NCAA Basketball FanHouse

South Carolina Reports 14 Violations, Including Possible Bagel Bungle

Terrance Harris — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:11:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina, SEC, Recruiting

The University of South Carolina has self-reported 14 secondary NCAA violations by various sports teams during the last six months in the athletic department.

Secondary violations are defined as inadvertent and isolated and usually carry a minimal sanction, if any at all. Six of the violations are considered Level 1, which means they will go to the NCAA for review while the Level 2 violations will be dealt with by the SEC. Two of the Level 1 violations were committed by Steve Spurrier's football program, while first-year Gamecock's basketball coach Darrin Horn committed five violations the school reported.

The ones that will generate a few head scratches will be the "impermissible snacks" violation during an away-from-home competition and an impermissible entertainment violation for a bowling trip. Both violations were committed by the men's basketball team.

FanHouse placed a call to the NCAA for clarification of the snacks rule. Apparently, USC violated NCAA Bylaw 16.5.2, which governs away-from-home competitions.

Coaches can go one of two ways on such trips; they can either go the unconventional route of feeding their student athletes as much as they would like throughout the trip, but student athletes can not receive any type of per diem. Or the coach can go the traditional route of providing breakfast, lunch and dinner only and under those rules, a student athlete can receive $15 per meal.

Apparently, the basketball team went the traditional route but was in violation when it provided the student athletes either fruit or bagels outside of breakfast, lunch and dinner, a source in the athletic department said.

Other violations included impermissible entertainment and text messaging, the latter which has gotten many athletic departments in trouble since the NCAA banned such communication two years ago. According to USC, an assistant football coach responded to a text from an unknown number only to learn it was from a recruit.

None of the charges seem serious, which means USC won't likely face harsh sanctions when the NCAA rules.

The school also reported a violation when recruits watched a video that depicted game action and also when one of the South Carolina newspapers interviewed a recruit on a visit.

South Carolina Reports 14 Violations, Including Possible Bagel Bungle originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Florida Makes a Point, Sort Of

Chris Burke — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:25:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, SEC

I'm starting to get the feeling that the SEC will get at least three, possibly four, bids to the NCAA Tournament. And I don't get it.

Barring someone making a Georgia-like miracle run in the conference tournament, your most likely candidates for dance invitations are LSU, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida. The Gators stay in that group on the basis of Saturday's messy 60-53 over Kentucky. While both Florida and Kentucky entered the contest technically on the bubble, neither really looked like a tournament team -- especially the Wildcats, who have now lost four straight and have one foot in the ground.

Florida 60, Kentucky 53: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

But can someone explain to me why either South Carolina or Florida would get in?

The Gamecocks have 21 wins after beating Georgia, sure, but zero -- absolutely none -- against RPI top-50 teams. Florida, meanwhile, has 22 wins now, which looks great on paper. When you dig a little deeper into those numbers that the NCAA Tournament committee love to look at, the Gators case looks crummier too.

Road wins? Florida has two mediocre ones, at Vanderbilt and Auburn. Top-50 wins? Florida has just two. A strong finish? The Gators are 4-6 in their last 10, even after Saturday's win. Their best victory was on a neutral site over Washington in November, and they have a terrible loss at Georgia, a team that has an RPI near 200.

Florida didn't exactly wow a national-TV audience in the Kentucky win, either. The two teams combined for 37 turnovers (23 by Kentucky), with the Gators winning despite shooting less than 40 percent. A statement, it was not.

Still, the Gators are undoubtedly alive for a berth as they head to the SEC conference tournament, but they should need a win or two to make sure. Kentucky, on the other hand, is deservedly dead. Barring an unexpected hot streak next weekend, the Wildcats are NIT bound.

