4 ACC) went 4-3 with associate coach Jeff Capel guiding the team.
Pitt's woes
As if Pitt wasn't having enough trouble, the Panthers have to face a Duke team with Krzyzewski back at the helm.
Pitt (12-10, 1-8) is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. What makes the struggles even more confounding is that Pitt has the top two scorers in the ACC in 6-foot-7 senior Jamel Artis (20.86 ppg.) and 6-9 senior Michael Young (20.27 ppg.).
"At times they both have been spectacular, and at times they haven't been," Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said about his two stars during this week's ACC conference call. "The problem for them and us is a lot of nights they need to be great for us to have a chance."
Happy 90th, Palestra
The Palestra will celebrate its 90th anniversary on Tuesday when Penn hosts Princeton at 7 p.m. Actually, the 90th anniversary was Jan. 1. On Jan. 1, 1927, Penn defeated Yale, 26-15.
Penn is offering a number of promotions, including our favorite: Popcorn will be sold for 90 cents.
Potential conflict
Former St. Joseph's standout Jameer Nelson will be inducted into the Big Five Hall of Fame on April 17. However, he might not be able to attend. Nelson is playing for the Denver Nuggets, and they could be in the NBA playoffs, which begin the weekend of April 15.
The Nuggets entered the weekend two percentage points behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli released this statement about the situation.
"Jameer is delighted to be named as an inductee into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. For all who have seen him play, it's obviously a much-deserved honor. We're actually hoping, however, that he won't be able to attend the banquet on April 17 since that would mean his team has made the NBA playoffs. This is a very important honor for Jameer and for all of those who have supported him throughout the years. But everyone needs to be aware that his attendance at the Big 5 banquet is contingent on the Nuggets' season."
Unsung player
The local teams have already seen enough of one of the under-the-radar players in college basketball, 6-8 Davidson junior Peyton Aldridge.
After he scored 33 points (shooting 5 of 10 from three-point range) in a 91-83 loss at La Salle, Explorers coach John Giannini referred to him as "The Larry Bird of the Atlantic 10."
On Tuesday, Aldridge had 31 points (2 for 4 from three-point range) in a 75-60 win at St Joseph's. He is averaging 21.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and shooting 43.9 percent from three-point range.
"He is one of the more underrated players in the country, and he's even a better person than player," coach Bob McKillop said in a conference call.
ICYMI
Number 1 Gonzaga improved to 23-0 with Thursday's late-night 85-75 win at Brigham Young. The Bulldogs set a school record for consecutive wins. Nigel Williams-Goss, a 6-3 redshirt junior, scored 33 points, more than double his season average of 15.6.
Expatriate of the week
Tahjere McCall, a senior point guard from Philadelphia's Engineering & Science, leads Tennessee State in scoring (14.5 ppg.) and assists (5.0 apg.). He is also third on the team in rebounds (4.9 rpg.) and second in minutes played (31.4) for the 13-10 Tigers. Playing for the alma mater of 76ers forward Robert Covington, McCall was Ohio Valley Conference defensive player of the year last season, his first with the Tigers after two years at Niagara.
@sjnard