College Basketball Capsules - Men: Buckeyes, Jayhawks present tasty non-con matchups
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Bill Self rattles off the matchups that everyone wants to see: Jared Sullinger against Thomas Robinson, Aaron Craft toe-to-toe with Tyshawn Taylor, Travis Releford versus William Buford.
"I mean, there's a lot of individual things going on," Self said, before making something abundantly clear: "I look forward to seeing Kansas play Ohio State."
The second-ranked Buckeyes visit Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to face the No. 13 Jayhawks in a tasty non-conference treat. Two of the nation's top programs, a handful of the best players and one of the premier venues in college basketball form the backdrop of a March-like matchup in mid-December.
"There are a lot of things about it," Self said. "But when I look at matchups, I say, 'How do you guard the post? How do you guard ball screens, more so than individuals going after each other?' But of course with Jared and Thomas, you have two of the premier players in America that will be guarding each other at least part of the time."
That's assuming Sullinger is healthy enough to play.
The preseason All-American has been hobbled by a bad back, and Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said he won't know until Saturday whether the big guy will be available. Sullinger missed their 64-35 victory over Texas Pan-American last Saturday, but he's practiced a bit this week.
"It's amazing how much better he's moving and all those things," Matta said Wednesday. "We've got two more days to look at it but don't know for sure what he's going to do."
Sullinger is averaging better than 19 points and 10 rebounds per game, and his shooting rate is about 62 percent. If he's unable to go, the onus of slowing down Robinson will fall to junior Evan Ravenel, who is averaging just over 5 points per game.
"Thomas Robinson is one of the better rebounders I've seen, next to Jared," said Ravenel, a transfer from Boston College. "Jared's a great rebounder, probably the best I've ever played with or against. Thomas Robinson is in the same (class)."
Robinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double, with 17.4 points and 12 rebounds per game. He's coming off a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds against Long Beach State, showing an ability to score from the perimeter along with working hard in the post.
"We're a different basketball team (without Jared)," Matta said, "but guys have to play their role. They have to do the job that they need to do every possession."
Self said he expects Sullinger to play, along with Taylor, his starting point guard who has a right knee injury. Taylor came off the bench in Tuesday's victory over the 49ers, but he wound up playing 34 minutes and participated fully in practice this week.
"I hope everybody's healthy and everybody plays and it's an unbelievable game where you have two terrific teams and sets of players going after each other," Self said.
The Jayhawks have played perhaps the toughest schedule in the country, losing to top-ranked Kentucky at Madison Square Garden and No. 7 Duke in the Maui Invitational championship, along with victories over bluebloods UCLA and Georgetown and Big West favorite Long Beach State.
The Buckeyes beat No. 12 Florida earlier this year, and a couple weeks ago rolled to an 85-63 win over the Blue Devils, the kind of comprehensive performance that gave Self shudders.
"They dominated the game," Self said. "I thought they were so impressive on both ends, and so if we struggled with Duke and they handled Duke that night in a pretty good fashion, I know we're going to have to play very, very well to put ourselves in position to have a chance to win late."
Ohio State leads the nation in scoring margin at nearly 30 points per game, is first in turnover margin at plus-8.8, and is tied for the lead with Northwestern in assist-to-turnover ratio. As if that wasn't enough, the Buckeyes are also third nationally in assists per game, fifth in rebounding margin at better than 10 per game, eighth in field goal percentage and ninth in scoring defense.
For someone who is as well-versed in statistical analysis as Self, those numbers are enough to cause a double-take. Or maybe even a triple-take.
Of course, the Jayhawks will have an advantage of playing at Allen Fieldhouse.
The concourse in the venerable gym was filling with students on Wednesday morning, camping out so that they would have prime spots for Saturday's game. The atmosphere is expected to approach that of an NCAA tournament game, and Matta said it's exactly what he hoped for when the game was scheduled.
"In terms of that type of atmosphere affecting you," Matta said, "you'll find out a lot about your team. I've always said this, you learn a lot about your players when a team hits you on a 6-0 run and you look in their eyes and is there fire in their eyes or is there tears in their eyes. That tells you a lot about who they are. This will be a great opportunity."