Florida Makes a Point, Sort Of originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bruce Pearl Strips Down to T-Shirt During South Carolina Game

Will Brinson — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina, Tennessee, SEC, Coaches, Media Watch, Video

Bruce Pearl seems like a pretty intense dude. He's willing to paint himself orange and run around Knoxville, Tenn., shirtless, for one thing. For another, he yells a lot. Well, on Thursday night against South Carolina, he was rocking a blazer-white T-shirt combo. And at one point during the first half, he ripped said blazer off. Brent Musberger noticed, too. Enjoy.

I tend to like Pearl, even if he does embody everything about Tennessee that is so, well, Tennessean. But I'm pretty sure that unspoken coaching etiquette dictates that if you wear the T-shirt-blazer combo, you leave the blazer on for the entire game.

Bruce Pearl Strips Down to T-Shirt During South Carolina Game originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Does Anyone Want to Win the SEC?

Chas Rich — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:08:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, SEC

Well, I mean aside from LSU which has run their record to 10-1 in the conference. Over in the SEC East it is a mess. Whether you want to call it parity, mediocrity or just plain suckitude, there are four teams pillow-fighting their way to see who can back into the top spot in the division.

Kentucky got humiliated by Vanderbilt yesterday. Florida, which had lost three of four got a win over a bad Alabama team. Tennessee got run out of Oxford by an injury-ravaged Ole Miss team. South Carolina has been overachieving, but they couldn't win in Starkville. That leaves all four with identical 7-4 conference records.
South Carolina may have the best chance to win the SEC East. The Gamecocks get Kentucky and Tennessee at home and have games with one-win Arkansas and one-win Georgia as well as 5-6 Vandy.

Tennessee has the toughest road, with road games at South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky still on its schedule. They also have to face Mississippi State before they end the season with Alabama.

Kentucky does not have it that much easier. Even with three home games, Rupp Arena has hardly been a source of mystique and intimidation. The Wildcats have to play LSU, Tennessee, go to South Carolina and finish the season at Florida. Only a visit from Georgia seems like a respite.

Florida should be able to finish reasonably strong. They do have to go to LSU and Mississippi State, but they have Vandy, Tennessee and Kentucky coming to them.

All four of the teams somewhere on the dreaded bubble. Except for Tennessee, they have all played very, very weak non-conference schedules. Couple that with the SEC being so weak, and the only sure way any of them have to get into the NCAA Tournament is by winning the conference tournament.

Does Anyone Want to Win the SEC? originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Devan Downey Downs Kentucky

Chas Rich — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:53:00 EST

Filed under: Kentucky, South Carolina, SEC, Video

If South Carolina is going to make a habit of the last second, game winning shots we will keep posting them. One of the longest 22.2 seconds you can watch in a non-tournament game. South Carolina inbounds at halfcourt to Devan Downey. Downey does not even look to pass. He just dribbles the clock down, penetrates and pulls up for a two to give South Carolina the 78-77 lead. After Kentucky struggled with inbounding and a couple time outs they get it in to Jodie Meeks. Meeks takes it to halfcourt to launch a desperation three at the buzzer that hits the front of rim and harmless bounce off.

Devan Downey Downs Kentucky originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina Snags Another Game in the Final Seconds

Chas Rich — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:08:00 EST

Filed under: Kentucky, South Carolina, SEC

It's becoming a habit for South Carolina in the SEC. They pulled out the win against Florida in the final seconds off a missed free throw, and now they do it to Kentucky. Perry Stevenson missed two free throws, and South Carolina got the rebound. South Carolina took a timeout after getting to midcourt. They ran the clock down, and Devan Downey hit the turnaround jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining to give the Gamecocks the 78-77 win.

It was the first win for South Carolina in Lexington in 12 years, and only the second time they have won there since they joined the SEC. Once more, Kentucky's inability to take care of the ball caught up to them. They turned the ball over 21 times
The win for South Carolina puts them in the thick of the SEC East, and a team with a legitimate argument for the NCAA Tournament. They have wins at Baylor and Kentucky, and a win over Florida. They really do not have any bad losses. The only thing working against them is the relatively soft non-conference schedule and the overall weakness of the SEC.

