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IOWA STATE'S LACEY MAY NOT PLAY IN BIG 12 QUARTERS
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State senior point guard Alison Lacey is doubtful for Friday’s Big 12 Championship quarterfinal contest.
Further testing shows Lacey is recovering nicely from pneumonia. Her status beyond Friday’s contest is unknown. However, she is fully expected to return for the NCAA Championship, should Iowa State be chosen to the field.
Fennelly and Lacey will not take further questions on her illness.
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:01:52 CST
DAY 1 RECAPS FROM BIG 12 TOURNEY
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Brandon Richardson scored 19 points and No. 12 seed Nebraska took command with an early 16-1 run and shocked No. 5 seed Missouri 75-60 Wednesday in an opening-round upset at the Big 12 tournament.
The underdog Cornhuskers (15-17), who had won just two of 16 Big 12 regular-season games, outrebounded, outshot and outhustled the team that had easily beaten them twice this year.
After Kim English pulled the Tigers (22-10) to 61-51 with a pair of free throws with 4:01 to play, Richardson canned a long 3-pointer, drew a foul from Zaire Taylor and made the free throw for a four-point play that clinched it.
Ryan Anderson had 16 points for Nebraska and Jorge Brian Diaz had 10, including several easy buckets as the Huskers consistently beat Missouri's pressure defense.
Laurence Bowers had 11 points for Missouri, the defending Big 12 tournament champion.
KANSAS CITY, Mo (AP) _ John Roberson scored 19 points, Nick Okorie added 18 and Texas Tech overcame a sloppy start defensively to open the Big 12 tournament with an 82-67 victory over Colorado on Wednesday.
Texas Tech (17-14) has been plagued by shoddy defense since reaching No. 16 in the polls midway through the season and started off that way against Colorado. The ninth-seeded Red Raiders pulled it together during a big first-half run and held on to end a seven-game losing streak.
Texas Tech assured itself of a winning record to bolster its NIT chances and keep alive its slim NCAA hopes. The Red Raiders move on to face top-ranked Kansas in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Colorado (15-16) beat Texas Tech to end the regular season on a three-game winning streak but became uncharacteristically careless with the ball in the rematch, turning it over 19 times.
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:06 CST
CHIEFS MAKE ANOTHER SIGNING
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent defensive tackle Shaun Smith, who played last season for Cincinnati.
The Chiefs announced the deal Wednesday but declined to disclose terms.
The 6-foot-2, 325-pound Smith has played in 63 games, including 27 starts, with New Orleans, Cincinnati and Cleveland. He has 196 tackles and two sacks during a career that began with the Saints in 2004.
Smith began his NFL career as a rookie free agent in 2003 with Dallas, where he was a member of the practice squad. After one year with New Orleans, he played for the Bengals from 2004 through 2006 and the Browns for two years before returning to Cincinnati last year.
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:46:10 CST
MARTIN DAILY BLOG: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10TH
Hello beautiful, beautiful 1080i High Definition Television. It’s me, Derek. I know I’ve been absent for the better part of the past month and a half, but I’m back. I’m redefined. I’m re-energized. I’m ready for lots of watching you. When I’m down, you’ll cheer me up. When there’s nothing on in the households of the people with basic cable you’ll be there for me with the Mountain West Network. When I ring the bell for some sports you’ll answer that bell, by golly! So, I’m back, baby. I’m back.
That was the pep talk I gave my television yesterday afternoon before I sat down for one of my marathon sessions that I’ve made so famous over the years. There’s still some serious catching up to do on the DVR, but I put a healthy dent in it last night. I’m honestly counting down the minutes until I’m back in the 1080i’s arms again.
Now, the State Basketball Tournament continued yesterday with no real surprises. Sioux City Heelan may have been the seventh seed in the horrible seeding format from the state, but they were definitely the favorites to beat Carroll. They’re also the favorites to win the whole dang thing. IKM-Manning got a win to move to 25-0 on the year, but the defending champion (Solon) stands in their way. Is there another team in the state that can replace all five starters and still be the favorite to win it all other than Solon? I don’t think so.