Iowa State extends hex over Iowa with 86-76 win
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Scott Christopherson volunteered to play point guard this season to help stabilize new-look Iowa State, and coach Fred Hoiberg took him up on his offer.
But Christopherson is a shooting guard at heart, and a move back to his natural position helped the Cyclones pull off their most impressive victory of the year.
Royce White scored 17 points, Christopherson added a season-high 16 and Iowa State beat Iowa 86-76 on Friday night, giving the Cyclones their first three-game winning streak over the Hawkeyes since the mid-1980s.
Bubu Palo chipped in with a career-high 14 points for Iowa State (7-3), which last won three in a row over the rival Hawkeyes from 1983-85.
White had 14 points in the first half, when the Cyclones led by 23. Iowa got as close as 12 midway through the second half, but Iowa State pulled away behind Christopherson to give Hoiberg his fifth win in six tries over Iowa as a player and coach.
"You could just see it in his face that he was going to come out here and have a good game. Very focused," Hoiberg said of Christopherson, whom he moved back to shooting guard in Tuesday night's win over Prairie View A&M. "You need a night like he had (Friday) night to get the doubt out of your mind."
Devyn Marble scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Hawkeyes (5-5), who've lost five of their last seven to drop to .500.
Iowa looked hopelessly behind at the break but went on a 13-2 run early in the second half and pulled within 58-46 with 11:58 left. But Christopherson answered with a 3-pointer, and Melvin Ejim followed with a three-point play to put Iowa State back ahead 64-46.
The Hawkeyes still appeared to be on the cusp of another run that could make things interesting.
That never happened — and Christopherson delivered the final blows by slicing through Iowa's frontcourt for three layups to make it 77-57 with 4:44 left.
Christopherson, who said he'd been playing like "garbage" this season after averaging nearly 14 points a game in 2010-11, was 4 of 6 shooting in the second half.
"I think he's probably putting a little too much pressure on himself," Hoiberg said. "(Christopherson) looks much more comfortable out there now."
Iowa State knew Friday night's game presented the perfect opportunity to prove something after a 6-3 start that included losses to in-state rivals Northern Iowa and Drake.
White set the tone early, and his teammates soon followed his lead.
After Iowa went up 4-0, White hit two straight emphatic dunks off the dribble, which got the sold-out crowd into it. White followed with a 15-footer off the glass and a dish to Ejim for a dunk, and the Cyclones never looked back.
White found Ejim for another dunk, this one in transition, and Iowa State's lead grew to 32-17. Christopherson pushed it to 35-19 with a 3, and Chris Babb's tip-in of White's missed free throw put the Cyclones ahead 40-23 with 4:28 left in the first half.
Christopherson's 3 from the wing 2 minutes later gave the Cyclones their first 20-point lead, 46-25, and just about sealed the win.
Iowa State shot 59.4 percent in the first half, and White led the way with 7-of-7 shooting. But Christopherson said it was Iowa State's defense that allowed the Cyclones to push the tempo on offense in the first half.
"We were everywhere," he said. "Guys were covering for each other. That's really what we've been trying to get to, and it's good to see how good we can be when we're playing defense like that. Offensively, our team has a lot of guys that can score and make plays."
Melsahn Basabe had an encouraging outing for the Hawkeyes with a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds.
Iowa has suffered its share of tough defeats this season, including a 16-point home loss to lowly Campbell and a blowout in Iowa City at the hands of Clemson. But arguably none of those stung as much as Tuesday night's 80-60 loss at Northern Iowa.
This was Iowa's chance to respond on the home floor of one of its biggest rivals.
But the Cyclones never gave the Hawkeyes a chance to get going. Iowa used a late run in garbage time to make the final score seem close, but the game never was.
"We executed better, and we played better defense," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "We didn't make as many mistakes. I thought our shot opportunities were good. We made a much higher percentage.
