WASHINGTON — It’s not March Madness. Not even February Fever. But the area offers more than a few intriguing college hoop stories as the first full month of conference play winds down. First, a celebration of sorts with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reaching 1,000 career wins. Did you know Coach K was so close to that millennium milestone? Thusly we’ll be sprinkling K moments throughout:
#16 Maryland (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten)
The midseason slump seemed right on track for the Terrapins, who trailed Northwestern by 14 at the half before nipping the Wildcats 68-67 on a last-second tip-in by Dez Wells. Instead, the Terps find themselves a half game behind #5 Wisconsin for first place in the league and with more wins than they posted in two of coach Mark Turgeon’s first three seasons in College Park. The power trio of Wells, Jake Layman and Melo Trimble provide more than a few nightmares for opponents. With five of their next seven games at home, could this team crack the top ten in both polls?
Coach K Moment: Will anyone forget the four-game heavyweight bout the two schools waged in 2000-01? From “Gone in 60 seconds,” to “Senior Day Smackdown,” to a two-point game in the ACC’s and the Blue Devils’ comeback in the Final Four — key guideposts on the way to Coach K’s third National Championship.
#21 Georgetown (14-5, 6-2 Big East)
So they rushed the court. Okay, so the kids who were born after Allen Iverson left campus got a little excited when their school beat a top 5 team…is that so wrong? It should be.
The name “Georgetown” exudes Big Brother in the Big East status, not to mention the bully on the block you don’t mess around with. The Hoyas played so well defensively in the first half of their dismemberment of the Wildcats, I thought Michael Graham was going to come out of the stands and punch a player. Credit coach John Thompson III with bringing along a talented but raw freshman class; he says that you can’t force it when “the clouds open up” for a first year player, and that’s what has happened lately for Isaac Copeland (consecutive 17 point efforts after hitting a game-winning 3 against Butler). Before the Hoyas get too full of themselves, Xavier drops by the district. Yes, the same Musketeers that handed Georgetown a 17-point loss December 31.
Coach K Moment: The 1989 Hoyas, led by freshman Alonzo Mourning and Big East MVP Charles Smith, entered the tournament as the #1 seed in the East, only to fall to 2nd seeded Duke in the Regional Finals. This was the second of three straight years where the Blue Devils defeated the top seed (Temple in ’88 and UConn in ’90 being the others) to reach the Final Four — three years that cemented Krzyzewski’s place as an elite coach.
Cruising the Commonwealth
Why does TNT stop showing “Law & Order” re-runs at 1 p.m. on Sundays? At least then they would’ve saved viewers from the 50-47 molasses match between the Cavaliers and Hokies. I would have even been tempted by “Rules of Engagement”. Or maybe not.
#2 Virginia (19-0, 7-0 ACC)
The Cavaliers rallied from 10 points down in the second half to stay unbeaten, thanks to Justin Anderson scoring 10 of the Cavs final 14 points over the last 7:05 of regulation. Now opponents know that UVa can win even when they shoot 35 percent. The nation’s top scoring defense (49.2 ppg allowed) also turned Georgia Tech into a Kindergartener last week, holding the Yellow Jackets to 28 (!!!) points. Bring on #4 Duke, right? The Blue Devils drop by John Paul Jones Arena Saturday.
Coach K Moment: in the 1983 ACC Quarterfinals Ralph Sampson and Virginia routed Duke 109-66…after which one of his friends lifted a glass of water, toasting “here’s to a night let’s soon forget”. Krzyzewski lifted his own glass and responded, “here’s to a night we will NEVER forget”. The Blue Devils reached the ACC Finals the following year and didn’t lose to the Cavaliers again until the 1989-90 season (16 straight wins).
Virginia Tech (8-11, 0-6 ACC)
The Hokies saw another outstanding effort result in another disappointing defeat: just four points scored in the final 10:41 of the second half. Lack of rebounding (they rank last in the ACC and were dominated 33-21 on the glass by the Cavaliers) once again haunts coach Buzz Williams’ bunch: they also rank 329th in the nation in steals. There is good news, though: five of the Hokies next six opponents have losing conference records.
Coach K Moment: The Hokies upset defending National Champ Duke in February of 2011, after which Dick Vitale said that Seth Greenberg’s team punched its ticket to the big dance. That is, until Virginia Tech lost its last two regular season games and needed to beat the Blue Devils in the ACC Semifinals to boost its at-large profile. No dice this time, as Coach K’s club sent the Hokies to the NIT for a fourth straight year, 77-63.
A-10 Showdown
George Washington (16-4, 6-1 Atlantic 10) enters its matchup with #16 VCU (16-3, 6-0 Atlantic 10) on a roll with four straight wins, three by double figures. Patricio Garino continues to be a defensive dynamo, ranking third in the A-10 in steals, but Danish center Kevin Larsen’s cooled off (averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds over the last three games). The Rams recent run hasn’t been easy: four of their last five wins have been two-possession affairs, and a bad ankle kept leading scorer Treveon Graham out of the win over Duquesne). Deliberation meets frenzy — can the Colonials keep a cool head against a manic D that ranks third nationally in steals?
Coach K Moment: One year apart, the Colonials and Rams faced the Blue Devils in the NCAA’s. In 2006, despite being ranked #14 in the nation, GW received the 8th seed and was sent to Greensboro, NC where they lost to top-seed Duke in the Second Round, 74-61. VCU punched coach Anthony Grant’s ticket to Alabama with a First Round upset of the 6th-seeded Blue Devils in 2007.
A-10 Simply Down
George Mason (6-12, 1-5 Atlantic 10)
The Patriots don’t own last place in the league…although with five straight conference losses, it must feel that way. Saturday, the snakebitten Patriots allowed a pair of Davidson threes in the final 21 seconds en route to an 80-73, overtime loss to the Wildcats. While freshman Jamaican big man Shevon Thompson leads the conference in rebounding, he’s getting little help: GMU ranks 11th in the league in shooting and is 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Patriots get relief in the form of consecutive opponents boasting 1-5 A-10 marks before they face VCU.
American (11-9, 4-4 Patriot League)
The Eagles find themselves with a two-game losing streak after slipping at home to Army, 68-66 Monday, as John Schoof’s 17 points were unable to deliver victory. AU led by five with 1:45 left before turning the ball over, missing a layup and the missing a three-pointer. The Eagles lost despite shooting 55 percent from the field and missing the same amount of free throws (13/21 to Army’s 7/15) as their opponent. One game away from the midpoint of the conference slate, Boston University and Colgate are tied for first (AU beat the Raiders while losing to the Bison) with the Eagles one of four 4-4 teams. Cause for concern: AU is 1-3 on the road in the conference and their next two games are away from Bender Arena.
Howard (10-10, 4-2 MEAC)
FIVE HUNDRED, BABY! The Bison haven’t been at the break-even mark or better 20 games into the season since 2002. That the last year they had a winning record, and 2003 was the last one in which they didn’t lose 20 games in a season. Monday’s 45-42 win over Bethune-Cookman made the Virginia-Virginia Tech game feel like the Showtime Lakers — two of the Bison’s starters went scoreless and James Daniel missed 10 of his 11 shots. Thank goodness JC Carlton scored 27 points to lead all scorers. The junior is averaging 22 points over his last five games. The Bison next face a Morgan State team that’s 4-16 while ranking 351st in the nation in shooting (that would be dead last in Division I). After that, things tighten up, with five of their nine remaining league games against schools with winning conference records, followed by giant-killer NJIT in the season finale. A winning record might not happen, but it’s very likely the Bison lose less than 20 games this winter.
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