Kentucky, on the other hand, has had a disastrous week. They get ranked and drop two straight. First to a severely undermanned Ole Miss team, and then at home to South Carolina. The Wildcats are not in a position to panic, but the team has not handled things well when they become the team to beat in the conference.

After Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson, there is no one else that can provide any consistent offense. That was on display again in this game, as the two provided 48 points and no one else could reach double digits.

South Carolina Snags Another Game in the Final Seconds originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina's Zam Frederick Redeems Himself in 3.3 Seconds

Chas Rich — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, South Carolina, SEC

Usually it takes until the next game before a player gets a chance to make up for a mistake that costs his team a chance to win. For Zam Frederick, it came much faster in South Carolina's 70-69 win over Florida Wednesday.

The Gamecocks were down one with Zam Frederick on the line with a chance to tie the game. Frederick missed and Florida got the rebound. Florida's Chandler Parson's got the rebound and was immediately fouled with 3.3 seconds remaining. Parson went to the free throw line in a 1-and-1 situation. He missed, and Mike Holmes made a perfect pass to a streaking Frederick for a game-winning finish.

South Carolina's Zam Frederick Redeems Himself in 3.3 Seconds originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina Rewards Walk-Ons and the Basketball Team

Charles Rich — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:10:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Campus

New South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn gave scholarships for the 2008-09 season to two of the team's walk-ons.

"Both Branden [Conrad] and Robert [Wilder] have been exemplary in everything that we have asked of them since we arrived on campus," said Horn. "Since we have some scholarships available, I felt that we should reward them while we can. They have earned it and they deserve it."

I'm not sure exactly what they have done in the two plus months since Horn and his staff came to Columbia, but it is an excellent gesture and some positive publicity. The Gamecocks only had 9 players on scholarship for the upcoming season, so the program had the spare scholarships.

Conrad is a senior and Wilder a junior. Even if Wilder doesn't have his scholarship renewed for his senior year (athletic scholarships are year-to-year), he still got one free year. There's no arguing it is a great thing for those kids.

It's also a smart move for South Carolina Basketball, beyond simply the good publicity. This should provide an extra boost to the basketball team's Academic Progress Rate (APR). Walk-ons don't count towards the APR, only the scholarship players.

In the latest APR report from the NCAA, South Carolina basketball scored an 899 (PDF), below the 925 threshold score. This cost them a scholarship for the upcoming season.

Don't be surprised if other programs facing a threat of lost scholarships from poor APR suddenly get generous to walk-ons when there are open scholarships.

South Carolina Rewards Walk-Ons and the Basketball Team originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Horn Hired By South Carolina

Charles Rich — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

Today it became official that Darrin Horn left Western Kentucky for South Carolina. His personal website, sums it up.

In a press conference -- delayed until the afternoon because the weather prevented the plane South Carolina chartered to fly in Horn and his family from leaving Columbia on time -- Horn not only said the standard things about winning the SEC, he talked about South Carolina getting nationally relevant. He also gave Clemson fans bulletin board material about recruiting.

"We are going to put a fence around the state of South Carolina, and the best players in South Carolina are going to be recruited to play at the University of South Carolina," Horn said.

Horn had a base salary of $157,000 at Western Kentucky, but the South Carolina deal starts his base at $800,000. His incentives are primarily for winning that could add another $335,000 -- $25,000 for a first round win and increasing each round up to $250,000 for a national championship.

Interestingly, the other incentive is for getting the fans to commit. The Gamecocks had 9322 season ticket holders this past season. He gets another $50,000 for every 1000 more season ticket holders. South Carolina's arena has a capacity of about 18,000.