"I thought the way we fought was great. But you can't give 59.5 (percent) on the road in the first half and expect to win."
-- Luke Meredith
Top 25
Calipari not planning to stay at UK over 10 years
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — John Calipari said being the coach of Kentucky is a 24-hour job and one he doesn't see doing for more than a decade.
"I'd like to live a life after I'm done coaching. I'd like to be alive and happy," Calipari said Friday. "What I don't want to be is a bitter, just a bitter old coach. I just don't want to be that. ... I want to be a guy that had a good run, took care of a lot of kids, a staff that all got jobs, everybody benefited by us coming together and my wife and I look back and say, hey, we've done good, we treated people right.
"And if that's the case, I'd be surprised if I'd be here longer than 10 years."
Calipari, 52, is in his third year with the currently top-ranked Wildcats and says he had a recent conversation with former Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, who mentioned that a long run at Kentucky would be 10 years. Hall retired after 13 seasons at age 57.
"This is one of those ones that's as long as I'm having a ball coaching that means my kids will have fun," Calipari said. "If I'm not having a ball doing this, I just won't do it and I'll pass it on to the next guy and say, 'You'll do great. It's a great thing. I'm telling you, you'll love it.'"
Calipari spent eight years at Massachusetts and nine years at Memphis before taking over Kentucky. He also had a 2½-year run with the New Jersey Nets before heading to Memphis. Calipari took over Kentucky in 2009 and led the program to its 14th Final Four last season.
"It took me 20 years to get here, so I'm not like so quick to leave a place like this. Other guys have had these jobs for 15, 20 years. It took me 20 to get a job like this," Calipari said. "So, I'm not in a hurry to leave, but it's the same sense. When it's time, I think we'll all know."
It's not time yet. Calipari and the Wildcats (8-0) head to Indiana on Saturday. The Hoosiers (8-0) have won all of their games by at least 11 points and rallied at North Carolina State on Nov. 30 before beating Stetson on Sunday for their best start since 2002.
The last time that coach Tom Crean had a crack at No. 1 Kentucky, it worked out well.
Crean's Marquette team that featured Dwyane Wade bounced the Wildcats from the 2003 NCAA tournament in the regional finals after Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the final poll.
That win propelled Crean into the national spotlight and eventually gave him the opportunity to take over beleaguered Indiana in 2008 in the wake of Kelvin Sampson's era. His first three seasons have been rocky, but a victory over the Wildcats could be a signature moment in the program's return to prominence.
"It was so much about what our mindset was going to play that game," Crean said of the first time he knocked off No. 1 Kentucky. "We locked in defensively, we started to make shots and it just snowballed. It was a fantastic win."
Crean continues to lure talented recruiting classes back to Bloomington, including 6-foot-11 freshman center Cody Zeller, who'll be tasked with slowing down Anthony Davis, the key of Kentucky's athletic frontcourt.
"I have played against Davis in the summer quite a bit. A lot of them I have played against in camps, even some of the guys that are older. All of them have improved so much since last summer," Zeller said. "A lot of things have changed since I have played them."
That includes Calipari's latest top-ranked freshman class that includes Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer. Sophomore Terrence Jones removed is name from the NBA draft and returned to school this year.
Calipari has had nine players drafted in the last two seasons. His name is regularly mentioned when NBA coaching vacancies arise, but a remaining hole on his resume as a college coach is a national championship. His Memphis team lost the 2008 title game, which was later vacated due to NCAA sanctions against the school.
He's having success at Kentucky and is being well compensated for his efforts.
Calipari signed a contract extension in July worth $36.5 million that runs through 2019. It pays him at least $3.8 million a year with multiple retention bonuses and incentives. He's won 38 straight games at Rupp Arena, the longest winning streak in the building's 35-year history, and 72 games over his first two years and eight games.
But he knows at some point, he will walk away.
"There's not many jobs where you wear the coat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It never leaves. This is one of them. Then it becomes how long can you go at the pace that I go?" Calipari said. "I'm not sure I'd be very good at like 72 years old and still trying to do this."