Yesterday I wrote at length about re-evaluating how teams are seeded in the State Basketball Tournament. There are some people out there that think things need to be re-evaluated much earlier in the process. I wouldn’t totally disagree. B-Money Clark crunched some numbers the other day, and the results were stunning. At the girl’s tournament 19 of the 28 games that were played in Des Moines were decided by less than 10 points. Nine of them were decided by five or less. That’s amazing, and it speaks highly of the job the Iowa Girl’s High School Athletic Union did in getting the best eight teams to Des Moines. Through 11 games in Des Moines for the boys tournament, we’ve seen just as many games decided by 19 or more than we have 10 or less (three of each).
Of course I enjoy the boys tournament more than the girls tournament mainly due to the history and a preference for the boys style over the girls style. However, if you are looking for exciting, close games then you probably should have been in Des Moines a week ago. People talk a lot about the Union sending teams all over the place, but in the end if the best eight teams (or close to) are in Des Moines the complaining should stop. The Union deserves a ton of kudos for doing what needs to be done. And you know what? It paid off last week with highly competitive basketball.
One reader suggested district basketball turn to a double elimination style format. Initially, I thought that was a ridiculous idea. After hours and hours of thought on the subject……well, I feel the same way. Not only would it take way too long, or wear the kids out if you try to play all these games in the same amount of time; but it would just give more credence to the continued fragility of today’s society. The society that says everyone deserves a second chance, or everyone deserves a medal. Hey, you failed, but here’s your ribbon so you don’t feel bad.
It would also take away from the complete and utter excitement of the one-and-done format. That format is what made this year’s Clarinda upset of Nodaway Valley so exciting. There was no tomorrow for the loser of that game, or any tournament game for that matter. If you take that away you take away the emotions of tournament basketball, and the emotions are what make the tournament. Just my two cents.
Back to the couch for me. Have a good one!
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 7:31:02 CST
LADY 'HOUNDS IN FAMILIAR SPOT
Grant Hageman's Maryville Spoofhounds will play a Sectional Round game Wednesday night at the Saint Joseph Civic Center against Saint Pius X of Kansas City with the tip at 6 PM. The Spoofhounds are coming off a Class 3 District 16 girl's final victory over Bishop LeBlond, 68-52, to improve to 23-3 on the year. Coach Hageman talked with KMA Sports on Tuesday morning about his team's latest win - their third of the year over rival LeBlond...
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Hageman breaks down his team this year...
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St. Pius X enters at 16-10, but Coach Hageman says throw the records out the window for this one..
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Hageman looks at the St. Pius X personnel...
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Last year the Lady 'Hounds made it all the way to the Class 3 Quarterfinals before losing in double overtime. Hageman hopes his team's experience from last year will help them this season..
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Wed, 10 Mar 2010 6:47:18 CST
CARROLL FALLS TO DEFENDING CHAMP
The Carroll Tigers fell to the defending champion Sioux City Bishop Heelan Crusaders on Tuesday night at the Iowa State Basketball Tournament in Des Moines, 61-52. The Tigers led by one following the first quarter, but never led again as Heelan improved to 20-4 on the season.
Carroll's season ends at 20-3 and in Des Moines for the second consecutive year. Division 1 recruit, Casey Kasperbauer, led the Tigers with 22 points but turned the ball over seven times in the loss. Iowa recruit Zach McCabe scored 20 points for Heelan. He was joined in double figures Alex Malloy (19 points) and Chris Karpuk (16).
Heelan will play in the Class 3A semifinals on Thursday evening at 8:15 PM against Wednesday's winner of the final Class 3A quarterfinal between Davenport Assumption and Dallas Center-Grimes.
Other Class 3A Quarterfinals
Mount Pleasant 60 Epworth, Western Dubuque 50
Pella 85 Forest City 50
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:21:13 CST
CHIEFS SIGN FORMER JET JONES
KANSAS CITY, Mo (AP) _ The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent running back Thomas Jones, who led the New York Jets to the AFC championship game last season and was the NFL's third-leading rusher.