It isn't clear whether South Carolina is paying Horn's buyout with Western Kentucky, or if Horn is responsible (like John Beilein leaving West Virginia to Michigan). The South Carolina AD, however, did acknowledge that they will likely have to honor the other term of Horn's Western Kentucky contract -- play two home-and-home games with the Hilltoppers over the next 4 years.

Horn Hired By South Carolina originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina Looking to Western Kentucky for Next Coach

Charles Rich — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:36:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

Western Kentucky had to know that getting to the Sweet 16, would also mean that it would elevate their coach to "hot" status. Sure Darrin Horn is an alum of Western Kentucky, but when you balance that against a bigger paycheck and opportunity to coach in a major conference it really isn't going to stop many.

Western Kentucky Athletic Director Wood Selig said in a telephone interview Saturday night that [South Carolina Athletic Director Eric] Hyman had contacted him "to let me know they wanted to talk with Darrin."

"It wasn't like he was seeking permission. It was like, 'We intend to talk to Darrin,' " said Selig, adding Hyman didn't "leave a number to call back."

Selig said he talked to Horn, who told his boss he was interested in talking with Hyman, who declined comment through a spokesman.

"It would not surprise me that Darrin is in Columbia right now. I would suspect they probably flew plane up to him and they're having conversations right now about the job there at South Carolina," Selig said.

At Western Kentucky, Horn makes about $157,000 per year with a $200,000 buyout. A new coach at a major conference school generally makes at least $600,000 per year.

Deep ties to his state and school don't seem that strong when contrasted against the paycheck and the opportunity. If South Carolina decides Horn is who they want, it's hard to see him saying no.

South Carolina Looking to Western Kentucky for Next Coach originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The SEC Likes Anthony Grant

Josh Alper — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:05:00 EST

Filed under: LSU Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, Mid-Majors Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

There's still a lot of college hoops to be played this season but I'm going to be bold and make my first prediction for the 2008-09 season: Anthony Grant will be coaching in the Southeastern Conference. I'm not really sticking my neck out, here. Grant, fresh off VCU's upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament, was all set to take over Florida last year before Billy Donovan reversed course and left the Orlando Magic high and dry.

Now, with the Rams two games up in the CAA and looking to make more March noise, Grant is an even stronger candidate for a big-time job. As it happens, two SEC programs will be looking for a coach. LSU and South Carolina are both interested in Grant, according to various reports, and for good reason. His two years at VCU have been nothing but successful and 10 years as an assistant to Donovan prepared him for life in the SEC.

Grant won't talk about next steps right now and, quite frankly, he wouldn't be the coach he is if he allowed his focus to turn to another school and another season. Grant passed on head jobs while at Florida to wait for the right one, but this is a different situation. He can't do much better at VCU than he has the past two seasons and a poor year or two will take away some of his shine. You have to strike while the iron is hot and none is hotter than Grant right now.

The SEC Likes Anthony Grant originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gators Beat 'Cocks, Take Lead in SEC East

Ryan Ferguson — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:48:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball

The SEC East race is heating up and you'll never guess who's out in front.

Yep, it's that team again: the Florida Gators lead the division and are now 2nd overall in the SEC behind Mississippi State. I'll bet a dollar you wouldn't have predicted that back in December.

The Gators improved to 4-1 on Wednesday night when they logged another crucial SEC road win. This time it was in Columbia, beating South Carolina 73-71, coming back yet again from a big second half deficit. The Gators' MVP in this contest was Marreese Speights, who followed up his powerful performance against Kentucky with a big-time 22 point, 14 rebound game. Speights was a sizzling 10-13 from the field. Nick Calathes, a strong candidate for SEC freshman of the year honors, put up an additional 21 points despite an off shooting night.

South Carolina played a gutty game and led most of the way, but seemed to tire in the game's final moments. Guard Devan Downey was unconscious, scoring 24 points from everywhere on the floor but couldn't make the big shots in the final seconds that the 'Cocks needed to win. South Carolina's record (9-9 overall, 1-3 SEC) suggests they're not a very good team, but they were in this game until the very end and had opportunities to beat the high-flying Gators. Prediction: South Carolina will win some upsets this year. They're a pretty solid squad right now.