-- Colin Fly
Smith questionable Saturday for No. 5 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville's Russ Smith is questionable to play Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson after coach Rick Pitino said the guard hurt his neck while sleeping, the latest and most bizarre injury for the fifth-ranked Cardinals.
Smith says his upper back has been aching after several hard spills in recent games. The reserve is averaging 7.1 points in 18 minutes per game.
The Cardinals are off to their second consecutive 8-0 start despite numerous injuries.
Guard Mike Marra (left knee) and forward Stephan Van Treese (left knee) are out indefinitely. Guards Wayne Blackshear (right shoulder) and Elisha Justice (broken nose) are expected back in the coming weeks.
Forward Rakeem Buckles (right knee) returned for the first time in more than nine months in Wednesday's 90-60 win over IUPUI.
Capsule: No. 12 Florida beats Rider
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kenny Boynton scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and No. 12 Florida placed four players in double figures in a 90-69 victory over Rider on Friday night at the Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Gators (7-2), second in the nation with 11 3-pointers per game, bettered that mark with 13 3s in 28 attempts. Florida's three starting guards, Boynton, freshman Bradley Beal and Erving Walker combined to go 12 of 23 shots from 3-point range.
Patric Young had 12 points and seven rebounds as the Gators took a 43-26 halftime lead.
Florida turned to its 3-point shooting to pull away in the second half. The Gators connected on six of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc to run their lead to 25 points. Boynton had a four-point play on his fifth and final 3-pointer of the game.
Jeff Jones had 20 points to lead Rider (1-9).
News & Notes
UCLA dismisses Nelson from basketball team
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reeves Nelson was dismissed from the UCLA basketball team Friday after twice having been suspended for insubordinate behavior this season.
Coach Ben Howland said he told Nelson in a morning meeting. The 20-year-old junior forward from Modesto, Calif., was currently serving his second suspension.
"Reeves did not want to leave. He's disappointed," Howland said in a teleconference from Anaheim, where the Bruins practiced ahead of Saturday's game against Pennsylvania at Honda Center. "But he also understands that this is the final decision. This is it. We are moving forward without him."
Nelson was averaging 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Bruins, who at 2-5 are off to their worst start since the 2002-03 season.
Howland had kept Nelson off-limits to reporters recently.
After his meeting with Howland, Nelson tweeted, "Here I am, on the road again..... There I gooooooo. Turn the page," quoting lyrics from the Bob Seger song "Turn the Page."
Several hours earlier, he had tweeted, "I know one thing for damn sure. My love for the game will never be suspended. Back to the lab again..."
The bio section on Nelson's Twitter feed says, "Craziness is like heaven."
Nelson's attitude varied greatly during his career, ranging from high-energy team player to petulant and pouting. He arrived in Westwood as a 17-year-old, younger than many college freshmen.
Howland indicated that Nelson's behavior on the bench in UCLA's 10-point loss to Texas last weekend was a key factor in cutting him loose. Nelson didn't play the entire second half. He was laughing and pointing at people in the crowd who were chanting his name.
"I wanted to make sure he finished his finals," Howland said, "and to make a final decision on what we were going to do once he completed that."
The coach said he anticipated Nelson passing his current classes, although he didn't know his future plans. Nelson could remain at UCLA, transfer to another program and sit out the NCAA-mandated year, or turn pro.
"If he doesn't behave appropriately and fit in, there's no reason this couldn't happen again," Howland said. "He's got to make some changes."
Nelson was the Bruins' leading scorer and rebounder last season, but he fell out of the starting lineup early this season as a result of his behavior problems. He was first suspended for five days last month. After being reinstated on Nov. 16, Nelson missed the team's flight to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and arrived later.
He was suspended again this week while the Bruins were taking finals.
"We're trying to pull him along and kind of pick him up," forward David Wear said Tuesday. "All of us try to a certain point, but if it keeps happening again and again and again, eventually everyone is just like, 'Hey, what can we do?'"
Still, Howland didn't want to give up easily on Nelson.