The Chiefs announced the deal Tuesday but declined to disclose the terms.
Jones had career highs of 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He was a 2008 Pro Bowl selection with 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The 31-year-old is expected to supplement third-year running back Jamaal Charles, who was Kansas City's MVP last season with 1,120 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Jones was drafted seventh overall in 2000 by the Arizona Cardinals. He was traded to Tampa Bay in 2003, went to Chicago in 2004 as a free agent and was traded to the Jets in 2007.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:15:39 CST
IKM-MANNING BOYS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS
The IKM-Manning Wolves are still perfect and on their way to the Class 2A state semifinals after a 55-48 win over Turkey Valley, Jackson Junction Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
The Wolves trailed by six, 35-29 going into the fourth quarter, then scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to seize control of the game. Bryce Irlbeck led the Wolves with 17 points while Jerad Croghan chipped in 15.
Turkey Valley's season ends at 19-7. IKM-Manning is 25-0 and will play the Solon in the semifinals Thursday afternoon at 3:45.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:12:01 CST
BIG XII TOURNAMENT BEGINS WEDNESDAY
KANSAS CITY, Mo (AP) _ The Big 12 tournament gets started this week in Kansas City. For more than half the teams, it will be a warm-up for the real madness of March.
That's because, barring a major meltdown, the conference will likely get seven teams into next week's NCAA tournament.
Kansas, vying for the No. 1 overall seed, is a lock. Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma State also seem likely to get NCAA berths.
It could interesting is if someone else wins the conference tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it. Colorado beat Baylor and played Kansas and Kansas State close. Iowa State closed out the season with a win over K-State and even 12th-seeded Nebraska has shown flashes of toughness during the season.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:54:10 CST
MARTIN DAILY BLOG: TUESDAY, MARCH 9TH
Now that that’s over it will give me some time to……hmmm, what the heck am I going to do with all this free time? While it did get to be a little bit of a grind down the stretch there really isn’t anything else I would have rather done. I suppose I could have sat on my couch, watching Oprah, and eating Bon Bons - but that just doesn’t sound as enticing.
Let’s talk about yesterday’s happenings at the State Tournament, shall we? Council Bluffs St. Albert ran into an absolute buzzsaw in Rock Valley. I honestly think Rock Valley could win the Class 3A State Championship. They are that good. They have two 6-foot-9 inch Division 1 basketball players who can score, rebound, pass, and defend. They can bring the ball up against the press and break you down off the dribble. They can beat you in the low post, in the high post, at the three-point line, and anywhere else they want to venture. If that’s not enough they got a career game from Nic Bakker yesterday who knocked down three triples after making about 25% of his threes all year long. Unbeatable.
I hope the state and the Iowa High School Sports Network is ready for a snoozer on Friday night at 6 PM. They might as well gather the television crew for the Thursday morning semifinal between NUH, Cedar Falls and Rock Valley. That’s the state championship. Not only are the best two teams in Class 1A meeting on the top half of the bracket before the championship, but the third best team was in the top half of the bracket as well. St. Albert gave Rock Valley the best run anybody will give them other than possibly NU High. The fourth best team in Class 1A? Well, they lost to St. Albert in the Mid-America Center back in February.
The best team is going to win the title in the end, but there needs to be some re-evaluation from the seeding committee. Rock Valley is far and away the best team in the state of Iowa, and they get a four seed? Why - because Ankeny Christian Academy and Lynville-Sully played a much weaker schedule throughout the year and were awarded for it? St. Albert played exactly three Class 1A teams during the regular season. They beat champions from every major conference in Western Iowa including 4A’s Lewis Central. Yet they get the five seed because their record isn’t as flashy. If I had my druthers the seeding would be based off of points. If you beat a Class 4A team you get four points, if you beat a 3A team you get three points and so on. You have to be rewarded for playing a tough schedule throughout the season. If you don’t then you’ll end up with a blowout for a state championship. Maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe I’m just smarting from the end of basketball season.