I believe you'll see the Gators ranked in the Top 25 next Sunday, which is incidentally the same day they take on 13th-ranked Vanderbilt. If Florida wins that game, look for there to be talk of the Gators being a serious contender to win the SEC this season and take a 5 or 6 seed into the NCAA tournament.

Gators Beat 'Cocks, Take Lead in SEC East originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEC Coaching Hotseats Start Heating Up

Ryan Ferguson — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:06:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama Basketball, LSU Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

There's a feeling of finality about this season for certain coaches whose teams have long struggled in the conference. A feeling so pervasive that certain natives -- er, fans -- have begun dancing around the fire chanting and singing ceremonial tribal chants.

The hottest seat of them all was reserved for South Carolina's David Odom until he announced his retirement on Friday. Odom never had an SEC record better than 8-8 and was 37-61 against conference opponents.

Mark Gottfried, Alabama

The hottest seat at present has to be reserved for Alabama's Mark Gottfried. The Tide were once again picked in the preseason as one of the more talented teams in the league. With stars like Alonzo Gee, Richard Hendrix and Ronald Steele on the roster, Bama seemed like they could be poised to make a run for an SEC title. Unfortunately, Ronald Steele's knees are still getting the best of him and he's been forced to watch his teammates play from the bench. Despite losing Steele (again), the Tide are still talented enough to win plenty of games. Right? Wrong. Alabama is 11-7 overall and more importantly, 0-3 in the SEC. Even the most stolid of Bama hoops blogs, the Alabama Basketball blog, is starting to post questions about Coach Mark Gottfried's salary.

John Brady, LSU

Did John Brady's Tigers really play in the 2006 Final Four? It seems impossible to believe that a coach could be on the hotseat just two years later, but there's no question that Brady is roasting right now. After that magical 27-9 season which ended with a loss to UCLA, the Tigers seemed to spiral out of control. The lone highlight of the 2007 season was beating eventual national champion Florida, but a 17-15 overall and 5-11 conference record left the Tigers bereft of a postseason... as in, they weren't even invited by the NIT.

2008 might be worse. The Tigers are 7-10 to start things off and have logged 3 conference losses against zero wins. In pre-conference play they suffered an embarassing loss to Tulane, and scored a school-low 39 total points in their home conference opener against Mississippi State.

SEC Coaching Hotseats Start Heating Up originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: South Carolina's David Odom to Announce Retirement at End of Season

Ryan Ferguson — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:43:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches

Andy Katz just broke into ESPN's coverage of the Tennessee-Vandy game to announce that South Carolina head coach David Odom is retiring at the end of the season.

According to Katz, Odom will hold a press conference on Friday to announce his decision.

After years of mediocrity, It was a do-or-die year for Odom, and with a 9-8 overall and 1-2 conference record to start the season, it was starting to look like the latter. Apparently, the venerable old coach has chosen to go out on his own terms.

And so an era of ~~greatness~~... uh... an era of ~~good basketball~~... um, an era comes to a close for fans of Gamecock hoops. Jeez, that was uncalled for, wasn't it? Hey, you don't read FanHouse because we're classy. Now, back to your regularly scheduled podcast.

BREAKING: South Carolina's David Odom to Announce Retirement at End of Season originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eastern Round Up: An Old-Fashioned Shootout

Josh Alper — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:35:00 EST

Filed under: Umass Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, George Mason Basketball, Mid-Majors Basketball, Vanderbilt Basketball

Vanderbilt and UMass can both put up points in a hurry and they didn't disappoint in Nashville yesterday. Shan Foster hit eight threes to become Vandy's all-time leader in made longballs and the Commodores improved to 15-0 in a 97-88 home win. While the Minutemen couldn't continue the A-10's upset string they did cast some doubts about the long-term fitness of VU.

