COLLEGE BASKETBALL;Fast start lifts Hoyas past Wildcats 103-90;16 first-half turnovers doom No. 2
One week earlier, President Barack Obama was in attendance. On Saturday, the Georgetown Hoyas further displayed theirdrawing power by attracting more than 10,000 fans on a day when afierce snowstorm blanketed the nation's capital. Those who trudged through an estimated 2 feet of snow wererewarded with a game they won't soon forget. Austin Freeman scored 25 points, Jason Clark had 24, andGeorgetown forced 16 first-half turnovers in a 103-90 victory thatended No. 2 Villanova's 11-game winning streak and ruined theWildcats' perfect Big East record. The Hoyas (17-5, 7-4) led by as many as 23 points in the firsthalf and 50-31 at halftime. Villanova (20-2, 9-1) cut the margin to10 but never threatened to complete the comeback.
How (Not) to Fix College Football
In response to Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) persistent pressureabout the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series to the University of Utah's college football team in 2008, the ObamaJustice Department has announced that it will, as the Associated Press put it, "consider steps to review the legalityof the controversial Bowl Championship Series." The president has long stated that he strongly prefers a playoffto the system of bowls in major college football . The administration'sstance says as much about its view of the role of government as itdoes its grasp of major college football and its supporters. Bothare lacking to the typical fan and voter. The Bowl Championship Series is governed by the heads of all 11 football conferences eligible toplay for the BCS championship plus independent Notre Dame. Fivebowls are available to the best teams of those conferences: Sugar,Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and the rotating national championship game.Six of the conferences - the "automatic qualifiers" - areguaranteed that their champion gets at least one slot. That meansthat no more than four slots are available to what most considerlesser - and unarguably less prestigious - conferences. The top twoBCS-ranked teams, based on human and computer rankings andregardless of conference, play in the national championshipgame.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
SEASON RECAP: It's been up a down staircase this season for Notre Dame, which has been unable to get on a roll in the Big East. The Irish will win two, lose two and to date have been just a .500 team that has a nice win over West Virginia but a terrible loss to Rutgers. How it finishes will determine if it can get to the NCAA Tournament. PLAYER ROTATION: Usual Starters -- F Luke Harangody, F Tim Abromaitis, F Tyrone Nash, G Ben Hansbrough, G Tory Jackson. Key Subs -- G Jonathan Peoples, G Joey Brooks. GAME REVIEW: Rutgers 74, Notre Dame 73 Notre Dame 83, Cincinnati 65 Notre Dame 65, South Florida 62 GAME PREVIEW: at Seton Hall, Thursday, Feb. 11 vs. St. John's, Sunday, Feb. 14 at Louisville, Wednesday, Feb. 17 vs. Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Georgetown, Saturday, Feb. 27 IN FOCUS: The thing about being in Notre Dame's spot and needing to put things together down the stretch to make a run to the NCAA Tournament is that it doesn't seem easy no matter who you play. The Irish are currently in a stretch of five games against lower level Big East teams, so how do they start it? They lose to Rutgers. ROSTER REPORT: --Junior Scott Martin is redshirting this year as he recovers from a torn ACL. --G Tory Jackson has never missed a game during his college career and has started 110 games, sixth all-time at Notre Dame, while averaging 32.4 minutes per game.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Notre Dame is 1-3 against ranked teams this season, the only win being at home against No. 8 West Virginia. --F Luke Harangody is second in the nation with a 24.8 scoring average and G Tory Jackson is second with a 3.49 assist-to-turnover ratio. --In beating Cincinnati, Notre Dame had 25 assists on 29 baskets, an incredible ratio and its best in league play this year. Earlier in the season Notre Dame played a game with only two turnovers, a sign of more spectacular guard play. --New Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly was front and center when the Irish beat his old University Cincinnati team in basketball, wearing a huge credential around his neck, just so the home folks knew who the new man in town was. ON THE SPOT: It seems like it's only a matter of time now, but F Ben Hansbrough seems on the verge of recording the second triple-double ever put together by a Notre Dame player. Playing against Cincinnati Feb. 4 with his older brother, Tyler, in the stands behind the bench, Ben had 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. His all-around game is such that he continues to flirt with a triple double. Against Providence he had 10 points and 10 assists to go with eight rebounds and against West Virginia he had 6 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. QUOTE TO NOTE: "Guys fed off that. That right there kind of gave us a spark to go even harder." -- 5-11 G Tory Jackson who, despite scoring only one point against Cincinnati, had a sequence when he outmuscled 6-9 Yancy Gates for a long rebound, then forced a jump ball by tying up 6-8 Steve Toyloy in the paint, then took a charge form Gates.
GETTING INSIDE
Notre Dame is not going down without a fight. Which may be why they are known as the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is making a push for an NCAA Tournament and while nothing is coming easily, they have won their last two games, easing the pain of an upset loss to Rutgers. Coach Mike Brey told the South Bend Tribune that he felt his team needed to finish at 9-9 "to be in the discussion" for a tournament bid. Even at 6-5 after beating South Florida on Feb. 7, the road is filled with land mines in the Big East. A run to the tournament would center around All-American Luke Harangody, who is now a senior. The Irish would like to win for him and if they do win it will probably be because of him. In beating Cincinnati on Feb. 4 he scored 37 points with 14 rebounds, a marked turnaround from the first game with the Bearcats this year when he hit only 5 of 20 shots and scored 17 points. Against Cincinnati and against South Florida on Feb. 7, Notre Dame got tough with its inside game. "We've been a little soft," Harangody said. "We've had some intense practices," senior tri-captain Tory Jackson added before going out and scoring 18 with four assists against South Florida. "Guys have been getting after each other. Guys got hurt more in practice than we did in games." It is that intensity that Brey hopes to build upon down the stretch run toward the tournament.
Sports TV & radio
TELEVISION Tuesday 7 p.m. -- Men's College Basketball , Mississippi at Kentucky,ESPN. 7 p.m. -- Men's College Basketball , Miami at Wake Forest,ESPN2.
KU No. 1 in AP poll ahead of big clashes this week
Kansas (22-1) remained the runaway No. 1, receiving 55 first-placevotes from the national media panel. Syracuse (23-1), whichreceived eight first-place votes, moved up one spot to become thefourth No. 2 in as many weeks.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
