Archive for February, 2006
Big East positioning: No. 9 Pittsburgh travels to No. 14 West Virginia
Monday, February 27th, 2006
No. 9 ranked Pitt (21-4, 10-4 Big East) travels 77 miles south to Morgantown to play No. 14 West Virginia (19-8, 10-4 Big East) Monday at WVU Coliseum.
For the second time in the 100-year, 170-game history of basketball’s version of the “Backyard Brawl,” both Pitt and West Virginia enter the game ranked among the nation’s top-25.
At 21-4 and 10-4 in league play, Pitt enters its 15th Big East game. Two regular season games remain for Pitt: at West Virginia and home against Seton Hall. At 10-4, Pitt currently ranks tied for third in the Big East standings. Villanova (12-2) and Connecticut (12-2) are tied for first place atop the league standings. Pitt and West Virginia are both third with 10-4 records, while Georgetown (10-5) is fifth and Marquette (9-5) ranks sixth.
NBA Basketball Roundup
Sunday, February 26th, 2006
Dallas Mavericks go 14 straight WINS
Dallas Mavericks are on a roll - winning their 14th straight game - in now all too familiar comeback fashion. Dallas trailed the Toronto Raptors by 24 points in the 2nd half but still manage to pull a 115-113 win! Dirk Nowitzki made an 18-foot fadeaway with a second left […]
Huskies seek to avenge Big East loss vs. No. 2 Villanova
Friday, February 24th, 2006
The University of Connecticut Huskies seek to avenge a Feb. 13 conference setback when they host Villanova Wildcats for what promises to be another classic Big East battle.
Let it be known in advance: If the Wildcats go into Gampel Pavilion on Sunday and beat UConn for a second time in 13 days, they’ll jump Duke for the No. 1 spot in these rankings. Aside from the Blue Devils-Huskies duel that everyone wants in the NCAA tournament, this Big East rivalry is the marquee matchup in college hoops; UConn is No. 4 offensively and No. 4 defensively in the kenpom.com efficiency rankings; Villanova is Nos. 3 and 9, respectively.
The Wildcats (22-2, 12-1 Big East) opened the season with 10 straight wins, giving them two 10-game winning streaks in the same season for the first time in school history. They have also won 18 of their last 19 Big East games, including a win against then No. 1 Connecticut last Monday. The buzz over their first win against a top-ranked team in nearly 11 years was all the players heard about the last week.
Big 12 title on the line: Jayhawks try to break horns of Texas
Friday, February 24th, 2006
The battle of the Big 12 giants is set for Saturday as the No. 16 Kansas Jayhawks travel to Austin to take on the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns. Watch as Kansas super frosh Brandon Rush battles all-world Texas guard P.J. Tucker.
You have to wonder if they’re ready for all of this - ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew, Dick Vitale raving and hyping, P.J. Tucker and Brad Buckman banging and boarding, LaMarcus Aldridge swatting and intimidating. College basketball’s most intriguing and talented group of 20s and teenagers - Bill Self’s Jayhawks - is about to be unveiled to the hoops nation, and, to borrow a chorus from R. Kelly, it seems like they’re ready to go all the way.
But you just never know. Youth is so unpredictable. The hottest team in the country - winner of 10 straight and fresh off Tuesday night’s tune-up whipping of Baylor 76-61 at Allen Fieldhouse - travels to Austin for a Saturday night showdown against the Texas Longhorns.
The Jayhawks, who are 20-6, have been warming up for Texas for three months. Their battles with Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nevada, Kentucky and Oklahoma were nothing more than a prelude to Saturday’s clash for control of the Big 12 Conference. Self’s Hawks have more tools than Rick Barnes’ Longhorns, and the Jayhawks are playing better ball than Texas, which lost to Oklahoma State over the weekend.
United target Carling Cup vs Wigan Athletic
Friday, February 24th, 2006
Manchester United’s season enters the last chance saloon in Cardiff on Sunday when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side take on Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup final. An embarrassing early exit from a straightforward looking Champions League group has been followed by a painful departure from the FA Cup at bitter rivals Liverpool, while Chelsea remain a distant target at the head of the Premiership.
So the competition that was fourth in importance on Ferguson’s agenda at the start of the campaign has suddenly become crucial to United. However, to ensure they do not finish the season empty handed the Red Devils will have to improve dramatically on the display that saw them lose 1-0 at Anfield last weekend.
United’s central defensive pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown looked like complete strangers as corners and free-kicks led to a series of free headers in the box for Liverpool, while what Ferguson’s plans in midfield were supposed to be is anyone’s guess. The midfield malaise left United’s usually potent attack starved of service and Ferguson’s men never looked likely to add to the 15 goals they had scored in the previous five matches.
The Mancunians will again be without long-term injury victims Gabriel Heinze and Paul Scholes, while Alan Smith misses out after suffering a broken leg and dislocated ankle at Anfield. Rio Ferdinand is set to return after a missing the Liverpool game with a hamstring injury, but whether he will replace Vidic or slot into the centre of midfield is not certain.
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