Ricky Harris, Chris Lowe and Gary Forbes had their way with the Commodore defense and scored 25, 22 and 22 points, respectively. Their drives to the lane were unimpeded and their threes thrown up without a hand in the face, two things the Commodores desperately need to change if they hope to contend for SEC honors. Give Kevin Stallings credit, though, he realized that the one chance he had, with UMass up nine in the second half, was shifting to a zone that forced them to shoot from deep. Harris was 5-of-10 from three but his mates were 3-of-14 and Vandy ran away behind Foster's dead-eye shooting.

It wasn't like the Minutemen weren't guarding him. He was hitting with hands in his face and still finished with 32 points. The defense was keying on him, to its detriment, as A.J. Ogilvy was open inside all day, drawing fouls and finishing with 25 of his own. UMass hung with a good team but their lack of stopping power is going to cost them in A-10 play.

Elsewhere on the mid major hardcourts:

UNC-Asheville 61, South Carolina 58 - The Gamecocks found out what puts the Big in the Big South. Kenny George, all 7'7" and 360 pounds of him, had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to the upset victory. What is a player of George's size doing at such a small school? Well, he's a slow developer, hurt a lot and still growing but is improving at rapid rates and, matched with a good backcourt, could knock Winthrop from its perch this season.

Sam Houston State 60, UCF 58 (OT) - If you've been sleeping on the Bearkats, read this or suffer in March. They defend like the Spartans of 300, rebound with a ferocity far bigger than their size and can win when they don't play their best, as evidenced yesterday. The C-USA's Knights kept them off the glass and Shamir McDaniel wasn't at his best but the 'Kats still pulled through. There will be a four or five seed hoping SHSU gets upset in the Southland tournament because their style would be hell to prepare for in three days.

CAA - George Mason hasn't had the best start to conference play, losing Wednesday to Georgia State, but they can grab control of the league this week. Will Thomas had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead them past De and they play the 3-0 Blue Hens of Delaware this week for a share of first place. Delaware beat Drexel 67-63 yesterday. In other games, Antoine Agudio returned from injury to lead Hofstra's 66-60 win against James Madison and VCU routed UNC-Wilmington thanks to 24 from Eric Maynor.

Niagara 96, Manhattan 86 - The Purple Eagle express rolls on to a sixth straight win behind a balanced and high-octane offensive effort. Charron Fisher had 27, no surprise, but so did Tyrone Lewis and Benson Egemonye added 22 to overwhelm the Jaspers. Next Saturday, Siena will travel to Niagara in a huge MAAC contest.

MAC - Conference play kicked off and it wasn't a good start for Miami. They got beat up by Akron 69-54 and the Zips showed they aren't dwelling on the Dayton loss. Steve McNees hit all six threes he tried and an 18-0 run that spanned the two halves turned this into a laugher. Five Broncos were in double figures as Western Michigan cruised to an 86-69 win against Northern Illinois and Bowling Green beat Ohio, miscast as a contender thanks to wins against St. John's and Maryland, 52-49.

Eastern Round Up: An Old-Fashioned Shootout originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time Is Running Out on Dave Odom's Tenure With the Gamecocks

Charles Rich — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:01:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball

Year seven of the Dave Odom era at South Carolina was supposed to be a breakthrough season. Two big transfers in Devan Downey from Cinci and Zam Fredrick II of Georgia Tech were eligible. The Gamecocks were supposed to be a better team and at a minimum get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.

Instead, this team looks a lot like a team that will battle to get into the NIT. The Gamecocks fell to 5-5 after a home loss to Baylor, 92-84. South Carolina scheduled well for their non-con to demonstrate whether they were a NCAA Tournament team, not a NIT. Setting games against a bunch of other teams in the same situation. Unfortunately, South Carolina has been on the short end of the outcomes in 5 of the 6 games. Losing to NC State, George Mason, Clemson, Southern Cal and Baylor. Their lone win came against Providence (and they nearly blew that one).