Another example is the top seeded Des Moines Christian team that played a decent schedule but still faced mostly Class 1A and 2A teams throughout the season. They lost yesterday to Kuemper Catholic who was battle-tested having played some of the best teams in Western Iowa including Carroll, Harlan, Denison-Schleswig, Lewis Central, and so on. I’d never suggest a 15-11 team should be anything more than the eight seed, but Solon at the three seed and Western Christian at the four seed seems out of place considering the schedules they play all year. Sioux City Heelan is a seven seed and is the favorite to win the Class 3A title. All examples of a need for a new seeding evaluation. Just my two cents.
Speaking of Sioux City Heelan…..
In news that will shock nobody, Wesley Staten is now enrolled in classes at Heelan. Staten is a junior-to-be who committed to Iowa State as a freshman and has played his first two years at Sioux City West. They went 4-17 this year so Wesley woke up one morning and decided solely on his own that he would get a better education at Sioux City Bishop Heelan. That’s what happened, right? Riiiiiight….
That’s enough of me for today. Keep up the hard work, KMA Land. And don’t forget to get your pets spayed and neutered. Thanks.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 7:47:11 CST
SPOOFHOUND BOYS IN STATE SECTIONALS
For the first time in five years, Maryville's boys basketball team is in to the state playoffs. The 20-4 Spoofhounds advanced to sectionals thanks to a 43-36 victory over top-seeded Cameron in the district final Saturday night. Head Coach Mike Kuwitsky says it was a good atmosphere in Plattsburg Saturday.
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Kuwitsky says the game was closer than the score indicated.
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Maryville advances to State Sectionals Wednesday night against Lafayette County.
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Kuwitsky says his team is playing its best ball of the season right now.
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Wednesday night's game will be at 7:45 at the St. Joseph Civic Center. Kuwitsky says it should be an exciting doubleheader as Maryville's girls play at 6:00 in the sectional round of the playoffs.
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The Maryville girls will play St. Pius out of Kansas City at 6:00. Then, the Maryville boys meet Lafayette County at 7:45 Wednesday night at the St. Joe Civic Arena. A win for either Maryville team would advance them to the state quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia.
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 6:14:41 CST
ALL-BIG 12 WOMEN'S PICKS
2009-10 PHILLIPS 66 ALL-BIG 12 AWARDS
Coach of the Year: Connie Yori, Nebraska
Player of the Year: Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska
Newcomer of the Year: Danielle Adams, Texas A&M
Freshman of the Year: Brittney Griner, Baylor
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Brittney Griner, Baylor and Yvonne Turner, Nebraska
Sixth Man Award: Bianca Smith, Colorado
All-Big 12 First Team (alphabetical by school)
Player School Pos Ht Cl Hometown
Brittney Griner Baylor C 6-8 Fr Houston, Texas
Alison Lacey Iowa State G 6-0 Sr Canberra, Australia
Ashley Sweat^ Kansas State F 6-2 Sr McPherson, Kan.
Kelsey Griffin#+ Nebraska F 6-2 Sr Eagle River, Alaska
Cory Montgomery Nebraska F 6-2 Sr Cannon Falls, Minn.
Yvonne Turner Nebraska G 5-8 Sr Omaha, Neb.
Danielle Robinson^ Oklahoma G 5-9 Jr San Jose, Calif.
Amanda Thompson Oklahoma F 6-1 Sr Chicago, Ill.
Andrea Riley^# Oklahoma StateG 5-5 Sr Dallas, Texas
Tanisha Smith Texas A&M G/F 6-0 Sr Kansas City, Mo.
All-Big 12 Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Player School Pos Ht Cl Hometown
Danielle McCray^ Kansas G/F 5-11 Sr Olathe, Kan.
Nyeshia Stevenson Oklahoma F 5-9 Sr Little Rock, Ark.
Tegan Cunningham Oklahoma StateF 6-1 Sr Melbourne, Australia
Brittainey Raven$ Texas G 6-0 Sr Fort Worth, Texas
Danielle Adams Texas A&M F/C 6-1 Jr Kansas City, Mo.
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:28 CST
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