"I'm an optimist who wants to try and help kids grow and improve, but this came to the point where this is too much of a negative and a distraction," the coach said, adding that he would continue to try to help Nelson in the future.
Nelson was friends with some of his teammates off the court, although Howland said he thinks Nelson's absence will be a positive.
"When I suspended him the first time, the two practices we had after that were the best two practices we had of the year," he said. "Hopefully this is going to be a unifying thing for our team."
-- Beth Harris
Northern Arizona basketball coach resigns
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Adras resigned Friday as Northern Arizona's basketball coach.
Athletic Director Jim Fallis said 70-year-old Dave Brown will serve as interim head coach while a search for a permanent replacement is conducted.
Brown is a member of the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame and former head coach of the school's women's basketball team and the Yavapai College men's team. He served as a color commentator for NAU's basketball broadcasts for the past three seasons.
"It's tough that it's this time of the year," Fallis said. "I think we are fortunate with a young staff to have somebody with the experience and the knowledge and the capability of Dave Brown to step in on an interim basis."
Players were informed of Adras' departure before practice Friday afternoon.
"I'm shocked," point guard Stallon Saldivar said. "We weren't expecting that at all. We were just going through our daily routine, came in and (they) broke the news. We were just speechless; nobody knew what to do. I had no idea what was going on."
Brown met with players immediately before running his first practice and will direct the Lumberjacks (2-7) Saturday night against Cal State Bakersfield. He started Yavapai College's men's basketball program in 1970 and was 85-100 in seven seasons as the NAU women's basketball coach from to 1983-90.
"I'm no savior," said Brown, who also served as NAU's interim athletic director in 2004. "I'm no big guy who is going to turn everything around. We're just going to try to reinforce the positives and teach."
Adras compiled a 193-170 record in 13 years as head coach at NAU. He led the Lumberjacks to their second NCAA tournament appearance in his first season and ranks third on the Big Sky Conference wins list with 99 conference victories.
He served as an assistant for seven years at the school and assumed the head coaching position in 1999 when current UCLA coach Ben Howland left for Pittsburgh.
Adras did not address the team Friday, according to players and administrators.
"I am proud of what my team has built at NAU and of our student athletes," Adras said.
Fallis said the university will begin searching for a permanent coach immediately.
"In order to keep some continuity in the program and also remain competitive, obviously we're going to want a coach in place as quickly as possible," Fallis said.
Carson ineligible to play for Sun Devils
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Top recruit Jahii Carson has been ruled ineligible to play for Arizona State in the 2011-12 season.
Carson didn't meet the NCAA's initial academic eligibility standards and retook the ACT test, but the school recently learned he had come up just short and appealed to the NCAA.
The NCAA's Eligibility Center ruled on Friday that Carson can't play but will be allowed to practice with the team this season.
Carson is one of the highest-rated recruits at Arizona State and for coach Herb Sendek, who recently had a two-year contract extension approved by the school's board of regents. Carson was projected as the starting point guard for the Sun Devils, who are 3-5 without him.
Washington G Suggs to redshirt for the season
NEW YORK (AP) — Injured Washington guard Scott Suggs will redshirt this season after missing the first seven games with a foot injury.
Washington coach Lorenzo Romar made the announcement on Friday in a conference call with reporters ahead of the Huskies' game Saturday with No. 7 Duke at Madison Square Garden.
Suggs suffered a broken bone in his right foot in early October before practices began. He had surgery and was targeting the game against Duke as his possible return. Suggs averaged 7.4 points and was third in the Pac-10 in 3-point percentage during his junior season. Suggs was one of just two scholarship seniors on the Huskies roster this season.
Cowboys play on road Friday night at Colorado
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming men's basketball team takes its six-game winning streak on the road Friday night at Colorado. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Coors Events Center.
Under new coach Larry Shyatt, the Cowboys (8-1) are off to their best start since 2008-09 behind one of the best defenses in the nation. This will be just the second road game in their first 10 games. The Buffaloes (5-3) are 3-0 at home this season.