The record and failing to do much to distinguish themselves in the non-conference schedule means that South Carolina has to pin all of their hopes on being one of the better teams in the SEC. That may not be the worst strategy, given the state of the SEC this season, but it leaves the margin of error slimmer than ever.

Dave Odom's coaching seat, may very well be the warmest in the SEC. Alabama has been wrecked by key injuries, Georgia has had players booted for being lazy students, Auburn is still in rebuilding, and LSU is completely distracted by that BCS Championship game to care.

Time Is Running Out on Dave Odom's Tenure With the Gamecocks originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Does ESPN Hate the SEC?

Charles Rich — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:17:00 EST

Filed under: Georgetown Basketball, Alabama Basketball, LSU Basketball, Villanova Basketball, West Virginia Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, Big East Basketball, SEC Basketball

If you blinked, you may have missed the inaugural Big East/SEC Invitational. It's really just a micro-conference challenge. Only 4 teams from each conference a year play (and it's mercifully only contracted to run for four years at this point). ESPN handled all aspects of the "Invitational," right down to getting Pizza Hut as the title sponsor. So, while they consulted with the conferences, they had a huge say in the teams selected.

The field was announced last year. The Big East had Georgetown, West Virginia, Villanova and Providence to face Alabama, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina of the SEC. Two of the Big East teams were in the NCAA last year and a third won the NIT. The four SEC teams were not even participants in the NIT. All four of the Big East participants were .500 or better in conference, while all four of the SEC teams were below the break-even point. Essentially, the SEC was set-up to fail.

Arguably, some of the decision-making was driven by the location of the neutral site games. Birmingham, Alabama was the location of the first night (the SEC home crowds), which explained the desire to include Alabama and Auburn -- even if Alabama and Auburn were picked to finish only 3d and 4th in the SEC West). Sending South Carolina and LSU to Philadelphia, however made little sense. LSU was selected to finish 5th in the SEC West and South Carolina 6th in the East in the preseason. Not exactly sending even the middle of the pack to make an appearance.

The conferences are committed to playing three more years, but the SEC cannot be thrilled with the way ESPN has started this. The Big East went 3-1 after LSU blew a big lead late in the game. That the SEC was able to win one game was a bit of a surprise. Putting the games on (semi-)neutral courts didn't help. The Wachovia Center in Philly was only half-filled for the hometown Villanova team and most skipped the earlier South Carolina-Providence game.

Really, neither conference could be thrilled with the way the first year went. The biggest problem, beyond simply the match-ups, was putting this thing on "neutral courts." This limited the interest, and given the match-ups hardly created any "buzz" (or even a ringing in the ears) at the sites for the games. This part falls on the conferences halfway approach. Since neither conference could bring themselves to commit to a full slate of games like the ACC/Big 10 or Big 12/Pac 10 challenges, there would be no chance for reciprocal home-away games for the participants. This necessitated neutral sites to split the gate.

At the very least, there has to be some hope that next year ESPN will at least look at the match-ups. More likely, they will stick a game in New Jersey and Mississippi and foist Rutgers and Seton Hall on one side with Mississippi State and Ole Miss on the other. Can't wait.

Why Does ESPN Hate the SEC? originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East - SEC Basketball Challenge

Charles Rich — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:52:00 EST

Filed under: Georgetown Basketball, Alabama Basketball, LSU Basketball, Villanova Basketball, West Virginia Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, Big East Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Campus, NCAA Basketball Media Watch, Alabama, West Virginia, LSU

This one has been in the works for a while, but it's finally been announced. The Big East and SEC will play a limited challenge series over the next several years. I'm sorry, they are calling it an Invitational. It will be a four game rotation for the next four years.

The games will take place on December 5-6. On December 5, two games will be played at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham Alabama. The two games will be: West Virginia-Auburn and Georgetown-Alabama. On December 6, the games will be at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That will have South Carolina-Providence and LSU-Villanova. The games will be aired on ESPN2 and ESPN.

"This Invitational will showcase two of the premier conferences in college basketball," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Regional Television. "Both conferences compete at the highest level, as evidenced by their recent appearances in the Final Four, and we are pleased to feature them on two consecutive nights on our networks."

Of course, only 2 of the Big East teams selected for next year were in the NCAA Tournament and none of the SEC schools even made the NIT.

How do the teams get picked each year? Well, that gets left to ESPN "in consultation" with the conferences. Considering ESPN will be handling the "Big East/SEC Invitational's organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more," I'm guessing the consultations pretty much follow whatever ESPN tells the conferences to do.

Big East - SEC Basketball Challenge originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Soccer Player Fights Basketball Player

mjd — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:16:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, Soccer

Sorry about the non-descript headline. I really can't make it make sense without using like 25 words. You'll understand in a minute.

This is a tricky story to blog. To South Carolina basketball fans, it's something like, "Hey, remember Rolando Howell? He got in a fight with some soccer player." And to soccer fans, it's more like, "Adriano got in a fight with some huge basketball player." I can't please all of you. Or any of you, really.

Anyway, Rolando Howell is playing basketball these days for Italian club Varese. He was hanging out in a Milan night club called 'Club Hollywood' in the VIP section, when he got into it with Inter Milan striker Adriano. Howell jacked Adriano in the face, and the fight was broken up by bouncers and friends, including Adriano's teammate Ronaldo. It's no Joey Porter/Levi Jones, but it does help make this probably the best week ever for athlete vs. athlete fights.

No one's terribly shocked by this behavior from Adriano. He gets in trouble in night clubs as often as most people shower. He's been benched for it, even. I wonder if he knows Pacman Jones.

For Howell, the news is a little bit better. From Goal.com:

Time will tell if Adriano has gone too far this time...or if the episode will be smoothed over as just another case of clashing testosterone between two high-power athletes. At lest there was no blood on the dancefloor...

Hear that? Rolando Howell is a high-power athlete. Boo-yah! Score one for Rolando Howell.

Soccer Player Fights Basketball Player originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pam Parsons on Pokey Chatman: 'I Felt for Her'

Michael David Smith — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:02:00 EST

Filed under: LSU Basketball, South Carolina Basketball, SEC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches, NCAA Basketball Gossip, LSU, Women's Sports

LSU's Pokey Chatman is not the first women's basketball coach to resign because of a sexual relationship with one of her players. In 1982, Pam Parsons, the women's basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, resigned after it came to light that she had a sexual relationship with one of her players, Tina Buck, who was 17 at the time the relationship began.

Now Parsons has spoken for the first time about Chatman.

"I felt for her," Parsons said, referring to Chatman. "Oh, my God, I felt for her. Because, I mean, it puts you in the position of reflecting for a moment what that felt like when you fell so far from grace. And to fall that far from grace, you hope that no other human has to face that."

Times have changed quite a bit since Parsons lost her job: In 1982 the mere fact that she was a lesbian was in many ways seen as the scandal. Parsons and Buck both sued Sports Illustrated for libel for publishing a story saying they were lesbians, and both ended up going to jail for four months for perjury when it became clear that they lied under oath during that trial by saying they were not lesbians.

I hope that now that we're in 2007, we understand that what's inappropriate here is that Parsons and Chatman had sexual relationships with young people they were hired to coach. I don't know if Chatman has been treated the same way a male coach who had a sexual relationship with a player would be treated, but she should be.

Note: The picture of Parsons was taken as she testified to the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Clinton's impeachment revolved around lying under oath about a sexual relationship, and Parsons was asked to testify because she knows something about lying under oath about a sexual relationship.

Pam Parsons on Pokey Chatman: 'I Felt for Her' originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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